by Eric Vall
I chuckled as I popped a magenta berry into my mouth, but before I could respond, my dragon hearing picked up the sound of approaching footsteps.
“Good morning!” I heard the unmistakable voice of Marina sing out from the hallway.
“A beautiful morning!” Polina crooned.
“Lovely indeed,” Trina confirmed.
A moment later, the three dryads skipped into the room, and I was struck by how naturally they fit into our surroundings. The green of their skin matched the emerald vines and plants that grew throughout House Onca’s palace, and each sister even wore some of the flowers I’d noted in the hallways earlier. Polina had a large pink bloom tucked behind her ear, Marina wore a circlet of tiny orange flowers across her brow, and red petals were woven into Trina’s thick braid as it hung over her shoulder.
“Good to see you this morning, ladies,” I said with a broad grin. “I’m sorry I had to rush off yesterday--”
“Oh, we understand,” Polina interrupted me, and she flapped her hands around. “You never need to apologize to us, Lord Evan.”
“Yes, you had to do badass dragon things.” Trina nodded fervently.
“Sexy badass dragon things, for sure,” Marina agreed as she bit her lip and dragged her emerald eyes across me.
“And we will never object to sexy badass dragon things,” Polina giggled, and then she darted over to peck a kiss against my cheek.
“Glad to hear it,” I chuckled, and I turned my head at the last second to catch the dryad’s plush green lips.
Polina sighed happily into my mouth, but her sisters gasped behind her.
“We want kisses from Lord Evan, too!” Trina pouted and crossed her arms over her chest.
“Then get over here,” I teased with a smirk, and a moment later, I had my arms full of dryads.
The girls showered me in kisses and giggles, and I made sure to pay them each an equal amount of attention. When they were finally satisfied, the three sisters sat at the table on the other side of Jai and started to eat with vigor.
I guess I wasn’t the only one who thought breakfast smelled extra delicious this morning.
Another few minutes later, I felt more than heard Laika approach, and I looked up to see the wolf Demi-Human stride into the room to join us. She’d covered her lean body in tight leathers with the emblem of the Blue Tree Guild on her magical gorget. Her boots rose high on her legs and left only a small bit of her olive skin exposed, and her gray tail swished behind her as she walked toward the table.
I remembered the way Alyona had played with Laika’s tail the other morning in my bed, and my cock twitched in my trousers. I was really getting tired of these attacks getting in the way of me and my women. I couldn’t think of much I’d enjoy more than taking all of my women at once, and I felt a growl rumble in my chest from imagining it.
Laika pulled out the chair next to Alyona and sat down. She looked serious this morning, and I smiled at the stoic expression the wolf always defaulted to.
“Morning, Laika,” I said with a nod.
“My lord and lady,” she answered and returned the nod. Then she filled her plate and sank her teeth into a piece of bread.
“Did you sleep well?” I asked casually.
“I did,” Laika confirmed after she swallowed her bite. “And you, my lord?”
“Alright.” I shrugged before I winked at the wolf. “Would have slept better if I had someone else to keep me warm last night. You know how Alyona hogs the blankets.”
“I do not!” Alyona gasped and turned her wide amethyst eyes my way.
Laika’s stoic mask faltered as her lips twitched up into a half-smile, and I could tell she was trying to stifle her laughter.
“Do not listen to him, Milady,” Laika addressed Alyona. “He is only teasing.”
“I am,” I snickered, and then I leaned over to kiss the princess’ warm cheek. “You are very cute when you cocoon yourself in all the sheets.”
“Hmmph,” Alyona pouted, and she tilted her nose up in the air while she nibbled on a piece of red fruit.
Before I could say anything else, I heard more footsteps approaching the dining hall, and I caught a faint scent of smoke in the air.
“Ravi!” the dryads cried out when the phoenix entered the room a moment later.
“Good morning!” Ravi grinned cheerfully, and her smoky orange hair was as wild as usual. Her locks weren’t tied back today, so her unruly strands flowed in curls and waves about halfway down her spine. When she was excited, the ends of her hair would burn slightly, a reminder of her ability to be reborn after a burn, and the scent of a smoky campfire perpetually followed after her.
I couldn’t help but admire the phoenix as she approached the table. She wore a red jumper of some sort, and it was tight across her hips, but I wanted to see it from the other side. I knew she had an amazing, firm ass, and I bet it looked good in that outfit.
“Morning, Lord Evan,” Ravi murmured when she caught me staring, and a faint blush dusted her tan cheeks.
“Mornin’,” I replied with a grin.
Ravi smiled in return before she plopped down next to the sisters, and they spoke and giggled in hushed tones.
I smiled and was glad to see her and the dryads getting along so well. I knew the phoenix had been homesick after leaving her tribe behind to follow me, and it felt good to know my eclectic family was welcoming her with open arms.
Several minutes later, Nike finally waltzed into the room and sat down next to Jai. I was shocked he was the last one in the room, though, since he was normally the first one up and ready to go.
“Sleep alright, brother?” I asked with some concern.
“Not perfectly, but well enough,” the noble sighed as he began to fill his own plate.
“Was the room not to your liking?” Jai questioned, and a frown marred his face.
“The room is fine, thank you, Lord Jai,” Nike assured him, but then he averted his eyes and looked almost … embarrassed. “In all honesty, I had a little trouble with some night time visitors.”
“Assassins?” I growled as I started to stand to my feet.
“No, no,” Nike refuted, and he sighed again as he started to roll up the sleeve on his left arm. “My visitors were … smaller, but no less vicious in nature.”
I frowned in confusion, but when Nike showed me his bare forearms, I had to bite down on my lower lip to keep from laughing.
“Ouch,” Ravi hissed sympathetically. “Are those ant bites?”
“Ants, mosquitoes, you name it,” Nike grumbled and scratched at the dozen or so raised, red bumps on his skin.
“I apologize, Lord Nikolaus,” Jai intoned with a serious expression. “The bugs do not bother my people. Perhaps it is because you are human?”
“Perhaps,” Nike sighed.
“Don’t worry, brother,” I chuckled. “I got you.”
I took a deep breath and then exhaled a cloud of glitter over my fellow noble. The sparkling magic settled over Nike and seeped into his skin, and he groaned in relief.
“Thank you,” he said as he met my eyes.
“Don’t mention it.” I winked at him. “Now, I take it everyone wants to go on our little adventure?”
“Yes, if that’s alright,” Nike answered. “Jai said you were checking it out this morning, and we all figured if we could help, we should be there.”
“For sure,” I agreed and nodded. “We have to get this water supply cleared up for the jaguars. They can’t borrow from the other houses and limit their citizens forever.”
“First, let’s eat and make sure everyone has the energy for the long day,” Alyona reminded us. “Especially after yesterday’s draining events.”
I smiled at her and resumed eating my breakfast. She was right, we needed to be at full capacity just in case there was something crazy at the end of the river. Of course, we didn’t want to battle anything or anyone, but it was better to be prepared just in case.
“Do you think we’ll r
un into something out there?” Jai whispered as he leaned across the table toward me and looked at the rest of the group with concern. “Should we bring some of the guards?”
“No, don’t bring anyone else,” I answered and waved my hand. “We can handle it. Trust me, we’ve healed miasma smoke poisonings and killed leviathans, stone giants, and behemoths … We’ll figure out a way to get rid of whatever’s in the water.”
“You’ve killed all those?” Jai’s eyes went wide. “I had no idea you could do all that.”
And I hadn’t even listed every little thing we’d defeated in the short time since I’d arrived in Inati.
“Yep.” I smirked. “Now you see why I was confident enough to swoop into Tikal. You couldn’t scare me after dealing with those plus the necromancer.”
“Oh gods, and the necromancer!” Jai gasped in a louder voice. “I forgot about that, too. No wonder King Rodion has so much faith in you.”
“He knows he can trust us to handle the problems,” I confirmed. “So, you can trust us, too.”
“I see,” Jai said as he rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “Well, as soon as everyone is ready, we can go see what’s going on here.”
“Listen up,” I addressed the rest of the table, and their conversations ceased. “We will be heading out to the river shortly, so make sure you get your fill here. We will need as much energy as possible since we don’t know what’s causing the problems. Good?”
Everyone agreed with nods and yeses.
“Let’s load up in about fifteen minutes,” Nike suggested. “Then we can get some of the water supply that Alyona purified yesterday to take with us.”
“Sounds good,” I agreed as I pushed my chair from the table. “See everyone out front in fifteen.”
Alyona pushed her chair back as she daintily wiped her mouth, and we both got up from the table and made our way to the sitting room near the palace doors. Then I sat down in one of the plump chairs by the window and pulled Alyona onto my lap.
The princess smiled and wrapped her arms around my neck as she leaned against me.
“What do you think we’ll find out there?” Alyona asked as she looked out the window toward the jungle.
“Who knows?” I shrugged. “I didn’t expect to find zombie animals in the forest by Hatra, so I can’t even guess.”
“Zombie?” Alyona looked at me with a furrowed brow.
“Oh, it’s an Earth term,” I clarified. “It’s something that was dead and brought back to life, usually to eat people and their brains.”
“Huh,” she mumbled. “What a weird world that you have a name for such a creature.”
“Yeah,” I laughed. “There were a lot of movies about them, too.”
“Movies?” Alyona wondered.
“Oh, ah … ” I fumbled a little in trying to define a movie, since it was such a normal thing back in my old world. “Like, if someone took a bunch of pictures and put them together really fast, you could watch it like you were there. It’s entertainment on Earth.”
“Interesting.” She looked unconvinced. “Maybe we can make a movie one day.”
“Yeah,” I answered with a devilish grin. “There’s a special kind of movie I’d like to make with you for sure.”
My morning wood decided to make a reappearance at the idea of making movies with my princess.
“Oh!” Alyona definitely noticed my arousal as it pressed against her back. “I think I would like those movies.”
“Ahem.” Nike cleared his throat as he entered the room.
“Ah, fifteen minutes already?” I sighed as I tried to calm myself down. My blood had already run south, and things were getting a bit tight.
“Yes,” Nike chuckled. “Everyone else is right behind me.”
Sure enough, the dryads, Ravi, Laika, and Jai walked past the doorway toward the front doors of the palace.
Alyona and I stood up, and I adjusted my trousers as I tried to clear my head from our movie conversation. Then we walked hand in hand to the doors to meet everyone else.
“I wouldn’t recommend the wagon for the jungle paths,” Jai advised. “We will probably be better suited to walk along the river.”
“That makes sense to me,” I agreed. “You lead the way to the nearest access point, and we’ll follow. Then we’ll walk up the river from there.”
“This way, then.” Jai motioned to an opening in the trees with a path leading into the jungle.
I followed Jai with Alyona next to me, Laika and Nike right behind us, the dryads behind them, and Ravi at the end.
We traipsed through the humid jungle with various bugs buzzing around our heads, and I kept hearing the slap of someone swatting the bugs off their skin. I glanced over my shoulder to see Nike scowling at the air around him, and I had to stifle a snicker. The bugs didn’t seem to be interested in me, but I also had my tough scales covering my exposed forearms, which would have been a great defense for mosquitos back on my old planet.
The party followed Jai for a while, and I looked around at the unfamiliar jungle plants. I’d seen pictures of the rainforest on Earth, but it was nothing like the sights here. First, the trees were massive, closer to the size of the sequoias I’d heard about in California than the regular rainforest trees of South America. The plants were also more colorful than I had ever imagined with blues, purples, yellows, and oranges popping up on every tree and blossoming from the land next to the path. Many of the trees had fruit dangling from their branches, and I figured this was where House Onca got most of the fruit they provided for meals. As I looked a little closer, I even saw small green and brown birds darting through the foliage, and I realized those must be the delicious akulina birds I’d enjoyed this morning.
“Just ahead is the closest clearing by the river,” Jai announced as he pointed through a copse of trees.
We walked into the clearing, and I was surprised to finally see the river we’d been discussing. It was huge, like several miles across. I’d never seen a river this wide in person, only lakes. The picture-perfect blue water was clear to the bottom of the river. It swept down the jungle with a lazy flow, and it reminded me of the floating man-made rivers at water parks back on Earth. The effect was calming. The large-leafed trees provided tons of shade over both the river and the banks around it, and I could definitely see why the jaguars liked coming here.
No one else seemed surprised by the riverside, and everyone dispersed into the clearing to look around. The small river grasses swayed with the slight breeze, while the huge trees towered above us. The dryads went straight for the soil next to the water and dug in their hands, Ravi burst into flame and flitted up into the sky above the water, and Jai guided the rest of us to the riverside and pointed to some buckets hanging from a tree nearby.
“See, this is where we always used to come to gather water,” Jai explained, “but we started trying to find different areas upriver once our people started getting sick. There are about twenty more clearings like this one as you head north that we have tried, but we still get the same results.”
“It looks beautiful,” Alyona murmured.
“But it smells off,” I muttered as I looked around. The faint smell of death and decay had become familiar, and I was surprised the jaguars hadn’t sensed something out of the ordinary, since the Demi-Humans’ sense of smell seemed to be almost as strong as my dragon senses.
“I agree,” Laika said with a nod. Then she took in a big whiff of air and growled. “And there’s something here.”
“Even the soil is tainted,” Polina added.
“It’s like it can’t grow anything else,” Marina said with a note of sadness.
“Yeah, like all its life-giving qualities are drained,” Trina finished.
“Watch out!” Ravi suddenly shouted as she veered back into view.
We all turned to face the section she’d come out from just as a purple creature that looked kind of like a gorilla came crashing through the trees. Its plum-colored fur stood on end, and i
ts gigantic hands had claws the size of daggers at the end of every finger. The beast was at least seven feet tall as it crouched on its hands and feet, so it had to be about twelve feet tall if it stood up straight. Its crazed eyes were roaming around the clearing like it was sizing each of us up for an attack, and its mouth was foaming around giant incisors that looked ready to slice through any of us.
“What the hell is that thing?” I shouted as I glanced around the clearing for more of them. I rifled through my ape knowledge, and I was fairly certain gorillas could attack people, but I wasn’t really sure what I was looking at.
“It looks like a manga, but there’s something wrong with it!” Alyona answered with a combination of curiosity and fear.
“Do they normally travel in packs or herds or something?” I asked as I thought back to the gorillas on Earth.
“Yes, but this one won’t have a pack anymore,” Jai responded as he brandished a spear. “They’ll separate out any sick ones, so the rest of the pack can survive.”
Well, at least we didn’t have to worry about more of these fuckers at the moment. That made things a bit easier.
The manga stood on its hindlegs about fifty yards from us and bellowed as it banged its fists on its chest. It was an ear-shattering noise, so I sent out some of my healing magic to cover everyone’s ears and grabbed the Sword of Hatra from my spatial storage. Then I noticed Nike and Laika follow suit.
Now, we just needed a course of action. How do we stop a gigantic, rabid ape from tearing us apart with his wolverine claws and possibly giving us its miasma rabies?
Then it hit me.
“Use the vines!” I yelled at the dryads when I realized they were still crouched down near the ground.
“Good idea!” Polina shouted back, and the sisters dug their hands back in the soil to connect with their growing magic.
The vines hanging from the tree near the manga began to drop down closer to its body and wrap around its chest and arms. It was even more pissed now, but at least it was somewhat restrained. Better safe than sorry since I didn’t know if we could catch whatever had made it sick. So far, none of the miasma poisoning had been spread that way, but this seemed just a bit different.
