by Logan Jacobs
I guess there was only one way to find out.
“I’m not entirely sure,,” I admitted to the blue-skinned dragonkin woman. “But I sure as shit want to find out.”
“I can lead the way.” Nadir nearly jumped into my arms as she stood at attention. “I travel these parts of the forest often, so I know all the best places to find stairwillows.”
“Is that what you call them?” I questioned with a raised eyebrow. “stairwillows?”
“Indeed.” Nadir nodded, and a sudden epiphany washed over me.
That was it. That was how we would utilize these alien trees.
They were literally called “stairwillows,” probably because they curved upward from their roots like a spiral staircase that reached to the heavens. So, that was exactly what we would use them for.
“I know what we can do with those things,” I announced to my group. “You know how we have to use those rickety ladders to get up to the top of our wall back home?”
“Unfortunately,” Mira sighed. “I feel like I’m tempting my fate with the gods every time I climb up those death traps.”
“Well, you won’t have to worry anymore!” I proclaimed with a wide gesture. “Because once we get those trees back to the island, we’re going to use them to make stairs. Like, honest to the gods, permanent wooden stairs.”
Mira let out a long sigh of relief. “Leave it to you, Ben, to come up with something so clever and practical.”
“I’m not sure I see what the big deal is,” Malak mused, and her amber eyes were skeptical. “Climbing up large structures is something we do every day.”
“Not all of us are Coonag, I’m afraid,” Anora sighed. “Us dragonkin have much heavier bodies, and we are nowhere near as limber or agile as your species is.”
“A staircase sounds like the perfect solution,” Mira admitted. “Though I think we should maybe leave the death ladder up for our Coonag friends to use. I bet one go on it makes them change their tunes about climbing…”
Malak rolled her eyes at the sarcasm, but otherwise didn’t seem to be phased.
“Alright, Nadir.” I turned to the leader of the Coonag people. “Take us to the closest hotspot of stairwillows. Mira, you come with us. Everybody else? Start lugging these fallen trees to the beach and measuring out how much rope we’ll need to pull them onto the ship. And don’t forget to lift with your knees, not with your backs!”
The women giggled at my joke before they turned their attention back to the task at hand. Then they rushed over to the logs on the ground, surrounded them with three people on each side, bent down, and picked them up over their shoulders.
As they headed off to the beach, Nadir whistled for my attention, and I saw the Coonag leader’s black and gray speckled tail swishing back and forth as she stood there with her hands on her hips.
“We’re losing daylight by the second,” she said. “It’s only a few minutes’ walk away from here, but we can use every second of daylight that the gods grant us today.”
“Well, lead the way,” I replied with a wave of my hand.
Mira and I followed after Nadir deeper into the thicket of the forest, and now that we were literally off the beaten path, navigating the brush became much harder. Thorn bushes, ivies of various types, and the remnants of dead and fallen trees blocked the path, though they usually disappeared with a flick of my sword.
As we ventured deeper into the woods, I made sure to carve notches into both sides of the big trees we passed by. I didn’t want us to get lost on our way back, plus I wanted to make sure the others could find the trees once we felled them. Even with the three of us and our enhanced strength, there was no way we were going to be able to carry multiple logs back on our own.
After about fifteen minutes of walking, Nadir stopped in her tracks and pointed off in the distance.
There stood one of the twisted trees known as the stairwillow. The thing towered above me, nearly thirty feet tall and almost double the width of my body. This thing would make an excellent, sturdy staircase, but only if we could get it back to the boat without further issues.
“You know the drill.” Mira nodded to the base of the stairwillow.
“Ayeayeaye!” Nadir cried out as she dashed forward, and her eyes were filled with pure bliss.
The Coonag leader didn’t even break her stride as she hit the solid wood of the tree trunk. Instead, she used her own momentum to hoist herself up the side a few feet, dug her claws into the soft bark, and proceeded to scuttle upwards. Once she was about halfway up the stairwillow, she stopped, spread out her stubby legs so she could rest them on two branches, and began to tie a tight knot around the trunk.
“They seem to be good at knot tying,” Mira noted. “An excellent skill for a potential crew member to have.”
“I just hope she can still do that if she gets pregnant,” I chuckled.
“Well, did you fill her with your seed?” the jade-haired woman asked matter-of-factly.
“I-Uh… Yes.” I admitted, and I felt a slight blush creep up my face. “I definitely did.”
“Then she will surely be with child soon.” Mira shrugged. “If she’s not already. Your seed is very strong, Ben. That’s why I cannot wait until I earn the right to let you fill me up to my eyeballs with it.”
My dick throbbed to life at her mention of orgasming inside of her, but I quickly shook it off.
“Not until we finish our quests,” I reminded the hungry dragonkin woman. “Which, judging by how many islands are on that map, could take a while.”
Mira stepped forward and placed her hand tenderly on my chest, and then she began to trace the outline of my pectorals with her finger, which only made my cock grow harder and hungrier.
“Then we’ll just have to keep putting it somewhere else.” She winked with a purr, and I swore I was about to cum right then and there.
“I got it!” Nadir suddenly called down to us. “This should do the trick!”
Then, before either of us could respond, the Coonag woman made her descent. Nadir simply grabbed onto the rope and then proceeded to jump up into the air. Next, she clamped her feet together firmly around the rope and let gravity take its course. She cackled excitedly as her lean, short body slid down the rope at break-neck speed like an out of control rocket, and when she was only a few feet off the ground, the Coonag leader shoved her feet into the truck of the tree, pushed off, and backflipped onto the ground behind us with the rope still in her hands.
Her dark eyes were full of wonder and pride as she stood up and gave us both a sly grin.
“Damn.” I whistled. “Are your hands alright? That looked like it was going to be some serious rope burn.”
Nadir held out her hands to show me they were okay. Sure enough, neither of her palms had even the slightest hint of redness, splinters, or welts.
“We Coonag have thick skin on the pads of our hands and feet,” she explained. “Climbing would be an awful lot harder if we didn’t. Luckily for you, it also means my hands can do other things for extended periods of time, without getting worn out…”
My pulse quickened at the thought of the beautiful racoon-woman stroking me off. At the same time, my pants tightened against my groin, and my mind began to wander.
A hand on my shoulder broke me out of my temporary trance, and I glanced over to see Mira’s golden eyes staring back at me.
“You ready to start chopping?” The golden dragonkin woman smiled. “I bet I can get through that trunk quicker than you can.”
“Oh?” I smirked. “What are we betting, exactly?”
“Who gets to be on top the next time we make love,” Mira cooed into my ear. “In other words, the loser has to do more work.”
“Who are you kidding?” I chuckled. “We’re going to end up doing it both ways, anyway.”
“There’s only one way to be sure.” The jade-haired woman winked at me as she stepped over to the base of the tree and drew her sword.
I headed over to the other
side, pulled my seaglass weapon out from its sheath, and then pressed the thin edge of the blade up against the bark. The second my sharp weapon touched the stairwillow, a thin strip of the wooden skin peeled off and curled like the bow of a Christmas present.
Then I gave Mira a preparatory glance, and we got to work.
We alternated hauling back and slamming our blades into the trunk of the stairwillow. Each blow sent splinters of wood into the air and sliced deeper and deeper into the base of the tree, and unlike with the straight trees, our swords cut through the Stairwillow like a hot knife through butter.
A three-foot thick stick of butter, mind you. But butter nonetheless.
Finally, after precisely seven rounds of chopping, I heard the sound I wanted to hear. There was a loud creak, followed by a natural groan that sounded like it came from the roots of the willow itself.
“Alright, Nadir!” Mira exclaimed. “Bring it down.”
The dragonkin warrior and I made haste and ran over to the right side of the tree, out of the way of its falling body. Then Nadir gave the rope a hefty pull, and the stairwillow groaned loudly as it came crashing down to the foliage below.
The Coonag leader wiped her hands cockily as she placed her foot on the fallen tree and then smiled.
“How many more do you need?” the dark-eyed woman prompted. “Because I can get you as many more as you want.”
“Probably just one more,” I admitted.
Even though these stairwillows would be useful, they were a want, not a need. Sure, it’d be great to have stable stairs all along the wall of Nerissa’s kingdom, which would ensure both safe climbing and a quick getaway in the case of evacuation, but it was much more important that we had the longer, straight logs so the Coonag could build and reinforce their tunnels.
Our orc enemies already knew about the fortified wall on our shores, but they would have no idea about any secret tunnels that stretched across our kingdom. Those tunnels could allow us to sneak around the island without risking any encounters with dangerous animals, and they could also act as a mode of retreat, should the unthinkable ever happen.
As cool as these twisted trees were, we didn’t have room for more than a couple on the ship.
So, Nadir took us over to the location of another stairwillow, and we repeated the process all over again. This time, we worked even more efficiently, and we had the damn thing down in a matter of minutes.
Once our task was done, we sheathed our weapons and tried to carry the tree back to the shore. Mira and I both had the strength of the dragonkin inside our bodies, so we took the two ends. Nadir wasn’t quite as strong, but she was still able to handle the middle section with little to no visible struggling.
Still, the tree was fairly heavy, and I let out a puff of frustration as I hoisted it up into the air. Its bark was surprisingly soft to the touch, almost like a fuzzy felt mixed with the slickness of silk.
Once we had the stairwillow firmly in our grasp, the three of us began to march back to the shore. We stopped only three times, to catch our breath for a second and regroup, but eventually we made it through the tree line and out onto the open beach. We walked the tree to the shore, counted to three, and then gently set it down onto the sandy ground.
We laid it down next to the already-large pile of logs that were mounting up, though this one stuck out like a sore thumb.
I was wondering where you went to, George’s voice cut through my head, and I glanced over to see the dragon climbing out of the surf and shaking water droplets off his scales. The extra water has been loaded, as have several of the logs that your friends have brought out to me. I must say, though… I’m not sure if I have the strength or the energy to get all of these fallen trees out to the ship!
“Don’t worry about it,” I promised my water dragon as I wiped a bit of sweat away from my brow. “We’re going to float the rest. Buuuuut, I do have one little favor to ask, if you don’t mind.”
Another tree? the blue-scaled creature asked with puppy dog eyes that made me feel guilty for even asking.
“It’s just one,” I promised, “one that looks like this. If you follow your footpath back to the clearing and then go to the back right, you’ll find a bunch of trees with notches in them. Follow those, and boom! It’ll lead you right to it.”
Fine, George conceded. But I get to sleep on the bed tonight.
“George,” I chuckled amusedly, “if you go grab that tree and help us float some of these logs out to the ship, I will see if I can have Nerissa’s people build you a permanent bed.”
Sold! The water dragon grinned as he shifted his weight back and forth on each pair of legs like a puppy.
Then George barreled off toward the tree line and disappeared into the woods.
“That sounded like a good conversation,” Nadir chuckled. “Too bad I could only hear half of it.”
“I just bribed him with a dragon bed,” I explained, “that’s all. I was thinking about having one built for him anyways, so it’s not a big deal.”
“Why doesn’t he have one yet?” the racoon-woman questioned.
“Well…” I began, “because any supplies we’ve gotten since I’ve arrived have either been used for fortifications or provisions. But, now, we might just be able to use some of these supplies for pleasure, rather than business.”
“You know I’m always down for some pleasure,” Mira cooed and wrapped her arm into my left elbow.
“Me, too,” Nadir added with a sharp grin. “Preferably the rough, sloppy kind.”
My heart swelled as I thought about the lovemaking sessions I’d had with both of these women. Mira and I were more traditional in bed, while Nadir was a total freak. I fucking loved it both ways, and I couldn’t wait for our next bout of alone time.
Hopefully, that would be soon after we returned to our home base.
About a half-mile down the beach, I saw Tirian hovering over the body of the alligator beast, and the silver dragon tore chunks of flesh from its body before he tossed it into a large basket that sat on the ground below.
Meanwhile, I could see the beautiful, leggy figure of Jemma inside the beast’s body as she hacked away at the little bit of meat that remained.
We’d gotten most of the main organs and meaty sections out of the monster the night before, but that still left enough on the carcass for several more baskets full of flesh.
As the three of us approached the dead gator, I couldn’t help but laugh at Tirian’s expression. Though the small dragon was helping his master out, it was clear he really, truly wanted nothing to do with this situation. His eyes were watery, and he seemed to be retching as he yanked hunks of meat off the bone.
How does it taste this bad? Tirian pleaded to both Jemma and me. I think my own egg shell tasted better than this, and that sat under my mother’s sweaty stomach for months!
“It’s probably because you are reptilian, as well?” Jemma suggested. “I bet your species is programmed to be against cannibalism.”
“Dragons aren’t reptilian,” I explained. “We don’t really know what they are. Especially Tirian’s species, which seems to be a lot like the dragons of my world, though those creatures are completely fictional. In short, who the fuck knows?”
I definitely know that I don’t like this, Tirian gagged in his head, but I will continue to endure. For both Jemma and you, Ben.
“I appreciate that, Tirian,” I laughed. “Way to take one for the team. Is there anything we can help with over here, Jemma?”
The deer-woman moved her chartreuse eyes over to me and smiled. Even in the darkness, the oil of the beast coated her body and caused it to shimmer in the light like she’d been covered in suntan lotion. Her already tan skin looked even more radiant, and I couldn’t wait to get her back on the boat and kiss every inch of her body.
Then a wide grin spread across Jemma’s face as she blushed intensely.
Oh, shit… Our minds had only been melded together for a few days now, and I wasn’t used
to her being able to read my thoughts.
“I’d like that, too, you know,” Jemma giggled bashfully. “I’d like that a lot. But, back on subject, I think we’re pretty good here. There’s not a ton of meat left on this guy, and anything I haven’t cut off already is pretty small, anyways. In a few more minutes, this beast will be nothing but vulture bait.”
“What are you talking about?” Nadir gasped. “There’s plenty of good stuff left!”
The racoon woman opened up her mouth to reveal her razor-sharp fangs and then thrust them into the side of the alligator’s body. She let out a feral growl as she pulled a chunk of cooked muscle free from its bone, threw back her head, and gulped it down hastily. Then Nadir licked her lips as bits of oily residue dribbled down her chin and coated her fur clothing with its juices.
“If you let the rest of us handle this thing, we’d have it cleaned down to the bones in no time!” She grinned.
“Speaking of bones,” I suddenly remembered. “I wanted to talk to you guys about that. Try to salvage as many of this thing’s bones as you can, especially the bigger ones like the rib cage or the legs. Those could also be used to reinforce the tunnels or to build weapons or other structures.”
“I’d love to have a dagger hilt made from the bones of this creature.” Mira’s golden eyes were aglow with the possibilities. “It would make an excellent keepsake, a trophy that would remind me of my kill on the daily.”
“Ask and you shall receive,” I promised. “We can start working on that while everybody else is doing their stuff.”
So, I drew my pink stone dagger that Nerissa had gifted me from its sheath, walked over to the back legs of the beast, and placed the blade at the first joint I found. I slid the nearly translucent knife against the hardened cartilage, which snapped and pulled away from the bones like dried-up hot glue, and once the leg bone was free, I yanked it out of place and started a pile just inside.
Nadir and Mira got in on the action, as well, and both of the fierce women separated the bones from the membranes that surrounded them, added them to the pile, and then went to work on the next one.
About an hour later, the task was finished. We now had a large pile of alligator bones, as well as two baskets full of cooked meat.
