Herald of Shalia 3
Author: Tamryn Tamer
Date: 2019-11-24T18:00:00+00:00
Keywords: Fantasy; Romance; Adult
Description: Sebastian Frost’s territory had grown massively as did his reputation.He was the Herald of Shalia that married a demoness, invited hundreds of Arachne to live in his territory, and married a princess of Zira all in the same week. All while securing peace and trade agreements with the two largest countries on the continent.Herald Frost wasn’t merely a deviant herald that laid with demihumans. He was a highly capable deviant herald that laid with demihumans. Which was one of the reasons why demihumans were coming from all over to join his territory.His reputation even crossed the ocean and when
Publisher: Independently published

Contents

Let's Have Some Fun!

Other Series

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Chapter 22

Chapter 23

Chapter 24

Chapter 25

Chapter 26

Chapter 27

Chapter 28

Chapter 29

Free Book Offer

Acknowledgements

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Copyright

Let's Have Some Fun!

That's our goal here. On it's surface it sounds good, right? Everybody likes fun! Well, it's important to clarify that when we say fun we're not talking about family board game night. We're talking over the top explicit content. Now, once again you're probably thinking that sounds good, right? Well, we really want to emphasize over the top really means over the top. This book is meant for adults. You've been warned.

Other Series

Herald of Shalia Series

Herald of Shalia Book 1

Herald of Shalia Book 2

Herald of Shalia Book 3

Herald of Shalia Book 4 (Coming Soon!)

Forbidden Arcana Series

Jinx (Book 1)

Ariel (Book 2)

Mirage (Book 3)

Theia (Book 4)

Sable (Book 5)

Luna (Book 6)

Talia (Book 7)

Morgana (Book 8)

Valaria (Book 9)

Arcana Slice of Life Series

Animal Magnetism (After Sable)

Rank Zero (After Morgana)

CHAPTER 1

The well-dressed woman stepped into the decrepit tavern.

The dilapidated building was located down the filth covered streets near the docks where no self-respecting woman would find herself, which was why the white-haired woman immediately drew the attention of the patrons. Their initial excitement quickly turned to disappointment as their eyes fixated on her long-pointed ears. It wasn’t an unusual occurrence for Cassia, but even after nearly hundred and thirty years, it was still annoying.

She lifted her elegant violet cloak to prevent it from brushing the inch-thick layer of grime that accumulated on the disgusting floor. It was bad enough that she was probably going to have to burn her white knee-high boots after touching the surface without also sacrificing one of her favorite cloaks.

“I think you’re in the wrong place,” the barkeep spit in a glass and set it in front of her. “This is about all you’ll get here demi.”

“I highly doubt that,” she sighed while staring at the disgusting stool in front of her. “I imagine if I touch anything in this filthy establishment, I’ll walk away with plenty.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” the grizzled barkeep snarled.

“Never mind,” Cassia reached into her coin purse and the jingling immediately drew the attention of the patrons. It wasn’t the sad ting of three or four coins but the joyous scratching of dozens of coins brushing against each other. She set a fifty rel piece on the counter and the bartender’s eyes instantly filled with a hungry stare similar to the one that young elven men used to give her in her prime. “I wish to purchase information…I heard there’s…”

“I don’t think you’re in a position to purchase anything,” a large muscular man said as he rose from his seat. The twenty-eight other men in the tavern did the same as they all greedily eyed her purse. “That coin purse is ours now.”

Cassia didn’t bother activating her scan anymore. She wasn’t sure when it happened but at some point, she developed the ability to sense the levels of others naturally. As for classes, they were easy to determine by their stances. It was a relatively sad assortment of low levels and basic classes. Sadder still, their weapons and armor were so poorly cared for that she wondered how anybody could have seen them as a threat.

Make no mistake, it wasn’t the quality of the weapon or armors that Cassia was judging but the lack of care. A blacksmith with well cared for basic tools clearly took his profession seriously while a blacksmith whose extravagant tools were in disrepair clearly did not. These men had neither extravagant weapons nor well cared for ones. They were rusted, dull, chipped, and some of their grips were cracked.

“Shalia help me,” Cassia whispered to herself as she looked at the men moving to surround her. “If you men were more experienced, you’d ask yourselves why you were unable to scan me. At which point, you’d realize that my level far outstrips yours. If you were even more experienced than that, you wouldn’t even need to scan me because you’d realize that the circumstances themselves suggest I’m a very dangerous woman.”

“Oh?” the muscular leader of the cutthroats laughed while brandishing his dull iron short sword. “You think you’re dangerous?”

Cassia pulled out an elegant white wand covered in Divine Runes and with a flick of her wrist created cubic barriers around each of the men. Their eyes filled with a dread that Cassia was all too familiar with. It was that brief moment that you’re falling but before you hit the ground. It was a moment that felt like an eternity as your mind tried to convince you that everything was an illusion in a desperate effort to make it true. And then splat.

“I thought it was fairly obvious I was dangerous,” Cassia put her wand away and turned her attention back to the bartender as the horrified man stared at his suffocating patrons. She slid the coin across the counter toward the barkeep. “Is it normal for women like me to walk into piss-soaked taverns? Not to mention I’m clearly untouched despite passing at least a dozen filthy little thieves on the way here. But then again, I don’t expect anybody who drinks here to have sense. They’re probably riddled with diseases.”

“They’re dying…” the bartender pointed at the men silently scraping at the walls of their soundless prisons.

“Oh,” Cassia nodded toward the men. “Would you like me to take care of them so we can continue our business?”

“Yes please,” the man nodded eagerly as Cassia pulled out her wand and pointed it at the ground.

“There,” Cassia smiled as the barriers collapsed on the men, crushing their bodies until they were small cubes of blood and shattered bone. She swirled her wand causing the barriers to vanish and the blood to trickle out. “I’d apologize for the mess but I’d say these floors are no more disgusting now than when I arrived.”

“Fuck,” the bartender whispered as piss ran down his leg. “What did you want?”

“Information,” Cassia said pushing the coin across the counter. “I’ve heard a rumor about a smuggler delivering monsters to Kal.”

“Captain Henry of the Golden Rascal,” the bartender answered eagerly. “You’ll find him at pier twenty-three, beneath it though. You have to travel through the sewers and you’ll find a small boat at the pier twenty-three exit. You take the small boat out toward the edge of the pier and in the base of one of the ships you’ll see a spot marked with a red circle. Knock on the circle and somebody will open a compartment.”

“And when is Captain Henry next set to depart?” Cassia asked.

“Tomorrow,” the bartender answered as tears ran down his face. “He’ll leave at noon.”

“Wonderful,” Cassia said cheerfully. “It seems I was worried about nothing!”

“Please don’t kill me,” the bartender begged. “Please…”

“Quiet,” Cassia pointed her wand creating a small barrier in the man’s throat that expanded until it broke his neck. “I hate begging. It’s so self-serving. It wasn’t as if I walked in here intending to hurt anybody.” She lectured the bartender’s corpse. “I came to purchase information. Everything that occurred here was your fault and you have the nerve to beg for your life? You could have told those men to sit down. You could have acted polite toward me. You could have mopped these disgusting floors so I didn’t ruin my boots! Everything was within your control! It’s ridiculous! There were thousands of ways this could have gone that didn’t end in your death and you have the nerve to beg!”

“I mean,” a cloaked elf appeared at a table in the corner. “Had you announced yourself properly I’m sure things would have gone differently as well. Everybody knows Calamity Cassia leaves a trail of bodies wherever she goes. Which I always appreciate because it makes you easy to track.”

“Lohan,” Cassia eyed the dark-skinned elf cautiously while sliding her fingers toward her wand. “Are we doing this today?”

“Not today,” Lohan drank the remaining alcohol from one of the dead men’s glasses. “I’m only here to make sure you leave the continent. The Herald of Ocelon’s happy to finally be rid of your psychotic ass.”

“I suppose he’s the one that ensured the information about the Herald of Shalia made its way to me,” Cassia smiled. “You know if it turns out to be untrue, I’ll be upset.”

“Prophet of Ocelon confirmed it herself,” Lohan grinned while staring at her hand. “Shalia summoned the herald a little over a month ago and since then he’s made quite a name for himself on Kal. Apparently, he’s even secured a territory of his own. He’s populated it with elves, humans, and even Arachne.”

“We both know that’s only temporary,” Cassia watched Lohan cautiously. She found it difficult to believe that the sorcerer was willing to let her leave peacefully after decades of hunting her. “Before long the other heralds will move against him. All he’s really done is gather them together in one place to be eradicated.”

“You sound jealous,” Lohan said smugly. “Is it because he’s gathered more followers for your goddess in a month than you have in decades?”

“You’re trying to goad me into attacking you,” Cassia smirked knowingly at the blue-eyed elf. “You can’t attack me unless I attack you first, can you?”

“I could always be making you think that so you let down your guard,” Lohan grinned while staring at her hand. “But we both know you won’t let down your guard no matter what, don’t we? I mean, my men massacred an entire village of your followers while we had a standoff and you didn’t even flinch! It honestly made me a little hard.”

“Only a little?” Cassia gritted her teeth while inching her fingers closer to her wand as she recalled the screams of the helpless elves. “I suppose good compromises really do leave both parties unhappy, don’t they?”

“We don’t have to compromise,” Lohan said. “All you have to do is touch that wand and we can see how our story plays out. Lohan the Scourge versus Cassia the Calamity. Come on Cassia, let’s finally see who the most powerful sorcerer on the continent of Tilore really is.”

“You’re the most powerful sorcerer on the continent Lohan,” Cassia said smugly. “I’m a prophet.”

“No,” Lohan laughed while slowly standing up. “Prophet’s talk to gods. You haven’t been a prophet for decades.”

“I still talk to Shalia,” Cassia said while meeting Lohan’s cobalt gaze. “She just isn’t in the mood to talk back.”

“It seems even the elven goddess of love has her limits, doesn’t she?” Lohan methodically cracked his fingers while casually moving his hands toward his belt where his silver and gold wands waited for him.

“You really want this fight, don’t you Lohan?” Cassia said while watching Lohan’s fingers inch closer to his wands. “It almost feels personal. Is it personal? Lohan, it’s been fifty years. Don’t tell me you’re still holding a grudge. It was a few wives and children.”

“No,” Lohan laughed. “Wives and children are easily replaced.”

“I suppose yours are,” Cassia grinned. She wondered if his trembling was due to his frustrating orders or merely an act to goad her into engaging. “My daughter is a beautiful priestess of Shalia. She is perfection and you can’t simply replace perfection. I love her more than anything in the universe. My perfect little Lysandra. I can’t wait to see the type of woman she’s grown into. You have nine daughters, don’t you?”

“Eighteen now,” Lohan said. “Are you jealous?”

“I prefer quality over quantity,” Cassia said smugly.

“If she’s so impressive, maybe I should follow you to Kal and meet this daughter,” Lohan smirked. “I could always use another wife.”

“You really want this fight, don’t you Lohan?” Cassia said while activating Aura of the Divine, Breath of the Goddess, and Fate’s Guidance. “Even if it means defying Ocelon and losing all of those privileges he’s granted you?”

“It’s not a matter of want anymore,” Lohan said while activating Aura of Ruin, Devil’s Breath, and Death’s Guidance. “I need to know.”

“Good,” Cassia grinned wickedly while moving her hand away from her wand. “Knowing that you’re so desperate for one last fight makes leaving so much more satisfying.”

“I’ll come after you,” Lohan said angrily as Cassia turned to walk out of the tavern. “I’ll spend a few months finding and killing the remaining followers of Shalia on this continent, but when I run out of your followers here, I’m coming after you…”

“If your herald allows it,” Cassia said smugly as she made her way toward the door. “Because you’d hate to be thrown back in that prison, wouldn’t you? He only let you out so you could hunt me. He doesn’t even acknowledge you to the people! Are you sure he won’t send you back anyway? Nobody would really know he violated his deal. Anyway, something to think about while I sail away.”

“Cassia!” Lohan kicked a chair across the room. “You can’t just walk…”

That’s what she was waiting for, that wrath, that imbalance, the moment that she felt his aura fluctuate. She let her wand slip from her sleeve into her hand and began energizing the divine runes that filled her mind. A thousand incantations flowed through her in an instant as she turned to see Lohan grinning like a maniac. The elf sorcerer’s hands were already on his wands, but it was too late.

He was only a millisecond behind but to spellcasters like them it was an eternity of difference. Cassia’s barrier spread through the room before Lohan’s walls of flame could create an escape route for him.

The elf sorcerer waved his golden wand and ripped the wind from her lungs as she created a barrier inside of herself to keep them from collapsing. Suffocation was unpleasant but collapsed lungs were even more so. Cassia created a chain of barriers inside of Lohan only for the sorcerer to dispel them all.

“Yes!” Lohan said excitedly as he launched a chain of lightning at her.

“Everything is fine. Nothing can hurt you,” Cassia said in a sing song voice to herself as she moved to the far side of the room in a flash while creating a series of barriers. “Everything is fine. Nothing can hurt you.”

“I can hurt you!” Lohan laughed as the wind ripped through the sealed enclosure carrying with it the electricity and flames as everything turned dark.

“Everything is fine. Nothing can hurt you,” Cassia continued as she erected thousands of thin powerful barriers in an instant, not to block the magical miasma but to guide it, separating each portion of the sorcerer’s spells into their own little compartments before sending them back toward him. “Everything is fine. Nothing can hurt you.”

“Come on!’ Lohan snarled while dispelling the mixture of lighting and fire the white-haired prophet sent back toward him. “Are you just going to defend or are you going to attack?”

“Everything is fine. Nothing can hurt you,” Cassia grinned wickedly as she counted the seconds. The sweat was already forming on the elf sorcerer’s brow and his azure eyes were dilating. He fired off a series of face paced explosions as Cassia used a barrier to absorb the force of the explosion while pushing her away. “Everything is fine…”

“Stop saying that!” Lohan roared as electricity pulsed through him. “I’m going to kill you! You f…ak…ak…”

“Nothing can hurt you,” Cassia grinned as she watched the elf drop to his knees and cough up blood. He pointed his wand at her and nothing came out no matter how hard he attempted to cast. She walked toward the dying elf and smiled as she leaned down to get a closer look. She gently stroked the dying elf’s cheek as he gripped his chest. “Everything is fine.”

“Ca…ss…” Lohan fell to the ground as his heart quickly decayed inside of his chest along with the rest of his organs.

“Yes Lohan?” Cassia crouched down to get closer to the dying elf. “Would you like to say something?”

“How…” Lohan coughed as the life faded from his eyes.

“You forgot the stories,” Cassia smiled. “Followers of Shalia bring plagues, remember? You locked yourself in a room with me. The tiny barriers you inhaled and dispelled…understand?”

“Ha…” the dark-haired elf smiled as he took his last breath and fell to the ground.

Cassia waved her wand and purified everything inside of her barrier and after she was convinced every bit of it was eradicated, she lowered the large barrier containing everything. The pressure that’d built up from their short battle exploded outward, instantly demolishing the decrepit tavern.

Cassia stood in the center of the wreckage as the rotted wood planks fell to the ground around her. Her personal barrier deflecting the smaller chunks of debris and putrid fluids. Within a minute the entire building had transformed into a pile of rotted mush which she considered an improvement from its previous condition. She looked around at the crowd staring at the destruction and noticed a familiar face.

“I suppose this is what you wanted,” Cassia smiled as she stepped out of the rubble and approached the blonde prophet. “Isn’t it Ama?”

“Yes,” the blonde woman smirked as she looked at the wreckage. “You know more than anybody the type of man Lohan was. The herald couldn’t possible forgive his crimes.”

“Even though he was committing them at the herald’s behest,” Cassia laughed. “Amusing.”

“The herald never ordered him to burn children,” Ama said calmly. “He asked him to eliminate you. His methodology was his own, and now he’s been held accountable.”

“And what about me?” Cassia asked. “Does he intend to hold me accountable?”

“The herald doesn’t involve himself in the matters of other countries,” Ama said politely. “We have no intention of stopping you from leaving. We’ve even arranged it so neither you nor those being transported need worry about being stowaways. The herald said that if our problems wished to leave, we should assist them.”

“That sounds sublime,” Cassia smiled. “In that case, you can assist me by telling me everything you know about this Herald of Shalia.”

“His name is Sebastian Frost,” Ama said with a tinge of disgust. “They call him Frost the devil-fucker.”

“The devil-fucker?” Cassia said somewhat confused. “Did they mean to say devil slayer?”

“No,” Ama said coldly. “They did not. One of his wives is a demon. They also call him the cat-fucker, dog-fucker, rabbit-fucker, elf-fucker, and bug-fucker.”

“Bug-fucker?” Cassia said while stifling a laugh. “Do you mean to say…”

“Yes,” Ama said calmly. “He beds Arachne.”

“That’s not possible they don’t have…”

“He rubs it against their chests,” Ama answered. “At least that’s what Ocelon said even after I begged him to stop telling me about it. He seems to find it rather hilarious. Although this is all still speculation since he doesn’t personally have eyes on the herald.”

“So,” Cassia tried to envision the type of man who just ran around sleeping with everything in sight. “Is he an idiot?”

“If only,” Ama sighed. “He seems to be absurdly competent.”

“Ocelon said that?” Cassia said suspiciously.

“Yes,” Ama said. “The man’s killed giants, wyverns, heroes, and soldiers. He’s married two princesses and a queen. And he’s negotiated peace with the two largest countries on the continent of Kal.”

“And people call him dog-fucker?” Cassia asked.

“Apparently he takes it as a compliment,” Ama said while shaking her head. “If your goddess ever decides to talk to you again you can ask her about him. Or just ask him yourself when you get there.”

“Are you telling me it’s time to leave?” Cassia smiled.

“Yes,” Ama answered. “Although, I’m a little surprised you haven’t tried to kill me.”

“A well-dressed woman standing on these disgusting streets without an ounce of fear in her,” Cassia laughed. “No, I wouldn’t pick a fight with a woman like that. A woman like that isn’t the type of woman you pick a fight with unless you have to. But please tell me everything you know as you take me to my ship.”

“It won’t be just your ship,” Ama said pointing at a large line of demihumans and monsters anxiously walking toward the docks. “Hope you don’t mind.”

“Not at all,” Cassia smiled. “The more the merrier.”

Cassia felt hundreds of eyes following them as they walked toward the ship that’d take her back home to Kal. The prophet likely brought an entire battalion of their strongest just in case Lohan killed her. Since he didn’t, they decided not to pick a fight with a person who was already leaving.

She grinned excitedly as she pictured the type of woman her perfect little Lysandra turned into. But she was just as excited to meet this Sebastian Frost.

CHAPTER 2

Hunting monsters was one of Frost’s favorite activities.

It wasn’t so much the hunting itself but the time spent in silence without anybody to answer to. He often traveled through Blackwater territory for days to reach his target and those were some of his most relaxing days.

The long rides to and from different villages also gave him plenty of time to sort through his abilities and play with them. It wasn’t something he normally had time for while he was in the village since he had so many other obligations.

“Okay,” Frost grinned as his horse arrived in front of a wide rapidly moving river. The bridge was probably only a mile out of the way but he had another idea. “Keep going Witch.”

The red mare whinnied as she stopped at the edge of the water nervously. His riding ability was maxed out at level ten so the horse would run off a ledge if he told her to, but that didn’t mean she’d be thrilled about the idea.

“Come on girl,” Frost patted the irritated horse’s neck. “Don’t you trust me?”

The red mare snorted as she took a step onto the water only to find herself floating in midair on an invisible bridge. Her anxiety almost instantly faded as she walked across the barrier bridge Frost created over the river.

“Told you,” Frost laughed as the horse let out a relieved neigh, happy to be back on solid ground. “I love this ability.”

Frost needed to remember to give Witch more treats when he returned to Pluma. The poor crimson mare was his only company on long trips which made her the primary test subject for most of his experiments involving magic and abilities. And there were a lot of experiments.

He found himself recently engrossed in magic over traditional combat since his combat abilities were normally improving organically. Thinking about combat didn’t improve his combat abilities but thinking about magic was different because it allowed him to come up with theories and tests.

The paralyze spell for instance, was one of the most powerful combat spells he’d discovered but very few people considered it a combat spell.

He’d been playing with the runes involved to cast the spell and found several useful variations of it as well. For example, if the opponent was too powerful to paralyze or had high level magic resistance, he could focus the spell on a particular limb. Instead of paralyze, it became paralyze arm. Alternatively, he could weaken the spell and spread it to a wider area paralyzing a group of individuals. It would lose some of its effectiveness but against weaker opponents he didn’t need that much power.

Paralyze wasn’t the only spell he’d toyed with. He had the ability to play with lightning blasts thanks to information acquired from Sir Isaac and acquired a deeper understanding of barriers thanks to the information Sir Adamus provided.

Barriers weren’t only useful for protecting oneself but they could also be used for offense or maneuverability. The bridge he made over the river was just one example but others included squashing monsters like they were in a trash compactor or creating an invisible ramp over a wall. The only downside was that barriers took an enormous amount of effort to maintain making large ones horribly inefficient.

That was another thing that Frost was playing with. It seemed that several of the weaker abilities were far more effective than their more powerful counterparts. A flare was an enormous fireball capable of eradicating a few dozen people but took an enormous amount of energy, and time. Frost could fire off thirty fireballs in the amount of time it took to cast flare.

High level spells just weren’t energy efficient. A single fireball cast at an opponent at the strength needed to kill them, that was efficient. Energizing your sword with electricity was insanely inefficient due to having to maintain the spell even while not attacking. It was a huge drain on mental power.

That wasn’t to say that high level spells weren’t useful, they just weren’t really useful to Frost. He wasn’t laying siege to a castle or battling entire armies. He was killing monsters, bandits, or the occasional warlord in exchange for payment.

In almost all situations the only spells he needed were paralyze, fireball, freeze, and barrier. He had plenty of spells in his arsenal and continued to practice them but in reality, when you could paralyze your opponent and chop off their head, what more did you need?

That didn’t stop him from experimenting with new combinations though.

“Okay,” Frost looked to the east as three screaming men came rushing toward him at full speed with their weapons drawn. They were a good distance away which made him wonder what the hell they were thinking. If they intended to attack him, they should have waited until he was closer to ambush him. “Alright.”

Frost reached for his sword but stopped as he realized they weren’t running toward him as much as they were running away from the giant Craig Boar chasing after them. He activated his scan which revealed a level forty-one geomancer, a level forty holy knight, and a level thirty-eight knight.

“Well that’s just a bad group composition,” Frost said as he scanned the boar.

It was only level forty-nine and the three men could have easily eliminated it if they had some sense. The people of the world were surprisingly lacking when it came to knowing things that he found obvious. He wasn’t sure if it was the widespread illiteracy but the people of the world were shockingly ignorant.

If they understood group compositions, or even basic formations, they’d realize that the holy knight could take the hit and hold it in place while the geomancer used magic to bind it in place or drag it into the earth. From there, they could just hack it to bits from the side. Even with its stone-like skin an immobilized boar wasn’t much threat.

“Run!” the holy knight screamed as he reached shouting distance. “They’re coming!”

“They? That makes more sense,” Frost nodded as four more enormous Craig Boars appeared over the hill.

The other Craig Boars were smaller than the leader but still a good four times larger than himself. Frost still felt the group should have been able to handle them since the smaller boars were all under level forty but he was a bit more understanding.

“Are you deaf and blind?” the holy knight shouted as he got closer. “Run!”

“You know they’ll catch you, right?” Frost shouted as the men got closer. “There’s a river this way.”

“Shit,” the knight pointed toward the north. “The bridge is that way.”

Craig Boars weren’t particularly known for their speed but attempting to outrun them on foot was just stupid. They were enormous boars covered in thousands of pounds of stone. The solution was obvious to anybody with half a brain. Force them to take a sharp turn while going full speed.

“Fuck it,” Frost said as he cast paralyze leg on the massive boar leading the pack causing it to snap under the pressure of its own bodyweight. As the other boars entered his range, he did the same to each of them and followed up by pulling out a bow to finish them off cleanly. He took five shots and earned some experience in archery and mounted combat as the boars died.

“What?” the holy knight stared at Frost from a distance while catching his breath. “What was that? How? What happened?”

“You just killed them,” the geomancer said in disbelief. “Like they were nothing.”

Frost noticed all of their scans activate but it wouldn’t do them any good. He was outside of the range they could scan.

“Who are you?” the knight asked while staring.

“I’m the guy that just killed a bunch of Craig Boars like they were nothing,” Frost chuckled. “So, you should probably introduce yourselves and thank me.”

“Right,” the geomancer nodded. He was a gaunt man with brown hair and a tan complexion wearing low quality leather armor. “Thank you for saving us. I’m Ridley and…”

“I’m Simon and this is my brother Timothy,” the holy knight said politely while pointing at the other armored man. Both of them wore combinations of chain and plate armor. Based on the sizing and wear it was probably second-hand but fairly well cared for. Simon pulled out an official document while slowly walking toward Frost. “If you read this…”

“Hm?” Frost took the paper and looked it over. It was a document with Princess Fiora’s signature declaring them official representatives of the Blackwater Monster Regulators.

“You slimy bitch,” Frost said under his breath as he read the document.

Due to ongoing investigations into the Blackwater military for various acts of treason, including several soldiers defecting to join his territory, Princess Fiora was unable to establish a proper monster hunting force. The investigators froze all funding of the military outside of the bare necessities like city guards and blocked any attempts at restructuring. Without restructuring, she couldn’t establish a monster hunting force.

“Smart,” Frost stifled a laugh as he looked over the document. It cited various rules and regulations detailing the responsibilities of the group. She was careful to avoid any connection to military activities and instead focused on research and conservation. She even avoided any terminology that could suggest elimination of the monsters were mandatory. The freeze on military spending likely didn’t apply to conservation.

“How long have you been in action?” Frost asked while handing the paper back to Simon.

“About three weeks now,” Simon answered while folding up the document and tucking it in his pouch. “We’ve done a few different jobs but this one caught us off guard. They were supposed to be in their thirties.”

“Three weeks?” Frost scoffed. The princess had plenty of time to let him know she’d be sending out monster hunters but was actively avoiding it. More than likely she was intending to replace him with this group as soon as it was viable. “Okay, how much are you scabs working for?”

“Scabs?” Timothy said in a confused tone. “What’s that mean?”

“You’re moving in on my business. That makes you scabs.” Frost jumped off of his horse and walked over to the boars. He pulled out a harvesting crystal and used it to separate the boars into their raw materials. It was mostly different piles of rocks but the hides and a few metals were worthwhile. He picked up everything of value and stored it in his enchanted bag. “So, how much is she paying you per elimination?”

“Um,” Ridley chuckled nervously. “Are you saying you’re also part of the regulators?”

“No,” Frost smiled irritably. “I’m part of the likes to get paid a premium for his services alliance. That makes you competition if you’re charging less than I charge. For example, these Craig Boars, how much would she have paid you for them?”

“Ten rel each!” Timothy blurted as Simon kicked him. “What? That’s a lot…”

“That’s half what I charge,” Frost grumbled. “That slimy bitch.”

“You can’t talk about the princess…” the knight paused as he remembered the person he was talking to just made shockingly short work of the boars and could make shorter work of him. “I mean…”

“You never mentioned your name,” Simon said politely. “Sir?”

“Herald,” Frost corrected.

“Sir Herald,” Simon bowed graciously as Frost chuckled. “It’s obvious that Princess Fiora pays you a premium but I imagine somebody of your abilities wasn’t out here hunting rampaging Craig Boars. I imagine that the princess utilizes us for things that are otherwise beneath you.”

“Fair enough,” Frost nodded. “It’s not really your fault and I don’t really have time for this anyway. I’m off to deal with the Vermillion Salamander problem in the southeast.”

“Southeast?” Ridley asked. “The Baylock homestead?”

“That would be the one,” Frost answered while hopping back on Witch. “Apparently they’re at risk of being overrun. At least they were a week ago when they sent for help. I imagine by now they’re completely overrun.”

“Don’t suppose you’d care for company,” Simon offered politely. “In exchange for helping us out. I really hate being in debt.”

“I mean,” Frost shrugged. “I’m not opposed to help but I’m not sharing my bounties.”

“My brother just hates being in debt to others,” Timothy said. “Helping you out is his way of making it even.”

“Technically you owe me your lives,” Frost said. “But I really don’t want to be responsible for you all so I guess I’ll settle for some company. And it’s not like I’m in a hurry to get there.”

“I don’t blame you,” Ridley said with a disgusted look on his face. “Vermillion Salamanders smell like death and not to mention the poison they secrete from their skin.”

“It’s not that,” Frost shrugged. “Fiora’s paying by the head and the things breed nonstop. The longer it takes me to get there, the more I’ll get paid.”

“That’s horrible,” Timothy said judgmentally. “People could die…”

“Only if they’re stupid,” Frost said. “The salamanders are herbivores. As long as they don’t try attacking them the salamanders will leave them alone.”

“You think a bunch of farmers aren’t going to attack monsters that are destroying their crops and poisoning the land?” Simon said in disbelief. “They’re definitely attacking them.”

“Better get a move on then,” Frost laughed and patted Witch’s neck. The red mare started trotting while the men walked briskly beside him.

The village was only about three miles away from their current position so even on foot it’d take them less than an hour. If he took care of the problem quickly, he figured he could make it to Blackwater to collect his payment from Fiora by nightfall. More importantly, if he made it back by nightfall, he’d have time to visit Madam Gardenia’s brothel.

“So,” Ridley looked up at him as they walked. “What’s your deal anyway Sir Herald? You a replacement from the capital or something? I wasn’t aware of anybody as strong as you in Blackwater territory.”

“Yeah,” Simon sighed. “Ever since that elf-fucker killed the Eight Slayers of Blackwater things have gotten pretty out of hand.”

“Don’t suppose you were called down to handle that situation?” Timothy asked said jokingly. “That cursed devil-fucker is even sheltering traitors.”

“Traitors?” Frost asked. “Who do you mean?”

“You haven’t heard?” Timothy said while clenching his fists. “A bunch of soldiers that were under investigation fled to that devil-fucker’s territory and since we have a peace agreement nothing can be done.”

“Even that patricidal bastard Hansel joined them,” Simon scoffed. “Everybody knows that cowardly shit orchestrated the events that led to the death of his father and Prince Erik. I can’t believe Princess Fiora allowed that.”

“Fiora’s the only good thing to come from this whole ordeal,” Ridley said with a lovesick grin. “No offense to the dead but Prince Erik never did much for the people. Fiora’s really good to everybody.”

“I heard she makes deals with that dog-fucker,” Frost smirked. “Why you letting her off the hook?”

“I mean,” Ridley blushed. “She’s a young woman who inherited a big mess. The military is in shambles and she’s doing everything on her own. If you ask me, she’s done a fantastic job. That dog-fucker’s just taking advantage of an innocent princess who wants to do right by the people.”

Frost tried not to laugh about how wrong they were about her. While he respected her ability to govern her personality was less than ideal. She hated virtually anybody that wasn’t nobility and absolutely despised Blackwater.

“Don’t mind Ridley,” Simon laughed. “He has a bit of a crush on the princess.”

“Who doesn’t?” Timothy elbowed his brother. “She’s gorgeous, kind, and generous. In a few years I imagine she’ll be even better than Princess Isabelle.”

“You know…I always hear a lot about how amazing Isabelle is,” Frost said. “What makes her so special?”

“Seriously?” Simon shook his head. “In under five years she turned one of the most crime ridden cities in Zira into one of the most prosperous. And then there was the Balar incident right after she took over.”

“The Balar incident?” Frost said. “Is that the one where Baron Slade cut up the Prince of Balar and…”

“Sent him home to his father in a barrel,” Simon nodded. “Yeah. But it’s how it happened. Do you know it?”

“Never really asked,” Frost said. “Can’t imagine there’s much more to the story than he cut a guy up and put him in a barrel.”

“There’s so much more!” Simon said excitedly. “It’s a good one. So, this fucking prince wanted to make a name for himself so when he heard some girl with zero experience ruling was in charge of Laven, that Tarr worshipping fuck invaded!”

“Don’t forget the fucking nobles,” Timothy scoffed.

“Right,” Simon nodded. “Thanks for reminding me. Isabelle pissed off a bunch of nobles while trying to fix the city so they pretty much invited the Prince of Balar in by pulling finances from the city, sending guards away, basically leaving everything defenseless.”

“Bastards,” Ridley said disdainfully.

“Well,” Simon continued, “Once he was in the city, the Prince of Balar gave Isabelle the option to marry him or be executed. She chose the execution and the prince didn’t like that so he planned to make an event out of it. He made it mandatory that the entire city show up to watch. Paraded Isabelle on stage with the worst of intentions. He wasn’t just going to kill her, he was going to get what he wanted, you know?”

“Fucking horrible,” Timothy spit. “If you ask me the fucker got off easy.”

“Wasn’t anything easy about it,” Simon grinned as he continued telling Frost the story. “So, Isabelle is given one last chance to marry him and she declines, knowing full well what he intends to do to her.”

“The fucking balls on that woman,” Timothy chimed in.

“Then bam!” Simon said excitedly. “Baron Slade, appears out of nowhere. Nobody knows how he did it but the man was a fucking apparition. Kills the men holding the princess and right as the prince is yelling for his guards, he turns to see them all dead. Assassins, thieves, cutthroats standing over them covered in blood.”

“Not all of them though,” Ridley added. “Kept a good portion of them alive to watch.”

“That’s right,” Simon laughed happily. “Slade thanked the prince for setting everything up. He worked the crowd into a frenzy about being promised entertainment they’d never forget. And then he gave it to them as he spent two hours cutting the prince to pieces. Even as the crowd dispersed and looked away the man kept going and he was going slow. But the entire time, Princess Isabelle refused to look away, no matter what horrific things that sick fuck did to the prince as the man begged to die, she watched it all without a hint of fear or disgust.”

“Can’t even blame her with what that fucking prince was going to do to her,” Timothy said while spitting on the ground.

“Anyway,” Simon smiled. “Princess Isabelle earned the respect of a lot of men and women that day. And soon after she managed to turn Laven into a peaceful city.”

“That’s why it’s so great we have Princess Fiora,” Ridley said. “Just like her sister she’s a perfect innocent beauty and she has Baron Slade by her side too. If that dog-fucking bastard steps out of line I’m sure they’ll take care of him. He should already be dead for killing the prince!”

“Can’t say I agree with that,” Frost chuckled. “Prince Erik tried to kill him first. Can’t fault a man for taking care of business.”

“That was Hansel Raullon,” Simon said assuredly. “Everybody knows it was a ploy to get the stupid elf-fucker to kill his father and the prince so he could be in charge of Blackwater. That’s why he ran away from the investigation.”

“I suppose it might look that way,” Frost laughed. It was unlikely that they’d believe Hansel was being set up as a patsy so the royal family could save face.

He continued talking with the men as they traveled to Baylock, mostly about why they chose to fight monsters. The three men were more than happy to discuss their motivations to hunt monsters. They were all commoners that served in the military prior to ever fighting monsters but left for various reasons.

In reality, the reasons were all related to Prince Erik’s mismanagement. Nobles who did nothing were promoted while hardworking commoners remained at the lowest ranks. The military was constantly used to defend the assets of merchants while small villages were being raided by bandits. It was an overall mess.

So, they tried to be heroes. Unfortunately, most villages were too poor to pay well enough to offset travel costs and time. They ended up being independent contractors who alternated between doing manual labor and taking care of monster problems. At least until the Blackwater Monster Regulators were formed.

Fiora’s Blackwater Monster Regulator’s provided compensation they could live off of as well as the promise of increasing in rank, which she personally granted them. Fiora certainly knew how to manipulate men, especially ones with noble intentions.

He wanted to learn more about the group, formation, and types of jobs Fiora was giving them but they’d arrived at the village.

“What the hell?” Ridley said as they looked down from a large hill right outside of Baylock. All of the villagers and farmers were on rooftops as the ground shifted uncomfortably. “Oh fuck! Are those the salamanders?”

“There’s thousands,” Simon looked at Frost as he realized ground wasn’t shifting but the massive pile of salamanders was. “What the fuck?”

“Yeah,” Frost chuckled. “That’s a lot more than expected. This is going to be a good haul.”

“Good haul?” Timothy backed away. “I can’t even see the ground beneath those slimy fucking things. It’s like the ground is fucking made of salamanders. How the fuck do you plan on dealing with them?”

“Shouldn’t be too hard,” Frost said while pulling out a piece of parchment and a pen. He handed them to Simon. “If you want to pay me back, just write a good estimate of how many salamanders are here and sign off on the document.”

“Okay,” Simon replied while taking the items. “But what are you going to do?”

“What Fiora hired me to do,” Frost grinned as he rode down the hill toward the Vermillion Salamanders.

He activated scan as he approached and most were level ten at most. They wouldn’t offer much experience individually but the sheer quantity would make up for that.

While the salamanders were fairly easy to kill, the poison they secreted made getting close to them dangerous. While ranged attacks were an effective way of dealing with them, the high speed and agility of the monsters made hitting them difficult. The quantity also posed an issue for a common soldier.

Monster hunting required a lot of specialty knowledge that the common soldier just didn’t have the time to learn. They were busy guarding cities, hunting bandits, and fighting wars. They didn’t have time to hover over bestiaries to learn how to deal with Vermillion Salamanders. Since Frost almost instantly memorized anything he read, it was remarkably easy for him to deal with monsters.

Frost approached the edge of the homestead as the Vermillion Salamander’s continued to slide over each other and drip globs of toxic slime on the ground. At least he assumed it was reaching the ground. He couldn’t see even a spec of ground beneath the entangled green salamanders.

He stopped just far enough away not to draw their attention.

“Help!” a man yelled from a rooftop.

“Help us!” another joined in as if he didn’t hear the first guy.

“What do you think I’m doing?” Frost replied while holding out his arms. “Give me a minute!”

Frost preferred dealing with individual large monsters since weapons were more effective against them. Swarms were much more annoying to deal with because he had to take care of the entire swarm which generally covered a wide area. Although he was grateful, they weren’t flying monsters. Swarms of those were much more difficult to deal with.

He started walking around the village using earth magic to create a large empty moat about ten feet across and twenty feet deep. It was probably a bit excessive but he wanted to take care of the problem in one fell swoop. Once the village was surrounded by the trench, he created a barrier bridge for himself and walked into the village.

“What are you doing?”

“Are you crazy?”

As soon as he got within twenty feet of the salamanders they were drawn to his warmth and rushed him, although they’d never reach him. They crashed against the magic barrier he created around himself but they weren’t deterred. As he made his way to the center of the village salamanders continually threw themselves at him trying to bust through the barrier.

He wasn’t worried about the poison from the slimy monsters since his Archne consort cloak granted him poison immunity. Frost also wasn’t concerned about their teeth or nails harming him. His concern was avoiding the smell since it took forever to wash off.

Frost arrived at the center of town and looked around at the swarming pests. There were two method at his disposal to get them into the pit and he needed to decide which he wanted to use. The first method was a large-scale elemental magic like water or wind that’d push them in. The downside to that method was it’d take a huge amount of energy and there was a good chance he’d destroy the homes of the villagers in the process.

The alternative way took a little longer but ensured he wouldn’t have people harassing him about destroying their property. He sifted through his primal ruins and summoned up an icy gale, causing the salamanders enough discomfort to back away from him.

Once he had room to work, Frost created a new barrier, something that took only a little energy to maintain but was strong enough to get the job done. He walked from the center of the village to the edge, pushing the salamanders into the pit like a bulldozer shoveling dirt.

It took a little bit longer than using a high-level magic but it was much more precise. Every now and then a few of the salamanders would manage to avoid being shoved in the pit but he’d eventually get to them. It was around forty minutes before he was certain he got them all and the people started climbing down from their homes.

“Now what?”

“We can’t just leave them there.”

“Their poison will seep into the ground.”

“What’s it matter? We don’t have any crops left.”

“I don’t intend to leave them like that,” Frost said to the villagers as they stepped on the thick layer of mucus on the ground. “You’re not going to want to touch any of that. May take you a while to mop up.”

Frost walked to the edge of the moat and saw the salamanders piled on each other, some attempting to climb up the walls but finding themselves sliding right back down the smooth surfaces. It was pretty much perfect.

“Do you have a count?” Frost asked Simon as he walked down the hill toward the moat. He created a barrier bridge and gestured to walk across. “It’s fine.”

“I mean,” Simon looked down at the pit as he and the others crossed the bridge. “Maybe two thousand?”

“You all agree with that?” Frost asked before turning to the villagers. “Two thousand sound about right?”

“Probably,” one of the women said. “They were everywhere.”

“Good,” Frost said. “Then you sign off on it as well.

Frost pointed his hand at the moat and began running his mental energy through chains of primal runes floating around his mind. A massive wall of flame emerged in the pit and as Frost walked around the pit, the flame followed, turning the salamanders into charcoal while simultaneously burning away their poisonous mucus.

After a brief walk around the moat he ended where he began, except this time he had a couple thousand disgusting corpses. He pulled out some harvesting stones and the corpses gradually transformed into separated piles of salamander flesh and other monster pieces.

“Any of that have any value?” Frost asked while pointing in the pit.

“Uh,” Ridley shook his head. “No. I mean, maybe as fishing bait?”

“Fishing bait,” Simon nodded. “Not a bad idea.”

“How much you think it’s worth?” Frost looked at the small pile.

“Maybe a couple hundred rel?” Timothy shrugged as the others mumbled in agreement.

“Yeah,” Frost said. “I’m not going to pick all that up and carry it around for a couple hundred rel. Anyway, sign off on that paper Simon and have a few of the villagers sign off as well.”

“Don’t you have to present the bodies?” Simon asked. “How will they know you’re not lying?”

“Fiora trusts me enough not to lie,” Frost said. “Well, at least about finishing the job. The count is what she might not believe. I think she was expecting there to be maybe five or six hundred.”

“They bred so fast,” a farmer said while signing the document. “They were doubling almost daily.”

“Thank you so much,” a woman said. “I thought it’d be weeks before help arrived.”

“Looks like you have some fans Sir Herald,” Ridley said cheerfully. “How did you know to do that? It was so, well, you made it look easy.”

“Seems obvious a lot of times,” Frost said while putting the paper away. “You handle lots of weak things by grouping them together and using area of effect abilities. Although, now that I think about it, I wonder if there was a better way to lure them to one spot. They seemed attracted to warmth I probably could have just had them chase a fireball into the pit or something. I’ll have to test that another time.”

“So,” Ridley tilted his head. “Are you a scholar or specialist of some sort?”

“We never really did ask why you became a monster hunter?” Timothy said.

“Oh?” Frost said. “I mostly do it to get a break from my village. I can’t really step outside without somebody needing something. Sometimes a man just wants a day off, you know?”

“You mean you do this as a way to relax?” Simon asked. “Like, for fun? To get away from stress?”

“Yeah,” Frost nodded. “And rel. Apparently this world doesn’t have the concept of what’s yours is mine in marriage and the allowance Brynn gives me just isn’t nearly enough.”

“You mean you’re married to a wealthy woman?” Ridley asked in disbelief. “And receive an allowance. And…you hunt monsters to relax?”

“I mostly just ride my horse and stop in villages,” Frost chuckled. “Drink, talk to people, sleep with a cute villager, and then kill a monster. As you saw, the monster killing doesn’t take long.”

“Wait, wait, wait. You sleep with cute villagers?” Timothy seemed somewhat annoyed at that point. “Does your wife know?”

“Yeah,” Frost laughed. “She’s fine with it.”

“So, you’re telling us,” Simon looked at his brother and Ridley to see if they were as confused as he was. Their expressions confirmed they were. “You have a wealthy wife, who gives you an allowance, is okay with you sleeping with other women, and you choose to kill monsters to get away and relax? Do I have that right?”

“Mostly,” Frost said while trying not to laugh as their faces contorted. “Technically I have three wives but only one gives me the allowance. The other one makes me high end clothing and the other, well, she’s just really sweet and loving but sometimes that’s what you need, you know?”

“Three wives?” Timothy bit his lip. “And you chose to leave them to kill thousands of salamanders.”

“If it were just the wives, I probably wouldn’t look forward to hunting so much,” Frost grinned impishly. “It’s really the rest of the village. They want me to spend time with them, teach them, talk to them, and some days I just want to sit and think. But how do you tell a beautiful woman looking up at you with the most loving and hopeful expression that you’d rather practice primal magic than lay in bed with her?”

“Sir Herald,” Timothy fiddled with the grip of his sword. “I’ve never wanted to kill somebody so much…”

“You’re a cunt,” Ridley chimed in.

“He saved our lives,” one of the homesteaders said. “I’m not going to pretend to understand the man but I know I’m grateful that he does take his time to hunt monsters.”

“Thank you so much,” a bright-eyed young woman said while swaying back and forth. “You know, you don’t have to leave so soon…”

“I’m afraid I do,” Frost laughed. “I have plans to visit my favorite brothel in Blackwater before I head home. If I stayed here for the night, I’d have to skip that.”

“Your favorite brothel,” Simon’s fists clenched. “Ridley’s right, Sir Herald. You’re a cunt.”

“Not going to argue that,” Frost smiled. “But I’m a cunt that saves lives. Including yours.”

“But still a cunt,” Timothy nodded.

“But still a cunt,” Frost agreed. “Anyway, I have to get going. Witch and I have a long ride ahead of us.”

Witch trotted to the edge of the moat and Frost cast earth magic to raise the earth back up creating a stone bridge for the villagers. They could take care of the rest themselves or just leave it as a defensive structure.

He patted Witch’s neck and she was off at top speed toward Blackwater. It’d take most riders and horses at least half a day but for him, he figured he could make it in four hours or less since Witch was getting faster by the day. He couldn’t wait.

CHAPTER 3

Blackwater was a large circular city with a wide river flowing down the center of it dividing it into an east and west side.

On the river itself was Blackwater Keep where Princess Fiora Leaucault governed. She was a highly competent woman who was more than willing to use others to further her ambitions. She also happened to be his sister-in-law, sort of. King Leaucault had dozens of wives so it would be more accurate to call her his step-sister-in-law, if that was a thing.

And most importantly, she hated him.

But thanks to military mismanagement and an ongoing investigation into treason, corruption, as well as anything else the investigators could come up with, she was forced to rely on his assistance to eliminate monster threats throughout her territory.

That meant Frost was regularly visiting Blackwater.

The east side of Blackwater was home to the nobility, various religious officials, and wealthy merchants. Naturally, it was a gorgeous area of the city with well cared for streets, large brick manors, parks, and a bustling shopping district.

The west side of Blackwater wasn’t nearly as nice, although most of it was still much nicer than his village. The southwestern side was where a lot of guilds were located and the surrounding area was well cared for. Shops and restaurants lined the main road that stretched from the western wall of the city to the central keep and was always filled with commoners.

The most northwest portion of the city was a completely different story. The fact was commoners, nobles, and merchants still needed people to clean sewers and act as maids. Naturally, these servants needed a place to stay which was the demihuman district.

It wasn’t a bad area really. Frost had seen truly bad areas in his own world and compared to them the demihuman section of the city was paradise. But the homes were still overcrowded, the streets were often dirty, and the various structures were in a state of constant disrepair.

There was also the natural discomfort and distrust that resulted from living in a cramped area with limited resources. That discomfort pushed people to group together for safety which quickly evolved into gangs and finally evolved into mafia-like families.

It was also Frost’s favorite section of Blackwater thanks to one beautiful establishment, Madam Gardenia’s brothel. A large well cared for building in a peaceful slice of the demihuman district.

“Welcome Herald Frost!” Willow quickly abandoned the patron she was flirting with and ran toward Frost as soon as he walked in.

The busty blonde elf nearly popped out of her tight violet top as she wrapped her arms around him. Her soft chest pressed against him as she started to drag him toward a booth in the corner, the entire time giving the other courtesans threatening looks. “Would you like something to drink? Some food? Your usual room?”

“Drinks are fine Willow,” Frost chuckled as the elf looked around for available courtesans to join them while sliding into the booth. Dahlia and Aster were the first two to find ways to abandon their current patrons and join them.

Dahlia was a beautiful golden-haired Durra with pale skin and a gorgeous smile. Like most Durra her proportions were rather lascivious and her outfit left little to the imagination. Her white brassier was frilly and barely contained her chest while her skirt barely covered her plump ass. The wagging of her fluffy golden tail caused the white skirt to fly up revealing her lacy pink underwear every few seconds.

“Herald Frost,” Dahlia giggled as she practically shoved Aster out of the way to take the spot on his free side. The black-haired Myrran gave Dahlia an evil glare before grabbing a bottle of liquor from a passing waitress.

“Hey!”

“Get another one,” Aster said while sliding across the table and sitting directly in front of Frost. The smirking Myrran spread her legs revealing the black lace panties hidden beneath her red sarong. She placed the bottle strategically between her legs blocking his view as she looked down at Frost. She smiled and slid the shoulder strap of her black lace brassier down her shoulder. “Would you like a drink Herald Frost?”

“Thanks,” Frost laughed while reaching for the bottle.

“Ah-ah-ah,” Aster chided while pulling the cork from the bottle with her mouth and spitting it at Dahlia. She took a drink of the wine and placed the bottle behind her back before leaning over. Frost quickly took her lips and with it the drink of wine as the Myrran briefly slipped her tongue into his mouth. “Much better this way, don’t you think?”

“You know the rules Aster,” Willow said feigning civility as she pulled his hand beneath the table and guided it between her warm legs. “Whoever gets Herald Frost first gets him.”

“Is that a new rule because of last time?” Frost asked remembering his previous visit when two of the courtesans ended up being dragged out after a dispute turned violent.

Frost knew they didn’t love him as much as they loved his money. He frequently purchased entire nights and while a good portion of the time was spend having sex, a lot of it was just cuddling and sleeping. It made him a particularly sought-after patron and sometimes caused issues between the girls.

“You can also request specific people,” Willow mumbled while pouting. “If you don’t want us…”

“Did we do something wrong?” Dahlia pouted.

“We can get along,” Aster nodded. “We promise.”

“Madam Gardenia said you’re one of our very important customers,” Willow pouted. “So you can ask for whoever you want.”

“Where is she anyway?” Frost asked while glancing around the bustling brothel.

“Herald Frost,” Madam Gardenia smiled as she looked down on him from the second-floor railing. “I hope you’re not trying to convince more of my girls to come to your village.”

“Trying?” Frost smirked at the elegant redhaired fox-woman. “If I were trying, you’d be out of business.”

Madam Gardenia’s twin fox tails swayed back and forth as she walked down the stairs. She was wearing a red long elegant dress that accentuated her natural curves and black high heels. The sweetheart top showed off ample cleavage and the slit in her skirt nearly reached her waist.

She quickly walked down the stairs and headed straight toward his table. The three courtesans instantly became nervous as the fox-eared madam hovered over them.

“Just the person I wanted to see,” Frost said while staring at her red fluffy fox tails. “I’ve missed you.”

“You mean you missed my girls,” Madam Gardenia laughed. “Speaking of which, are these three getting along?”

“We are,” all three said simultaneously.

“Herald Frost?” Madam Gardenia asked. “As you know, you can request any woman in this establishment. So, if you wish to change out or…”

“Any woman?” Frost smirked. “What about you?”

All three of the courtesans turned to look at Madam Gardenia as the fox-eared woman stifled a laugh.

“Herald Frost,” Madam Gardenia smiled and shook her head. “If you wish to lay with a Kina woman there’s always little Lilium. I admit, she’s not very experienced but she’s very beautiful.”

“I want you,” Frost said while thinking of the youthful golden fox-girl that Madam Gardenia always offered whenever he approached her. “At this point I feel that you’re rejecting me to drive up your price.”

“Herald Frost,” Madam Gardenia smirked impishly. “It has nothing to do with price. I am priceless.”

“I know,” Frost laughed. “The last time I was here I offered you one thousand rel and you turned me down.”

“One thousand rel?” Willow said in disbelief as the courtesans stared at Madam Gardenia.

“You turned down a thousand rel,” Aster said. “That’s what I make in a year!”

“Did you have to say that out loud?” Madam Gardenia laughed while shaking her head at Frost. She smirked at the dark-haired Myrran sitting on the table. “What? Do you not think I’m worth that much?”

“An evening with Rose goes for under fifty rel,” Dahlia said while gesturing upstairs. “And she’s your best courtesan!”

“Look what you started,” Madam Gardenia smirked at Frost. She tried to feign indignance but they both knew that once word got out that he was willing to pay a thousand rel for Madam Gardenia she’d only earn more of their respect. “I’m going to hear about this all week.”

“I doubt it,” Frost smirked.

“What’s that supposed to mean?” Madam Gardenia glared at him suspiciously. “Do you intend to offer more?”

“No,” Frost grinned while gesturing for Willow to let him out. The elf reluctantly moved allowing him to exit the booth and stand beside Madam Gardenia. He removed his cloak and folded it over his arm revealing a fine suit that Lishri had crafted for him. It was a perfectly tailored black three button suit with silver embroidery along the borders. “I’d like to take you to dinner at the Golden Stag.”

Not a single one of the courtesans made a sound as they looked on in disbelief.

“They don’t allow demihumans in there,” Madam Gardenia said while tapping the table. Her eyes darted around the room as several courtesans watched them. They obviously overheard Frost’s request and were waiting for an answer. “They certainly wouldn’t allow you…”

“The owner of the Golden Stag doesn’t have your level of conviction when it comes to rel,” Frost smiled. “What do you say?”

“What would your wives say if they found out?” Madam Gardenia smirked.

“Brynn’s going to be furious,” Frost laughed. “But Desdemona and Lishri will be understanding.”

“Lishri?” Aster asked while glancing around the room. “You mean the Arachne that used to own that clothing shop?”

“That would be her,” Madam Gardenia chuckled at the confused Myrran. “But what makes you think I want to go out for an evening with you Herald Frost?”

“What?” Dahlia hopped up from her seat. “You have to go!”

“Yeah!” Willow said while pointing at Frost. “He’s asking you out on a date!”

“Nothing makes me think that,” Frost answered. He’d been chasing Madam Gardenia for a month and he decided the only play he had left was a legitimate date. She was always very clear that she wasn’t for sale but she never said that she didn’t date. “That’s why I’m asking.”

“Hmm,” Madam Gardenia looked him up and down. “What if I say no? Are you going to stop coming here? Are my girls going to be punished?”

“Really?” Frost laughed and rolled his eyes. “Yeah, I’ll just head on over to one of the other demihuman brothels in Blackwater.”

“I thought we were the only brothel with demihumans,” Dahlia said while looking around. “Did a new one open up?”

“No,” Aster said while sliding the bottle to the golden-haired Durra.

“You could always go to one of the nicer brothels on…”

“There are no nicer brothels,” Frost smirked while shaking his head. “Your girls are the prettiest in the city.”

“Aww,” Willow said while wrapping her arms around him. “You’re always so nice to us.”

“You have to go out with him madam,” Aster pleaded.

“And it might be your only chance to eat at the Golden Stag!” Dahlia said.

“You should go,” an elf chimed in from nearby.

“Go have fun madam,” a Florenne girl said as she walked past with drinks.

“I’ve already paid the owner,” Frost smiled. “I’d hate for that money to go to waste.”

“Fine,” Madam Gardenia answered. She looked down at her dress with a frustrated expression and sighed. “I do need to change though. This isn’t exactly appropriate for a place like that.”

“I’ll wait,” Frost smiled.

“Yeah,” Aster pawed at his arm while gently pulling him back toward the booth. “We’ll wait right here.”

“We’ll only touch him a little,” Willow teased while pushing Frost into the booth.

“Don’t take too long though,” Dahlia scooted up next to him. “Or we may have to take him upstairs.”

As soon as Madam Gardenia vanished up the stairs the courtesans were swamping the table speaking over each other. Most of them ended up arguing about what her favorite colors, foods, and drinks were while others recommended gifts like jewelry or clothing.

“Hey!” Rose, Madam Gardenia’s head courtesan, yelled from the bannister. “Get back to work!”

“Boo!” several of the disgruntled workers shouted back before making their ways back to their patrons or the stage. Some of the women muttered various profanities under their breath while others stuck to threats.

Frost waited with Dahlia, Aster, and Willow at the table as the women began rattling off more likes and dislikes although the women couldn’t agree on those. Frost’s guess was that the fox-woman tailored her personality to suit the person she was dealing with.

When Madam Gardenia came back downstairs the courtesans immediately began playfully whistling and catcalling her. The redheaded fox rolled her eyes as she made her way to the table. She was dressed in a jade promenade maxi dress with gold floral embroidery. The skirt was long and flowy with two layers, the inner layer was a solid green skirt with a long slit up the leg while the outer layer was a transparent lingerie type fabric decorated with golden flowers. The top was low cut but elegant and it was clear she wasn’t wearing a brassiere, not that she needed one. He couldn’t help but notice how perky the fox-eared woman’s breasts were.

“You look beautiful,” Frost smiled politely while staring at her two enormous fluffy tails. He wanted to ask her how she managed to get them through a hole in the skirt but figured it’d be impolite. “I guess I should say more beautiful than usual.”

“Aww,” Aster said in a sincere tone. Despite the obvious sincerity Frost couldn’t help but feel a little bit embarrassed.

“Thank you,” Madam Gardenia said as Willow moved to let Frost out of the booth again. “And since you’re obviously wondering, there are extra buttons.”

“What?”

“Extra buttons,” Madam Gardenia turned around and pulled her tails to the side and he realized what she was talking about. The rear of the skirt was almost like the front of men’s trousers except without the zipper allowing her tail to easily slip through. “I figured it’s better to tell you now so you don’t spend all evening thinking about it.”

“You’re probably right,” Frost said with a defeated sigh. He picked up his red cloak and draped it over himself before offering to help Madam Gardenia with her gold cloak. “Is there anything you need to do before we leave?”

“No,” Madam Gardenia stared at Rose leaning over the bannister. “I imagine Rose will be able to handle any issues here.”

“Good,” Frost smiled. “Shall we?”

“We shall,” Madam Gardenia smiled while hooking her arm in his. “While we walk there, we can pick up our conversation from your last visit.”

“You mean the brothels you want to place in my territory?” Frost chuckled.

“Venues,” Madam Gardenia corrected. “Whether they become brothels is yet to be decided.”

“Sure,” Frost chuckled. “We can talk about it.”

CHAPTER 4

Frost regretted not renting a carriage as they arrived at the Golden Stag on horseback. He was so used to traveling everywhere on horseback it never even occurred to him that it was considered low class. Only when the various nobles pointed at him and chuckled did he realize that it was an issue.

Even the nobles that were walking there on foot gave them judgmental looks. In hindsight, simply having to ride there was a sign that they didn’t belong. Most of the nobles lived a few blocks from the venue so needing to travel in meant you lived in a poorer district.

“Sorry,” Frost sighed while trying to force a smile. He held out his hand to help Madam Gardenia off Witch. The elegant fox rode side-saddle in front of him without a single complaint the entire way. “I should have rented a carriage.”

“Do you really think it would have made a difference?” Madam Gardenia stifled a laugh. “I appreciate the sentiment Herald Frost but there’s nothing you could have done to spare us from judgment.”

“Fair enough,” Frost smirked as a valet approached him intending to take Witch to the stables. Before Frost could object the young man touched her reigns and the furious mare rose to her hind legs intending to crush the poor kid’s skull. “Witch, no.”

The angry mare snorted while returning to the ground without smashing the kid’s head. The valet trembled as he released the reigns and looked at Frost for guidance.

“Sir,” the valet muttered out. “I’m afraid we may not be able to…”

“Witch,” Frost gently stroked her neck. “Follow the kid and be good. If anybody tries to steal or hurt you, you have permission to kill them.”

“Kill?” the valet whimpered as Witch trotted sideways to circle behind him like a predator preparing to pounce.

“There,” Frost smiled at the young man while handing him twenty rel. “She’ll follow you to wherever. Don’t try to hitch her to anything, she doesn’t like that. And if you’re putting her in a stable be sure to leave a gate open or she’ll smash it and bust the heads of anybody trying to get her back in. She’s a bit spoiled.”

“Yes sir,” the valet nodded while activating scan. His eyes went wide as he stared at the mare and then back at him. “Sir, um, your horse is level twenty-nine.”

“And?” Frost asked as Madam Gardenia stifled an amused laugh. He glanced at the fox-eared woman as she wiped away a tear. “Is that strange? She gains experience whenever I practice mounted combat.”

“War horses aren’t generally used for casual transport sir,” the valet mumbled as Witch nudged him forward impatiently. “We don’t have anybody who could rightfully contain her if she were provoked by any of the other animals we’re storing. Other guests might not like…”

“How much do you make in a night?” Frost asked the young man.

“Sir?” the valet was clearly lower class than the nobility since no noble would works as a valet. Frost couldn’t imagine the man made much more than a hundred rel an evening. “About twenty rel for payment and maybe another twenty in tips sir.”

“Only twenty in tips?” Now Frost was the one glaring at the penny-pinching nobles. A meal at the restaurant was over a hundred rel. The least they could do was tip the valet five. Frost pulled out another fifty rel on top of the hundred he already gave the valet. “Just set her up somewhere nice. She’ll follow you pretty much anywhere. Make sure she has plenty to eat and drink. She likes fruit and loves oats but don’t let her eat too many because she’ll upset her tummy.”

“She’ll upset her tummy?” Madam Gardenia could no longer contain her laughter as she burst into tears.

“She will,” Frost said while nuzzling his violent bitch of a horse. “Won’t you? Who loves her oats? That’s right, you do.”

“Yes sir,” the valet nodded. “But, are you suggesting that I find her a personal stable?”

“Not at all,” Frost chuckled. “You can find a nice yard for her to graze in, a cozy spot by the river, or even a warehouse. Or you can put her back in the stables with the other horses. Just make sure that you don’t lose her and she is all taken care of.”

“Where can I…nevermind,” the man shook his head. “I’ll figure something out. Thank you, sir.”

“That’s the spirit,” Frost said patting the man’s back as he walked toward the main doors of the restaurant with Madam Gardenia. He shuddered as one of her fluffy fox tails brushed against the back of his neck.

“Sorry,” Madam Gardenia smirked knowingly. “They have a natural sway to them.”

“Don’t apologize,” Frost grinned. “They can brush up against me all night.”

The nobles stopped and pointed as he approached the door, fully expecting him to get rejected. Their amusement turned to ire as the doorman immediately moved aside to let them in. Clearly the owner did his job in making sure his entire staff understood the situation.

Frost didn’t want to risk threatening violence while in the presence of Madam Gardenia so he was sure to make all of his threats ahead of time. He was not only supplying the owner with a tidy sum of rel for the evening but also, he’d sold him a massive amount of rare meats and monster parts at a discount.

Thanks to his generosity the chef was able to create dishes that no other restaurant in the city was able to produce giving him a significant competitive edge. Although his reputation would take a mild hit for hosting Herald Frost and a demihuman.

“Herald Frost,” the owner, a young merchant in his twenties named Gregory, approached him personally as they entered. “Welcome. It’s a pleasure to have you and your guest this evening. Your table is ready whenever you are or if you’d like I can show you around.”

“The table is fine,” Madam Gardenia smiled while leaning against Frost, her tail once again brushing against the back of his neck. Several patrons behind them muttered rude things under their breath about hair getting in their food but Frost chose to ignore it. “I assume it’s in a corner somewhere?”

“Of course not,” Gregory said while guiding them a flight of stairs. “I’ve reserved our best table for Herald Frost.”

“How much exactly did he pay you?” Madam Gardenia asked with an impish grin. “Businessman to businesswomen? Five hundred?” Gregory’s smile indicated that she was massively underestimating how much he’d spent. “Over a thousand? Over two? You’re joking. Herald Frost you did not spend…”

“You’re worrying too much,” Frost said as Gregory’s face turned red with embarrassment. The fact that Madam Gardenia could so easily read him was probably a cause of shame for a merchant. The total value of both the rel and the materials was closer to three thousand but in actual rel he only spent a thousand. “

Gregory led them up the stairs to their table on the second floor. The moment they reached the top of the stairs, all eyes were on them and they were clearly displeased. Frost didn’t do much business with the nobility so he didn’t know their names but he still recognized the crests of several in attendance. Based on his limited knowledge, most of the second floor was populated by the more established houses.

They walked through the dining room to a table by the rear window as several women voiced their displeasure at their dates. The window was clearly the most sought-after seat and he heard several women make rude comments about being outdone by a demi.

Frost pulled out Madam Gardenia’s seat and she elegantly pulled her tails to the side before taking a seat. After pushing her chair in he took his own seat and Gregory placed a set of menus in front of them and began telling them about the various dishes he’d recommend.

“Do you have a preference?” Frost asked Madam Gardenia as she glanced down at the menu.

“Don’t you intend to order for me?” Madam Gardenia asked with a polite smile.

“Herald Frost,” Gregory leaned down. “It’s customary for the gentleman to order for the lady.”

“Oh,” Frost smiled while trying to remember the various things the courtesans rattled off at him. The only things that he really remembered was she liked meat, sweet wines, and cakes. “Gregory, what are your favorite meat dishes?”

“Meat specifically?” Gregory paused for a moment and then began listing off options. Frost watched Madam Gardenia as the owner ran through several options and while her face gave away nothing, her red fluffy tails didn’t lie. “Can you design a seven-course meal with dishes that compliment the Roast Blood Oxen?”

“I can’t,” Gregory smiled. “But I believe the request will excite my head chef and I assure you he won’t disappoint. As for wine, would you like me to decide there as well?”

“As long as it’s sweet,” Frost said. “If that works for you?”

“The girls have been talking to you, haven’t they?” Madam Gardenia smiled. “Something sweet would do nicely.”

“Wonderful,” Gregory nodded. “I’ll speak to few waiters to ensure you’re taken care of but I’ll also be sure to check in later. Also, as a word of warning, it may take a bit for the first course since my chef will be designing it from scratch.”

“That’s fine,” Frost nodded. “Thanks Gregory.”

“It’s my pleasure Herald Frost,” the owner nodded as we walked off without a hint of judgment. The same couldn’t be said for the patrons of the restaurant.

“You know if your wives find out about this, they’ll be furious,” Madam Gardenia smirked playfully as her tails bounced playfully at her side. “What are you going to offer to make sure I don’t tell them?”

“You’re always thinking about business, aren’t you?” Frost smiled.

“What can I say? It’s my passion,” she smiled as a waiter rushed over with a bottle of wine. He poured the glasses while avoiding eye contact with either of them. Frost imagined that Gregory made several threats of his own should the waiters offend him in some way. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome madam…I mean…” the waiter froze, clearly unsure of how to correct calling an actual madam by her title. “Miss?”

“Madam is fine,” she answered with an impish grin as the waiter scurried off. She turned to Frost. “Does the fact I’m a madam bother you?”

“No,” Frost smiled. “But now that you’ve brought it up, I am curious about your first name.”

“You mean my real one?” Madam Gardenia smiled. “Have you asked Jasmine, Iris, and Zinnia for theirs?”

“No,” Frost answered while sipping his wine. It wasn’t as sweet as the wine the elves made and tasted slightly stronger. It was somewhere between their sweet berry wine and their mid-grade wine. He imagined that Gregory chose it based on how it’d pair with the main course. “I’ll call them whatever they want to be called, the same with you. But Madam Gardenia feels so formal.”

“Hm,” Madam Gardenia smirked and tapped her cheek while sipping the wine. “Nobody’s ever really asked but Haru.”

“Haru,” Frost smiled. “That works, Haru.”

Frost repeated the name several times in his head. He’d called her Madam Gardenia so many times it only felt natural to keep calling her it. Not only that, when she was running her business or caring for her women, she was most definitely Madam Gardenia, a proper lady that was to be feared and respected.

But the woman sitting across from him was also Haru. A happy redheaded fox-woman with two luxurious red fluffy tails wearing a beautiful dress. He smiled as he caught himself admiring her beautiful plunging neckline.

“Aren’t you going to ask if it’s my real name?” she asked while taking another drink. She leaned forward slightly as if to encourage his wandering eyes.

“No,” Frost answered while reluctantly meeting the fox-eared woman’s gaze. Whether or not it was her real name was irrelevant to him. Haru might not have suited the madam in her normal environment, but at the moment, the playful nature of it suited her perfectly. “But it’s cuter than I expected.”

“Cuter?” Madam Gardenia blushed as she quickly averted her gaze leaving Frost wondering if it was in fact her real name. “I suppose that’s a compliment, Sebastian.”

“Ack,” Frost laughed and shook his head. “I forgot you knew that from the wedding. I hate that name.”

“Why?” Madam Gardenia asked playfully. “It’s charming.”

“In my world it comes off as pretentious,” Frost answered. “Or they think I was named after a singing crab.”

“A singing crab?” Madam Gardenia giggled as her tails swayed friskily. “That just makes the name more charming, Sebastian.”

“Quit it,” Frost chuckled as the waiter came over with the appetizer. It was a thinly sliced meat with what appeared to be a specialty bread and some dipping sauce. He glanced at his fox-eared date as she hungrily eyed the meat. “Right. After you.”

Madam Gardenia wasted no time in selecting the piece of meat she wanted and devouring it, completely ignoring the bread on the plate. Frost similarly took a piece and found it similar to a spicy beef carpaccio and placed it onto the bread before dipping it in the sauce.

As more food came, the beautiful fox-tailed woman made similar attempts to avoid anything bread related and a good many of the vegetables. He was a little surprised that she was such a picky eater. He was also surprised by how carefully she was pacing herself.

They continued talking about a good number of topics, mostly focusing around things they enjoy or the various people they know. She particularly enjoyed any stories relating to Jasmine, Zinnia, and Iris so he told her as many as he could.

“Zinnia did not!” Madam Gardenia said in disbelief. “Two Ursa? She’s normally such a crybaby!”

“You should come by and visit more,” Frost smirked at the ruby-haired fox while sliding his dessert over to her. As soon as desert was delivered her face lit up and he realized why she had been avoiding all of the breads and vegetables throughout dinner. The shrewd woman was saving room. “Zinnia’s a lot more confident now than she used to be. I’m sure she’d love to show you how strong she’s become.”

“I would love to,” she said while gleefully digging into his cake. “But I’m so busy all the time.”

“I’m sure Rose can handle the brothel for a few days,” Frost chuckled as he watched her devour his dessert. “I’m sure all of them would surprise you.”

“Maybe if I had a good reason to, I’d come out more often,” Madam Gardenia smiled impishly. “Like if you sold me that land I asked for so I could set up establishments in your territory. I’d have to come out regularly.”

“This again?” Frost smirked. “First off, a brothel would not do well in Pluma…”

“Please,” the beautiful fox laughed. “If I opened a brothel in Pluma I’d have to worry about your elves burning it down. Those poor women have enough competition without me sending more. But restaurants, taverns, musical and entertainment venues, and things of that nature.”

“I told you I’d think about it,” Frost said while glancing at a nearby table with four patrons. They’d been saying things for most of the night and Frost was doing his best to ignore it. He also noticed Gregory attempting to get the foursome to quiet down but it didn’t seem to be doing much good. “It’s not that I don’t want you opening businesses in my territory. I just want to have a better process for the sale of land. Technically I wouldn’t really be selling it either since…”

“I know all that,” Madam Gardenia waived her hand as if she were sweeping his objection away. “No lord actually sells their land. They sell the right to operate on the land. It’s semantics.”

“Why are you so interested anyway?” Frost asked. “The people in my territory don’t have much rel.”

“Yet,” she grinned. “Also, your territory has services and more importantly you have free trade agreements with both Rilia and Zira so…”

“So whatever shops you set up in my territory can avoid tariffs on both ends,” Frost chuckled. “That sounds like you.”

“But more importantly several of the women who visit your village always come back talking about new and interesting things,” Madam Gardenia said. “A few of them have been asking me to broach the subject of sending their children to school in your territory.”

“You’re joking,” Frost laughed while picturing Shael’s face if the poor woman had any more children to look after. Between the Arachne and elves, she was already in over her head, even with help. “What’s wrong with the schools in Blackwater?”

“They’re sorely lacking for demihumans,” Madam Gardenia said politely. “I understand that they’re courtesans but they also strive to be very good mothers. I told them that I’d ask. You don’t need to answer now but…”

“It’s fine,” Frost sighed. “But the problem is logistics. You can’t really walk them to our village and it’s not a boarding school.”

“If you sold me property maybe it could have one,” Madam Gardenia smiled.

“I’ll think about it,” Frost chuckled as he finished the last of his wine. He looked at the empty dessert plate in front of her. “Want me to ask for more?”

“That would be rather …”

They turned to see a loud commotion at the nearby table as the foursome yelled at the waiter. The head of the foursome was gesturing furiously at Frost and Madam Gardenia while simultaneously pointing at his food.

“It’s a filthy hair from that filthy demi you let in here,” the man yelled so the entire room could hear. “I thought this was a fine establishment! Not a barn!”

The waiter tried to get the man to quiet down to no avail.

“Excuse me,” Madam Gardenia stood up from her seat and faced the man. “Have I done something to offend you?”

“One of your filthy hairs is in my food,” the man said while gesturing at his dish. Frost looked at the table and noticed the redheaded woman with them was avoiding eye contact. To anybody with half a brain it was obvious he’d placed one of her hairs in his food. “It’s disgusting!”

“You know what…” Frost stood up with the intention of walking over and beating the hell out of the man but Madam Gardenia quickly stepped in front of him.

“No need,” she said, stopping him as she glared at the men. She pulled one of the long reddish hairs from her tail and held it out for everybody to see. It was a vibrant reddish orange, much brighter than any normal redhead would have and extremely noticeable. “Please feel free to compare this hair to the one in your food if you like.”

“Are you calling me a liar, you demi whore?” the man snarled toward her.

“I would never deign to accuse a member of House Blake of such dishonesty,” Madam Gardenia feigned shock. “Even if your house has recently fallen on hard times after Prince Erik’s demise, your honor is still intact. It must be very frustrating for you to splurge on such a fine restaurant only to find your food tainted given your dire finances.”

Several noble families in the room began muttering and laughing amongst themselves as the loud man’s face turned red.

“Obviously, I will happily pay for your meal if the hair matches mine,” Madam Gardenia continued. “And I’d be happy to pay for the meal of your lovely date as well. And might I say, what a wonderful match my lord. The women of House Corrin are some of the finest in the city with their luxurious crimson hair.”

“What are you implying whore?” the other noble at the table grabbed the angry man’s arm hoping to quiet him. “Get your fucking hand off me!”

“I am implying nothing my lord!” Madam Gardenia said faking meekness. “I am only complimenting the lovely pairing! Not only would it solve House Blake’s financial hardships but…”

“I’ll fucking kill you!” the man pulled out a dagger and dashed toward Madam Gardenia.

“Not smart,” Frost said as he dashed forward and planted his fist in the young man’s stomach. None of the patrons moved as the noble fell to the floor and started coughing up blood. He tried to look up at Frost but his eyes soon glazed over and then he lost consciousness.

Several of the nobles gasped and a few even stood up and reached for their weapons. With one look from Frost they all sat down. He scanned the room and not a single one of them would be able to so much as scratch him unless he let them. The average noble was weaker than the average soldier, and the average soldier wasn’t much.

The nobles were lucky he didn’t try to kill them as they muttered various profanities and threats under their breath. The only reason he spared the one that rushed Madam Gardenia was that he didn’t want to spoil the night.

“Sorry about that,” Frost said as he turned to Madam Gardenia. Her soft lips pressed against his as the fox-tailed woman wrapped her arms around his neck. The onlookers muttered various profanities and insults as the two embraced. “Or not.”

“Herald Frost,” Gregory approached him cautiously. “I’m afraid I must…”

“We’re leaving,” Frost said with a smug grin as he stared at the sexy redhead in front of him.

“Yes, let’s get out of here,” she said while sliding her hand down his chest. “Now.”

CHAPTER 5

The brothel was nearly at capacity when they returned around midnight.

Frost and Madam Gardenia grabbed a bottle of wine from the bar as they headed toward the stairway. Several of the courtesan’s shouted filthy suggestions at them as they passed but the specifics were lost in the noise. Frost followed behind her as she seemed to purposefully brush her soft tails against his face.

“Now don’t judge,” Madam Gardenia said as she opened the door to her room. Frost followed the fox-eared woman in the room and quickly closed the door behind him. It was a surprisingly plain room that looked more like an office than an actual bedroom. A larger corner desk took up a good portion of the room along with several file cabinets and a large safe. The only normal furniture in the room was a single dresser and queen-sized bed covered in colorful blankets and pillows. “I don’t normally have to worry about entertaining anybody.”

“That’s alright,” Frost said while picking a sheet of paper off the corner of the desk. He immediately recognized it as a purchase order for clothing and it looked like she’d been calculating other expenditures in the margins.

“No,” she said while swiping the piece of paper from him. She quickly turned around swatting him in the face with her tails. “Looking through a lady’s finances is as bad as looking through her underwear drawer.”

“I’d be more interested in the underwear if I’m being honest,” Frost joked as he followed behind her. His gaze followed her long fluffy tails toward her gorgeous round ass as he started wondering what kind of underwear she was wearing. “Speaking of which.”

“We’ll get to that,” she said while opening the large walk in closet full of gowns and jewelry boxes. She stepped inside and slid the dress down her shoulders as if she were alone. She let her loose-fitting top drop to her waist exposing her beautiful rosy nipples and perky breasts. She turned her back toward him and gestured at her skirt. “Care to help?”

“I imagine you could do that yourself if you wanted,” Frost said as he stepped forward and undid the buttons above her tail. The skirt immediately dropped to the floor along with the rest of the dress exposing her red lacy thong and sexy round ass.

“I wanted you to,” she said while slowly twisting her body to brush her tails against his face. “Do you like that?” she asked while making another pass in the opposite direction. “You look like you enjoy it.”

“You know I do,” Frost smiled while reaching out to stroke her tail. He’d been wanting to do it all night, the fluffy red tease knew exactly what he was thinking about. “You are just so beautiful.”

“Kina women are judged by our tails,” Madam Gardenia said while swatting him again and again. “The softer and lusher our fur is, the more desirable we are. What do you think?”

“I think you have the softest and lushest fur I’ve ever felt,” Frost said as he ran his hands up and down her tails. He smiled as he stared at her beautiful ass, slender waist, and long legs while stroking her soft fur.

“Hmm,” Madam Gardenia giggled as she backed into him and grabbed one of his hands. She pulled it around her waist and pushed it downward, slipping it into her panties where he felt an even softer pelt. “How about this fur? Is it soft?”

“It’s so soft,” Frost panted as he ran his fingers through her thick silky bush. He leaned in and smelled her long red hair while making his way toward her slender neck. He gave it several tiny pecks while moving to her shoulder. “The softest.”

“You don’t mind it?” Madam Gardenia asked while gently pulling his hand out. She looked over her shoulder at him with an impish grin. “All the girls talk about how much you enjoy hairless women.”

“A man can enjoy more than one thing,” Frost said as she swayed back and forth hypnotically.

“I hope so,” she smirked as her tails coiled around her, covering both her naked chest and thong as she exited the closet, making her way toward the bed. She looked back at him as he found himself just admiring her. “Are you coming?”

“Right,” he laughed as he started to get undressed. Madam Gardenia stared at him amusedly as he removed his clothing and tossed it onto her dresser until he was down to his underwear. Her greedy eyes scanned him up and down, admiring his well-defined musculature. “God you’re beautiful.”

“Come here,” Madam Gardenia said as she beckoned him to join her with her finger. The beautiful fox-eared woman was kneeling with her legs spread on the bed while her two tails conveniently covered her body. Her long beautiful crimson hair fell naturally on her shoulders while her adorable fox ears appeared to be on high alert. He just wanted to immerse himself in her soft gorgeous fur while ravaging her. “I want you to show me that you mean it.”

“That I mean what?” Frost said as he climbed onto the mattress. Her tails moved back to their normal position, revealing her perfect breasts and red thong. Her red furry mound was noticeable outside of the thong but it looked different than other bushes he’d seen. Lusher, fuller, and much more inviting.

“I mean we’re raised to love our fur,” Madam Gardenia said while playing with the strap of her thong, drawing his eyes to her lush mound. “We brush our tails for hours, wash them in special soaps and oils, and do everything possible to make sure we have the absolute prettiest fur. If you want to excite me, I need to know that you love my fur as much as I do.”

“Oh,” Frost smirked as he finally realized what she was getting at. “I suppose I will have to show you how much I love it.”

Frost playfully grabbed her by the shoulders and pushed her down by the pillows. She giggled as he ran his hands up her long soft legs all the way to her thong. He hooked his fingers in the straps and effortlessly pulled them off her, revealing her large tuft of crimson fur along with her beautiful pink pussy.

The hair surrounding her pussy was already shimmering in her juices making it all the more appealing. He could see how she got the impression he didn’t favor pubic hair given the fact most of her workers were hairless but in truth he had no preference. He loved the way his tongue slid across clean shaven pussies but he also enjoyed the sensation of immersing his face in a soft bush as he buried his tongue inside of them equally.

He leaned down and started kissing up her leg while gently pushing her legs apart. Frost squeezed and licking her beautiful athletic thighs while gradually getting closer to her glistening pussy. He felt her silky hair against his cheek as he traced the sexy line where her hips connected to her thighs.

“Am I soft,” Madam Gardenia panted as she looked down at him. “Tell me how soft I am.”

“You’re the softest,” Frost said as he rubbed his cheek against her lustrous bush. “I could stroke your soft fur for hours.”

“Really?” she moaned as her hips moved upward and Frost felt the heat coming from her pussy. “I’m really soft?”

“You’re unbelievably soft,” Frost said while rubbing his face against her crimson fur again while moving downward. As he inched downward, he got his first taste of her sweet flavor as it dripped from her silky glistening hair. His cock throbbed as he lapped up her juices while taking aim at her gorgeous pink lips. “You’re so sexy.”

“Mmm,” Madam Gardenia moaned as Frost’s tongue tapped her exposed clit. Frost traced her beautiful cunt with his tongue, sliding it along the edges and gathering up her juices. As he circled her delicious pussy, Frost slid his hands up her soft succulent thighs toward her mound and began stroking her bush. He could feel her trembling on his tongue with every gentle stroke of her sexy fur. “Frost…”

“Haru,” Frost teased while stopping on her clit to suck on it causing her to shiver. He gave her a gentle peck before shifting his attention to the enticing chasm where more of her delicious nectar awaited. He thrust his tongue inside of her hole, sliding it around as he savored her. His face pressed against her bush as he thrust his tongue inside her.

“Goddess,” she moaned while hooking one of her legs around Frost’s head as if to lock him in place. Her soft fluffy tails followed as they practically wrapped themselves around his head. As his tongue stroked her slipper insides her silky tails stroked his face and back. They moved up and down his body, basking him in their gentle warmth like a fur blanket. “More…”

The fox-eared madam didn’t need to ask since he had every intention of giving her more. He was in heaven as he found himself confined to her delightful pink cunt, completely wrapped in her warmth as his tongue basked in her delicious flavor.

“Almost,” Madam Garden moaned as her breathing became labored, she was panting like a dog as her entire body started to quake. He increased the intensity of his strokes, both the ones administered by his tongue and those of his hands against her furry mound. “I’m…I’m…”

Madam Gardenia gripped his head with her hands, pulling it into her as she started rotating her hips as if marking his face. He continued thrusting his tongue inside of her as her juices became more abundant. Frost was determined to experience every last drop of her amazing flavor as she came. Only after his face was completely covered in her did she finally release her leglock on his head.

“That was amazing,” she whimpered as Frost showered her beautiful pink lips with gentle kisses. His cock was throbbing so hard it hurt as he pulled away from the fox-eared woman’s perfect pink cunt. Madam Gardenia slid her hands downward and began stroking her lush mound while she stared at Frost’s underwear. “Now it’s your turn.”

“It is,” Frost smirked as Madam Gardenia playfully rolled onto her stomach and wiggled her ass, once again swatting his face playfully with her soft tails. She pushed herself up to her hands and knees and crawled around like an animal circling and then with one one quick motion she exposed Frost’s massive hard cock.

“It’s so big,” Madam Gardenia smiled as she brushed her face against it, like an animal showing affection to their owner. She didn’t even bother touching it with her hands as she continued to rub her soft head against his thick shaft. “No wonder the girls are always screaming.”

“You look so sexy doing that,” Frost said as he watched her brush up against him. She occasionally looked up at him as she rubbed against him. After what felt like an eternity of teasing, she shifted to soft kisses and licks, sliding her tongue along his thick shaft. He reached down and stroked her silky fox ears as she worshiped his hard cock. “So fucking sexy.”

“I am?” Madam Gardenia asked while giving his cock one long lick from the base to the tip. She popped the head of his cock into her mouth and circled it with her tongue before popping it out again. “Am I as sexy as those young women you’re always taking to bed?”

“So much sexier,” Frost smirked as he stroked her hair and ears. “And so much softer.”

“You know just the right thing to say, don’t you?” Madam Gardenia smiled as her tails flailed back and forth excitedly. “I guess I should reward you, even if it is a lie.”

“It’s not a lie,” Frost said while running his fingers through her long crimson hair. “You are the absolute softest woman I’ve ever felt.”

Madam Gardenia’s face turned so red she nearly matched her hair as she attacked his cock with increased eagerness. She opened her mouth wide and stuck her tongue out before taking the tip, resulting in her wet tongue sliding along the base of the shaft as she took him down.

“Ack,” Madam Gardenia gagged as she reached about a quarter of the way down and pulled away. She stroked his cock several times while preparing for another dive. “Sorry. You’re just really big.”

“Don’t be,” Frost chuckled. “You feel absolutely amazing.”

She dove down again and her eyes began to water as she reached the halfway point. Her saliva drenched tongue massaged his cock as the tip attempted to make its way down her tight throat. Frost expected her to pull away as he felt her throat tightening but instead, she decided to go for the gold.

“Fuck,” Frost groaned as Madam Gardenia quickly took him to the base. She looked up at him with her gorgeous tear-filled eyes while sliding her tongue along his balls. After a few seconds she slowly withdrew, once again back to the tip. “Holy fuck that felt amazing.”

“Good,” she said while gasping for air and massaging her throat with her hands. “I think I’m ready now.”

“Ready now?” Frost glanced at her ass. “I mean…”

“Not for that yet,” the fox-eared madam laughed while grabbing Frost’s hands and placing them on her red ears. “Just don’t squeeze them too hard when you pull.”

“When I?” Frost’s cock twitched excitedly as he realized what she was really ready for. “Okay. Are you sure?”

“Of course I am,” Madam Gardenia’s eyes narrowed as she glared at him. “Don’t underestimate me.”

“I’m not,” Frost chuckled. “But don’t forget you asked for this.”

Madam Gardenia placed her mouth over his cock and gave him a look as if she was ready whenever he was. He decided to go slow initially, gliding his thick cock into her tight throat while paying attention to make sure she was okay. Once he was all the way inside, he started to slowly pull it out, savoring the sensation of her wet tongue and tight throat.

“Holy fuck,” Frost groaned as he gently tugged on Madam Gardenia’s red ears, sliding his cock back down her throat. Over and over again he violated her throat as her salivating increased making things slicker. Gradually, he became more forceful, pulling on her ears and holding her head down for several seconds before allowing her to pull away. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

“Mmmmfffmmm,” Madam Gardenia nodded as his cock stretched her poor throat. Her fluffy fox tails flailed as he forcefully fucked her face.

“Haru,” Frost groaned as he pulled on her furry ears, holding his cock deep in her throat as he started to release. His cock tensed against her tight throat, pushing against it as he filled the sexy fox madam with his seed. Frost gently fucked her mouth a few more times as she gulped down every bit of him, then removed his cock.

“Goddess,” Madam Gardenia sat up and gasped for air while massaging her throat. Her sexy eyes fixated on Frost’s hard thick cock covered her saliva. Gradually, she moved her hand from her throat to her breasts, stopping only momentarily to pinch her nipples, before sliding it between her legs. The bedding between her legs was already soaked with her excitement. “Do you want to keep going?”

“Is that a joke,” Frost chuckled while gazing at her fluffy red bush and wagging tails. “Obviously.”

“Good,” Madam Gardenia smirked while sliding her fingers inside of herself as Frost watched. She massaged her breasts with her free hand and rubbed her clit with the other. “Herald Frost, how do you want to fuck me?”

“How,” Frost smirked. “What do you mean?”

“Soft? Hard? Do you want to choke me? Slap me? Make me scream? Make me beg? Make me moan?” Madam Gardenia asked while slowly shifting toward him. “From the front? From behind? Or would you like me on top?”

“I’ll take you any way you want,” Frost answered while watching her fluffy tails sway. “But I suppose if I had to choose. I want to take you hard from behind. I want to feel those gorgeous tails brushing against my chest as I pin you down and fuck you until you scream.”

“Right answer,” Madam Gardenia smiled while turning around. The sexy woman bent over and lifted her ass in the air, displaying everything to him as her fingers continued to toy with her pussy. “I’m yours if you want me.”

“You know I do,” Frost growled as he moved toward the beautiful fox. He pulled her tails toward him and basked in the flowery aroma of the fragrant oils she used to clean it. It was subtle but unique, a scent all of her own.

“It feels amazing when you do that,” Madam Gardenia moaned as she rubbed her clit. “It makes me feel so sexy.”

Frost couldn’t take it anymore and lined his cock up with Madam Gardenia’s dripping cunt. As he pressed the tip of his cock against her pink lips he realized that she was nearly as tight as a Myrran. The fox-tailed madam clenched her teeth and growled as Frost gradually applied pressure to her slick cunt until finally he popped inside.

“Goddess…” Madam Gardenia gasped as her poor tight cunt attempted to adjust to his size. Frost ran his hand down her silky sexy tail until he reached her gorgeous round ass. He gave the fox-eared woman a gentle swat causing her to yip and wiggle her ass, as if she were begging for another. Naturally, he delivered. “Ohh!”

Frost bit his lip as he guided his cock deeper into Madam Gardenia’s dripping cunt, every new inch squeezing him harder than the last. He smacked her ass again causing her to yelp and wiggle as her tails brushed up against him. Each blow to her ass made her wetter allowing him to gradually work himself deeper and deeper.

“Frost!” Madam Gardenia shuddered as he shoved his massive cock to the base, stretching her soaked cunt to its limit. He gave her pink ass another playful smack before sliding his hand up her back. He was waiting for her tight little cunt to get used to his cock and once it was, he intended to do exactly what he said he was going to do. “Goddess, it’s so fucking big,” she groaned while wiggling in a desperate attempt to speed along the acclimation period.

“I’m going to make you scream so fucking loud that you won’t be able to look your workers in the eyes tomorrow,” Frost said as he applied pressure to Madam Gardenia’s back, pushing her into the mattress as his cock soaked in her juices. She tried to flatten out but he gave her ass another powerful smack. “Keep your ass in the air, your mine tonight.”

“Fuck,” Madam Gardenia trembled as she presented herself to him. Her face buried in the bedding as she lifted her rear for him to fuck. “I’m yours.”

Frost gripped her hips and slowly removed his cock from her. He grinned as he watched her juices drip from her gaping orifice as he prepared to thrust himself back inside of her. The sensation of the tip of his thick cock popping into a wet cunt was one of his favorites.

“You’re so fucking gorgeous and soft,” Frost said as her tails brushed against his chest. He gently pulled her into him, savoring her wet cunt sliding across his cock as he reached her deepest recesses. With every stroke of his cock her juices spread until he felt she was ready. He grinned excitedly as he prepared to get serious. “And you’re all fucking mine.”

“All fucking…fuck!” Madam Gardenia yelped as Frost thrust his cock deep inside of her. Her round ass smacked against his hips as he buried himself in her core. He held his cock there as she squirmed but he had no intention of giving her that inch until he was ready. After a few seconds he carefully pulled out and delivered another powerful thrust. “Fuuuck!”

“That’s right,” Frost growled as he began fucking her for real. His cock violating her soaked cunt as the sounds of his hips slapping her ass echoed throughout the room. Every thrust was met with a squeal, whimper, or profanity as he mercilessly fucked his fox-tailed woman. “You’re all mine.”

“Fuck this Kina pussy! Fuck it all you want!” Madam Gardenia moaned as Frost pulled her hips into him. As his hips pressed against her ass, he leaned forward. He slid his hands from her hips to her waist and finally her back. He gently placed his hand on the back of her neck and slowly applied pressure. “Yes! Pin me fucking down! Breed me!”

“Fuck,” Frost’s cock twitched at the thought of breeding the madam. He felt like a beast as he pushed her face into the mattress while thrusting his cock in and out of her cunt. Madam Gardenia’s crimson tails flailed against his chest while his hips pressed against her round sexy ass. “You want me to really breed you?”

“Yes,” Madam Gardenia squealed as her eyes started to glaze over. “Breed me! You caught me! Make me your Kina!”

“Holy fuck,” Frost wouldn’t have been able to stop if he wanted. All he could feel was the desire to drive his cock into her over and over again until he broke her. Her entire body was quivering and her tails lashed at him uncontrollably.

“Yes, yes, yes!” Madam Gardenia screamed out as she thrust her ass against him. Her warm cunt tightened against him for what felt like an eternity as she clawed at the bed. He waited for her to relax but it didn’t happen, instead things were getting tighter and tighter as if she might actually break his cock with her cunt. “Fuck! Yes! Goddess yes!”

“Haru,” Frost panted as in one explosive moment a flood of her juices came flowing out of her tight cunt as if a dam had burst. He took the opportunity to go even harder and fucked the fox-eared madam as she drenched him in her nectar. She looked like she could pass out any moment and finally Frost couldn’t hold back any longer. He plunged his cock all the way into her and then tried to go even deeper as if truly intending to breed her. “You’re fucking amazing.”

“Frost,” Madam Gardenia whimpered as he released inside of her. Filling her tight sexy cunt with his seed. Every pulse of his cock he released more inside of her and it felt like it’d never end. They alternated, the walls of her pussy squeezed his cock and his cock’s pulsing pushed against the walls of her pussy. “That was amazing.”

“Yeah,” Frost chuckled as he collapsed on top of her and buried his face in her gorgeous hair. Almost reflexively his hands began searching for her tails to stroke. “You’re amazing. And so fucking soft.”

“Stop it,” Madam Gardenia giggled while burying her face in a pillow. “You don’t need to keep saying that.”

“The…fucking…softest…” Frost whispered in her adorable red furry ear. He rolled off her and pulled her to the side, acting as big spoon just so he could enjoy her fluffy tails against his chest. Frost wrapped his arm around her and pulled her tight. “I want more of this.”

“No,” Madam Gardenia growled while curling into a defensive ball. “You might hurt me.”

“I mean more holding you,” Frost whispered in her ear. “You need to visit the village more.”

“I already told you that I can’t. I’m busy.”

“You can have work to do in the village,” Frost said. “I’ll talk to Brynn and tell her to make it a priority.”

“I didn’t sleep with you for the land,” Madam Gardenia growled.

“I know,” Frost chuckled as he squeezed her. “I just want a chance to lay with you like this more. Because you’re so fucking soft.”

“Flirt,” Madam Gardenia laughed as the tip of her crimson tail brushed against his face.

CHAPTER 6

Madam Gardenia tried to rush off to work the next morning but Frost refused to let her leave the bed.

"No," Frost laughed while pulling Madam Gardenia back into the bed with him for the third time. "I'm still cuddling."

"You've been cuddling all morning," she giggled as he squeezed her. "I have work to do. And if I'm not mistaken you do as well."

"But I'm enjoying our time together," Frost said while stroking her luxurious red tail. "Aren't you?"

"I am," she said while pecking him quickly on the nose. "But one of us has to be responsible Herald Frost."

Frost leaned in and kissed the beautiful madam's neck and slid his hand down her naked side. He reached her thigh and squeezed it while pulling her closer to him, causing her perfect chest to press against his. She let out a defeated sigh and wrapped her hands around his back.

Then a knock on the door ruined everything.

"Madam," Rose said from the other side of the door. "We have visitors..."

"Just let us through," Slade snapped from the other side of the door. "You have five seconds to cover yourself up you fox-fucking cunt."

"Fox-fucker," Frost grinned as Madam Gardenia quickly covered them both with the blanket. He leaned in and kissed her neck as she gently pushed him away. "I like that one."

"Herald Frost," Madam Gardenia chided. "Stop it."

"Fine," Frost said while stroking her tail beneath the blanket. He smiled at her while lovingly stroking her fluffy tail. "But one more kiss?"

"Okay. Just one more," Madam Gardenia laughed. The fox-eared madam leaned in and kissed him as the door to the room opened.

"Time's up...goddammit!" Slade said turning away from the scene in disgust. Madam Gardenia blushed and pulled away before double checking to make sure she was completely covered.

"Good morning Herald Frost!" Hestia said excitedly while pushing past Slade with Commander Grey following closely behind. "Commander Grey said we'd find you here! He said that if that deviant bastard’s still in Blackwater he’s at Madam Gardenia’s fucking!”

“Doesn’t take a genius,” Commander Grey said while attempting not to look. “Sorry for interrupting but the Baron wasn’t willing to wait downstairs.”

"Okay," Frost chuckled as he stared at the trio.

Hestia somehow looked even lovelier than she did when she was in the village, suggesting that city life suited her. Frost had noticed how down she looked when Slade wasn’t around and came up with the brilliant idea of making her Commander Grey’s assistant. She was thrilled with the idea because it’d allow her to spend half of the month in Blackwater and Frost liked the idea because of the effect she had on the silver-haired ninja.

Slade was extremely paranoid about people discovering that he’d slept with an elf which Frost used to keep the man off-balance. Slade undoubtedly loved Hestia and couldn’t resist her but simultaneously had to keep his relationship secret. It kept him rather off-balance.

The only person who didn’t seem to like the arrangement was Commander Grey who tried to request a proper embassy multiple times since Hestia had come to stay with him. His reasoning was that no man should have to hear a woman screaming “Do you love this elf pussy?” over and over in their own home.

"How’s your plan coming along?" Frost asked while smiling at the auburn-haired elf. “Are you preg…”

“She better fucking not be,” Slade interrupted.

“I’m not,” Hestia pouted. “At least not yet! But I’m working on it!”

“Good for you,” Frost laughed at the green-eyed alchemist. “And are you learning a lot?”

"Yes!" Hestia said excitedly. "Lady Grey has been teaching me how to act with what she calls diplomatic grace. And I get to see my Slade all the time!"

"Can we not fucking talk about this?" Slade growled while staring at Madam Gardenia.

"Don’t worry Baron Slade, I already know all about that," Madam Gardenia smirked. "My workers enjoy visiting Herald Frost's village. While you probably don't notice my girls wandering around, they certainly notice you."

"As much as I enjoy seeing Slade here shitting himself," Commander Grey said while pointing at the pale ninja. Slade knew that if Madam Gardenia had leverage there was a strong possibility that she'd use it. "We actually came here on business today."

"What's happening?" Frost asked while moving to get out of bed. The motion jolted Slade from his paralysis. The silver-haired ninja swiftly moved to turn Hestia's body so she faced away from Frost as he climbed out from under the covers. Commander Grey and Slade also turned away as he stood up.

“Shit,” Commander Grey snapped. “Herald Frost, I’ve seen your damned cock too many times! Have some fucking discretion!”

"Speaking of discretion. I assume discretion hasn’t gone out the fucking window in this establishment, has it?" Slade said while glaring at the fox-eared madam, clearly wanting to know what she intended to do with the knowledge about his illicit relationship.

"I am always discreet Baron Slade," Madam Gardenia said with a wicked grin. "But I also expect the same discretion when it relates to my activities. I suppose now would be as good a time as any to discuss a recent investigation into one of my warehouses."

"Right," Slade nodded. "That import-export business that we've been looking into."

"It's completely legitimate," Madam Gardenia insisted. "You're only looking into it because Duke Eddington doesn't like me providing goods to demihumans at a fair price."

"Discretion," Slade scoffed. "I'll talk to Fiora. It's not like she's a fan of that pompous fuckwit anyway. But if you think for a second about using information to..."

"I wouldn't dream of it, Baron Slade," Madam Gardenia said. "I imagine you'd rather burn down this entire city before you fall under somebody's thumb."

"He's already under somebody's thumb anyway," Commander Grey chuckled. "By the way Herald Frost, we need to discuss getting an actual embassy again. I'm not going to keep hosting Hestia at my house if it means hosting this bastard. My wife fucking hates him."

"Anyway," Slade growled as Frost finished getting his pants on. "We’re not here for that.”

"Right," Commander Grey nodded at Slade. “Slade was knocking at my door this morning looking for you. Fiora wants a meeting immediately before you leave the city. Apparently, there was quite an event last night.”

“I’d say,” Madam Gardenia teased playfully as Slade and the commander simultaneously grunted. “You’re no fun. You all should be used to Frost’s proclivities by now.”

“What can I say? I’m too damn old and set in my ways,” Commander Grey said. “Pretty boy here has no excuse though. He’s still young.”

“Still really fucking gross,” Slade said judgmentally. “Pointed ears are forgivable…”

“Are they now?” Frost laughed. “Since when did that change again?”

“Fuck off,” Slade snapped. “She has two enormous fucking tails and animal ears!”

“Slade. I just got dressed but if you keep talking reminding me about her sexy ears and tails, I’m going to need another thirty minutes,” Frost joked.

“Herald Frost,” Hestia giggled.

“She has the absolute fluffiest tails,” Frost said as he leaned down and gave Madam Gardenia a playful peck on the cheek. “And the absolute softest…let’s say pelt.”

“Thank you,” she blushed as her tails started flapping beneath the blanket.

“Aww,” a pair of courtesans giggled while peaking through the doorway. Madam Gardenia shot them a threatening glare and they quickly scurried off.

“Are you two finished?” Commander Grey asked while rubbing his head.

“Fucking hope so,” Slade grumbled while turning to leave the room. “Anyway, I’m supposed to find you and bring you back to the fucking keep. She said that if you didn’t get your ass over there immediately, she wasn’t going to pay you for your recent contracts. I imagine you need the fucking money given how much you apparently tossed at the owner of the Golden Stag.”

“I do need the money,” Frost winced. “I’ve already spent my allowance.”

“Allowance?” Slade scoffed. “You’re joking.”

“What?” Frost said as he glanced around the room. “Brynn gives me an allowance. Have any of you actually seen me work?”

“This month you’ve earned over five thousand rel hunting monsters!” Slade snapped. “Why the fuck do you need an allowance?”

“I wouldn’t say I need an allowance,” Frost answered while trying not to laugh. “But I’m not going to turn one down. I spend a lot of rel. So far this month I’ve spent easily a thousand rel here.”

“You can stay with Commander Grey for free!” Hestia volunteered.

“No, he fucking can’t,” Commander Grey countered.

“A thousand fucking rel at a brothel?” Slade glanced at Madam Gardenia. “What the fuck are your girls charging?”

“Standard rates,” Madam Gardenia said defensively. “Herald Frost just tips excessively. And truth be told it’s creating problems. I keep telling him to stop spoiling them because he’s ruining them for the other patrons.”

“Come on,” Frost chuckled. “Some of them have kids to take care of and…”

“Bleeding fucking heart,” Slade shook his head. “They’ll all fucking say that if they know you’ll fall for it! Next thing you’re going to tell me is you believe it when they tell you it’s their first fucking time!”

“I mean,” Frost grinned. “She was new to the establishment and…”

“Fucking hell,” Slade groaned. “How are you a fucking herald and how the fuck do you have a territory when you’re this fucking naïve? Fuck! I swear to fucking god I’m going to hire big titted whores to steal your rel!”

“Slade,” Hestia glared at her silver-haired lover. “You’re not allowed to trick Herald Frost! He does so much for the village and they’re my family!”

“It was a fucking joke,” Slade groaned. “Let’s just fucking go. I can’t fucking believe that you believe a hooker when she says it’s her first time.”

“Was it Lilac’s first time?” Frost leaned over and asked Madam Gardenia.

“Herald Frost,” Madam Gardenia said sweetly. “I hate to ruin the memory but not too many virgins are keen on going bum to mouth their first time.”

“She told you about that?” Frost blushed. It never occurred to him that Madam Gardenia’s courtesans talked about their nights with him. He was suddenly a bit self-conscious about how many of his kinks the fox-eared madam might be aware of. “Do they all tell you everything?”

“Oh Frost,” Madam Gardenia stifled her laughter.

“It’s a fucking brothel!” Slade snapped. “How are you this fucking stupid?”

“Herald Frost,” Commander Grey shook his head at him hopelessly. “Whores might not talk about their patrons to other patrons. But you can bet your fucking ballsack that they’re giving each other every single detail.”

“Fuck,” Frost grunted. “Then why the fuck are they still lining up to sleep with me?”

“Because of your money you fucking,” Slade turned and stomped out of the room. “I can’t fucking do this. Let’s fucking go already. Fiora is fucking waiting.”

“He’s right,” Commander Grey said as he guided Hestia out of the room with him. “We’ll be downstairs. Hurry it up.”

“Alright, alright,” Frost laughed while leaning down to give Madam Gardenia one last kiss goodbye. “Don’t worry. I’ll talk to Brynn about that land.”

“Please do,” Madam Gardenia wrapped her arms around his neck and held him tight. “And don’t forget to ask about opening a boarding school. You have no idea how appreciative my girls would be. If you think they love you now, just you wait.”

“I’m more interested in how appreciative you’d be,” Frost said while sliding his hand beneath the blanket to find her tails. “Would you appreciate it?”

“So much…” she moaned.

“Let’s fucking go you fox-fucking cunt!” Slade yelled from downstairs. “Fucking now if you expect to get paid!”

“Better not keep the lady waiting,” Madam Gardenia teased.

CHAPTER 7

Slade led the procession as they left and traveled through the city to Blackwater keep.

As they passed through the gate to the main courtyard Frost noticed some men training in the main courtyard. Their armor was ill-fitted but well crafted which suggested they were mercenaries of some sort. Then he remembered the monster hunters he’d met while traveling and realized they were most likely new recruits.

He smirked as he scanned the men. They ranged from level thirty to forty which was pretty strong in the grand scheme of things. Frost was impressed that Fiora was able to gather men as talented as that given the paltry sums that she intended to pay them for their kills.

They dismounted and headed inside the large keep and up the first flight of stairs they saw. Fiora preferred to do business in the council room located on the second floor of the building. While the massive room had no escape routes it only had a single access point. Additionally, since the walls were lined with bookshelves and the walls behind them were fortified, the room was basically soundproof. And finally, if there really were an emergency that warranted an escape, the window looked out over the courtyard and the drop wasn’t that bad.

They walked in the room to see Princess Fiora doing paperwork on the large conference table. Despite being hard at work the princess was dressed as if she were attending a ball. She was wearing a powder blue ball gown with darker blue embroidery decorating it. The dress had long white sleeves and turtleneck collar to it. As usual, the way the long spirals of her blonde hair fell was unnaturally perfect.

“Herald Frost,” Fiora glanced up from her paperwork and set down her pen. “Commander Grey, Assistant Ambassador Hestia.”

“Princess Fiora Leaucault,” Hestia bowed deeply while Commander Grey offered a more subtle nod. “We’re honored to be in your presence.”

“So, the elf has better manners than the humans in the bunch,” Fiora sighed. “Let’s get down to business so I can be rid of you.”

“You always make me feel so welcome,” Frost smirked as he took a seat at the large conference table. “Slade said you were pissed about…”

“Not yet,” Fiora interrupted while sorting through her papers. She pulled out a piece of parchment and set it on the table. “This first. The treasurer said you turned this in yesterday, correct?”

“Right,” Frost nodded. “It’s witness…”

“Who is Sir Herald?” she asked while looking over the paperwork. “The witnesses who signed report that they witnessed a Sir Herald kill two thousand Vermillion Salamanders. Now, I offered to pay Herald Frost two rel per Salamander but based on witness testimony…”

“You’re joking,” Frost snapped. “I did the job and I…”

“It’s fine,” Fiora smirked victoriously. “I only ask that you’re more careful in the future. I’ve crossed out Sir Herald and replaced the name with Herald Frost. But for correcting your paperwork I’m going to billing you a thousand rel administration fee.”

“A thousand rel?” Frost shook his head. “Like hell if you’re...”

“Herald Frost,” Fiora tapped the paper. “You can either accept the fee or travel back to the village and have them confirm in a new written document that you are in fact Sir Herald. You already get preferential treatment by not having to produce the monsters themselves or witnesses in person.”

“Princess Fiora,” Commander Grey interjected. “A thousand rel is a pretty steep fee.”

“It’s the price of a herald’s time,” Fiora said while sliding the paper toward Frost. “I just need you to sign this confirming that you’ll be paid three thousand rel for the elimination of the two thousand salamanders.”

“Fine,” Frost grumbled while reluctantly signing the document. Although he was being fleeced, it was worth the thousand rel not to make the round trip again. “Three thousand rel.”

“Thank you,” Fiora said as Frost handed the document back. “I’ll have the banker’s guild transfer the funds within the week as usual. Now, would you like to explain your fight with House Blake?”

“They picked a fight with me,” Frost said calmly. “I had reserved a table for me and Madam Gardenia at the Golden Stag and…”

“You took the madam of a low-class brothel to the most expensive restaurant in the city?” Fiora said judgmentally. “What did you think was going to happen?”

“First off, her brothel is first-class,” Frost corrected. “I’ve visited the other brothels and they might have better food and drink selections but Madam Gardenia’s brothel has the best girls in the city and…”

“We’re not here to discuss your ridiculous demihuman fetish,” Fiora said. “I received a demand from House Blake that you be barred from the city and Madam Gardenia be publicly flogged for the disrespect…”

“You understand what’s going to happen to anybody who lays a hand on Madam Gardenia or any of her employees, right?” Frost said threateningly. Hearing that they even suggested punishing Madam Gardenia made him regret not gutting the man in the restaurant.

“Obviously,” Fiora said indifferently. “And I informed House Blake of the consequences of touching her. I also suggested that they drop this matter and count themselves lucky that their son is still alive based on witness testimony. They are still unhappy and intend to reach out to my father. They will declare that I’m ill-equipped to govern and request a more militant governor replace me.”

“The king’s not going to involve himself in this,” Commander Grey said. “With all due respect, the reason I came to Blackwater was because nobody gives a damn about it. It’s a nice quiet territory that acts as a buffer between the more valuable territories and Rilia.”

“Commander Grey,” Fiora shook her head. “You might understand the battlefield but it’s clear you don’t understand politics. A prince was executed without a trial in the streets and nobody was held accountable for that action. Soldiers being investigated for treason were granted sanctuary by Herald Frost. Hansel Raullon was granted sanctuary as well. Not to mention that Herald Frost killed the heroes of Blackwater and has since taken over their monster elimination duties at a substantial fee. Then there’s the future Arachne threat due to him offering the creatures sanctuary. Not to mention marrying the sister of King Asmund which calls into question his loyalties. And now assaulting nobles. Finally, there’s the fact he’s the Herald of Shalia. It would be quite the feather in any Ziran noble’s cap if they were to kill him.”

“That’s an understatement,” Slade chuckled.

“Don’t make jokes about killing Herald Frost,” Hestia said sternly. “They’re not funny!”

“Sorry,” Slade answered reflexively, earning him a suspicious glance from Fiora.

“I suppose when you put it that way, he is a bit of a troublemaker,” Commander Grey nodded.

“Yes, he is.” Fiora said while looking Hestia up and down for a moment. The beautiful auburn-haired elf smiled happily as she stared at Slade and the ninja pretended not to notice. Fiora smirked and turned her attention back to Frost. “Herald Frost, maybe I’m wrong but I was under the impression that you didn’t want me replaced. If you don’t wish for me to be replaced, refrain from engaging in disputes with the nobility. I don’t want to deal with a bunch of rebelling nobles.”

“Really?” Frost scoffed. “Those cowards aren’t going to rebel.”

“It’s not complicated,” Slade said while glaring at Frost. “The power of the nobility comes from the belief that the nobles are untouchable. You touched a noble, they don’t like that. Prince Erik and Duke Raullon were a unique circumstance since Princess Brynn Hilde took responsibility. You were acting as her sword so the people view it as a battle between two nobles. This time a commoner was involved…”

“Your madam,” Fiora said. “She’s a citizen of Zira involved in a dispute with a noble of Zira. It complicates matters.”

“It’s not complicated,” Frost said. “It’s complicated to you because you have to follow the laws of Zira. I don’t. If I so much as hear rumors that nobles intend to harm her, I’ll kill them. If death doesn’t scare them, I’ll introduce ways of killing that make stories about Slade sound like children’s stories.”

“Herald Frost,” Commander Grey shook his head. “Let’s not…”

“I said it complicated matters,” Fiora’s said coldly. “Not that I would let harm befall your pet. Let me be clear Herald Frost, I have every intention of maintaining a good relationship with you because it is currently in my best interest. I believe that makes me the ideal governess of this territory. I will protect your pets to the best of my ability but if you continue to act without considering the ramifications, I may be forcibly replaced with somebody less civil. Do you understand?”

“I got it,” Frost nodded. “But you understand me as well, don’t you?”

“Herald Frost,” Fiora smirked. “I understand you perfectly. You’re no different than any other underworld thug. It’s probably why you and Slade get along so swimmingly.”

“We don’t get along,” Slade grumbled.

“Right,” Fiora nodded while glancing briefly at Hestia before returning her attention to Frost. “But I understand you Herald Frost. You do not care for the law or justice or any of the principles of this country. You care about getting what you want and protecting what you have. You’re nothing but an animal. A very powerful and intelligent animal, but an animal none-the-less.”

“We’re all animals,” Frost chuckled. “Some of us just wear fancy dresses.”

“If I were an animal in a dress you would have tried to fuck me by now,” Fiora said haughtily. “But I believe we have an understanding which is what’s important.”

“Alright,” Frost said while getting up from his seat with the others. “So, anything else before I leave?”

“No,” Fiora said coldly. “Although I may want to have a private discussion with Hestia soon.”

“Me?” Hestia asked worriedly. “Did I do something wrong?”

“No,” Fiora grinned impishly. “I simply wish to learn more about the assistant ambassador. You must be very talented for Commander Grey to select you as his assistant.”

“Actually, I was assigned!” Hestia said excitedly.

“Really?” Fiora said, exaggerating her intrigue. “Why did he choose you? Did Herald Frost want to send you away as punishment for some reason?”

“No!” Hestia said defensively. “He knew how much I missed…”

“The city,” Commander Grey interrupted as Slade’s face went white. “The young woman loves the city and wanted to be here. Anyway, we better get out of here.”

“Right,” Fiora said with a malicious grin. “Slade, can you stay for a bit. I have some things I wish to discuss with you.”

“Yeah,” Slade said while leading them out of the room. He gave them all angry looks as they walked out. “I don’t have anywhere to be.”

“Sorry,” Hestia whispered as Slade shut the door behind them. The anxious elf turned to Frost. “You don’t think she knows about me and Slade, do you? I didn’t actually say anything!”

“You didn’t have to,” Frost laughed. “With the way you were fucking him with your eyes there was no fucking way she didn’t realize it. His quick apology really sealed it though. Slade doesn’t apologize like that to anybody.”

“Wonder what she’s going to do with that information,” Commander Grey chuckled.

“Is he going to be in trouble?” Hestia said worriedly. “You don’t think she’s going to take my love away from me, will she?”

“No,” Frost smirked at the green-eyed elf. “I’m pretty sure she’ll just question him a bit and threaten him. Nothing too bad.”

“He’ll be fine,” Commander Grey nodded.

“I just feel awful,” Hestia pouted.

“You made it almost an entire month without anybody finding out,” Frost said reassuringly. “That’s really good.”

“Especially considering how fucking loud you are,” Commander Grey paused. “Fuck!”

“What?” Frost asked as Commander Grey glanced back at the door.

“We should have asked about purchasing a plot of land for a proper fucking embassy,” Commander Grey growled. “Fuck! I can’t live like this. Come on. Let’s just get the fuck out of here and grab some drinks.”

“You two will have to go alone,” Frost said. “I need to get back to the village before nightfall.”

“Aww,” Hestia clapped. “Be sure to tell everybody I miss them and will be back soon!”

“Will do,” Frost nodded as they left the keep.

As soon as he left the keep, Frost hopped on Witch and headed west as fast as the crimson mare could carry him.

CHAPTER 8

Lysandra stared at herself as she sat in front of the massive bathhouse mirror and wondered what Herald Frost saw in her.

The other elves were right when they said her sheen wasn’t as bright as it used to be and she could see the small formation of wrinkles near her eyes, even if Herald Frost couldn’t. Not to mention her hair, completely devoid of color while other elves had hair brighter than fresh berries.

There were so many other elves that were more beautiful, more wonderful, and more deserving. Robin and Marina would be wonderful wives and Frost would be a perfect father for Emmy. Shael was not only a brave warrior but she was fantastic teacher for the children. And even Renna, the spoiled brat that she was, made Frost laugh and smile constantly.

She wished she had an answer but no matter how long she stared at herself she couldn’t figure out why Herald Frost wanted to marry her over all of the other elves in her village.

“What’s wrong?” Princess Brynn Hilde walked by in her towel and took a seat next to her. The raven-haired woman set her basket down on the small counter in front of her and started pulling out various perfumes and lotions the courtesans mixed for her. The beautiful bard smiled at Lysandra as she began applying lotion on her arms. “You’ve been moping ever since Frost left.”

“Nothing is wrong,” Lysandra forced a smile as she focused on brushing her long white hair. “I am content Lady Brynn.”

Lysandra couldn’t help but admire Lady Brynn. Not only was she youthful and slender but she was a talented bard and even more talented leader. Whenever Herald Frost was gone, most of the villagers looked to her for direction and Brynn always seemed to know exactly what to prioritize. It was no surprise that so many of the young elves in the village had begun emulating her.

“You’re not fine,” Brynn stifled a laugh while scooting her seat a little closer. “Aren’t you the one always badgering people to talk about what’s bothering them? So, take your own advice.”

“It’s nothing Lady Brynn,” Lysandra said reassuringly. While it was true that she encouraged the elves to discuss their feelings, her feelings were a different matter. “I suppose I’m just adapting to all of the changes to the village.”

It wasn’t a lie.

Lysandra was honestly having trouble adapting to all of the changes. It was only a couple months ago that the elves were basically living in fear, hardly ever venturing into the forest except to gather food. Now there were parties of elves heading out daily to hunt monsters all over the territory.

The truth was that Pluma village, and the elves themselves, had changed quite a bit and she was feeling somewhat useless. Although the most noticeable change was the growth of the village itself.

Over a dozen new houses were added in less than a month and on top of that all of the existing homes were improved thanks to the Arachne. Since they were better builders than the elves, they took the lead in architectural design which resulted in larger doorways, taller ceilings, bigger rooms, and basements being added.

In less than a month, not only did they build more cottages than Lysandra and the elves built in over two years, but they also built much higher quality homes.

The Arachne filled the walls of the cottages with webbed insolation and used it on window frames to prevent air from getting through any cracks. It made Lysandra feel a little bit stupid that she hadn’t thought of something like that. Instead, the elves just hung up blankets to cover the holes or plugged them with whatever they could find during winter.

As a bonus, the web insultation also acted as powerful soundproofing and Lysandra was no longer hearing complaints about the sounds of Aila and Lith’s afternoon lovemaking sessions.

Everybody was impressed by the Arachne’s construction techniques, even Herald Frost. Although they were equally impressed with Herald’s Frost knowledge of insultation and his suggestion of using ice and fire magic to maintain the temperature of the room.

The Arachne even constructed of the villages first ever bathhouse, although it was at Herald Frost’s request. He gave them general plans and schematics for items and the Arachne figured out how to make them a reality in a matter of days. There were metal piles powered by magic crystals that delivered water and even something the Arachne named a web-based filtering system. A phrase that made Herald Frost laugh for some reason she didn’t understand.

All of the elves were thankful for the Arachne’s assistance and the Arachne loved being welcomed into the territory.

Slakka and Chasa were much better leaders than she was. They were capable of providing for all of their people and children while Lysandra struggled to provide for fifty elves. They even had time to build their own village just south of Pluma, named Linna after their goddess Sthilinna. They were simply amazing.

It was only natural for Lysandra to feel useless when she was surrounded by so many impressive women.

“I really like the bathhouse,” Desdemona said as she appeared behind them. The crimson-haired demoness adjusted her towel but no matter how she adjusted the cloth there just wasn’t enough to adequately cover her long pale legs, wide hips, and large chest. The red-eyed demoness looked around the bathhouse anxiously as a few of the elves kept their distance. “Are you sure it’s okay for me to be here right now?”

“You’re fine,” Lysandra patted the seat next to her and the white-skinned demoness took a seat. She anxiously placed her basket on the table and started pulling out various soaps along with a rather coarse sponge she used to clean herself. Desdemona was particularly self-conscious about maintaining her cleanliness since demons were known for being filthy and she generally bathed two to three times a day. “They’re just a little be cautious because Renna has been telling everybody about the incident.”

“I didn’t mean to,” Desdemona pouted as she scrubbed her long pale legs. “I was sleeping and then I felt something in my mouth and it was just a little nibble.”

“A little nibble?” Renna said as she hopped out of the large wooden bath. The petite elf lifted her leg and gestured at the bite marks on her foot. The little green-haired exhibitionist grabbed her basket and stomped to the sitting area without even bothering to grab a towel. She glared at Desdemona as she sat on the far side of Brynn. “You could have taken a toe!”

“Renna,” Lysandra glared at Renna as the petite elf began aggressively scrubbing her tan body. “It’s your own fault with the way you sprawl out everywhere. You pretty much shoved your foot in her mouth and she feels awful.”

“I’m not mad at her about it,” Renna growled while gesturing rudely at Lysandra. “It’s your fault! It never would have happened if you let me sleep right next to Herald Frost. But you always take the good spot for yourself.”

“It’s my bed!” Lysandra said defensively. Although she could hardly call it her bed anymore since she seemed to be sharing it with pretty much everybody. She wasn’t opposed to sharing her bed but Renna had the absolute worst sleeping habits. “The problem is the way you toss and turn waking everybody up! If you don’t get it under control, I’m going to tie you up before bed!”

“Promise?” Renna smirked. There really was no winning against the emerald-eyed brat no matter how much Lysandra tried. “You can tie my hands and legs to the bedposts and Herald Frost can sleep right on top of me. Then I’d be sure not to move.”

“You would like that idea,” Brynn laughed while playfully shoving Renna. Lysandra was a little jealous of how well Renna got along with Princess Brynn Hilde. The two women were around the same age and because of their similar body types they shared a lot of clothes as well as some insecurities. “But there’s nothing to worry about. I wake up with Des sucking on my ear all the time.”

“I’m really sorry,” Desdemona said timidly while removing her towel to scrub her large pale breasts. “I have a mouth guard I can wear if…”

“Herald Frost said no to the muzzle,” Lysandra stifled a laugh as she recalled Herald Frost’s initial excitement at the mouth guard and his subsequent disappointment when he found out it wasn’t for a sex game of some sort. “And we agree with him. Besides, it was Renna’s fault for sticking her foot in your mouth.”

“It’s Lysandra’s fault for not giving me the good spot,” Renna said stubbornly. “If I was sandwiched between the old hag and Herald Frost I wouldn’t have anywhere to move to. Instead, I’m stuck behind her. Obviously, I’m going to roll around everywhere if I’m not pinned down. I even fall out of my own bed all the time. If I were next to Herald Frost there’d be no problem.”

“You should just be happy you get to sleep with him regularly,” Lishri said as she approached from the showers. The beautiful redhead had her hair almost completely wrapped in the towel leaving her large breasts uncovered as she stood behind them. The pale skinned redhead started carefully washing each of her slender red legs with a soapy cloth while chatting with the women. “I only see him once a week.”

“Don’t even try it Lishri,” Lady Brynn turned and poked one of Lishri’s large naked breasts, once threateningly, then again inquisitively. “You get weekly private time with him. We are splitting time between the four of us. It’s not the same.”

“But you get almost every night for at least ten hours a night which equals…”

“Lishri,” Lysandra turned around on her stool and smiled at the tall Arachne. The topic of how to divide Herald Frost’s time was a rather volatile one which generally required a more diplomatic approach. “You’re welcome to join us in the room whenever you please.”

“I was actually thinking we could alternate locations since my web is bigger,” Lishri said quietly. “Then nobody needs to be left out.”

“Hmm,” Brynn grumbled anxiously while trying to figure out a way to avoid the conversation.

Lysandra had a couple ideas on why Brynn was hesitant to agree to that type of arrangement. The first was that several of the villagers had made similar suggestions involving Herald Frost’s sleeping arrangements and it could set a precedence that Brynn didn’t want to set. The second, and more likely, was she wanted to avoid sleeping in a web due to her past trauma caused from being covered in thousands of tiny spiders.

“Lishri,” Lysandra smiled sweetly at the shy Arachne while trying to think of a compromise. “You could always set up a web on the ceiling of my room if you like.”

“But then Herald Frost will just sleep in the bed and I’ll be on the ceiling,” Lishri pouted. “I want him in my web with me.”

She had a good point. Whenever Herald Frost stayed over at her treetop home, she bound him to the web and wrapped herself around him as they slept. The likelihood that he opted for that instead of sleeping in the bed with them was pretty low.

“Never mind,” Lishri frowned while shaking her head. “It was a stupid idea. I should just be happy that my darling husband spends any time with me at all.”

“Would it really be so bad to sleep at Lishri’s house an extra day or two?” Desdemona asked while staring at the pouting Arachne. “Lishri does a lot for the village and for Herald Frost. It seems a little unfair, doesn’t it?”

Renna and Brynn simultaneously shot Desdemona vicious looks causing her to look away.

Desdemona was a shockingly sweet girl and spent a lot of time with Lysandra since she never wanted to leave the temple unaccompanied. Her lack of independence wasn’t too surprising since most of her life was decided by her brother but it did affect her confidence.

She rarely did anything without asking for permission and leaving the temple by herself seemed to cause her some mild anxiety. Naturally, she wasn’t capable of challenging Brynn and Renna.

“Let’s not talk about fairness,” Renna said while roughly scrubbing her abdomen. “If life were fair, I’d be the one marrying Herald Frost instead of Lysandra. I’m younger, more energetic, I’m entering my prime child bearing years, and I’m leveling faster than anybody else!”

“Yeah,” Brynn grumbled as she grabbed a different lotion and began applying it on her chest, shoulders, and stomach. “You are leveling at an impressive speed but you’re going to hit a plateau around level twenty unless we find bigger monsters to hunt. Lishri, how did Chasa and Slakka get so high level?”

“Um,” Lishri shook her head. “All of the humans around them were trying to wipe them out so they had to protect themselves…”

“Right,” Brynn winced. “Sorry about that.”

“You’re not the one who did it,” Lishri patted Brynn’s head several times before gesturing at the lotion. “Would you like me to get your back?”

“Sure,” Brynn answered handing Lishri the bottle.

“Mine too,” Renna said gesturing at her own.

“I can get you all if you like,” Lishri smiled politely as they nodded approvingly.

“Lady Brynn,” Lysandra smiled lovingly at the slender beauty. “Since we’re talking about leveling. Are Herald Frost’s systems as impressive as I think they are?”

“Yes,” Brynn laughed. “Oh, by the goddess they are so impressive. I attended one of the finest academies in Zira and if handsome had been there, well, I probably would have got better grades that’s for sure, but with those resources he would have done amazing things. Just look at what he’s done with a fraction of them.”

“It all seems so obvious when he says things,” Renna said excitedly. “The party system is amazing and the map he made listing all of the monsters by level in all the areas of the territory is super helpful. He even made one that’s organized by what items you want to look for.”

“Not to mention the job board,” Fayeth said politely while approaching with Ena in tow. She quickly sat next to Desdemona as Ena took a spot next to her. Lysandra reflexively compared herself to the two youthful blondes as they sat down. Both of them boasting perfect pale skin and generous curves, not that her own weren’t generous. “If Ena’s not in the mood to hunt I can always find another tank.”

“I still don’t get why we’re called tanks,” Ena grumbled. “I feel like it’s an insult. It sounds like a tankard. Big and clunky.”

“Then it’s perfect to describe you,” Renna said loudly from the other end of the row as Brynn and Fayeth chuckled. Lysandra stifled her own laughter since she didn’t want to encourage Renna’s behavior even though she did find it amusing.

“Want to come over here and say that?” Ena said threateningly. “I am a beautiful delicate flower and you all know it! Tanks, what a stupid clunky name. Why not guardians? Protectors? Saviors? No! Those don’t sound clunky enough!”

“At least it’s a word,” Fayeth playfully fondled one of Ena’s breasts. “He calls me and Renna d-p-s.”

“Of course, priests are called nice things like healers and support,” Renna said judgmentally while scowling at Lysandra. “I wonder why priests got the pretty name?”

“I didn’t have any say in it,” Lysandra blushed. Whenever something happened that benefitted her it’d turn into a conversation about favoritism and questions about what she did to become his favorite. “He said it’s just the way he organizes everything. I told him he should give all groupings pretty names.”

“I really don’t think it’s that big of a deal,” Brynn chuckled. “What matters is the system works. He’s also divided up the classes into different groupings based on roles and developed prerequisite courses. Although I’m a little concerned about the school…”

“Yeah…” the elves all sighed simultaneously.

“What’s wrong with the school?” Desdemona asked curiously. “I thought the kids like it.”

“The Arachne children like it a lot,” Lishri nodded. “And Slakka and Chasa both really love it because it allows them more time to work on the villages.”

“Nothing’s really wrong with the school,” Lysandra said pensively. “But there have been some incidences involving the children learning magic a little too quickly. They seem to be taking to runes rather fast and are maybe a little too eager about it.”

Eager was probably an understatement.

Herald Frost used Vasati as a test case with the approval of her mothers and the ten-year-old girl picked up runes very quickly. She reached level three in Runic Mastery: Divine within a couple weeks.

According to Herald Frost, in his world languages were more easily learned when children were young and it seemed the principle held true in their own world. It wasn’t as though they learned faster than adults since experience and ability points were earned at the same rate, it was more due to their available free time and curiosity.

Learning runic languages took a lot of time and effort and most of the elves weren’t willing to commit to it. There were exceptions like Erissa and Lyra who were interested in divine and primal magic respectively. But most of the elves preferred more athletic endeavors.

The real problem though was their creativity.

The elf children enjoyed playing with the runes and seeing what happened when they rearranged them. The curriculum was based on defense and support magic but the children naturally started toying with other magic which created problems.

“I just really don’t think that a six-year-old should be taught how to make a fireball,” Brynn sighed. “But he says it’s probably okay.”

“Probably,” the elves said simultaneously.

“The Arachne children are being very responsible with it,” Lishri said proudly. “After the first couple fires they even built a pit for them to practice in. I’m sure Slakka and Chasa would be fine if the elf children wanted to walk to Linna village and use it too.”

“Why don’t you live in Linna, Lady Lishri?” Desdemona asked curiously. “Wouldn’t you be more comfortable there?”

“Des,” Brynn shook her head as Lishri’s face turned red.

“I really like it here,” Lishri said quietly. “And I like being by Herald Frost. I know it’s strange but…”

“It’s not strange at all Lishri,” Lysandra said reassuringly while turning to grab the Arachne’s hand. She gently stroked Lishri’s soft hand. “We love having you here and if anybody makes you feel otherwise you just let me know.”

“Thank you,” Lishri smiled as she continued to help the others wash and lotion their backs. “And nobody’s angry about the house?”

“Of course not,” Renna said confidently. “All the kids love it.”

Lishri’s new house was located in a tall tree and loomed over Pluma village like the crow’s nest of a ship.

It was easy to access thanks to a stair system she built for visitors. The wooden planks were attached to the trees with webbed support systems, rope railings, and even safety nets. She went through immense trouble to ensure that even if somebody fell off the stairs, they’d find themselves unharmed. Although they needed to wait for an Arachne to rescue them if they did fall into any of her webs.

Unsurprisingly, the elf children regularly made a game of jumping from the stairs of Lishri’s home. But since she’d gone through great pains to make sure everything was safe it wasn’t really an issue.

“You really need to work on your confidence,” Brynn said and then turned to Desdemona. “You too. You’re supposed to be Herald Frost’s wives. Act like it.”

“Lady Brynn,” Lysandra shook her head judgmentally. “Everybody moves at their own pace.”

“Speaking of paces, first!” Renna said as she jumped up from her seat. Her bronzed body was almost reflecting the light increasing the prominence of the tan lines bordering her chest and waist. “I hope he’s back soon!”

“Do you think he’ll have time for all of us?” Desdemona asked as she subtly increased her pace. “I mean, you don’t think he’s too exhausted from his trip, do you?”

“That handsome bastard is never exhausted,” Brynn laughed while dabbing some scented perfume on her neck. She jumped up from her seat and prepared to follow Renna. “But I’m not taking any chances. He’s been gone for half the week.”

“Since he was gone during one of our assigned days shouldn’t I get him first…” Lishri suggested quietly as everybody turned and stared daggers at her. “I mean…never mind.”

“I don’t see why you’re all so excited,” Ena smiled while styling her hair. “He’s nothing special.”

“Hmm,” Fayeth glared at Ena suspiciously while handing her some perfume. Ena quickly took it and applied it without thinking. “You never wear perfume…”

“That’s not true,” Ena said defensively as her face turned bright red. “I wear perfume all the time! It helps when I’m in that heavy armor!”

“I’d know if you wore perfume all the time,” Fayeth’s eyes narrowed. “You’ve been acting strange for weeks. You’re always fussing over your appearance and disappearing randomly. Are you seeing somebody else? Is it Lyra? I know you’re on that little whores list.”

“I am not sleeping with Lyra!” Ena said while crossing her arms. “But if I were it’d be fine because we agreed to keep things casual.”

“And if I wanted to get more serious,” Fayeth leaned in and stroked Ena’s face as the elf attempted to maintain her composure. “Then you’d have to tell me if you were seeing somebody else on the side, wouldn’t you?”

“I-I’m not ready for commitment,” Ena said insistently. “And are you seeing other people on the side?”

“I don’t have to tell you,” Fayeth smirked before snatching the perfume from Ena’s hand. “But maybe I’ll start seeing Herald Frost? After all, the only reason he hasn’t joined us is because of your objections.”

“No!” Ena snapped as her eyes filled with jealousy.

“Both of you quit it,” Lysandra said with a heavy sigh. “Fayeth, quit teasing Ena and Ena, if you ever want to talk to me about something you know my door is always open.”

Lysandra had also noticed that Ena had been acting strangely ever since they returned from Rilia. She was paying more attention to her appearance than she used to and was far less aggressive. There was also a glow of satisfaction around her that was previously absent.

At first, she felt Ena’s newfound positivity was due to discovering the Smite ability. It was a powerful divine magic spell that utilized a strange combination of runes Ena came up with on her own. Herald Frost said it was definitely a paladin ability so everybody assumed it was responsible for Ena’s good mood.

But gradually Lysandra started to suspect something else was at play. Ena was randomly vanishing and returning sweaty and disheveled, claiming to have been training. Lysandra might have believed it as well if not for how relaxed and happy the grinning blonde seemed when she returned.

Much like Fayeth, Lysandra suspected that Ena had a secret lover but she would know if Ena were sleeping with one of the villagers since they were all pretty awful at keeping secrets. So, she suspected that Ena might be wandering off to meet one of the courtesans from Blackwater.

“There’s nothing going on!” Ena said while glaring at Lysandra. “I’m just training extra hard and I’m really happy with my progress! End of story! Anyway, I’m finished here!”

Ena jumped from her seat and adjusted her towel before stomping toward the door. Fayeth quickly jumped up and chased after her.

“I was only kidding!” Fayeth said as she trailed behind her. “Stop being so sensitive! We love how happy you are lately!”

“Brynn!” Renna grabbed Brynn’s arm. “We can’t let them beat us! Herald Frost might come back any minute! You remember the plan, right?”

“Plan?” Brynn tilted her head. “I thought that was a joke?”

“What?” Renna paused. “Why would you think that? There’s no way he’s going to choose anybody else!”

“I don’t think I’m really comfortable…” the sound of Brynn’s voice faded as Renna dragged her from the bathhouse.

“Lysandra?” Desdemona tapped her shoulder as she stood up from her seat. “Is everything alright? You seem a little different than usual.”

“I wasn’t going to say anything,” Lishri fidgeted. “But you seem a little down lately.”

“I’m fine,” Lysandra said reassuringly. “There’s just a lot to do.”

“Maybe you should take a day off,” Desdemona said. “My brother always said that exhausted allies might as well be enemies.”

“Thank you for worrying,” Lysandra said politely. “But I assure you there’s nothing to worry about. Now shouldn’t you be running along to get ready instead of worrying about me?”

“You’re important to our darling husband,” Lishri said while wrapping her arms around Lysandra. “So we need to take care of you. If you need anything just let us know.”

“That’s really very sweet,” Lysandra smiled. “I’ll be sure to let you know if I need anything. Now, go get ready.”

“Right,” Lishri said anxiously. “Do you think I really stand a chance against the others?”

“Of course you do,” Lysandra said supportively. “Herald Frost always says that his time spent with you is the most relaxing.”

“Really?” Lishri perked up. “He said that?”

“He does,” Desdemona confirmed.

“That makes me so happy!” Lishri said excitedly. “I’m going to go get ready for him!”

“Me too,” Desdemona said while placing her hand on Lysandra’s shoulder. “You should get ready too. He always smiles the most when he sees you.”

“I’ll be along shortly,” Lysandra said as the two rushed out of the bathroom.

Lysandra smiled at herself in the mirror and brushed her long ivory hair as her mind drifted back to wondering what Herald Frost saw in her, a cursed elf.

She was the daughter of the Prophet of Shalia, a woman that murdered thousands of innocents, if any elf was cursed it was surely her. That’s why she spent her life helping others in hopes of making up for her mother’s transgressions and as she stared at herself in the mirror she wondered if maybe their curse had ended. Maybe she was allowed to be happy about marrying Herald Frost.

“That’s right,” Lysandra said to herself. “Be strong and show everybody that things work out if you love everybody!”

Lysandra smiled as she headed out of the bathhouse. Sure, she wasn’t as youthful as the other elves but Frost didn’t care about that. He loved her and she should just accept it, even if it didn’t make any sense. She was going to marry Herald Frost and show the elves that even somebody as cursed as her can find happiness.

CHAPTER 9

Frost rushed back toward his territory while sorting through his abilities, looking for the next area he should focus on.

Fiora probably felt like she was talking to a wall but Frost always took the advice of the young princess to heart. Although his takeaway was likely very different than what she intended. She wanted him to take it as a warning not to do anything rash but instead it served as a reminder that he was vulnerable.

Both Rilia and Zira had massive standing armies capable of wiping out his territory in an afternoon if they wanted and he had yet to figure out a way to prevent it. Marrying Desdemona to establish peace with Rilia was a good decision and paid handsomely but if King Asmund were assassinated the new king might see her existence as a threat.

As for Zira, they were continually a threat despite his marriage to Brynn. The country had a long history with the followers of Shalia and it wasn’t a pleasant one so allowing his territory to exist was already an unpopular decision. According to Brynn the only reason her father and the Herald of Ziralia hadn’t wiped him out was time and location.

Zira was already fighting wars in the north and the Southeast against Balar and Seera respectively so when he arrived on the western border, Prince Erik and Duke Raullon didn’t have a lot of options. If they sent an army to the Rilia border it could have incited a conflict and pulling troops from either the Balar or Seera fronts would leave them exposed.

By the time they had the situation in Seera under control, Herald Frost had married both Brynn and Desdemona, making attacking his territory problematic.

But, much like Princess Fiora, his beautiful wife made it clear that the king would change his mind if Frost started to cause trouble. And while Frost had power and a certain amount of knowledge that the people born in the world of Nivara didn’t have, he didn’t have an army at his disposal.

He despised being pushed around but he wasn’t going to let his pride cause him to do something stupid.

“Fuck,” Frost laughed as he envisioned what would have happened if Shalia had picked another herald.

There were a lot of ways everything could have gone wrong even from the beginning. If he’d been some wannabe hero desperate to prove himself, he might have killed the soldiers invading the forest. Then the various meetings and plots might not have occurred. Instead they would have gathered all of their troops and marched them into the forest to kill everybody.

He smiled to himself as he wondered if Shalia chose him specifically because he had no interest in being a hero. All he wanted was to have a nice safe territory where he can live in peace with his beautiful elves.

“What the hell?” Frost mumbled as he arrived at the edge of the forest. Several small structures were being assembled on treetops right on the border, like guard outposts. A pair of Arachne workers rushed out to greet him, one male and one female.

“Welcome back Herald Frost,” the raven-haired Arachne woman bowed politely while elbowing a disgruntled Arachne male who reluctantly half-bowed. She was nearly as tall as Frost on horseback while the smaller male reached the horses head. Both of them had black bodies, alabaster skin, and jet-black hair. They also had six eyes and fanged teeth but Frost barely noticed those features anymore. “Was your trip pleasant?”

“Let’s just get back to work,” the male grumbled.

All of the Arachne males disliked him due to his relationship with Lishri.

In Arachne society, the most important people were the queens. Since only queens were capable of laying eggs and only a few queens were birthed throughout their lifetime, they were practically worshipped.

Really, their entire society revolved around the queens.

Normal Arachne women were incapable of having children and were much larger than males so they acted as guards and workers in their society. Since they didn’t really have a purpose in terms of procreation, they were typically viewed as disposable, sort of like worker ants.

The male Arachne tended to make themselves useful by supporting the women and caring for children.

Since the queen laid up to a hundred eggs a year and it was also important for her to have some assistance. So, when an Arachne chose a consort it was normally because they were stronger, smarter, kinder, or more honorable than the other male Arachne. It was the most prestigious position in Arachne society a male could attain and they shared that position with dozens of other Arachne males.

So, when it came to light that Lishri not only took a human as a consort but also refused to take any other consorts, it generated some hostility.

“You’re working pretty close to the edge of the forest,” Frost said while wondering what was going on. He pointed to the structures on the treetops. “And what are those?”

“Are we not allowed near the edge of the forest?” the male asked irritably as the woman let out a groan.

“It’s part of the canopy village,” the black-haired Arachne answered while pulling out a small map of the forest with various lines and dots on it. “Queen Slakka received approval from Queen Brynn.”

“Princess,” Frost corrected. “Brynn’s a princess.”

“I am unable to call her that,” the Arachne woman said. “You are Queen Lishri’s consort and so anybody who is her equal would also be a queen.”

“Really?” Frost asked as the male let out another irritated hiss. “So, every time I take a wife, she’ll technically be an Arachne Queen?”

“That’s correct,” the Arachne woman answered. “Queen Brynn and Queen Desdemona have all of the same honors bestowed upon them as sisters of Queen Lishri.”

“Okay,” Frost smiled amusedly. The idea of Brynn being an Arachne Queen was particularly amusing given her aversion to them. “Good to know. So, this canopy village, what is it?”

“We should get back to work,” the male said with hostility. “We don’t have time to tutor the herald.”

“If you continue behaving disrespectfully to a consort, I will have no choice but to inform mother…I mean, Queen Chasa,” the woman said.

That was another issue within Arachne society which created problems. Due to the lack of queens all of Slakka’s children were basically competing for Chasa and all of Chasa’s children were competing for Slakka. It was admittedly a little weird, especially when you consider the way the web eventually weaves back into itself.

“Don’t tattle,” Frost said to the woman. He felt sorry for the Arachne men since they basically had no choice but to compete with each other in hopes of fucking somebody who was basically their aunt if they ever wanted to get laid. “But I would like that explanation.”

“The canopy village spans a much larger area,” the woman said while gesturing at the treetops. “The primary village is located on the ground and consists of our homes and storage. Then there’s the under village which is where we lay eggs and where the children sleep.”

“Under village?” Frost immediately pictured enormous holes in the ground. “You mean like a cave system?”

“Yes,” the male said disdainfully. “Because when humans come, they like to burn the forest and the caves allow us to escape.”

“It’s as he says,” the woman nodded. “But the canopy village is meant to span a much larger area. We build it high in the trees and connect the outposts with our webs allowing us to quickly travel safely throughout the forest. It also allows us to find prey without running into people.”

“I see,” Frost said while glancing at the map. It looked like it would eventually span the entire forest. “How are things in Linna village? Does everybody like it? Any issues?”

“We like it very much Herald Frost,” the Arachne beamed. “There’s plenty of food and it’s very peaceful. Thank you very much for inviting us to your territory.”

“Hmph,” the male Arachne crossed his arms and let out a low growl. “There’s no need to thank him. We’ve improved his village more in a month than his elves have done in decades. We’ve earned a right to stay here.”

“Your insolence will not be tolerated,” the Arachne woman hissed while looming threateningly over the much smaller male. She placed her hand on his head like she intended to squash him. “Herald Frost is our lord and the consort of Queen Lishri. Your personal frustrations do not excuse your undignified behavior.”

“He’s taken our most precious resource from us!” the male said while smacking away her hand. “And we’re expected to thank him for it?”

“Queen Lishri chose him,” the woman said while cracking her knuckles. The male as backed away slowly as the female stepped toward him. “He is a consort to a queen, you are not! You don’t see the women of the village acting like petulant children due to our frustrations!”

“Your frustrations?” Frost tilted his head at the raven-haired Arachne. It never actually occurred to him that the normal Arachne wanted to have sex since they were always so well behaved. “You mean that only the queens have sex?”

“Obviously,” the male replied curtly. “They’re the only ones capable of bearing children.”

“But they’re not the only one’s capable of fucking, right?” Frost pointed at the woman. “You can still fuck, right?”

“Herald Frost,” the woman’s pale skin turned bright pink as she sought to hide her face. “I mean no disrespect but I am unable to lay with you unless Queen Lishri approves it. While I’m very flattered you must go through the proper channels.”

“Right,” Frost smirked as he realized that the Arachne didn’t seem to have the concept of casual sex like the elves. “I’m going to have a meeting with Chasa and Slakka before I propose anything but I think I have a solution to your stress issues. I just need to run it by them first.”

“Queen Slakka and Queen Chasa,” the male corrected. “They are royalty and should be treated as…”

“Oh, fuck off,” Frost groaned while considering allowing the males to live in suffering just for being colossal dicks to him. “I have to get back to the village.”

“I apologize if we’ve offended you Herald Frost,” the woman bowed her head while using her hand to forcibly push the head of the Arachne male down as well. “I promise to make sure he is punished for his insolence.”

“Yeah,” Frost nodded as he rode toward the forest. “Punish away.”

Frost wanted to talk with the queens before he suggested casual sex as a solution for the frustration levels of the Arachne. It was possible that the queens didn’t divulge that information to ensure they had greater control of their followers but in the off chance it was simply overlooked it’d be a big quality of life improvement.

But that was something he could take care of at any time and since the Arachne males were assholes toward him, he was in no hurry to help them out.

He was more concerned with seeing his wives and he couldn’t stop smiling as he rode down the trail toward the village. Although he frequently left the village to get away from the constant hassles, he was always excited to return.

Frost emerged from the forest into the large clearing they used for physical training. They recently had to quadruple the size of the area by clearing out some of the trees. The addition of the Arachne children to the classes as well as the addition of magic training required a significant increase in space.

They also cleared trees in other areas making the entire village much more open than it was previously even with the addition of new homes.

One odd thing was despite the additional homes the elves still chose to pretty much sleep on top of each other. In fact, some were still choosing to sleep three to a bed. When he asked Lysandra about it she said that the villagers had a tendency to get lonely and it was only natural to seek other warm bodies to cuddle with.

He supposed it shouldn’t have been too surprising given how physically affectionate they were with each other. Swapping from a home where they cuddled in bed with one or two other elves to living alone would probably be uncomfortable.

The Arachne were also nice enough to improve the temple. They tore down several surrounding structures and cleared the forest behind the temple to increase the overall size of the temple’s first floor. They added offices and a conference room as well as some additional space in the main hall. Since some of the Arachne had decided to become followers of Shalia they felt the temple should be capable of accommodating them.

The previous main area that used to look like a tavern now appeared like a nice great hall complete with multiple bars and a massive stage. They also increased the size of the kitchen and added plenty of underground storage. It was practically a small keep.

In the upstairs of the temple they added a few rooms and widened some things but their primary improvements were downstairs since they didn’t care for the living quarters.

The temple wasn’t the largest change in the village. The stables where they kept the animals was doubled in size and a fenced grazing area was added for the animals. They also added two large storage silos to store food and animal feed for the winter.

But Frost’s favorite structure was the central bathhouse. A brilliantly constructed two story building that utilized a web-based filtration system and magic stones to summon water from the river. The inside was made up of multiple baths including a group bath.

Heating and cooling stones in the base of the bath could be activated to change the temperature to a person’s liking and then the water could be emptied through a similar system of pipes into a ditch a good distance away. Most importantly, it was a mixed bathhouse and he was the only man in the village.

There were other buildings still in progress as well including a small schoolhouse and library that Frost insisted on. While the elves seemed nervous about their children learning magic or acquiring dangerous knowledge, Frost was fairly confident that it was a good decision, even if there were a few incidents.

He paused and stared at the schoolhouse and wondered if he should ask them to increase the size of it. If Brynn allowed children of the courtesans to go to school in Pluma they’d need more room, especially in winter when they couldn’t have outdoor classes.

Overall, the village had improved massively over the course of a month. While Pluma village was still smaller than any of the other villages in his territory, if it continued at its current rate of growth it’d soon become the largest.

“Herald Frost,” Shael waved excitedly as he arrived at the small stone wall surrounding the village. The tan muscular redhead was wearing a surprisingly short crimson dress with a flowy skirt and low-cut top. Her golden sandals wrapped around her muscular calves and ended right below her knee drawing his eyes toward her thick thighs. The outfit looked like a combination of a red club dress and a roman tunic. “Welcome back!”

“Good to be back,” Frost said as he hopped off Witch. He gave her a firm pat and the red mare headed to the stables on her own. Frost started walking toward Shael. “Anything happen while I was gone?”

“Hmm,” Shael looked around anxiously as several other elves spotted Frost and came rushing over to greet him. “Nothing out of the ordinary really. I can catch you up on everything if you want to come back to my…”

“Herald Frost!” Marina said excitedly as she approached in a knee-length blue sundress. She looked like the spitting image of a fifties housewife and Robin quickly came up behind her in a similar pink dress. Their daughter Emmy emerged between them and started swinging from their arms. “Welcome back! Shael, do you think you could watch Emmy while we catch Herald Frost up on…”

“Herald Frost!” Zinnia yelled as she rushed toward him with Jasmine and Iris trailing behind. The three beastgirl courtesans were dressed in halter tops and short pleated skirts which weren’t appropriate anywhere except a brothel. Zinnia practically tackled him as the curvaceous Durra wrapped her arms around him. Her soft warm chest pressed against him as she nonchalantly hooked her leg around his. “I missed you so much! I thought you were never coming back! You were gone forever! I’m so happy you came back!”

“Zinnia,” Jasmine said as she and Iris worked together to unlatch the dog-eared woman. “Off, off, down!”

“I missed him so much!” Zinnia whined as she struggled to maintain her grip. Her tail flailed back and forth swatting Jasmine and Iris as they attempted to remove her. “He was gone forever but now he’s back!”

“We all missed him,” Iris said timidly while unlatching Zinnia’s leg from Frost. Jasmine attempted to pull her away as soon as she was unhooked. The gorgeous rabbit-eared Florenne smiled at Frost as he found himself distracted by the fact that he could see her pink perky nipples beneath her white halter-top. Between her white outfit, snow white hair, and porcelain skin, the rabbit-eared woman looked almost angelic. “But we need to give him time to relax.”

“Yeah,” Jasmine said while inserting herself between Zinnia and Frost. Her tan athletic body pressed against him as she fought Zinnia off. Frost reflexively reached under her skirt and gave her lean ass a squeeze. “Herald Frost!”

“What?” Frost laughed as he slid his hand toward her orange tail, giving it a slow long stroke.

“Herald Frost!” Shael said while crossing her arms. “I was here first!”

“Herald Frost touched Jasmine’s butt!” Emmy laughed as Robin and Marina stared daggers at him and he quickly pulled his hand away.

“Hmm,” Zinnia paused and glanced around as if she heard something. After a few seconds her eyes fixated on Frost. She began sniffing while becoming more and more perplexed by whatever it was that she was smelling.

“You okay?” Jasmine asked as Zinnia stopped pushing her to focus on the scent. The orange haired Myrran glanced at Zinnia and then back at Frost. “What is it?”

“It’s madam!” Zinnia shouted excitedly as her tail went into overdrive. “Is she here? Is she visiting? I can’t wait to show her my collection of trophies! She’s going to be so proud of me!”

“Hmm,” Iris sniffed Frost’s clothes curiously. “I don’t think she’s here. Herald Frost smells like the madam.”

“What?” Jasmine hissed as she twisted her body to face him. The orange haired catgirl buried her nose in his chest. “You do! You smell just like Madam Gardenia!”

“He smells like who?” Brynn snapped as she stomped toward Frost with Renna beside her. Frost was instantly intrigued by the two since they were both wearing large cloaks and he could only think of a couple reasons they’d want to cover themselves. “Handsome, do you want to tell me something?”

“I wouldn’t say I want to,” Frost laughed nervously as Brynn and Renna moved through the crowd of assembled elves. “But I did visit the brothel while I was in Blackwater.”

“No,” Iris said while pointing at him accusingly. “You always smell like the brothel but this time you smell like Madam Gardenia!”

“Madam Gardenia doesn’t smell like the brothel,” Zinnia nodded as she buried her nose in Frost’s chest. “I missed this smell. It smells just like her fluffy tail.”

“Don’t try to fool us,” Jasmine challengingly poked his chest. The cat-eared woman smiled and pointed like she was a private detective solving a mystery. “You fucked the madam!”

“Jasmine!” Robin gestured at Emmy. “We’ve talked about this!”

“Sorry,” Jasmine blushed and covered her mouth.

“Are you really going to try to lie handsome?” Brynn shifted beneath her cloak and for a brief moment he noticed a bare leg. He knew she must be wearing something good and Renna’s excited blushing face made him even more sure of it. “They can smell her on you.”

“I didn’t lie,” Frost said defensively as Brynn glared at him. “They didn’t let me finish my sentence. I visited the brothel while I was in Blackwater and spent the evening with Madam Gardenia.”

“Hmm,” Brynn glared at him suspiciously as Jasmine rushed over to her and whispered something in her ear. “If that’s all it is then why do you look so nervous?”

“Jasmine,” Frost glared threateningly at the mischievous Myrran. “What are you telling her?”

“Uh-huh,” Brynn gripped the cat-eared woman’s waist. “Really?”

“Oh! Right! I bet she’s telling her that Madam Gardenia doesn’t sleep with customers,” Iris announced as if she were now the detective. “Actually. Now that I think about it. I don’t think I’ve ever seen the madam sleep with anybody.”

“That’s exactly what she’s saying,” Brynn scowled at Frost. “She says that if Madam Gardenia invited you back to her room then you probably took her out for a wonderful romantic evening and probably did all sorts of nice things for her. Is that right?”

“You all need to stop interrupting,” Frost said nonchalantly. He was caught, the only thing he could do was own up to it. “I visited the brothel while I was in Blackwater and spent the evening with Madam Gardenia having dinner and a stroll before going back to the brothel.”

“She got a date!” Renna stomped angrily but quickly stopped when her cloak almost opened up. “You took Madam Gardenia on a romantic date? You’ve never taken me on a romantic date!”

“I took you on a picnic the other week,” Frost said defensively.

“That didn’t count because you only did it because you fell asleep while we were fucking!” Renna shouted.

“Renna!” Marina and Robin simultaneously covered Emmy’s ears. “All of you!”

“Renna said a bad word!” Emmy laughed.

“I knew we should have found somebody to watch her,” Robin sighed while glancing at Shael.

Several of the other elf children were laughing at Renna’s profanity as their respective parents covered their ears or tried to explain grown up words.

“Frost!” Emmy shouted. “When are you going to marry my moms?”

“What about my moms?” Vasati shouted.

Frost groaned while he pretended not to hear the children. Ever since the recent talks of wives and marriages the elf children were pestering him in new awkward ways. They’d regularly ask him what he was doing with their mothers that made them so happy or asking if he was going to give them a new baby sibling.

He’d thought he’d gotten over his awkwardness around children but as soon as he thought he was used to it they found ways to make it more awkward.

Several other elf children quickly joined in as their mothers blushed. It was obvious to Frost that none of the manipulative women had any intention of stopping their children from asking and he was fairly certain that at least a couple were encouraging it.

“Herald Frost is not marrying anybody who does not meet the requirements,” Brynn said sternly while scowling at the assembled elves. “We’ve been over this. First you need to reach level thirty-five and then we’ll talk about the other requirements.”

“I just reached level thirty,” Shael said proudly as Frost scanned her to confirm. She was a level thirty knight making her the highest-level tank in the village. “I was killing golems in the field almost every day since you left!”

“We’re all working really hard!” Robin said as all the elves agreed. Most of the older women were nearing level thirty while a lot of the younger ones were reaching level twenty.

The pace at which they all leveled was phenomenal. Not only that, but their combat abilities were rising much faster than anticipated to the point Shael had to create a special class to discuss combat theory with the other elves. She even arranged for Sir Isaac, Sir Adamus, and Chasa to come speak to the class when they could find time.

Everybody was improving in hopes of becoming his wife and it seemed that unless Brynn came up with some new requirements, he was going to be having a hell of a lot of weddings.

He smirked as he noticed Lishri and Desdemona hovering behind the pack of elves. Unlike Brynn and Renna they lacked the confidence to push their way through the horde.

“Are you two just going to hang back there?” Frost asked as Lishri and Desdemona stood behind the swarm of elves. “You know you can greet me.”

“I didn’t want to be rude,” Lishri said apprehensively as several of the elves moved out of the way for her. The beautiful red Arachne skittered through the group and stood in front of Frost. “Everybody else was here first and it’d be unfair to skip ahead.”

“You’re his wives,” Brynn said authoritatively. “You both really need to start acting like it. It’s okay to demand some of his attention.”

“Really?” Lishri said quietly as she smiled at Frost. “Can I demand that he join me for the evening?”

“You’re pushing it,” Brynn said while shuffling uncomfortably. “I’m his first wife and I didn’t get all dressed up for nothing.”

“I missed you very much my husband,” Desdemona said as she gave Frost a hug. As she buried her face into his neck, he felt her tongue coast across his skin as if tasting him. “I didn’t have any incidents while you were away.”

“That’s good,” Frost smiled before turning his head back toward Brynn. “All dressed up? What are you wearing under there?”

“It’s a surprise,” Brynn grinned mischievously. “And the only way you’ll find out is if you decide to come home for the evening instead of run off with somebody else.”

“That’s cheating!”

“Yeah! No fair!”

Several other elves joined in voicing their objections while others attempted to entice him with lewd offers.

“There are children here!” Marina snapped at the group while covering Emmy’s ears. She glanced at Robin and the two began to head back home. Other elf parents did the same since they knew they were unlikely to beat Brynn anyway.

“Um,” Lishri poked Brynn’s shoulder. “Are you wearing the things Renna asked me to make beneath those cloaks?”

“Yup!” Renna said cheerfully. “Although it took a lot of convincing to get her in it!”

“But,” Lishri’s face turned red as she looked around. “Lady Brynn, you’re a princess! You can’t wear something like that!”

“I’m aware,” Brynn said as she blushed and looked away. “Which is why handsome should choose to spend the evening with me.”

“And me!” Renna added excitedly.

“I’m sure Herald Frost will make time for everybody,” Lysandra said reassuringly as she approached the crowd. The beautiful white-haired elf was wearing one of her ivory priestess gowns that bordered on transparent. When the light hit it just right, he could see the matching lace bodice along with the straps holding up her leggings and it drove him crazy. “Everybody missed you so much.”

“Not as much as I’ve missed all of you,” Frost said as Lysandra greeted him. He stepped toward her and gripped her waist pulling her close before leaning down to kiss her. He missed the soft warmth of her lips on his and the feeling of her slender waist in his grasp.

“Seriously!” Renna said. “She was here last!”

“We’re technically last,” Fayeth said as she approached the crowd with Ena. Both of the beautiful blonde elves looked ravishing in the colorful chemise nightgowns they wore like dresses. Fayeth’s could barely contain her large chest while Ena’s was a perfect fit. “But I suppose we’re not competing. Unless Ena wants to?”

“Absolutely not,” Ena said while sticking up her nose at the idea.

“We really need to think of some system for this,” Frost laughed while wrapping an arm around Lysandra. “But Lysandra’s got the biggest bed and I’m staying there tonight.”

“Aww,” Lishri sighed dejectedly as she looked at the ground. Several other elves muttered similar frustrations.

“Then I’m staying with Lysandra too!” Renna said. “I didn’t get dressed up for nothing!”

“As if we could keep you out,” Frost smirked at the slender green-haired elf. He was extremely curious about what she and Brynn were wearing beneath their cloaks. “Brynn, Des, Lysandra, and Renna.”

“Really?” Desdemona said excitedly. “Even after that incident.”

“Renna’s foot is fine,” Frost laughed as he recalled the emerald-eyed elf hopping around the room naked. “And if she thinks it’s too much of a risk she could always sleep in her own room.”

“Never!” Renna said adamantly.

“Herald Frost,” Lishri was barely audible as she raised her hand. “I know I probably shouldn’t bring this up but you missed our…”

“I owe you a day,” Frost nodded. “I can stop by tomorrow.”

“Really?” Lishri’s sadness washed away as she began skittering back and forth like she was suddenly in a hurry. “Wonderful! I’ve been practicing some new things and…I need to make something to wear! Really? Tomorrow?”

“Yeah,” Frost said. “But before anything else I haven’t eaten all day.”

“We can have a welcome home party!” Shael said excitedly. “There’s plenty of room in the temple now!”

“I thought we’d head straight to the bedroom…” Brynn said anxiously as she held her cloak closed. “I mean, I don’t really want to risk anybody seeing this handsome.”

“Yeah,” Renna said while looking down at her own cloak. “We kind of expected you to rush.”

“What are you wearing under there,” Jasmine said while eying Renna’s cloak. “Is it cute? Will it fit me? Can I borrow it? I let you borrow my clothes all the time. Can I see?”

“Not out here,” Renna said as Jasmine shoved her head inside of the cloak. Frost tried to angle himself to see what was inside but he couldn’t get a clear view. “Jasmine! No biting!”

“That is so sexy!” Jasmine said while pulling her head out from the cloak. “I’m definitely going to borrow it!”

“Herald Frost,” Lysandra smiled as she hooked her arm in his. “What would you like to eat?”

“I’ll make some of everything,” Stomi said while excitedly rushing off to the kitchen.

“Some of everything sounds good,” Frost smirked as he stared at all of the colorful villagers.

CHAPTER 10

Dinner mostly consisted of the elves bragging about how far along they were coming on their levels and how hard they were working. Occasionally they’d bring up some random dispute they were having but Lysandra quickly diffuse them.

It seemed that no matter how upset the elves were about something, Lysandra could get them to resolve their conflict in a matter of minutes. It was one of the things Frost loved about her.

Frost loved spending time with all of the elves.

It was always like a large happy gathering where even if they were fighting, it was obvious they loved each other. It was probably the healthiest environment he’d ever been in if he was being honest.

They spent a good portion of the night eating, drinking, and catching up until things started to wind down. The elves with children left early but once it started getting late the livelier elves needed to be forced to leave by Shael and a few others.

“Good night,” Shael said as she rounded up the last of the elves. “Don’t forget to use the infertility spell.”

“Don’t remind him you evil old whore!” Renna shouted as Shael exited.

Frost didn’t need reminding on that particular topic. He was careful to reapply the spell almost daily ensuring that he’d never accidentally get any of the elves pregnant. To his knowledge, none of them were using the infertility spell and several of them were almost psychotically dedicated to getting pregnant.

“Did you remember to use it with Madam Gardenia?” Brynn asked as he playfully reached for her cloak. The nimble bard backed away before he could see her. Both her and Renna were more on guard than he’d ever seen them making his desire to see their outfits even stronger.

“Obviously,” Frost said while mentally verifying his math. He didn’t remember to use it with her but he’d used it two days prior so he was fine. “Do you really think I’d forget something like that?”

“Normally no,” Brynn said while heading toward the stairs. “But I imagine you were very excited to finally snare that fox.”

“Not nearly as excited as I was to snare a princess,” Frost said flirtatiously while the women made their way upstairs.

“Really?” Desdemona stopped and turned toward him excitedly as her face turned bright pink, clearly misunderstanding who the compliment was intended for. “You were really excited to have me?”

“Of course,” Lysandra said before anybody could say otherwise. “We’re all very excited to have you.”

“I’m excited to be with all of you,” Frost smiled at all of the women and followed them up the stairs.

“We could join them if you weren’t so stubborn,” Fayeth said to Ena as the two drank at the bar. “Think about it…”

“The bed’s too small,” Ena said while glaring at the group. The look could easily be mistaken for irritation but Frost knew it was jealousy. They had to sneak around due to Ena’s fear that the others would make fun of her if they found out that they were sleeping together. Frost wasn’t going to complain about the secrecy since he admittedly enjoyed the sneaking around part. “And I told you that I plan on marrying a handsome noble elf someday who recognizes me for the amazing woman I am.”

“I recognize you for the amazing woman you are,” Frost flirted from the bannister. Teasing her was one of his favorite parts of Ena wanting to keep everything secret. “I would pamper you ever day, kiss every inch of your body, and take you on romantic dates. So why don’t you join us? I really want you to.”

“Ena!” Fayeth shoved Ena’s shoulder. “You can’t turn that down!”

“N-no!” Ena snapped while turning to her drink as Fayeth laughed. “I’m not interested in him.”

“You’re such a liar,” Fayeth chuckled while shrugging at Herald Frost. “I tried!”

“I know,” Frost smirked as he headed toward the bedroom. “Maybe another time.”

“How could you even think about them when you have us?” Renna smiled wickedly as she backed into the bedroom. She quickly rushed beside Brynn who was shifting uncomfortably while looking for a way out. “Right Brynn?”

“Uh-huh,” Brynn nodded while staring at Desdemona and Lysandra. “I was thinking handsome. Maybe it could just be me, you, and Renna tonight?”

“Yes!” Renna hopped excitedly. “Get rid of the dusty old antique!”

“No!” Desdemona whined while wrapping her arm around Frost. Her crimson eyes began to tear up at the thought of being sent away. She released him and stepped backward politely. “I mean, if that’s what you want.”

“Lady Brynn,” Lysandra frowned at the petite bard as she stroked Desdemona’s crimson hair. “That was a very hurtful thing to suggest.

“It’s not you Des,” Brynn said while stepping behind Renna. “It’s just the outfits…”

“We’ve all seen each other naked,” Lysandra teased while walking toward her armoire. “Not to mention all of the things we’ve watched each other do…”

“You haven’t seen the outfits,” Brynn muttered.

“They can’t be that bad,” Lysandra said as she removed her robes and revealed her white lacey bodice. Her amazing ass was perfectly highlighted by the cut of her lace panties and the way the core of the bodice tapered in made her ass look even larger than usual. She hung up the robe in the armoire and turned toward Frost. Frost wanted to bury his face in her ample chest which was practically bursting from her sweetheart top. “You went through the trouble of getting dressed up for Herald Frost, why not just show him already?”

“You first,” Renna said while quickly dashing behind Brynn. “I’ll go after!”

“It was your idea!” Brynn said while trying to fight her way behind Renna. “You should go first.”

“You’re his wife and I’m only his lover,” Renna said while fighting to remain hidden. “You should have the honor of going first.”

“Lady Brynn,” Desdemona stepped forward and began undressing herself. She removed her skirt revealing her black lace thong while turning to Frost to help her with her corset. “Will it help if we all get undressed?”

“Naked would be easier,” Brynn grumbled. “Maybe I should just take it off under here…”

“No,” Frost said while nimbly unraveling the lace binding of Desdemona’s corset. He quickly reached the bottom and Desdemona removed it exposing her large pale breasts and almost invisible nipples. “You got me all excited and now I want to see.”

“It was Renna’s idea handsome,” Brynn blushed while staring at the impish elf. “A lady shouldn’t wear something like this.”

“Who says?” Frost laughed while removing his own shirt as he walked toward the bed. He tossed his shirt on a chair and quickly removed his pants before sending them the same direction. Once he was down to his underwear he hopped into the bed and smiled as he waited for the two women. “Jasmine, Iris, and Zinnia wear all sorts of outfits for me and I consider them ladies.”

“They’re courtesans,” Brynn grimaced. “They don’t have to worry about their reputations.”

“You’ve slept with elves, demons, and beastgirls just like me,” Frost smirked while staring at Brynn’s cloak. “I’m pretty sure that your reputation is already in shambles.”

“He has a point,” Lysandra giggled while walking to her side of the bed and fluffing her pillow. Once she was satisfied with her pillows she hopped in the bed. The violet-eyed elf quickly cuddled up next to him and began stroking his muscular abdomen while waiting for the spectacle to unfold. “You’re as much an elf-fucker as Herald Frost.”

“And technically,” Desdemona pointed at herself while sitting on the edge of the bed. “You have done some things with me as well…”

“And Jasmine, Iris, and Zinnia,” Renna said. “So…”

“Fine,” Brynn said reluctantly while glaring at Renna. Her face was almost completely red as she turned toward Frost. “But keep in mind that this was all Renna’s idea handsome! I am still a princess and your wife and I demand respect!”

“I just want you to know the longer you make me wait the more I’m expecting,” Frost smirked.

“Fine!” Brynn said while slowly slipping her hands out of her cloak and undoing the clasps near her neck. She gradually let the cloak drop and it took a minute for everything to register what he was seeing. Brynn’s entire body was pink with embarrassment as she clenched her eyes shut. “Well?”

“Wow,” Frost gasped as he stared.

Brynn was right that she was wearing something that a princess absolutely should not wear. Her lingerie, if he could call it that, was obviously inspired by one of Jasmine’s lewder outfights but dialed up several notches.

His eyes were immediately drawn to her silky black collar wrapped tightly around her neck and the silver rings dangling from it. A matching silver chain hung from the center ring of the collar and connected to a long cloth leash which Brynn was holding in her clenched fist. As he stared at the leash, he realized that the chain didn’t actually connect to the ring of the collar but connected to another chain that ran through other rings of the collar. That chain connected to the two silver nipple clamps latched onto Brynn’s delicate pink nipples. He smiled excitedly as he realized that every tug of her leash would also pull on her nipples.

“Brynn,” Desdemona blushed while grabbing a pillow to cover her face.

“You came up with this?” Lysandra shook her head at Renna who was grinning proudly.

Brynn’s lacy black garter belt was equally as impressive in design and also utilized a chain and clamps. The chain wrapped around the entirety of the belt and several rings were connected to it. The purpose was immediately apparent as Frost stared at the thin silver chains connected to Brynn’s glistening pink pussy.

“Doesn’t that hurt?” Desdemona asked while peaking out over the pillow at the clamps attached to Brynn’s pink lips. “It seems like it’d hurt.”

“A little but you get used to it,” Brynn said while staring at the ground shamefully. “It’s too much isn’t it…”

“Not at all,” Frost stared at her and desperately had the urge to tug on both her leash and the rings of her garter. His cock was already hard in his shorts as he stared at the petite princess and her perfect pink opening. Just the thought of tugging on those chains as he buried his face inside of her had his cock twitching like mad. He glanced at Renna waiting nervously to hear what he had to say about Brynn. “You look amazing.”

“I told you he’d love it!” Renna said triumphantly as she undid the neck of her cloak revealing a nearly identical outfit with green fabric and gold chains. The petite elf’s tan lines made it feel entirely different though. The way her tan lines highlighted her chest and dripping pussy drew his gaze even more. “Master.”

“Master?” Frost smirked.

“Jasmine said you liked that,” Renna said. “She said that you liked it very much during one of her games, master.”

“I’d say he does,” Lysandra said while running her fingers along the outline of his hard cock. “Do you like that, master?”

“Fuck,” Frost chuckled as Desdemona cautiously followed Lysandra’s lead. The crimson-eyed demoness stared at him while slowly kissing down his chest and abs, making her way to his beltline.

“I love you master,” Desdemona said timidly.

“Hey!” Brynn snapped while grabbing Renna’s chain and pulling her toward her. The green-haired elf let out a squeal as the clamps tugged at her nipples. “This was our idea! We get…we get handsome first!”

“We’re just warming him up,” Lysandra chuckled while hooking her fingers in his boxers. Desdemona followed suit and the two worked together to pull them off Frost exposing his massive cock. “But it’s more fun if we can all call him master.”

“I would have worn one had you asked,” Desdemona pouted while staring at the two.

“These were crafted for slender women,” Renna said defiantly while glaring at Desdemona’s large pale chest.

“I’m slender,” the demoness said while rubbing her stomach. “Aren’t I?”

“They’re talking about these,” Frost said while grabbing one of Desdemona’s breasts playfully. She let out a sexy whine as her eyes focused on him like he’d just become prey. Her fanged smiled sent a chill down his spine as she slowly crawled toward his neck. “You are just so sexy. I’ve missed you all so much.”

“Then you shouldn’t leave so much,” Lysandra said while licking his neck. Desdemona quickly attacked his other side while Brynn and Renna made their way toward his bed. “You leave too often.”

“She’s right about that,” Renna said hopping on the foot of the bed. The petite elf placed her leash between her teeth and crawled toward Frost. Once she reached him, she dropped the leash on his abdomen like a dog returning a stick. “We miss our master so much.”

“All of you?” Frost smirked as Brynn anxiously crawled toward him. The raven-haired bard clenched her teeth while slowly presenting her leash to him. “Did you miss your master?”

“Yes,” Brynn said as her face turned red.

“Yes what?” Frost grinned wickedly as he took her lead and gave it a little tug. His petite wife whimpered as the clamps tugged on her tiny pink nipples.

“I missed my master,” Brynn whined.

“Good. Now, prove it,” Frost said while giving Brynn’s leash another firm tug. The sound of the silver chains through the rings preceded a loud squeal as the clamps stretched Brynn’s delicate pink tits. He gently pulled the tight chain across his body, guiding Brynn’s head toward his thick cock. “Prove how much you missed your master.”

“I’ll do it,” Renna said while making a mad dash for his cock. He quickly tugged her lead stopping her in her tracks as the tight clamps yanked on her nipples causing her to squeal. “Eeep!”

“I want the princess to suck on her master’s cock,” Frost said while staring at the petite bard. Brynn obediently wrapped her hand around his cock and lowered her head. “Show me how much my slutty little princess missed me.”

“Yes master,” Brynn panted as she slowly stroked him. The short-haired bard pressed her tongue against the tip of his thick cock and began swirling it, savoring his taste. Her soft wet tongue made several laps around his sensitive tip before she began kissing down the side, worshipping every inch of his thick cock as Frost gently tugged on her chain. “I missed my master so much.”

“Renna,” Frost tugged on the chain guiding Renna toward Desdemona’s hips. “It was really mean of you not to make an outfit for Des. You know she’s still having trouble feeling at home here.”

“But that’s because she has huge…nnnggg!” Renna whimpered as Frost tugged her chain stretching her pink nipples.

“Don’t talk back to your master,” Frost said sternly, loving every second of his role. “I want you to make Desdemona feel at home.”

“Feel at home?” Desdemona asked. Frost nodded toward Renna positioned between her legs and realized what he meant. “Oh! But I missed you…”

“Then let her do it for me,” Frost said while pecking Desdemona on the lips. He kissed her cheek and then moved to her ear while slipping Renna’s leash into her hand. “I think it’s so fucking sexy when Renna licks your pussy. It’s also so fucking sexy when you’re confident…”

“When I’m confident?” Desdemona gulped. “But I’m not really…”

“It’s be so fucking hot if you made Renna your little whore,” Frost growled in Desdemona’s ear. He gently bit her earlobe before kissing her neck. “I don’t think I’d be able to keep my hands off you…”

“Really?” Desdemona’s face turned pink. “Okay…so…” Desdemona tugged gently on Renna’s leash while spreading her legs, guiding the green-haired elf between them. “So, eat my pussy Renna.”

“Des,” Frost chuckled at the sight of his meek demoness attempting to be dominating. “You can do better than that.”

“What about me master?” Renna asked while pouting at Frost. “Are you going to be able to keep your hands off me?”

“If you’re a good little servant I’ll reward you too,” Frost grinned as Renna smiled wickedly.

“Okay,” Renna nodded while quickly scurrying up to Desdemona’s ear to whisper advice.

“Huh?” Desdemona whimpered as Renna began whispering detailed suggestions. “You want me to say what…I can’t call you that…do you even want to do that…that could really hurt you…Renna are you sure?”

“I’m sure,” Renna said as she scurried back to her place and put on a pouty expression. Frost couldn’t help but feel that the games she played with Jasmine contributed to her rapidly improving acting ability. “What do you want me to do mistress?”

“D-did you just speak out of turn slut,” Desdemona said while pulling forcefully on the leash, stretching Renna’s nipples as the green-haired elf clenched her teeth. Desdemona pulled her knee back to her chest and then pushed her foot into Renna’s face. “Open up you worthless whore, now.”

“Yes mistress,” Renna whined as Desdemona forced her foot into Renna’s mouth.

“Master,” Brynn moaned sensually while running her tongue up his cock. “Does it excite you to watch that little slut get punished?”

“It certainly excites me,” Lysandra giggled as she watched Desdemona shove her beautiful pale foot into Renna’s mouth. The demoness tugged on the leash while pushing Renna away with her foot, forcing the slender elf to choose between having her nipples yanked or taking the foot deeper. Lysandra leaned into Frost’s neck and returned to licking them. “Is your slutty little princess doing a good enough job master? Or should your slutty little priestess help?”

“Fuck,” Frost panted as his cock spasmed uncontrollably. Everywhere he looked there was somebody he wanted to fuck and he was almost paralyzed with indecision. He turned his head toward Lysandra and took the white-haired priestess’ mouth, forcing his tongue inside while gripping the back of her head. He gave Brynn’s leash a firm tug as he kissed Lysandra, indicating the princess should return to her task. “I love you all so fucking much.”

“We love you too master,” Lysandra moaned as she slid her hand between her legs. She buried her fingers inside of her pussy and swirled them around before pulling them back out. She brought them to her pink lips and slid them across as if applying lipstick. Finally, after her lips were covered in her flavor she leaned in and kissed Frost again.

Frost moaned as Lysandra’s tongue went to war with his, sliding around his mouth as he battled for hers. He wrapped his arm around her back and pulled her tight as he savored the taste on her lips.

“Mmm,” Brynn moaned loudly as she took the tip of his cock in her mouth and began taking it down. Her saliva dripped down his shaft into her hand, lubricating it as she stroked him. Gradually her strokes became shorter as she took his cock deeper into her mouth. She gagged and pulled away as she gasped for air. “Do you like that master?”

“Yes,” Frost said while giving her another tug. “Did I tell you to stop?”

“No master,” Brynn moaned while diving back down on his cock. She eagerly took him back down while wiggling her tiny ass in the air. Her warm wet mouth enveloping the tip as her tongue slithered against it. She glared at Lysandra jealously as the white-haired elf continued to slid her fingers in her cunt and spread her juices on her lips as she kissed Frost.

“Gah,” Renna gasped as Desdemona removed her foot from her mouth. “Was that good mistress?”

“Yes,” Desdemona said with a trembling voice. The crimson-eyed demoness was unbelievably aroused as she stared at Renna but clearly didn’t understand why. She looked at the short-haired elf with concern. “Are you okay?”

“Yes mistress,” Renna said while shaking her head in disapproval. “You don’t have to worry about me. I’m here for your pleasure,” Renna jerked her head toward Frost. “Remember?”

“R-right,” Desdemona nodded. “So, everything I have you do is okay? And you won’t be upset?”

“Of course, mistress,” Renna said through clenched teeth, clearly irritated that Desdemona was failing to behave in a way that’d entice Frost. “Our master asked you to do this, remember? Our master said he wanted to watch you command me. So everything you do is at his request.”

“Everything I do…” Desdemona’s voice trailed off as she looked at Frost. A wicked smile emerged as she finally seemed to realize that technically she was just doing what Frost asked her to do. “That’s right! I mean,” Desdemona tugged roughly on the chain forcing Renna downward. “Lick my pussy slave.”

“Yes mistress,” Renna said as she dove between Desdemona’s legs, eagerly licking her gorgeous pastel lips.

“Fuck,” Frost groaned as he felt pressure welling up in his cock. Brynn’s warm mouth wrapped around his cock as Lysandra continued to kiss him. The beautiful ivory-haired elf slid her hand down his abdomen until she reached Brynn’s head, she ran her fingers through Brynn’s short hair while applying a gentle pressure. “That feels so fucking amazing.”

“Do you want me to push your slut princess all the way down master?” Lysandra panted in his ear.

“Yeah,” Frost smiled euphorically as Lysandra started pushing on Brynn’s head. The violet-eyed elf buried her face in his neck as she firmly guided Brynn down. Frost could feel Brynn’s throat tightening as if to keep him out but Lysandra wasn’t letting up.

“Mmmfffmkkk,” Brynn’s body arched as she reflexively tried to pull away but Lysandra held her in place, forcing her to adapt. Brynn’s eyes welled up with tears as she looked up for mercy. Lysandra released Brynn’s head allowing the petite woman to pull away. She huffed as she wiped the tears from her eyes.

“What a useless little whore your princess is master,” Lysandra smirked as she began kissing down his chest, stopping at his nipple to give him a gentle bite. “Would you like me to show your pet princess how to do it master?”

“Go ahead,” Frost grinned while tugging playfully on the lead in his hand forcing Brynn to yelp.

“I can do it…” Brynn said bitterly as she watched Lysandra inching toward his cock.

“Really?” Lysandra said smugly as she gripped Frost’s saliva-soaked cock and placed the tip against her tongue. Lysandra let the head slide into her mouth as her tongue slithered against his shaft. She effortlessly took his cock down her tight throat all the way to the base. After several playful bounces of her head she slowly pulled it out and offered it to Brynn. “You can do that?”

“I’ve done it before,” Brynn said bitterly as she took a deep breath and steeled herself. While she regularly managed to take him down, it was always a struggle. The short-haired bard leaned across from Lysandra and took his cock in her mouth, slowly taking it down until she once again reached her limit. “Goddess.” Brynn moaned as she pulled away again. Lysandra hungrily grabbed his cock and took it down again, becoming more aggressive as she bobbed her head. She eventually pulled of and handed him back to Brynn. “I’ll get it this time.”

Frost moaned in ecstasy as the two gorgeous women alternated taking his cock down, tasting each other’s saliva on his thick shaft as Lysandra goaded Brynn into taking him deeper and deeper.

“Goddess I’m cumming!” Desdemona moaned as she released on the green-haired elf’s face. Renna hungrily lapped at Des’ tight pussy as the demoness’ body arched. As Renna started to pull away Des firmly pulled her lead. “I didn’t tell you to stop licking whore. Lick up every drop from my cunt.”

“Yes mistress,” Renna said as she eagerly licked up every glistening drop of Desdemona’s nectar. The short-haired elf buried her face between Desdemona’s pale thighs as she obediently cleaned. The moment Renna decided she’d finished and started to pull away Desdemona tugged on her lead. “Mistress?”

“You’re not finished,” Desdemona with a nervous smile. The demoness hooked a hand beneath her leg and lifted it to her chest. “Lick my ass.”

“Fuck,” Frost bit his lip as he watched Renna lower herself down and began obediently licking Desdemona’s asshole. The demoness sighed happily as Renna’s soft tongue slid along her naughty hole. He groaned as he felt Brynn’s throat wrap around his cock as the petite princess finally managed to take his massive cock to the base. “That’s amazing.”

“I knew you could do it,” Lysandra said seductively while licking Frost’s balls. The two women worked in tandem, worshipping his cock as the pleasure overwhelmed him. He reflexively thrust his hips upward, as if to plunge his cock deeper into Brynn’s throat. Lysandra wrapped her arm around Brynn’s head, holding it down as Frost thrust his hips again. “Be a good slut and hold it.”

“Mmmfffkk!” Brynn gurgled as Frost roughly fucked her mouth. After several powerful thrusts he couldn’t take it anymore and released into her tight throat as she choked down his cum. His cock continually spasmed inside of her, fighting against her throat.

“Such a good girl,” Lysandra said seductively as she finally allowed Brynn to lift her head. Before Brynn could catch her breath, Lysandra was on her, licking her face like an excited pet and thrusting her tongue down her throat. “You taste so good Lady Brynn.”

“Lys,” Brynn gasped for air as Lysandra passionately kissed her. The white-haired elf glanced at Frost as she ran her hands down Brynn’s body and hooked a finger in one of the rings on Brynn’s garter belt. She gave it a gentle tug, causing the chain to pull on one of Brynn’s delicate pink petals. “Fuck!”

“You’re our master’s whore,” Lysandra said seductively while licking Brynn’s neck. “You don’t get a break.”

“Goddess,” Brynn whimpered as Lysandra pulled Brynn toward his cock and forced her to straddle him. The excited priestess gave two of the rings on Brynn’s garter a tug causing the soaked lips of her pussy to spread ever so slightly as she hovered above Frost’s thick cock. “I’m master’s whore…”

“That you are,” Frost said as he stared at Brynn’s slender frame. The beautiful bard slowly dropped down onto his cock, taking her time as the tip stretched her tiny pussy. Her warm fluids were so abundant there was hardly a struggle as she gradually slid down to the base. “And you are so fucking sexy when you’re my little slut.”

“I’m master’s little slut,” Brynn whimpered as she began slowly riding his cock. Her face was brimming with both embarrassment and pleasure as she rolled her hips. “Am I a good little slut master?”

“You’re the best little slut,” Frost moaned as Brynn’s tight pussy squeezed his cock. Frost glanced at Renna dutifully licking Desdemona’s ass and got an idea. “You deserve a reward. Lysandra, lick this little whore’s ass.”

“Yes master,” Lysandra smiled excitedly as she moved behind Brynn. She kissed down Brynn’s back and once she reached the bards small athletic ass, she slid her tongue down it. “It’s such a cute little ass.”

“Do you like your reward you little slut?” Frost asked with a smirk as he felt Brynn’s cunt twitching excitedly on his cock. “It feels like you like it.”

“I like it,” Brynn moaned while sliding up and down his cock. The juices of her warm cunt were pooling on him as she rode.

“Say what you like,” Frost smiled.

“I like having my ass licked,” Brynn’s pussy clamped down on him as her body tensed. Her eyes rolled up in her head and she fell forward as Lysandra continued thrusting her tongue in the slender bard’s ass. “Goddess…”

“Fuck,” Frost groaned while dropping her leash to grip both of her athletic ass cheeks, pulling them apart as Lysandra lapped at her ass like an animal. Frost thrust his cock into her slick cunt as the bard kissed his chest. “You feel so fucking good.”

“You feel so good master,” Brynn whined as Frost’s powerful cock pumped inside of her. Her slick juices practically pouring out with every thrust of his thick member. Lysandra’s tongue was no longer exclusive to Brynn’s asshole but instead alternated between the glistening shaft of his cock and Brynn’s sensitive asshole. “Goddess, I’m cumming again!”

“Fuck,” Frost growled as he squeezed Brynn’s ass and forced himself so deep, he thought he might cause damage. He powerfully fucked her several times as he felt his cock reach its limits and released inside of her. Instantly the petite bard quivered on his chest as a deluge of her juices poured over his cock.

“Yes, yes, yesssss!” Brynn squealed through clenched teeth as she came on Frost’s cock. Even after she collapsed on him out of breath her insides continued to squeeze him over and over, as if attempting to milk more from him. The red-faced bard rolled off of him and buried her face in a pillow and rolled into a ball. “Don’t look at me.”

“You are so fucking sexy,” Frost said pulling the pillow away to kiss her sexy naked chest, his tongue lavishing her sore nipples in affection. “I love you so much.”

“Mmmm,” Brynn grumbled while grabbing a new pillow to bury her face in. Lysandra quickly hopped on top of the petite bard and began bestowing praise of her own.

“You were so beautiful Lady Brynn,” Lysandra said reassuringly. “There’s nothing to be embarrassed about if you enjoyed it.”

“Master,” Desdemona said meekly. Frost turned to see the demoness shoving her fingers down Renna’s throat. “Did we do a good job?”

“Right,” Frost grinned as he stared at the two. “You both did a very good job.”

“Really?” Desdemona’s face lit up as Frost grabbed Renna’s leash from her. He pulled it roughly forcing Renna down toward his cock. The athletic elf quickly started cleaning Brynn’s juices from his thick shaft along with any of his own mixed in. He gripped Desdemona’s soft chest as he leaned down and kissed her, slipping his tongue beneath her razor like teeth to massage hers. She moaned as he pulled away. “Am I getting a reward master?”

“Absolutely,” Frost said while shoving Renna on top of the pale demoness. The petite elf’s face landed between her enormous chest as Frost moved behind them both. Their cunts overflowed with juices as he reached down and slid his fingers across them both. “I’m going to reward you both right now.”

“Thank you master,” Renna said excitedly as Frost lined his cock up with her tight little pussy. Her soft warm cunt practically opened itself to his cock as it slipped inside of her. He missed the way Renna’s soaked pussy gripped his cock more with each thrust and the elf’s delightful squeals as he battered her insides. “Th-thank y-you…”

Desdemona gripped Renna’s ass and spread it so Frost could get a better view of the tan elf’s asshole while fucking her dripping cunt. Gradually the demoness’ pale hands worked their way inward until her middle finger started poking Renna’s tiny asshole.

“Oh,” Frost smirked as he pulled his cock out of the tiny elf’s cunt and smacked it against her asshole several times, spreading her natural lubricant. He repeated the action two more times until he was convinced Des would have plenty to work with. “Now we’re good to have some fun.”

“Master,” Renna moaned as his cock slid back inside of her. Desdemona’s elegant middle finger easily slipped into Renna’s asshole and then her ring finger joined. Frost could feel both fingers through the walls of her pussy as Desdemona slowly fingered Renna’s ass. The petite elf latched onto one of Desdemona’s large breasts like a nursing baby. “Mistress…”

“Hurry up,” Desdemona whined as she toyed with Renna’s ass. “I want to be rewarded too.”

“You will be,” Frost said while plunging his cock into Renna so hard she yelped before pulling himself out to switch to Desdemona. His cock easily slid into her drenched cunt as the demoness let out a pleasured moan. “Fuck you both feel so good.”

“Goddess,” Desdemona squealed as Frost soon found himself unable to contain himself. His pace was increasing as his desire to break his two obedient girls took hold. Desdemona thrust her fingers into Renna’s ass and wiggled them as if trying to loosen it. “I love you master!”

“Both of your little whores love you,” Renna whimpered as Des assaulted her sensitive ass.

Frost continued fucking the two elves, alternating as their moans became more intense. Renna was the first to orgasm and as her juices poured out demoness’ cunt right beneath her became even more welcoming.

“Frost!” Desdemona squealed as he fucked her pink pussy as if he intended to break it. The lubricant from Renna making everything all too easy as his cock pounded her delicate hole. Frost could feel her getting close as her body started to tense, as if she could erupt any moment. Renna must have sensed it too as the tiny elf almost viciously bit Desdemona’s nipple causing the demoness to squeal.

Renna growled as she pulled on the nipple with her teeth as if intending to cause real harm and Desdemona’s pussy squeezed Frost so tight, he couldn’t hold it anymore.

“Yes!” Desdemona screamed as she wrapped her legs around Frost. “Fill me up master!”

“No fair,” Renna growled while biting Desdemona’s nipple.

Desdemona’s juices splashed against him and dripped down as he held himself deep inside of the sexy demoness. The more she covered him in her fluids the more he filled her with his until they were both spent.

“Grrr,” Renna smirked teasingly as she released Desdemona’s nipple, the bite marks looked like they might be enough to bruise her delicate breast. “That was for biting my foot.”

“Maybe she should bite your foot more often then,” Lysandra teased as she leaned over to peck Desdemona’s breast. “She looked like she enjoyed it quite a bit.”

“That felt so good master,” Desdemona said as Frost pulled his cock from her.

Lysandra and Renna momentarily fixed their eyes on each other and then like a pair of hyenas they dove down between Desdemona’s legs. The two elves butted heads as they attempted to force each other out so they could lick Desdemona’s cum soaked cunt.

“Let her have it,” Frost said while grabbing Lysandra and pushing the elf onto the bed. “I have enough left for you.”

“Frost…I mean master,” Lysandra giggled as Frost pinned her against the bed and quickly slid his cock inside. He slowly began fucking the welcoming pink cunt he couldn’t get enough of. “Goddess…I missed you.”

“I missed you too,” Frost said while kissing his way up her neck until he reached her ear. He licked the base to the tip and then gave it the tiniest nibble as she moaned in delight. “You and these naughty ears.”

“My ears aren’t naughty,” Lysandra moaned as she wrapped her legs around him. “You’re naughty.”

“That I am,” Frost growled in hear ear as he plunged his cock as deep is it could go and then tried for more. Every loud slap of his hips against her soaked cunt was music to his ears as he started to envisioning himself truly making her his by cumming inside of her without the protection of the infertility spell. “I’m so fucking naughty when it comes to my favorite slutty priestess.”

“Goddess,” Lysandra whined as Frost pushed her legs back and pinned her while he fucked her sopping pussy until her eyes rolled into the back of her head. “Goddess…so good…”

Frost smirked as his mind continually gravitated to the thought of recklessly impregnating her. Lysandra’s body seized and the elf grinned euphorically at him while gripping the bedding at her sides. Her pussy spasmed and on his subsequent thrust she burst and squirted all over him.

“Fuck,” Frost said as he drilled into her and rolled his hips until he released one last time, filling her perfect little cunt with his seed while wishing he could get her pregnant. He leaned down and kissed her while she moaned. “I love you so much.”

“I love you too,” Lysandra panted. The elf smiled and turned her head to the side to see Brynn an inch from her face glaring menacingly at her. She nervously turned away to see Renna glaring angrily from the other side. “What?”

“It’s no fair!” Renna said while swatting the defenseless elf with a pillow. “Brynn and I put in so much work and you’re still the favorite!”

“Really handsome,” Brynn gestured at her outfit. “Even after all of this?”

“I said she was my favorite priestess,” Frost said defensively.

“You never call me your favorite bard,” Brynn said defensively. “Or Desdemona your favorite demon. Or Renna your favorite thief!”

“You’re reading too much into it,” Frost chuckled as the beautiful princess clasped her pillow.

“Say it,” Brynn said as her eyes narrowed. “Now.”

“You’re my favorite bard,” Frost smirked as he leaned in and kissed Brynn. He turned to Renna. “And you’re my favorite thief,” he kissed the green-eyed elf and smiled at Desdemona to kiss her. “And you are definitely my favorite demon.”

“Really?” Desdemona said excitedly while looking at everybody else. “Did you hear that? I’m his favorite demon!”

“You’re literally the only demon,” Renna said while unclamping her pussy and nipples. She rubbed them gently while double checking to make sure they were okay. “I don’t think I really thought this through…”

“I know,” Brynn said doing the same while laying in the bed. “Maybe next time just collars,” Brynn said as her face turned red. “I mean…”

“Oh?” Frost smirked as he pushed his petite wife down and climbed on top of her. “Did you enjoy being your master’s slutty little princess that much?”

“Quiet,” Brynn blushed while reaching for a pillow to cover her face. “I didn’t enjoy anything.”

“I did,” Renna smiled at Desdemona. “It was fun.”

“It was?” Desdemona blushed embarrassedly. “So, I did I good job?”

“A very good job,” Renna said while cuddling against Lysandra. Desdemona shifted to her spot behind Brynn. “I still think since I’m smaller I should be closer to Herald Frost…”

“Shush,” Lysandra said while creating an opening between herself and Brynn. “It’s my bedroom.”

“Heh,” Frost grinned like an idiot as he looked at the pile of gorgeous women. “I love all of you.”

“Oh yeah?” Brynn’s eyes narrowed as she pulled him down into the spot Lysandra just created and cuddled up next to him. “I’ve been wondering. Where exactly did you and the fox-eared whore go for dinner?”

“I’m tired so maybe…”

“Where?” Brynn growled as she threateningly gripped his cock. “And don’t you lie because I’ll ask her myself.”

“The Golden Stag,” Frost answered timidly.

“I’m cutting your allowance,” Brynn replied while releasing his cock.

“What’s the Golden Stag?” Renna asked.

“The nicest restaurant in Blackwater,” Brynn answered coldly. “And I can only guess how much handsome here paid them to let in a demihuman. So clearly I’m giving him too much of an allowance.”

“No fair,” Renna said. “I want to go.”

“All of you be quiet,” Lysandra said authoritatively. “It’s time for bed. If you want to yell at Herald Frost do it tomorrow.”

“Fine,” Renna grumbled while pressing her body against Lysandra’s. “But I want a fancy date too. Not just a picnic.”

“You’re lucky you’re cute handsome,” Brynn sighed. “Because you’re a real bastard sometimes.”

“You know,” Frost said pensively. “If you cut my allowance, I’ll have to go off on hunts more often to…”

“A real bastard,” Brynn repeated while snuggling next to him.

CHAPTER 11

Being back in the village meant an endless stream of responsibilities.

As soon as Frost finished breakfast Renna wanted him to join her hunting, Brynn wanted him to help run the territory, Lysandra wanted to him to talk to her Arachne converts about Shalia, Shael wanted help running the school, Jasmine wanted to show him her new play, and pretty much everybody else wanted something too.

Back in his old world he would have respectfully told them to solve their own problems but the elves were different. The way they looked up at him with those bright eyes and hopeful smiles made saying no a million times harder than he ever imagined.

Fortunately, he did have a way to push off his responsibilities for at least a day. He’d missed his scheduled evening with Lishri because he was out hunting and needed to make it up to her. So, after breakfast he headed straight for Lishri’s house.

Lishri’s cottage loomed over Pluma village and could only be accessed by walking up a large wooden stairway secured by webbing. It was surprisingly sturdy given the fact it was basically held together with rope and special glues that the Arachne made.

The treetop cottage was one of the nicer homes in the village thanks to the Arachne that helped build it. Lishri would have settled for a completely plain house but the Arachne building it insisted on making it as nice as possible since she was a queen. It ended up twice the size of the homes in the village despite being built on top of the treetops and had several features the other homes lacked such as skylights and a large platform serving as a deck.

The crimson Arachne used the deck space for a nice garden and even added wooden posts to hang additional plants. He found it a little amusing that some of the most beautiful flowers in the forest could be found on the treetops.

Once he arrived on the deck, Frost finally got a good look at the canopy village the Arachne were discussing and noticed Lishri’s house was a part of it. It was less of a village and more of a series of small buildings connected by webbed bridges.

The size of the canopy village was undeniably impressive but the massive distance between platforms made it seem even larger than it was. Each platform was about twenty square feet in size and the Arachne were building small structures on them that looked more like storehouses or guard outposts than homes.

He examined the bridge leading from one of the distant structures to Lishri’s deck and while it was a sturdy rope bridge it’d be difficult for anybody other than an Arachne to quickly move across it unless they had perfect balance.

“Herald Frost?” Lishri said in a startled tone as she opened the door in a comfy looking white sweater. He’d actually never seen her dressed so casually so it was a pleasant surprise. But before he could compliment her, she quickly slammed the shut. “Please give me a minute!”

“It’s fine Lishri,” Frost sighed as he heard her opening and closing dresser drawers. “Lishri, you don’t have to make a big…”

“There,” Lishri said as she opened the door in a sheer black teddy. Her beautiful large breasts were completely visible through the top and since they were at his eye level, he was staring right at them. “I wasn’t expecting you so early…”

“I wanted to see you,” Frost smirked as her nipples became stiff from the cool morning air. “It’s important I fulfill my consort duties after all.”

“You know you don’t have to force yourself,” Lishri said quietly while looking away. The redhead was still embarrassed about how their agreement came about. “I tricked you into being my consort after all and Slakka and Chasa…”

“They have nothing to do with it,” Frost laughed at the blushing woman. He loved the shade of pink her pale skin turned when she was embarrassed. “I like spending time with you.”

“Really?” Lishri asked while burying her face in her hands and shaking her head.

“I swear you’re just fishing for compliments now,” Frost teased.

“No,” Lishri said embarrassedly. “I’m not. It’s just that Slakka and Chasa made you…”

“Made me?” Frost smirked and shook his head. “Do you really think they could make me do anything?”

“I suppose not,” Lishri answered timidly. “You are a herald after all.”

Slakka and Chasa admittedly played a significant role in their current arrangement but only because they pushed Lishri to speak up.

It was no secret that Frost was disliked by the male Arachne for being Lishri’s sole consort but there was additional tension caused by Frost having several wives. The Arachne women were simultaneously confused and intrigued by it while the Arachne males found it to be an act of injustice.

Frost not only had a queen to himself but also several others queens while the Arachne males had to compete for the attention of whichever queen wasn’t their mother. The situation naturally infuriated them.

Things came to a boiling point when they realized that Frost lived in the largest building in the village with both of his other wives while Lishri lived in a tent. In hindsight, it didn’t really look great.

Slakka and Chasa eventually had to get involved and forced Lishri to at the very least demand that Frost fulfill his duties as consort. Which was less of a demand and more of a series of apologies while attempting to explain that it’s very important for the Arachne to feel like equals and the way he treats his Arachne wife reflects that relationship.

It was really a no brainer what had to be done.

“Lishri,” Frost grinned while stepping toward the large redheaded Arachne. He slipped his hands beneath her sheer teddy and ran them up and down her waist causing the pale woman to tremble. “I love you.”

“Herald Frost,” Lishri quickly grabbed him and began squeezing him. He buried his face in the silky fabric covering her warm chest as they embraced. Her two hearts pounded rhythmically as her soft breasts enveloped his face. “I love you so much my darling husband.”

Lishri was easy to love so choosing to make her happy was an equally easy choice. She was one of the kindest people in the village and always eager to help anybody else at a moment’s notice. Everybody in the village considered her a friend and although she still lacked confidence in herself, she was much happier than the gloomy woman he found in a shop.

“What?” Lishri asked as Frost chuckled while enjoying the warmth of her large breasts. “Did I do something strange again?”

“No,” Frost sighed while shaking his head. “I was just thinking about how you look like a complete different person up here in the sunlight than you did in that old store of yours.”

The sunlight reflected off of her shiny crimson body and her pale skin looked almost translucent. Her stunning long red hair was almost equally reflective and several inches longer than it used to be.

“Are you growing your hair out?” Frost asked while stroking her silky hair. “It looks nice.”

“Herald Frost,” Lishri blushed while releasing a soft gasp. She adjusted her hair so it all fell over her left shoulder as if presenting it to him. “I just want to look as beautiful as I can for you.”

“Well you look amazing,” Frost smirked. Lishri knew she couldn’t compete with the elves head to head but she could compete in her own ways. She put enormous amounts of effort into everything she did and like many of the Arachne, she was a bit of a perfectionist. “I love it.”

“Um,” Lishri’s rear legs started tapping excitedly as she slowly backed into her house. “Would you like to come inside?”

“Obviously,” Frost chuckled.

A perfectionist was definitely what she was.

All of the Arachne were extremely detailed in their endeavors and depending on the specific one it manifested in different ways. Slakka was obsessive about weaving perfect spells to the point she’d practice and tweak spells hundreds of times before she was satisfied. Chasa was similar while practicing combat techniques and frequently would push herself to the point of passing out.

Most people thought Lishri’s obsession was tailoring but Frost knew it to be beauty itself.

Whether it was the flowers of her garden or her perfectly decorated home where not a single thing was out of place, she was devoted to beauty. Colorful fabric hung everywhere and various perfectly dressed mannequins of various shapes and sizes filled her common area. It was like an art museum devoted to fashion.

Her desk in the main living area of her house was covered in neatly organized stacks of papers, each with drawings on them of beautiful garments, hair styles, and makeup styles. Frost once even found an entire book with hundreds of images of Lishri’s face with different makeup and hair styles as if she were searching for the perfect one.

Lishri’s bedroom was similarly perfect except for the neatly stacked piles of colorful cloth lined one of the walls. The large windows looked out over the forest and a glass skylight let in enormous amounts of sunlight her curtains were open. The ingenious Arachne had fashioned a strange dual posted curtain in front of the skylight embroidered with beautiful patterns.

Between the floor and large vaulted ceiling was Lishri’s bed, or to be more accurate, her web. While the Arachne could sleep in beds or caverns, they preferred their webs and it didn’t take long for Frost to figure out why.

The first time Lishri secured him to the web he realized it was like floating in an ocean of sky. Everything was in perfect balance as his stress just melted away.

“I love you so much darling husband,” Lishri whispered in his ear as she swiftly started unbuttoning his shirt. “While you were away, I made you some new outfits as well my love.”

“You don’t have to rush,” Frost chuckled as Lishri hung up the clothing she’d removed from him. She turned her attention to his pants and leaned down to unbutton them. “We have all day.”

“I’ve missed you so much,” Lishri kissed his naked chest while removing his pants. “I love you so much. Nobody makes me feel like this but you…”

“Thank you but…whoa…” Frost chuckled as Lishri pulled down his underwear with his pants. “I know you’re excited but…”

“You’re so sexy,” Lishri moaned into his ear while wrapping her arms around him. She lifted him up and skittered to her web, hooking her feet between the strands as she crawled into it. “I was thinking about you all night. I was practically on fire.”

“On fire?” Frost chuckled as Lishri started binding him to the web. “Really?”

“Really,” Lishri nodded. “I need my beautiful husband so badly.”

Consorting with Lishri was a fairly unique experience since they couldn’t have penetrative sex. An Arachne’s vagina was actually near where their torso and spider body connected and could only be accessed through the spider half of them. Which was why an Arachne male’s stinger-like cock was several feet long and they had sex while facing away from each other.

Fortunately, Arachne women didn’t derive any pleasure from the sex itself and found it rather irritating. Well, not fortunately. In fact, Frost felt rather sad for them when he found that out. Apparently, it felt like having an itch inside of you that you couldn’t scratch.

But it was fortunate for Frost because it meant that Lishri wasn’t missing out on much by forgoing it. Also, despite finding the actual penetrative aspect of sex irritating, Arachne women found other things extremely pleasurable.

Normally, while the consorts take turns penetrating the queens the other consorts focus on delivering as much pleasure to her as possible in order to keep her engaged. If she became irritated it ended so naturally it was a team effort.

He kind of wished he hadn’t turned down Slakka’s offer to watch a session. Even if it was just an obvious attempt to seduce him.

“There,” Lishri said as she finished binding Frost to the web. “All set my love.”

“All set,” Frost said as Lishri wasted no time in attacking his mouth. Thanks to his time with Lishri and Desdemona, Frost had become quite adept at avoiding fanged teeth while sliding his tongue in and out of their mouths, a skill he never imagined mastering. Lishri thrust her tongue deep inside of his mouth completely overtaking him as she ran her hands up and down his body. “Fuck.”

“We will my love,” Lishri panted excitedly. “We’re just getting…”

A loud knocking started on the door followed by several arguing voices. From what Frost could tell it was mostly Arachne but he heard Brynn’s voice in the mix as well.

“Shh…” Lishris covered Frost’s mouth. “Maybe they’ll go away…”

“Handsome,” Brynn pounded on the door. “We need you in the village…”

“Go away!” Lishri shouted while maintaining her hand on Frost’s mouth. “I’m sleeping!”

“Lishri,” Brynn shouted. “Several people saw him coming up here this morning and…”

“My darling husband isn’t here!” Lishri lied while continuing to hold her hand over his mouth. She leaned down and whispered in his ear. “Please stay quiet my darling. I promise I’ll make you feel so amazing if you just stay quiet. I learned something new while you were gone and I’ve been really looking forward to trying it.”

“Queen Lishri,” an Arachne voice said apologetically through the door. “Please understand we would never interrupt a queen and her consorts unless it was important.”

“I told you he’s not...” Lishri stopped as Brynn tapped on her bedroom window and pointed right at Frost dangling from the web. “Fine! He’s here but he’s mine! You got him last night! It’s no fair! He left before fulfilling his consort duty and then when he came back you stole him!”

“It’s an emergency!” Brynn shouted through the window. “He’s going to want to see this.”

“Lishri,” Frost sighed as she uncovered his mouth. “How about this, a full day complete with a date…”

“When?” Lishri said critically. “You don’t even have time to fulfill your duties as my consort.”

“Queen Lishri,” the Arachne said anxiously, joining Brynn at the window. “We’ve captured intruders in the forest and we need Herald Frost to decide what to do about them.”

“Intruders?” Frost said, suddenly intrigued. He wondered if they were from Rilia or Zira and whether they were spies, assassins, or something else.

“Lishri,” Brynn growled while ignoring Frost. “This is serious…”

“Then I want more days!” Lishri snapped as if she were holding him for ransom. “If you want Herald Frost then he doesn’t get to spend all the nights with you anymore! I want every third night!”

“Every third night!” Brynn snapped back. “That’s insane! Absolutely not!”

“You’re really just going to negotiate for me like I’m not here?” Frost laughed. “Okay then.”

“Then go away!” Lishri said with a trembling voice. “You sleep with him almost every night…”

“I do not!” Brynn said in defiantly. “Half the nights he ends up at some random elf’s house! During his last visit he spent more time locked up with Jasmine, Iris, and Zinnia than he spent with me!”

“Jasmine put a lot of effort into producing a special show so it was only fair…” Frost explained as the women continued to ignore him.

“It’s still more nights than me!” Lishri argued while squeezing Frost possessively. “I get him for eight hours a week if I’m lucky! He sleeps with you at least three nights a week! I want more!”

“Don’t I have a say in this?” Frost chuckled

“Do you not want to spend more time with me?” Lishri asked worriedly.

“Of course I do…” Frost said as she nuzzled into him.

“Handsome,” Brynn growled as she opened the window and climbed inside. “Don’t you dare let her guilt you! You barely have time for the rest of us!”

“He spent last night with you!” Lishri said as tears started welling up in all six of her eyes. “I missed him and he came to visit me and I was so excited and…”

“This is what I’m talking about!” Brynn said while pointing at the Arachne. “She’s always so sympathetic!”

“I’m sorry,” Lishri said as she squeezed Frost while burying her face in his neck. “I don’t want to cry but I feel so frustrated. If you leave now you might not come back for weeks and I never get that time back and…”

“Queen Brynn,” the dark-haired Arachne at the window glared at the petite bard while gripping her pole arm threateningly. “I will be reporting this to Queen Chasa and Queen Slakka and…”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah,” Brynn nodded irritably at the Arachne onlooker while holding up her hand. “I get it. More meetings.” She turned her attention back to Frost. “Which is another thing handsome. I’m doing most of the work running this village so if anybody’s getting more time it should be me.”

“I have other obligations and it’s good practice if you want to be queen of Zira,” Frost said while pecking Lishri’s forehead. He would have liked to embrace her but his bindings prevented it. “Lishri, maybe we can come to a compromise and you can build a web in Lysandra’s room.”

“It’s not the same because you’ll want to be on the bed,” Lishri sniffled. “When you’re here I don’t have to compete with them.”

“It’s not a competition and maybe we can go back and forth sometimes,” Frost said reassuringly.

“Ahem,” Brynn crossed her arm while staring at him dangling from the web. “We can figure that out later handsome. Right now, there’s the matter of the monsters we captured. Lishri, cut him down.”

“Monsters?” Frost said as Lishri reluctantly unbound him. He wondered if it was some strange trick by one of the neighboring countries or something completely new, but he was even more interested in the prisoners than he was before.

“You’re going to come back right?” Lishri pouted as she carried him to the floor and set him down. “Or are you going to get distracted by all of the beautiful elves and…”

“You know what,” Frost walked over to a stack of Lishri’s paper and snagged a pen. He tore off three small sheets of paper and began scrawling notes before handing them to Lishri. “There, three IOUs.”

“What’s an Ayoyou?” Lishri asked while reading the text on the paper. He eyes lit up and she started bouncing excitedly. “Really?”

“What is it?” Brynn said while attempting to jump up and look at the papers.

“No!” Lishri said gripping the papers tightly and pressing them to her chest so they were out of Brynn’s reach. “These are my Ayoyous.”

“What are they?” Brynn asked while glaring at Frost. “And why is she so protective of them.”

“They’re just reminders that I promised to do something,” Frost chuckled. “She can give me one and I’ll do what’s on the paper.”

“So, it’s like a contract?” Brynn said while staring at the papers. “What did you promise to do?”

“One’s for a romantic date,” Frost said as Lishri salivated over the three rectangular pieces of paper. “Another can be turned in for me to spend the night with her. The last one is for love making.”

“I want some,” Brynn said authoritatively. “I’m your wife too so I should have three Ayoyous as well.”

“She’s the one that’s losing her time with me,” Frost smirked. “Maybe I’ll let you earn some in other ways. But that’s something to discuss later, isn’t it? We do have an emergency after all. Lead the way.”

“Shouldn’t you put on some clothes first Herald Frost?” the raven-haired Arachne stand outside the window said while staring at his exposed cock. All six of her eyes alternated between his abdomen and his cock as she ogled him. “It would be improper to…”

“I’m getting to it but feel free to enjoy the view until I do,” Frost winked as the Arachne’s face turned pink. “That reminds me though, I still need to talk to Chasa and Slakka about something.”

“What about?” Brynn asked as Frost got dressed. “Is this about the village in the trees I approved while you were gone? If you have an issue with my choices…”

“No, it’s something else,” Frost laughed as he put on the fine black dress pants Lishri made for him as well as the elegant dress shirt and the thigh-length coat. The garments were extremely well-made and crafted from a special magically imbued silk Lishri produced while aroused. While he did have some reservations about basically wearing clothing soaked in Lishri’s fluids, the garments were just too amazing not to.

Clothing in Nivari carried various attributes depending on the materials used and the craftsmanship. The wearer themselves could also alter the attributes in the clothing depending on their abilities. In Frost’s case, his cloth armor boasted poison and disease immunities, extremely high magic resistances, and thanks to various abilities he’d acquired it also enhanced his stealth, magic attack, and healing potency.

In the end, Frost ended up abandoning leather armor entirely in favor of Lishri’s clothing. His defense was slightly lower due to the armor but the massive increase in magic resistance along with speed and dodge increases more than made up for it. Although, he really hated that he’d wasted ability points on leather armor. Especially after discovering that most armor could be leveled passively by just wearing supplemental pieces of it like gauntlets or bracers.

It seemed the only intelligent free ability points he spent were the ones he spent learning languages and reading runes. Both of those types of abilities required massive time commitments and couldn’t be done passively.

“There,” Frost said while fastening the last button of his coat. “Ready…Lishri…what are you doing?”

“Nothing!” Lishri jumped and removed her hand from the dark-haired Arachne’s eyes.

“Lishri?” Frost smirked at the flustered redhead.

“She was looking at you lustfully!” Lishri said defensively.

“I apologize Queen Lishri,” the black-haired Arachne said embarrassedly. “It was wrong for me to stare at your consort.”

“Lishri,” Frost smiled as he approached the tall redhead. Once in front of her, he ran his hand up her stomach toward her large chest. He continued sliding his hand toward her chin and gently guided her face toward his while caressing her cheek. Frost pecked her on the lips while gliding his hand back down her neck toward her breasts, squeezing one as he kissed her. “You’ll always be my favorite Arachne.”

“Herald Frost,” Lishri blushed. “Really?”

“Why do we all fall for that?” Brynn groaned.

“Really,” Frost smirked as he massaged Lishri’s large soft chest. “Do you know what I’d want to do with you right now…”

“Handsome,” Brynn hooked her arm into his and tugged on him. “Stop teasing Lishri. We have stuff to do in the village.”

“Right,” Frost laughed. “Don’t worry Lishri, I’ll make it up to you later.”

“Uh-huh,” Lishri nodded while panting lustfully. She tightly gripped the pieces of paper Frost had given her. “I love you darling husband.”

“I love you too,” Frost laughed as Brynn dragged him out.

CHAPTER 12

As they descended from Lishri’s treetop cottage Frost saw the prisoners standing in the center of the training field. The diverse assortment of monsters was surrounded by armed Arachne and were clearly terrified.

Most of the elves were watching from the edge of the village, unsure of what was happening and just as worried as the monsters appeared to be.

“Okay,” Frost nodded as they reached the bottom of the stairs and walked toward the field. From what Frost could tell the group was made up of nearly two dozen men, women, and unknowns. “Okay, okay, okay.”

“That’s all you have to say?” Brynn said as the approached the edge of the clearing.

“Not sure what else you want me to say,” Frost replied as he stared at a woman that was a little over twice his size. The Arachne were large but most of their height came from their legs and spider half. The giantess was definitely all woman and four feet taller than an Arachne. “Is she like a baby giant or something?”

“Oni,” Brynn said pointing at the large violet horn in the center of the blonde giant’s forehead. “They’re similar to ogres but smarter. But she is rather large for an Oni. She might be a half-breed.”

“She’s kind of cute,” Frost said staring at the massive woman’s long thick legs.

“You know she’d kill you,” Brynn said

“I could think of worse ways to go,” Frost smirked as they arrived at the Arachne.

He scanned the group to determine a level range but it wasn’t much help. The monsters ranged from level three all the way up to level forty-nine, which was unsurprisingly the massive Oni woman. Almost all of their equipment and garments were made poorly suggesting that none of them were crafters and several appeared malnourished. He couldn’t imagine that they were marauders, murderers, or thieves given their conditions.

The Arachne guards surrounding the monsters moved aside for Frost. Desdemona quickly came rushing out from amidst the group of monsters.

“Des?” Frost glanced at the monsters staring at her hopefully. “Do you have something to do with this?”

“No!” Desdemona said while gesturing at the monsters. “I just came out because they looked scared. I’ve been telling them that you’re really nice to us monsters and…”

“What did they say?” Frost asked.

“They won’t say anything,” Desdemona blushed and looked down. “They seem really scared of me and the Arachne.”

“Not surprising,” Brynn said. “Since monsters like these aren’t really accepted into villages, they tend to be easy targets for other monsters like demons…”

“Des isn’t not a monster,” Frost said as he softly flicked the side of Brynn’s head.

“I know that!” Brynn said defensively. “But I’m not going to sit around and pretend there aren’t packs of demons that devour everything they see.”

“Fine,” Frost said. “So, they wouldn’t say anything?”

“No,” Desdemona answered. “But I heard some of them mention being tricked and they’re all really scared.”

“Got it,” Frost nodded while staring at the monsters huddling together. He could see the fear on their faces as he walked toward the group, most of their faces at least. He gestured for the Arachne to back away and turned to address the group of monsters. “So, who’s in charge here?”

The monsters shuffled around anxiously for a minute before pushing what looked like a large werewolf forward. The wolfman was about Frost’s height but much more muscular and covered in brown fur. Frost’s scan indicated he was a level thirty-three fighter and he wore leather armor crafted from animal hide that was almost the same color as his own fur.

“You?” Frost said while scanning the other monsters.

Frost looked over the group and wondered what separated some of them from being classified as demihumans. The world of Nivara’s way of organizing demihumans sort of felt similar to how some animals were wild, others were cattle, and some were house pets.

The trio of gorgons weren’t turning anybody to stone with their appearance, the four werewolves weren’t attempting to eat anybody’s hearts, and the small fairy in the group didn’t seem the least bit threatening. None of the monsters really screamed dangerous to him but at the same time he could see how they might make people uncomfortable.

“I’ve b-brought this…” the werewolf said gruffly. He slowly reached into the large sack tied to his waist and pulled out a folded piece of parchment. The anxious wolfman cautiously stepped forward while avoiding any sudden movements that might cause Frost or the Arachne to get the wrong impression. “It explains.”

“A letter?” Frost took the letter and opened it up. “Sorry about the men in the mix. I know I promised women. Rathe.”

“Huh?” Brynn snatched the letter from Frost’s hand. “That’s it? What the hell is this supposed to mean?”

“Right,” Frost nodded while staring out at the group. He’d almost forgotten about his conversation with the Diathen bartender and certainly didn’t expect him to work so quickly. “Yeah, this one’s on me.”

“On you?” Brynn scoffed.

“You remember the Diathen bartender I was chatting with in Midvale?” Frost asked. “He asked me if I had an interest in monster women and…”

“I think I can figure the rest out handsome,” Brynn said while scowling judgmentally at him.

“Either way,” Lysandra smiled politely as she approached from behind him. “It sounds like you invited them, is that correct Herald Frost?”

“I wouldn’t say I invited them,” Frost said while staring at the group. “But I’m not going to kick them out unless they cause trouble.”

Several of the monsters started talking excitedly amongst themselves while others remained apprehensive.

“Do you mean that?” one of the gorgon’s asked as the other two covered her mouth. The slender serpentine woman was greenish blue and with random sections of skin covered in slimy looking scales. She was wearing a cloth wrap around her chest and a worn-out leather skirt.

The gorgons lacked the serpentine bottoms he imagined they would have and simply had the snake hair. What really grabbed his attention though were their eyes. They were extremely large and bright yellow, like those of a snake. Even with the snake hair they might have been some of the cutest women he’d ever seen. To top it off, they only seemed to have two fangs instead of a mouth full of them like Lishri and Desdemona.

“Does that mean you won’t kill us?” the werewolf asked while gesturing for the hoard of monsters to be quiet.

“I have no intention of killing you,” Frost sighed while looking over the group. He rubbed his head while trying to think of a good way to handle everything. “Okay, so, I need you to form a single file line. I’m going to want your name, where you’re from, potential dangers you may pose…”

“You mean like stepping on people?” the large Oni asked loudly.

“Why do you want to know?” a violet slimy woman asked nervously. “Are you going to kill us if we’re dangerous?”

“I already said I don’t plan on killing anybody,” Frost answered. “But I need to figure out what types of risks you pose and whether or not there’s a way to deal with it.”

“That’s what everybody says,” a monster said timidly. “They all say if we come quietly nothing will happen but then nobody comes back.”

“Please don’t hurt us,” a female werewolf pleaded. “If you don’t want us here, we’ll leave.”

“Fuck,” Frost groaned. He understood their apprehension but if he wanted them dead, he would have already killed them.

“Herald Frost is very kind,” Desdemona said loudly as several of the monsters backed away. She wrapped her arms around Herald Frost and squeezed him. “He understands that I am potentially dangerous but doesn’t mind,” Desdemona took his hand and put it in her mouth as the crowd of monsters gasped. She pulled it out and gave it back to him. “See! My husband is very kind!”

“Husband?” several of the monsters mumbled amongst each other.

“Thanks Des,” Frost smiled and gave her ass a gentle pat before turning his attention back to the group. “I don’t know what Rathe told you but as I explained to him, I don’t want people who’ll cause trouble.”

Two of the slimy women began backing away slowly and looking for a way to leave the group. Several other men and women looked similarly nervous as they shifted uncomfortably.

“What’s going on here?” Frost asked Brynn. “Why do they all look like they’ve done something wrong?”

“Most of them are naturally deadly,” Brynn said bluntly. “Those women are the offspring of slimes and humans. Their excretions can make those around them sick. A gorgon’s hair can sometimes act out and bite those around them causing illness and in extreme cases death. The werewolves have similar hunger tendencies as demons and during certain times of the month can get rather dangerous.”

“Elves can get pretty dangerous during a certain time of year,” Frost joked.

“Herald Frost,” Lysandra blushed. “It’s rude to make jokes about that. It’s a very frustrating time of year for us.”

“Point being,” Brynn gestured at the group. “You told a bunch of troublesome creatures that you don’t want them to cause trouble. They’re monsters because they lack control and are a danger to those around them. They hurt people.”

“My snakes would never hurt anybody who wasn’t going to hurt me,” a gorgon said while moving toward the center of the group as if to hide from him.

“If you want us to leave, we’ll leave,” a slime woman volunteered as the others nodded along. “Please don’t hurt us.”

“I really hate this world sometimes,” Frost sighed as he looked out at the terrified monsters. The more combat ready monsters in the group shifted to defend the more helpless ones. “I have no intention of killing or hurting any of you. I mean, fuck.”

“Herald Frost,” Lysandra jabbed him with his elbow while gesturing at two small satyr children latched onto their father. “There are children.”

“I’m sure they’ve heard worse,” Frost scoffed while wondering why the hell a satyr would be a monster instead of a demihuman. “But fine.”

“Everybody! Line up!” Brynn shouted while stepping toward the group of monsters. “Single file. My sexy husband is not going to hurt anybody even if you are poisonous, venomous, blood sucking, heart eating, magic sucking, sickness causing, or any other danger.”

“You make it sound so nice,” Frost rolled his eyes and turned toward Lysandra. “Lysandra, while Brynn and Des sort them into lines, can you get me some logbooks from the temple? You know the ones I’m thinking of.”

“Of course,” Lysandra nodded politely and rushed off to the temple.

Frost watched Brynn and Des sort the men and women into groups while trying to keep friends or people of similar types together for ease. Lysandra returned with a logbook and pen just as Brynn and Desdemona finished wrangling the nervous monsters.

“Alright,” Frost said while opening the book. “Let’s get this started. Who’s first?”

Frost started interviewing the various monsters while logging their names, their species, their abilities, their diets, and really whatever information he could get from them. He also asked them why they wanted to be in his territory, what they wanted to do, and what they expected him to do. Overall, it was sort of like a very awkward job interview.

Some of the monsters went through everything smoothly while others made things difficult.

While Frost understood their confusion and distrust, it was still aggravating. Getting simple answers out of some monsters without them asking questions of their own was like pulling teeth. The werewolves were defensive about their diet, the fairy was irritated when asked about her magic eating, the satyr children practically balled their eyes out when asked about the dangers they posed.

“And your relationship status?” Frost asked the beautiful gorgon women standing in front of him.

“Um,” the lead gorgon’s face turned a violet hue as she looked at the other two. “Oh, we’re not together. We’re sisters.”

“Sisters?” Frost said while eying up the other two women. Their bluish green skin really caught his attention and he found himself staring at her cleavage. “So, none of you have…”

“Handsome,” Brynn growled. “I’m sure you’ll have plenty of time to get to know them later. Right now, there’s a line.”

“Right,” Frost winked at the women as they walked away. “Better move this along.”

“He’s really sexy,” he heard one of them whisper.

“Stop smiling,” Brynn playfully kicked his leg. “You’re enjoying this way too much.”

The elf villagers looked on curiously from the short stone wall as Frost continued jotting down notes and chatting with the monsters. All of them were regularly chased off by humans and in the worst cases people would attempt to exterminate them. Although, the humans seemed to have pretty good reasons to be wary of the monsters.

Admittedly, if Frost was hired to eliminate a pack of werewolves, he probably wouldn’t have thought twice about killing them. They looked rather savage and by their own admission they devoured livestock, pets, and sometimes people. Some werewolves even developed a taste for humans, although Frost couldn’t judge them too harshly for that since he’d actually seen Desdemona devour a human.

He shook his head in hopes of forgetting.

The slimes, and the half-slime women, were a more interesting bunch. Their slime coating wasn’t inherently toxic but would turn toxic if they were frightened. The ooze that covered their bodies was basically no different than a water-based lubricant and their body could release small amounts of poison into that lubricant when necessary.

“May I?” Frost asked while holding out his hand to the glistening lavender woman. She nervously placed her trembling hand in his. Her violet skin felt like it was covered in warm massage oil. “You said it’s safe?”

“Yes,” the woman whispered as Frost lifted the hand to his mouth. He gently licked it and although he didn’t find the taste particularly pleasant, he couldn’t say he disliked it either. The violet woman quickly changed color to an almost florescent pink and then magenta.

“Handsome,” Brynn growled while playfully swatting his abdomen. “Stop it. We still have half a line.”

“I’m just making sure she’s being honest,” Frost grinned while giving her soft oily hand a farewell peck. Following her and the other slime women in line were the genuine slimes. He looked down at the slime. “Hm…can you talk?”

The slime slowly bubbled up gradually getting taller until it was about the size of Brynn. A hole along with a long wind pipe and a tongue appeared.

“Yes,” the slime hissed while exhaling the wind it sucked in. The body continued to change shape and grow, although much more slowly than he imagined. He always thought slimes could quickly become what they wanted but it stood to reason that moving billions of tiny pieces of yourself probably took some time and quite a bit of practice. “I can.”

“Alright,” Frost gestured at the half-slime women that walked away. “Do you have any different needs from them?”

“Mostly the same,” the slime answered as its body took on a more feminine shape. Gradually it started to look more and more like Brynn except with a larger chest. “We prefer caves with lots of water if that’s possible.”

“Caves,” Frost glanced at the Arachne. Since they build their own underground village, they could probably make some homes for the slimes as well. “We might have a solution to that. The water might be tricky.”

“Check?” the slime said holding out its makeshift hand as the body finalized. The slime lacked the details of a human and its face was rather expressionless but the body was impressive. The color gradually shifted from blue to violet and finally the same bright pink as the previous slime woman. “You can make sure I’m not poisonous…”

“I see what you’re doing,” Brynn stepped toward the pink slime. “We can take your word for…seriously handsome?”

“What?” Frost asked while kissing the soft membrane of the hand causing the pink hue of the slime to deepen. While the slime woman’s oils covered the outside of her body the actual slime’s hand felt like a soft gelatin coated in latex and covered in lubricant. “She asked me to.”

“You don’t even know if it’s a she!” Brynn said while shooing away the slime women.

“Looks like a she,” Frost smirked as the magenta slime rushed off.

The fairy was surprisingly carnivorous and they weren’t really considered monsters as much as pests due to their magic draining. The gold winged woman easily fit in the palm of his hand and almost as soon as she landed, he felt his energy draining away.

None of the monsters really bothered him although most of them had some type of dangerous aspect that needed to be regulated. The slimes could poison those around them if they were frightened but all you had to do was not touch them when they turned yellow. The gorgon’s serpents would lash out at anything they felt posed a threat to their host so don’t get close to them if the snakes seem apprehensive. The Sporan was a similarly toxic plant monster that used living beings as hosts for its offspring but it wasn’t like it had to use humans as hosts.

It seemed the defining factor on whether something was a monster or a demihuman was the threat it posed to those around them, even if the threat was something easily regulated. Desdemona was a monster because she could potentially go on a killing spree when hungry and most of these monsters were dangerous people never realized they shouldn’t touch a yellow slime.

“I still don’t get it,” Frost said while pointing at the large blonde Oni. Her hips were basically at his eye level and he resisted the urge to tilt his head and see under her poorly made cloth skirt. Her toga-like top was similarly crafted and looked like it could fall off any moment. “Why would anybody consider you a monster?”

“I don’t understand the question,” the woman said while moving her unkempt blonde hair out of her face. She was apparently only a quarter giant which accounted for her larger stature than a typical Oni. “I am a monster.”

“I mean,” Frost looked her up and down. “What kind of threat do you pose? Do you lose control and eat people? Get angry and start things on fire like the elemental over there? Do you excrete poison?”

“No,” she answered while shaking her head. “I don’t do any of that.”

“Brynn,” Frost looked toward his petite wife. “Help me out here.”

“Wish I could,” Brynn shrugged. “I always thought they should have been classified as demihumans. I think it might have to do with how much they eat.”

“Oh,” Frost looked at the large horned woman as her face turned pink. “How much do you eat?”

“It depends on what I’m eating,” the Oni answered while shuffling. “If it’s boars I only eat five or six but…”

“Five or six,” Frost said while glancing at Desdemona who ate two a day. Given, Desdemona was less than half the Oni’s size, but it was still a large amount, especially if more Oni started showing up.

“I’m sorry,” the Oni answered as her stomach growled. “I’m really sorry.”

“Fuck,” Frost said while looking through his logbook. His village still had plenty of food assuming the hunts continued as normal. Meat was plentiful thanks to the way monsters respawned in the world but his concern was accounting for the increase in Arachne after the next brood of children were born combined with a growing population of monsters. If he became a safe haven for Oni, things could get really bad really fast. “Alright, I need to think about this.”

“I’m sorry,” the Oni said as the rest of the monsters looked on. “Are you going to send me away?”

“No,” Frost said while checking over his notes. “But while you’re here you’re going to do your share of work. And don’t cause any trouble. I have enough to deal with without adding this to the list.”

“You mean we get to stay?” the Oni asked hopefully. “You’re really going to let us?”

“For now,” Frost said irritably. He wasn’t angry at the monsters as much as he was angry about the work involved. He hated dealing with the logistics of running things and would much rather spend his time relaxing or training. “I just need to do some math and figure out the logistics of everything. I could really use some help with all of this.”

“Really?” Desdemona said cheerfully. “Do you mean it?”

“Um,” Frost paused as he stared at the enthusiastic demoness. Her crimson eyes were practically glowing with excitement as she grinned at him. “Yes.”

“Finally,” Desdemona clasped her hands together and began hopping. “I can help with that!”

“Excuse me?” Brynn glanced at Desdemona. “Des, do you really think you can help with this?”

“Uh-huh!” Desdemona said happily. “I’m great at coordinating really complex operations! I always wanted to be useful to my brother and the army but he wouldn’t let me fight because I might eat the people that I killed so instead he had me help with the operational side of…”

“Let me get this straight,” Brynn said with a deadpan face. “I’ve been running this entire village while handsome is off fucking courtesans and you could have been helping the entire time?”

“You never asked for any help,” Desdemona said while pointing at Frost. “He just said he could use some help.”

“Handsome,” Brynn scowled at Frost as if it were entirely his fault. “Did you know this?”

“How would I?” Frost shrugged. “My interactions with Des normally take place in the bedroom. Although, Des, do you think you could figure out a way for me to spend time with all of the women in…”

“No,” Desdemona lied. It was clear she had an idea of how he could more efficiently spend his time. “No idea.”

“Des,” Frost smiled. “You shouldn’t lie to your husband.”

“MmMm!” Desdemona shook her head no while squeezing her lips shut.

“Come on,” Frost smirked as he ran his fingers through her long red hair. “I really need your help. Don’t you want to help me?”

“The bottleneck of your time is caused by the lack of rotation in Lysandra’s bedroom,” Desdemona blurted out. “If you really wanted to optimize, you’d use paired groupings and rotate two women out of the bedroom every night and…”

“Desdemona!” Brynn snapped. “Don’t you dare say another word!”

“But I love him so much and I want to be able to help him!” Desdemona whined. “You could also increase to a three pair grouping and…”

“Desdemona!” Lysandra chimed in. “I will not be sharing my room with more people than…”

“I also thought about that and your bedroom itself is part of the bottleneck since…”

“Desdemona!” Lysandra and Brynn shouted simultaneously, silencing the demoness.

“Don’t worry,” Frost laughed while kissing Des’ forehead. “It was only a quick test. I’d love it if you helped me make sure everybody here gets food, clothes, and a place to sleep.”

“And that’s all that you help with,” Brynn said authoritatively. “Understood?”

“Understood,” Desdemona pouted. “It’s not like I want him to rotate me out of the room…”

“I don’t plan on rotating anybody,” Frost chuckled. “Although, I should mention we may need to get Lishri…well…we’ll talk about that later. For now, let’s get some tents set up, blankets, and see if Lishri and Mira can’t help a bit with the clothes situations.”

“On it!” Desdemona said excitedly.

“You sure about this handsome?” Brynn said. “If you start accepting dangerous creatures into your territory it’s going to make Zira uncomfortable. And it wasn’t like King Asmund was thrilled about you giving refuge to the Arachne.”

“It may become an issue,” Frost said while nodding at the excited monsters. All of them seemed to be in a state of euphoria as they realized that Frost wasn’t going to kill them, lock them up, or kick them out of his territory. “But do you want to be the one to send them away?”

“You really are a big softy,” Brynn smirked.

“Nah,” Frost said. “It’s easy to do the right thing when there’s nothing to lose. I have more resources than I know what to do with so it’s fine. Anyway, I better talk to everybody and let them know what’s going on.”

CHAPTER 13

The elves didn’t even hesitate to offer up their homes which surprised the various newcomers. After being chased off everywhere they went, the last thing the monsters expected was for the elves to cram themselves into homes together in order to free up housing for them.

Although, Frost suspected the elves were just happy for an excuse to pile into beds together. Not that he could really judge them for it. There was something strangely addicting about being cuddled incessantly.

Some of the creatures were initially nervous to accept the rooms, especially those who’d never been permitted inside of a proper residence. They were mostly worried that they might cause damage to the homes in some way and get into trouble.

Lysandra and the elves reassured them that they were welcome to make themselves at home while practically forcing them into the cottages.

The slimes quickly found comfortable places in basements while the werewolves decided to stay outside for their own comfort. Other monsters like the gorgons reluctantly entered the homes and actively avoided touching anything.

As for the Oni, the only building with a large enough door to allow her entry was the barn so Rania and Sumina pulled piles of blankets in and made a makeshift bed on top of a large hay pile for her. It took most of the day but they’d managed to find places for all of the monsters to stay and Frost was finally able to sit down and think of a plan.

He decided to have a meeting in the evening with Lysandra, Brynn, Desdemona, and Lishri. He also invited Slakka and Chasa up from Linna village since whatever he decided was likely to impact them as well.

“You want payment?” Frost said in disbelief as Slakka and Chasa stared him down. “Seriously?”

“Yes,” Slakka answered courteously. “We are very grateful to everything you have provided us but we do an enormous amount of work and receive little to no payment.”

“Food, safety, allowing you to build your canopy village, educating your children,” Brynn said while counting on her fingers. “That’s not enough?”

“Herald Frost provides all of those same things for the elves,” Chasa said defensively.

“We won’t be treated like second class citizens of your territory,” Slakka turned to Lishri. “Even Lishri has mentioned it.”

“Lishri?” Brynn turned to the anxious redhead.

“That was before Herald Frost gave me the Ayoyous!” Lishri said while timidly glancing around the room. The redheaded Arachne looked like she would have crawled under the table if she could fit. “I didn’t mean it like that! I just meant I don’t get to spend as much time with him!”

“What’s an Ayoyou?” Chasa asked while looking around the table. “Is it valuable?”

“Extremely!” Lishri said eagerly pulling out a metal box from one of her pockets. She opened it up and produced the three small slips of paper Frost had given her. “This one says that my darling husband will take me on a date! This one says that my darling husband will make love to me! And this one says he’ll spend the night!”

“Lishri,” Frost chuckled. “We’re supposed to be discussing the monster situation.”

“One moment,” Lysandra stared at the papers. “So, if somebody has one of those papers, you’ll do what the paper says?”

“Assuming I can,” Frost clarified. “Obviously I can’t take Lishri on a date right now if she used that paper.”

“But what if she gave it to you now for a date tomorrow?” Desdemona asked while staring at the papers. “Or if she used the lovemaking one?”

“Well,” Frost shrugged. “If it’s reasonably within my power at the time. I’m a man of my word, kind of. At least when it benefits me.”

“Interesting,” Slakka said staring at the papers. “Fine. We will construct your village in exchange for ten Ayoyous.”

“What?” Lishri frowned. “No! He’s my darling consort! You have your own consorts!”

“I want your consort,” Slakka narrowed her eyes. “But since I can’t take him by force, I will utilize the methods available to me.”

“Hold on just a second,” Frost chuckled. “You want me to give you ten Ayoyous to build homes for all of the monsters?”

“Slakka,” Chasa tapped her sister’s shoulder. “This wasn’t part of the plan. We promised…”

“I don’t care about your plan anymore,” Slakka said while staring at the papers in Lishri’s hand. “I want Ayoyous.”

“You can’t have any!” Lishri said defensively.

“We are not after the Ayoyous,” Chasa said angrily. “We promised to get wine!”

“Wine?” Frost asked. “Really?”

“Oh!” Lishri looked at Frost as if it were obvious. “The elves make very good wine since they know all the best fruits to use. Most of ours never turns out right.”

“I want Ayoyous,” Slakka hissed at Chasa. “We can get the wine later!”

“Herald Frost is Lishri’s consort,” Chasa growled back. “Stop trying to take him.”

“I want him,” Slakka said firmly. “He is a good caregiver, protector, and lover.”

“How do you know I’m a good lover?” Frost smirked at Lishri. “Have you been talking about me?”

“It’s obvious from your garments,” Slakka answered. “Lishri could only create thread like that if she were completely satisfied. I’ve never seen thread so saturated in pleasure.”

“It doesn’t matter how good a lover he is because you can’t have him!” Lishri attempted to sound threatening but her naturally timid demeanor left her falling flat.

“We need the wine,” Chasa continued while stepping toward Slakka. “Not to mention what might happen if Herald Frost takes you as well as Lishri. I already have to listen to my children whine and cry about how Lishri only wants her human and you don’t want more consorts. If you have her human as well…”

“Right,” Frost slapped the table causing all of the Arachne to jump. He leaned back in his chair and grinned while staring at the three crimson-haired women ready to fight over some love coupons. “I’ve been meaning to ask you. Is there a reason the males are only permitted to sleep with you? Is it some control thing or something?”

“Control thing?” Slakka and Chasa looked at each other, both clearly confused. “What do you mean?”

“I mean,” Frost paused to think about his words. “Do you use the right to mate with you as a way to control the Arachne males?”

“What?” Chasa made a face suggesting what he said might have been the dumbest thing she’d ever heard. “Why would that control them?”

“I believe he’s asking if we use mating as an incentive for obedience,” Slakka said pensively. “Which I suppose we do. Only the best men are chosen as consorts.”

“But we don’t,” Chasa argued. “If we had more queens then all of the men would be selected regardless.”

“That’s true,” Slakka said. “It would be preferable to have enough queens to satisfy the needs of all of the males.”

“Okay,” Frost nodded while following along. “Is there a reason the Arachne women don’t simply mate with the males?”

All three Arachne women froze and looked at each other as if Frost just asked them to solve a complicated math problem. Lishri seemed to be the first one to realize what Frost was suggesting since their own relationship wasn’t about producing offspring.

“But they wouldn’t produce eggs,” Chasa said thoughtfully. “There’d be no purpose to it…”

“Laying with Herald Frost wouldn’t produce eggs either,” Lishri said while glaring at Slakka.

“I see,” Slakka said as her lips curled into a wide grin. “You’re suggesting that both the females and the males can use each other to relieve their frustrations.”

“The males are in better moods after mating,” Chasa said as she finally realized what was being proposed. “And it would likely reduce the number of complaints. But do you feel the other women would accept it?”

“Maybe,” Slakka stared at Frost. “I imagine that mating for pleasure alone would be acceptable to many of them if the male were talented.”

“I can personally vouch for its effectiveness,” Lysandra said cheerfully. “None of the women in my village are able to produce offspring without a man but we frequently engage each other for both intimacy and stress relief. And sometimes just because we’re bored.”

“Handsome here is always using the infertility spell so technically all of our mating is for pleasure,” Brynn said.

“This is a good idea,” Slakka nodded at Chasa. “And your children will be satisfied so they won’t complain when I begin mating with the herald.”

“That’s not why I suggested…”

“That’s true,” Chasa nodded in agreement. “If we tell them that the herald proposed the idea it’s very likely their views of him will change and they may even support your coupling.”

“I didn’t propose that so I could mate…”

“Then it’s settled,” Slakka said. “If the children’s mood is improved then we don’t need as much wine.”

“We will still need wine,” Chasa argued. “But maybe we can reduce the amount we request slightly. Instead of forty crates of wine we can do thirty crates of wine and two Ayoyous.”

“No!” Lishri argued. “Herald Frost is my consort!”

“I think you might have made things worse,” Brynn laughed.

“I suppose I could settle for two Ayoyous,” Slakka said reluctantly while ignoring Lishri’s objection.

“No,” Chasa said. “We’ll split the Ayoyous. If you don’t share the Ayoyous then I won’t share the wine.”

“But I’m already reducing the amount of Ayoyous!” Slakka said as her temper flared up again. “You were not even interested in the herald!”

“I’m not,” Chasa said smugly. “But it may be a useful for bargaining with you in the future.”

“Fine!” Slakka growled. “Thirty crates of wine and two Ayoyous.”

“An Ayoyou is worth more than ten crates of wine!” Lishri argued. “It’s a bad deal!”

“It is?” Frost said while trying to do the math on how much he was being pimped out for. From what he was figuring his value was probably being clocked at around a thousand rel a night which he thought was unreasonably high. “I imagine it depends on what’s written on it, right?”

“Hmm,” Slakka paused. “I’m interested in the lovemaking Ayoyous.”

“No,” Chasa placed her hand on Slakka’s shoulder. “That’s the least valuable of the group.”

“What?” Brynn said while trying not to laugh. “Wow handsome, that has to be rough to hear.”

“You are a wonderful lover Herald Frost,” Desdemona patted his back supportively. “No matter what they say.”

“I’m fine,” Frost said while trying not to laugh.

“The date Ayoyou is the most valuable,” Chasa said shrewdly. “The herald will spend a large amount of time with you and it’s likely to end with mating. The spend the night Ayoyou encompasses an entire evening which is also likely to result in mating. Those two are the higher value Ayoyous.”

“I see,” Slakka said pensively. “Two date Ayoyous.”

“This has gone awfully sideways,” Brynn chuckled. “Any ideas handsome?”

“The issue we’re dealing with is the newcomers,” Frost sighed. “If you think that I’m going to let you extort me in exchange for help you’re mistaken. You will be assisting in the construction of a village for them.”

“But…” Chasa paused as Frost glared at the Arachne. “We will not be treated as slaves.”

“Obviously not,” Frost glanced at Lysandra. “I want to supply you with wine because you need it, not because I’m being extorted. How hard is it to increase the wine production to account for the Arachne?”

“The problem is the berries require additional gatherers but everybody is out trying to increase their level to earn the right to marry you,” Lysandra said.

“What’s this?” Slakka interrupted. “There’s a process to earn the right to marry the herald? Why have we not been informed about this?”

“Shit,” Brynn groaned. “This just keeps getting worse.”

“Oh,” Lysandra’s face turned red. “I’m sorry Herald Frost. I didn’t realize…”

“Brynn will get you the prerequisites,” Frost smirked at his petite wife. “I don’t believe anybody was intentionally keeping it from you. Arachne society revolves around a single woman possessing multiple men and the elves are the opposite.”

“I wish to know these prerequisites as soon as possible,” Slakka said while grinning at Lishri.

“One of the requirements is you are disallowed from laying with other men,” Brynn smirked. “Ever.”

“Did you just make that requirement up?” Slakka asked discerningly.

“She did not,” Lishri said smugly while nodding at Brynn. “I have no issue denying myself other consorts for Herald Frost.”

“Slakka,” Chasa gave her a threatening look. “If I am to be the sole birther of our village…”

“There is nothing to worry about,” Slakka said calmly. “I am not as irresponsible as Lishri. I will simply find ways to acquire Ayoyous.”

“Which brings us back to the berries,” Frost sighed. “We need to find a better balance for the gathering and hunting activities to increase wine production. Beyond that, we need to consider our food supplies and what the monsters might need.”

“I really don’t think we should call them monsters,” Lysandra said while gently rubbing Desdemona’s leg. “If they wish to be your people and followers of Shalia then we should call them something nicer.”

“Fine,” Frost said. “I’ll just call them newcomers for now and we’ll try to find a better name. But, assuming that more Oni or other mon…newcomers decide to move here, we need a plan.”

“Herald Frost,” Desdemona raised her hand politely. “I have some thoughts on that.”

“Of course you do,” Brynn said, still somewhat irritated that Desdemona never offered to assist her.

“Um,” Desdemona fidgeted nervously in her seat. “Our issue is that the incentive of being able to marry you far outstrips the incentive to gather. This means almost all of the elves are prioritizing hunting and leveling. We also see this in other areas of the village which Lady Brynn has been struggling to…”

“Struggling?” Brynn glared at Desdemona.

“I don’t mean it like that!” Desdemona said defensively. “I just mean that the elves don’t really care about anybody but themselves and…”

“Desdemona,” Lysandra gasped. “How could you say something like that?”

“I don’t mean it like that!” Desdemona said getting more anxious. “You’re just very different from my brother’s soldiers! They were given orders and they obeyed. Whenever you or Lady Brynn want the elves to do anything you seem to bribe them.”

“She has a point,” Brynn said while thinking about her struggles getting the elves to complete simple tasks when they didn’t want to.

“So, what’s your idea Des?” Frost asked, eager to hear her solution.

“Well,” Desdemona smiled meekly. “I was thinking we could offer better incentives for activities that might prevent them from hunting monsters to level. I was thinking that on the board outside of the temple where everybody finds groups, we could post tasks that need to be done to help the village.”

“Okay,” Lysandra nodded. “That’s interesting. But why would they do those tasks instead of leveling?”

“Because we’re going to offer incentives,” Frost grinned maniacally as he realized that Desdemona was proposing a quest board. They could refresh the quests daily based on the needs of the village and potentially set up boards in each village. They could even encourage merchants to transport goods and people to escort those transports. “Normally we can offer rel, maybe wine, or…”

“Would the Arachne be eligible for this and would there be a board in our village?” Slakka asked curiously.

“Of course,” Frost nodded. “But we’d need your help in figuring out adequate incentives.”

“I was thinking the Ayoyous,” Desdemona said while pointing at the pieces of paper. “Maybe not the date Ayoyous because we need to consider the time needed but maybe little things like a kiss goodnight or…”

“Interesting,” Frost glanced at Brynn. “Brynn, we could also implement a point system for marriage requirements. Anybody who wishes to marry me needs to earn a minimum number of points as an additional requirement.”

“How’s a million sound?” Brynn said jokingly.

“Not bad actually,” Frost said.

“Absolutely not!” Lysandra objected. “Everybody is working so hard to marry you and I will not let you make it impossible for them!”

“I was just kidding handsome,” Brynn chuckled nervously. “Lysandra’s right. We don’t want another rebellion on our hands.”

“No,” Frost shook his head. “Imagine that we only have a hundred points but want a person to go pick a hundred pounds of berries for a point.”

“That seems fair,” Lysandra said pensively. “But I’m not sure somebody could find that many in a day.”

“Exactly,” Frost nodded. “But we need to give them a point for completing the task, right? So, one-point equals maybe twenty pounds of berries because that’s all they can find. But, if we did a million points instead of a hundred, we could vary the points depending on the number of berries.”

“Oh! I get it!” Desdemona said excitedly. “We should also consider the time and difficulty of the tasks along with the urgency to correctly compensate them. The real tricky part will be the extra help needed for the auditing and…”

“We’d be happy to supply assistance,” Chasa nodded. “But we also want to be rewarded.”

“Well it’d have to be every village,” Desdemona said. “Not just Linna and Pluma. When organizing something large and complex like this you need to consider the strengths and weaknesses of each village so they can compensate for each other. We could also experience exponential increases if we utilize each other to not only compensate for our weaknesses but enhance our strengths.”

“Enhance our strengths?” Lysandra looked at Frost.

“I’ll let her continue,” Frost grinned as his demoness wife happily showed off her logistical capabilities.

Desdemona began charting various facts about the different villages including their major imports and exports. It didn’t take long for her to show how assisting the other villages in certain endeavors would result in greater yields for the entire territory.

But to Frost, the most important part of Desdemona’s system was the way her and Brynn complemented each other.

“Brynn would need to manage everything,” Frost interrupted as Desdemona talked about Filan’s weaknesses. “Are you okay with that?”

“What?” Brynn glared at him. “Is this a pity position because she’s obviously doing a better job?”

“No,” Frost chuckled. “Desdemona’s thinking about how things might improve the villages and how they interact but we don’t have the resources to do all of those things. Des, which thing should come first?”

“Whichever thing you want to come first,” Desdemona said as if it were the obvious answer.

“Brynn,” Frost smirked. “She learned how to organize things from Asmund but I doubt anybody but him ever called the shots. You’re good at calling the shots and seeing the big picture. You make decisions, Desdemona makes them happen.”

“And what are you going to do?” Brynn asked judgmentally. “I’m doing all of the work.”

“Probably fulfilling Ayoyous,” Frost smirked. “Speaking of which, Chasa, Slakka, please build the village for the newcomers and we’ll work on getting you a steady supply of wine for your village. No Ayoyous for now. We good?”

“Fine,” Slakka said reluctantly. “But I will have you eventually.”

“Eventually,” Frost winked. “As for the homes, we should clear out the area on the north side of the village.”

“You mean we’re building the homes in the village?” Brynn asked. “Are you sure that’s a good idea?”

“No,” Frost answered. “But that’s also why I want them closer. I’d like us to be able to monitor them and make sure they’re behaving. I also want Lysandra to interview each of them and assign them somebody to help them get comfortable in the village.”

“I like that idea a lot,” Desdemona said cheerfully.

“Okay,” Frost said. “Let’s finish figuring out what we need to do so we can get started immediately. But I’m also going to have to visit Priscilla in Serino and Hansel in Kald to explain the situation so they don’t go killing anybody they shouldn’t.”

“What about Filan?” Brynn asked. “Somebody should let Isaac and Adamus know.”

“I’ll just tell them the next time I’m heading to Blackwater,” Frost answered. “Rathe is located in Rilia and he’s the one sending everybody. I’m not too concerned about the Zira side of the border.”

“Does this mean I can’t use my date Ayoyou?” Lishri said looking down at the slip of paper. “I was hoping to be with you tomorrow.”

“Afraid so,” Frost said. “But we could always use the spend the night one if you want.”

“No,” Lishri pouted. “I have plans for those ones.”

“Plans?” Frost smirked. “Now I’m curious.”

“Well you’re just going to have to wait,” Lishri said huffily. “Just like I have to wait for my romantic date!”

“Does that mean you’ll spend the night with us?” Desdemona asked excitedly.

“Maybe,” Frost said while standing up from his seat. “But I should probably check on everybody in the village first.”

“Everybody?” Brynn glared at him before turning to Desdemona. “I wouldn’t get your hopes up about him coming home.”

“Aww,” Desdemona frowned as Lysandra patted her back supportively.

“If you are going out,” Lysandra stood up and gave him a peck on the cheek. “We’d love it if you returned for the evening but if you don’t, goodnight and we love you.”

“You shouldn’t condone his behavior,” Brynn said judgmentally.

“You knew what you were getting into when you married me,” Frost smirked as he made his way toward the door. “I’m counting on you all to get everything organized.”

“Is he really just leaving us to do all of the work?” Chasa asked Brynn as Frost walked away. “Is this normal?”

“Yeah,” Brynn groaned. “It is.”

CHAPTER 14

Ena, Fayeth, and Renna were mounted up and waiting for Frost right outside the village as he prepared to leave. He would have preferred to travel alone since it was faster but the trio convinced Brynn to make them Frost’s official escorts whenever he was doing business in his territory.

Frost imagined their real duty was keeping him from becoming distracted.

“Where are we going first?” Renna asked excitedly while quickly trotting next to Frost. Her strange antelope-like steed was smaller than everybody else’s but extremely nimble.

“Serino,” Frost answered while steadying Witch. She didn’t care too much for Ena’s large dark horse and wasn’t afraid to show it. The massive beast was about a foot taller than Witch and strangely muscular for a horse. Frost would have believed it if somebody told him it was a quarter bull. “Did you really have to bring that big bastard?”

“Yes,” Ena said while tapping her ornate plate armor with her large steel hammer. “Hammer is the only horse that doesn’t get tired carrying me long distances.”

“I can’t believe you named him Hammer,” Fayeth chuckled while patting what looked like a brown zebra with green stripes, arguably a green zebra with brown stripes. “You really are simple.”

“That’s an understatement,” Renna teased.

“Oh,” Ena glared at them both. “Because Sneaky and Dancer are good names?”

“Sneaky’s hard to find when she escapes the stables,” Fayeth said defensively. “Last time it took Sumina half a day to find her in the forest.”

“And Dancer is good at dancing,” Renna said while encouraging her antelope-like steed to hop around. “See?”

“Can we have one trip that isn’t full of arguments?” Frost sighed as he started riding west toward Serino. “You all have plenty of things to practice while we’re riding, right?”

“Mounted combat,” Fayeth said cheerfully pulling out a short bow. “And different types of ranged weapons since I can do both at once!”

“Magic,” Ena grumbled. She’d recently met the prerequisites for holy knight and swapped classes but was still working toward unlocking paladin. The only lead they really had was the smite ability which Frost was fairly sure was a prerequisite but there were likely others. “I keep trying variations on smite but all they do is hit faster, slower, harder, or softer.”

“Keep trying,” Frost smiled while pulling up the spells he’d committed to memory. His abilities allowed him to save hundreds of spells or recipes and easily access them with a thought. After Ena showed him the runes for smite he also started experimenting with them and the two shared their findings. “I’m sure we’ll figure it out eventually.”

Smite was strange since it used divine runes with a structure similar to primal spells. Which also got Frost to thinking about primal spells mirroring the structure of divine ones to become support magic. The lightning enhancement spell Frost learned from Isaac was an example but there was nothing that stopped fire or water magic being used similarly.

Frost’s working theory was that aspects of each magic he learned could be applied to other magics although testing that theory was fairly time consuming. He had been successful at creating barrier bridges by structuring them like earth magic but for every successful experiment there were hundreds of failed ones. He wished more of the village elves would practice so he had more information to compare to.

“Renna?” Frost looked around for the mischievous thief before realizing she was right behind him. “Working on stealth?”

“And other things,” Renna said while pulling out a pile of small electrified gemstones. She gripped one tight and her short green hair stood on end. After a few seconds she released the stone and pulled out a health potion.

“What are you doing?” Frost asked curiously. “And what are those gems?”

“They’re lightning stones!” Renna offered one to Frost. “They’re similar to the heating and cooling stones in the bath and the harvesting crystals. If you charge them with energy, they do what they’re supposed to do.”

“And what is it that they’re supposed to do?” Frost asked while examining the stone. He charged it with some energy and his entire body suddenly felt like he was licking a battery. “Okay…”

“You look ridiculous,” Ena laughed while pointing at his hair. He tossed the gemstone back to Renna and patted down his hair. The static charge wasn’t going away so he created a water bubble to help dampen and style his hair.

“So, why?” Frost asked.

“Magic resistance!” Renna said excitedly. “If I can resist magic then that old whore can’t use paralyze on me!”

“That’s…” Frost paused and sorted through his abilities and found magic resistance under cloth specialization. He had plenty of restricted ability points related to cloth since he was always wearing it but had mostly been using them to bolster his offense and stealth capabilities. “That’s actually a really good idea.”

“I know!” Renna said while quickly unbuttoning her shorts to show Frost her pink crotchless panties. “And these count as cloth so I can always be wearing armor! That ancient bitch is in for a surprise the next time she tries to stun me!”

“Fuck,” Frost laughed as Renna buttoned her shorts back up. He turned toward Serino and gave Witch a gentle pat on the neck. “Come on. Let’s get things done.”

Frost didn’t work on anything during the trip but instead ended up thinking about his increasing obligations. With the Arachne, they brought a massive benefit to his territory by providing talented builders and crafters. He wasn’t yet sure what the monsters provided other than problems and responsibilities.

He needed to provide them food and housing at a minimum but also wanted to provide them educations. A stupid populace wasn’t particularly useful to him and stupid monsters were probably dangerous. But that took time and resources from both the elves and the Arachne which would probably build some resentment.

It wasn’t really a matter of whether or not he could help them but whether he should. As Brynn said, it would look like he was amassing an army of monsters and that could cause issues with both Zira and Rilia. King Asmund already wasn’t thrilled about him giving the Arachne a home and the nobles in Blackwater were looking for any excuse to attack him.

All risks and no benefits.

“Am I making a mistake?” Frost asked the group of women as they neared Serino. “Should I have sent them away?”

“What a stupid question,” Ena said angrily while charging a powerful smite spell.

“Herald Frost,” Fayeth quickly rode between Ena and Frost before a fight could break out. Ena directed the spell toward a tree shattering it. “Why would you think that?”

“The risks outweigh the benefits,” Frost said calmly. “They don’t provide anything and because of them we might be targeted by…”

“Stupid,” Ena interrupted. “Would you abandon us if things got dangerous?”

“Now who’s being stupid?” Frost smirked.

“Still you,” Ena said crossly. “It’s your job to love and protect those that everybody else abandons. Shalia loves everybody so you need to love everybody.”

“But it’s okay to love some more than others,” Renna smiled impishly while gradually riding closer to him. “More often, with more intensity, without that pesky infertility spell.”

“Thanks for the reminder,” Frost said while reactivating the spell.

“Dammit,” Renna growled.

“Don’t suggest abandoning them again,” Ena said while glaring at him. Her cerulean eyes were practically overflowing with rage. “We don’t abandon those in need…”

“I abandon those in need all the time,” Frost said. “I let villages get eradicated by monsters all the time and…”

“Now you really are being stupid,” Fayeth laughed. “They’re different things. And if you keep talking like this, I’m going to tell Lysandra and she’ll be very disappointed in you.”

“Fine,” Frost sighed. “I suppose I’m just worried that I’m biting off a bit more than I can chew.”

“Then ask for help,” Ena grumbled. “We’re more capable than you give us credit for. We were fine for decades before you arrived.”

“Fair enough,” Frost nodded as Serino came into view. “Time to explain the situation to Priscilla.”

There wasn’t much to explain upon their arrival. Priscilla was standing in the town square with a group of five elves and two terrified lamias, at least he assumed that’s what they were.

The women’s bodies were serpentine all the way up to their chest which was covered by a tattered cloth top. Through the random tears and holes, he could tell their chests were a yellowish-beige while their scaly bodies were a vibrant green. Their arms were slightly longer than he expected as were their necks. It was almost as if the women had been stretched out. Their eyes were also larger than expected creating an almost surreal look to them. The bags beneath their eyes suggested they were exhausted and their disheveled hair looked as though it hadn’t been washed or brushed in weeks.

Priscilla stood right outside the ring of nervous guards surrounding the monsters. The brunette knight was wearing steel grieves and gloves beneath a more formal looking governess dress. It was an odd look but it suited her, as did the longsword attached to her belt.

“Herald Frost,” Priscilla let out a relieved sigh. “I was just about to send somebody for you.”

“Herald Frost?” the lamias perked up excitedly and one quickly started rummaging through her bag.

“Lookout!” a guard shouted while pointing at the lamia. “It’s getting a weapon!”

“Dammit,” Frost snapped as he tapped Witch’s sides causing her to rush full speed ahead. Seven guards already had their weapons drawn and were rushing straight toward the women.

Frost started casting a mass paralyze spell but realized if he missed even a single person in the chain things could still end badly. He pivoted to prioritize protection created a powerful barrier around the elves and lamia.

“A barrier!” a guard shouted while striking the invisible wall in front of him. “We need more…”

“Stand down!” Priscilla shouted at the top of her lungs.

“Out of our way!” Ena shouted while bursting through a group of five guards on Hammer, knocking them onto the ground. She began charging her smite, daring any of the three men to get back on their feet.

“I wouldn’t suggest that?” Fayeth said while training her bow on a pair of nervous archers. “I promise you I’m a better shot.”

“Priscilla!” Renna jumped off her mount and rushed the brown-haired knight. “How are you?”

“Pissed off!” Priscilla snapped, drawing her sword while approaching the knights. “Who said she had a weapon? Which stupid fuck needs their fucking tongue cut out?”

“Ma’am,” several guards backed up while pushing forward a young dark-haired man. “It was him.”

“She was reaching into her bag…” the man said while pointing at the pair of lamias hugging each other within the safety of the barrier. The elves looked similarly nervous and were keeping their distance from the lamias. “I thought she was going for a weapon and they were ordered to keep still…”

“You stupid fuck,” Priscilla’s armored leg came around and crashed into the man’s head sending him straight to the pavement with a fractured skull. “Drag him to the infirmary and get his discharge papers written up.”

“Discharge ma’am?” a knight asked as if he heard wrong. “He was only…”

“They’re level fourteen lamias!” Priscilla shouted. “The highest level in the elves is level fucking twenty you braindead fucking moron! They could have pulled out a halberd and it wouldn’t have been a threat to the fucking herald!” Priscilla jabbed her head several times while staring them down. “Do you Rilian fucks even think?”

“But you ordered them not to move,” one of the men said while raising his hand. Frost recognized him as one of the men that previously stopped him on his journey through Rilia. “And she moved so…”

“You,” Priscilla gestured at the man. “I want twenty pages written by tomorrow on why you’re a fucking moron or I’m going to make your life hell.”

“Yes ma’am,” the guard said while quickly averting his gaze.

“Herald Frost,” the lamia pulled out a letter and approached the edge of the barrier. The tall serpentine woman was shivering as she held out the parchment. “I’m supposed to give this to you…”

“Right,” Frost nodded and released the barrier.

Frost hopped off Witch and gave her a gentle pat, sending her to the nearest hitching rail, although anybody that tried to hitch her to it was in for a fight.

“Let’s see,” Frost grabbed the document and sure enough, it was another letter from Rathe. “Idiot should have sent a messenger first.”

“I apologize,” the lamia dropped to her belly in front of him and covered her head as if preparing to get beaten. “To hire a messenger, we’d need to enter a village and…”

“Please don’t blame my sister,” the other lamia quickly dropped to her stomach beside her sister taking the same position. “It’s my fault we’re here.”

“Get up,” Frost sighed while staring at the pitiful women.

“Please Herald Frost,” the lamia begged. “Show mercy and allow us to be beaten in this position. Our stomachs do not have the durability of our backs and…”

“He’s not going to beat you,” Ena said as she hopped off Hammer and approached the two women. She grabbed one by the arm and lifted her up as Fayeth quickly moved to assist the other one. “You didn’t do anything wrong and I’m pretty sure even if you did, he’s not really into beating women.”

“At least not that way,” Renna said jokingly. “Although I’m not sure if spankings are effective on lamia.”

“You act like they’re effective on elves,” Frost scoffed as he turned his attention toward Priscilla while Ena and Fayeth reassured the lamia that they’d done nothing wrong. “So, care to explain?”

“Do you care to explain?” Priscilla said defensively while placing her hands on her hips. “You seemed to know more than I do.”

“A Diathen I met in Rilia is letting various mons…alternative humans? Semihumans? I haven’t decided what to call them yet. Anyway, monsters. He’s letting them know that I won’t hunt them down and kill them.” Frost answered.

“What about the elves?” Priscilla said gesturing at the small group of pointy-eared women. “What’s going on there?”

“No idea,” Frost said while approaching the group. “Explanations?”

“I am Saleena,” an elf bowed deeply. “My village was wiped out by illness and because of that…”

“Are you all considered cursed?” Frost said gesturing at the group. The elves nodded nervously. “Okay. I guess that shouldn’t be much of a shocker. Are you all followers of Shalia?”

“We don’t have any other choice,” one of the elves said. “She’s the only goddess that would accept a cursed elf. No other goddess would risk bringing misfortunate on their followers.”

“Got it, you’re fine,” Frost nodded at the elves while turning back to Priscilla. “So, how have things been? Have you been reading those books Hansel loaned you on governance?”

“I would have preferred to be in Filan,” Priscilla said while pointing at the villagers. “These Rilian’s are morons!”

“So, you haven’t read the books,” Frost nodded. “Because I’m pretty sure they’d say not to call the people you’re responsible for morons. At least not to their faces.”

“But they are!” Priscilla gestured angrily at a knight causing him to quickly hide behind another one. “Half of them can’t read so if I want to send a message, I can’t even write it in a letter! And you’d probably say teach them to read, except most of them have gone so long without needing to read they think it’s a waste of time!”

“Do they have enough free time to learn how to read?” Frost asked. “I saw a lot of people out working the fields.”

“Don’t you start,” Priscilla said. “You’re the one that assigned me this village. I am a knight! I am not a governor! Last week I had to solve a dispute between neighbors because a goat ate some of their neighbors’ crop so the neighbor felt entitled to part of the goat in return! Do you know how fucking stupid that is?”

“What did you do?” Frost asked.

“I told him that he’s owed the one rel that the grain would have sold for and ordered them to build some fences so I don’t have to hear about it again,” Priscilla growled. “I then told him if he didn’t like that he could dig the grain from the goat’s shit.”

“Seems like you’re doing great,” Frost chuckled.

“Really?” Priscilla gestured at the manor serving as a town hall. “Glad you think it’s funny because there are over a hundred complaints addressed to you about me. There will probably be five more before the day is out.”

“Well,” Frost said. “You did kick a kneeling soldier in the head and discharge him. You then ordered another one to…”

“It’s the only thing these idiots understand,” Priscilla said.

“You’re a bit of a tyrant,” Frost laughed while placing his hand on her head. “Read the books Hansel gave you. I’m sure they cover your responsibilities and delegation of duties. Also, you’re going to get some help soon. Brynn and Desdemona are going to be networking with all of the villages to help smooth over operations in the territory.”

“Then tell them to speed it up,” Priscilla growled. “And what are we doing about the monsters?”

“We’re trying to come up with a different word than monster,” Frost said. “But if you come across any you should give them directions to Pluma and tell them to ask for Lysandra or Brynn. There’s a good chance the Arachne will greet them as soon as they enter the forest as well so be sure to warn them about that.”

“Seriously?” Priscilla said while looking at the elves and lamia. “You’re just going to let them move in?”

“You’re going to want to also inform them that they’ll be expected to work,” Frost said.

“You’re going to give us work?” the lamia asked with hope-filled eyes. “Really?”

“Don’t get too excited,” Ena grumbled. “He doesn’t pay us.”

“Are we to be slaves?” the other lamia asked, somewhat disappointed but surprisingly okay with it. “Will we be well cared for?”

“You won’t be slaves,” Frost groaned. “The village doesn’t really operate on payments right now. It’s weird for me too but everybody just tries to pitch in. Although we are coming up with an incentive system for those that work harder than others.”

“Do I look like a slave?” Fayeth’s fine green cloak shimmered as she twirled playfully. Her leather corset tapered in her already narrow waist making her chest look even larger than it was and her short skirt and boots left the perfect amount of her thighs visible. “You have nothing to worry about. Shalia is a goddess of love so she’ll accept you just like she accepts me.”

“Really?” the lamia looked to Frost for confirmation. “Shalia accepts monsters like us?”

“I do at least,” Frost chuckled. “That’s what’s important.”

“Us too?” Saleena asked as the other elves pushed her forward. “Will we be able to work too?”

“Obviously,” Frost gestured at Renna as the petite elf hung from Priscilla’s neck. “Does it look like we have an issue with elves?”

The elves bantered enthusiastically and the lamia started to relax as they realized that they weren’t going to be killed.

“I don’t suppose you have some supplies, clothes, and maybe an escort for them,” Frost said while gesturing at the group. All of their clothing was fairly well-worn and their shoes looked like they could fall apart any second. “I mean, they’re looking pretty rough.”

“I can arrange something but the morons aren’t going to be happy,” Priscilla said. “They really don’t like being in a territory where the lord seems to favor elves and monsters over humans.”

“Not my fault humans are so unlikable,” Frost said. “Do you have everything handled here?”

“Yes,” Priscilla sighed. “Not that it matters. I’m stuck here regardless.”

“Hey,” Frost shook his head. “I told you that you can quit anytime you want and I’ll get one of those other knights to do it.”

“No,” Priscilla grumbled. “My mother’s been bragging to everybody about how I’m a governor. If I quit, she’ll be furious. I just wish these idiots would just do as I say.”

“Yeah,” Frost chuckled. “Everything would be much easier. Anyway, we still have to tell Hansel about the situation and Kald is about fifty miles from here so we need to get going.”

“You should really make some time for longer visits,” Priscilla grumbled. “Your last visit you were only here for a day.”

“We should make plans for a few days,” Renna smiled impishly while letting go of Priscilla. “Who knows what might happen…”

“Could be fun,” Priscilla winked playfully.

“I’ll think about it,” Frost smirked. “Maybe after things settle down a bit.”

Frost whistled and Witch rushed over to him as Ena and Fayeth reassured the lamia and elves that everything was going to be fine. Priscilla barked commands to get the elves and monsters some food and supplies while the elves mounted up. It was a long ride to Kald.

CHAPTER 15

Hansel was conflicted.

His father always taught him to be pragmatic and never let his emotions cloud his judgment, but it was easier said than done. Hansel wondered what his father would think of him accepting a position working with Herald Frost in order to avoid his treason investigation.

It was certainly the pragmatic decision given the circumstances but the man did kill his father.

Fortunately for Hansel there was plenty of work to keep his mind off pointless questions. What his father might think of him was irrelevant, the man was dead. Whether or not he should feel guilty about serving the man who killed his father was equally irrelevant. He could either serve Herald Frost or be executed for treason in Zira.

Probably.

There was always a chance the treason investigation would prove him innocent but even he recognized that he was perfect scapegoat. Not only did he have both the motive and opportunity, he benefitted immensely in the wake of his father’s death.

“Here’s another stack,” Hansel said while sliding a few dozen papers to his administrative assistant. “Make sure that you collect signatures that they accepted the delivery of the papers this time. I don’t want anybody to pretend they didn’t receive the notification.”

“What if they refuse to sign,” the old gentleman asked hopefully. Hansel knew what the bloodthirsty old pirate wanted him to say.

“Find a witness to sign a document confirming their refusal to sign and deliver it to me,” Hansel answered calmly. “Additionally, if they act in a threatening manner, walk away. Understood?”

“Yes sir,” the man said irritably as he grabbed the stack of papers. The man grunted several insults and profanities as he left the room with the documents.

It wasn’t a secret that the people of Kald despised him. The city was populated by fishermen, dockworkers, and former pirates. They despised those born into nobility for a plethora of obvious and legitimate reasons.

They viewed him as weak and cowardly. He couldn’t really fault them for that since his actions were virtually indistinguishable from those of a coward. He sat in a well-lit room full of luxuries reading and writing all day and solved his disputes with words instead of action no matter how much they tried to instigate fights.

A soft rap on the door pulled him from his thoughts.

“Come in,” Hansel said as one of the maids wandered in. He’d forgotten her name over a dozen times and simply thought of her as the one with the eyepatch. She had long brown hair and an appealing body but the missing eye and small scars on her face and neck would probably prevent a decent man from marrying her. “What is it?”

“My lord,” the woman bowed politely. “The captain of the guards is here and re…”

“Send him in,” Hansel said with a heavy sigh.

He despised the guard captain with a passion. The man was a heavy-handed oaf who preferred to chop off hands and stab eyes with hot pokers to keep order. He would have already removed the bastard from his position if not for the corrupt bastard’s connections to the various smugglers that used Kald.

Executing him would simply incite further conflict and serve nobody so he tolerated the bastard.

“Boy,” the captain grinned as he walked into the office. He was long-haired man with a jet-black beard and a muscular build. While he had a few scars on his face none of them appeared to be from a weapon of significance. They were likely the result of barfights and robberies as opposed to real battles. “We’ve captured a caravan of elves and monsters entering from Rilia. Normally I’d just take care of them but you’ve decided that executions need to be run by you first. So, I’m here to run it by you.”

“Where are they now?” Hansel asked while opening a drawer of his desk to pull out a wand. He wasn’t a big fan of using wands since they required more energy, but the tradeoff was that they helped focus his magic and increased his precision. He hoped to avoid collateral damage whenever possible. “Oh, right. While I have you here.”

“What’s this,” the captain asked as Hansel handed him a parchment. The man looked over the document and his twisted in anger. “What the fuck is this boy? You think I’m going to…”

“Last week you did nine hundred rel worth of damage chasing a thief,” Hansel said. “He stole bag of apples worth two rel. The nine hundred rel is being billed to you personally.”

“Do you want this town overrun with thieves?” the captain snarled.

“After investigating the scene, I determined there were at least eight different times the thief could have been stopped,” Hansel said. “It’s in the supplemental pages you’re holding. Feel free to read through them. Your men are incompetent captain and since you’ve made it clear that you choose the men who serve under you, you will be held personally responsible. Either train them better or prepare to pay for it.”

“I’m not paying it,” the captain said tearing up the paper. “What are you going to do to make me?”

“That’s fine,” Hansel said while putting on his coat. “The rel will be garnished from your wages and additional interest will be applied.”

“I could have you killed and nobody would bat a fucking eye,” the captain reached for his dagger. “I could kill you right fucking here and…”

“I believe Herald Frost has made it clear what will happen to you if anything happens to me,” Hansel said calmly. “If you have an issue with my governance you are free to submit a complaint directly to Herald Frost on his next visit.”

“The devil-fucker can’t protect you forever,” the captain said. “And when that time comes, I’m going to be taking my time with you boy. Before I’m done, you’ll be…”

“Begging for death,” Hansel sighed as he initialed the sign out sheet for the various items and equipment he was taking with him. “Something like that? Right? Anyway, looks like I have everything I need. Lead me to the visitors captain.”

“My lords,” the maid bowed as they left.

Kald was a fairly small port town. It had five long docks with dozens of small fishing vessels tied to them and one very large one meant for trading vessels. Hansel preferred to avoid that area of the town since they reeked with a putrid combination of fish and sailor stench.

Fortunately avoiding the docks was easy since a majority of the town was on a small bluff above them. Calling it a bluff was probably wrong since it was only about forty feet tall but it was enough to keep the smell at bay. Unless you were passing one of the several large ramps that were cut into the bluffs to allow wagons and horses to transport goods to and from the docks. The malodorous wind from the docks wafted right up them.

The village proper was mostly quiet with a few small market streets where vendors sold goods, some quaint shops, and even a few nice restaurants that of course specialized in seafood. It was the type of village that a soldier might retire to after years of war but not nice enough for the average noble.

The only real issue was the western corner of the town where the sailors went to unwind. Another unfortunate necessity of a port city. While it lost the smell of fish of the port, it was lousy with sailor stench and the cheap perfume of low rent whores.

“Are you sure you’re not attempting to kill me now?” Hansel asked as he realized they were heading toward the western part of town. “Maybe frame it as a mugging?”

“When I kill you, I won’t be framing it as anything,” the captain said calmly. “I’ll drag you around town and…”

“I’m sure something unpleasant,” Hansel interrupted while looking at a hooker being fucked against a wall by a sailor. “I should burn this part of the town to the ground and rebuild.”

“I’m sure the people would love to hear how little their governor thinks of them,” the captain spat on Hansel’s boot while pretending to be aiming for the road. “Sorry boy.”

Between the moaning of drunk whores and the putrid reek of rancid liquor and piss, Hansel figured he was nearing their central square. It was a disgusting little area that seemed to alternate between taverns and rooms rentable by the hour.

He’d tried to organize cleaners to come through the area but after the third one was beaten and tossed in a pile of glass, finding cleaners became difficult. Naturally, no witnesses were available and no arrests were made. His corrupt guard captain made sure of that.

“Please no,” a woman’s voice said just before the sound of glass breaking against the pavement echoed. Hansel increased his pace and as he emerged in the square, he saw about a dozen women tied together with coarse rope and shattered glass at their feet.

“I said dance whore!” a drunk sailor said while preparing to toss another bottle.

“Captain?” Hansel glared at the disgruntled man. “Either you handle it or I will.”

“I’d like to see what you can do you little puke,” the captain snarled. “But I’ll handle it.”

The captain stomped his foot causing all of the drunk sailors to stop what they were doing. With a jerk of his head the men all stepped away from the bound women.

“As you can see,” the captain gestured at a bloody and beaten siren sniffling into the arms of a gorgon. “We have pests. I just need your permission to…”

“Cut them loose,” Hansel said without hesitation. “Arrest the men who attacked and bound them for assault and kidnapping.”

“Excuse me?” the captain leaned down. “What the fuck did you just say?”

“I wasn’t aware that you were hearing was damaged captain,” Hansel said while walking toward the shivering women. The group consisted of several different types of monsters but most of them were fairly harmless if you understood their natural defenses. In Zira they eradicated them as pests no different than they would rats or wolves, but it was unlikely Herald Frost wished to do the same. In fact, this was the type of scene that’d send the herald into a fit of rage.

“They’re fucking vermin,” the captain growled. “I’m not arresting anybody for trying to stomp on some vermin.”

“Very well,” Hansel pulled out his wand and accessed his spells. He scanned the group and most of the sailors were fighters and thieves but there were a few assassins that could prove troublesome. Their levels ranged between ten and twenty-two giving him enough of a level gap to handle multiple. The problem was the level thirty-three captain if he decided to get involved. “Captain, you’re excused. Please return to the main office and I’ll find you after I’m finished here.”

“After you’re finished here?” the captain snarled. “I don’t think you understand…”

“I don’t think you understand captain,” Hansel gestured at the women. “You know Herald Frost through brief encounters and stories. I’ve seen him ride through a city full of hundreds of guards and decapitate a prince less than a day after killing eight heroes and twelve giants. Do you want to know why he did that? Because the prince threatened his elves.”

“Everybody knows the fucking story…”

“Yes,” Hansel glared at the captain. “You know the story just like you know about his devil-fucking and dog-fucking. They’re amusing anecdotes to laugh at as you get drunk with your sailor friends. But you do not know the man and when that man finds out that these pests as you call them were bound and mistreated, he will not be satisfied with killing only you.”

“He’s not going to kill anybody over…”

“He will,” Hansel interrupted while wondering if his words were sinking into the ignorant boor’s head. “Let me put it in words somebody like you might understand. Those pests have cunts, those pets have tits, those pests have mouths. If Herald Frost can stick his prick in them, he’ll protect them. So, you can either take your chances with me or with him.”

The captain paused as Hansel’s words began to sink in. The man looked at the group of shivering women bound so tightly that some of their wrists were bleeding. To him they probably looked like a nest of rats waiting to be crushed by a wooden club but he needed to realize that Herald Frost would not see them the same way.

“He took an Arachne as a wife,” Hansel said coldly. “Did you know that?”

“He what?” the captain looked at Hansel in disbelief.

“He took an Arachne as a wife,” Hansel repeated while gesturing at one of the lamias. “I’ve seen him drunkenly swap back and forth between kissing an Arachne and a demoness to show off how he’d learned to avoid their teeth with his tongue. There is not a doubt in my mind that he would just as easily take any of them into his bed just like there’s no doubt that if this isn’t handled…”

“If what’s handled Han Selo?” Frost’s voice echoed.

“I gave you a chance to correct this captain,” Hansel sighed and turned to see Frost and three elves approaching on horseback. The herald glanced at the women briefly and although his face showed nothing, Hansel could practically feel Frost’s icy wrath. “But now it’s too late.”

“Hansel,” Frost nodded at the women. “Explain what’s…”

“The boy ordered us to bind…” the captain fell to the ground before he could finish his sentence as Frost’s dagger pierced his skull. The man shouldn’t have started to tell such a stupid lie.

“Don’t any of you move,” Frost said as the various drunkards in the square prepared to flee. “Any of you move, you die.”

“Ah, no,” one of the elves said as she pointed her bow at a man attempting to slink into the shadows. “That goes for you too.”

“Humans,” Ena said while staring at the terrified women. “This is why I hate humans.”

“Hansel,” Frost said while looking down at him. Hansel felt like the herald’s eyes were looking like through him, as if he were already a ghost. “Explain what’s going on here.”

“I’m not entirely sure of the circumstances,” Hansel said while readying himself for death. “I was notified of their presence and I arrived here a short time ago. I ordered them to be unbound and for all of their assailants to be arrested. The captain was seeking clarification on my orders when you arrived.”

“So,” Frost gestured at the few dozen drunkards, cutthroats, and sailors littering the square. “These bastards bound and beat these women and it was sanctioned by the captain of your guards, correct?”

“That is correct,” Hansel said.

“Who’s in charge there?” Frost gestured at the group of monster women. “I assume one of you has a note…”

A bleeding siren stepped forward. The blue scaled woman avoided eye-contact with Frost while using her bound hands to gesture to the satchel at her side.

“This is annoying,” Herald Frost grumbled while holding out his hand. A moment later the ropes binding the women snapped as what appeared to be thin barriers sliced through them. Hansel found the unique use of the barrier spell both intriguing and terrifying, especially considering that Herald Frost only recently learned magic. The women trembled while attempting to stand perfectly still as Herald Frost held out his hands to them. “You have anything to be afraid of. You can bring me the note.”

The siren carefully reached for her satchel and limped toward Herald Frost while avoiding the shards of glass. The woman avoided his gaze as she handed him the note. After a few moments he handed it back to the woman and gently patted her head.

“It’s fine now,” Frost said while gesturing at the group of women behind him. “You can all follow Fayeth, Ena, and Renna here back to Hansel’s estate to get cleaned up and some clothes.”

The women all looked back around as if they were unsure of what to do. The siren held up her note and pointed excitedly at Herald Frost as if to indicate it was correct. Gradually, the women began slithering or crawling toward him and the elves. Eventually the only people left in the square were Hansel, Frost, and the men.

“Hansel,” Frost jumped off of his horse and walked toward him. “Do you understand your part in this?”

“Yes,” Hansel nodded while waiting to join his father. “I allowed the commander to continue operating in order to keep things orderly and…”

“That’s a good start,” Frost said while looking around at the square. “This area is filthy.”

“They beat…” Hansel paused. “I failed to assign protection for those assigned to clean it.”

“Yeah,” Frost nodded while glancing around at the men. “If there were somebody exactly between you and Priscilla, I bet they’d be a perfect governor.”

“Excuse me?” Hansel’s eyes narrowed at being compared to Priscilla. Sure, she was a talented knight and a friend of his, but she was also a hot-head who felt most problems could be solved by a gauntlet to the head.

“This guy right here,” Frost kicked the corpse. “You should have dragged him into the middle of this square and killed him already.”

“You can’t kill a man for refusing to do his job,” Hansel said calmly. “If you start executing people for not doing their job…”

“No,” Frost shook his head. “I’m not suggesting you kill him for not doing his job. I’m suggesting you kill him for being a piece of shit. Just watch.”

Herald Frost pointed at the man who’d been preparing to throw a bottle at the women and a flat barrier sliced through his neck taking his head. Within seconds more men followed, some dying to barriers, some to fireballs, and some to daggers. Not a single member of the drunk mob escaped as they fell to the ground lifelessly.

“Now,” Herald Frost began forming a fireball in his hand and took a deep breath. “Anybody inside of the buildings on this square has one minute to get out before I burn them to the ground!” Frost shouted.

“You can’t just kill everybody.”

“Hansel,” Frost looked around emotionlessly as men and women in various states of undress rushed from the taverns and inns. “Does it look like I’m killing everybody? I killed the men who thought it was fun to tie up and beat quartohumans…no…I don’t like that name either. Monsters is still the only word that really works. Anyway, this entire part of the town is a disgusting pit. Why shouldn’t I burn it to the ground?”

“Because it sets a bad precedent,” Hansel said calmly. “It makes you look like a tyrant. You already killed men in the street without giving them a trial.”

“But I am a tyrant,” Frost said while bouncing his head around as if he were trying to choose which building to destroy first. “It’s my territory. If they don’t like the rules, they’re free to leave.”

“Herald Frost,” Hansel looked around at the assembled audience of dockworkers and prostitutes watching fearfully. “If you burn down this portion of the city it’s going to create an unsustainable situation. These people will lose homes and possessions. People do not forgive the loss of their homes and possessions. This will push them toward crime that will bleed over into other parts of the city. While I can execute them should they commit crimes that will likely exacerbate the fear. And people who are afraid do stupid things.”

“Fine,” Frost said as his fireball dissipated. “The next time I visit this town I expect this area not to reek like piss and cum. If it does, I’ll burn it to the ground.”

“Thank you,” Hansel sighed while shaking his head. “I assume this means you don’t intend to kill me?”

“I don’t need to kill you Hansel,” Frost answered. “All I have to do is send you back to Zira.”

“That’s fair,” Hansel nodded. “In that case can we please go back to my office and discuss the situation with the monsters?”

“That’s fine,” Frost said while glaring at the men and women with disdain. “Your governor has convinced me not to turn this end of the town to ash. He’s convinced that he is capable of fixing this pile of rat shit and I’ll give him a chance to prove it. I suggest you help him because if you don’t, we’ll do things my way,” Frost shouted so everybody in the square could hear. “Good luck.”

“Was that really necessary,” Hansel groaned as Frost hopped onto his horse. “You already have them terrified of you.”

“Yeah,” Frost answered coldly. “But now they know that you’re the only person standing between them and me. That can be a powerful thing if you use it right.”

“Sounds like something my father would come up with,” Hansel froze as he realized what he said. “I didn’t mean…”

“I’ll take it as a compliment,” Frost scoffed contemptuously. “Your father came closer to killing me than any other man in this world Hansel. I might not have liked the man but I respected his talent.”

“I see,” Hansel said while wondering what his father would think of that. Not that it mattered since the man was dead.

CHAPTER 16

The elves helped the monsters clean up and resupply while Frost explained the questing system that was going to be implemented in the village. The young duke diligently took notes and asked for clarification on time frames, costs, and benefits of the system as Frost answered what he could.

Frost couldn’t help but feel awkward around Hansel.

When he’d first met Hansel in Pluma village, he seemed to be relatively carefree and even laughed at his joke. But the man in front of him felt almost devoid of emotion. Frost was almost certain that he was suffering from some type of grief or disorder resulting from seeing his father killed and was likely throwing himself into work to avoid it.

He considered requiring him to have check-ins with Lysandra like many of the more troubled elves but it would likely be a waste of time if Hansel didn’t see a benefit. Instead, he simply had to hope that the young duke could figure it out a healthy way to deal with things on his own.

“Excuse me,” a lovely maid with an eyepatch knocked gently on the open door. Frost’s smirked as he admired the near perfect proportions of her legs, hips, waist, and chest. She did seem to have a few scars but nothing too distracting. “I apologize for interrupting but you’re being requested at the docks my lord.”

“It’s almost sundown,” Frost said while looking out the window. He wondered if some people were attempting to lure them to the docks so they could attempt to get revenge for the square.

“Is this about what happened earlier?” Hansel asked while setting his notebook on the table.

“I’m sorry,” the maid bowed at Hansel and turned to Herald Frost. “But Herald Frost is the one being requested. A large ship has docked and the passengers refuse to get off.”

“A large ship?” Hansel looked at Frost suspiciously. “Do you have any idea what’s going on?”

“No,” Frost shook his head while picking up his coat from the chair. He smiled politely at the lovely maid while wondering if she lost her eye entirely or if she wore the eyepatch due to vision loss of some type. He was curious but lacked the rapport with the woman to ask. Besides, the strange ship was the priority. “Is it from Rilia or Zira?”

“The dock foreman said it’s bearing the standard of Ocelon,” the maid said politely. “The passengers on the ship seem to consist of a combination of demihumans and several monsters my lords.”

“Ocelon,” Frost had heard of the god of peace but he was the primary god of one of the southern continents. If he recalled the continent was split between two large countries. “Tilore, right?”

“That’s correct,” Hansel answered. “Tilore is primarily ruled by followers of Ocelon and Solara although there are some smaller factions as well. But this is concerning. Kal is the smallest continent and is generally ignored but if you’ve earned the attention of gods like Ocelon…”

“Things could get rough,” Frost nodded.

Frost had researched the gods and Ocelon was one of the big six. Sthilinna controlled an entire continent thanks to her massive Arachne horde and the only reason she didn’t control more was due to the Arachne’s fear of water. Solara was the goddess of knowledge and occupied countries all over the world although her herald resided on Tilore. Tarr, despite having a medium sized presence on Kal, was extremely popular on other continents. And Ocelon was the god of peace whose popularity rivaled that of Solara.

Imaral and Ozon finished out the big six but he couldn’t find much information about either of them other than the fact they controlled the two largest continents. They were the two most powerful gods in the world and nobody outside of their continents knew much about them.

There were dozens of smaller gods like Shalia but Frost didn’t bother learning much about the ones that weren’t on his continent. There were just too many and most of them were irrelevant like the gods of music or travelers.

“Ocelon may be a god of peace but that doesn’t mean much in the grand scheme of things,” Hansel said. “After all, Shalia is a goddess of love but you’ve killed quite a few people.”

“Fair,” Frost chuckled.

“I’m more concerned about how far your resources will stretch,” Hansel said. “If Ocelon decides to start dumping off demihumans in your territory that could get out of hand rather quickly.”

“Are you worried about me invading Blackwater?” Frost chuckled while making his way to the door. The maid smiled at Hansel as the young duke grabbed a few items. Frost paused and watched Hansel scribble things in a book. “What are you doing?”

“Writing down the items I’m taking from the room,” Hansel said.

“Why?”

“So, I know what I have and I know what is here,” Hansel answered. “More importantly I’ll know if something goes missing.”

“Are you worried she’s going to steal from you?” Frost said while pointing at the blushing maid. “She doesn’t look like a thief. Are you a thief?”

“No, my lord!” the maid said fearfully. “I would never dream of stealing from Duke Raullon!”

“Duke Hansel,” Hansel winced. “Or Lord Hansel. Or even the duke or the lord. But never Duke Raullon.”

“Sorry my lord,” the maid said while bowing her head. “I apologize. I know you’ve told me before and it just slipped. If you wish to punish me…”

“There’s no need for punishment,” Hansel said coldly as he walked toward Frost. “Just get it right.”

“Really?” Frost glanced at Hansel and the maid. “No punishment at all? Not even a spanking?”

“My lord,” the maid turned bright red at the thought. It was obvious to Frost that she wasn’t opposed to the idea but Hansel was probably blind to it.

“I’m not you Herald Frost,” Hansel said irritably. “I don’t live my life chasing fleeting pleasures.”

“Nothing fleeting about them,” Frost winked at the bashful maid while heading out the door. “Don’t worry sweetheart, I’m sure he’ll come around.”

“My lord!” the maid buried her face in her hands as he and Hansel left for the docks.

The dock foreman led them to the large pier where the vessel bearing the standard of Ocelon was anchored. It was smaller than he expected but Frost wasn’t sure why he expected larger. Wooden ships weren’t going to compare to large navel warships or even cruise ships in size. It should have been obvious to him that they’d be small.

“Who is this?” the captain of the ship asked nervously. “I know it’s not the Herald of Shalia. Even he couldn’t have arrived from his village so quickly.”

“I was here for something else,” Frost announced loudly while glaring at the captain. “I’m the herald and you won’t find anybody here who’ll argue that fact.”

“I heard the herald always travels with a contingent of demihuman whores,” the captain said while looking around. “I don’t see any whores.”

“Captain,” Frost glared at the man while pulling out a small dagger. He flicked the dagger into the post next to the captain and pulled out another. “Did you just call my wives and lovers whores?”

The expression on the captain’s face turned to fear as he scanned Frost and realized at the very least, he wasn’t somebody to insult. Frost similarly scanned the captain along with any heads peeping over the side rails of the ship to get better views. Most of them were in their teens as far as levels went and the captain was only in his twenties. There wasn’t a single threat among them.

“I’m the governor of Kald and you have my word that this man is Herald Frost,” Hansel said while bowing politely. “Might we inquire as to why the Herald of Ocelon has taken an interest in Herald Frost?”

“You can inquire all you want but I don’t have answers,” the captain said while shaking his head. “All I knew was that word had gotten around about you and I was hired by some demi’s to smuggle them over here. Next thing you know, the Prophet of Ocelon was telling me that the herald himself was now sponsoring my voyage for some reason.”

“Word had gotten around?” Frost asked. “What’s that mean?”

“You know,” the captain blushed. “About your territory and your proclivities.”

“You mean the elf-fucking?” Frost winked at the elf women peeking over the rail. “Or are you talking about the other types of fucking?”

“Um,” the captain looked around nervously. “I already seem to have offended you once Herald Frost and I don’t wish to do so again.”

“Herald Frost,” Hansel judgmentally stared at him while pulling out parchment and a pen. “I have a lot to do and…”

“Alright,” Frost chuckled. “Fine. We’ll move it along. Captain, does anybody aboard your ship happen to have a letter of some kind?”

“A letter?” the captain repeated while looking at the demihumans and monsters. It was clear that none of them had any idea what he was talking about. “It doesn’t seem so.”

“Hm,” Frost did another scan of the passengers. Word hadn’t even fully spread through his own small continent but somehow it reached the continent of one of the most popular gods. That didn’t make sense. Frost pointed at one of the elves, “You, where did you hear about me?”

“M-me?” the elf looked around anxiously and pointed at a taller pink-haired elf. “It was announced in our village by a traveling official.”

“An official?” Frost glanced at Hansel. “Do you have any idea what the hell is going on?”

“Some,” Hansel said. “I think. But it’d just be a theory.”

“Herald Frost,” a beautiful elf stepped toward the railing and Frost’s heart pounded so hard he thought it’d burst from his chest. “I believe I may be able to answer that question.”

His mind was inundated with thoughts of the first night he spent with Lysandra, the warmth and love he felt as the gorgeous priestess embraced him. The elf on the ship looked almost identical to his perfect priestess with only a few differences, all of which he loved.

She had the same violet eyes as Lysandra and the same beautiful white hair. Hell, they looked like they could be sisters if it weren’t for the other features. His eyes quickly found themselves unable to resist the pull of her massive chest which rivaled Zinnia’s in proportion. Her narrow waist also served to accentuate her wide child bearing hips and the thick thighs he just wanted to bury his face between. She might have been the most beautiful elf he’d ever seen.

He felt guilty just thinking it but she was as beautiful as Lysandra.

“What’s your name?” Frost asked while scanning the elf. Unlike the low-level elves, she appeared to be level twenty-nine, and a priestess. Another similarity between the curvaceous elf and his future wife.

“I am Priestess Cala,” the elf bowed politely while stepping in front of the captain. His heart pounded as he felt her violet eyes burning a hole through him. “It’s an honor to meet you Herald Frost.”

“It’s nice to meet you too,” Frost smirked while eyeing the generous slit of her skirt and low-cut top. Her clothing was much nicer than everybody else’s and arguably too nice given the circumstances of her arrival. “You said you could explain what was going on here?”

“Yes,” Priestess Cala nodded. “Ocelon arranged for this transport to get rid of those he deemed troublesome.”

“Troublesome,” Hansel grumbled while documenting every word of the encounter. “That’s just wonderful.”

“It is wonderful,” Cala said, narrowing her eyes momentarily. “Amara, the young pink haired one you spoke to, was deemed troublesome for refusing a marriage arranged for her by the Priests of Ocelon. An elf lord needed to be appeased. Amara and her sister ran and were branded fugitives for it. Would it comfort you if each of us to explained why we’re troublesome?”

“Not necessary,” Frost smirked at the woman. “But I am curious as to why you’re troublesome. You don’t look like the others.”

“I’m a Priestess of Shalia,” Cala said politely. “That makes me very troublesome since the Herald of Ocelon’s peace requires conformity.”

“Herald Frost,” Hansel shook his head and lowered his voice. “I believe she may be a spy sent by Ocelon. She is claiming to be a follower of Shalia to earn your trust. Additionally, she’s the exact type of woman I’d send to you if…”

“Yeah,” Frost chuckled. “I get it Hansel. She’s the exact type of woman I’d send as well.” Frost turned his attention back to the suspicious priestess. “So Ocelon’s peace is basically taking away people’s ability to think for themselves, right?”

“That is a very concise way of putting it,” Cala smiled. “Although, those at the top of the hierarchy operate with different rules.”

“Yeah, that’s always the case,” Frost smirked. “You said you’re a Priestess of Shalia but it’s more likely that you’re a spy. How do I know I can trust you?”

“I’m not a spy,” Cala responded calmly. Frost couldn’t help but feel she was too controlled for having just been accused of being a spy but also wasn’t sure how he expected her to respond. “What makes you believe I’m a spy?”

“Good question,” Frost chuckled. “I suppose the main reason is that Lysandra is the High Priestess of Shalia and she’s never mentioned other…”

“Lysandra?” Cala’s face lit up with the excitement of a thousand holidays as she looked around as if hoping to see her. “Is she here with you? Can I see her? Is somebody going to go get her?”

“She’s in the village,” Frost said while scanning the woman again. The enthusiastic response was strange but definitely wasn’t something he’d expect from a spy. The white-haired priestess seemed genuinely excited at the prospect of seeing Lysandra. “You know Lysandra?”

“Oh,” the woman smiled embarrassedly while regaining her composure. “Only from reputation. As a devout follower of Shalia it’s only natural for me to be excited at the prospect of meeting the High Priestess.”

“Alright,” Frost nodded while wondering if instead of a spy had some sort of fanatic on his hands. “But I haven’t heard of followers of Shalia anywhere but here and…”

“Um,” one of the elves raised their hands. “There were lots of followers of Shalia back home.”

“What?” Hansel looked up from his parchment in disbelief. “That’s impossible.”

“It’s not,” another elf chimed in. “There was a priestess who came through decades ago and built several small villages. She saved elves from famines and plagues! But then the sorcerer Lohan started trying to wipe them out.”

“Really?” Frost smiled nervously at Hansel. “Is it possible that they don’t know about the whole famine and plague thing?”

“Tentrum isn’t exactly known for its free flow of information,” Hansel said pensively. “Tilore is a very large continent and the only two countries are Tentrum and Solar. While Solar celebrates knowledge, Tentrum curates what the people hear. So, it’s possible that citizens of Tentrum don’t know about it.”

“I understand,” Frost said as he realized very quickly the type of leader the Herald of Ocelon was. There were plenty of theories on how to maintain peace but one of the more popular ones used by despots was keeping the population uneducated and brainwashed. He turned his attention back to the elves. “You said Lohan tried to wipe them out?”

“Yes,” Cala nodded while trying to contain a smile. “Although that vile sorcerer Lohan died shortly before we left.”

“Really?” an elf asked excitedly.

“Good riddance!” another chimed in. “He was an evil man who burned villages to the ground and murdered children while trying to hunt down the Priestess of Shalia!”

“Do you happen to be talking about Cassia?” Frost asked while rubbing his head. It was unlikely Cassia vanishing from Kal and the subsequent plagues and famines on Tilore were just a coincidence.

“Yes!” an elf chimed in. “Caring Cassia! She was a wonderful woman!”

“Caring?” Hansel grimaced while continuing to jot things down.

“She saved people from illnesses,” another said. “And she built villages and schools!”

“My mother said she met her once years ago,” the pink-haired Amara said excitedly. “She said that she exuded love!”

“Yes,” Cala smiled proudly. “She was truly a paragon of virtue and a truly devout Priestess of Shalia.”

“This is funny,” Frost chuckled as he realized why Cassia must have chosen the country. Most of the world knew her as Calamity Cassia so she went and hid in a country that didn’t allow for the free flow of information. Since nobody knew her, she was able to use the same ploy to gain followers. “So, you all love Cassia?”

“Of course!” the elves nodded excitedly. “But not everybody does because of the rumors.”

“Vicious lies,” Cala said defensively. “She warned everybody that people would spread rumors about her!”

“It was probably that evil Lohan behind it,” an elf said.

“Even the Herald of Ocelon couldn’t catch him!” another elf chimed in. “He was an evil sneaky murder!”

“Right!” another one agreed. “I bet Lohan told everybody that she was the one poisoning people but it was probably him!”

“Yeah!”

“Shalia’s a goddess of love!” Amara insisted. “A Priestess of Shalia would never do anything like that!”

“Oh,” Hansel grimaced while continuing to write down his notes. “I don’t suppose you’re going to tell them?”

“I don’t see why I would,” Frost chuckled. “I wasn’t there. I’ll let Lysandra decide what she does and doesn’t want to say. It seems like Cassia did quite the number on them.”

“Herald Frost!” Renna came rushing down the main path and practically tackled him. Her eyes immediately gravitated toward Cala. “Who is the used up ancient whore? We don’t need more golems in our territory you know?”

“Used up old whore?” the elf priestess’ violet eyes narrowed on Renna. “What do you mean by that?”

“You’re easily a hundred years old with wrinkles like that,” Renna said smugly. “And with those udders you’ve probably popped out a dozen children. So, you’re a used up old whore.”

“Or maybe she’s just blessed in the chest,” Fayeth said as she approached with Ena. “Hers aren’t that much larger than mine.”

“Yours are massive!” Renna said while pointing angrily. “You’ve had the largest chest in the village since forever!”

“Are the others settled?” Frost asked as Renna buried her face in his chest.

“They’ll be ready to leave in the morning,” Ena said while glaring at the white-haired priestess. “Although I’d also like to know what’s happening here.”

“More newcomers,” Frost smirked. “Apparently the Herald of Ocelon has decided that offering his troublemakers free transport to our territory is a better solution than killing them.”

“Well,” Hansel seemed to be pondering the statement. “I imagine if you decline their entry and send them back, he’ll kill them. It’s rather smart when you think about it. He doesn’t have to search for any of them because they load themselves onto a ship. If they don’t come back, the problem is solved. If they do come back, the problem is solved.”

“Then we can’t send them back!” Ena said authoritatively. She glared at Frost threateningly. “Do you intend to send them back?”

“Do you?”

“What?”

“I never thought of that,” an elf on the ship whispered.

“Oh no,” a blue-haired elf holding what looked like her little sister said. “I’m so stupid. Stupid, stupid, stupid.”

“What about us?” a pair of gorgons said. “Even if he accepts the elves that doesn’t mean…”

“I’m accepting all of you,” Frost announced before any of them became more worried. “I’ll figure something out.”

“You mean Brynn will figure something out,” Fayeth said smugly.

“I suppose I ought to start taking their information,” Hansel sighed while stepping toward the ship. “I suppose I’ll start with Priestess Cala here.”

“I would much rather go with Herald Frost,” the violet-eyed priestess said seductively. “And I’ve already given you my information, haven’t I?”

“It’s fine Hansel,” Frost smirked as the white-haired beauty rushed down the gangplank. “She is a Priestess of Shalia after all.”

“Another old whore priestess!” Renna whined. “It’s no fair Herald Frost! I can’t compete with your old woman fetish!”

“I don’t have an old woman fetish,” Frost chuckled.

“It’s fine if you do,” Cala said as she hooked his free arm while smirking at Renna. “It would be an honor to be of use to the herald in any way.”

“He has me for that!” Renna said angrily. “Isn’t that right Frost?”

“We’ll see how the night plays out,” Frost said as Cala pressed her massive chest against him. She smiled politely and his mind once again wandered to Lysandra. The two women looked remarkably similar. “I don’t suppose you’re related to Cassia in some way?”

“Related?” Cala shook her head. She appeared to be telling the truth. “Unfortunately not Herald Frost. Why?”

“You just kind of look similar is all,” Frost said.

“To Cassia?” the woman asked with a nervous chuckled. “You’ve seen her?”

“No,” Frost laughed. “To her daughter Lysandra. You two kind of look alike. I thought you could be sisters.”

“Really!” Cala hopped excitedly. “That makes me so happy!”

“Don’t get too excited,” Renna smiled impishly. “It’s mostly the dried-up skin and wrinkles.”

CHAPTER 17

Frost opened up Hansel’s manor to all of the vagrants whether they came by land or sea. He enjoyed watching the various demihumans and monsters excitedly show off their new clothing. They were simple outfits that Hansel scrounged up but it was clear they were the nicest things some of them had ever worn.

“Thank you very much,” a lamia bowed politely to Hansel. “I will be sure to have it washed and returned.”

“Don’t,” Hansel said coldly while sipping the stew his servants cooked up. “They are yours.”

“R-really?” the lamia tried to hold back tears. “I can keep it?”

“Yes,” Hansel nodded toward Frost. “Everybody here can keep their clothing. The money to purchase it is coming out of his coffers.”

“T-thank you!” the lamia bowed several times to both Hansel and Frost before rushing around to tell other monsters who had similar reactions.

Hansel was correct that it was coming from Frost’s coffers, but only on a technicality. Frost hadn’t yet implemented any taxes on the villages in his territory and instead trusted the assigned governors to tax and spend wisely.

In Zira, the governors and lords had to account for an additional ten percent of everything which went to the capital on top of what was required to operate the territory. So, Kald’s tax structure mirrored Zira’s almost identically except the additional ten percent normally sent to the capital was put in an emergency reserve.

“You truly are a kind lord,” Cala said as the three elves sitting between him and her simultaneously growled. “Very few would feed and clothe vagrants like us.”

“Yes,” Fayeth said while looking Cala up and down. “Vagrants like you. Although, I don’t recall ever seeing a vagrant in such fine robes.”

“I try to represent the goddess as best I can,” Cala said politely while narrowing her eyes at Fayeth. “I understand they may seem lavish but compared to the priests and priestesses of Ocelon, they are rather lackluster.”

“And how did you become a Priestess of Shalia?” Ena followed up. “Lysandra had an entire book of rules, rituals, and teachings she expected me to memorize while I was training to become a priestess. Who trained you?”

“Lysandra was training you to become a priestess?” Cala grinned excitedly at Ena. “What was the training like? Was she a good teacher? I bet she was absolutely perfect, wasn’t she? Wait, you’re a holy knight, what happened? Was she too strict? Or did you realize you could never match her perfection?”

“Perfection?” Renna laughed. “That angry old hag is anything but perfect.”

“Did you just call Lysandra an angry old hag?” Cala gritted her teeth. “She is the most perfect priestess to ever exist and to say otherwise…”

“How would you know that?” Fayeth asked smugly. “We all live with her. Surely our judgement should be trusted more than somebody who’s never met her. Unless you know Lysandra.”

“You’re right,” Cala took a breath and calmed down. “I do not. I only know that she’s the daughter of Cassia and as such is probably the most perfect elf ever to exist.”

“Calamity Cassia,” Renna corrected with a malicious grin.

“Her name is Caring Cassia,” a nearby elf snapped. “Those stupid rumors were spread by jealous heralds and prophets!”

“Yeah!” another elf chimed in.

“Let’s not fight about that,” Frost said to the elves. “When we get back to the village Lysandra will likely want to meet with all of you and you can discuss it with her.”

“The daughter of Cassia is going to meet with us?” a different elf hopped up and down excitedly. “Really?”

“Really,” Frost smiled at Cala. “I imagine she’ll be very interested to meet you though. You haven’t mentioned who trained you to become a priestess.”

“I would rather not say,” Cala said. “Some people at the table don’t seem to have very good opinions of her.”

“I see,” Frost smiled impishly while staring at the priestess’ ample chest. “So, what was Lysandra’s mother like?”

“She is a wonderful woman who loves Shalia and her daughter,” Cala said excitedly. “She was always talking about how perfect her beautiful little Lysandra was. When she was little, she had the cutest little violet eyes and hair and…”

“Lysandra had violet hair?” Frost chuckled. “Really?”

“Does she not have violet hair anymore?” Cala asked worriedly.

“It’s blindingly white,” Renna laughed. “The old hag lost her hair color sooner than any elf in history.”

“Quiet,” Ena smacked Renna’s chest. “You’re probably the reason she lost her color.”

“She was losing her color before I ever arrived,” Renna said defensively. “Besides, it’s not like it’s a bad thing for her. Herald Frost seems to think white hair is pretty.”

“Well even if she has white hair, I bet she’s still the most beautiful elf who’s ever walked on Nivara,” Cala said while glaring at the three snickering elves. “What’s so funny?”

“You clearly haven’t met her,” Fayeth laughed. “She’s very beautiful and maybe in her youth she was the prettiest but…”

“She’s not even the prettiest elf in the village,” Ena mumbled while gulping her wine.

“Lysandra is the most perfect elf in the world,” Cala snapped furiously as she stood up and slammed her fist on the table. Everybody stopped and stared at the ivory-haired elf as she fumed with rage. After a brief moment she took a deep breath and calmed down. “I apologize for my outburst.”

“Why are you so obsessed with Lysandra?” Frost asked suspiciously as the priestess took her seat.

“She’s the closest thing I have to family,” Cala said after a brief pause. “I don’t like hearing her insulted. She’s the most perfect elf to ever exist…”

“It’s fine,” Frost said while watching the woman hold back rage-filled tears. “Renna, Fayeth, Ena, apologize.”

“Apologize?” Renna growled. “But I didn’t do anything wrong!”

“I’m sorry,” Ena said without hesitation.

“I apologize,” Fayeth nodded. “I wasn’t aware that Lysandra meant so much to you.”

“Renna,” Frost glared at the petite green-haired elf. “Cala obviously idolizes Lysandra. How would you feel if somebody mocked the person you idolize?”

“I’d be fine with it,” Renna said while crossing her arms. She glanced at the priestess and let out a frustrated sigh. “Fine. I’m sorry for insulting Lysandra. Happy?”

“Was that so hard?” Frost asked.

“Very,” Renna said while scooting her seat closer to him. “So, you better reward me for it.”

“I don’t feel like eating anymore,” Cala said while pushing away her food. “May I be excused?”

“We really didn’t mean it,” Fayeth said worriedly.

“You don’t have to go,” Ena said.

“It’s fine,” Cala glanced at Frost. “Herald Frost, what do you think of Lysandra?”

“Me?” Frost chuckled. “It’s like you say. She’s the most perfect elf ever to exist.”

The other three elves growled in unison as Cala smiled happily.

“You really think so?” Cala asked excitedly. “No wonder Shalia chose you as a herald.”

“You still want to leave?” Frost asked. “I’d like to hear more about Cassia.”

“If you’d like we could talk in my room,” Cala offered. “Since you are the herald and I’m a priestess of Shalia it would be an honor to share your bed.”

“Like hell!” Renna shouted, this time slamming her fist on the table. “He’s sleeping with me tonight! I was going to get him all to myself for once!”

“Renna,” Frost ran his fingers through her soft green hair. “You have nothing to worry about.”

“Nothing to worry about?” Renna pointed at her accusingly. “She’s your type! Everybody knows you can’t resist old women!”

The entire room stopped what they were doing to stare at Frost like he was some sort of degenerate. He was used to receiving those types of looks from humans, but getting them from demihumans and monsters was a new experience.

“I can resist old women,” Frost said reassuringly while looking around the room. “I don’t have an old woman fetish.”

“Liar,” Ena said as Fayeth chuckled next to her.

“Anyway,” Frost sighed as everybody in the room went back to eating and chatting while occasionally glancing at him. He looked down at Renna. “I’m going to walk Cala to her room. You have nothing to worry about.”

“Fine,” Renna said judgmentally. “But if you don’t come back to the bedroom later, I’m going to be upset.”

“I will,” Frost said as he leaned down to give her a peck, although she clearly had different plans. Renna wrapped her arms around his neck and thrust her tongue in his mouth like she was laying claim to him in front of the entire room. After a few seconds she released him from the embrace and gave his ass a playful squeeze. “You’re ridiculous.”

“I’ll show you ridiculous tonight,” Renna said. “Just make sure to come back to the room.”

“I will,” Frost laughed as he moved to escort Cala. Ena shot him an evil glare as he took Cala’s arm in his. “See you all later.”

“Have a good evening Herald Frost,” Fayeth said cheerfully. “Aren’t you going to tell him to have a good evening Ena?”

“Have a good evening,” Ena said grumpily while glaring at him.

Frost grabbed Cala’s arm and escorted her out of the dining room to the main hall of the manor. Most of the first floor was set up with blankets and pillows and the bedrooms upstairs had similar arrangements. He imagined there’d be some fighting over who got the beds but most of the guests seemed happy to have a roof over their head.

“So,” Frost said as Cala’s large chest wrapped around his arm. “About Cassia.”

“What would you like to know about her?” Cala asked politely. “I know pretty much everything about her and Lysandra.”

“You’re quite the fanatic, aren’t you?” Frost chuckled.

“I’ve been called that,” Cala giggled. “I suppose there’s some truth to it. I don’t suppose you’d answer some of my questions as well?”

“Sure,” Frost said as they walked down the corridor toward her room. He imagined they had a bit of time before the elves in the dining hall came up to join them. “After you answer mine.”

“We can alternate,” Cala said shrewdly. “But I’ll let you start.”

“You’ll let me?” Frost smirked. “How kind of you. I suppose I want to first know whether Cassia is still alive and what she’s been up to.”

“She’s very much alive and well,” Cala answered. “She spent several years converting followers before Ocelon employed Lohan to hunt her down.”

“Wait,” Frost smiled. “I thought they said that Lohan was a murdering psychopath and Ocelon was attempting to catch him?”

“They said that,” Cala said pensively as she opened the door to the bedroom. The room had enough blankets and pillows strewn about for a dozen elves. The bed was a king sized so it could easily fit four or five of them depending on how they decided to lay and the floor could fit the rest. “But Ocelon made Lohan a lord of a territory, gave him wives, and gave him a small army. It was only recently that Ocelon began really distancing himself from the activities. Actually, it was likely around the time he learned about you.”

“How did he learn about me?” Frost asked.

“Ah,” Cala shook her head. “My turn. Do you love Lysandra?”

“Yes,” Frost laughed at the ridiculous question. “That was a waste of a question.”

“Then let me follow up,” Cala said while walking toward the nightstand. The gorgeous elf pulled the straps down from her shoulders allowing her dress to drop down her narrow waist. She gestured at her bra clasps. “Do you mind?”

“Not at all,” Frost smirked as he walked toward the curvaceous priestess. With a flick of his fingers he undid the snaps and the brassiere dropped. She took it off and began pushing her dress down lower as Frost stepped away from her.

“If you love her then why do you sleep with so many other women?” Cala asked, bending down and pushing her plump ass toward Frost as she revealed her white lace thong. “Durra, Arachne, and even demons. When you have somebody as perfect as Lysandra, how could you even look at other women?”

“Wow,” Frost smiled as Cala turned around and pressed her massive naked chest against him.

“That’s not an answer Herald Frost,” Cala said while running her hands up and down his chest. “How can you look at me so hungrily while knowing that you have the most perfect elf in the world waiting for you at home?”

“It’s a character flaw of mine,” Frost smirked while placing his hands on her sides. He slowly moved toward Cala’s large perfect ass. Her silky skin felt like heaven on his fingertips as he reached her lace panties and ran his thumb along the band. Finally, he reached behind her and caressed her plump ass.

“That’s still not really an answer,” Cala smirked while running her finger along his belt. “How can you marry a human worshipper of Zira, a daughter of the king who hunted so many followers of Shalia, but leave Lysandra unwed? Do you think that’s fair to Lysandra?”

“I love Brynn,” Frost said while hooking his fingers in the band of Cala’s thong. He gently started to tug at it, hinting that he wanted her to remove it. She quickly obliged, pulling it down enough so it could drop to the floor on its own, revealing gorgeous white hair on her mound. “I love all my wives. I just love them differently for different things and Lysandra encourages it. But no, I don’t think it’s fair to Lysandra which is why I’m marrying her.”

“She encourages it?” Cala laughed while taking a step backward out of his reach. Frost took a moment to admire her exaggerated hourglass frame. Her oversized chest wasn’t as perky as Lysandra’s but appeared so soft and welcoming he wanted to plunge his face between her breasts. And her thick sexy thighs, another place he wanted to bury his face. “I suppose if Lysandra approves of your behavior then I must as well.”

“So now you’ll tell me how Ocelon knows so much?” Frost asked as Cala crawled into the bed, making sure to bend over so he could stare at her large ass and beautiful pink pussy. “And how you know so much.”

“I only know what the Prophet Ama told me,” Cala answered. “She was very talkative when she was escorting me to the ship. I imagine that Ocelon told her about you. A god’s followers are their eyes and ears in the world and Ocelon is one of the most popular. It stands to reason he would have heard about you and relayed the information to his prophet.”

“Really,” Frost grinned as he realized how Sthilinna found out about him taking her followers so quickly. He also realized why so many priestesses were sent to marry King Asmund. “So, do all of the gods know everything their followers know? Does that mean all the prophets know?”

“You would need to ask an actual prophet that,” Cala laughed while laying on her side. She began seductively stroking the white hair on her mound while staring at him. “Now, isn’t there something else you’d rather do?”

“You know there is,” Frost smirked as he admired her gorgeous body. “But I’m still not convinced you’re not a spy.”

“What can I do to convince you?” Cala asked while rolling onto her stomach. She kicked her legs against the mattress playfully causing her bare ass to jiggle. “I would love to find out if the rumors about you are true.”

“I suppose I should answer that question as well,” Frost smirked while unbuttoning his shirt.

“I knew you wouldn’t be able to resist an old whore,” Renna snapped from the doorway. “You promised to spend the night with me!”

“You could always join us,” Cala offered.

“No!” Renna said. “I already share him with one old whore I’m not sharing him with another!”

“What do you want to do Herald Frost?” Cala slowly arched her back, lifting her ass into the air. “I may be old but I’m new to you, aren’t I?”

“You have a point,” Frost winced while staring at the gorgeous elven goddess in front of him. He’d just have to wait before he could bury his face in that beautiful plump ass. “But I did promise Renna.”

“If that’s your decision,” Cala said while rolling up in the blanket. “If you change your mind you know where I’ll be.”

“I might have to take you up on that,” Frost winked before exiting the room with Renna. He squeezed the petite thief’s tight ass and followed up with a light smack. “Maybe after I wear this one out.”

“Good luck,” Renna said while giving his ass an adoring squeeze. “I plan on riding you all night!”

CHAPTER 18

Renna was out surprisingly quick.

It seemed the petite elf was so used to group outings she lacked the stamina to keep up with him one on one anymore. Or maybe he was so used to group outings he’d become hard to keep up with. He grinned pridefully as he carefully shut the door of the bedroom.

His mind was swimming with the thought of burying his face in Cala’s plump ass. The way she playfully wiggled on the bed repeated in his mind over and over again. And her chest, he desperately wanted to suck on those massive sexy tits of hers.

Frost turned down the hallway that led to Cala’s room only to find Ena standing smiling victoriously.

“You are very predictable my love,” Ena said seductively as she moved toward him. “I knew that once everybody was sleep, you’d head straight for that big chested old hag.”

“Are you sure everybody’s asleep?” Frost smirked while staring at the sexy elf. “What about Fayeth.”

“She’s asleep,” Ena smiled. “I made sure of that.”

The beautiful blonde elf was wearing a green robe with a belt tied around the waist. Her cerulean eyes were practically glowing in the dark as she fixated on him. She smiled as she walked toward him and practically tackled Frost as soon as she was in range.

“I’ve wanted you so much,” Ena whispered in his ear as she buried her face into his neck while wrapping her arms and legs around him. He quickly moved to support her curvy ass while quietly leaning up against a wall for support. He realized the gorgeous woman wasn’t wearing any panties and almost instantly became hard. “It was almost unbearable having to hear you fuck Renna like that.”

“Oh?” Frost smirked. “You were listening you dirty girl?”

“We couldn’t help hearing,” Ena whined while licking his neck. “It made me so wet that I nearly drowned Fayeth.”

“That’s so sexy,” Frost growled while returning her passionate kiss.

“I imagined it was you,” Ena moaned while grinding her hips against him. “The entire time Fayeth was licking me I imagined it was you. I came so many times.”

“Really?” Frost smirked. “Let’s see if I can beat her then, huh?”

“Please do,” Ena whimpered as she released him and stood on her own. She reached for the belt around her green robe and untied it, revealing her naked form beneath the garment. “I need this so much. It’s so hard having to pretend to not want you while everybody else has you. I love you so much.”

“I love you too,” Frost said while sliding his hand down her neck. He smiled as he enjoyed the sensation of her warm soft skin beneath his fingertips. He could feel her heart pounding as his hands moved from her collarbone to her large chest, squeezing it gently before leaning down to take her erect nipple in his mouth. “You look so beautiful tonight.”

“Thank you,” Ena whined as Frost’s tongue circled her perfect pink tit. “I try so hard to be perfect for you.”

“You’re always perfect,” Frost said while moving back up to her neck. “Every inch of you.”

“She really is, isn’t she?” Fayeth’s voice shot through him like a jolt of electricity causing him to jump. The large chested blonde appeared behind him and he found himself unable to turn and face her. Neither Ena nor Frost seemed capable of moving as Fayeth approached from behind.

“Fay…” Ena’s voice trailed off as she stood terrified.

“Fayeth,” Frost chuckled nervously as she arrived next to them. “I didn’t hear you...”

“I knew that Ena was seeing somebody else,” Fayeth said while stepping between him and Ena. The blonde archer stared at Ena hurriedly closed her robe. “So, I’ve been practicing stealth so I could follow her when she sneaks off.”

“I’m not seeing him,” Ena objected. “This is…”

“Don’t try to deny it,” Fayeth said as she turned toward Frost and pressed her hand against his chest, pushing him further away from Ena. The busty blonde archer turned back toward Ena and forcefully pulled her robe back open. She smirked as she stared at Ena’s sexy body. “You were imagining him while I was pleasuring you?”

“I didn’t mean it…”

“Maybe I should tell everybody,” Fayeth suggested while running her fingers through Ena’s hair. “Everybody would love to hear about how even the stubborn Ena fell for Herald Frost. I imagine everybody would really love to learn that you’ve been seeing him in secret. How you’ve been on your knees sucking his cock…”

“Fayeth,” Ena mumbled. “You can’t.”

“Why didn’t you tell me you were seeing him?” Fayeth asked while moving her hand down Ena’s soft body. “Didn’t you trust me? I suggested that we invite him to join us so why did you hide it from me? Why did you leave me out?”

“I don’t know,” Ena lied.

“Tell me,” Fayeth said while possessively squeezing Ena’s large breast. “Or when we get back to the village, I’ll tell everybody.”

“Because if he had you, he wouldn’t want me,” Ena whispered shamefully.

“That’s ridiculous,” Frost said as Fayeth quickly gave him a cautionary glance. The sexy green-eyed archer turned back toward Ena, standing there red-faced with her robe open.

“Ena,” Fayeth smiled sweetly while leaning in to peck her lover’s lips. “You’re so stupid sometimes. With how much I spoil you do you really think I’d let him favor me?”

“He does what he wants,” Ena mumbled while staring at Fayeth’s large chest. “Just like he wants to fuck that old whore down the hall.”

“That’s why you need me,” Fayeth caressed the blushing blonde’s hand and smiled at Frost. She grabbed him and began pulling them both back toward Fayeth and Ena’s room. “If you want him, I can help you get him. We can keep his interest if we work together.”

“Oh?” Frost smirked while staring at the busty archer. “You sure about that?”

“I am,” Fayeth smiled as she led them into the room. It was a large suite similar to the one he and Renna were sharing except the bed was only a queen instead of a king. Additionally, the blankets were already strewn about and the sheets were still damp from their playing earlier in the evening. Fayeth released them and shut the door quietly, locking it after. “Now, both of you, undress.”

Ena quickly obeyed, letting her robe drop to the floor leaving her completely exposed as she stood in the room. Fayeth stared at Frost judgmentally as she waited for him to do the same. He removed the white undershirt revealing his muscular physique and tossed it on the floor.

“Oh,” Fayeth walked over and picked up the shirt. “I have plans for this.”

“Plans for my shirt?” Frost chuckled as he hooked his thumb in his pants. “What kind of plans?”

“You’ll see,” Fayeth said while lifting the shirt to her face. She sniffed it and smiled while toying with the belt of her robe. With a single tug the belt untied and the robe opened up. She let it fall to the ground revealing her amazing chest and perfect pink nipples. Her trimmed blonde bush was a beautiful contrast to Ena’s sexy hairless mound. Fayeth kicked the robe to the corner and pointed at Frost’s pants. “What are you waiting for?”

“Right,” Frost smirked while watching the beautiful blonde put his shirt on. The oversized shirt covered her massive chest and hung down just far enough to cover her ass. She walked over to Ena and quickly moved in for a kiss. The sexy blondes immediately thrust their tongues in each other’s mouth as Frost removed his pants and underwear, leaving himself completely naked.

“Do I smell like him?” Fayeth moaned as she kissed Ena.

“Yes,” Ena replied while tugging at the shirt. “You’re so sexy.”

“Mmm,” Fayeth slid her tongue inside Ena’s mouth and gestured for Frost to come closer. He walked over to the two elves and Fayeth pulled away and gently pushed Ena toward Frost. Without hesitating he leaned down and kissed her. “You’re much sexier.”

“Frost,” Ena moaned as she broke away from him.

“You’re both so fucking sexy,” Frost grinned as he leaned down and took Fayeth’s mouth. The busty archer let out a soft moan as Frost slid his tongue against hers. Her hands pressed against his abs, sliding downwards until she reached the base of his cock. She gently slid her index finger along the full length causing it to twitch as she reached the tip. “Fuck.”

“Soon,” Fayeth giggled as she rotated to kiss Ena again. Frost wrapped his arms around the two of them as they stood in the room alternating attention. Fayeth would slither her tongue in Ena’s mouth and as soon as she was finished Frost would dive in to take her next. “Do you want to fuck me Herald Frost? Do you want to fuck my mouth? My pussy? My ass?”

“Fuck yes,” Frost panted as Fayeth moved from him to Ena again.

“I’ll let you have them all,” Fayeth said while moving from Ena’s lips to her neck. “But only if I get what I want too.”

“And what is it that you want?” Frost asked while staring at the busty elf wearing his white shirt. Her hard nipples were poking out and he just wanted to tear it off of her.

“I want you to convince Ena to make things official between us,” Fayeth said seductively. “Our relationship has always been casual. I want her to realize that I’m the only woman for her.”

“Fayeth,” Ena moaned as the blonde archer’s hand slid between her legs. “I want to marry a…”

“Handsome elf lord,” Fayeth chuckled. “You deserve so much better than that Ena. Herald Frost and I are going to show you how much you deserve. Isn’t that right Herald Frost?”

“That’s right,” Frost smirked while leaning down to kiss the side of Ena’s neck as Fayeth took the other. “A pure maiden like you deserves our full attention.”

“Imagine it,” Fayeth moaned while licking Ena’s ear. Her tongue slowly moved from the edge to the tip as she gently bit down causing Ena to release a sexy whimper. “Imagine the thick cock of the man you love fucking your pink pussy while I lick that sexy ass of yours.”

“Goddess,” Ena whimpered as Frost and Fayeth continued kissing her neck. Both of their hands moving up and down Ena’s body, savoring every inch of her soft flesh.

Fayeth glanced suggestively at the bed and Frost started slowly guiding Ena toward it while continuing to kiss and lick her.

“Herald Frost,” Fayeth smiled as she pulled away from Ena and sat on the edge of the bed. She patted the spot beside her while staring at Frost. “Come here.”

“What?” Ena pouted as Frost quickly sat beside her. “What about me?”

“You still have to make up for your comments earlier,” Fayeth said while spreading her legs. She reached her hand down between them and lifted the shirt revealing her drenched pussy to Ena. With her other hand she reached over and gripped Frost’s hard cock. “You can start by getting on your knees.”

Ena glanced at Frost’s hard cock as Fayeth gently stroked it and then turned her attention to Fayeth’s glistening pink lips. The beautiful blonde elf dropped to her knees and slowly moved toward Fayeth’s waiting lips.

“There you go,” Fayeth said happily as Ena began kissing her inner thighs. The busty emerald-eyed elf smiled at Frost while leaning in for another kiss. “Aren’t you happy you’re with us instead of that old whore?”

“So happy,” Frost said as he kissed Fayeth. He wrapped an arm around her and pulled her closer as his free hand fondled one of her massive breasts overtop the shirt.

“Mmm,” Fayeth moaned as Frost kneaded her large breast. He wanted to rip the shirt off her as he squeezed her pink nipple through the white top.

“I love you Fayeth,” Ena whined as she lapped at Fayeth’s thigh, slowly moving inward.

The cerulean-eyed elf watched jealously as Fayeth and Frost playfully kissed each other, alternating between deep passionate kisses and pecks. Frost’s cock was twitching with excitement as Ena was forced to watch them shower each other with adoration.

“Don’t be shy,” Fayeth giggled as she placed her hand on Ena’s head, guiding her directly between her legs. As soon as Ena’s tongue touched her pussy, Fayeth broke away from Frost and leaned back onto the bed. “Goddess! That feels amazing!”

“Fuck,” Frost also laid back as Fayeth increased the pace as she stroked his cock. Her soft hand stroked him methodically, matching the rhythm of Ena’s tongue against her dripping cunt. “That feels amazing.”

“Now him,” Fayeth pulled Ena’s head out from between her legs and guided it toward Frost’s cock. Ena quickly started licking his shaft and balls as Fayeth released his cock from her grip. The beautiful archer began running her fingers across Frost’s abdomen with her newly freed hand. “Alternate between us Ena. I’ll tell you when you’re done making up for your comments earlier. Okay?”

“Okay,” Ena answered quietly while licking Frost’s cock. She moved toward the tip and took it into her mouth as her tongue slid against him. She let out an excited moan as she started slowly taking him deeper.

“That feels so fucking good Ena,” Frost said while turning toward Fayeth. The large chested elf grinned impishly as she watched Ena attempt to take his cock down. He leaned in and began kissing Fayeth’s neck while exploring her body with his hands. “You are so beautiful Fayeth.”

“Ena’s more beautiful,” Fayeth said almost hypnotically. “The thought of you spoiling her makes me so wet. We’re going to have so much fun together.”

Frost couldn’t take it anymore and practically ripped the shirt off of Fayeth, exposing her gorgeous large breasts. Immediately he buried his face between them and started licking. He wanted to taste every inch of her as he engrossed himself in the blonde’s large perfect chest. He didn’t even notice Ena had swapped back to licking the busty elf’s pussy. His only thought was how amazingly soft her massive breasts were.

“Goddess that feels amazing,” Fayeth moaned while gripping the back of Frost’s head, pressing his face against her breasts. “Don’t stop licking…”

“Me?” Ena asked while lapping eagerly at Fayeth’s clit.

“Both of you!” Fayeth panted as Frost licked and kneaded her breasts. “Goddess! I’m almost there…”

Ena and Frost simultaneously increased their pace as the two of them teased Fayeth. His hands explored her plump breasts and toned stomach, savoring her soft skin as her body trembled and arched. Ena’s hands teased Fayeth’s toned thighs and calves while Frost found himself enjoying every other inch of the beautiful elf. He could have spent hours exploring her body with his tongue but she was already at her limit.

“F-fuck,” Fayeth shivered as her thighs clamped shut on Ena’s head, locking the blue-eyed blonde in place as she squirted. “I-I’m…g-goddess…s-so g-g-good!”

“Fuck,” Frost’s cock throbbed with excitement as he latched onto Fayeth’s erect nipple with his teeth, tugging on it gently as his tongue circled the tip. Fayeth continued to tremble as a glistening Ena attacked her clit with increased fervor.

“N-not a-again,” Fayeth’s legs alternated between spreading out and clamping down on Ena’s head as if she was losing control of her body. It looked like she was attempting to fuck Ena’s face with her wet cunt as her hips rolled and Frost took the opportunity to tug even harder on her massive tits. He glanced down as he heard the splattering sound of Fayeth’s juices on Ena’s face. “Please, please, please…goddess…oh goddess…”

“That was so fucking sexy,” Frost whispered as he slid his tongue to the tip of her long ear. He gave it a few gentle pecks as she happily panted. “We are…fuck…”

Frost locked eyes with Ena as the damp elf stared up at him like a predator. Fayeth’s juices dripped from her chin as she took Frost’s cock into her mouth and began twisting and turning her head like a corkscrew. With each turn her tongue slathered his thick shaft with saliva as her blowjob became wetter and wetter.

“She’s so beautiful,” Fayeth moaned as she moved to kiss Frost’s chest. She started with gentle pecks but the moment she reached his nipple she added teeth, returning his favor from before. Her silky tongue tapped the tip of his nipple as she smiled proudly. “You’re both so beautiful.”

“Fuck. Ena,” Frost groaned as the elf began forcing his cock deeper until she reached the base. Her soft tongue slid against his balls as her gorgeous sapphire-like eyes began to water. “Holy fuck.”

“Oh goddess,” Fayeth giggled as she watched Ena. “Somebody’s been practicing.”

“Mmm,” Ena moaned as she took her time pulling his cock out of her mouth so he could feel every inch of her throat. She gasped for air and wiped the abundant saliva from her lips while stroking his thick shaft with her free hand. “I’ve been practicing so hard.”

“Keep going,” Fayeth said while kissing her way down Frost’s abs until she was near his cock. “I want to watch you make him cum.”

“I will,” Ena blushed while flashing both of them a quick smile. Her eyes fixated on Frost as her face turned a deeper shade of pink. “Want me to try something new?”

“Anything,” Frost groaned as his cock throbbed in her hand. “I just want to cum in your mouth.”

“Okay,” Ena smiled excitedly as she placed the tip of his cock back in her mouth. The sensation of sliding down her tight throat sent a shiver through is body.

“Fuck,” Frost moaned as Ena’s throat gripped his cock, squeezing it tightly as Ena’s head slowly bobbed. He looked down to see her glassy blue eyes staring up at him and suddenly felt a lubricated finger circling his asshole. “Fuck, what are you…”

“Is she doing what I think she’s doing?” Fayeth moaned in Frost’s ear while guiding his hand between her legs. Fayeth’s pussy was like a furnace as he slipped his fingers between her drenched pink lips. She moaned into his ear as she began grinding against his fingers. “Let her do it,” she pleaded. “Just the thought of it was making me so wet.”

“Fuck,” Frost groaned as Ena slipped a finger into his asshole while deepthroating his cock.

“Does it feel good?” Fayeth moaned while rocking on his fingers. “Does it feel good to get fucked by Ena? Tell me.”

“Yeah,” Frost moaned as Fayeth leaned in and kissed him. Her soft warm cunt tightened on his fingers as Ena slipped a second finger into his ass. “Fuck.”

“Say it,” Fayeth whispered. “Say it feels good to get fucked by Ena.”

“It feels so fucking good to get fucked by Ena,” Frost panted as Ena’s throat tightened on him.

“Mmm,” Ena groaned excitedly as she bobbed her head more aggressively. She matched the thrusts of her fingers inside of him to the movement of her head creating a torrent of pleasure. Each time she took his cock to the base her throat became slicker bringing him to the brink of orgasming.

“I’m going to cum,” Frost groaned as Ena took his cock down one last time while simultaneously thrusting her fingers into his ass, aggressively massaging his insides. It felt like an unstable explosive that could go off any moment until finally it happened. His cock tensed and he released in Ena’s throat as an uncontrollable wave of pleasure shot through his body. “Fuck!”

“Mmmff!” Ena gurgled as her throat squeezed his cock. Every second a pulse shot through him causing his cock to tense and release more inside of the blonde elf as she desperately tried to swallow everything.

“Fuck,” Fayeth moaned as Frost felt warm fluid overflowing from her pussy onto his fingers. She started giggling while pressing her body against him. “Do you feel that? I came again.”

“Was it good?” Ena blushed as she stared at him as if waiting for approval. “Did you enjoy that?”

“I’m not going to answer that,” Frost chuckled while turning to kiss Fayeth. “I thought you said we were going to spoil her? So far she’s doing all of the work.”

“Oh,” Fayeth smiled. “We are.”

The busty blonde kissed her way down Frost’s body before reaching his massive cock. She pressed her tongue against the base and quickly moved to lick up every bit of Ena’s saliva as well as any remaining cum. Once she was satisfied, she grabbed Ena’s head and pulled her in for a sloppy kiss.

“Herald Frost,” Fayeth gestured at the head of the bed. “You should lay there.”

Frost smirked and made himself comfortable while Fayeth pulled Ena into bed. The busty blonde kissed every inch of Ena’s body while guiding her toward Frost’s waiting cock.

“Get on,” Fayeth said while slapping Ena’s ass.

“Are you sure?” Ena blushed as she stared at the thick cock waiting for her. “You haven’t had him yet and…”

“I want to see him fuck you,” Fayeth moaned in her ear. “I want to watch my beautiful girlfriend get fucked by the herald.”

“Girlfriend?” Ena mumbled. “You want to be serious with me even if I’m…”

“Especially if you’re fucking him,” Fayeth said while licking her neck. “Just picturing you getting fucked, getting filled, getting pregnant…”

“Pregnant?” Ena blushed. “But…”

“Not happening,” Frost chuckled. “But she can pretend.”

“Exactly,” Fayeth smiled while helping Ena line up on his cock. Fayeth squeezed Ena’s ass while simultaneously gripping Frost’s cock and guiding it to Ena’s dripping pussy. “Think of this as practice for the real thing.”

“Fayeth,” Ena whimpered as Frost’s thick cock slid into her dripping cunt. “Does this turn you on?”

“Goddess yes,” Fayeth said while kissing the back of Ena’s neck. The large chested blonde worked her way down Ena’s back, kissing down her spine until she neared her ass. “Herald Frost and I are going to be such good partners for you.”

“Fuck that feels amazing,” Frost said as his cock slid to the deepest recesses of Ena’s drenched pussy. He felt the tip of his massive cock pressing against her insides as her walls squeezed him. “You feel amazing.”

“Your cock feels amazing,” Ena moaned loudly as she slowly slid up and down on it. Her gorgeous breasts bounced as she rocked back and forth on him while pressing her hands against his chest. “This feels so good! Fayeth!”

“Did you like that?” Fayeth giggled as Frost felt the blonde archer’s tongue move from the shaft of his cock upward. He grinned and pulled Ena down toward him to give her a better angle on her target.”

“I told you we’re pampering you,” Fayeth laughed as she ravenously licked Ena’s asshole while Frost simultaneously fucked her drenched pussy. “Tell Herald Frost what I’m doing. Say it.”

“She’s licking my ass,” Ena whined while lifting her ass up and down on his cock. Her tight pink pussy became even more slippery as her fluids overflowed. It felt as if she were opening even wider for him and he could dive even deeper than before. He thrust his hips upward into her hitting her core. “You’re so deep!”

“Is he deep enough to get you pregnant?” Fayeth asked while circling Ena’s asshole with her tongue. “Could he get you pregnant if he wanted to?”

“Yes,” Ena moaned as Frost felt her pussy clamp down on him. A shiver so powerful he could feel it on his cock shot through her body and her juices started pooling on him. “He could get me pregnant if he wanted.”

“Mmmm!” Fayeth moaned while burying her face in Ena’s ass. Her tongue relentlessly licking the sexy elf’s perfect porcelain ass as Frost continued fucking her. “Cum inside of her. Get her pregnant.”

“Goddess,” Ena continued to shake as Frost increased his pace, driving his cock to her deepest recesses as she eagerly accepted him. “Please, please, please.”

“Fuck,” Frost growled while grabbing Ena’s ass and pulling her into him, hoping that it would help him get even deeper. He gripped her tight, pulling on her perfect ass cheeks as Fayeth voraciously licked. Then as he felt Ena’s pussy grip him like she had no intention of letting go, he released inside of her.

“Yes, yes, yes,” Ena squealed while burying her face into his chest. “Get me pregnant. I want to have your baby.”

“Our baby,” Fayeth corrected while licking the shivering elf’s asshole. “We’ll make such good mommies.”

“Fuck,” Frost moaned as Ena’s fluids covered him. The blonde elf collapsed on his chest and every few seconds Ena would convulse and squirt again making him even filthier. “Fuck, fuck, fuck.”

“Maybe next time we can really get her pregnant,” Fayeth suggested while kissing up the quivering elf’s back, slowly making her way to her shoulders and eventually finding Frost’s lips. Fayeth leaned down and kissed him, making sure to thrust her tongue into his mouth. “Could you imagine how sexy she’d be?”

“I’ll think about it,” Frost chuckled as he felt Ena’s warm wet cunt squeeze him again. “Now, you said if we spoiled Ena you’d let me have every part of you, didn’t you?”

“I didn’t say you could have them all tonight,” Fayeth smiled while kissing him again. “You can pick one. And then if you make my precious Ena a priority you can have another.”

“Oh,” Frost chuckled. “So that’s your plan?”

“That’s my plan for now,” Fayeth said while smacking Ena’s ass. “So, what part of me do you want tonight Herald Frost?”

“I think you know,” Frost said while rolling Ena off of him. His cock and pelvis were completely covered in her generous juices. “Don’t you?”

“I suppose I do,” Fayeth giggled while rolling onto her stomach. “But you’ll be gentle, right?”

“My cock really doesn’t have a gentle setting,” Frost smirked. “But I’ll go slow.”

“That’s not going to help,” Ena moaned while reaching behind her back and playing with her own ass. “But it feels so good.”

“It better,” Fayeth smiled at Ena while scooting next to her. Ena grabbed Fayeth’s hand and moved in to kiss the blonde. The two beautiful elves lovingly kissed each other as Frost slipped his fingers between Fayeth’s legs. “Hey, you said you wanted the ass.”

“Mmm,” Ena laughed. “You’re going to want him to add some lubrication, trust me.”

“Okay,” Fayeth smirked while staring at Frost’s massive cock. “Goddess, are you sure that’ll even fit?”

“Oh,” Frost smirked as he ran his fingers from Fayeth’s drenched pussy to her asshole and began spreading her fluids. “It’ll fit.”

He didn’t need to use much since his cock was already covered in Ena’s slippery nectar but he wanted to make sure Fayeth enjoyed it. Frost slipped his finger in her ass eliciting a mild yelp followed by a giggle as the two elves kissed each other. After a short period of fingering her asshole Frost lined the tip of his cock up with her and began apply pressure.

“Relax,” Ena toyed with her pussy while staring at Frost’s cock attempting to penetrate Fayeth’s tight asshole. “It’ll be fine.”

“I’m trying to relax,” Fayeth panted as Frost increased the pressure and forced her ass to accept the tip of his cock. “Fuck! You said it’d only sting a little!”

“Shhh,” Ena stroked Fayeth’s hair lovingly. “Just wait a little bit.”

Frost waited a few seconds and then began gently moving back and forth, enjoying the warm sensation of Fayeth’s ass squeezing his cock. He watched the two beautiful elves interact, alternating their attention between their ears, their mouths, and their necks.

“Ready?” Frost asked as while pulling out and reinserting his cock, hoping to make her more comfortable.

“Yes,” Fayeth said reluctantly. “But you better appreciate this.”

“I appreciate it,” Frost said while giving her plump ass a nice squeeze before slowly driving his cock deeper. It was surprisingly slick thanks to Ena’s juices covering his cock but he was careful to take it slow. Even if it was easy for him, her labored breathing indicated it wasn’t easy for her. “You are so fucking gorgeous right now.”

“You are,” Ena agreed while giving her ass a playful slap. “It’s so hot to watch you get fucked in the ass.”

“It is?” Fayeth whimpered as Ena nodded approvingly. “You like watching your lover get fucked in front of you?”

“I like watching you get fucked,” Ena teased while licking the moaning elf’s ear. “But I really love watching you squirt all over the place.”

“Do you?” Fayeth moaned while lifting her ass to slip her hand beneath her.

“No,” Ena giggled while pulling Fayeth’s hand out. “You don’t get to touch that. Only me and Frost get to touch that.”

“But…”

“This is the only butt you need to worry about,” Ena teased while slapping Fayeth’s ass. “Now lift it up.”

“Fuck,” Frost groaned as Fayeth pushed her ass into him forcing him slightly back as she rose to her knees. As he stared at the perfect ass in front of him, he wanted to drive his cock to the base but resisted. “Are you okay?”

“Uh-huh,” Fayeth whimpered. Clearly, she didn’t realize how much more difficult it’d be on her hands and knees than her stomach. “One second. Ena, what are you…”

“You’ll see,” Ena said as she slid beneath Fayeth. The beautiful elf shimmied her way down until her head was resting beneath Fayeth’s pussy. “Perfect.”

“Ena,” Fayeth moaned while pushing Ena’s legs apart, exposing her cum filled pussy. The sexy archer leaned down and hungrily licked Ena’s eager clit as she returned the favor. “Goddess that feels good.”

“Yeah it does,” Ena moaned while burying her face in Fayeth’s soaked cunt. Ena’s eyes fixated on Frost’s cock, waiting for him to begin moving again. He was more than happy to oblige and began slowly thrusting into Fayeth’s ass as Ena watched from below.

“You’re so fucking big,” Fayeth whimpered as Frost gently guided his cock deeper into her warm asshole. “Oh, fuck this feels amazing!”

“We’ll have to do it a lot more then,” Frost teased as he gave her ass a playful smack. “I want to feel every inch of you.”

“I want to feel every inch of you,” Fayeth moaned as she began working with him, backing her ass up on his cock as he thrust forward. “I want to see you fuck Ena’s ass.”

“Don’t volunteer me for that,” Ena giggled while licking Fayeth’s clit. The two elves looked like a pair of animals grooming each other as they took slow long licks, wishing to clean every inch of their partner.

Frost groaned as he found himself completely buried in Fayeth’s perfect ass. He ran his hands up and down her smooth back before eventually moving toward her waist. He slipped his hands around her soft narrow middle and gripped her tightly. Gently, he pulled her back into him, dictating their pace as he began thrusting inside of her ass.

“Oh goddess,” Fayeth squealed as Frost fucked her ass. Her breathing became more labored as she lifted her head up from between Ena’s legs. “I can’t breathe. It feels like my entire body is being fucked.”

“That sounds wonderful,” Ena teased while pressing her lips to Fayeth’s clit and powerfully sucking. Fayeth let out another high-pitched squeal as Ena’s lips and tongue teased her. “Do you like that?”

“Yes!” Fayeth cried out and Ena repeated the action while Frost fucked Fayeth’s virgin asshole. “This is amazing!”

“Yeah it is,” Frost panted as he increased his pace, fucking Fayeth’s tight asshole harder and harder as Ena assaulted the blonde elf’s clit. With every stroke of his cock, her trembling increased until finally he felt her entire body tense. He gave her one final thrust as he came inside of her ass. “Fuck, I love you both.”

“I love you both too,” Ena said as Fayeth’s juices dripped down onto her face. The blonde elf hungrily lapped them up as Fayeth whimpered.

“I love you both,” Fayeth panted as she collapsed on Ena, her pussy landing directly on the blond elf’s face. “This is better.”

“Mmffm,” Ena laughed as Fayeth wiggled playfully.

“Really?!”

Frost turned to see Renna staring furiously from the doorway while holding her lockpicks. The green-haired thief glared at Ena and Fayeth.

“I’m telling everybody when we get back to the village!” Renna announced before stomping back toward her room. “Everybody’s going to find out that the pure maiden who brags about how she’s going to marry an elf lord is really just the herald’s whore like the rest of us!”

“Mmffffmm!” Ena objected as Fayeth continued to wiggle on her.

“It’s fine,” Fayeth laughed. “We’ll talk to her tomorrow. I’m sure we can come to some arrangement.”

Frost heard shuffling in the next room over and then more stomping as Renna returned to the room with a blanket and a pillow.

“Back so soon?” Fayeth smirked.

“I don’t want to sleep by myself in a strange place,” Renna said while dragging her things to the bed. “Move over.”

Frost removed himself from Fayeth’s ass and everybody readjusted in the bed. He heard another noise from the hall and looked over to see two pink-haired elves and a blue-haired one peeking into the room. They whispered quietly to each other while continuing to intermittently peak into the room.

“Do you hear what they’re saying?” Frost asked while collapsing between Ena and Renna.

“They want to ask if they can sleep in here too,” Ena mumbled while cuddling up next to him.

“They’re arguing about who should be the one to ask,” Fayeth confirmed while snuggling up behind Ena.

“Just do it already,” Renna growled while burying her face in his chest. “We know you’re going to.”

“You can all come in if you want,” Frost said loudly. “Just bring more blankets and pillows.”

“Really?” a pink haired elf asked while peaking around the corner. “You mean it?”

“He means it,” Renna snapped. “Just hurry up before you wake up more people!”

It was too late for that. Several elves were awake and other demihumans woke up after the subsequent commotion. Before long the bedroom had over a dozen occupants besides Frost and the elves. While some secured spots on the bed, most of them were cuddled up on the floor, just happy to be sleeping in the same room as a herald.

CHAPTER 19

The trip back took much longer than expected due to the slow walking speed of the vagrants. Rather than push them to reach Serino in a day Frost decided to set up camp for the night after they completed twenty-five miles of the journey.

The next morning, they had breakfast and continued the trip. Fortunately, they not only had plenty of supplies but there were plenty of animals to kill in the plains.

“That was unbelievable!” an elf pointed at Fayeth excitedly as she landed a fifty-yard shot in a wild bear’s eye, killing it instantly. “How did you do that?”

“Huh?” Fayeth blushed as several elves surrounded her.

A good portion of the trip was met with the demihumans and monsters being amazed by things he felt were commonplace. He was so caught up thinking ahead he never really stopped to appreciate how quickly the elves were improving.

Even though their levels might not have been increasing at breakneck speed by his standards, they were leveling ludicrously fast compared to other citizens of the world. They were also constantly earning ability points thanks to their individual training. Renna and Fayeth were becoming masters of stealth, concealment, and damage-oriented abilities while Ena had become a shockingly powerful tank.

“I got it,” Ena yelled while creating a fifteen-foot-wide barrier in front of her shield to stop a pack of charging boars. As the boars pushed her back, she masterfully created a second set of barriers to act as braces for her wall, stopping them dead in their tracks. “Now!”

“I got the ones on the left,” Fayeth said while using Ena’s back to propel herself above the barrier to get a better angle. She launched four quick shots from her short bow on her way up, each shot landed square in a boar’s skull. At her peak she instantly swapped to two small crossbows and fired the preloaded shots at another pair of boars. “Done!”

“Don’t brag!” Renna snapped as she acrobatically flipped over a boar, severed the beast’s vertebrae with a single clean strike, and landed neatly behind it. The green-haired thief sidestepped a pair of rushing boars while twirling like a matador. Both of them fell dead as they passed, victims of a pair of well-placed throwing knives. “You get to do everything at a distance!”

“Aren’t you going to help them?” Priestess Cala asked while watching the elegant display. “I imagine you could kill all twenty of those boars without breaking a sweat.

“They’d be angry if I did,” Frost laughed while watching the beautiful elves slaughter the beasts. “I’m not allowed to kill anything under level thirty unless I have to. Similarly, all of them are supposed to restrict themselves to enemies over level twenty.”

“I don’t understand,” Cala said as she watched the display. “What’s the purpose of a rule like that?”

“Optimization,” Frost smirked. “They’re not likely to gain many ability points hunting weak creatures but the weaker elves in the village will gain several. Instead, they have to go out and find stronger prey if possible. Although, that’ll get tricky pretty soon.”

“I see,” Cala nodded. “But that doesn’t explain why they want to level so badly. Do they all wish to be soldiers?”

“Oh,” Frost chuckled. “There are prerequisites that they need to meet before Brynn will allow them to marry me. One of the prerequisites is they must have a minimum level of thirty-five.”

“You mean you’d allow any of them to marry you?” Cala asked in disbelief. “Does that go for anybody in your village?”

“Most,” Frost shrugged. “I can obviously say no to anybody for any reason but to be considered they need to meet the minimum requirements.”

“Herald Frost,” a blue-haired elf approached him. “I didn’t mean to listen in on the conversation you were having with the priestess but I can’t help but wonder, does that mean you’d consider any of us?”

“It does,” Frost nodded. “But I have to like you somewhat.”

“Are only elves considered?” a snake-haired gorgon blurted out. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have asked. I know it was rude. Very rude. Stupid. Stupid.”

“Don’t apologize,” Frost shook his head at the green woman. “One of my wives is an Arachne Queen so I don’t really count anybody out necessarily.”

“You’re married to an Arachne Queen?” a lamia blushed.

“Amazing,” an elf said in disbelief.

“He really must be the Herald of Shalia,” a pink-haired elf said excitedly. “He loves everybody just like her!”

“But my love’s a little more physical,” Frost said flirtatiously.

“Ena!” Renna snapped as two large boars circled her barrier and rushed toward a small group of monsters. “They…”

“I see them!” the blonde holy knight roared.

“Should we do something?” Cala pulled an elegant wand from her sleeve that caught Frost’s eye. He activated his scan ability but Cala must have noticed because she quickly slid it back up her sleeve and pointed at the rushing boars. “Herald Frost! Save them!”

“There’s nothing to worry about,” Frost said while tilting his head to hopefully get a fix on her wand. “Ena said she sees them.”

“But…” Cala moved her arm so there was no possible way for him to perform a scan.

“You’re mine!” Ena roared as a massive beam of solidified light came crashing down on the boars. As the light vanished both of the boars laid dead. Blood and fragmented bones covered the ground.

“What was that?” Cala’s eyes lit up. “That wasn’t a barrier! I mean, she could have just used a barrier to crush them but a barrier doesn’t move that fast. That was almost instantaneous! It was definitely divine magic though, wasn’t it? I know divine magic when I see it and that was…”

“Use barriers to crush people?” Frost asked. He knew how to use barriers to crush people, cut them up, create bridges, and he could probably suffocate them but very few others seemed to know how. Even Lysandra, who was a master of making barriers, wasn’t very good at using them offensively. “You know how to do that?”

“Me?” Cala shook her head rapidly. “Absolutely not. But I heard a priest of Ocelon used a barrier to crush somebody.”

“Me too,” an elf agreed.

“That’s the worst,” another elf added. “I heard they liked using barriers to punish people because that way everybody could see everything…”

“I see,” Frost said while smiling at Cala. Between that ornate wand she was hiding and her response to Ena’s smite spell, she was shaping up to be far more interesting than he originally imagined. The likelihood that she was a spy was increasing ever so slightly.

“That’s all of them,” Renna announced loudly while pulling out a handful of harvesting gems. “Now everybody come help clean up!”

Frost decided to let the questions of Cala’s wand and magical knowledge rest for the time being. She wasn’t really a threat to him and he didn’t have much to hide if she was a spy.

After looting the boars, they continued on their way to Serino. They had to clear a few more packs of monsters along the way, all to cheers and applause as everybody looked on. Near the end Frost was convinced the elves were just showing off.

Renna was doing backflips and using her opponents like springboards like she was putting on a circus act. Fayeth was twisting in the air and firing arrows while upside down as if it was nothing. And Ena, she was probably the worst of them all, locking herself in a barrier prison with four massive feral bears only to beat them to death with her hammer like a gladiator.

Frost wondered if gladiator was a class and if so, what the perquisites were.

By the time they reached Serino, each of the women had their own respective fan clubs complete with pointless arguments about who would win in a fight.

“Wow,” Priscilla smiled as she met Frost as the outskirt of the village. “That is a lot of newcomers.”

“You get anymore since I left?” Frost asked the smirking knight as he hopped off his horse. Witch quickly rushed to the nearest hitching post and began drinking from the watering trough.

“Glad you asked,” she answered cheerfully while gesturing toward the village. “Name a creature and we probably have one.”

“You’re joking,” Frost chuckled.

“I am not,” Priscilla laughed. “Fairies, imps, goblins, hobgoblins, and even a few centaurs.”

“Do centaurs count as monsters?” Frost asked. “I thought they were…”

“Demihumans,” Priscilla interrupted. “But they’re effectiveness on the battlefield leads to most of their men being enlisted in the army which leads to most of them dying which leads to defenseless villages that nobody cares to protect from bandits.”

“Ah,” Frost raised an eyebrow. “So, it’s centaur women then?”

“Come see for yourself you devil-fucking deviant,” Priscilla teased as the demihumans and monster gasped. “What? It’s a factual statement!”

“He’s married to a demoness,” Ena reiterated loudly. “He is quite literally a devil-fucker.”

“I should probably make a chart or a pamphlet,” Frost joked as he accompanied Priscilla into the village. “It’d have a list of all of the different types of women I’d sleep with and how far I’m willing to go with them.”

“How does the Arachne sex work anyway?” Priscilla asked.

“Your father would attempt to have me assassinated if he caught me talking to you about my sex life,” Frost joked.

“Come on,” Priscilla elbowed him. “I’m curious.”

“Get yourself an Arachne girlfriend and find out,” Frost suggested.

“Ha!” Priscilla laughed. “Could you imagine? My parents would die!”

Priscilla led Frost back to the main square where she had set up some food and supply tents for the monsters. As they approached almost all of the monsters started shuffling anxiously and looking around like they were awaiting trial.

Their expressions changed completely as soon as they noticed the elves and demihumans accompanying him.

He scanned the group to get an idea of how strong the monsters were and it seemed most of them would likely have the same training routines as the elves. The only exception seemed to be the four orc women in their high thirties carrying surprisingly well-crafted weapons. He approached the small table they were sitting at and they all quickly averted their eyes.

“Hello,” Frost said to the four of them. “Is something wrong?”

“N-no,” one of the women said in a surprisingly feminine voice given her large muscular appearance. She had long green hair that was several shades darker than her green skin and biceps larger than his. Each of them wore leather corsets which made their chests almost distractingly big and their skirts barely reached mid-thigh. “Did we offend you somehow my lord?”

“Not at all,” Frost sighed. “I just wanted to ask you about your weapons?”

“Are we not permitted weapons?” another orc woman asked worriedly.

“Weapons are fine,” Frost said reassuringly. “They’re just really well crafted and I was wondering who made them.”

“Really?” the largest one looked up and smiled. For the most part her face looked like a normal woman’s expect for the two large fangs jutting up from her bottom row of teeth. Her ears were also pointed like an elf’s although not nearly as long. “We make them ourselves.”

“You four made these?” Frost said pointing at the weapons. “Can I try one?”

“You can try mine,” the first woman excitedly offered up her large hammer. “Although it may be too heavy for…”

“It’s fine,” Frost said lifting the large two-handed hammer single handedly. He scanned the weapon while infusing it with his strength, checking to get a rough idea of how much power it could handle. He was fairly certain that the only weapons in the territory better than theirs were the ones he used. They were undeniably talented blacksmiths and with the right materials they could probably become even better. “Can you make other weapons like daggers, swords, axes, and spears?”

“We can,” one of the orcs said nervously. “But does that mean…”

“We’ll be happy to make you whatever you wish my lord,” the one nearest him said reassuringly. “We understand that we must prove our usefulness if we want to stay in your territory.”

“Right,” one of the orcs said while looking down.

“You know I’d pay you, right?” Frost chuckled. “I mean, maybe not in rel. We’re working on a system. But I have no intention of making you slaves or servants.”

“Do you mean that?”

“Really?”

“We’d just be honored to help you in any way we can my lord!”

“Yeah,” Frost sighed while leaning the warhammer against the table. “We’ll talk more when we get back to the village. We have an extremely talented weaver which is great for the cloth and to a lesser extent the leather wearers but most of the tanks have pretty ill-fitted stuff.”

“Tanks?” the women looked at each other. “What’s a tank?”

“You should find a different word for it,” Ena growled as she walked over to the table. “What’s wrong with guardians or saviors?”

“Nothing really,” Frost chuckled. “But I’ll stick with tank.” He pointed at Ena while turning his attention back to the orc women. “Ena’s a tank. Her job is to protect others in her group so she needs strong armor and weapons.”

“I see,” the orc women nodded. “That sounds like a very dangerous job for such a small girl.”

“What we make might be a little heavy for small women like her,” another added.

“Are you okay with them calling you small?” Frost asked.

“I am small!” Ena stomped. “I am a beautiful petite maiden, pure in body and soul!”

“I agree completely,” Frost smirked.

“That sounded sarcastic,” Ena glared at him as her face turned red. “I am a pure maiden!”

“Pure maidens don’t do what we did the other night,” Fayeth whispered playfully as she walked past carrying some blankets. “Priscilla said that we can sleep inside if we want but everybody else has to stay outside.”

“Alright,” Frost said. “I’m coming.”

“What?” Ena scoffed. “Not going to volunteer to sleep outside like everybody else?”

“I have the option for a bed I’m taking the option for the bed,” Frost laughed. “It might not be fair but it’s going to be just as unfair in the village until we get more stuff built.”

Frost and the elves slept inside, a decision which Priscilla likely regretted after having to listen to their moans echoing off the walls. The trio of elves wanted to be sure to get everything they could out of him since they all knew that getting time alone with him would be impossible once they returned to the village.

All of the demihumans and monsters were packed and ready to leave at sunrise even though Frost didn’t wake up until several hours later. The moment he stepped out of the manor he was pretty much being rushed out of the village.

“Are you trying to rush us because of last night?” Frost grinned at Priscilla as he mounted Witch.

“Not at all. In fact, it reminded me of being back in the village,” Priscilla chuckled. “Can’t say I miss that part of it though.”

“That’s because you’re all pent up,” Ena said smugly as she walked toward her horse.

“Don’t tease Priscilla,” Fayeth smacked Ena’s ass. “You didn’t like it when we all teased you.”

“And you’re going to get teased when I tell everybody back in the village about you and Herald Frost,” Renna grinned malevolently as she hopped on Dancer. “They’re going to love teasing the self-proclaimed pure maiden who tried to shame them for loving the herald. How many pure maidens can take a cock all the way to the base?”

“Don’t you dare tell anybody!” Ena growled as she hopped on Hammer. “If you tell anybody you’ll regret it!”

“We’ll see,” Renna said cheerfully. “Maybe I’ll just tell a few people.”

“You’re not really going to tell anybody,” Ena said, suddenly getting worried. “Are you? Renna? You’re joking, right?”

“I don’t know yet,” Renna teased. “Maybe I’ll just tell Lyra. Then I don’t even need to worry about telling anybody else since she’ll tell everybody for me.”

“Please Renna,” Ena’s tone shifted to begging. “You can’t tell anybody. They’ll all make fun of me. Please don’t. I’ll do anything.”

“Anything?” Renna smirked. “I can’t think of anything you have that I want. But maybe I’ll think of something by the time we reach the village.”

“You seem awfully amused by this,” Frost said as Fayeth stifled her laughter.

“Almost everybody on the trip knows that we all slept together,” Fayeth said while gesturing at the elves that saw them. “Renna’s just torturing her for fun and I’m wondering how long it’ll be before she realizes it.”

“That’s awful,” Frost smirked. “And you’re just going to let Renna torture her?”

“She deserves a little punishment for sleeping with you in secret,” Fayeth smiled as she rode after them.

“They certainly are a carefree bunch,” Cala said as she walked up next to Frost. “I’m looking forward to see what your village is like. As a Priestess of Shalia I was hoping to be of more use to you.”

“We’ll see what we can do about that after we get back to the village,” Frost smirked while scanning the woman for maybe the tenth time, unsure of what he was looking for. He just had a feeling that something was off about her but couldn’t quite figure it out. She wasn’t even level thirty but something felt off. Not necessarily dangerous, but off.

“You seem to scan me a lot Herald Frost,” Cala said with an impish grin. “Hasn’t anybody ever told you it’s rude to scan others without asking first?”

“I’ve been told that,” Frost said playfully. “But you’re just so interesting I can’t help myself.”

“If I’m so interesting why haven’t you been making time for me?” Cala said flirtatiously. “Am I not to your liking?”

“That’s not it,” Frost laughed. “I just owed those three some quality time.” He sighed while shaking his head. “I owe a lot of people quality time.”

“Then we better hurry to your village,” Cala smiled. “Right?”

“That’s right,” Frost nodded as they started their journey to Pluma village.

The forest was a day’s trip on foot from Serino but long before they arrived in the village, they came across various villagers hunting in the plains. Several elves and a surprising number of Arachne women had formed parties.

They were quick to approach the procession and greet everybody but none of them stayed particularly long which Frost found a little suspicious. They were almost too focused on hunting monsters. More concerning were the gatherers following the hunters around eagerly foraging for various plants, stones, and even insects.

Frost saw Emmy and Robin foraging in the field as they marched by. It wasn’t unusual for Robin to stray far from the village but it was very odd to see Emmy with her. Robin waived at Frost as Emmy rushed up to her with something in her hand.

“Is this one of them?” Emmy said excitedly, presenting a large insect to Robin.

“Yes! That’s the one we use for the medicine!” Robin replied encouragingly. “You’re such a good helper!”

“Faster,” a dark-haired Arachne yelled as they passed a group cutting down a tree. “We’re halfway there!”

“They certainly are an ambitious bunch,” Cala said cheerfully. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen elves so eager to work!”

“Yeah,” Frost said while looking around suspiciously. “Me neither.”

The monsters and demihumans in their group looked on in awe as the elves and Arachne rushed past them. As they got closer to the forest itself, they even started to see some of the recent newcomers to the village gathering in the forest.

He was happy to see them helping out but felt a little bad that nobody invited them into their parties. The monsters were a bit like students transferring into a class when all of the groups were decided. He’d need to talk to the elves about shifting some things around so they could at least teach the newcomers how the party systems worked.

“Herald Frost,” a gorgon rushed over to him and presented a basket full of berries. “Would you like some berries?”

“No thank you,” Frost said as the elves in the group eyed them hungrily. “If you want to share though…”

“Um,” the gorgon pulled the basket back possessively as the snakes hissed at the elves. “I was only offering for you. I don’t want to be selfish but to finish the task I have to turn in a full basket.”

“The task?” Frost nodded. “So, Brynn and Des started the quest board already? I’ve only been gone a few days.”

“Uh-huh,” the gorgon nodded while pulling out a piece of parchment. “Todays the second day and I was super lucky! She only put out forty tasks and I got one of the best ones! Want to see?”

“Huh,” Frost said while taking the parchment from the excited gorgon. Brynn was awarding five points and two rel for turning in a full basket of Deep Reds, a berry that the elves used for making wine. He read through the entire document that listed the expectations and even the recommended level and ability requirements for the task. She even highlighted recommended areas to look for them. Then he got the bottom where it said bonus and tried not to laugh. “Well, glad she’s having fun with it.”

“What’s it say?” Renna asked while trying to catch a glimpse of the paper as he handed it back to the excited gorgon.

“It says a bonus is awarded for turning in a full basket of Deep Reds if they’re exceptional quality,” Frost sighed. “The bonus is one of my worn undershirts.”

“What?” Renna glared at the blushing gorgon. The snake-haired woman’s face was practically violet with embarrassment.

“You’d like that wouldn’t you?” Fayeth teased Ena.

“Shut up,” Ena growled while shooting daggers at Fayeth.

“It’s okay, right?” the gorgon asked worriedly. “For Lady Brynn to offer the shirt? She said it wouldn’t be one of your good ones and she’d make sure you wore it while working out and…”

“Yeah,” Frost laughed. “At least it’s not my underwear.”

“Actually,” the gorgon gestured toward the fairy flying around with a basket twenty times her size full of rare herbs. “That’s the bonus for her task.”

“Dammit Brynn,” Frost shook his head shamefully while laughing in disbelief. “She has no shame.”

“I better keep gathering,” the gorgon said as she put her task paper away. “It’s really hard to find the best berries!”

“Good luck,” Frost chuckled as the teal-skinned woman rushed off.

Frost and the others continued back to the village and saw that the Arachne had cleared some area in the north of the village. It looked like they had already started construction and various monsters were assisting. The large Oni woman seemed to be doing the work of ten elves while digging out basements and other monsters were moving materials.

He glanced at the field and the few monster children that’d arrived were already playing with the elf and Arachne children as Shael, Iris, and several Arachne males attempted to keep them entertained.

The group passed through the gate and dismounted as the newcomers of his territory followed him. The group headed toward the temple as Brynn, Desdemona, Lishri, and Lysandra came rushing out to greet them. The women seemed eager to tell him about how successful their quest boards were.

“How was your trip handsome?” Brynn asked.

“Herald Frost!” Lishri immediately shoved her hand in her pack and pulled out papers. “Before anybody else claims you I want to use the night together Ayoyou!”

“Aww,” Desdemona whined.

“You couldn’t have waited for him to get settled?” Brynn laughed while shaking her head.

“No,” Lishri crossed her arms. “I couldn’t.”

Frost looked at Lysandra to find her lacking the excitement of the others. Instead, she was staring right past Frost into the group of demihumans and monsters entering the village.

“M-mom?” Lysandra managed to mutter out.

CHAPTER 20

Everything clicked in an instant as Frost turned to see a streak of white fly past him. Her knowledge of magic, her fine clothing, her love of Lysandra, her wand, and even her appearance. How did he miss it? Renna even suggested she’d had children but Frost never questioned it because his scan said she was a low-level priestess.

Another piece clicked into place. If there were abilities that allowed people to prevent scanning then it was only natural that there would be abilities that allowed people to provide misinformation.

She played him.

The ivory-haired priestess wrapped her arms around Lysandra and showered her with kisses as Lysandra stood there unsure of how to react. Tears welled up in her eyes as she slowly wrapped her arms around her mother.

“My perfect little Lysandra,” she said happily. “I’m so proud of you! I always know you would make an amazing high priestess! I’ve missed you so much!”

Frost wasn’t sure how to react as he watched the scene unfold.

“Frost!” Shael came barreling from the field as fast as she could carrying a two-handed sword. “That’s Calamity Cassia!”

“Cassia?” Brynn quickly dashed toward Frost and pulled out her flute. “Des, Lishri! Get over here, now!”

“Huh?” Desdemona looked around, unsure of what was happening as she joined Brynn while Lishri backed away from everybody in hopes of avoiding the conflict entirely.

“Hm?” Cassia’s turned and saw the muscular redhead charging at her and smiled. “Shael! You’ve grown up to be so beautiful! You were just a little girl the last time I saw you!” Cassia paralyzed Shael with a glance before the zealous knight could reach the amethyst-eyed priestess. “I’m so happy to see you alive and well. And you look so strong! Although you still need to work on that temper of yours.” Cassia poked Shael’s nose before turning her attention back to Lysandra. “Are there others here?”

“You can’t do that to Shael!” Ena said while rushing toward Cassia. “Renna! Fayeth!”

“On it!” Fayeth said while reaching for her bow.

All three women instantly found themselves paralyzed as Cassia waived her hand at them. Several of the elves in the village quickly took cover around the corners of homes or behind flowerbeds while continuing to observe.

“As I was saying,” Cassia said while turning her attention back to Lysandra. “The others?”

“Um,” Lysandra’s voice was barely audible as she tried to make sense of the situation. “Mira and…”

“Mira!” Cassia hopped excitedly while spinning around. “That’s so wonderful! She was always such a cute girl with her dolls and the little outfits she made for them. Do you remember when we used to have little celebrations with you girls and all of your dolls? Oh, but that was a long time ago! I see lots of new faces and I would love to hear about them all! It looks like you’ve accumulated an absolutely wonderful group of followers. I’d expect nothing less from my flawless daughter!”

“What’s happening handsome?” Brynn mumbled as Cassia continued to shower Lysandra with affection. “Is that really Calamity Cassia?”

“I think so,” Frost nodded while running through his options.

The excited white-haired elf was definitely higher level than his scan showed and based on the feeling in his stomach, he suspected much higher than him. Frost suddenly understood what Commander Grey probably felt when he first met Frost. That churning in the pit of the stomach screaming at you to run away because the thing in front of you was a monster.

“Are you going to do something?” Brynn said under her breath. “You’re the one that brought her here.”

“I don’t think so,” Frost said while watching the scene unfold. If she was a monster, he had no intention of pissing her off. She didn’t seem to be intent on causing harm and he wasn’t about to give her an excuse.

“Why not?” Brynn gritted her teeth while clenching her flute. “She’s a murderer.”

“Yes, she is.” Frost nodded. “So, I’d rather not piss her off if that’s alright with you.”

“Fuck,” Brynn muttered.

“Mom,” Lysandra smiled nervously as her mother hugged her again. “What are you doing here?”

“What am I doing here?” Cassia loosened her grip, allowing Lysandra to break away. The white-haired prophet looked around and noticed the village elves keeping their distance. She turned back to Lysandra. “I’m here to see you and your village! Shalia finally sent a herald and of course he’ll need his prophet! Do you not want me here?”

“No!” Lysandra said defensively. “That’s not it at all!”

Cassia began sniffling and breathing heavily as she looked around like a trapped animal. Her eyes fixed on the first sympathetic face she saw. Before Lishri knew what was happening Cassia’s arms were wrapped around her and the elf was crying.

“My little girl doesn’t love me!” Cassia cried as the Arachne reflexively began patting her head. “I missed her so much and she doesn’t want to see me!”

“There there,” Lishri said soothingly while alternating between patting Cassia’s head and stroking her hair. Despite having no idea what was going on, Lishri reflexively began consoling the elf just like she would a crying child. “I’m sure that’s not true.”

“Really?” Cassia asked looking up at Lishri with tear-filled eyes. She squeezed Lishri even harder before burying her face back in her chest. “You’re so nice! I bet you would have missed me!”

“Lysandra?” Frost approached Lysandra and placed his hand on her shoulder. The white-haired priestess barely reacted to his touch. “You okay?”

“Uh-huh,” Lysandra said as she gradually seemed to realize that she wasn’t dreaming. “That’s my mother…”

“Is she always like this?” Desdemona pointed at the wailing woman with her arms wrapped around Lishri.

“Only when it involves me.” Lysandra blushed as she looked around embarrassedly. “I know this might sound a little strange but she loves me too much. She thinks everything I do is amazing and always calls me perfect no matter how much I mess up. I once made a horrible soup so she’d tell me it was awful and she ate the entire thing and said that I was the most perfect cook in the entire world. So, when she thinks I’m mad at her…” Lysandra pointed at he sobbing mess.

“Hm,” Frost nodded.

“Is this really Calamity Cassia?” Desdemona asked while looking at Frost.

“Seems so,” Frost said as Lishri looked around for help.

“Huh,” Brynn said slowly tucking her flute back into the hidden pocket of her dress. “I expected somebody more…”

“Terrifying,” Desdemona said apprehensively. “The stories really paint her to be a powerful monster.”

“She’s not monster!” one of the elves from the ship said angrily. “She’s Caring Cassia! She saved elves from plagues and famines! She fought the evil sorcerer Lohan as he butchered and burned villages throughout the country! She’s a hero!”

“That’s right!” another elf added. “Why are you all being so mean to her?”

“Because they hate me!” Cassia cried. “Everybody hates me! No matter how hard I try everybody hates me! Even my own perfect little Lysandra the most perfect elf in the world hates me!”

“I don’t hate you!” Lysandra said defensively as her face turned red. The embarrassed elf looked at Frost for guidance. “Herald Frost?”

“Cassia,” Frost gestured toward the temple. “Maybe it’d be best if we all had a little sit down to figure this out?”

“I know that tone! You plan on ganging up on me!” Cassia said accusingly. “The only person who’s on my side is this Arachne!”

“I am?” Lishri asked.

“You mean you’re not?” Cassia’s eyes welled up with more tears as she gazed adoringly at Lishri.

“Of course I am,” Lishri said reassuringly, trying not to make things worse. “You seem like a very nice elf.”

“I am a nice elf!” Cassia nodded while wiping away her tears.

“She is!” several elves agreed loudly. “Don’t bully Cassia!”

“Yeah!” another chimed in. “She’s a good person!”

“She just looks like a mom that misses her little girl,” Desdemona said somberly as she watched Cassia cry into Lishri’s chest.

“But then there’s that,” Frost said pointing at Shael and the other frozen elves. “She’s still maintaining that paralyze spell without even thinking about it.”

“Handsome’s right,” Brynn nodded. “We need to be careful.”

“We can talk inside mother,” Lysandra said as she approached the weeping elf and gently tried to unlatch her from Lishri. “Let Lishri go.”

“I’m not leaving my new friend!” Cassia said refusing to release her.

“Um,” Lishri looked at Frost for approval.

“Just give her what she wants,” Frost said as they made their way toward the temple.

“Herald Frost?” one of the lamias from their entourage fidgeted nervously while staring at the village elves. “Should we just wait here?”

“Hm,” Frost looked around the village for somebody who could assist them. Everybody he’d normally rely on was paralyzed leaving him with relatively slim pickings. He contemplated making Desdemona stay behind and handle things.

“Ooh!” a tan arm shot up from behind a bush followed by a pair of cat ears. Jasmine popped up as Zinnia and Iris continued to hide. “I can help! It’s just like when a new girl joined the brothel!”

“I don’t think it’s the same thing,” Iris said timidly while tugging on Jasmine’s short skirt.

“Don’t worry Herald Frost! We’ll handle it,” Jasmine shouted excitedly.

“Alright,” Frost nodded at the eager Myrran. Brynn and Desdemona could always follow up on the work later.

“Single file line, if you came with somebody stand next to them,” Jasmine rushed out from behind the bush with Zinnia and Iris. “For tonight we’re going to place you in a temporary residence based on needs and availability.”

Frost and his wives went inside of the temple with Cassia, leaving the others to handle the monsters. Lysandra gripped his hand tightly as they entered the main hall of the temple. It was normally full of people at that hour eating and drinking but the commotion outside emptied it. From the looks of it, most of them still had food and drinks waiting.

“Let’s take this to the back,” Brynn sighed as she led the way to the rear of the temple.

One of the nicer modifications to the temple that the Arachne had completed was a proper office area in the rear. It was a relatively short hallway with five doors. The ones on the left led to the library and a small quiet reading room. The doors on the right were for Brynn and Lysandra’s offices respectively.

Lysandra’s office was a nice cozy room with a small table, chairs, and even a small hammock. It also had an assortment of items that Frost knew held meaning for her. Some of them were gifts that the elves had given her while others were simply things she collected and liked. The overall design was perfect for her since she really only used the room to have private discussions with the elves of the village about how they were feeling.

Brynn’s office on the other hand, looked like a cross between a war room and a conspiracy theorist’s bedroom. She had lists with various people’s names, associations, and vulnerabilities everywhere. On one wall was a giant tree showcasing all of the various candidates for the crown of Zira along with their estimated position in line. Another wall was focused in depth on who she considered the top candidates while the third wall was a map of the country covered in so many markings it hardly looked like a map anymore. According to Lysandra, Brynn spent a lot of evenings in there whenever he left the village.

“Here,” Brynn said while opening the large door at the end of the hall leading to the conference room. The table in the room sat ten but the room itself could probably fit a good thirty people. Although it also depended on the size of the people. “Have a seat anywhere.”

“I want to sit by Lishri,” Cassia said while glaring judgmentally at Brynn. She seemed to have taken an immediate disliking to the princess. “And why are you giving orders?”

“I’m Herald Frost’s first wife,” Brynn said smugly. “Princess Brynn Hilde Leaucault of Zira.”

“Right,” Cassia growled. “You’re the one that stole him from Lysandra.”

“Technically, I’m the only one who stole him,” Lishri mumbled nervously. “I tricked him and…”

“Don’t be so hard on yourself,” Cassia squeezed Lishri. “I can tell that you’re a nice woman and a good wife. Are you his second or third wife?”

“Second,” Lishri said while blushing. “At least technically.”

“We should get rid of that tiny human and make you his first wife,” Cassia suggested. “You’d make a much better first wife. You’re kind and beautiful and…”

“Let’s try to avoid discussing assassinations during this meeting,” Frost said while taking a seat. “It’s really not a good starting place.”

“I suggested no such thing,” Cassia said indigently. “Getting rid of her could mean anything. Maybe she takes a long boat trip.”

“Yeah,” Brynn growled while taking a seat next to Frost. “We should be sending somebody on a long boat trip.”

“Ah,” Cassia pointed at the three of them sitting across the table from Lishri. “That’s not fair. You’re ganging up on us!”

“Desdemona,” Frost pointed at the seat next to Cassia. “Do you mind?”

“I suppose not,” Desdemona bowed politely. “I am Princess Desdemona Asmund. Nice to meet you.”

“What a nice polite girl,” Cassia said while glaring at Brynn. “If Herald Frost removed his first wife, you’d be his second wife. That’s a much better…”

“Mom,” Lysandra shook her head. “Nobody is getting rid of Lady Brynn. I care for her dearly and this village would be lost without her. Please be kind to her.”

“Lysandra, the village has you and the herald,” Cassia said defiantly. “I’m sure anything that she can do you can do because…”

“I’m the most perfect little girl in the world and can do anything I want,” Lysandra sighed. “Yes, I know. You told me every day for years.”

“If you know that then why aren’t you married to the herald?” Cassia said while gesturing at Frost. “You should have forced him to marry you by now!”

“I would never force Herald Frost into marriage,” Lysandra said angrily. “It’s wrong!”

The entire room went silent as all three of Frost’s wives avoided eye contact. Brynn had forced Frost to marry her as payment for saving his life. Lishri had tricked Frost into marrying her since Arachne wedding ceremonies basically involved him accepting a gift from her. And as for Desdemona, her brother made marrying her a condition of peace with Rilia. Every single one of his wives forced him into marriage.

“Let’s not turn this into a philosophical debate about right and wrong,” Brynn cautiously declared while retaking the lead. “Lysandra’s marriage status isn’t what we’re discussing. What we want to know is what you’re doing here.”

“Shalia sent a herald and I’m her prophet so I came back,” Cassia said crossing her arms. “It’s simple. And I get to see my adorable daughter.”

“Okay,” Frost nodded. “So, you plan on staying?”

“Of course,” Cassia nodded. “Besides, you need me. I can communicate directly with Shalia and if I’m present when you communicate with her, I’ll remember everything.”

Frost sighed as he tried to figure out the best solution for the problem. If she didn’t want to leave, he really didn’t have a way to force her to.

“And if we don’t want you here?” Frost asked. “Do you intend to stay?”

“If my daughter doesn’t want me here, I’ll leave,” Cassia said. “But I don’t care what anybody else thinks.”

“Lysandra?” Frost looked at the worried elf. “Do you want her to leave.”

“Of course not,” Lysandra said. “She’s my mother and I love her! Even if she is a little…well…mother can you plug your ears?”

“Are you going to say crazy?” Cassia rolled her eyes. “I’m not crazy. All I did was…”

“Kill entire villages?” Brynn volunteered.

“I secured followers for Shalia,” Cassia said while grinning smugly. “Let’s not pretend like Zira was kind to us prior to my alleged activities either. We are the followers of a love goddess. Followers of Ziralia would walk into our houses, beat us, steal from us, and sometimes even burn out crops. They laughed as they did it because we followed a goddess of love and didn’t know how to defend ourselves.”

“You could have reported it…”

“We did,” Cassia said coldly. “But they testified that we were liars and since they were followers of Zira and we were followers of Shalia, they were deemed more believable. Even other elves started targeting us because they knew nobody would protect us.”

“So, you just started killing villagers?” Brynn scoffed.

“I offered the protection of Shalia’s love,” Cassia said calmly. “It’s not my fault that they refused it and died. All they had to do was believe that Shalia would protect them and they would have lived. As far as I’m concerned, they killed themselves.”

“So, you weren’t creating plagues,” Brynn laughed. “You were just protecting followers of Shalia from them?”

“Can you prove otherwise?” Cassia smiled wickedly. “You see Lady Brynn Hilde Leaucault, granddaughter of Gyrard Leaucault, I have stood in front of the councils of Zira and as I understand it, you need evidence or testimony in order to prove guilt. Which do you have?”

“All of the witnesses are dead and you killed all the soldiers sent to apprehend you,” Brynn scoffed.

“Really?” Cassia smiled. “I suppose you have witnesses or evidence that I killed those soldiers?”

“You killed them all,” Brynn answered.

“So that’s a no,” Cassia said haughtily. “Who is my accuser? Is it you? You who wasn’t even born? So much for justice. I suppose this won’t be the first time a lying noble’s word is taken as fact.”

“Everybody knows…”

“Then finding somebody to testify against me should be easy,” Cassia said as Frost tried not to laugh. “There are not witnesses and there is no evidence anywhere. The only thing that anybody can prove is that followers of Shalia were not afflicted by those mysterious illnesses and famines. Which, I will attest is due to the protections I offered. And as I was told by your grandfather himself when I begged him to protect the followers of Shalia, nobody is entitled to protection.”

“We know that you did it,” Brynn growled.

“Yes,” Cassia smiled. “Just as I knew the names and faces of those attacking the defenseless followers of Shalia. But, what can you prove Lady Leaucault?”

“Is that true?” Frost glanced at Brynn. “Nobody has actually seen her do any of this? There’s no evidence?”

“Listen handsome,” Brynn grumbled. “Even if somebody did witness it, it was seventy years ago. They’d probably be dead. But there’s no denying that every soldier sent to arrest her was killed, all witnesses were killed, and when she left the continent the plagues stopped.”

“Oh,” Frost chuckled. “I don’t doubt she’s guilty. This type of thing happened in my world all the time. I’m just wondering what anybody can prove.”

“What anybody can prove?” Brynn glared at him. “What do you mean?”

“Well,” Frost leaned back in his seat. “Cassia doesn’t want to leave and I can’t make her. Lysandra can ask her to leave but she doesn’t want to…”

“She’s my mother,” Lysandra said. “Obviously I love her.”

“I love you too my perfect little Lysandra,” Cassia said sweetly.

“Anyway,” Frost sighed. “I don’t particularly mind having her here either as long as she doesn’t cause trouble.”

“Her presence is trouble,” Brynn said.

“Right,” Frost nodded. “Cassia, how likely is it that people know you’re on this continent?”

“I imagine that the Herald of Ocelon made sure to inform interested parties,” Cassia said pensively. “But I wager the only ones who’d be eager to kill me would be the Herald of Ziralia and the Herald of Riliandra.”

“My brother killed the Herald of Riliandra,” Desdemona said politely.

“Oh,” Cassia said cheerfully. “Do you think your brother would want to kill me?”

“Definitely,” Desdemona nodded. “But I can ask him not to if you like.”

“You are just so sweet,” Cassia leaned in and hugged Desdemona. “And you have just the prettiest red eyes and hair. I’m going to adopt you!”

“Mother,” Lysandra sighed. “Please take this seriously.”

“I am,” Cassia said. “Most heralds aren’t going to go out of their way to kill me.”

“Handsome,” Brynn looked at Frost. “If the Herald of Ziralia knows we’re harboring her, he’s not going to sit idly by. She’s not like Hansel who really didn’t do anything or those knights you’re helping avoid an investigation. She killed thousands of innocent villagers and tricked thousands more into becoming followers of Shalia. She created a panic throughout the nation that lasted over a decade.”

“Allegedly,” Cassia said smugly.

“What’s he going to do if he finds out she’s here?” Frost asked Brynn, although he had an idea.

“He will have an army of over ten thousand men marching on us within the week,” Brynn answered. “He will not stop at the border. He will not have a discussion. He will come in, kill everybody, and hope he gets her. He will not risk her spreading plagues through the continent.”

“So, he’ll just execute her without a trial?” Frost asked.

“She won’t stand trial!” Brynn scoffed. “That’s why they had to send people to apprehend her! And they all got slaughtered! He’s not going to make that mistake!”

“But what if she does?” Frost asked with an impish grin.

“What?” Brynn and Cassia asked simultaneously.

“She was technically a citizen of Zira at the time,” Frost said. “And since all the soldiers sent to apprehend her died there really isn’t any evidence that she was notified that she was to stand trial. So, upon arriving back from her missionary trip abroad to convert more followers she finds out about the trial…”

“Nobody is going to believe that,” Brynn said shaking her head.

“Doesn’t matter what they believe,” Frost smiled. “What can they prove?”

“Let’s hear him out,” Cassia said with a mischievous grin. “What then?”

“Then,” Frost continued. “We have you stand trial in Blackwater. They’ll present the evidence for the accusations, of which there is none. You’ll present your testimony that you offered to protect people from plagues and they refused protection.”

“Handsome,” Brynn shook her head. “Did you forget that the priests and the nobles are the ones who decide guilt or innocence? Even if she were innocent, which we all know she’s not, they’ll vote guilty regardless. Or pay somebody to say they were around and saw it.”

“If they vote guilty that’s a new problem,” Frost smirked. “But if we can protect her, we should.”

“Herald Frost,” Lysandra smiled hopefully at him. “Why are you trying to help her? She…she killed so many people.”

“Because I feel like it,” Frost said. “Besides, I have a lot of questions for her yet. I want to know what she knows about abilities, magics, classes, and I’m sure she has tons of cute stories about you.”

“I have so many cute stories about Lysandra!” Cassia said excitedly.

“Hm,” Brynn glared at him suspiciously. “Have you already slept with her handsome?”

“The herald and I have no had that pleasure yet,” Cassia smiled while adjusting her massive chest. “I tried but those other three monopolized him.”

“Three?” Brynn seemed to put things together quickly. “We’ll talk about this later handsome. But I suppose they did keep you from sleeping with this witch.”

“Frost,” Lysandra glanced up at him. “Do you wish to sleep with my mother?”

“No,” Frost lied without hesitating.

“My goddess,” Brynn laughed. “He gave the right answer for once.”

“Anyway,” Frost said glancing around the table. “How do we get the ball rolling on this trial? We probably need to get it handled sooner rather than later, right? I don’t want to be dealing with an army.”

“I would need to talk to Fiora directly and we’d both have to come to an arrangement with my father,” Brynn said pensively. “Assuming our father approves the trial, the Herald of Ziralia probably will as well. The herald would never undermine the royal family.”

“If they don’t approve it?” Frost asked.

“Then we’ll need to find sanctuary somewhere,” Brynn said. “But they’ll likely accept it as long as I can guarantee her compliance. They’re rather big on trials.”

“Wonderful!” Cassia said excitedly. “I promise to comply.”

“That’s not going to cut it,” Brynn shook her head. “They’re going to want something more tangible.”

“I’ll go with to Blackwater,” Lysandra said calmly. “They’ll want a guarantee that you’ll show up so I’ll offer myself as collateral. I’m the only thing on this continent that you’d absolutely never sacrifice. So, I should be acceptable.”

“You absolutely will not!” Cassia said furiously. “I will not let my precious little girl be held hostage!”

“You don’t have a choice,” Lysandra said calmly. “Mother, Herald Frost said he would protect you. Trust him to protect you.”

“He couldn’t even tell that I was lying to him,” Cassia said accusingly. “And you expect me to trust him?”

“Yes,” Lysandra smiled at Frost. “He is my future husband and you will respect him or I will ask you leave.”

“You will…” Cassia scowled and slammed her hand on the table like a petulant child. “Fine.”

“Alright,” Frost nodded. “That’s settled. We’ll leave in the morning to discuss this with Fiora.”

“Fine,” Cassia pouted. “But since Lysandra’s leaving tomorrow I want to spend the night with her! I want to hear everything that’s happened since I left!”

“You’ve been gone for over seventy years,” Lysandra whined like a teenager being asked about her school day.

“I don’t care,” Cassia said excitedly. “Every little thing! I’ve missed you so much!”

“Then I guess we have to find somewhere else to sleep,” Brynn sighed at Desdemona.

“Herald Frost can stay with me,” Lishri said while excitedly holding out her sleepover Ayoyou. “Right?”

CHAPTER 21

Frost sighed as the frustrated Arachne glared at Brynn and Desdemona. The pale skinned redhead gripped her paper tightly as she scowled at the two women standing in her bedroom.

“I really don’t think this is fair!” Lishri pouted as she reluctantly handed Frost the Ayoyou. “They don’t have to use Ayoyous and they still get to be here!”

“We didn’t have anywhere else to go!” Brynn lied.

Frost knew that Brynn would have been welcomed into Renna’s bed and Desdemona would have as well. Even if they wanted to search for a larger bed there were plenty of elves in the village who’d accept them. Although, given the massive influx of monsters there were admittedly fewer available spaces than usual.

“I promise I’ll let you do whatever you want still,” Frost said as he took the small slip of parchment. “It’s still all about you and me.”

“How does it work exactly?” Desdemona asked timidly while staring up at Lishri’s large web. “Do we lay on top of it? And what about blankets and pillows.”

“She just sort of ties you to it,” Brynn said while staring at the web. “I’m not really sure about the blanket situation.”

“They’re not necessary,” Frost said reassuringly. “Her body gets really warm when she sleeps. But if you want, I’m sure she could wrap a blanket around you.”

“Hm,” Desdemona plucked one of the strands connected to a wall. “Are you sure it will hold all of us?”

“I’m sure,” Lishri said grumpily while wandering over to her closet. The fiery-haired woman sorted through a rack of clothing and began quickly changing out of her dress and into a skimpy red negligee top. “There,” the Arachne said while turning to face Frost. “How do I look my darling husband?”

“You look fantastic,” Frost smiled as he stared at the transparent top. The babydoll lingerie top barely covered her breasts and the sheer fabric that hung from the brassier portion opened in the center, leaving her flat pale stomach exposed. “As always.”

“Thank you,” Lishri blushed as Frost walked toward her and brushed his hand against her abdomen. “My love.”

“So,” Brynn said awkwardly as Lishri scowled at her. The short-haired human gestured at the web. “How do we go about…”

“Is that what you’re wearing to bed?” Lishri asked judgmentally while staring at both Desdemona and Brynn. Neither of the women had changed out of their outfits from the day.

“Oh!” Desdemona nodded and began undressing. The pale demon quickly stripped down to a pair of pink lace panties and a matching brassier. She slipped the straps down her shoulders and pulled it down before turning it around to unclasp it. Brynn glared at her jealously Desdemona exposed her large pale tits. “Why are you looking at me like that?”

“No reason,” Brynn grumbled as she slipped out of her dress revealing her white lace panties and elegant white camisole. The petite bard tugged on one of the strands of web. “So do we just climb in or…”

“Allow me,” Lishri said while picking up Brynn. She quickly climbed into the web, hooking her Arachne legs into the various strands as she elegantly climbed the strands and found a spot for Brynn. She held the raven-haired bard against the web and began moving pieces of web to secure the bard’s wrists, waist, legs, and even her head. By the time she was finished Brynn looked like she was hanging in a cloth cradle. “There. How’s that feel.”

“Hm,” Brynn looked down at the floor. “Strange, but not bad.”

“Now you,” Lishri hopped down from the web and landed gracefully on the floor. Frost was actually a little impressed by how stealthily she landed. Lishri grabbed Desdemona and carried her into the web like a squirrel looking to store food for winter. She began weaving a similar netting for Desdemona to sleep in. “Are you comfortable?”

“Very!” Desdemona said cheerfully while hanging helplessly from the web. “Thank you! This is really nice!”

“Hm,” Frost pointed at Desdemona’s dangling chest. “Do you think you could wrap some strands around…”

“Herald Frost,” Lishri frowned at him. “This is supposed to be our night.”

“Please,” Frost returned her pouty face while gesturing at Desdemona’s breasts. “Then it’ll be all about you.”

“Fine,” Lishri said while grabbing some webbing.

“What are you…” Desdemona moaned as Lishri wrapped the long silky web around the demoness’ large chest and back. Gradually, she the bindings on the chest became tighter as Desdemona’s massive pale breasts were highlighted more and more until Lishri was finished. “Um...is this part of it?”

“No,” Frost smirked while admiring Desdemona’s bound chest. “That’s just for me.”

“Oh,” Desdemona blushed as her large breast’s hung in front of him.

“Ahem,” Brynn glared at Frost. “What about me?”

“Is that really necessary?” Lishri asked as Brynn shot her a vicious look. “Right, on it.”

Frost watched Lishri bind Brynn, doing the best she could to highlight Brynn’s small breasts and doing a surprisingly good job of it. Brynn’s pink nipples looked even more appealing than usual as Lishri’s web bound her chest.

“Beautiful,” Frost said as he placed his clothing on the chair and finished stripping.

“Are you satisfied my wonderful husband?” Lishri asked while slowly crawling down the web. She stood in front of Frost and started running her fingers through his hair. Frost leaned in to kiss her exposed stomach as she caressed him. “You know I want to do everything I can to make you happy my darling. Even if it does involve your other wives.”

“You always make me happy,” Frost said while kissing right above where her spider body met the human portion. Normally he’d call it her lower hip but given the fact she didn’t really have traditional hips it didn’t seem accurate. He stroked Lishri’s soft waist while gradually reaching up toward her breasts. “And you shouldn’t be so worried about them. This is an opportunity. If Brynn and Desdemona like your web more than they like Lysandra’s bed, maybe I’ll be up here more often.”

“Really?” Lishri blushed as she glanced up at the women watching them. “It’s weird to have them watching.”

“You’ve watched us before,” Brynn said defensively. “It’s only fair…”

“No, no, no,” Lishri shook her head as she walked over to one of her cloth piles and grabbed a large black cloth. She grabbed a scissors from her worktable and cut the cloth into long strips before while nodding to herself. She crawled back into the bed and began tying a makeshift blindfold onto Brynn. “I’m not comfortable with you watching.”

“Now this is some real rubbish handsome,” Brynn said irritably as Lishri finished tying the blindfold to her and moved onto Desdemona. “I let her watch us make love on our wedding night but I can’t see how this works?”

“It does seem unfair,” Desdemona said as Lishri attached the blindfold. “Since we can’t participate we should at least get to watch.”

“Lishri says no,” Frost said while staring at the bound blindfolded women. He wondered if all Arachne had a natural talent for binding or if Lishri was just that good. The way the web cut into their bodies was extremely erotic and the blindfolds made everything even sexier. “Sorry.”

“I’m going to remember this,” Brynn growled. “Next time she’ll be the one tied up and wearing a blindfold.”

“Sounds like fun,” Frost chuckled as Lishri came back down.

“There,” Lishri smiled as she leaned in and kissed Frost. Her long silky tongue slipped between his lips and began exploring his mouth. The tall Arachne ran her hands up and down his chests and back as she kissed him. “I love you my beautiful consort.”

“I love you too,” Frost said while running his hands up her soft sides until he reached her massive chest. He slipped his hand beneath the fabric of her top and quickly found her nipple, pinching it playfully as he slid his tongue against her bellybutton.

“Mmm,” Lishri moaned as Frost kissed and lapped at her stomach, tracing his tongue along the lowest part of her waist. She pulled his head in closer, encouraging him to lick and kiss harder. “I’m going to give you so much pleasure tonight my love.”

“What about you?” Frost asked as he smacked the front of her red Arachne body with the palm of his hand. “Don’t you want some pleasure?”

“What was that?” Brynn asked curiously.

Lishri kept her mouth shut and whimpered as Frost smacked the front of her crimson Arachne body again. He slid his hand up and down her warm chitinous shell as he continued to gently lick at her bellybutton.

Arachne women weren’t that different from any other women in the grand scheme of things. Just like different human women had different wants and needs, so did the Arachne. Frost just had to put in the time finding them and he had no problem with that. Lishri’s wants and needs weren’t even that difficult to figure out.

“Are you a good Arachne or a naughty Arachne?” Frost asked as he smacked her again causing her spider legs to buckle. As her body landed on the floor in front of him, he smacked her spider half again causing her to moan. It wasn’t the contact with the shell that gave Lishri pleasure but the vibrations it caused. She absolutely loved it. “Answer me.”

“A naughty Arachne,” Lishri panted as her face turned pink. “I’m my husband’s naughty Arachne.”

“Naughty Arachne need punishment,” Frost said while squeezing one of her massive breasts. He reached back and gave her carapace another smack. He started alternating between rubs and slaps just as he would if he were spanking her. Every strike against her carapace causing her to moan louder as he licked her stomach and fondled her breasts. “Look at how slutty you dress you naughty whore.”

“Husband,” Lishri moaned as he rapidly struck her carapace causing the vibrations to quicken. He found himself wishing to invent a giant sybian just so he could bind Lishri to it and watch the woman continuously orgasm from the vibrations. “It’s too much…”

“Too much?” Frost smirked as Lishri trembled. “Do you want me to stop? Maybe I should play with one of my other wives instead of this naughty one?”

“No, my love,” Lishri moaned as Frost squeezed her nipple. “Please keep punishing your naughty wife.”

“If you insist,” Frost said as he continually smacked her red shell while she yelped.

“No fair,” Desdemona whined as she tried desperately to rub her legs together. Frost looked up to see both her and Brynn fighting against their webbed bindings as if desperate to scratch an itch.

“It’s really not fair,” Brynn growled while twisting her body in the web. “I want to see what he’s doing.”

“What?” Frost smirked as he pulled roughly on Lishri’s breast. The beautiful redhead released a loud moan as he squeezed her. “Do you hear that Lishri? They want to watch me punish you. How does that make you feel?”

“You can’t,” Lishri whimpered. “It’s embarrassing…”

“Maybe I should take you outside,” Frost suggested while giving her carapace another hard swat. “Invite some of the other Arachne women over to watch you get punished. To watch their Queen on her knees…”

“Goddess,” Lishri’s entire body started shivering as he gave her another hard smack. He tugged on her breast as if leading her toward the door. “Husband…”

“Come on,” Frost said as the trembling intensified. “We’re going to find some Arachne to watch. You can tell them what a naughty girl you are…”

“G-g-g-g-goddess…” Lishri froze in place as a massive soaked web shot from behind her and landed against the wall. Frost smacked her again and continued to pull.

“Get up,” Frost said authoritatively. “Today we’re going to do it. We’re going to let everybody see what a filthy little queen you are. You’re going to tell them all of the naughty things you do for me.”

“H-husband,” Lishri’s shivered again as Frost smacked her shell several times, each time causing her to tense and release more and more of her high-quality web. “P-please n-no…”

“You won’t need this,” Frost said pulling off her lingerie top, exposing her large perfect breasts. Her nipples were almost red creating a stark contrast to her flawless porcelain flesh. “Now come on…it’s time for your punishment you naughty Arachne…”

“I can’t…I can’t…” Lishri moaned as she collapsed on Frost, her large breasts entombing his face. “G-goddess…if I cum again you’ll break me…”

“I didn’t tell you that you could stop,” Frost said while smacking her carapace several times causing her to squeal. More liquid poured from her Arachne rear but she appeared to be completely empty of web. “You are such a naughty little Arachne. Getting all excited about everybody watching you be punished.”

“Herald Frost,” Desdemona whimpered anxiously from the ceiling. “I have a problem.”

“What?” Frost looked up to see Desdemona’s soaked panties dripping onto the floor. His already hard cock twitched as he watched the demoness writhe while drenched with excitement. He glanced at Brynn and the red-faced bard was similarly saturated. “Oh, you are both dirty girls.”

“My darling,” Lishri gripped his face in both of her hands and kissed him deeply. “You wouldn’t really drag me out there and humiliate me, would you?”

“I might,” Frost said while circling her nipples with his fingers. He gave them both playful pinches and followed up with another smack to her carapace causing her to shiver. “I think it might be fun. Maybe that cute black-haired Arachne that saw me hanging from the web. She could watch me…”

“Darling!” Lishri blushed and shivered as the combination excitement and shame twisted inside of her. “Y-you c-can’t.”

“Maybe if you’re a really good Arachne I won’t have to,” Frost smirked while running his fingers through her red hair. “Have you been practicing?”

“Yes!” Lishri nodded excitedly while lifting Frost up. Her legs trembled as she carried Frost to the web and quickly bound his arms, legs, and waist to the web. His hard cock twitched with excitement as the Arachne hung upside down in front of him, her long crimson hair nearly reaching the floor as she pressed her massive chest against his cock.

“I love that big sexy chest of yours,” Frost moaned as Lishri began stroking his cock with her breasts.

“Bastard,” the small-chested bard mumbled under her breath while shifting in her bindings. She’d seen several of the others get their tits fucked by him but she was woefully incapable of experiencing it.

“Frost,” Desdemona whined. “I may need a different pair of panties…”

“In a bit,” Frost moaned as Lishri’s long tongue slid against the tip of his cock. Her saliva dripped on her breasts mixing with his precum to lubricate her massive chest. The Arachne pushed them together as hard as she could in hopes of mimicking the sensation of a pussy. “This feels so fucking good.”

“I want to drink your cum husband,” Lishri moaned while increasing her pace. Her fanged mouth was open, waiting for him to release inside. “Please let me drink it.”

“Goddess,” Desdemona moaned as Brynn released a low frustrated growl through her gritted teeth.

“You want to drink my cum?” Frost asked as Lishri slid her massive chest up and down his cock. “Are you going to drink every drop?”

“Yes,” Lishri moaned while increasing her pace. “I want to drink every drop. Please cum for me. I want to taste you so bad.”

Lishri wrapped her tongue around the tip of his cock, creating a pseudo orifice for him to penetrate as her tits massaged his shaft. The tension was building as he looked down at the upside-down Arachne waiting eagerly with her mouth open. The thought of filling her mouth with his cum was enough to put him over the edge and his cock pulsed.

“Fuck,” Frost groaned as long thick strands shot from his cock, filling Lishri’s waiting mouth. He watched as the moved closer to ensure not a single drop of his cum was spilled and once she was convinced that he was finished, she closed her mouth and swallowed.

“Did that feel good my darling husband?” Lishri asked hopefully.

“If you’re finished…” Desdemona whimpered. “My panties…”

Frost glanced down at the floor and it was a particularly filthy scene as Brynn and Lishri dripped into the already thick mixture of webbing and Lishri’s juices.

“Lishri,” Frost smiled while nodding toward Desdemona. “Help Des.”

“Help her?” Lishri glanced at the Demoness. “Do you mean…”

“Yes,” Frost answered. “That is what I mean. Poor Des was forced to endure listening to all of that. She deserves a reward. And it’d be so fucking sexy.”

“Really?” Lishri asked while turning toward the dripping demoness. “Okay…”

Lishri made her way to Desdemona and using her fangs tore off Desdemona’s panties.

“Those are one of my favorite pair!” Desdemona said as Lishri removed the soaked undergarments. “Lishri!”

“I’ll repair them,” Lishri said while staring at Desdemona’s porcelain mound. She leaned up and licked, gathering up all of Desdemona’s juices as the bound and blindfolded elf hung there helplessly.

“Oh goddess,” Desdemona moaned as Lishri moved toward her dripping cunt. The eager Arachne slid her agile tongue into Desdemona’s cunt causing the demoness to moan. “Wow…”

“Do you hear that Brynn?” Frost asked as he watched the bard squirm. “You’re next.”

Desdemona squealed as Lishri’s tongue quickly brought her to climax. The pale demoness panted as the Arachne lapped up her juices and turned her attention to Brynn. She quickly moved over to the opposite side of the web and ripped off Brynn’s panties.

“Lishri,” Brynn panted. “You don’t have t…fuck!”

Lishri excitedly shoved her tongue inside of the petite bard’s cunt. The flexible appendage immediately located her g-spot and started rapidly sliding back and forth as the Arachne ran her hands up and down Brynn’s athletic legs.

“How are you so good at this?” Brynn squealed as Lishri’s tongue circled her soaked cunt. “Goddess! Goddess! Goddess!”

Brynn’s squirmed and tugged on her bindings as her eyes rolled into the back of her head. A moment later Lishri’s mouth was overflowing with Brynn’s fluid and the Arachne attempted to swallow every bit of it.

“Goddess…” Brynn huffed. “You’re amazing.”

“Really?” Lishri blushed as she turned her attention back to Frost. “Does my darling husband think so?”

“Absolutely,” Frost grinned as the Arachne scurried back over to him. She gripped his hard cock in her hand and aggressively stroked it. “Fuck.”

“Are you ready to go again?” Lishri asked excitedly. “I want to drink as much as I can tonight.”

“As much as you can?” Frost asked nervously. “What do you mean by that?”

“I want to milk every drop from you tonight my love,” Lishri blushed. “If you’ll let me.”

“Fuck,” Frost chuckled and cracked his neck. He looked at his bound hands. “Well, I’m not going anywhere.”

“Thank you darling!” Lishri said while embracing him. The twin beats of her hearts going a mile a minute as she stroked his cock. “I’ll make sure you’re completely relaxed for your long day tomorrow!

CHAPTER 22

On Brynn’s insistence, they all left for Blackwater early the next day. Her primary concern seemed to be making sure that Fiora called their father immediately and stop him from doing anything reckless. Once the soldiers were in motion, it would be infinitely harder for them to convince their father to hold keep them back.

Thanks to his riding ability and Brynn’s support spells it didn’t take long before they arrived in the city and Frost immediately noticed villagers staring at his gorgeous wife.

“By the way,” Frost glanced over at Brynn. “You look amazing.”

The beautiful black-haired bard was dressed in a gorgeous black and gold gown that seemed more befitting an evil sorceress than a queen. It was a fairly unique design in that the fabric of the gown sort of swirled around her like a dark shadow was embracing her. The way it twirled started at her hip and wrapped around her like a snake, conveniently covering her chest while leaving plenty of skin exposed. The end of the shadowy python circled her neck like a choker. The edges of the fabric were decorated in gold highlights and the long flowing skirt looked like a night sky filled with golden stars.

“You’re just trying to make me feel better,” Brynn smirked as Lysandra cuddled against Frosts chest. She suggested that she should ride with him to avoid stable fees since she was going to remain as a hostage anyway. “I told you I was fine paying the stabling fees.”

“If you have rel to spare you should give it to some children,” Lysandra said while gesturing at the people walking through the market.

“Look!” a woman said pointing at them as they rode through. “It’s the princess!”

“Where?” another woman said before jumping excitedly. “Princess Brynn Hilde!”

“I never get this type of reception,” Frost said while glaring at Brynn judgmentally.

“Everybody loves a princess,” Brynn beamed victoriously while waiving to her fans. “Even if she did have their prince killed.”

“I’d argue that plays a part in your popularity,” Frost laughed as they headed toward Commander Grey’s house off of the main road. While it was located on the commoner city of the city it was one of the nicest sections. His manor wasn’t massive but it was an impressive home for a mid-level officer. It was about the same size as the temple in the village although the reddish building was of much higher quality and had a more elegant design to it.

Frost jumped off Witch and helped Lysandra down.

“Ahh!” a high-pitched squeal came from inside the home.

“What was that?” Brynn said hopping off her horse and rushing toward the door. “Something’s…”

“No,” Frost grabbed Brynn by the waist, stopping her as she tried to rush toward the door. “I recognize that voice. Just wait for it.”

“Oh, goddess yes!” Hestia’s voice echoed from the house. “That feels so good! Do you love this elf pussy? Say it. Say you love this elf pussy!”

“I fucking love it,” Slade’s voice was just loud enough that they could hear it.

“They don’t know the window’s open do they?” Brynn asked as the noises continued. The passing villagers sped up as soon as they heard the sounds coming from the house. “I mean, it’s not very discrete, is it?”

“Fuck,” Hestia’s high-pitched squeal resounded. “Come inside! Come inside! Give me a baby already! Put a silver-haired baby in this fucking elf pussy!”

“This is why Commander Grey has been badgering us about getting a proper embassy, huh?” Brynn nodded. “I think we may have to approve it. So, do we just wait?”

“Yeah,” Commander Grey said as he approached. “You normally have to just have to fucking wait.”

“William,” Lady Grey playfully smacked her husband’s chest. She smiled and smacked it a second and third time as if checking its durability. “Language.”

“Hey dumbass!” Commander Grey yelled toward the cracked window. “If you can hear me then I can hear you!”

There was the unmistakable sound of stumbling and crashing followed by the window slamming shut. More crashes and footsteps echoed along with some muffled arguing. After an awkward minute, Hestia opened the door draped in a blanket and covered in sweat.

“Herald Frost!” she said excitedly. She looked around at the various people passing by and took a deep breath. “I was just masturbating while pretending to be making love! I’m sorry if you heard me going about my activity all on my own!”

“Lady Hestia!” Lady Grey hissed. “You are a guest in my house and guests in my house will not talk that way!”

“Talk what way?” Hestia giggled loudly while making sure everybody around could here. “Talk about me loudly pleasuring myself? All alone!”

“Get inside this instant!” Lady Grey said while chasing the brown-haired elf inside the house.

“This is what I’m dealing with,” Commander Grey growled. “I want that…”

“You’ll get it,” Brynn sighed. “But it might not be as nice as your home.”

“I don’t care,” Commander Grey said. “I just want those two to stop defiling my home and that little psychopath of yours to stop drugging our damn food.”

“Oh dear,” Lysandra said worriedly. “She hasn’t been giving you sleeping droughts so her and Slade can…”

“No,” Commander Grey blushed. “Every bit of our food has been laced with something that makes you…well…at the ready all the time. If you know what I mean.”

“Oh,” Lysandra sighed in relief. “I was worried for a second but it’s just her virality potions.”

“Just her…” Commander Grey growled. “Don’t get me wrong. The first week I thought it was nice to have Lady Grey…at the ready all the time. But it’s been almost a month and the other day I ate some damn muffins for breakfast and I swear to the goddess herself…it didn’t go back down for almost two hours.”

“If it lasts for more than four hours you need to call a doctor,” Frost laughed but nobody else got the joke.

“Commander Grey,” Lysandra smiled politely. “Hestia’s only trying to help. Her virality mixture is good for your heart and general wellness. As are her other mixtures that I’m sure she’s feeding you as well.”

“What are they again?” Frost said while counting on his fingers. “The virality one, there’s the one that makes you sleep better, the stress relief one…”

“Don’t forget the one that helps digestion,” Lysandra nodded.

“I have been sleeping better,” Commander Grey grumbled. “Still. A man shouldn’t have to worry about being drugged in his own home. And as much as I appreciated it at first, a little moderation goes a long way.”

“I’ll talk to her,” Lysandra nodded. “But I wouldn’t expect her to reduce the virality dosages unless she gets pregnant. Actually, now that I think about it, if she gets pregnant, she might increase the dosages. Pregnant elves are not easy to satisfy.”

“That shouldn’t be a problem. Slade’s probably recasting his infertility spell hourly,” Frost joked.

“We’ll take care of it,” Brynn said reassuringly while stifling her laugh. “In the meantime, we’re here on other business.”

“Must be something bad if you’re here,” Commander Grey said. “Let’s get inside.”

Commander Grey led them to the sitting room where Slade was standing in a corner looking more pissed off than usual. Hestia managed to find a sundress to quickly toss on and Lady Grey was already preparing tea in the next room over.

“You look frustrated about something Slade,” Frost smirked. “Something wrong?”

“Go fuck yourself you dog-fucking cunt,” Slade replied with a particularly hostile tone, even for him.

“Don’t worry Baron Slade,” Lysandra said. “I’m sure Hestia will let you finish later.”

“It’s not really the same,” Frost, Slade, and Commander Grey answered simultaneously.

“Don’t worry my love,” Hestia said hugging him. “I came twice and that’s as good as once for both of us!”

“Not helping,” Slade grumbled as Lady Grey came in with tea and a large plate of muffins.

“So,” Commander Grey leaned back in his chair and crossed his arms. “Let’s get down to business. Shall we?”

Everybody avoided the muffins and went straight for the tea as Frost explained what’d happened in the village. He began by telling them about the new arrivals and his general policies around it which didn’t seem to surprise anybody. In fact, they found the influx of demihumans and monsters rather comical.

That changed when he mentioned that Cassia also came to his territory and was currently staying in his village. Slade, Commander Grey, and Lady Grey all looked like the life had been drained from them at the mention of Calamity Cassia.

From there he turned his attention to Slade.

“So,” Frost said. “What I need is for…”

“No,” Slade answered before he could finish. “What you need to do is take the crazy bitch’s head and send it to the king giftwrapped. If you do that not only will he never bother your territory, your little crossdressing wife will probably be fast-tracked to being the next Queen of Zira.”

“He’s right,” Commander Grey nodded. “If you kill Calamity Cassia then shit, I’d dare say that you’d be hailed as a hero.”

“But she’s my mother,” Lysandra said as tears welled up in her violet eyes.

“I’m very disappointed in you William,” Lady Grey said while offering Lysandra a tissue. “Can’t you see how upset you’re making Lady Lysandra?”

“Sorry sweetheart,” Commander Grey shook his head. “But there are really only two ways this pans out. Herald Frost kills her and becomes a hero while Princess Brynn becomes Queen Brynn or he doesn’t and ten battalions come knocking on his door.”

“As I was saying,” Frost pulled Lysandra into him and ran his hand up and down her side. “I need your help in convincing Fiora to hold a trial for Cassia.”

“Why the fuck would we have a trial?” Slade asked while looking around the room. “Everybody knows…”

“No,” Frost interrupted. “There are no witnesses and there’s no evidence. Just speculation. If we hold a trial…”

“She’ll still be found guilty and executed,” Slade said. “Nobody is going to find that psychotic bitch innocent!”

“Slade’s right,” Commander Grey said. “I don’t if there’s not a bit of evidence. It’s not going to happen.”

“Ziralia is a goddess of justice, correct?” Frost looked around the room. “I am demanding a trial. If she’s found guilty, she’ll be executed. If she’s found innocent, she’ll be remanded to my custody.”

“Like you’d let her be executed,” Commander Grey grumbled.

“Just take her fucking head,” Slade groaned. “Or just slip her some of Hestia’s nighttime snacks. She’ll be out like a light and I’ll do it for you.”

“Slade,” Hestia glared at him. “If you’re not nice I’m not going to finish you off later!”

“We want the trial,” Frost said calmly. “Slade, if Cassia doesn’t get a trial then I’m going to protect her. If I protect her then what do you think will happen to Hestia?”

“You devil-fucking piece of shit,” Slade growled. “I fucking know. Which is another reason why I just want you to take her head.”

“Lady Grey,” Frost smiled at the sophisticated old woman. She gave off the aura of a church lady if he ever felt one. “Am I wrong in assuming that you have pull with the Priests of Ziralia.”

“Understatement of the century,” Commander Grey groaned. “This woman might as well lead the congregation.”

“I may have some sway,” Lady Grey said smugly. “Why?”

“The priests need to want a public trial,” Frost said. “That way we don’t have to worry about any bullshit. I can’t imagine they’d pass up a chance to show off how powerful and important the Priests of Ziralia are.”

“Herald Frost,” Lady Grey’s eyes narrowed. “I don’t like what you’re insinuating. Do not forget that William and I are devout followers of Ziralia.”

“Yeah,” William took a drink of his tea. “Devout.”

“As a devout follower of Ziralia, I’m sure you’d also like a proper trial. All I’m asking is for you to help make that happen.”

“Very well,” Lady Grey said reluctantly. “But in exchange I want special recognition for my daughter’s accomplishments as a governess!”

“What accomplishments?” Frost joked as Lady Grey glared at him. “Just kidding. I’ll get on that. As for you,” Frost pointed at Commander Grey. “You need to do your ambassadorial job and make sure the right nobles know about this trial. I think you know the types of nobles I’m looking for. You’ve been gathering the information I requested right, correct?”

“I’ve been having the meetings,” Commander Grey nodded. “And gathering all the other information you and Lady Brynn wanted.”

“Information…” Slade smirked at Frost. “What have you been up to?”

“This is one of those things you said you don’t want to know about,” Hestia said cheerfully. “Remember? You said that I shouldn’t tell you anything that could potentially get you charged with treason.”

“I said I better not find out…” Slade glared at her. “I meant you shouldn’t get involved in anything like this.”

“But that’s not what you said,” Hestia stomped angrily. “You said you just didn’t want to know about it! And it wasn’t that bad! We were just using some potions to make people tell the truth and then some other ones to help them fall asleep and forget! And Herald Frost is still my herald and I’m a good follower of Shalia and…”

“Fine,” Slade growled. “I’ve already heard too much. Let’s just get the fuck on with this.”

“If I tell the nobles about this, they’re going to do their best to be put on the council,” Commander Grey said. “And the assholes won’t necessarily care about justice.”

“I know,” Frost said cheerfully. “That’s why I’m trusting you to get the right nobles excited. By right, I mean the real bastards.”

“What are you planning?” Brynn asked with a wry smile. “Even if you could sway the nobles you won’t be able to sway the priests and the council is made up of four priests, four nobles, and Fiora. Her verdict will be guilty. Even if you could bribe all four nobles, Fiora and the priests won’t be swayed.”

“What makes you think I haven’t been looking into priests? As for Fiora, we’ll see about that when we talk to her,” Frost said turning to Slade. “She’s our next stop after this.”

“You stupid cunt,” Slade scoffed. “Weren’t you listening to her last time? The nobles are already trying to have her removed. If she helps you protect Calamity Cassia then she’s done. It doesn’t matter what type of relationship you two have…”

“Relationship?” Brynn glared at him.

“Not that kind,” Frost shook his head. “Our financial arrangement. I haven’t touched her.”

“Keep it that way handsome,” Brynn said threateningly. “I’m willing to overlook a lot but I’m not willing to overlook you sleeping with my sister, even if we’re not really related.”

“He would never do such a thing,” Lysandra said reassuringly.

“You have more confidence in him than me,” Commander Grey chuckled. “So, this is the plan? And why the public trial? Wouldn’t it be better if people didn’t see your tricks?”

“We need witnesses,” Frost smirked. “If the priests held the trial in secret it’d be easy for them to lie about the trial after the fact.”

“The priests would never lie,” Lady Grey said huffily. “They are servants of the law!”

“Yeah,” Frost chuckled. “And nobles are always honest and looking out for the people. Either way I need a full audience for my plan to work. Can’t have anything being hush-hush.”

“Ha,” Slade laughed. “This is so fucked.”

“Anyway. That about covers what I need from you all,” Frost finished his tea and stood up. He headed toward the door and Lysandra and Brynn followed while bowing politely to Lady Grey. “Thanks for the tea.”

“Nobody ate any of my muffins,” Hestia pouted while staring at the table. “I baked for two hours this morning and nobody ate anything…”

“It’s not your muffins,” Frost said reassuringly. “I already ate before…”

“That’s what you always say,” Hestia said as tears started welling up in her eyes. “Am I a bad baker?”

“William,” Lady Grey nudged her husband. “Have a muffin.”

“Fine,” Commander Grey said while reaching for a yellowish muffin. Lady Grey elbowed him gently and shook her head. She continually elbowed him as he looked over the muffins until he landed on a chocolate one. She nodded approvingly as Commander Grey grabbed it for himself. The old woman began running her hand down Commander Grey’s back and playfully slipped it beneath him.

“We ought to get going,” Brynn said while heading toward the door. “We need Fiora to make a decision about this today.”

“Then we better go,” Slade said as Hestia rushed over to the muffin table. “What are you…”

“You can have one of these and one of these and this one’s really good for your stress,” Hestia said sorting through the muffins. She pulled out a small cloth handkerchief and quickly turned it into a tiny lunch sack before handing it to Slade. “Here! You can have these for lunch! And I still have to make up for this afternoon later! Don’t forget!”

“I won’t,” Slade said while putting the muffins in his enchanted pouch.

“I love you,” Hestia said while puckering up for a kiss. The entire room was watching as he leaned down and pecked her quickly. She grabbed his arm before he could walk away and her lips began to quiver. “Y-you didn’t say it back.”

“Hestia,” Slade glared at the smirking onlookers. “I love yo…” Slade didn’t even finish his sentence before Hestia grabbed his face and forced him into a deep kiss. As she pulled away smiling, Slade licked his lips and his face contorted. “You did it to me again didn’t you?”

“Of course!” Hestia said cheerfully. “Now you’re sure to come back!”

“Fuck,” Slade grumbled as he wiped his mouth and headed toward the door. “Let’s go.”

“What did she slip you?” Frost smirked as Slade walked past him.

“None of your fucking business bug-fucker,” Slade said while heading out the door. “Let’s get this bullshit over with. Come on.”

“Bye my love!” Hestia said excitedly. “I’ll miss you! Come back soon!”

“Don’t have much choice in that,” Slade said as they left the manor.

As soon as the door closed behind them Lysandra turned and smiled at Slade. She reached into her purse and pulled out a small vial of a blue potion.

“If you’d like Baron Slade this will counteract the Lostlove,” Lysandra said offering him the vial. “I had a feeling that Hestia might use that on you so I brought…”

“It’s fine,” Slade grumbled.

“It’s really not fine,” Lysandra said sternly. “I’ve told her she can’t just…”

“He says it’s fine,” Frost said while calling Witch over. “So, it’s fine. I do lots of weird stuff with all of you and nobody ever tells me it’s not okay.”

“This is different,” Lysandra said. “The potion creates an unnatural desire for the woman whose essence is mixed in the potion. The longer he’s away the more the desire takes hold until he either returns to her or drinks an antidote. Courtesans regularly use it to keep clients coming back. Fortunately, the antidotes are easy to make.”

“I said it’s fine,” Slade growled. “It keeps her from freaking the fuck out. And I’m well aware of the fucking antidote. I was born in the fucking city where the shit originated. Every fucking whorehouse in Laven has bottles of the shit. Fuck.”

“Aww,” Brynn smirked. “Are you saying that you let her poison you to make her feel better. That’s so sweet.”

“Kind of fucked up,” Frost chuckled.

“I’m not going to be judged by a cat-fucking degenerate,” Slade growled.

“Awful big words coming from an elf-fucker,” Frost smirked.

“Fuck!” Slade growled as they headed toward Blackwater Keep.

CHAPTER 23

It wasn’t a secret that Brynn and Fiora had a strange sibling rivalry despite not technically being siblings.

King Valagnar Leaucault had fathered dozens of children with different women throughout the kingdom of Zira and all of them had equal claim to the throne. This created struggles for any of the princes of princesses to be noticed since all of them were replaceable. So, it was only natural that virtually all of the siblings disliked each other.

In Brynn and Fiora’s case, things were slightly more intense.

Frost was never quite sure why the two disliked each other but he assumed it was because the two women were of similar ages and while Fiora was a pureblood royal, Brynn was adopted into the family. There also seemed to be other things in play but Brynn kept those fairly close to her chest. Although he did know that Brynn wanted to become the Queen of Zira.

Admittedly, it annoyed him that Brynn refused to explain why she wanted to become the Queen of Zira so badly. He would occasionally attempt to guide her toward telling him but whenever conversation started to steer toward that subject, she pretty much mauled him. It was a very effective tactic.

Fiora surprisingly never expressed a desire to become Queen of Zira at all and instead claimed she wanted to improve her status in order to attract a better husband. While it was a completely believable explanation coming from her mouth, Frost felt there was something else to it. While she played the part of a spoiled princess extremely well, her high level of competence contradicted it.

She inherited quite the mess in Blackwater but the speed at which she managed to improve the city suggested that she was anything but spoiled. Then there was the matter of her sister Isabelle, who according to Brynn, was currently the most likely candidate to become the official heir to the throne.

Frost was sure all of these things somehow played in their mutual dislike for each other but never quite figured everything out. Neither woman was really open to discussing their family issues with him and he wasn’t going to force them to.

“What are you wearing?” Fiora’s eye twitched as she stared at Brynn’s sexy black gown. “Does the herald have you working as a courtesan now?”

“Only for him,” Brynn smirked while pressing her body against Frost. “But I wouldn’t expect an unmarried princess to relate to that. The feeling that comes from being desired and taken constantly, it’s so wonderful. How is the husband hunt going by the way? Has increasing your station here increased your prospects?”

“Nobody of significance,” Fiora said dejectedly while taking a seat in her high back chair. She almost looked like a life-sized doll when she sat down. Her beautifully crafted red frilly gown, the way her perfectly coiled hair fell, and her flawless porcelain skin all contributed to the doll-like appearance. “A few offers from the old houses but mostly vulgar men of no significance. Not all of us will settle for a devil-fucking degenerate.”

“He’s still a herald,” Brynn said smugly. “And if you knew what he was like in bed you wouldn’t call it settling. Or maybe you do? Tell me, when you beg him for assistance in eliminating monsters, does he make you drop to your knees or…”

“I would never beg him for anything!” Fiora snapped. “He is nothing but a bounty hunter. I place a bounty and the disgusting low-life runs off to kill. He’s a beast to be commanded, nothing more!”

“Ouch,” Frost feigned offense. “Here I was thinking we were working so well together.”

“Ahem,” Slade sat on the edge of Fiora’s large desk and gestured at the empty area in front of it. “How about we get to the topic at hand before you get into your clit measuring contest.”

“Slade,” Fiora glared at the silver-haired ninja. “Watch your tone or I’ll send you back to my sister in so many pieces they’ll rename you Slade the Sliced.”

“Poor humor today?” Frost chuckled.

“Yes,” Fiora said while gesturing toward the city. “The nobles are still up in arms over a herald of a cursed goddess being able to assault nobles with impunity with in the city walls.”

“He had it coming,” Frost said. “And let’s not pretend like any of them are allies of yours.”

“That’s not the point,” Fiora growled. “Anyway, as Slade said. How about we get to the topic at hand. What do you want? I can’t imagine my peasant sister came here for nothing.”

“Fine,” Brynn stepped forward. “Let’s get to the point.”

Brynn started by explaining the situation involving both the monsters coming to the territory. Fiora seemed to find it extremely amusing until Brynn finished by explaining Calamity Cassia was among them.

“Really?” Fiora said pensively. “That’s interesting but I fail to see what it has to do with me. You can either kill her or father will kill her when he and the Herald of Ziralia find out. The monsters are one thing, I certainly don’t care if you wish to build a zoo. But Cassia’s a legitimate threat. Even if I were capable of helping you here I wouldn’t.”

“How about you help yourself then?” Frost asked.

“How does Cassia being alive and living in your territory help me?” Fiora scoffed while leaning against the arm of her chair. “I don’t have the forces necessary to kill you, let alone that witch. Even if I could, I wouldn’t risk my soldiers when I know that father will send ten thousand. Unless, oh, are you here to find out how much I’ll pay for her head?”

“No!” Lysandra shouted.

“How much?” Frost asked out of curiosity.

“Frost!” Lysandra pouted at him. “That’s not funny!”

“A million rel,” Fiora offered, ignoring Lysandra’s objection. “Fairly generous considering that she’ll be killed even if I wait. Really, I’m just paying for the glory. I imagine I could land any husband I want if I were the one to kill Calamity Cassia. You know what, two million. I’ll have to access my personal savings but being able to marry whoever I want is worth it.”

“Oh?” Frost smiled cheerfully. “This is great! Here I was worried you wouldn’t go for it!”

“Wait,” Fiora stood up excitedly. “You mean you really intend to kill Calamity Cassia?”

“No,” Brynn smirked playfully. “But we’re going to give you the opportunity to kill her and earn all of that glory you want. And we’re not even going to charge you the two million rel.”

Fiora’s eyes narrowed as she scanned the room. She turned and scowled at Slade before turning back to the group.

“What’s going on?” She asked. “Explain everything.”

Brynn and Frost explained that Cassia insisted that she was innocent of the crimes she’d been accused of and was perfectly willing to stand trial for them. Assuming she could get a fair and public trial to prevent more lies being spread about her she would be willing to stand before the council and receive judgment.

“What are you planning?” Fiora asked suspiciously. “Do you think I’d invite that psychopath into my city? And a trial? We all know she did it! Everybody knows! There are history books written about how she did it!”

“But there was never actually any evidence…”

“Ziralia’s asshole there wasn’t evidence,” Fiora laughed at Frost. “Plagues follow patterns and require people to carry them between locations! Magically induced plagues are different but follow the same principle, the caster has to be present! Cassia was the only one present in all of those villages! Not only that but those sent to apprehend her died from the same illnesses! Finally, when she left the fucking continent they stopped! We all know she fucking did it because we know the plagues were magically created. That means murder and when you’re investigating a murder you look at motive and opportunity!”

“You know a surprising amount about law,” Frost said somewhat surprised.

“Fiora’s mother is a member of the Grand Council,” Brynn said. “She serves on the council with the Herald of Ziralia himself.”

“Really?” Frost smiled. “So, if her mother were to find out that Fiora had the chance to hold Cassia accountable but declined…”

“She might be disowned for something like that,” Brynn said smugly. “That would really hurt her marriage prospects.”

Fiora glared at them for a moment, grabbed a sheathed sword from beside her desk, and began bashing it furiously against the surface.

“Fuck!” Fiora said whipping the sword across the room smashing a lamp. “What assurances do I have that she’ll arrive for trial and won’t cause a disturbance. Even the slightest goddess damned disturbance could give the nobles enough leverage to make my life hell!”

“That would be me,” Lysandra said as she stepped out from behind Frost. “I apologize for the pain my mother has caused you and beg your forgiveness for it. If you are willing to hold a trial for her I’ll act as collateral.”

“You think she’ll show up for you?” Fiora shook her head. “She’s a murderer.”

“Alleged,” Frost corrected.

“Give me a break,” Fiora scoffed. “But, will she really show up? And are you sure she won’t kill anybody if I have her daughter?”

“If she attempts to hurt anybody Herald Frost will stop her by any means necessary,” Lysandra said politely.

“No, I won’t,” Frost chuckled.

“What?” Lysandra said with a confused expression. “Why not?”

“Do you mean besides the fact that she’s faster, stronger, and has decades more experience than me?” Frost chuckled. “The only way I could stop her is by killing her and even that might not be possible. I am not going to kill your mother. You’d never forgive me.”

“But I’m asking you to!” Lysandra said. She stepped back and scowled at him. “If my mom decides to hurt people you need to stop her!”

“Fine,” Frost lied. “I’ll stop her.”

“That sounded really sincere,” Fiora said while glaring at him. “What level is she by the way?”

“Nineties,” Frost answered while shaking his head. “According to her. I can’t scan her.”

“Nineties,” Fiora leaned back against her desk. “How is that possible?”

“She’s killed a lot of people,” Frost chuckled. “Obviously.”

“But she’d have to have killed tens or hundreds of thousands on her own,” Fiora shook her head. “The greatest heroes rarely break fifties and the ones that do have stories written about them. Blackwater only had eight heroes in their fifties in the entire territory. Rilia’s military has maybe a hundred in their entire army over level sixty and maybe a handful in their sixties.”

“Heroes level slow,” Slade chuckled. “She’s probably more like me. I out leveled most of those cunt rags you call heroes by the time I turned twenty. The fastest way to level isn’t to hunt monsters, it’s to have monsters hunt you.”

“Okay,” Frost nodded. “I’m stealing that.”

“Stealing what?” Slade asked.

“I’m stealing it too,” Brynn said pulling out a notebook. “It’d make a great line for a song.”

“What?” Slade glanced at both of them somewhat confused. “What the fuck are you two talking about?”

“Don’t worry about it,” Frost chuckled while turning his attention back to Fiora. “Think of it this way. A level fifty is rare, a level sixty even more so. They’re more abundant than you think, but only if you are one. There’s probably a hundred thousand people under level thirty for every level sixty, does that seem fair?”

“Yes,” Fiora nodded. “And?”

“So,” Frost grinned. “That means there aren’t very many level sixties for me to hunt. The only thing keeping me from being level seventy right now is the lack of opponents. I could kill twenty or thirty level sixty monsters a day but finding them would take weeks.”

“The delusional bullshit that you could kill thirty level sixty monster a day,” Slade scoffed and turned to Fiora. “But he’s saying if the monsters chase him, he has an endless buffet of experience.”

“I see,” Fiora said as she realized what they were getting at. “The other continents also have much higher populations and as a result have more high levels to hunt her. But still, to reach level ninety…she could probably wipe out this entire city if she wanted to.”

“She won’t,” Lysandra said reassuringly. “I won’t let her and neither will Herald Frost. And level isn’t everything! You taught us that Herald Frost! One of the level fifteen hunting parties took down a level twenty-five all on their own recently!”

“But how big was the party,” Slade mocked.

“Four of course,” Lysandra answered.

Fiora shot Slade a furious look as if she was positive that he was holding back information from her.

“Four level fifteens took down a twenty-five?” Fiora asked for confirmation. “That’s nearly twice their level. It should have taken at least twenty of them. Slade, you’ve been to that village a few times. Is she telling the truth?”

“I’m telling the truth!” Lysandra said proudly. “With Herald Frost’s party system and hunting guides it’s really easy.”

“Oh?” Fiora looked at Slade. “Is this the section training you told me about. They look for groups that offset their weaknesses and compliment their strengths.”

“Yeah,” Slade nodded. “It’s similar to how a few underground organizations operate as well. You get a big fuck, a smart fuck, a fast fuck, and a strong fuck together and they’ll generally get the job done better than four big fucks.”

“I see,” Fiora said. “So, if these methods allow Herald Frost’s villagers to hunt things nearly twice their level then the same should hold true for Herald Frost. He should be capable of killing somebody nearly twice his level as well. He can kill Cassia. So, assuming I can attain the approval of both the nobility and the priests, I would hold the trial under the conditions that Lysandra remains here as a hostage and Herald Frost acts in defense of the city if Cassia causes trouble.”

“Only if I have a group of four or five of me,” Frost grumbled.

“Then find a group of you,” Fiora said coldly. “You’re the one that wants to protect a murder.”

“I suppose I’m fine with that,” Frost scoffed.

“We need to send a message to father that we’re handling it,” Brynn said.

“We?” Fiora scoffed. “I am handling it. Call it a condition of my generosity. I get to take credit for her capture and the trial.”

“We take joint credit for the capture and you can take credit for the execution should she be found guilty,” Brynn countered, clearly banking on Frost finding a way to get Cassia off the hook.

“Fine,” Fiora said while walking toward a small door in the rear of her office. “Come on Brynn.”

“Don’t worry handsome,” Brynn squeezed his ass. “My father won’t be able to decline a fair trial. We will be fine.”

Brynn followed Fiora into the backroom as they waited in the office area. Frost began scanning books on Fiora’s shelves to see various historical manuscripts relating to other cities of the world and leaders. For somebody who was only interested in finding a better husband, she had an impressive collection.

They waited patiently for roughly two hours before Brynn and Fiora came back out from the room. Based on the expressions on both of their faces something had gone wrong.

“Okay,” Fiora growled. “So, the trial has been approved and will be set for a week from today.”

“That’s wonderful!” Lysandra said excitedly.

“No,” Brynn shook her head. “The Herald of Ziralia said he didn’t trust anybody in this city to act as the lead adjudicator of the trial.”

“Oh,” Frost said. “So is he…”

“Fat fucking chance,” Slade laughed as both Brynn and Fiora scowled at him. “You think that fucking coward is going to put himself in striking distance of a psychopath like Cassia?”

“He’s sending a member of the grand council to act in Fiora’s stead,” Brynn said. “Fiora’s mother. That’s not good.”

“I can’t believe that bitch is going to get the glory!” Fiora said while knocking everything off her desk. “Cunty fucking asswhore!”

“I think you might be spending too much time with Slade,” Frost joked.

“Laugh all you want,” Fiora said while smashing a glass against a wall. “Your elf’s mother is the one that’s going to be standing in front of her for judgement! And trust me when I say that woman never misses a chance to give judgment!”

“Ah,” Frost glanced at Brynn. “That’s why you look so concerned.”

“Fiora’s right,” Brynn said. “I’ve only met her a few times and the woman gave me chills when she looked at me.”

“Think she’ll judge fairly though?” Frost asked.

“As fair as the herald would,” Brynn said.

“Good,” Frost clapped. “Then she’ll do perfectly.”

“What?” Fiora glared at him. “You mean you like this?”

“If you were the judge I planned on outright bribery if I’m being honest,” Frost chuckled. “But if your mother’s a fair judge then we’ll just do this by the book.”

“Heh,” Fiora shook her head. “Yeah, about as fair as a plague.”

“I’m stealing that too,” Frost nodded. “I like it.”

“Uh-huh,” Brynn nodded. The raven-haired bard was already writing in her notebook as Frost looked over her shoulder. She quickly shifted away from him as he tried to peek. “Private.”

“Fine,” Frost smirked while turning his attention toward Lysandra. “By the way. Lysandra’s my fiancé so I insist she be treated like a visiting queen.”

“Excuse me?” Fiora asked while glaring at the blushing elf. “Whatever. Fine. Slade, take care of her accommodations. I need to meet with the priests and nobility to get everything arranged for my mother’s arrival.”

“Um,” Lysandra looked at Frost. “Does that mean I can’t leave the keep?”

“Don’t worry,” Brynn said. “You can still have visitors and I’ll be staying in the city.”

“You will?” Fiora glanced at Brynn. “Why?”

“I have business with Madam Gardenia,” Brynn said. “I heard she owns a lot of property in the demihuman district and I’m looking for a proper embassy. Assuming Fiora approves it of course.”

“An embassy in the demihuman district?” Fiora shook her head. “There’s plenty of property in better districts. Why?”

“Most of our citizens are demihumans and monsters so it makes sense,” Brynn said. “Also, our assistant ambassador wouldn’t really be as welcome in other districts.”

“You mean the one Slade’s sleeping with?” Fiora glared at Brynn.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Brynn said indifferently. “But do you have a problem with us placing our embassy in the demihuman district?”

“You know what,” Fiora said. “I just realized I don’t care. Leave your elf here and get out of my keep.”

“Herald Frost,” Lysandra smiled at him. “Thank you so much for helping my mother.”

“You can thank me after this is over,” Frost said. He turned to Slade. “You know what happens if so much as a hair on her head is harmed, right?”

“I’ve heard it all before dog-fucker,” Slade hissed. “Nothing’s going to happen to your precious fucking priestess.”

“Good,” Frost nodded. “Now, I have preparations to make and only a week to make them.”

CHAPTER 24

Cassia found Herald Frost to be a particularly enigmatic man unlike any she’d ever met.

The man was easy too trusting an easy to manipulate but simultaneously he was absolutely brilliant. The village he created in a couple months was nicer than any of the ones she’d created in the last several decades. Additionally, the elves in his village were leveling and unparalleled speeds by following the guides he created.

She took the liberty of looking through Herald Frost’s guides after he left the village and found them to be brilliant. The curriculum he created for young elves of the village could likely rival the finest elven academies on the continent and based on his notes he was only in the first phase.

Herald Frost wasn’t only having the kids taught magic but also swordsmanship, riding, combat, and dozens of other abilities. He seemed to be attempting to instill a foundational knowledge that would allow them to become whatever they wanted.

Then there were his ideas on construction, the bathhouse in particular. While it was obvious that the man’s intention was less than altruistic it was a massive increase to quality of life. He also had a list of other buildings that he wanted to create that could serve to help the village.

On the surface the man seemed like a pleasure chasing narcissist but the books filled with thoughts and ideas suggested that he might be something more. Although she was still fairly certain he was also a pleasure chasing narcissist.

But then there was his surprising cunning.

She expected that the Herald of Ziralia would send an army to their border and she and the herald would have to fight them. Instead, he formulated a plan almost immediately that would use Zira’s own justice system to prevent a war.

Cassia also heard from some of the village elves, at least the ones that talked to her before Shael came barreling in like an ogre, that Herald Frost gave asylum to Ziran soldiers and a man whose father tried to have him killed.

Then there was the way all of the elves talked about him. Every one of the women in the village, including her daughter, seemed to be absolutely infatuated with the man. She couldn’t really blame them since he was a handsome high-level herald. But they were all actually leveling in hopes of becoming his wife.

Even Lysandra talked about him like that.

When she cuddled up with her daughter for the first time in decades, she expected her to have lots to talk about. Instead, all she could do was talk about Herald Frost and all of the things he was doing to help the village. Occasionally she would talk about one of the elves and how they were struggling, but ultimately even those stories concluded with Herald Frost helping the elf in some way.

She couldn’t help but feel a little bit jealous.

Cassia spent decades recruiting followers and fighting off assassins attempting to kill her but nobody seemed to care about her efforts. Instead, they could only talk about how much Frost loved them.

“What did I expect?” Cassia groaned to herself. “A celebration. Stupid.”

In truth, she had expected a celebration for the return of the Prophet of Shalia and to be bathed in love and affection. Instead everybody viewed her with fear and suspicion. It was easier to lock herself up in Lysandra’s room than deal with the looks and comments from the villagers.

Even the elves that came with her on the ship looked at her differently after talking with the elves in the village. Fortunately, she was used to being alone.

“No…” an unfamiliar voice said from outside of the bedroom. Several feet stomped around and the unmistakable sound of a struggle emanated from behind the door. “Ow! Stop it! You’re drunk!”

“You’re drunk!”

“No, you are!”

Cassia recognized one of the voices. It was Renna. The athletic green-haired elf that’d been traveling with Herald Frost. A very talented thief with a problematic personality. Although Cassia couldn’t really judge anybody else as having a problematic personality.

“I’m not drunk!” Renna shouted. “You’re drunk!”

“I haven’t even been drinking!” the unfamiliar voice said. “What are you doing? Stop that!”

Cassia heard everything as two more voices joined the group attempting to convince the petite thief to go to her bedroom. They even volunteered to keep her company if she wanted but she wasn’t having any of it. Instead, it sounded like she unsheathed a weapon or tool of some type.

Cassia didn’t bother moving from the bed since she was comfortable and didn’t sense any danger. But she was curious as to what they were planning. Moments later she heard a clicking on Lysandra’s bedroom door and realized the sneaky elf was picking the lock.

“Ta-da!” Renna laughed as the door burst open. The giggling elf sauntered into the room and looked around before locking eyes with Cassia. “There you are!”

“Renna,” an orange-haired Myrran woman attempted to tug at the petite elf’s arm but couldn’t budge her. “We were told not to disturb her…”

“We can drink in your room,” a white-haired Florenne woman said anxiously. “We can have lots of fun…”

“My room’s too small!” Renna said yanking her arm from the Myrran’s grasp. “Besides, I like this bed! It’s the most comfortable!”

“But…”

“Jasmine?” a provocatively dressed Durra woman turned to the Myrran for instruction. “What do we do?”

“Um,” Jasmine fidgeted as Renna stomped toward the bed, kicking off her boots along the way. “Renna, if you leave, we’ll put on a special show for you…”

“I’m not falling for that again!” Renna jumped in bed right next to Cassia. The green-eyed elf reached out and stroked Cassia’s hair while staring at her. “I’m going to sleep here.”

“What are you doing?” Cassia asked while staring at the smiling elf. “I was about to go to bed.”

“Pfft,” Renna laughed while lifting her legs to slide off the tight shorts revealing black lacey underwear. She followed up by quickly removing her halter top exposing her pale chest and pink nipples that were highlighted by the surrounding tan lines. She tugged at the blanket Cassia had wrapped herself in. “Let me in. I want to cuddle.”

“Renna,” the white-haired Florenne slowly made her way to the bed. “You’re going to make her mad. Let’s just let her sleep and you can…”

“No!” Renna growled. “You three can leave if you want but I’m staying here!”

“Iris, Zinnia,” Jasmine cracked her knuckles while glaring at Renna. “I think we’re going to have to do this the hard way.”

“No, no, no,” Renna tugged aggressively on the blanket and freed a corner from Cassia’s grasp. The petite elf quickly dove under and spun, wrapping the blanket tightly around both of them. “Ha!”

“What now?” Zinnia asked.

“It’s fine,” Cassia said as Renna’s warm slender body pressed up against hers. The green-eyed elf smiled at her as she tried to adjust to make room for both of them. It was admittedly nice to have somebody to cuddle with. She missed the sensation of soft warm flesh against hers. “She can sleep here.”

“See!” Renna said happily while shifting beneath the covers. Cassia felt her small soft hand on her hip and moments later it was moving up and down. “I told you it’d be fine.” Renna’s eyes narrowed as she smiled wickedly at Cassia. “Nobody likes to be alone. Everybody should come in.”

“Renna!” the Myrran hissed. “We can’t just have cuddle parties in other people’s rooms!”

“If you want to have a cuddle party come back to our house,” Iris said worriedly.

“I don’t mind,” Cassia said as she stared at the beast women. Not very man elves in the village wanted to talk with her and she was more than grateful for anybody that would spend time with her. She was rather bored.

“Oh,” Jasmine looked at the other two anxiously. “I’m not sure if we should.”

“It’s fine,” Cassia sighed as she realized that Shael probably got to them too. She supposed she couldn’t blame her for being upset. She did do a lot of horrible things and abandon them. Although, it wasn’t like she could stay with them since Zira was constantly sending soldiers after her. “I understand.”

“Oh,” the rabbit-eared woman hopped and pointed. “Jas-mine!”

“She looks sad,” the Durra pouted.

“Come on you stupid whores!” Renna snapped. “I said come in! Do it!”

“Fine!” Jasmine groaned. “But we’re blaming you if we get in trouble!”

“Pfft,” Renna laughed. “Go ahead! I always get blamed for everything anyway!”

“So,” Cassia smiled at the beast women. “What do you ladies think of Herald Frost?”

“Herald Frost is the greatest,” the Florenne answered while jumping into the bed and wrapping her arms around the both of them. “He’s nice and warm and so sweet and he’d make a wonderful daddy and I hope someday he gives me dozens of babies because I’d be the best mommy ever!”

“He really is the best!” Zinnia said eagerly as she hopped into bed. The tan Durra’s tail flailed back and forth excitedly as she stared at the pile forming in the bed. “He’s smart and he’s kind and he loves everybody!”

“Too much if you ask me,” Renna drunkenly grumbled while grinding against Cassia. “And not to mention his old woman fetish.”

“Does he really enjoy the company of elderly women?” Cassia asked. “Because he said he didn’t want me.”

“That’s only because you’re Lysandra’s mom,” Renna said while moving her hand to Cassia’s chest. The elf squeezed her breasts aggressively and smiled. “There’s no way he doesn’t want to play with these. Look at these udders. I bet you’re a real filthy whore, aren’t you?”

“Renna!” Cassia moaned as the tiny elf began toying with her nipples. “You can’t…”

“Oh?” Renna smirked like she just discovered a new toy. “Are you sensitive? Has it been a while? Did you like me calling you a whore?”

“What…” Cassia panted as she wondered if she did like it.

“This is fun,” Renna said while leaning closer to Cassia. The petite tan elf slid her tongue along Cassia’s collarbone while pinching and squeezing her nipples. “How long’s it been since you’ve been really fucked? Want to play a game?”

“A game?” Cassia asked confused.

“Jasmine?” Renna looked at the orange-haired Myrran. “Let’s play a game!”

“Um,” Jasmine glanced up at the ceiling pensively. “How about stable girl?”

“What?” Renna turned toward the three women. “Who’s going to be the stable girl?”

“We have two stable girls this time!” Jasmine said pointing toward Renna and Cassia.

“That’ll make the game too easy,” Renna groaned. “I already win half the time without help.”

“Technically we all win,” Jasmine smirked while letting her sundress drop the floor. The slender Myrran was completely nude underneath with a neatly trimmed bush. Her orange hair and tail contrasted her tan skin perfectly and her gorgeous predatory eyes made her surprisingly intimidating despite her frame.

“Stable girl?” Cassia’s heart was pounding as she tried to figure out what they were talking about. Based on the disrobing she assumed it was sexual. “What’s that?”

“It’s a game!” Renna said while twisting to unroll the blanket. She quickly whipped off the blanket and hopped out of bed, nearly stumbling as she drunkenly landed. “She gestured at Cassia to join her.”

“It’s warm and nice in here,” Cassia said while wishing the petite elf hadn’t left. She was feeling lonely and enjoying the contact. “I’ll stay.”

“No, you won’t!” Renna grabbed the blanket it and tugged it so hard she nearly fell backward. Cassia quickly found herself completely naked and uncovered as she curled up into a ball. “Come on! It’ll be fun!”

“Give me my blanket back,” Cassia said while wrapping her arms around the pillow as she laid there naked. “It was comfortable.”

“You can have it back if you play the game,” Renna grinned impishly while rolling up the large blanket and tossing it on the dresser. “Come on. It’ll be so much fun!”

“Yeah,” Zinnia nodded excitedly. The lewd Durra had stripped down to her abnormally tight pink underwear. Cassia was always a little jealous of how no matter what Durra women wore they looked sexy. The tan woman’s tail was flailing back and forth like she was trying to fan the room. “It’s really fun!”

“It’s fine if you don’t want to,” Iris nodded. The pale-skinned Florenne slowly removed her clothes revealing lacy white underwear and a matching bra. Her slender middle simply enhanced her generous chest and buttocks but her long toned legs were the showstopper. The bunny-eared woman began trembling while bouncing in place. “We understand that some elves don’t like playing with women like us.”

“Oh,” Zinnia paused. “I forgot. She’s not from this village so she might not want to be with us.”

“Um,” Jasmine’s face contorted as she glanced at Cassia. “I’m sorry. We should have asked. Do you only lay with elves?”

“I don’t really lay with anybody,” Cassia sighed and squeezed her pillow. She’d laid with plenty of men and women during her travels but whenever she found somebody that she really liked they became a target. Eventually, she simply stopped looking for partners. “It’s been a while.”

“How long’s a while?” Renna asked while drunkenly sifting through a drawer and pulling out various items. “Like a month?”

“About thirty-five years…” Cassia said while thinking about a beautiful young woman she met in a small village near the coast. “Maybe forty?”

“Forty years?” Renna’s lips formed a predatory smile as she stared at Cassia’s violet bush. “No wonder you were trying so hard to seduce Herald Frost. This is going to be really fun.”

“Yeah it is,” Jasmine smirked while hungrily eyeing Cassia’s ass.

Cassia’s heart was pounding as the four women stared at her like starving lions that just came across a herd of sheep. They were all very beautiful women and she was lonely and bored so she didn’t really have a reason to decline them. And the more she stared at their soft skin the more she wanted to feel it pressed against her.

“Please, please, please,” Iris hopped excitedly. “Will you just play a little bit? If you don’t like stable girl you can always sit out and watch!”

“Please,” Zinnia nodded. “We’ll even go easy on you!”

“She’ll go easy on you,” Jasmine said licking her lips. “I’m playing to win!”

“How do you play?” Cassia asked. Renna tossed a small rope next to her and she picked it up. The rope itself was softer than she’d imagined and she found herself running her fingers along it. She realized it was made of a very fine Arachne silk which made it both durable and soft. “What’s this for?”

“So,” Renna walked over to the three women and handed them each a colorful collar with numbered plates on them. “Jasmine is worth three points, Zinnia is worth two points, and Iris is worth one point.”

“Why am I always worth one point?” Iris said while putting on her powder blue collar.

“Because you’re too easy,” Jasmine said smugly. “And I’m the hardest!”

“The object of the game is to catch all of the animals that escaped from the stables,” Renna said while patting each of the women on the heads. “The bed is the stables and it’s your job to return them to the stable. Once they’re in the stable you need to feed them and breed them.”

“I came up with that line!” Jasmine said excitedly.

“So how do you win?” Cassia asked while running her fingers along the rope.

“You play until you accumulate twelve points,” Renna said cheerfully. “But! The animals can win if they make you forfeit.”

“Wait,” Cassia glanced at the women. “Why would I forfeit?”

“Let me show you,” Renna said while crawling into bed. The slender elf pulled the pillow from Cassia’s hand and pushed her onto her back. The tan elf slid her hand down Cassia’s chest and past her pubic hair. Cassia panted excitedly as Renna quickly found her sensitive clit and began circling it. “What they’ll do is tease you, play with you, and leave you unsatisfied. Over and over again until you are so desperate that you’ll do anything for them to help you finish.”

“Goddess,” Cassia moaned as Renna gave her one more twirl. The green-haired elf licked her finger playfully before turning back toward the three women.

“This might be a little too easy with her,” Jasmine giggled.

“Hmmm,” Renna said as Cassia slowly sat up. “Good point. You better leave Zinnia to me. She’s really good at making you forfeit and if either one of us give in they win. It’s the only way to make it fair when there’s more than one stable hand.”

“Okay,” Cassia said as she started following along with the game. She was actually getting a little excited about the idea of playing with them, especially since nobody else even came to check on her. “So, we have to catch them, attach the lead, bring them to the bed, and then we feed them and breed them?”

Cassia felt her heart skip a beat as the word breed left her lips. The idea of breeding them was exciting her in a way she hadn’t experienced in decades.

“Exactly,” Renna said. “But they’re not going to make it easy to catch them either. Iris normally tires out first and then Zinnia. Jasmine can go on forever so you have to get good.”

“Alright,” Cassia said while preparing to cast a spell.

“No magic!” Renna shouted while pointing accusingly at her. “That’s cheating! And no abilities either! It takes away the fun!”

“Oh,” Cassia nodded. “So, when do we start?”

“Whenever you want,” Jasmine grinned impishly while watching the two women. “Either way you’re not going to catch me.”

“Or me this time,” Iris said excitedly while hopping back and forth. “I’m tired of only being worth one point!”

“Good luck,” Zinnia said while stretching. The cheerful Durra reached down to touch her toes and her breasts nearly fell out of her ill-fitted brassier. “Because we’re going to make you forfeit again!”

“Again?” Cassia looked at Renna. “Do they normally beat you?”

“They’re up by two,” Renna said grumpily. “But it was only because Herald Frost was gone for a week and I was really sensitive!”

“I see,” Cassia smiled excitedly. Although it’d been a long time since she played a game, she remembered how much she enjoyed winning. She wasn’t about to lose to a trio of beast women. “Do we have a plan?”

“You should practice on Iris,” Renna suggested while grabbing her lead. The emerald-haired elf was fixed on the small golden loop attached to Jasmine’s collar. Similarly, the cat-eared Myrran was fixed on Renna, watching her every move as the tipsy thief stared at her. “Ready whenever you are.”

“I’m ready,” Cassia nodded as she rolled out of bed. She felt their eyes fixate on her curvy body, the Durra in particular seemed excited at the prospect of being captured. They saw her as the weakest link in the chain and it was likely whichever one that she captured was going to go all out. Cassia eyed the Florenne’s feet and she prepared to dash.

“Go!” Renna shouted as she sprinted toward Jasmine.

Cassia couldn’t help but sense everything happening and predict what happened next. To not do so would require her to close her eyes, plug her ears, and forget over a hundred years of experience.

Jasmine was dashing to the left to avoid Renna’s initial assault and Zinnia was creating distance between herself and Renna. Iris was waiting and watching but if Cassia approached, she’d leap to the upper right. It all felt like it was happening in slow motion making catching them all too easy.

“Got you,” Cassia said as she dashed behind Jasmine’s landing spot. The white-haired prophet wrapped her arm around the cat-girl’s waist right as she touched the ground. She quickly twisted around to face the Myrran and prepared to attach her lead to the collar. Before she could, she felt a jolt shoot through her body as the Myrran playfully slipped a finger between her legs and dashed away. “No fair!”

“It’s fair,” Jasmine laughed. “The animals can do anything they want!”

“That’s why Jasmine’s worth three points,” Renna laughed as she cornered Zinnia and attached the lead.

“Ha!” Iris said triumphantly. “I wasn’t the first one captured this time!”

Cassia watched out of the corner of her eye as Renna guided Zinnia to the bed. She realized that she forgot to ask what they feed her but her question was answered quickly as Renna laid back and the dog-eared woman buried her sloppy tongue between the elf’s legs.

“Distracted?” Jasmine teased while smacking Cassia’s ass and dashing off. “This is going to be too easy.”

“Mmhm,” Zinnia laughed as Renna’s body writhed in ecstasy. “My turn.”

“Not even close,” Renna teased as the Durra wiped Renna’s wet juices from her mouth. “You’ll need to work a lot harder to get me to forfeit.”

Cassia could feel Jasmine sneaking up behind her as Iris playfully bounced in front of her as a distraction. She was almost insulted that they thought so little of her. Sure, it’d been some time since she’d played with others, but it wasn’t her first time.

“Huh?” Jasmine fell forward as Cassia moved out of the way to avoid a smack. In one fluid motion Cassia caught the Myrran as she fell and attached the lead to the collar. “No fair! No fair! You used an ability!”

“I did not,” Cassia said smugly. “Your heartbeat and breathing are just loud.”

“Ha!” Iris pointed and laughed while dancing around triumphantly. “Even you’re caught before me. I’m the best! I’m the best!”

“Shut up,” Jasmine said irritably as Cassia led the cat to the bed. “I’ll show you who’s the best! I’m going to make her forfeit right now!”

Cassia was surprisingly nervous as she slid into the bed. She glanced over at Renna and the petite elf had her two middle fingers hooked between Zinnia’s legs and was rapidly penetrating her with them. Renna’s firm athletic ass was facing them as she simultaneously sucked on Zinnia’s large breasts and fingered her soaked pussy. Cassia knew watching it was a bad idea but she couldn’t help it, just like she couldn’t help but think of tasting Renna’s pussy for herself. It’s been so long since she enjoyed the sensation of her tongue sliding against another woman’s soft lips.

“Hey,” Jasmine crossed her arms and glared at Cassia as the busty elf leaned back in the bed. “You’re supposed to be feeding and breeding me.”

“Right,” Cassia forced a smile in hopes of covering up her nervousness. “Do your worst.”

“I like arrogant girls,” Jasmine’s pupils widened as a wicked grin formed. “They’re the most fun to break.”

“What are you doing?” Cassia asked as Jasmine lifted her leg and began kissing her calf. The cat-eared woman’s soft warm tongue pressed against Cassia’s succulent flesh as she moved down her leg. “You’re supposed to…”

“Don’t judge people for how they eat,” Jasmine said smugly. “And just so you know we can eat as long as we want.”

“What?” Cassia asked nervously. “But Zinnia…”

“Zinnia just wanted her turn,” Jasmine said with a predatory tone. “As for you, I intend to give you exactly what you want until you beg for more.”

“Don’t you dare give in,” Renna’s furious glare sent a shiver down Cassia’s spine, or maybe it was Jasmine’s soft tongue moving closer to her dew-covered pink lips. The green-eyed elf wiggled her finger as the plump Durra’s body arched. “I’m not going to lose again!”

“Renna!” Zinnia moaned as the elf rapidly wiggled her fingers while the curvy Durra’s juices splattered against her palm. “You’re too good at this!”

“Two points!” Renna shouted triumphantly while pulling her fingers from the panting woman’s pussy. The playful elf unhooks the leash from her collar and slapped her ass, sending her back out into the field.

“Pay attention,” Jasmine growled as her soft tongue brushed up against the edge of Cassia’s sexy pussy. The cat-eared woman’s hot breath brushed against Cassia’s lips as the prophet waited in anticipation.

“Eight, nine, ten!” Renna said while jumping out of bed to resume chasing after Zinnia.

“Ohhh,” Cassia moaned as Jasmine ran her tongue along the center of her pussy. She stopped at the clit, pressing her wide tongue against it as she wiggled her head. Cassia reflexively lifted her hips as the cat-eared woman lapped at her. A woman nearly a hundred years younger than her was licking at her clit, just the thought of it was making her heart pound more vigorously. “Are you…are you done?”

“You’ll know when I’m done,” Jasmine grinned wickedly as she paid special attention to Cassia’s bulb.

“I’m allowed to cum, right?” Cassia asked Renna. “Right?”

“Obviously!” Renna said as Iris launched herself away from the nimble thief. “Just don’t surrender!”

“Good, good!” Cassia nodded as she felt an orgasm welling up inside of her as Jasmine continued licking. The sensation built as her breathing intensified. She was going to cum in the beautiful Myrran’s mouth and nothing was going to stop her.

“Not yet,” Jasmine said, pulling away playfully and turning her attention back to her thighs. “If you want it, you’re going to have to beg!”

“No,” Cassia whined while rolling her hips toward Jasmine’s mouth. She wanted to feel the Myrran’s soft tongue on her precious pearl again, she was so close. It wasn’t fair, she needed it so badly, it’d been so long. “I’m not going to give.”

“Gotcha!” Renna said while dragging Zinnia into bed a second time.

“Ha!” Iris danced proudly. “One point by tail!”

“Like it matters,” Jasmine said cockily. “I’m going to win this for us now.”

“I’m not going to…” Cassia gasped as Jasmine plunged her silky tongue between her glistening lips. She was being penetrated by something other than her own fingers. Another woman was tasting her, every bit of her as she slithered her tongue around her sensitive pussy. “I’m not…”

“You don’t have to,” Jasmine grinned as she pulled out her tongue. “I can do this all night. You’re so tasty and I’m so hungry.” Her orange tail flailed excitedly as she thrust her tongue back inside of Cassia’s twitching hole.

“Hey!” Renna squealed as Zinnia began licking her asshole. “No fair! You’re supposed to eat…”

“I can eat what I want,” Zinnia said while shoving Renna’s legs back as she buried her face in her ass. “Or you can surrender.”

“Never!” Renna growled as Zinnia lapped vigoriously.

“H-h-h-h,” Cassia shuddered as she watched Zinnia licking the young elf’s asshole. It was such a filthy degenerate thing to do and she was doing it so shamelessly. And then Cassia realized that her own tongue was unconsciously following along, mimicking the motion.

“Does that excite you?” Jasmine grinned while eating Cassia’s pussy. “What part of it? Do you want to get licked there or do you want to be the one doing the licking?”

“H-huh?” Cassia tried to close her legs but Jasmine shoved them apart. She realized that she was thinking about licking the ass, not getting hers licked. The thought of debasing herself, a prophet running her tongue along a young elf’s ass, it excited her. “I’m not…”

“Yeah,” Jasmine’s eyes dilated and she smacked Cassia’s inner thigh. “I know that look. That’s the same look that cute little bunnies get.” Jasmine slapped her thigh again while pulling on one of her pink lips with her teeth. “Beg for it you bitch. Beg to lick my ass.”

“I’m not…” Cassia bit her lip as she felt a more powerful force than before building inside of herself. She couldn’t take it. She didn’t just want to cum she needed to. He body was writhing like a snake as she laid in the bed. “I can’t…”

“Just surrender,” Jasmine smacked her thighs again. “It’s only a game. Give up so I can make you feel so good.”

“Don’t you dare,” Renna moaned as Zinnia licked her ass.

“Goddess,” Cassia moaned as the wicked Myrran pulled back from her clit and began smacking her thighs. She couldn’t cum without the stimulation on her clit but each powerful slap caused the heat inside of her to intensify. “Pl…”

“No, no, no,” Renna whimpered. “I don’t want to lose again!”

“I give!” Cassia squealed as Jasmine smiled victoriously. “Please let me cum!”

“Ha!” Jasmine laughed while burying her face between Cassia’s legs. The eager catgirl lapped vigorously on Cassia’s pink button until the curvy elf couldn’t take it any longer and came.

“Yes!” Cassia whined as her legs clamped shut on the Myrran’s head. A series of small explosions erupted inside of her as her juices dripped down Jasmine’s chin. Even after she released the young Myrran’s head she could still feel the aftershocks.

“You old cow!” Renna growled while pinching Cassia’s large nipple. The emerald-eyed elf glared furiously as the beastgirls celebrated their victory. “I’ve never lost that fast! We only scored two points!”

“I wasn’t caught once!” Iris said while hopping. “Does this mean I can be worth three points?”

“No! I’m the one that won the game for us!” Jasmine said excitedly. “Now for the prize!”

“Yeah!” Zinnia’s tail wagged excitedly. “Prize time!”

“Prize time?” Cassia glanced at the furious elf beside her.

“It’s your fault we lost!” Renna growled. “So, you’re taking two of them!”

“Taking two?” Cassia watched as the beast women bent over the edge of the bed. Jasmine and Zinnia’s tails were wagging excitedly and even Iris’ fluffy bunny twitched. “What are we…”

“You’re the one that got all excited about licking butts,” Renna smirked. “Well guess what the loser has to do?”

“I didn’t agree…”

“Are you going to welch?” Renna’s eyes narrowed as she leaned down and pinched Cassia’s nipple. “You’re going to lick their asses you old whore because you’re the reason we lost. Are we clear?”

“You can’t…”

“Don’t argue with me,” Renna smirked as she pulled on Cassia’s large breast. The elf quickly moved to straddle her face and spread her pussy for the violet-eyed elf. “Tongue, now.”

“Renna,” Jasmine laughed. “We’re waiting!”

“We’ll be there in a second,” Renna snapped. “I want to show this ancient crone her place. Now, tongue.”

“You can’t…Renna!” Cassia moaned as the elf smacked her large breast. She didn’t want to admit it but being dominated by the young woman had her heart racing. Cassia could easily throw her off and lock her in a barrier if she wanted. She could paralyze her. She could do any assortment of things. But as she stared at the tan elf’s dominating eyes, she just wanted to obey. “I’m not…”

“You lost us the game,” Renna said harshly. “Now I have three losses because of you. Now, lick.”

“She’s supposed to be licking our butts,” Zinnia said while staring jealously.

“She will,” Renna growled as Cassia stuck out her tongue and began licking Renna’s pink clit. “Isn’t that right you dried up old whore?” Renna dropped down and slid her pussy up and down Cassia’s face. “I asked you a question. Now, say what you’re going to do.”

“I’ll lick their butts,” Cassia panted as Renna looked down on her like a furious goddess.

“Prove it,” Renna said while sliding upward on Cassia’s face.

Cassia panted as she looked up to see Renna’s perfect pink lips at eye level and her porcelain asshole hovering over her mouth. The elf reached back and spread her tight athletic ass to give Cassia a better view of her objective. The young elf’s ass was still glistening with Zinnia’s saliva as she waited for Cassia to act.

“I said prove it,” Renna said authoritatively sending a shiver through Cassia. She slowly stuck out her tongue and prodded Renna’s damp asshole. Her body trembled as she gently licked the slender elf’s naughty hole. “That’s a good slut. I could tell you’d be obedient after you moaned when I pinched your chest.”

Renna climbed off Cassia and grabbed her by the neck, pulling her off the bed and leading her to the trio. She pointed at Zinnia’s plump ass and shoved Cassia down on her knees.

“Renna,” Jasmine said while teasingly wiggling her ass. “I’m waiting.”

“I’m coming!” Renna snapped while aggressively shoving Cassia’s face in Zinna.

“Goddess,” Cassia moaned as she felt the plump cheeks of Zinnia’s ass against her face. The curvy Durra wiggled excitedly, pressing her ass backward to force it against Cassia. She had no choice but to lick, her tongue sliding between the plump Durra’s tan cheeks. She glanced to the side to see Renna hungrily lick Jasmin’s asshole as the cat-eared woman’s orange tail flailed.

“Who’s the best?” Jasmine asked teasingly while wiggling her ass in Renna’s face. “And who’s just a little ass cleaner?”

Cassia’s panted as she watched Jasmine humiliate the green-haired elf, silently wishing it was her. She wasn’t sure why but various thoughts crept into her mind. She wanted to feel weak and helpless. After centuries of crushing her opponents, the thought of being dominated excited her like nothing else.

“You’re the best,” Renna said while licking Jasmine’s ass. “And I’m just a little ass cleaner.”

“Yes,” Jasmine giggled while shaking her ass. The slender Myrran pushed Renna away and turned around to kiss the beautiful elf. “Was that so hard?”

“Shut up,” Renna said while aggressively pushing Jasmine against the bed. “It was unfair! I didn’t expect a useless partner! If anybody’s just a little ass cleaner it’s her!” Renna grabbed the back of Cassia’s neck and pushed her into Zinnia’s plump ass. “Isn’t that right?”

“Yes,” Cassia panted as she ran her tongue along Zinnia’s ass.

“Yes what?” Renna said commandingly.

“Yes mistress,” Cassia said reflexively.

“No,” Renna growled. “That comes later. What are you?”

“Huh?” Cassia looked at the petite elf looking down on her. She wondered if she could say it. “I’m…I’m just a little ass cleaner.”

“Good slut,” Renna said while reaching toward Jasmine’s neck.

“Hey,” Jasmine backed off worriedly but quickly realized that Renna was just going after her collar. “Just ask.”

“Here,” Renna wrapped the collar around Cassia’s neck and pulled back like she intended to choke her with it as she attached it. “There, that suits you. Aren’t you going to thank me?”

“Th-thank you,” Cassia panted as Renna attached the lead to the collar. “What are…”

“You can’t spend all day on Zinnia, ass cleaner,” Renna smirked as she guided Cassia to Iris’ waiting ass. Her beautiful white puff ball tail wiggled eagerly as she waited for Cassia.

“You’re so aggressive when you’re drunk,” Jasmine laughed while playing with herself. “It’s so sexy.”

“Lick,” Renna said while shoving Cassia’s face into Iris’ ass. Cassia eagerly lapped at the pale Florenne’s porcelain asshole. Gradually, she found herself becoming more accustomed to it and expanding her area of focus. She lapped at Iris’s dripping pink pussy before making her way back to her asshole, worshipping the Florenne’s beauty.

“That’s it,” Renna said while crouching down next to her to get a closer look. The drunk elf reached out and grabbed Cassia’s breast, roughly pulling on her sensitive tit as she continued to lick the rabbit-eared woman. “Lick that beast girl asshole you fat titted whore. Did you think you could seduce my herald with these stupid udders? He has young beautiful elf like me, he doesn’t need an old whore like you that’s only good for licking asses.”

“Fuck,” Jasmine panted as she aggressively fingered herself. “Um, if you want Renna to stop…the safe word is Berry.”

“This old bitch isn’t going to use a safe word,” Renna grinned. “She loves it. Don’t you?”

“Yes,” Cassia panted out as she gradually lost herself. She knew she could stop it at any moment but she couldn’t help but keep going as the sexy athletic elf mocked her. For some reason, being humiliated by a younger prettier elf made her stress wash away. In that moment, she didn’t have to worry about converting followers, fighting assassins, or waging wars. She only had to worry about pleasing her emerald-eyed mistress. “Yes mistress.”

“That’s a good girl,” Renna said while licking her ear. “You’re so sexy when you’re on your knees you whore.” Renna tugged playfully on Cassia’s collar. “Thank your mistress for the compliment.”

“Thank you mistress,” Cassia panted as she licked Iris’ ass. Cassia’s warm juices were dripping down her legs onto the floor uncontrollably. Every insult, every pull, every shove, all of it just made her heart throb.

“I’m going to train you so well,” Renna laughed in her ear. “You know what, let’s start now. Get on the fucking bed.”

Cassia moaned as Renna pulled on her leash, lifting and guiding her to the bed. The large chested elf crawled into the bed as Zinnia and Iris moved to make room. All three beast women stared at Renna shoved Cassia’s face into the mattress.

“Look at this fat ass of yours,” Renna smacked Cassia’s plump backside. “It’s almost as big as Zinnia’s you used-up whore. You thought you could seduce my herald with this?” Renna spanked her ass several times. “He has a young beautiful ass like mine. What could he possibly want with yours?”

“Mistress…” Cassia moaned as Renna shoved her fingers into Cassia’s drenched channel as the others looked on.

“So slippery,” Renna chuckled. “I guess you’re not all dried up. You’re a soggy old hag. Aren’t you?”

“Yes,” Cassia agreed as the elf slipped an additional finger into her. She was being so forceful that Cassia couldn’t take it anymore and squirted all over the elf’s hand.

“You useless bitch,” Renna growled. Stinging pain shot through Cassia’s backside as the petite elf slapped her ass multiple times. “You don’t cum until I say so!” Renna shoved her soaked fingers in Cassia’s mouth. “Now clean up your mess.”

“Fuck,” Jasmine growled while staring at Iris, the white-haired Florenne was practically drooling at the sight of Cassia being dominated. Jasmine quickly grabbed Iris and shoved her over. “You like watching that? You want that?”

“Jas-mine!” Iris squealed as the cat-eared woman pinned her down while fingering her dripping cunt.

“Zinnia,” Jasmine said authoritatively. “Make this stupid bunny be quiet.”

“Um,” Zinnia leaned down and kissed Iris’ cheek as the bunny-eared woman whined. “Are you okay? Do you want me to?”

“Uh-huh,” Iris whimpered as Zinnia spread her legs in front of Iris and forced the white-haired woman’s leg between her thighs. “Mmmff!”

“That’s more like it,” Jasmine growled excitedly as she tormented her prey.

“What are you looking at whore?” Renna asked while grabbing Cassia’s hair. “I’m your mistress, understand?”

“Yes!” Cassia cried out as Renna hooked for fingers into her drenched cunt and began tugging on it. “You’re my mistress!”

“That’s right,” Renna growled. “And your mistress gets all of you.” Renna slipped her thumb inside of Cassia’s dripping cunt and began pushing her entire hand in. Cassia felt herself being stretched as Renna’s drenched knuckles pressed against her slick walls, stretching them as she went. “Every inch of you is mine.”

“Goddess,” Cassia moaned as Renna’s entire hand made it inside of her pussy. The aggressive elf quickly began fucking her with her slender hand. “Goddess, goddess, goddess…”

“No,” Renna growled while pulling on Cassia’s leash. “Mistress.”

“Mistress!” Cassia cried out as Renna fisted her fragile pink cunt. “Please, please let me cum.”

“You want to cum?” Renna laughed. “Then promise to be my little slut from now on. I want to hear you say it. Promise to be mistress Renna’s exclusive little slut.”

“I’ll be your little slut,” Cassia panted. “I promise to be mistress Renna’s exclusive little slut!”

“Good girl,” Renna giggled while fist fucking Cassia. “Now you can cum for your mistress. You have five seconds or else you don’t get to at all. Four, three...”

“Mistress!” Cassia squealed loudly as her pussy clamped down on Renna’s wrist. Her fluids burst from her like they were breaking through a damn, pouring out onto the mattress and her mistress’ hand. She collapsed on the bed and started panting as she felt Renna pull her hand from her gaping hole.

“That was too much,” Cassia whimpered. “Too…”

“Quiet,” Renna said while moving in front of Cassia. The petite elf stroked Cassia’s hair gently while spreading her legs for satisfied prophet. The elf shifted pillows and took the best spot on the bed while shoving Cassia down. “Clean me up until I fall asleep.”

“Mmmffmm!” Iris gasped for air as Zinnia and Jasmine continued to torment her.

“Are we all sleeping here tonight?” Zinnia asked excitedly. “In the nice bed?”

“Of course,” Renna said while pressing Cassia’s face into her drenched pussy. “While Lysandra’s away this is my room! Isn’t that right Cassia?”

“Yes mistress,” Cassia said while obediently licking the elf’s pussy.

“Mmm,” Renna smiled as she laid back. “You’re going to be so much fun.” Renna laughed. “This will teach that old hag for stealing Herald Frost from me.”

“What?” Cassia tried to lift her head only to feel Renna’s hand pushing her back down.

“Keep going,” Renna yawned as Cassia continued licking until they both fell asleep.

In the morning Cassia felt both overwhelming shame and excitement for what she’d done the night before. Renna was in her twenties, much too young for her, but the way she treated her excited Cassia more than fighting hordes of assassins.

She rolled to climb out of bed and felt a tug against her neck. She realized she was still wearing the collar from the night before and moved to take it off but felt another tug.

“No,” Renna growled.

“Excuse me?” Cassia said while turning to stare at the green-haired vixen. The three beast women were curled up in a pile on the opposite side of Renna as the elf laid in the center of the bed holding the leash. “I’m going to take a bath.”

“And I said no,” Renna said coldly as Cassia’s heart thumped. The elf gently tugged on her leash. “I want to cuddle.”

“You want to cuddle?” Cassia scoffed.

“Yes,” Renna opened her eyes and smiled playfully. “I want to cuddle with my girlfriend.”

“You’re girlfriend?” Cassia smiled. “Very funny but…”

“You’re my girlfriend now,” Renna said while tugging on her leash again.

“Why?” Cassia said recalling Renna’s words the night before. “Because you want to upset Lysandra?”

“Yes,” Renna said to Cassia’s surprise. She expected the young elf to deny it. “But there are other reasons too.”

“And what might those be?” Cassia asked.

“It’s embarrassing,” Renna blushed and closed her eyes. “Just be my girlfriend.”

“It’s embarrassing?” Cassia glared at the young elf. “After everything I did last night…”

“I think you’re pretty,” Renna answered.

“Because you think I’m pretty?” Cassia said skeptically. “Why would that be embarrassing.”

“Because you look just like Lysandra,” Jasmine laughed. “And Lysandra might as well be her mother.”

“She’s a bossy old hag,” Renna growled while tugging on Cassia’s leash. “Now are you going to come back to bed or not?”

“I suppose,” Cassia answered while crawling in bed. “I was getting lonely by myself.”

“Now you have me,” Renna said while wrapping her arms around her. “Just so you know, I expect my girlfriends to wake me up by licking me.”

“I expect mine to do the same thing,” Cassia smirked.

CHAPTER 25

Frost spent most of his week preparing to stand in front of the council and worked with Brynn to learn the finer points of Ziran law. Fortunately, it seemed to be simpler version of what he was used to making it pretty straightforward. He was also checking in daily with Lysandra to make sure she was comfortable at the keep.

He told Lysandra to view it as a vacation, relaxing in the comfort of a nice chamber, ordering room service, drinking fine wines, and reading books.

Frost also stopped by Madam Gardenia’s and asked the lovely fox-eared woman to check on Lysandra while he was away since Brynn was pre-occupied with sifting through the information about the nobles that Commander Grey and Hestia gathered.

Fiora reluctantly agreed to Madam Gardenia’s visits to the keep despite it reflecting poorly on her with the nobles Since she had agreed to treat Lysandra like a visiting queen, denying her visitors, even demihuman ones, would be breaking her word.

When he finally left Blackwater, Frost felt good about leaving Lysandra in Fiora’s care.

Frost’s first stop on the way back to Pluma was Filan.

He had agreed to assemble a party that could potentially kill Cassia if necessary, although he had no intention of killing her. There were only a few people in his territory that were high enough level to do that.

Sir Isaac and Sir Adamus were the acting governors of Filan and were both level fifty making them some of the highest levels in his territory. Sir Isaac was a spellblade, a type of fighter spellcaster hybrid that would serve as an effective damage dealer. As for Sir Adamus, he was a holy knight and a skilled tank.

Frost assigned the two men as governors of Filan and they did a surprisingly good job, albeit their governing style was somewhat unconventional.

Since the two men only had military experience, they basically ran the village like a military, but not a well-run one. It would be more accurate to say the men ran the village like a military unit on leave for the weekend.

“Herald Frost!” Sir Adamus yelled excitedly as Frost rode into the village. Multiple casks were set out and the villagers appeared to be having a festival. “To what do we owe the pleasure?”

“First off,” Frost gestured at the villagers drinking and dancing with the various casually dressed knights. “What’s going on?”

“Harvest celebration,” Sir Isaac volunteered as he approached in dingy farmers clothes. “We told all of the men that if we finished everything this week, we’d have a celebration. They finished in half the expected time.”

“Speaking of,” Sir Adamus scratched his neck. “About our budget.”

There was the kicker. They very much ran their organization like soldiers on leave, spending their entire paycheck on alcohol, food, and women. The men had already blown through their budget twice in a month.

“You know the rule,” Frost smiled. “You get your operation budget and if you need more…”

“We have to work for it,” Sir Isaac groaned. “I don’t suppose that’s why you’re here?”

“In fact, it is.” Frost chuckled.

He explained the situation to the men, starting with needing their attendance at the trial of Calamity Cassia. The men weren’t thrilled about the idea of escorting Cassia but they were even less thrilled about returning to Blackwater given their wanted status.

“You’ll be returning as members of Pluma’s delegation,” Frost said. “Fiora assured me that you wouldn’t be arrested.”

“I suppose that’s fine then,” Sir Adamus said. “Anything else?”

“Right,” Frost explained the situation with the monsters as well as his policy on demihumans wishing to enter his territory.

“Oh,” Sir Isaac laughed and pointed toward the far side of the village. “We already took care of that.”

“Took care of that?” Frost asked curiously. “What do you mean?”

“Don’t give us a look like that,” Sir Adamus waived for Frost to follow him. “We didn’t hurt them. We’re not fucking idiots.”

“Although Sir Kiss Ass might be the exception,” Sir Isaac yelled at a flustered Sir Drake. “Isn’t that right Sir Kiss Ass?”

“Go fuck yourself Isaac,” the irritated knight said as he returned to flirting with a very interested peasant woman.

“He wanted to treat them like spies,” Sir Adamus said as they turned a corner to see a group of Durra men and women building a house. “We told them they could head to the village if they wanted but they were also welcome here as well. We always need more help with the farm work and Durra are pretty strong.”

“Hey Razar!” Sir Isaac shouted while gesturing at Frost. “This is Herald Frost!”

“Herald Frost!” several excited Durra jumped up and down as they rushed over to greet him. “Thank you for welcoming us into your territory!”

“It means a lot to us,” a massive brown dog-eared man nodded politely at him. All of the men were built like giant pro-wrestler’s while the women all looked extraordinarily lascivious. It was uncanny to Frost that no matter what they wore, Durra women just looked like they were about to produce an adult film. “Thank you!”

“You’re welcome,” Frost nodded. “And the villagers are fine with this?”

“They seem to be,” Sir Adamus shrugged. “Your elves visited here for years without issue and then there was the incident with the doctor who poisoned the villagers. They seem to all be pretty welcoming of demihumans.”

“Good,” Frost said while turning toward the large Durra named Razar. “You’re also welcome to visit Pluma forest if you want. And do you have any children?”

“Only three,” Razar said while pointing at a small group of dog-eared children. “They belong to Millie.”

“Okay,” Frost nodded while looking at the eight Durra surrounding him. “Is Millie around?”

“I’m Millie,” a woman with one red ear and one white ear said while nervously raising her hand. “Is there something wrong?”

“No,” Frost answered. “We’re building a school in Pluma and if you’d like your children are welcome.” Frost paused and looked back at the human villagers running around and celebrating. “Ah, dammit,” Frost turned to Adamus and Isaac. “Make sure the humans know as well. If they want to send their children to the school it’s fine.”

“Whoa,” Sir Isaac laughed. “Um, okay. You know most of them are just farmers and can’t even read and…”

“That’s the problem I’m looking to solve,” Frost said.

“Do you mean it Herald Frost?” Millie asked as her tail wagged back and forth. “My children can go to your academy?”

“I wouldn’t call it an academy yet,” Frost chuckled. “But yeah. Um, shit. I’ll have to talk to Des to figure out some type of transportation system and we really need to get the roads built. Anyway, I’m in a hurry and have to talk to Slakka and Chasa yet in Linna.”

“Alright,” Sir Adamus nodded. “We’ll be ready to join you the next time you pass through Frost.”

“Assuming you pay us,” Sir Isaac said.

“That’s fine,” Frost waived by to the small group of Durra and smiled as he left.

Sir Isaac and Sir Adamus were horribly ineffective governors when it came to budgeting, they were probably his favorites. Although he probably needed to find them a treasurer.

It didn’t take long to reach Linna village from Filan and thanks to the information provided by the scouts on their canopy village, Slakka and Chasa were waiting to greet him. The two large Arachne smiled and bowed politely as he entered their village.

The homes in the village were similar in design to those in Pluma but on average much larger. They were also built much closer together in a sort of circular pattern that grew out from the center of the village. Although the center of the village had changed dramatically from his last visit and he quickly realized he should probably visit more often.

“What the hell have you been up to?” Frost laughed as he saw an enormous pit in the middle of the village at least a hundred feet wide with a spiraling stone staircase. Spiderwebs connected to the sides of the stairways creating a sort of spiral net that went all the way to the bottom. “What is this?”

“The undercity,” Chasa said nonchalantly. “Lady Brynn said that we could build…”

“How big is the undercity?” Frost asked while staring at the dark ominous pit. Tunnels covered the sides of the pit and he wondered how far they reached.

“Hm,” Slakka and Chasa looked at each other as if neither knew how to answer the question. “Do you mean vertically or horizontally or both?” Slakka finally asked.

“I mean,” Frost sighed. “I suppose I should ask why you need so much room.”

“To store food mostly,” Chasa said.

“And build nests,” Slakka added.

“And escape routes,” Chasa pointed toward Pluma. “Like the one that leads to your village.”

“Got it,” Frost sighed as he stared at the massive tunnel system. “I’m going to expect you to provide me with a map of this system and how it relates to the forest. Understood?”

“Very well,” Slakka nodded as she glanced around at the various Arachne males staring at Frost. “What do you want now?”

“Um,” one of the males stepped forward and bowed his head. “Thank you very much Herald Frost!”

“Thank you very much Herald Frost!” the other males repeated.

“Huh?” Frost looked around at the red-faced males bowing. “What’s going on?”

“We informed them of your suggestions,” Chasa answered. “The men and women have been much happier since and they are very appreciative. The rule is of course that our consorts cannot mate with other women but for those not chosen as consorts, their quality of life has improved greatly.”

“As has their productivity,” Slakka glared at the men as they scurried off. “They’ve also become far more obedient.”

“Yes,” Chasa nodded. “It’s been very helpful in governing. Whenever one of them begin to get irritable we send them to the mating cabin.”

“Mating cabin?” Frost asked as the redheaded women pointed to a large barn-like building at the outer edge of the village. In the distance he noticed a small group of males and females entering. “And they all go there?”

“Yes,” Chasa answered. “It ensures there are plenty of males and females to satisfy each other’s needs.”

“You made an orgy hut,” Frost stifled his laughter while staring at the building. “That was unexpected.”

“Would you like to experience it Herald Frost?” Slakka grabbed his arm as Witch attempted to back away from the large crimson Arachne. “I would be happy to accompany you personally. Many of the women of the village would be thrilled to rub against you while the men penetrate them. I’m sure you’d enjoy it thoroughly.”

“I’ll have to take a raincheck,” Frost chuckled. “I came here on business.”

Frost explained the situation with Cassia and that he needed an additional damage dealer as well as a spellcaster, preferably Slakka if possible.

“Absolutely not,” Slakka said sternly. “If something were to happen to us the village would be without their matriarchs. We cannot risk that for…”

“I’ll give you each an Ayoyou,” Frost interrupted.

“We’d be honored,” Slakka said while bowing her head. “I wish for the date Ayoyou.”

“You know the date Ayoyou doesn’t necessarily end in sex, right?” Frost smirked. “It’s just for a romantic date. And the spend the night doesn’t say anything about sex either. It could just be cuddling. Are you sure…”

“I wish for the romantic date Ayoyou,” Slakka’s eyes narrowed. “I will seduce you on the date and you will see that I’m a more suitable queen than Lishri.”

“Slakka,” Chasa sighed while shaking her head. “I’ll also take the date Ayoyou. Its trade value is immense.”

“Good,” Frost smiled. “Do you mind meeting me in Filan? I plan on passing through with Cassia on my way back to Blackwater.”

“Very well,” the women bowed politely.

Frost left Linna and headed back home to pick up Cassia.

When he arrived in Pluma he was somewhat surprised to see Cassia outside playing with the elf children along with Renna and the beastgirls as Shael looked on like a security guard. The large chested prophet ran around avoiding the children’s spells while Renna, Jasmine, Iris, and Zinnia attempted to slow her down.

“Looks like she’s fitting in,” Frost said as he approached Shael.

“Renna convinced me to allow her to play with the children,” Shael said. “It’s not like she would ever hurt anybody in the village.”

“You still seem to be watching her pretty closely,” Frost smiled. “Don’t you trust her?”

“I trust her not to harm any of us,” Shael said. “But what she did hurt Lysandra and I’m not going to forgive her for that. Cassia cared for us and protected us and then she ran off and left us. You weren’t there to see Lysandra crying every night about how much she missed her mother. If you were, you probably would have killed Cassia on the spot.”

“In her defense she did have an army trying to kill her,” Frost said.

“Because she murdered thousands of innocent villagers,” Shael replied.

“Because Zira wasn’t doing anything to protect the followers of Shalia,” Frost countered.

“That doesn’t make it okay,” Shael said irritably. “You shouldn’t murder innocent people.”

“Yeah,” Frost hopped off Witch and wrapped his arms around Shael. He leaned in and gave her a peck on the cheek. “I think you’re really great for letting her play with the children.”

“Now you’re just trying to make me feel better about this,” Shael blushed. “I expect her to be punished for what she’s done.”

“I plan on it,” Frost smiled.

“Not spankings!” Shael said. “Real punishment.”

“I know,” Frost smirked. “She’s going to spend the rest of her life serving the people of Pluma to make up for what she’s done. If she has an issue with it, she can leave.”

“That’s a good start,” Shael cracked a smile.

“But for now,” Frost waived at the elves in the field. “She needs to pack up because we have trial to get to.”

CHAPTER 26

Frost arrived in Blackwater the afternoon of the trial with Cassia and his entourage consisting of two Arachne Queens and two former knights of Zira. Renna, Ena, and Fayeth were fairly irritated that he made them stay in Pluma but he wasn’t budging no matter how much they wanted to come with.

The tension in Blackwater was noticeable as he looked around at the nervous city dwellers. He thought it might have been the two large Arachne but he quickly realized their anxiety had nothing to do with him.

Frost scanned a pair of armed guards walking from house to house interviewing people. Both of them were over level fifty. One spellblade and one holy knight.

“Guys,” Frost looked at Sir Adamus and Sir Isaac. “What’s going on?”

“You have a member of the high council in the city,” Sir Adamus said. “That means royal guards. A lot more than a prince gets.”

“I imagine at least a hundred for a member of the high council,” Sir Isaac said. “Hey! Tibby!”

One of the royal guards turned and reluctantly waived. He was a bald man with a tattoo of Zira’s royal crest on his head, which was likely how Isaac identified him.

“Traitor,” Tibby nodded politely at Sir Isaac. “If I wanted to speak to you, I would have.”

“Don’t be like that Tibby,” Sir Isaac smirked. “I just wanted to know how many golems there are.”

“Golems?” Tibby sneered. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“You know,” Adamas laughed and tapped his head. “Because you’re all mindless.”

“Royce,” Tibby turned to his partner and gestured at Adamus and Isaac. “These two are traitors to Zira. Go get the others and we’ll haul them before the council today.”

“Herald Frost?” Chasa stepped forward and banged the base of her massive barbed spear on the brick road. “Should I eliminate these men for threatening your entourage?”

“Are you threatening a guard of…”

“Nobody’s threatening anybody Tibby,” Sir Isaac pointed toward Cassia riding beside Frost. “We’re escorting Calamity Cassia to her trial. So, we’re part of the herald’s entourage which I believe makes us untouchable, isn’t that right?”

“I believe it does,” Sir Adamus nodded. “We’re acting in a diplomatic capacity.”

“If Tibby were to attack us then he’d be interfering with a trial,” Sir Isaac said mockingly.

“I don’t think so Isaac,” Sir Adamus shook his head. “I believe if he were to attack the men escorting a prisoner, he would be attempting to help that prisoner escape.”

“Tibby!” Sir Isaac said feigning shock. “I didn’t know you were a supporter of Calamity Cassia! Guards! Guards! Tibby here said he was going to help Calamity Cassia escape!”

Several of the royal guards turned their heads toward the enraged knight as an officer rushed over. Frost scanned the man and he was a level fifty-seven holy knight and based on the way the others backed away, he was in charge.

“What the fuck are you doing Sir Tibbolt?” the man pointed at Herald Frost. “That man is escorting a prisoner to trial! What the fuck are you thinking interfering with a criminal transport?”

“Yeah,” Sir Adamus nodded. “What the fuck were you thinking Tibby?”

“I’m not taking shit from you two either,” the man gestured angrily at both Adamus and Isaac. “This is the reason you were demoted to babysitting duty and you fucked that up too.”

“That was his fault,” Sir Adamus said while gesturing at Herald Frost. “We can’t help it that he kicked our asses!”

“We did our best sir!” Sir Isaac nodded. “Which is why we were promoted!”

“Promoted?” the irritated old soldier glanced at the grinning knights. “What the fuck are you talking about.”

“We’re governors now,” Sir Adamus said excitedly.

“Governor of Filan,” Sir Isaac nodded. “Good ones too.”

“Fucking,” the man waived for them to head toward the center of the city. “Get the fuck out of my sight.”

A few minutes later they arrived at the great square right outside of the keep where a large wooden stage was set up. Four nobles, four priests, and a sophisticated looking elderly woman who Frost assumed was Fiora’s mother sat in a semicircle near the center of the platform. Brynn, Fiora, Lysandra, and Slade sat in a separate section behind the stage along with several high-ranking nobles.

The main section of the square was blocked off by wooden barricades and easily a hundred royal guards circled the area. Frost was a little unnerved by the ridiculous show of force but according to Sir Isaac and Sir Adamus it wasn’t unusual.

Whenever a high council member traveled it was normally because they were visiting a problematic city. While in the city they would question as many citizens of the city as they could in an attempt to cleanse it of any corruption. There was plenty of corruption in Blackwater.

Frost glanced at the northern edge of the square. A large area was being filled with various peasants, merchants, and thieves. In the middle of the square a pair of nervous merchants trembled before the council. It seemed that a trial was already taking place as a lone prosecutor handed the council a ledger.

“…undeniably was bribing the late prince,” the man said. “And he was foolish enough to record the transactions in the book.”

A royal guard stopped them as they tried to get closer.

“You can’t bring your horses,” the guard said while glaring at the Arachne. “Or your pets.”

“Pets?” Chasa hissed at the small man as several of the royal guards reached for their weapons.

“These two are Queen Chasa and Queen Slakka of Pluma territory,” Frost said while dismounting. “They are escorting Calamity Cassia to stand trial. They will be coming with me or Calamity Cassia won’t be standing trial.”

“Please wait here,” the royal knight walked over to a senior guard who waived them through before rushing toward the stage. The royal knight came back and nodded at the group. “Given the mitigating circumstances it will be allowed.”

“I figured as much,” Frost said as the guards made way for Frost. Everybody kept their distance as Frost, Cassia and others made their way toward the center of the square. Many of the peasants pointed and whispered before running away in fear. As Frost and the others got closer to the stage, they were able to hear the councilmembers more clearly.

“The evidence suggests that payments were made,” the councilwoman said while looking through the book. “Do you have a reasonable explanation for why you would have been paying the prince five thousand rel a month if not as a bribe?”

“If I didn’t pay it, he was going to take away my shop,” the merchant said nervously. “It’s just like I told them. It wasn’t bribery it was…”

“Ooh,” Frost shook his head. “Wrong approach.”

“What do you mean?” Cassia asked calmly. “He seems to be telling the truth.”

“He was essentially paying the prince to keep his shop open,” Frost said. “They’re not going to admit that the prince was extorting merchants so they’ll play off the payment as a bribe.”

“You received special treatment in exchange for the money,” a noble said. “Other shops were closed, yours were not. It was a bribe.”

“I agree,” another noble said.

“It was clearly a bribe and the man seeks to slander the dead prince to escape his punishment,” one of the priests said.

“Yeah,” Frost said quietly while shaking his head. “He needed a better defense. You can’t blame a prince and expect a council of nobles to find you innocent.”

Moments later the merchant was found guilty and hauled off for his punishment. It seemed that he was going to spend time in a Ziran prison which according to Slade was a very unpleasant experience. It was an unfortunate situation, especially since the previous prince probably did extort him.

“No,” the councilwoman stood up and pointed at Frost. “I believe the reason we are here has arrived. Is that correct?”

“That’s right,” Frost said while approaching the center of the square with Cassia and the others. “Cassia is here to stand trial.”

“Hm,” the councilwoman pulled a large book from a bag and flipped to a page. “She does seem to look like Calamity Cassia.”

“Excuse me,” Frost stepped forward. “Could you please not call her that.”

“Pardon?” the woman glanced at Frost as the civilians mumbled amongst each other. “Why not?”

“Because she is called Calamity under the assumption that she is guilty,” Frost answered. “There’s no evidence that she’d done any of the things that she’s accused of.”

“Ridiculous,” one of the priest’s scoffed. “She’s a murderer and you’re telling us…”

“Is making a false accusation a crime in Zira?” Frost asked.

“Yes,” the councilwoman said calmly. “At least it can be. To knowingly accuse a person of status of a crime without evidence is a crime.”

“Is a prophet a person of status?” Frost asked.

“Yes,” the councilwoman answered. “A prophet would be a person of status.”

“Then I believe that priest has committed a crime,” Frost said while pointing at the man. “Unless he has evidence that he would like to present that Cassia has murdered anybody.”

“Priest Wessan?” the councilwoman looked at him with an icy glare. Frost immediately realized what Brynn meant by Fiora’s mother making her uncomfortable. The woman looked at the priest like he as shit on a shoe. “Do you have any evidence of your accusation?”

“Um,” the priest nodded. “Yes! I have books back at the temple…”

“Excuse me,” Frost held up his hand. “Did the person who wrote this book witness or interview anybody who’s witnessed Cassia commit murder?”

“How would I know?” the flustered priest said. “Everybody knows its…”

“Priest Wessan,” the councilwoman’s glare became colder by the second. Every failure seemed to be met with more derision. He couldn’t imagine what it was like for Fiora to be that woman’s daughter. “You’re excused.”

“Excuse me?” Priest Wessan stomped. “For what? For saying what we know?”

“You have conducted yourself in a manner unbefitting an adjudicator of Zira,” the councilwoman said. “You have accused a prophet of murder without any evidence.”

“And about calling her Calamity Cassia?” Frost asked as the priest was escorted off the podium by two knights while another was sent to replace him. “Can we avoid that?”

“I don’t believe that’s necessary Herald Frost,” the woman said while narrowing her eyes. “Sometimes men and women are given nicknames outside of their control. A nickname is not necessarily representative of the truth. A large man is sometimes called tiny and a fat man is sometimes called slim. Cassia is called calamity. While I’ll attempt to avoid using it out of decorum, I will not require any others to do the same.”

“Very well,” Frost smirked. “And as the Herald of Shalia, and her direct superior, I will be speaking on her behalf.”

“Excuse me?” the councilwoman looked at the nobles and priests. “On what grounds?”

“I was under the assumption that Zira permitted a lord to speak on behalf of their vassal,” Frost said. “A prophet is a vassal of their herald. Unless you wish to declare here and now that a prophet is not beholden to a herald. In which case I’ll allow her to speak on her own behalf.”

“Hm,” the councilwoman leaned in and asked the priest’s a question. She didn’t seem to like the answer as she turned her attention back to Frost. “Very well. A prophet is in fact a vassal of a herald and furthermore you’ve personally delivered your vassal to ensure she stands trial. This is acceptable.”

“I can speak for myself,” Cassia grumbled.

“Yeah,” Frost smiled. “But representing yourself is stupid. Besides, I’ve studied with Brynn and I’ve seen a few court dramas.”

“I have no idea what that means,” Cassia said.

“It means trust me,” Frost smirked. “I have a better chance than you here.”

“Herald Frost,” the councilwoman gestured at Cassia. “Your prophet stands accused of mass murder by the kingdom of Zira. What have you to say?”

“Who has accused her?” Frost asked while looking out over the crowd of civilians watching in silence. “The kingdom? Who in the kingdom? Have any of the people here accused her? Any of these royal knights? Any of the priests or nobles on stage?”

“This is ridiculous,” the man serving as prosecutor said. “Her crimes were committed over seventy years ago and she killed all of the witnesses,” the man turned to see the councilwoman glaring at him. “Allegedly.”

“Alleged by who?” Frost laughed while looking around at the peasants and nobles. “Surely you have one person? Or even a first-hand account? Maybe a signed parchment with the signature of a noble from seventy years ago? Surely you have something! You apparently sent guards out to look for her, did you not?”

“Ahem,” the councilwoman held her hand out to receive the documents from the prosecutor. The man silently handed all of his papers and books and the councilwoman appeared more and more irritated. She threw the papers on the ground beside her like they were garbage while holding onto two. “I have testimony from a follower of Shalia given seventy years ago stating that Cassia offered to protect them from plague. I have a second testimony from a human stating that Cassia was present prior to the outbreak in a nearby village. I will allow these two documents to act as the accusations. Both witnesses are deceased so you won’t be available to question them.”

“May I see the documents?” Frost asked holding out his hand.

“Yes,” the councilwoman handed them to the prosecutor who reluctantly delivered them to Frost. He looked over the documents and they were simply short statements about Cassia.

“Councilwoman,” Frost handed the documents back to the prosecutor. “Is Cassia a common name?”

“I don’t understand the relevance of the question,” the councilwoman tapped her chin. “But I would say it’s neither common nor uncommon.”

“The elf’s statement refers to Cassia,” Frost said. “But that’s the only thing in the statement. No reference to her appearance or her role as a prophet.”

“Are you denying that she’s Cassia?” the councilwoman asked.

“No,” Frost said gesturing at Cassia. “She’s the Prophet Cassia. If any of the peasants in attendance were to give testimony about the Prophet of Ziralia, would they call him by his first name?”

“No,” the councilwoman attempted to hide an amused smiled. “They would likely not.”

“So,” Frost pointed to the testimony given by the elf. “It stands to reason that she was not referring to my vassal, the Prophet of Shalia because she would have referenced her title, not her first name. Wouldn’t you agree?”

“I would be inclined to agree,” the councilwoman nodded. “The elf in question is likely referring to a different elf.”

“What?” a noble said. “That’s ridiculous!”

“You believe that a prophet would be called by her first name in official testimony?” the councilwoman asked.

“No,” the noble said. “I would argue that Herald Frost is referred to by several different names such as the dog-fucker, the cat-fucker, the elf-fucker…”

“I understand,” the councilwoman said. “The point?”

“The point is that we understand who it is despite not using his name,” the noble said. “The response of the guards at the time suggests they knew who the elf was referring to. We should take their actions as confirmation that the elf meant the Prophet Cassia.”

“Hm,” the councilwoman nodded. “That’s something to consider. I’ll leave it up to you all to decide.”

“Also,” Frost said. “Even if she did offer protection from the plague, I don’t believe that is a crime otherwise we should be arresting every healer in the country, correct?”

“You are correct that it is not a crime,” the councilwoman agreed. “It is the correlation we’re judging.

“About that correlation,” Frost said. “The testimony is that the Prophet Cassia was present and a plague happened shortly after. Clearly the person who gave the witness statement was present as well, why wasn’t he accused?”

“He was a human,” one of the priests said with disgust. “He wouldn’t…”

“Ah,” Frost shook his head. “A short while ago a human in Filan was found to be poisoning his own people so he could sell them antidotes.”

“Which is basically what Cassia is accused of doing,” the councilwoman grinned. “So, you agree there is motive.”

“Of course, there’s motive,” Frost scoffed. “Just as there is motive for the Herald of Ziralia to cover up the crimes of the nobility but would he do such a thing?”

“Absolutely not?” the councilwoman said bitterly.

“Exactly,” Frost scanned the five corrupt men sitting on the council. All of them were from noble families that benefitted greatly under the rulership of Prince Erik and thanks to the inquiries conducted by Commander Grey and Hestia, he knew exactly how. “So, councilwoman, I can rest assured that if nobles, even those ones beside you, were to commit crimes, you would hold them accountable. Correct?”

“Absolutely,” the councilwoman answered coldly. “But the nobles aren’t on trial.”

“I’m aware,” Frost said while focusing on the first of the noblemen. “We’re discussing motive. For example, if a noble were engaging in the kidnapping and sale of young women and I had not only witnesses and documentation that proved it, what would happen?”

“He would be executed and his family would be stripped of their titles,” the councilwoman answered.

“That’s an obvious one I supposed,” Frost said as the nobleman clearly received the veiled threat. He moved onto the next one. “How about one that’s less obvious. Like a nobleman who through a series of bribes managed to get his son placed as a commander in the military and then used those soldiers as his own private army? That’s not that bad, right?”

“His family would be stripped of their title, the son in the military would be executed, and the father would be imprisoned,” the councilwoman said.

“Not bad,” Frost smirked. “Thank god that no noble would be stupid enough to use a criminal broker who keeps immaculate paperwork for something like that.”

“Herald Frost,” the woman glanced at the nervous nobles beside her. “Why are we discussing this.”

“We’re talking about motive,” Frost reminded her. “I want all of the people here to be absolutely clear that even if somebody has a motive to cover something up, like how the Herald of Ziralia might have motive to cover for nobles, that doesn’t necessarily impugn guilt. Like if a military officer were misappropriating military funs and funneling them to his family through a series of overpriced purchases.”

“I don’t feel that any of this is relevant,” one of the nobles said. “The nobility is not on trial here.”

“I am aware councilor,” the councilwoman’s eyes narrowed as she glared at the nobles beside her. Clearly, she’d caught on to what was happening but had decided not to stop it. “I assume you have one more Herald Frost?”

“I should ask,” Frost nodded. “Are the priests of Ziralia held to the same standards as the nobility?”

“They are,” the councilwoman said. “Why?”

“Well,” Frost grinned while staring at the four nervous men. “I imagine that a priest’s funneling money through a run-down orphanage with no children to avoid paying the Herald of Ziralia would be frowned upon.”

“The corrupt ministry would be investigated and any priest found knowledgeable would lose his hands,” the councilwoman said. “Do you have anything else Herald Frost? Anything about princesses maybe?”

“Nope,” Frost said. “Although there is another noble family if you want to hear about it. But I’m not sure if what it did was illegal or not. Technically, all they did was pass through funds through multiple businesses in order to avoid paying roughly three million rel in taxes. But I’m not sure if it’s illegal.”

“Three million rel?” the councilwoman raised an eyebrow. “Why would you not thing it’s illegal?”

“Because technically it’s just good accounting,” Frost smirked at the last noble who was trembling in his seat. “Then again, I imagine in a king might not see it that way. He might see it as being owed his rel.”

“Yes,” the councilwoman said. “He might.”

“So,” Frost gestured at the massive audience of peasants who seemed unable to follow what was going on. “I assume that everybody heard that nobody has accused Cassia of a crime, there are no witnesses, and even the records brought forward don’t say anybody ever saw her do anything. Maybe we should just vote since we don’t even have an accuser and all of the evidence is two pieces of paper?”

“Yes,” the councilwoman said while glancing around the table. “Who would like to speak first?”

“Innocent,” one of the trembling nobles said. “I believe she’s innocent.”

“I also believe she’s innocent,” another noble agreed.

“Innocent,” the third said.

“Innocent,” a priest nodded as the other three followed.

“Innocent.”

“Innocent,” the last noble muttered out defeatedly.

“Innocent.”

“Innocent.”

“Hm,” the councilwoman said while glaring at the men beside her. “I can’t say I’m surprised. I am unwilling to say that this woman is innocent. So, I will abstain. The council has found the Prophet Cassia innocent. I will not be holding anymore trials for today.”

The councilor pointed at Fiora and then at the keep as she walked off the stage. She seemed relatively displeased but based on her reaction Frost felt she wasn’t displeased with him as much as she was furious about the corrupt nobles.

“Really?” Cassia said as tears flowed down her cheeks. “You mean…I’m…they won’t…”

“Seems that way,” Frost chuckled. “Not let’s get Lysandra and Brynn and celebrate.”

CHAPTER 27

Frost and the others headed to Madam Gardenia’s brothel to celebrate and rented out the entire establishment.

Slakka and Chasa were particularly intrigued by the establishment as various demihuman woman approached them with food, drinks, and flirtation. Slakka seemed particularly vulnerable to the flirtations and quickly began spending the rel Frost had given her.

“You think I’m beautiful?” Slakka asked as one of the elf courtesans slid her a bottle of wine.

“Obviously,” the elf said cheerfully as her three friends nodded in aggrement. “You have that gorgeous red hair and that sexy chest.”

“You’re so sweet,” Slakka said happily while handing them more rel. “Here! This is for being sweet.”

“You have the prettiest smile,” another elf said while running hand up Slakka’s arm. “Your fangs are really white.”

“Thank you!” Slakka said while handing her a rel. “You’re very nice! Herald Frost! I like this place! The women are all very nice!”

Chasa on the other hand found herself following Stone, a young Myrran male with fairly feminine features in charge of food. Every time he turned his back, Chasa was running her fingers through his hair.

“How much do you cost,” she said as she followed him. “The madam said you take off your clothing for rel.”

“I’m cooking tonight,” Stone grumbled. “It’s not ladies’ night.”

“But I have rel,” Chasa insisted. “Herald Frost, I need more rel so I can buy this adorable tiny man!”

“Can you stop calling me adorable and tiny?” Stone sighed.

“Would you prefer cute?” Chasa asked. “Slender? Lovely? Delicate?”

Frost laughed as the massive Arachne followed him to the kitchen and waited outside the door until he came back out. He would have felt bad for Stone but the small Myrran was a bit of a dick. Then again, he was probably the lowest paid worker at the brothel so it made sense.

Brynn and Madam Gardenia were at their own table and seemed to be arguing about the price of the property Brynn wanted to purchase for the embassy in Blackwater.

“I’m not paying twenty thousand rel for a small building in this shitty part of the city,” Brynn argued.

“It’s my best piece of property and the location is perfect!” Madam Gardenia said. “I’ve had offers as high as eighteen thousand rel for that property and that was when the area was much worse.”

“My ass!” Brynn said. “You know what, either you take the twelve I’m offering or I’ll charge you a hundred thousand rel per building in our territory!”

“These are completely separate deals,” Madam Gardenia said. “They have nothing to with each other.”

“Like hell they don’t,” Brynn said. “I’m not paying over twelve for that property!”

“Then you’re not getting the property,” Madam Gardenia said. “I’d be willing to go as low as eighteen because I like you Lady Brynn but not a single rel less!”

“That’s robbery!” Brynn snapped. “I’m not paying you that! I’ll do fourteen!”

“Fifteen and I want one of those Ayoyous I keep hearing about,” Madam Gardenia smiled.

“You want what?” Brynn glared at Madam Gardenia. “Don’t tell me you want to marry my husband too?”

“Marry?” Madam Gardenia laughed. “No, absolutely not. I have no interest in being a kept woman. I’m a small business owner Lady Brynn and very proud to be completely independent. Although I would consider a role as a mistress. They have all the fun anyway. The fancy dates, the nice presents, the vacations.”

“You Kina whore!” Brynn said while lunging over the table as two courtesans held her back.

Isaac and Adamus had enticed a small group of courtesans into gambling with them. They were quite a bit ahead as well until Lady Grey left for the evening, freeing Commander Grey to fleece the men of all of their winnings. The three men continued to drink fairly heavily though.

Frost sat in a booth with Lysandra and Cassia discussing what was going to happen. Cassia was not only a prophet but she was a powerful spellcaster and probably the highest level on the continent. Frost could absolutely find a use for her as long as she would fall in line.

There was also the matter of needing to make up for all of the damage she caused.

“And if I refuse?” Cassia asked while crossing her arms.

“You know what’ll happen,” Frost said coldly. “You will leave my territory.”

“And you think you could make me?” She asked smugly.

“I could,” Lysandra said firmly. “Herald Frost is to be my husband and I will be a good wife to him. If he wishes for you to leave, you will. You will respect him and do as he says, or else I will give you the silent treatment.”

“You wouldn’t do that,” Cassia said worriedly.

“The silent treatment?” Frost said while staring at Lysandra. “You know she left for years.”

“It’s different’ Lysandra said, narrowing her eyes at her mother. “She’ll see me every day and try to hug me but I’ll just keep walking. She’ll say hello but I’ll say nothing back. She’ll be torturing herself with questions about whether or not I love her or if she’s a bad mother until finally…”

“You can’t do that to me,” Cassia said while trembling. “You’re my perfect little girl and I love you more than life itself! You can’t give me the silent treatment!”

“I can and I will,” Lysandra said while crossing her arms. “Do you promise to listen to Herald Frost?”

“But what if…”

“No,” Lysandra said. “Mother. If you want to live in Herald Frost’s territory, you’ll obey him.”

“Fine,” Cassia said reluctantly.

“So,” Frost said. “You’ll accept your punishment for all the things you’ve done?”

“Obviously,” Cassia blushed. “It’s not like I mind being around children. They’re so cute with their big old eyes and their tiny little hands and feet.”

“And hoofs and talons and whatever you call spider legs,” Frost added. “You’ll have an entire academy of children to keep track of. Monsters, demihumans, whatever. I really need to think of something better than monsters though.

“I don’t see why it matters,” Cassia said. “What makes demihuman so great? It’s basically saying we’re less than humans every time you say it.”

“I suppose that’s fair,” Frost chuckled. “Anyway, there may also be other punishments down the road. I expect you to do your best to make up for all the things you’ve done.”

“I still don’t think I did anything bad,” Cassia said sullenly. “The people of Zira beat us, stole from us, threatened us, and…”

“If you went after the people that beat you, stole from you, and threatened you I’d agree,” Frost said. “But you can’t hold all of the people of Zira responsible for a few assholes. Brynn’s brother tried to have me killed but you don’t see holding a grudge against her or even the asshole king for it. Kill the people that try to kill you. That’s it.”

“Fine,” Cassia said as a small smiled formed. “So, Lysandra, when is…” Cassia trailed off and looked around. Frost felt a series of pulses and as he scanned Cassia he noticed several unknown abilities activate. The white-haired prophet raised a hand and seconds later the entire building trembled. “We’re under attack.”

“Obviously,” Frost said as all of the courtesans began screaming. “Madam Gardenia!”

“Everybody to the basement!” Madam Gardenia said as the courtesans began rushing downstairs.

“Frost,” Sir Isaac and Sir Adamus stumbled toward him, both mean clearly drunk and Commander Grey beside him.

“Herald Frost,” Chasa and Slakka pulled their weapons from their satchels and rushed over to him. “What is happening?”

“It’s probably the councilwoman,” Brynn snapped. “That bitch couldn’t let it go.”

“I don’t think so,” Cassia said as Frost felt another pulse fire out. “Their levels are all over the place. They won’t be able to break through my barrier. I believe they’re mercenaries or knights. They’re definitely not royal knights.”

“You’re going to tell me later how you know this,” Frost said while walking toward the door. “Just hold the barrier.”

“I should go outside,” Cassia said. “This is simple. I can hold the barrier and…”

“I don’t need you for this,” Frost said while gesturing at his allies. “Consider it part of your punishment. No more killing for you.”

“Very well,” Cassia smiled as Frost turned to leave the brothel. The elf sat in her booth with Lysandra and reached for her drink. “Just call me if you change your mind.”

Frost and the others stepped outside and looked around as a dozen arrows bounced off the enormously thick barrier in front of him. It was beyond anything he’d ever seen somebody create and the prospect of someday having a big one like Cassia’s excited him. He was immediately happy he didn’t say that statement out loud.

“They look weak,” Chasa said while staring the row of level thirty knights and fighters attempting to shatter the barrier with their weapons.

“Indeed,” Slakka said as her eyes glowed red. She pulled out her ornamental black gauntlets and the runic markings on the metallic gloves lit up. The crimson veins ignited beneath her pale skin causing her to glow in the dark.

“Well,” Sir Isaac chuckled while drawing his blade. “I’m honestly a little disappointed.”

“Me too,” Sir Adamus nodded while pulling out his hammer and shield. “I was really hoping I’d be able to spar against the royal knights.”

“Who are they handsome?” Brynn asked. “What’s going on?”

“Eh,” Frost winced. “You know how I told you how I hate blackmailing people before? This is why. When you blackmail people, you escalate the conflict to kill or be killed. I honestly planned on handing Fiora all of the evidence we accumulated tomorrow so she could have them killed herself. Also as a token of gratitude for not being a total cunt to us.”

“You mean the nobles did this,” Brynn scoffed. “Those stupid fucks. Did they really think these mercenaries could hurt you?”

“I think their target was the brothel,” Frost said. “They wanted to hurt Madam Gardenia. Which is why I’m going to kill them all.”

As Frost approached the inside of the barrier a small hole opened allowing him to exit. The moment he stepped out another barrage of arrows came flying in but glanced off his personal barrier. As the others exited the barrier Frost immediately extended his protection to them.

Brynn began playing her flute, creating smalls wind barriers around each of them that not only repelled blows but acted as a permanent tailwind increasing the ease with which they moved. But what Frost really grew to love about it was the height he got when he jumped.

“Handsome,” Brynn shouted as Frost jumped a good forty feet upward, being carried by her powerful wind.

“Okay,” Frost smiled. “Let’s try this bad boy out.”

As Frost reached the peak of his jump, he cast his barrier bridge spell creating a floating block in the middle of the sky. Much like how thin horizontal barriers didn’t necessarily need a person holding them to keep from falling down, vertical ones didn’t need something under them either. They simply did what they had to do and could be manipulated by the caster depending on their need. Much like the small thin barriers he could create to slice his opponents.

“Showoff!” Brynn shouted as Frost jumped and created a second barrier until he was out of the range of the various ranged magic users.

Chasa and the knights were already engaging the fighters on the ground but Frost and Slakka were the only ranged in the group. Spellweaving was an interesting school of magic because rather than learning runes the caster learned to manipulate life around them. It was extremely powerful but required an extremely disciplined mind and a massive amount of time.

Generally, Frost preferred something a little more practical.

“And here we are,” Frost pulled out his longbow and nocked his first arrow. He picked out one of the mages on the rooftops and loosed his arrow. The arrow screeched like a firecracker as it completely vanished into the soldier’s head and ripped through his body, killing him instantly as blood splattered from both his skull and whatever part of him it came out of. “Maybe a little less power.”

“Holy fuck!” Isaac laughed as the mage came tumbling off the roof. “Adamus did you fucking see that?”

“No!” the holy knight shouted as he held back five fighters. “I’m paying attention to the shit in front of me.”

“Right, right,” Isaac said as his sword charged with electricity. The spellblade dashed forward and sliced through two fighters before striking the shield of a knight, electrifying him. Sir Isaac followed up by decapitating the paralyzed knight. “You saw that though, right?”

“Nope,” Sir Adamus laughed while nodding in the other direction. “I was distracted by that.”

“Shit,” Sir Isaac said as he watched Chasa swing her massive barbed spear and slice two mercenaries in half while two soldier’s dangling from her spear, screaming as the holes in their stomach widened. “Fuck!”

“I shall call you Harlot’s Wrath,” Slakka said while slicing the fine glowing thread in front of her, casting her new original spell.

“Fuck!” a small group of soldiers randomly collapsed while holding their testicles, blood flowing like a faucet as the men slowly bled to death. The men’s screams were the things of nightmares. It was no surprise that several soldiers decided that they weren’t being paid enough and started running.

“No, no, no,” Frost said while nocking another arrow. “I warned Fiora what would happen if anybody assaulted my favorite brothel. Examples must be made.”

Frost’s arrows ripped through the bodies of the fleeing soldiers as if he were firing a fifty cal. It didn’t matter if they were wearing plate armor or leather and it didn’t matter that he was only firing steel tipped arrows. His strength and abilities enhanced his weapon so it might as well have been a sniper rifle. Within a few seconds over a dozen mercenaries were dead.

“Madam’s Massacre!” Slakka announced as another group of soldiers began vomiting up blood as if they’d been poisoned.

Chasa used the side of a nearby wagon to scrape the men off of her spear, taking many of their organs with her.

Frost looked down at Brynn and laughed as the bard rested against the barrier of the brothel and played as if she didn’t have a care in the world. Her supportive magic gave everybody additional speed, power, and maneuverability but she was otherwise useless in a fight and knew it.

A fireball crashed against the barrier he was standing on weakening it slightly. He quickly reinforced it before taking aim at the mage that cast the fireball. The level thirty-four elementalist was just a fish in a barrel and didn’t even realize it.

“Aerial supremacy boys,” Frost said while leaping to a new barrier to get a better angle on some retreating enemies. He’d killed over twenty and virtually all of them had started to flee. “You just can’t beat it.”

“Hey Frost,” Sir Isaac pointed at a unit of royal knights rushing into the area. “What do we do about them?”

“Alright,” Sir Adamus playfully twirled his hammer. “Time to show these boys what they lost.”

“Hold it guys!” Frost said as he saw Fiora and her mother standing at the rear. “Back it up slow.”

“You’re kidding me?” Sir Isaac said while gesturing at the mass of dead men around them. “But…we were just getting started!”

Frost loosed another arrow, killing a mercenary that thought he’d escape unnoticed.

“Let’s just see if they’re here for us or something else,” Frost said while maintaining his altitude. The royal knights cautiously marched forward in a phalanx as they moved down the street toward the brothel. They looked around at the corpses and several of them nearly took a step backward when they saw the ones bleeding out between their legs.

The knights avoided getting near any of Frost’s party while they secured a small area. After several minutes of double-checking things one of the knights signaled to the councilwoman and Fiora. The two women came riding down the road on horseback and stopped in the center of the carnage.

“Where is Herald Frost?” the councilwoman shouted. “Is he here?”

“Ma’am,” Sir Isaac pointed up.

“Councilwoman,” Frost waived politely. “How are you this evening?”

“Herald Frost, come down here at once,” the woman said like an irritated mother.

“On my way,” Frost said as he created a small series of barriers to jump down. While hopping down he wondered how difficult it would be to come up with an effective cushioning spell. He eventually landed on the ground in front of the councilwoman. “I hope you don’t intend to hold me responsible for this.”

“I don’t in fact hold you responsible,” the woman said smiled politely while turning toward her daughter. “I hold my daughter responsible.”

“Fiora?” Frost raised an eyebrow. “Did you try to have me killed?”

“No,” Fiora said quietly.

“Fiora,” the councilwoman looked at her daughter with a fiery hatred. “Apologize to Herald Frost.”

“Herald Frost,” Fiora gritted her teeth. “I apologize for failing in my role as governess. Nobles in Blackwater acted out because of my weak leadership and…”

“That’s bullshit,” Frost shook his head at the councilwoman. “Don’t blame Fiora for this. The nobles acted out because they were cunts that were sucking on Erik’s tit like newborns. They’re just all pissy because Fiora isn’t letting them suckle from her royal tits.”

“Herald Frost,” the councilwoman turned her hate-filled gaze on him. “Let me make something clear. I am not a fool like the nobles in Blackwater. They are hardly better than peasants and the only thing impressive about them is their incompetence. My daughter allowed a council to form full of corrupt nobles that you were able to exploit. The Priests of Ziralia in this city even found themselves vulnerable to you. You are a herald of a neighboring territory and managed to acquire evidence of their corruption while my daughter, the governess of this territory had yet to acquire a scrap. Make no mistake Herald Frost, Fiora is incompetent. It’s no wonder that the only men who wish to marry her are low rank nobles or old men looking for more heirs. If she were more like her sister she would have been propositioned by men of real stations.”

“I’m sorry mother,” Fiora said while looking down. “I have been trying to…”

“Don’t make excuses,” the councilwoman growled. “A visiting herald was assaulted and you failed to…”

“Let’s back up a bit,” Frost interrupted while glaring at the councilwoman. “What do you mean she hasn’t been propositioned by men of real stations?”

“Don’t you dare handsome,” Brynn growled. “I swear to fucking Ziralia if you propose to her I’ll kill you.”

“I mean men with status and achievements,” the councilwoman said smugly. “Isabelle has been approached by virtually every noble on the continent including princes. Fiora hasn’t been propositioned by anybody of merit.”

“Fiora’s been propositioned by a king,” Frost lied. “Hasn’t she told you?”

“Excuse me?” the councilwoman glared at Frost. “Please don’t make light of…”

“I’m not,” Frost smiled. “King Asmund propositioned her. He’s my brother-in-law. If you’d like I can set up a meeting and you can ask him yourself.”

“King Asmund?” the councilwoman glared at Fiora who stood there dumbfounded. “And you didn’t tell me?”

“Is that impressive to you?” Frost asked the haughty woman. “Because Fiora wasn’t impressed. Apparently, King Asmund isn’t recognized as a real king and…”

“What are you doing?” Fiora growled.

“Be quiet my dear,” the councilwoman seemed to be entertaining the idea. “He is a bit older but not too old. And a marriage with the King of Rilia would offer additional stability. Yes, that would definitely be a good match. Why would you not tell me about this Fiora?”

“Because,” Fiora clenched her teeth as she stared at Frost. “You’ve called him a warlord on many occasions so I assumed…”

“Well,” the councilwoman shook her head. “I may have called him a warlord but many kings are warlords. It didn’t necessarily mean it as an insult. And you would be a queen. And since Isabelle is sure to become the next queen of Zira our family would be in positions of power in two countries. My dear, you should have talked to me about this. Even if he isn’t of noble stock the man still rules an entire country with one of the largest militaries on the continent.”

“What the fucking hell handsome,” Brynn growled under her breath. “Why the hell did you say that? How are we going to make this happen?”

“Leave it to me,” Frost said. “I’m sure I can convince him to at least take the meeting.”

“But why?” Brynn snapped. “Fiora’s a horrible…”

“Why do you think that is?” Frost whispered while gesturing at the councilwoman. “The poor girl has to deal with that. Give her a break. Besides, it’s not like King Asmund’s a catch. I mean, he’s no herald.”

“You think so highly of yourself,” Brynn growled.

“Herald Frost,” the councilwoman smiled at Frost. “Please speak to King Asmund and let him know I would like to set up a meeting to discuss the proposal at his earliest convenience.”

“I will,” Frost nodded as Fiora gave him a look that suggested he better make it happen.

“And what about the nobles who hired the mercenaries?” Frost looked at the corpses. “I don’t suppose you’d let me.”

“No need,” the councilwoman said coldly. “While Baron Slade has a reputation for being able to handle these kinds of things. Those families will be taken care of by morning. I came here to offer my apologies and ensure that things didn’t escalate.”

“Really?” Frost glanced back at the barrier around the brothel. “Worried about what might happen if Cassia were to get involved?”

“Yes,” the councilwoman answered. “I hope that Zira and Pluma territory can continue its good relationship despite the ordeals of this night.”

“I believe we can,” Frost nodded. “And I’ll talk to King Asmund about that meeting.”

“Thank you,” the councilwoman nodded. “Come along daughter.” She gestured at the mass of corpses. “The rest of you figure out how to get this all cleaned up. It’s disgusting.”

Frost sighed and nodded at the others while approaching the barrier. As soon as they arrived in front of it the barrier vanished. They stepped inside to see Cassia and Lysandra sipping wine at a table like nothing had happened. The two women were scrawling on paper with Madam Gardenia hovering over them.

“No,” Madam Gardenia said. “You’re going to want it to face this direction, it’s a better flow. See?”

“You’re really very good at this,” Cassia said while marking up the paper.

“If you like you can hire me to do everything,” Madam Gardenia said cheerfully.

“Absolutely not!” Lysandra said. “It’s my wedding and I want to have fun planning it with my mom!”

“Seriously?” Frost chuckled as he slid into the booth next to Lysandra. “We’re out there fighting and you were in here planning a wedding?”

“I told her you’d be fine,” Cassia said. “It’s not like any of them were strong.”

“Right,” Frost smiled. “Just so you know there’s something else everybody in the village has to give me. I’m going to need a complete list of your abilities, classes, and prerequisites, the works.”

“That could take some time,” Cassia grinned. “Maybe after we finish planning the wedding. We need to keep our priorities straight.”

“Is it safe to come back?” a courtesan asked while peeking her head out for the basement.

“Yes,” Madam Gardenia said as the courtesans rushed back into the brothel. “Don’t worry. It’s not the first-time people have tried to attack the brothel. It’s really not the nicest part of the city.”

“Then why are you trying to charge me fifteen thousand rel for a building?” Brynn growled.

“We’ve moved past that already, remember?” Madam Gardenia smirked. “Now we’re discussing the property I want to buy in your territory.”

Frost sighed as everybody went back to celebrating as his wife and future mother-in-law planned his next wedding.

CHAPTER 28

Frost found himself looking out over a sea of confused faces as he stood at the wedding altar.

The Arachne’s wedding ceremony consisted of an Arachne Queen handing a male a clothing item crafted using her sensual fluids. As for the monsters, it seemed that the ceremonies varied greatly depending by the species. But none of them had ever experienced something as elaborate as the wedding that Cassia organized for her daughter.

The doting mother employed Frost’s other wives as event organizers and worked them to the point of exhaustion to ensure that her daughter had the most absurd wedding ever.

Lishri and the Arachne crafted tents even more elaborate than the ones she made for Brynn’s wedding and even constructed proper tables and chairs this time. Even the altar was more elaborate than before with an absurd twenty-foot backing crafted to hold flower arrangements.

Madam Gardenia and her courtesans were once again invited to act as help for the wedding and thanks to her new establishments going up in all of his villages, they didn’t have to travel as far this time.

The elf villagers were also excited, primarily because many of them had flings with the various courtesans at the previous wedding and sought to repeat the experience. Although Madam Gardenia’s male staff found themselves surprisingly ignored this time around.

A vast majority of the elves were singularly focused on making themselves the next woman to marry Frost. They didn’t have time for the Myrra and Durra laborers that Madam Gardenia brought with to assist in preparations.

“This is like a fairy tale,” a young centaur girl said as her mom chided her about speaking.

The clothing the monsters were wearing was a testament to Lishri’s unbelievable abilities. She crafted dresses and suits for every different species of monster attending the wedding and somehow managed to bring out their best traits.

The orc women’s form fitted gowns had openings to showcase their muscular abdomen and slits at their lower hip that showed off their thick muscular thighs. The centaur women looked almost like Egyptian goddesses in their loose-fitting transparent tunics with colorful brassieres beneath. Even the slime women had clothing. Since fabric frequently got oily then hardened Lishri took an alternative approach and utilized metallic fibers to craft a glittery fabric that simply got shinier as it was oiled.

The men’s outfits were all more simplistic but equally colorful. Several of them looked visibly uncomfortable in the bright feminine fabrics but after a few compliments they gradually loosened up.

There were naturally far fewer humans in attendance although Slade was unfortunately still present as Hestia’s date. Sir Adamus and Sir Isaac both traveled from Filan with a few knights who wanted to attend the wedding. Even a few villagers from Filan who never saw Pluma decided it would make for an interesting outing.

Priscilla, Commander Grey, and Lady Grey were all present as well although nobody from Priscilla’s village wished to attend, possibly due to the young governess’ threats to harm them should they so much as utter the words elf-fucker. Hansel sent his regards but understandably had no interest in attending Frost’s wedding.

Everything was perfect and all that was left was for Lysandra to come walking from the temple. Brynn insisted on serving as his best woman while Shael was selected as Lysandra’s.

The only real issue was how to deal with Ena and Cassia.

“You can either give me the book voluntarily, or I can make you,” Cassia hissed. “The ceremony must be officiated by a priestess of Shalia. I am the only other priestess in the village.”

“A cleric is close enough,” Ena said defensively. “And I’m not letting you officiate Lysandra’s wedding!”

“It’s my right!” Cassia growled.

“It’s weird!” Ena snapped back.

“There’s nothing weird about it,” Cassia said while stepping toward the defensive elf.

It seemed that both women had just assumed they’d be officiating the wedding and both wore their ceremonial robes. They were blinding white garments that were surprisingly form-fitting for religious attire.

“Cassia,” Frost chuckled and shook his head. “You can’t officiate the wedding. Ena’s right, it’ll be weird and it’s Lysandra’s day.”

“What are you so worried about?” Cassia asked defensively. “I’m the one who wrote the entire ceremony and there’s nothing weird about it.”

“It’s not the ceremony,” Brynn said. “It’s the consummation. You’re Lysandra’s mother and…”

“What’s the consummation have to do with anything?” Cassia asked confusedly. “It has nothing to do with the ceremony.”

“The witnessing,” Brynn said while shaking her head. “The bridesmaids, groomsmen, and priestess must witness the consummation.”

“What?” Cassia’s face turned bright red as she started vigorously shaking her head. “That’s absurd! Is that something Lysandra added? Let me see that book!”

“Huh?” Frost chuckled while glancing at Brynn who’s eyes were slowly filling with rage.

“What do you mean that’s something Lysandra added?” Brynn said through clenched teeth.

“Okay,” Cassia said as she flipped through the large golden tome with Ena. “So, ceremony and…nothing! See! I told you!”

“What are you talking about?” Ena said while pointing at a page. “It’s right there in the final list section.”

“What?” Cassia tapped the same spot. “It says the priestess as well a minimum of one witness must be present during the ceremony and the consummation should take place as soon as possible to ensure proper bonding.”

“Yes,” Ena nodded. “They must be present during the ceremony and the consummation.”

“No, no, no,” Cassia said pointing to the sentence. “I wrote that. It’s two separate things. They must be present during the ceremony. The consummation should take place as soon as possible. It’s all very straightforward.”

“Ohhh,” Ena said as she followed the sentence with her finger. “I see it now. Lysandra and I both read it differently.”

Frost could hear Brynn’s teeth grinding behind him. He glanced behind him to see the raven-haired bard’s face completely red and her eyes filled with a murderous rage.

“You’re telling me I didn’t need to have nearly ten people witness my first time?” Brynn practically whispered.

“Ten people?” Cassia’s jaw dropped and she lowered her voice. “Lady Brynn, you understand that you are allowed to say no to Herald Frost’s absurd demands, right? While I understand your desire to please him, a woman’s wedding night is a sacred thing and…”

“Be quiet,” Brynn said while fuming. “Just…be quiet…it’s done…”

“I’ll give you some Ayoyous,” Frost said as he stared at the broken bard. “Maybe take on a nice long three-day weekend somewhere. Just you and me?”

“I can’t believe this,” Brynn shook her head. “It was bad enough that it happened while the guests were still here but…”

“Why wouldn’t you wait until afterward?” Cassia said in disbelief. “Normally you wait until the evening to…”

“Well it says as soon as possible,” Ena said pointing to the text. “Technically it’s possible to make love on the altar itself so…”

“What is wrong with you?” Cassia shook her head. “As soon as possible is there because I recognized that sometimes people are sick or tired or just not in the mood. So as soon as possible might be that evening or maybe even the following week if they’re purging.”

“Oh,” Ena nodded at her newfound understanding. “That makes a lot of sense.”

“Are you saying you left the wedding to make love?” Cassia blushed. “Did people see you leave?”

“They announced it,” Brynn said while trembling.

Ena quietly handed Cassia the book so she could conduct the ceremony and rushed to a seat in the audience near Fayeth and Renna. A minute later both Renna and Fayeth burst out laughing. Renna quickly rushed off to tell Jasmine who had a similar reaction and then the two of them ran around to tell everybody else who expressed varying levels of amusement or sympathy depending.

Everybody on the altar stood silently except for Brynn who muttered to herself like some deranged psychopath. The words kill and murder were coming up regularly in her mutterings along with several profanities.

“Brynn,” Frost broke the silence as he smiled at his petite red-faced wife. “I wouldn’t trade our wedding for anything.”

“It should have been…”

“For anything,” Frost smirked. “You were the absolutely amazing.”

“But…”

“But nothing. I love you and I will never, ever, forget our amazing wedding night.” Frost said firmly. “It was perfect.”

Brynn’s crimson hue remained but the wrath behind her eyes and crazed muttering vanished. She forced a nervous smile and the music started playing. Everybody on the altar straightened up as assorted elf and Arachne children came rushing down the aisle with flowers. All of the women in attendance excitedly whispered and pointed as the adorable children ran around throwing flowers.

“Look,” Slakka whispered excitedly while nudging Chasa. “Look, look, look.”

“I see,” Chasa elbowed. “Now shh!”

The horde of Arachne children rushed over to Slakka as soon as they reached the end of the carpet while the elf children rushed to their respective parents. Everybody turned to stare at the long path to the altar as Lysandra appeared.

Her dress was the purest white he’d ever seen and it sparkled as the light bounced off of it. Frost wasn’t sure how Lishri managed the feat but the gown looked like it was woven from starlight itself. The top portion was strapless with a sweetheart neckline and covered in an astoundingly ornate design. Every single inch looked like it took hours to craft and the design itself made her waist appear narrower while accentuating her hips and chest.

Her hips in particular were the showstopper as the form fitted mermaid dress seemed to hug and lift everything. Frost found himself unconsciously gravitating back to her pelvis over and over again until he finally realized why. The stitching that he’d been admiring all but directed his eyes there. He had to make a conscious effort not to focus too long or else he’d find himself completely entranced.

The only other pieces to were a lace collar she wore made of the same blindingly white fabric as the dress and a pair of short lace fingerless gloves. As for her hair, she wore it naturally knowing full well that Frost loved her long gorgeous hair.

Frost found himself speechless as he assisted his stunning bride onto the alter. She smiled sweetly while questioning the presence of her mother with her eyes, as if to ask what the hell she was doing there. Frost smiled and indicated that she should just go with it while grabbing her waist.

“Thank you,” Cassia said as Lysandra wrapped her arms Frost’s neck. The amethyst-eyed prophet raised an eyebrow as she realized that Lysandra had added other things to the ceremony as well. “Shalia welcomes you as she welcomes all. She gives you her love. Even if you hate her, even if you are broken, even if the entire world wants you dead, she loves you.”

Cassia grumbled as she stared at what appeared to be a scribbled in addition in the manuscript.

“And there’s nothing you can do about it, so there!” Cassia finished as several of the audience members snickered.

“Herald Sebastian Frost,” Cassia said while staring at him. “Do you love this woman?”

“Yes,” Frost said without hesitation.

“Lysandra Mirastella Nivalis,” Cassia smiled at Lysandra. “Do you love this man?”

“Yes,” Lysandra said so quickly she nearly cut off Cassia.

“Then demonstrate your love and if it’s…” Cassia paused as Lysandra pulled Frost’s head down and practically shoved her tongue down his throat as the elves in the audience cheered excitedly. Cassia looked out at the screaming elves and confused monsters and tried to remember where she was at. “If it’s…um…if it’s sincere let your union be blessed!”

Lysandra’s quickly moved her hands from Frost’s neck to his chest until reaching his waist. She hooked her fingers in his belt and began tugging on it in the direction of the temple as she continued to kiss him.

“Okay,” Lysandra growled. “Let’s go you naughty husband.”

“Naughty?” Frost chuckled as she roughly tugged on his belt. “Why naughty?”

“Getting my mother to officiate?” Lysandra’s eyes widened as she stared at him. “Was this your plan all along my love? Or was it Lady Brynn’s idea since we have fewer witnesses?”

“It wasn’t me…” Brynn said as Lysandra roughly pulled on his belt.

“You misread it,” Frost chuckled. “The witnesses are only required now. You can have me all to yourself…”

“Goddess thank you!” Lysandra said pulling his belt even hard than before as if trying to move a boulder. “Now let’s go!”

“You’re also not required to leave immediately,” Frost laughed.

“I don’t care,” Lysandra said as Frost started following her. “We are either leaving or my mother and everybody else will be witnessing us on this altar.”

“Okay,” Frost laughed as he followed Lysandra back to the temple while the elves shouted uproariously. The monsters and Arachne clapped and cheered along but it was obvious they were a little confused about what was happening.

“Have fun consummating!” several elves cheered. Suddenly the monsters and Arachne were all caught up and blushing as the watched Lysandra paw at Frost like a starving animal.

Lysandra had Frost’s belt unbuckled before they even reached the temple and was staring to work through the buttons on his coat.

“Herald…oh,” a courtesan readying food for the guests grinned as she watched Lysandra drag him up the stairs. She glanced at the other courtesans preparing food and drinks and clapped her hands. “Looks like the ceremony’s over. Let’s get the food out!”

“It’s going to be a bit yet!” Stone yelled from the kitchen as a large Durra carried casks of wine out the back. “I expected more time!”

“Well hurry it up!” another courtesan shouted as the workers started rushing out the door.

“I can’t wait,” Lysandra growled while biting the bottom of Frost’s lip. “I can’t wait to be your wife.”

“You’re already my wife,” Frost laughed as they reached the top of the stairs. The sexy violet-eyed priestess dragged him into the room and slammed the door behind her. “There’s no rush…”

“I’m not your wife yet,” Lysandra said while practically ripping off his coat. She threw it at the dresser and began deftly unbuttoning his dress shirt. “Not until we consummate it. Why are you still wearing your pants?”

“Right,” Frost smiled as he quickly removed his pants. The elf’s scandalous demeanor was a stark contrast to her elegant look as she yanked off his undershirt and threw it on the floor. She pushed him toward the bed while running her hands up and down his naked chest. “Lysandra…”

“I love you so much,” Lysandra said while kissing his chest. Her lips moving lower as she continued to push him. He felt the bed against the back of his legs and Lysandra shoved him onto the bed. The white-haired priestess quickly grabbed his boxers and ripped them off. She smiled excitedly as she admired his massive cock. “I promise to be a wonderful wife.”

“Lysandra,” Frost groaned as the elf took the tip of his cock in her mouth. She slid her tongue along the tip several times before pulling it out to kiss the sides. “You’re still in your dress…”

“I don’t care,” Lysandra said while on her knees. Her soft tongue slid along the shaft of his cock. “You make me as filthy as you want. I’m yours now, forever.”

“I love you,” Frost gasped as Lysandra’s wet tongue reached the tip and seamlessly took his cock all the way down her throat. The skilled elf moaned seductively as she started bobbing and twisting her head. She was relentless in her assault on his cock as he penetrated her slick throat. “Oh fuck, I love you so much.”

“Mmmff,” Lysandra groaned onto his cock while continually taking him to the base. She gently caressed his balls in her palm while bobbing and twisting her head. He loved the sensation of her silky gloves against his balls as she took him into her mouth. The beautiful elf’s saliva slowly dripped from his thick shaft as her throat squeezed his shaft. “Mmmmm.”

“You’re fucking amazing,” Frost panted as he stared at the beautiful elf on her knees, dutifully sucking his cock in her wedding dress. The way she aggressively shoved her head down on his cock sent chills up his spine as he felt himself slowly losing control.

“Mmhmhm,” Lysandra moaned while forcefully shoving her head down. She held herself at the base and slid her tongue back and forth against him as her throat squeezed. It felt like she was attempting to swallow him as the muscles in her throat rolled along his cock until he couldn’t take it anymore and gave her something to swallow. “Mmm!”

“Holy…” Frost ran his fingers through the gorgeous elf’s hair as he released almost directly into her stomach. Every powerful pulse of his cock sending another blast of warm cum down the sexy priestess’ throat. She refused to let up as she held him there while massaging his balls. When she finally pulled his saliva drenched cock from her throat she looked up at him and opened her mouth.

“Did I do good husband?” Lysandra asked while hooking her fingers in the side as if to show off that she didn’t allow a single drop to escape her. “Now that I’m your wife you can use me like that all you want.”

“You think that’s all I want you for?” Frost smirked while pulling her up from her knees and on top of him. He reached around her back and started unhooking the clasps of her dress as the elf kissed his neck. “I love you.”

“Frost,” Lysandra kissed him deeply as he started to slide her tight dress of, revealing her naked body beneath. He slid his hand on her plump ass and gave it a playful smack.

“No underwear?” Frost said between kisses. “Were you expecting to be fucked on that altar?”

“Only if you wanted,” Lysandra moaned as she kicked the dress off revealing her thigh high stockings and a floral garter on her left leg. “You can do whatever you want to me.”

“Really?” Frost said as he pulled her fully into bed and rolled on top of her. He pinned the sexy elf’s arms and admired her gorgeous chest and vibrant pink nipples. He couldn’t see a single flaw in her soft pallid skin no matter how hard he looked. “Whatever I want?”

“Yes,” Lysandra blushed as she felt Frost’s eyes taking in every inch of her body. She rubbed her legs together in anticipation as Frost examined her. Frost leaned down and kissed her on the lips before slowly moving toward her beautiful breasts. “What would you like to do to me?”

“I have an idea,” Frost said as he gently licked her erect nipples. He couldn’t get enough of the contrast between the firmness of her nipple and tiny pink areola and the soft flesh surrounding it. He could have traced those tiny perfect circles for hours if she’d let him. “But we’ll get to it in a bit.”

“Herald Frost,” Lysandra moaned as Frost released his grip on her arms and started moving lower on her body, running his tongue along her gorgeous abdomen to her adorable bellybutton. He loved every inch of his perfect priestess and he intended to savor every inch of it. “I want to please you…”

“This will please me,” Frost smirked as he reached her sexy hips and cleanly shaven mound. He pressed his lips against the silky flesh, careful not to miss a single spot as he spent several minutes kissing her. Before he was even halfway finished the eager elf was rolling her hips as if to beg him to start on her clit. “I love licking your sexy pussy.”

“You do?” Lysandra panted as Frost’s tongue moved closer to her perfect pink slit. “Really?”

“Obviously,” Frost said while running his tongue along the outside of her glistening pussy. Her excited aroma almost made him lose control and dive in as he inhaled. It took every bit of self-control not to bury his tongue between those sexy lips. “Do you enjoy having it licked?”

“Mmhm,” Lysandra nodded while wriggling her hips, as if to coax Frost into licking her desperate cunt. “It feels so wrong,” Lysandra whined as her anticipation increased. “A herald shouldn’t…”

“Shouldn’t what?” Frost said, giving her wet pussy a slow single lick. Frost savored every drop of her delicious flavor on his tongue, letting it roll over his tongue like a wine before swallowing. “Worship the most perfect pussy in the world?”

“Goddess,” Lysandra shuddered as he continued. Frost spread her beautiful pussy with his fingers while running his tongue between each of her gorgeous petals, drinking up everything he could gather as he kissed, licked, and sucked. He purposefully avoided Lysandra’s beautiful clit, the most flawless pearl he’d ever seen in his life. He wasn’t simply aiming to please her, he wanted to show his wife that he truly adored every bit of her. “Herald Frost…”

“Just Frost,” he corrected while gently sliding his tongue into her drenched channel. He flavor was even stronger in her silky opening and he couldn’t get enough of it as he swirled his tongue inside of her. His eyes once again focused on her immaculate button hiding beneath its pretty pink cover. “Or husband. Or love. Or whatever pet name you want to call me.”

“Beloved,” Lysandra moaned as Frost slipped his tongue beneath her pink hood and poked her eager clit. “My beloved. You are my beloved.”

“I like it,” Frost said as he sucked on Lysandra’s vulnerable clit, tapping it playfully with his tongue as he slurped. The beautiful priestess panted as Frost alternated between her clit and the rest of her delicious pink cunt. Her breathing became more labored as she he continued his assault and he knew that she was on the verge of orgasming. “My beloved.”

“Goddess,” Lysandra whined as she rolled her hips against his tongue. The white-haired priestess ran her fingers through Frost’s hair as he devoured her.

Frost’s excitement grew as Lysandra’s essence permeated his senses. All he could think of was how he wanted more of her, every inch of her. He hooked his arms under her legs and pushed her back and attacked her sensitive asshole. His slick tongue lapping at it like an animal cleaning its mate.

“Beloved!” Lysandra squealed as she felt Frost’s slippery tongue running along her naughty hole. The beautiful elf writhed in pleasure as Frost worshipped her plump round ass. “You can’t…goddess!”

“Do you like it?” Frost teased while holding her legs back. The most perfect woman’s pussy and asshole were completely exposed to him and he intended to have her.

“Yes,” Lysandra whined as Frost’s wet tongue made its way over her asshole and up to her pussy. He reached her clit and softly massaged it with his tongue as he watched for her response. “I like it.”

“What do you like?” Frost asked as he focused on her pussy again, drinking her excessive juices as he waited for a response. He teased her perineum and waited for her to response appropriately.

“I like it when my beloved licks my naughty ass,” Lysandra whined as her body began to tremble.

Frost’s cock twitched excitedly as he buried his face between her legs, savagely alternating between her sensitive ass and her delicate pussy. He focuses on her trembling, feeling when she was getting close and pulling back slightly just to tease her more. Before long it sounded like she was practically crying as her body thrashed out of control.

“Please beloved,” Lysandra begged. “Please let me cum. Please, please, please!”

Frost couldn’t take it anymore as the beautiful elf begged for him to finish her off. Her buried his tongue in her silky cunt and began massaging her sensitive clit with his fingers. He started slow, once again helping her build up to her peak except his time he didn’t let up. As she reached the peak, he shifted his tongue from her gorgeous cunt to her sexy little asshole while continuing the assault on her clit.

“Goddess!” Lysandra wailed as her juices sprayed from her soaked cunt into Frost’s waiting face. Even as the white-haired elf sprayed him he didn’t let up, continuing to lick at her drenched ass and teasing her clit. “Beloved! Beloved! I’m going to…I’m going to…goddess!”

Another deluge flowed from her sexy pink cunt as the elf writhed in ecstasy, completely unable to control her body as it flailed and twisted. The violet-eyed elf began gasping for air as her body rapidly tensed and relaxed. Frost slowed down his assault while lapping at her abundant juices and finally he released her legs.

“Beloved,” Lysandra whimpered as she reached out and grabbed his arms. The beautiful elf pulled him down and rather than kissing him, began licking up her stray nectar. His thick cock kissed the tip of her beautiful pink cunt as he waited to slip it inside. “You can have me, I’m yours my beloved.”

“About that,” Frost smirked as he leaned down and licked her ear. He ran his tongue slowly up the edge until he reached the tip and gave it a soft nibble. “I haven’t cast the infertility spell…”

“You haven’t…” Lysandra’s voice trailed off as her breathing became even more labored than before. “You mean…you’re?”

“Lysandra,” Frost whispered the paralyzed elf’s ear. “Would you like me to cum inside of you?”

“Y-yes,” Lysandra gasped as she began hyperventilating. The elf attempted to slide her body toward his cock. “Yes, I want you to…”

“You want me to what?” Frost asked while playfully teasing her drenched cunt with the tip of his cock. “Tell me what you want me to do.”

“Cum inside of me,” Lysandra panted as she gripped his back and attempted to pull him upward. “Make me yours. I’ll do whatever you say forever,” Lysandra said as she struggled to find a way to get his cock inside of her. “Just please…”

“You want me to breed you?” Frost asked while slowly gliding the tip of his cock inside of her. The elf began rolling her hips up and down manically as Frost continued to tease her. “Is that what you want? Can I do it whenever I want? Will you be my private little…”

“I’ll be anything,” Lysandra said hysterically. “Breed me. Breed me whenever you want. However you want. I’ll do whatever you want just please breed me.”

“Fuck,” Frost couldn’t take it anymore as he watched the crazed elf desperately try to get his cock. He slid his cock inside of Lysandra and she came almost instantly. Her soft warm cunt alternated between gripping him tightly and widening to accommodate him as he thrust himself deeper. “I love you.”

“I love you so much,” Lysandra groaned while grinding her hips against Frost’s cock. The beautiful elf wrapped her legs around him and pulled him in as if trying to take him deeper than what was possible. “I’m yours, all yours, I belong to you, cum inside me all you want, every day, every night, anywhere.”

“Fuck,” Frost growled as he felt another surge of Lysandra’s juices on his pelvis. The beautiful elf wasn’t loosening her grip as she wrapped her arms and legs around him. She had no intention of releasing him until he finished inside of her and just the thought of it was driving him mad.

Just the thinking about the fact he was fucking her so recklessly caused his cock to throb harder than it ever had. He envisioned his cum pouring into her eager cunt and the elf accepting every ounce of it. Before he knew it, it wasn’t just a thought as his cock tensed and filled her with cum. Her tight pussy clamped down on him as she locked him in place.

“Yes, yes, yes,” Lysandra growled while continuing to roll her hips. “More. Please more. Please. You can do more, right? Again, right? Please my beloved. I need you. I need more from you.”

“More?” Frost panted as her pussy squeezed every ounce of cum from him.

“Yes,” Lysandra nodded madly while releasing her grip on his waist. “I know. I know.” The elf pushed him off her and onto his back. She quickly straddled him and slid his cock back inside of her. “This will be easier, right? You can keep going?”

“Lysandra,” Frost chuckled as the elf leaned down and shoved her breasts in his face. He instinctively sucked on her nipple as she whimpered. The white-haired elf gently rode his cock, while continuing to press her chest against his face.

“I’ll keep going,” Lysandra said sweetly. “You just relax. I’ll do all of the work my beloved.”

“Alright,” Frost said as the gorgeous woman dragged her breasts across his face.

“Thank you,” Lysandra showered him in kisses as she rolled her hips. “Thank you my beloved. I love you so much.”

“I love you too,” Frost said as he grabbed the back of her head while kissing her. He slid his tongue deep into her mouth as she rolled her pussy on his cock. Her slick pussy hugged him and another warm flood of juices soaked his hips.

“I’m so sorry,” Lysandra whimpered as her body shivered. “I can’t stop. I’m making a huge mess.”

“It’s so fucking sexy,” Frost said while burying his face in her neck. His cock tensed excitedly as he felt her quivering pussy squeeze his cock. He wondered how long she intended to ride and then the thought of her overflowing with his cum intensified his excitement. His cock seized and he felt more of his warm seed filling the sexy elf’s dripping cunt.

“Goddess yes!” Lysandra squealed in his ear as her body shuddered against his. The violet eyed elf sat up and grinded her hips against him. “Can I have more? Please?”

“Fuck,” Frost nodded while gripping the bedding. He could feel his cock getting more sensitive the more she rode him but she was insatiable. Her cunt was practically on fire as the tip of his cock rubbed against her deepest core.

“Maybe this will help,” Lsyandra said hopefully as she turned around on his cock. Frost bit his lip as her soaked pussy twisted his cock causing it to spasm as she turned her ass to face him. “You like my ass, right? Does this help my beloved? Do you like it?” Lysandra reached behind her and spread her cheeks as she rode him. “Do you want to see me like this?”

“Yes,” Frost answered as his sensitive cock twitched at the sight of her perfect asshole. The elf priestess smiled excitedly as she held her ass open. One of her fingers moved toward her tight little asshole and began teasing it.

“Do you want me to do this?” Lysandra asked. “Will it help you cum more?”

“Yeah, fuck your cute little ass,” Frost panted as he gave in to the stunning elf. He gave her ass a powerful slap as the bounced on his cock. “You want my cum, right?”

“Yes, please, please, please,” Lysandra nodded excitedly as she slipped her finger into her ass. The bed beneath him was so drenched in her juices that there was no possible way they were going to be able to sleep in it, but if she wanted to keep going he was going to let her.

Frost squeezed Lysandra’s plump ass while she fingered her asshole. The white-haired elf panted and giggled excitedly as Frost watched his cum overflow from her cunt. The sexy elf couldn’t fit an ounce more in her but she intended to keep going.

“Goddess,” Lysandra cried while leaning forward. “My beloved husband,” Lysandra looked at him with pleading eyes. “Will you fuck me from behind? Please. It’s supposed to be the best for breeding. If you do I’ll do whatever you want…”

“Fuck,” Frost nodded exhausted as his sensitive cock remained rock hard. It was like he passed the point of no return and his cock intended to finish the job or die trying. Frost panted as he pushed the sweat drenched elf onto her hands and knees. Without caring, Lysandra laid her face in the pool of her juices while panting.

“I’m so sorry,” Lysandra whimpered. “I just need a little break. Please keep going.”

“You know we can take a break…”

“No,” Lysandra pleaded. “Just one more. Please one more. Then we can take a break. Please my beloved. I’ll be such a good wife if you just…”

“I got it,” Frost chuckled while wiping the sweat from his brow. He slipped his thick cock into Lysandra’s cum-filled cunt and returned to fucking her as her face rested in the puddle of her excitement. He ran his hands up and down her silky back as he felt another shiver shoot through the elf.

“One more…” Lysandra panted as her body shuddered again. The poor gorgeous elf was completely devoid of energy. “Just one more…”

Her poor battered cunt convulsed uncontrollably on his cock. His mind was swimming as he continued to fuck her, driven by the desire to completely satisfy all of his beautiful brides wants and needs. He panted and moaned as she rested in her juices, waiting for him to deliver one more massive load.

“I love you,” Frost said as he watched her pussy grip his thick cock as he fucked her. He was going to give her everything, he was going to make her his. His cock spasmed as it filled her one last time, causing her to completely overflow as her warm cunt hugged him. Frost collapsed on top of her as he remained buried inside of her, enjoying the spasms of her drenched insides. “I love you so much Lysandra.”

“I love you more,” Lysandra panted with a wide grin. “I’m going to love you forever and ever.”

Frost rolled off Lysandra and found himself a dry spot near the head of the bed. The entire lower portion of the mattress glistened like the grass the morning after rain. There was absolutely no way they were going to be able to sleep on that.

“Beloved husband,” Lysandra said with a hint of amusement. “I can’t move.”

“I’ll take care of it in a bit,” Frost laughed as he listened to the sounds of the celebration outside. “They sound like they’re having fun.”

“Not as much fun as me,” Lysandra giggled.

“How long before you’re ready to go again?” Frost grinned while staring at her dripping pussy.

“Mmm,” Lysandra moaned. “I’m just going to take a little nap. Can you ask again when I wake up?”

“Do you want me to move you somewhere cleaner?” Frost asked while gesturing to the narrow stretch of dry bedding beside him.

“Here is fine,” Lysandra giggled. “I told my beloved that he could get me as filthy as he wanted. I expect you’ll want to make me much filthier before morning my beloved.”

“Definitely,” Frost chuckled. “Okay, a short nap.”

“A short nap,” Lysandra yawned. “I love you Frost.”

“I love you more,” Frost replied.

CHAPTER 29

The hallway in front of Frost appeared like a hundred miles long but in a single step he emerged on a blazingly white beach. The ocean in front of him was a neon blue and the dark violet sky was full of colorful stars radiating light.

“I love these little worlds she creates,” Cassia said appearing right next to him. “Don’t you?”

“I never really remember much of them,” Frost said while glancing at the prophet. “So, are you just going to be involved in these now?”

“Oh,” Cassia grinned. “Are you and Shalia doing things you don’t want others to see?”

“No idea,” Frost answered. “It’s like I said. I don’t really remember much.”

“Then good thing that I am here,” Cassia said smugly. “I’ll be able to remember everything since I’m a guest.”

“An uninvited one,” Frost scoffed.

“Sebastian,” Shalia’s voice echoed as the white-haired goddess appeared in front of him. The elf goddess smiled sweetly as she ran her hand through his hair and floated up to kiss him. “I’m so happy for you.”

“Happy for me?” Frost smiled at the floating goddess.

“The wedding,” Shalia laughed as she playfully twirled. “It was beautiful and you made Lysandra so happy. Maybe too happy. You nearly broke that poor girl.” The goddess spun to the side and stopped in front of Cassia. Shalia gave her a quick peck on the lips. “Oh, Cassia. I’ve missed you very much.”

“You were the one not talking to me,” Cassia said sullenly.

“That doesn’t mean I didn’t miss you,” Shalia said while running her fingers through the prophet’s white hair. “You are just as beautiful as I remember.”

“No, I’m not,” Cassia pouted. “I’m older and…”

“Just as beautiful as I remember,” Shalia repeated as she leaned in and kissed the violet-eyed prophet. Frost immediately began imagining the two women together in various positions and Shalia burst out laughing. “Sebastian!”

“It’s a reflex,” Frost smirked while pivoting his mind to something else.

“I know,” Shalia slid her hands down Cassia’s back and playfully squeezed the prophet’s ass. “And it would certainly be enjoyable.”

“Oh?” Cassia smiled as she caught on and began sliding a hand between Shalia’s legs. “Well, this is your dream Herald Frost. I’m sure Lysandra wouldn’t hold you responsible for...”

“Dreaming about her mother?” Frost laughed. “I’m pretty sure she could still be upset about that.”

“That’s too bad,” Shalia giggled while groping Cassia’s large ass.

“Too bad indeed,” Cassia nuzzled into Shalia’s neck like a pet reuniting with its master. “So, what are your commands my goddess?”

“Commands?” Shalia shook her head. “What do you mean?”

“You must have called on Herald Frost for a reason,” Cassia said while running her hands up and down the white-haired goddess. “Don’t you have commands for him?”

“Cassia!” Shalia laughed hysterically and disappeared. The goddess reappeared in front of Frost and laughed into his chest. “Did you hear that Sebastian? She thinks I give you orders! That’s too funny!”

“A little,” Frost smirked.

“What’s funny about it?” Cassia asked embarrassedly. “He’s your herald and…”

“Sebastian doesn’t listen to my commands,” Shalia said while teleporting on top of the ocean. The goddess playfully hopped and twirled causing ripples that spread trough the entire dreamscape. “He doesn’t care about my needs. He doesn’t even view me as a deity! A few weeks ago he even called me a parasite!”

“I don’t remember that,” Frost chuckled. “But I could see why I might.”

“What!” Cassia growled at Frost. “You called the most perfect goddess in the universe a parasite?”

“That’s what she is,” Frost gestured at her. “She feeds off the belief of her followers or something, right?”

“Something like that,” Shalia giggled. “Belief creates a connection that allows me to draw their magic.”

“See,” Frost grinned triumphanly while gesturing at the white-haired goddess. “She’s pretty much a space vampire.”

“She is a goddess!” Cassia snapped. “I can’t believe you’d…”

“Cassia,” Shalia shook her head at the furious prophet. “Sebastian is not wrong. Just as animals eat plants and plants devour the earth and sun, I eat the magic of my believers. You already know this. It’s why you sought to bring me more believers while killing the believers of other deities.”

“But it’s disrespectful,” Cassia pouted.

“Is it really?” Shalia laughed. “I view it no more disrespectful than calling Sebastian an elf-fucker. It’s more a statement of fact, isn’t it?”

“Don’t you start on me as well,” Frost smirked while staring at Shalia’s glowing robes. “Although, I could be going for a new title.”

“Are you sure you haven’t already earned it?” Shalia teased.

“I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t forget it if I had,” Frost chuckled.

“If you’re not going to give us commands then why are we here?” Cassia said sullenly.

“I wanted to show Sebastian something,” Shalia tapped her foot in the endless ocean and suddenly they were looking at an overhead view of Nivara and tiny glowing dots blinked endlessly like faulty holiday lights. “This is the world and each of these dots represent a follower of mine.” Shalia pointed to a very bright patch of light on the continent of Kal. “That is your territory.”

“Hm,” Frost’s territory was laughably small in the grand scheme of things and he wondered if Shalia expected him to increase the size. The continent was massive and it was the smallest one in the world. If her expectation was that he conquers the world, it would take multiple lifetimes.

“Sebastian,” Shalia laughed. “Don’t be ridiculous.”

“You need to use your words or I won’t know what you’re discussing,” Cassia said.

“I was wondering if she expects me to take over the world,” Frost said while gesturing at the map.

“Well,” Shalia smiled. “Maybe someday. For right now I’m worried about my followers,” Shalia said while gesturing at all of the lonely lights scattered throughout the world. She waved her hand and a tiny gold dot on the border of Balar floated up and transformed into a young beautiful elf and her child running through a forest. Moments later the arrows pierced both of their bodies and the light faded. “She was killed while attempting to cross the border into Zira in hopes of reaching your territory.”

“You say that like it’s my fault,” Frost said while staring at the hundreds of lights.

Pluma had the highest concentration of lights but there were also hundreds scattered all over the continent of Kal. Tilore also had a few but they were almost all heading toward the coast suggesting that Ocelon still intended to ship off all his trouble makers and the other continents had hardly any.

“I’m not blaming anybody,” Shalia said while pulling up more lonely lights. Some of them were elves shivering in the freezing cold while others were locked in cages. A small caravan of happy elves traveling along the southern edge of Zira’s border appeared as well. “My followers have been dying long before I summoned you. But I want you to know what’s happening.”

“I heard he married a demon!” one of the voices in the caravan echoed. “He probably loves everybody!”

“Maybe he’ll marry mommy!” a small child in the caravan said. “Then she won’t be sad anymore!”

“Please help me,” another voice echoed from the cages. “Somebody.”

“I can listen to it all day,” Frost said while glaring at the goddess. She was clearly attempting to manipulate him and he didn’t care for it. “You’ve seen my world. This is just the news. It’s entertainment to us. We watch footage of people getting slaughtered and head off to dinner as if it never happened. People suffer, it happens.”

“Entertainment?” Cassia muttered in disbelief.

“Don’t worry darling,” a voice echoed. “Herald Frost will protect us.”

“Don’t kill her! Don’t kill her! Please! I’ll become followers of Tarr!” a mother screamed as her daughter’s light went out. Moments after her own light faded.

“If Herald Frost finds out you hurt us there’ll be consequences,” a voice cried out, drawing his attention to a small trio of elves.

Frost glanced at the dots sitting on the eastern edge of Blackwater, far from his own small territory. A group of soldiers laughed as they beat the elves. “Well then we better make sure the dog-fucker doesn’t find out!” The laughing continued until all three lights went out.

He clenched his teeth as he focused on that spot attempting to burn it into his memory so he wouldn’t forget when he woke up. The faces of the soldiers, their voices, he wanted to remember every last detail of what he just saw.

The faces and sounds slowly faded away back into oblivion until only the tiny lights over the world remained.

“Sebastian,” Shalia appeared in front of him and stroked his face. “I know it enrages you, even if you won’t admit it.”

“I told you I’m not going to play hero,” Frost said.

“Really Sebastian?” Shalia smiled as the world behind her transformed to his bustling village. Lamias, Gorgons, Orcs, Elves, Durra, Myrran, Florenne, Arachne and all sorts of other monsters doing tasks as a field of elf children practices creating barriers and fireballs. Images of Frost laughing and drinking with the different creatures and flirting with blushing orcs appeared followed by him purchasing a shipment of school supplies to the children of the village. “Then what would you call yourself?”

“Oh,” Frost shook his head. “Fuck you.”

“Herald Frost!” Cassia snapped.

“You can believe what you want about yourself,” Shalia chuckled. “But I know what you are Sebastian which is why I chose you. You may not be a hero by your standards but you’re the closest thing to a hero those that the world calls monsters have ever seen. You even saved the monster standing beside you.”

“I am not a monster!” Cassia said defensively.

“Cassia,” Shalia shook her head. “You’ve killed more innocent men, women, and children than the most vicious chimera. And yet Sebastian refused to abandon you. Just like I never abandoned you.”

“I have no interest in being a hero,” Frost growled. “Once I make sure that my territory is defensible, I plan on building myself a nice castle and spend every damn day fucking beautiful women. That’s not what a hero does.”

“I’ve never called you a hero Sebastian,” Shalia giggled. “To me you’re just Sebastian. A man who will love my followers no matter if they’re elves or Myrran or even monsters. A man who’d care for them and give them the love those of this world never offered them. My herald.”

“She seems to have you all figured out Herald Frost,” Cassia smiled haughtily.

“Says the monster,” Frost grumbled while staring at the lights of Kal, his eyes still focusing on the eastern edge of Blackwater. “Cassia. When you wake up, draw out this map.”

“I thought you said you weren’t a hero?” Cassia teased.

“I’m not,” Frost said. “I have no intention of going out of my way to help them.”

“But if they happen be on your way?” Shalia smiled.

“I have no interest in being a good person,” Frost answered. “But I don’t have an interest in being a bad one either. I’ll just do what I feel like doing.”

“I expect nothing more or less,” Shalia giggled.

“On that note,” Frost pointed to the blank area on the eastern edge of Blackwater. “Cassia, mark that place as well.” Frost glared at Shalia. “You say I’m a good person? Just wait and see what I do to the soldiers at that outpost.”

“I believe this is all the time we have today Sebastian,” Shalia sighed as the world around them started to slowly shrink. “I hope to see you again soon. Maybe next time we can…”

“Don’t bother you tease,” Frost grumbled. “You’ll never make good on it.”

“Never say never,” Shalia appeared in front of him and kissed him. The beautiful goddess slid her tongue down his throat while sliding her hands toward his belt. “Until next time.”

The world faded away as the light of the came shining through the slit in the curtains. He looked around at the absolutely ghastly bed and his filthy bride beside him. Then he looked down at himself and realized he couldn’t judge. He sat up and ran his fingers through his hair and realized even his hair was disgusting, he needed a bath.

“You want to join me at the bathhouse?” Frost asked his beautiful sleeping wife. “Lysandra?”

“Later,” Lysandra mumbled while curling into a ball. The gorgeous elf had her hands tucked between her legs as if she were protecting a treasure.

“Alright,” Frost said while kissing her forehead. “I love you.”

“Love you,” Lysandra muttered as he climbed out of bed and grabbed a towel from the closet. He wrapped himself up and headed toward the bathhouse.

From the look of things, he was one of the first ones awake. Blankets and pillows were everywhere as demihumans and monsters slept off their night of partying. Fayeth and Ena were curled up together in their room and Fayeth was wearing one of his shirts as sell as a pair of his boxers, which he found to be simultaneously worrying and intriguing.

As he walked past Renna’s room he saw something equally as intriguing, Renna and Cassia cuddled up in a tiny bed. Frost bit his lip as he stared at the petite elf grinding against Cassia’s thigh while they slept. The slender tan elf shifted slightly and let out a soft sexy moan.

He hurried downstairs before the thought of the petite elf fucking the sexy prophet forced him to return to his room for another round with Lysandra.

He was careful to stay quiet as he left the temple, stepping over the sleeping monsters as he made his way out the door. Once he reached the outdoors a similar scene unfolded except many of the guests didn’t have blankets or pillows. Instead they passed out on each other.

Frost quickly headed toward the bathhouse in his towel while attempting not to disturb anybody. He heard humming echoing off the walls as he entered and wasn’t quite sure where it was coming from. As Frost approached the large bath in the rear of the building, he quickly realized that the newcomers in the village didn’t necessarily realized it was mixed.

“H-herald Frost!” a pair of turquoise colored gorgons quickly covered their chests. “We’re so sorry! We didn’t know you were going to be bathing. We can leave if you…”

“Shh,” Frost shook his head while gesturing outside. “I don’t want to wake everybody up. And it’s fine. I can grab one of the other baths.”

“Um,” the women glanced at each other with their oversized golden eyes. “If you like this bath you’re welcome to join us.”

“Really?” Frost chuckled.

“Really!” a third gorgon popped out from beneath the surface. The snake-haired woman must have been hiding. “You’d want to join us?”

“Shh,” Frost lowered his hand to indicate they should lower their volume. “If you don’t mind, I guess I will.”

The trio of gorgon women stared excitedly as Frost tossed his towel beside the bath. Their golden serpentine eyes became even larger as they stared at his naked body and their faces turned violet. He chuckled as he joined the bath with them.

“So,” Frost pointed at the snakes that just emerged from beneath the water. “They don’t mind being underwater?”

“Not at all,” she said while shaking her head. The snakes coiled and twisted around each other as if they were dancing. “We all really like water.”

“Interesting,” Frost said as the three women lined up against the far side of the bath. “Would it be strange if I asked if I could touch one?”

“Y-you w-want to touch one?” one of the gorgon’s said in disbelief. “Aren’t you worried they’ll bite you?”

“Not really,” Frost answered. Although he would have been more comfortable if he were wearing the cloak Lishri gave him since it offered poison immunity. “You don’t have to. You can say no.”

“You can touch mine!” one of the gorgon’s said while rushing over to his side of the bath. Both of the other women glared angrily at her as she approached Frost. As soon as she was in range Frost reached out and began petting one of the snakes, it quickly twirled around his finger as another twirled around a different finger. “You’re really not scared?”

“Why would I be?” Frost asked while staring at them. “You told me before that they only attack when they sense a threat.”

“Would you like to touch mine?” one of the other gorgon’s asked excitedly.

“Mine too!” the third one chimed in.

“Sure,” Frost chuckled as the three women circled him. He knew he was supposed to be washing off but he really hadn’t had much time to get to know the monsters in his territory yet. “So do they eat anything?”

“They eat insects that get near us sometimes,” one of them answered. “But otherwise they’re just part of us. We share everything.”

“I see,” Frost smirked while alternating his attention between the women. Before he’d even realized it, all three women had gotten so close they were almost pressing their bodies against him. He could feel his heart pounding.

“Frost?” Lysandra sighed as she approached the bath. “You couldn’t even wait ten minutes?”

“High priestess,” the trio quickly backed away and bowed their heads. “We didn’t mean any…”

“It’s fine,” Lysandra laughed as she removed her towel and slid into the bath beside him. The beautiful elf pressed her filthy body against him. “I know the type of many my beloved husband is.”

“You’re not angry?” the three women asked worriedly. “We really weren’t trying it’s just he’s…”

“He’s so nice,” Lysandra nodded. “And flirtatious. He looks at you like he wants you and treats you like a beautiful woman. Something like that?”

“Yes,” the trio nodded as their faces turned an even deeper violet.

“Yes, he does that,” Lysandra waived the women over. “It’s fine. I have no intention of keeping him to myself.”

The three women moved back toward them and chatted as Frost and Lysandra washed themselves. Stopping occasionally to pet a snake or answer questions about the village. After a while one of the gorgon’s worked up the courage to ask Frost if he wanted help and before he realized what had transpired, he was being scrubbed by three beautiful snake-haired women.

“You really are an awful husband handsome!” Brynn snapped as she approached the bath with Desdemona and Lishri. The dark-haired bard glared at Lysandra. “And you? How could you allow this?”

“Lady Brynn,” Lysandra laughed. “I love seeing my husband make people happy.”

“Says the woman who didn’t have to share him on her wedding night,” Brynn said while hopping in the tub. “Instead I had to sleep over at Lishri’s.”

“You said you liked my web,” Lishri said timidly while sliding in, causing the water to rise significantly.

“That’s not the point,” Brynn growled.

“Even I shared Lady Lysandra, it was really unfair of you to keep him all to yourself,” Desdemona blushed as she joined them in the bath.

“That was my beloved husband’s choice!” Lysandra said defensively while grabbing Frost’s arm. “I would have invited all of you if you wanted!”

“Really handsome?” Brynn glared at him.

“She deserved something special,” Frost grinned guiltily. “She is the only one of my wives who didn’t trick me or force me into marriage after all.”

“Oh please,” Brynn scoffed. “As if we could really force you to do anything.”

“Does that mean you don’t want to be married to me?” Desdemona said timidly.

“Des,” Frost shook his head. “You know I love you. I was just teasing Brynn. But I wanted my night with Lysandra to be special.”

“It certainly sounded special,” Fayeth teased while entering the bathhouse with Ena. “We heard you going all night.”

“Breed me! Breed me!” Ena teased mockingly. “Really Lysandra. You’re almost a hundred years old howling like you’re still fifty. Have you no shame?”

“Really?” Fayeth pulled away Ena’s towel and pushed her into the massive tub. “You’re one to judge. Every time she squealed you drenched me!”

“I did not!” Ena blushed.

“Should we leave?” one of the gorgon’s asked. “I’m not sure if we should be listening to the details of Herald Frost’s evening.” The two other gorgon’s snake hair hissed at her angrily indicating their displeasure with the suggestion. “Or we can stay….”

“It’s fine if you stay,” Brynn said while glaring at Frost. “You’ll hear things like this eventually.”

“Speaking of hearing about things,” Fayeth giggled while pointing to the bathhouse entrance.

“What?” Lysandra glanced over to see Renna and her mother walking to the bath. Renna smirked proudly as Cassia latched onto her arm like a trophy wife. “W-what’s going on?”

“Oh,” Frost smirked while avoiding eye contact.

“What?” Lysandra looked at them for answers.

“Can my girlfriend and I join you?” Renna asked smugly while tossing her towel on the side of the bath. She gripped Cassia’s and pulled it off as well. The petite elf gave Cassia’s ass a firm smack as the prophet slipped into the far side of the tub. “I can’t wait to fuck you again.”

“Renna,” Lysandra’s face turned bright red as she scowled at the petite elf. “What’s going on?”

“Can’t you tell?” Renna smiled victoriously while jumping into the large bath. She swam up to Cassia and began fondling the white-haired prophet’s chest. “I’m sleeping with your mother.”

“Y-you can’t do that!” Lysndra said while pointing accusingly. “M-mother! You can’t sleep with Renna! I’ve slept with Renna! And you’re too old for her!”

“Too old?” Cassia scoffed indigently. “I don’t see how it’s any different than you marrying Herald Frost.”

“Herald Frost!” Lysandra looked around for answers but nobody said a word. “We can’t allow this! My mother is far too old for Renna! She needs to find somebody her own age!”

“That’s rich coming from you!” Renna said accusingly.

“It’s different with us!” Lysandra blushed. “Herald Frost doesn’t care about my age!”

“And I don’t care about your mom’s age!” Renna grinned wickedly while squeezing Cassia’s tits and doing something beneath the water. “All I care about are these sexy tits and this fat ass of hers. You want to know how far my arm…”

“Stop it!” Lysandra shouted. “Renna! I demand you stop fucking my mother!”

“You can’t tell me who to fuck you ancient hag!” Renna said confidently. “If you want me to stop fucking your mother, convince Herald Frost to marry me next! Otherwise I’m going to fuck your mother every night until Herald Frost agrees to marry me you dried up old crone!”

“Renna,” Cassia said indigently. “Don’t be mean to Lysa…”

“Quiet you old whore,” Renna said while harshly pinching her breast. “Be a good girl and I’ll let you lick my ass later.”

“Goddess,” Cassia growled through clenched teeth.

“Mother!” Lysandra snapped.

“I’m sorry darling,” Cassia blushed. “She’s really good at finding my weak spots and…”

“Frost!” Lysandra pouted at him. “Tell Renna that my mom is too old for her and she can’t sleep with her!”

“I mean,” Frost shrugged. “Don’t you think that’d be a bit hypocritical?”

“Lady Brynn? Lishri? Desdemona?” Lysandra looked around the bath for somebody on her side but nobody wanted to be involved. “Fine! I see how it is! Well just so you all know my beloved husband fucked me without using the infertility spell last night!”

“You mean you were screaming breed me because he was really…” Ena’s jaw dropped.

“What?” Renna and Brynn screamed simultaneously. The two began shouting over each other as they yelled at Frost.

“Really?” Desdemona jumped up excitedly. “Really, really? This is fantastic!”

“What do you mean, this is fantastic?” Brynn asked angrily.

“If Herald Frost gets somebody pregnant, he has to get me pregnant!” Desdemona jumped up and down excitedly. “He promised my brother! I’m going to get to be a mommy!”

“This is ridiculous!” Renna yelled. “Herald Frost! You need to marry me so I can have your babies!”

“You need to stop fucking my mother!” Lysandra yelled back.

“Herald Frost,” Fayeth hopped up. “Do you think you’d be willing to give me and Ena a baby?”

“I’m not ready to be a mother!” Ena said defensively.

“Handsome you better not be fucking everybody unprotected!” Brynn shouted. “Lysandra’s one thing but I swear to the goddess if there’s a brothel full of pregnant whores there’ll be consequences!”

“Before I forget Herald Frost,” Cassia shouted over the fighting. “You had a meeting with Shalia last night and I need update you.”

“After breakfast,” Frost shouted back over the belligerent women.

“Is it always like this?” one of the gorgon’s asked Frost as she watched the women scream at each other. The three snake-haired women didn’t look disturbed or frightened as much as intrigued.

“Pretty much,” Frost groaned while thinking he needed a break. “I wonder if there are any hunts available in Blackwater.”

The End

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You may also like

Herald of Shalia Series

Herald of Shalia Book 1

Herald of Shalia Book 2

Herald of Shalia Book 3

Herald of Shalia Book 4 (Coming Soon!)

Forbidden Arcana Series

Jinx (Book 1)

Ariel (Book 2)

Mirage (Book 3)

Theia (Book 4)

Sable (Book 5)

Luna (Book 6)

Talia (Book 7)

Morgana (Book 8)

Valaria (Book 9)

Arcana Slice of Life Series

Animal Magnetism (After Sable)

Rank Zero (After Morgana)

Copyright © 2019 by Tamryn Tamer. All rights reserved. www.tamryntamer.com & www.smirkpublishing.com.

No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic or mechanical means including information storage and retrieval systems, without permission in writing from the publisher. Except in the cases permitted by copyright law.

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents either are products of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental. All characters are eighteen years or older.

Table of Contents

- Let's Have Some Fun!
- Other Series
- Chapter 1
- Chapter 2
- Chapter 3
- Chapter 4
- Chapter 5
- Chapter 6
- Chapter 7
- Chapter 8
- Chapter 9
- Chapter 10
- Chapter 11
- Chapter 12
- Chapter 13
- Chapter 14
- Chapter 15
- Chapter 16
- Chapter 17
- Chapter 18
- Chapter 19
- Chapter 20
- Chapter 21
- Chapter 22
- Chapter 23
- Chapter 24
- Chapter 25
- Chapter 26
- Chapter 27
- Chapter 28
- Chapter 29
- Free Book Offer
- Acknowledgements
- You may also like
- Copyright