Chapter 16

Kal and Kashka stood looking at an abandoned digging camp and shared a look between them. Iron pickaxes rusted by the weather leaned against boulders and piles of rock. Canvas bags once used to tote rubble away fluttered in the mild breeze where they were set down.

These were the remains of a plan to bore a tunnel straight through the bottom of the ridge. Digging stopped a few months after the Reavers moved in. Lassedo didn’t have a large enough militia to dislodge the ex-pirates. After Calfera’s attempts to remove the brigands failed, no one was willing to fund a costly tunnel they couldn’t even use. Upon finding out, they wouldn’t get paid, the workers dropped whatever was in their hands and walked away.

The road turned sharply to the north and made its way up the ridge at an incline much safer for wagons and carts heavy with tradable goods. Kashka scowled at the road. It wasn’t very steep, but the exchange for safety was length. From where she and Kal stood, they couldn’t even make out the gap where they crossed over to the Boordus jungle side of the ridge.

“My legs hurt just thinking about walking that far uphill,” said the cat-girl. “Hiking out of Lassedo’s ‘bowl’ was bad enough.”

Kal chuckled. “I did most of my hunting growing up in forested hills that lead into the mountains. The land doesn’t flatten out until just north of my farm. Fazal is extremely flat, and we didn’t walk much while crossing the desert. Until Lassedo, the savannah was just rolling grasslands. You’ve been spoiled.”

“And you’re going to spoil me a little more,” said Kashka turning toward him and holding her arms out. “Your mistress wants you to carry her up the hill,” she stated in an imperious tone. Despite her commanding attitude, there was still a tiny hint of a question in her order.

Smiling, Kal scooped her into his arms and started up the road.

“Nooo,” Kashka whined, “I meant fly us up there. If you’re going to just walk, then put me down. I’ll walk with you.” She snuggled into his chest, “I am liking this, though.”

The mage bent down and kissed her on her forehead. His feet lifted a few finger widths off the ground, and they began gliding up the rutted gravel road.

The band of mountain sheep had never seen anything like the small, off-white, triangular structure near the trail that ran along the ridge crest. The sunlight glinted off the morning dew collected by the canvas occasionally ran down in rivulets. The glistening water caught the sheep’s attention, and a few of them gathered around the tent to lick it off. A couple even tested whether or not the fibrous material was edible but quickly gave up when their teeth couldn’t tear or even loosen the fabric.

Inside the tent, Kal stood naked outside the bathroom, watching with amusement as the fuzzy gray and white images cast on the tent’s inner walls meandered around outside for a while longer before eventually continuing on their way. The walls returned to their normal color as the sound of wind rushing through trees faded. The tent appeared to interpret the sheep’s nibbling as an attack.

Chuckling to himself, he walked the handful of steps across the green carpet to his room. Inside he found Kashka sitting on his bed, beckoning him with a finger. Her eyes flicked between Kal’s face and his growing erection as he approached. She spread her legs and pointed at the floor as he stopped in front of her.

“On your knees,” she said, her voice thick with desire.

“As you wish,” Kal replied with a smile as he sank to the floor. The cat hooked an ankle behind his neck and pulled his mouth to her sex. The mage wasted no time and drew his tongue over her outer lips, teasing her until she gripped his hair and directed his mouth to her clit.

“Lick me there,” she panted, then leaned back on her elbows and moaned as he dutifully obeyed.

The mage lapped at her pearl for a few minutes until the cat-girl’s hips couldn’t stay still. Bringing two fingers up, he collected some of her wetness before slipping them into the tightness of her pussy.

She looked down at him. “I didn’t tell you you could put your fingers in me,” she said in half-hearted annoyance.

Kashka squeaked as he dragged his tongue over her clit before lifting his head and smirking at her. “I know you didn’t. I think I’m done having a ‘Mistress’ for now,” he said before sucking her pearl into his mouth and lashing it with his tongue. At the same time, his fingers curled upward and began lightly massaging the rough, sensitive spot inside her.

The cat-girl gasped at the pleasurable assault and collapsed to the bed before bringing her hands up to roughly knead her breasts and tease her nipples. “It’s ... about ... time...” she said between throaty moans and panting breaths.

Kal pressed his tongue flat against her clit and made small circles with his head as he withdrew his fingers and used them to coat her pucker with the cat’s natural lubricant. Kashka’s breath caught as one of his fingers gradually but insistently pushed through the tight ring of muscle.

The cat-girl’s mind flitted back to her lessons from Laika. She squeezed as hard as possible on the invading digit then bore down to let it slide further in. With very little resistance, Kal’s finger slipped all the way into her bottom. By itself, that felt wonderful, but then the mage began sawing his finger in and out while sucking on her clit again.

Kashka’s world exploded as her climax crashed into her. She only vaguely recognized that Kal’s tongue continued to make tiny circles around her pearl despite her unwitting attempts to crush his head between her thighs. She was only slightly more aware of the finger still lodged in her bottom, waiting for her body to relax.

Kal continued teasing the cat’s clit until she finally released him and pushed his head away. He noted that there was a definite moan of disappointment when his finger slipped free of her ass. No sooner did his tongue leave her clit than she started grasping at him, pulling him up and on top of her.

“Get inside me, Master. Please, your servant needs to feel you inside her.”

The mage suppressed a chuckle at a servant ordering her ‘Master’ to fuck her and guided his cock to her entrance. After coating the head of his prick with her wetness, he slowly pushed inside. He soon found out he was going too slow for the cat-girl as she wrapped her legs around him and pulled him forward, burying him to the hilt inside her. Kashka’s back arched as the sudden rush of pleasure stole her breath.

Settling into a steady but strong rhythm, Kal leaned over the bed and pressed his lips to hers.

When he broke their kiss, she looked up at him with pleading, needy eyes. “Do you love me?” she asked.

Kal slowed his thrusts slightly as he smiled down at her. “Absolutely.”

“I want to be your servant and let you love me like this forever,” she panted through the pleasure. Reaching up, she wrapped her arms around his neck and looked into his eyes. “I want to belong to you, Master.”

Kal’s eyes widened as he felt the bonding magic rise up from her body and encompass him. He didn’t let the sadness reach his face from knowing he would let this moment pass. He was her first love, and there was a whole world out there full of people who could make her happy and, unlike him, be devoted to only her. He swallowed hard as the pain of his decision formed a lump in his throat.

Memories of Elta came thundering to the forefront of his thoughts. He stood in front of his farmhouse as she strode toward him on the astral plane. Her clothes melted away, leaving her naked and radiantly beautiful as she demanded he make love to her; demanded he make it worth giving up her Goddess and magic to save Perra’s life.

The scene changed, and while still surrounded by the grayness of the astral plane, now the cleric stood naked next to Perra. Over the next few seconds, her cleric’s robes reappeared. She looked over at him with both the joy of reconnecting with her Goddess and the sadness of losing her bond with him.

Gathering Kashka into his arms, he crushed her to his chest and began slamming his cock into her depths. Leaning down, he put his mouth next to her ear.

“I accept,” he growled.

The bond snapped into place as he began filling her sex with his seed.

The cat’s happiness at his words pushed her to the very edge of climax when she felt something change. Kashka didn’t get to ponder what was happening as an unexpected orgasm rolled into her. Something felt strange, however, and she became even more confused when it triggered a second, more familiar, climax.

For the second time that morning, Kashka’s world exploded even as she tried to process that the mage formed a bond with her.

Kal held her tightly as he continued to fill her sex while scanning the jumble of ecstasy, confusion, and happiness that was the cat-girl’s thoughts.

Perhaps it wasn’t his greatest idea to form a bond while they were both on the verge of massive climaxes.

Kashka’s arms wrapped around his back. Nails that scraped across his skin changed into claws that sunk in, switching back and forth uncontrolled as the cat-girl made sense of everything that just happened.

Minutes passed as Kashka mentally adjusted to her new reality. Eventually, she looked up at Kal, who patiently held her throughout her ordeal.

The mage felt her thoughts dance along the edges of his mind and allowed her a little deeper.

“You really do love me, don’t you,” she said. It was more of a statement than a question.

He grinned down at her, “I do. And I think it’s safe to say you love me too.”

A faint blush tinted her cheeks for a moment. “You really don’t like it when I call you Master.”

“Well ... I don’t want people to think I’m a slave owner, but I don’t exactly hate it.”

“Yet, you know it makes me feel safe and gives me a sense of security, so you put up with it,” she said, searching his eyes.

Kal shrugged, “It seems like a small price, and I now know just how much it means to you.”

The cat moved her hand from his back to his face, “Thank you— you’re bleeding!” Kashka yelled, looking between her hand and the red streak on Kal’s cheek.

Holding himself up with one arm, he used the other to draw out the cleansing spell and directed it at her hand. “You lost control of your transformations for a little while as the bond formed. You don’t need to worry. I healed myself as soon as it happened,” he said, casting the cleaning spell a second time but at himself.

“But I hurt you...”

Kal tapped his temple, “Look in here and you’ll see I’m not mad, so put it out of your mind.”

“That’s going to take some getting used to,” she muttered. “But I ruined the mood, and I hoped to celebrate by spending the day just like this,” Kal grunted as her pussy tightened around him, “with my Master deep inside me.” She looked down as she felt his half-hard cock twitch inside her.

“I said I didn’t hate it,” Kal replied sheepishly to her questioning look. “It’s hard not to get a little excited when a beautiful woman stares into your eyes and calls you ‘Master.’” He leaned down and kissed her. “You didn’t ruin anything. We can still celebrate the day like this.” He said, pulling out and then slowly sliding back into her sex.

Kashka pulled him down and said, “I’d like that,” before pressing her lips to his.

The cat-girl opened her arms and stretched in the morning sun as Kal emerged from the tent behind her and spoke the command to break down the elven shelter.

“I can’t believe we spent an entire day in bed,” she giggled.

Once the tent finished folding in on itself, Kal picked up the canvas square and rolled it into a tube before dropping it into Ria’s bag. “I can’t believe you wanted to make it two,” he said, stepping up behind the cat. Pushing her cloak to the side, he cupped one of her ass cheeks and squeezed before sliding two fingers down and over the material covering her sex. The mage pressed the fabric of her shorts against her pussy lips. “I know you’re sore down here.”

“I am.” Flicking her tail, she swatted the side of his leg while pulling away from his hand, “that doesn’t mean I don’t want you to keep making love to me.” Turning around, she stepped into his arms, “Everything is so much more intense now that we’re bonded.”

He leaned down and kissed her head between her ears. “I realize you are enjoying this, but I’m not going to let you hurt yourself either.”

Kashka sighed and pulled away. “I thought boys were only supposed to think with the head in their pants.”

The mage chuckled as they started down the game trail leading back to the road, “When Ikuno and I first got together, that was true. I can think of plenty of times when I was still her ‘servant’ that I showed up wanting nothing more than to spend the entire time inside her.” Kal enhanced his story by showing the cat a few memories from that time, then quickly stopped when he felt Kashka’s arousal spike. Clearing his throat, he continued, “Unlike a lot of boys my age trying to woo one of the girls in town, I didn’t need to talk Ikuno out of her clothes. Most times, she didn’t just match my lust but even demanded more of me. When I didn’t need to worry about the next time I’d get a woman in bed, learning to ignore the head in my pants became a lot easier.”

Kashka stopped just before the steep slope down to the road. “It amazes me how there can be two completely different environments so close together,” she said, looking to either side.

“Blame it on the ridge,” said Kal. “Where we are, most of our weather comes from the west, but a lot of it gets blocked by the mountains east of Fazal. Far south of here, the direction changes and weather comes in from the east. This ridge extends far to the south and channels the warm, moist air from the southern ocean up into the jungle below. The air the ridge doesn’t catch spreads out over the southern savannah, which explains why Coovie and Rhim say those lands are a lot wetter.”

The cat stared at him, “How can you possibly know all that?”

“I already knew about how weather changes direction the further south you go. The rest is mostly just a guess based on the map Idu showed us of the surrounding lands.”

“That was a guess?”

Kal shrugged before picking Kashka up and activating the flight rune pressed against his back, “Before I started learning magic, I hardly knew anything about the world outside of my little town,” he explained as they floated down to the road. “Learning magic and consorting with monster girls opened my eyes to how amazing the world is and have taken me on some interesting journeys.

“What started as curiosity about how air flows over a harpy’s wing led to wondering why they said the air felt ‘thick’ and was harder to fly through on humid days. I then started looking into how much water air can hold, which then led to clouds and weather, which then led to studying weather systems. My explanation may just be a guess, but I think it’s a good one.”

“Your guess makes a surprising amount of sense,” said Kashka as she glanced around where Lassedo cut a gap in the top of the ridge to make the transition from one side to the other smoother.

With a final glance at the savannah sprawled out behind them, they started down the road into the Boordus Jungle.

The air thickened as they dropped toward the ridge’s treeline. After the dry air of the savannah and the thin, crisp air on top of the ridge, the moist air permeating the rainforest felt heavy. Kal stopped just above the treeline and stared with wonder at the wisps of clouds rising up from the forest canopy. They looked like smoke from the top of the ridge, but Idu warned them of this phenomenon and assured them the jungle was not on fire.

They reached the treeline and discovered that the rainforest had already begun to reclaim the road. Branches and fronds extended out from the sides, creating a dome-shaped gap above the hard-packed gravel. Kal would need to bend over nearly double to crawl through the space or push his way through the dense vegetation.

He instead chose a third option. Retrieving his staff from Ria, he turned it into a polearm with a curved blade called a glaive and began slicing through the underbrush.

After about an hour, Kal stripped down to just his pants. The strength rune may make him extremely strong, the stamina rune may keep him from getting tired, and the acclimation rune may keep him from sweating to death in hot climates, but none of those prevented him from getting hot and sweaty from constant exertion.

His biggest distraction was Kashka. The cat kept having vivid daydreams of him tossing the glaive to the side, then spinning around, striding over, tearing her clothes off, and ravishing her right there in the middle of the newly-cleared road.

Either that or the cat would imagine sinking to her knees behind him. Kal would then notice her and similarly toss his glaive to the side before undoing his belt and tugging down his pants before feeding his cock into her mouth and roughly face-fucking her as her smooth non-cat-like tongue swirled around it. The daydream got a little fuzzy since her rough tongue prevented her from experiencing this in real life, and she had no memories to draw from.

The daydream then shifted to her lying on his bed with her ankles crossed behind her head. Kal’s swing faltered. He didn’t realize she was that flexible. He stopped and looked back at her as in the daydream she reached down and collected some of her wetness, then rubbed it around the puckered skin of her bottom.

“It’s been so long I think I forgot what it was like being bonded to a monster girl,” he said, snapping her out of her fantasy.

Kashka blushed, “Sorry, I forgot you could see my thoughts.”

“Not that I’m complaining, because those were some very nice daydreams, but we can’t be stopping every few hours to fuck, or we’ll never get through this rainforest.”

The cat-girl took a moment to look disappointed before peering up at the forest canopy. “I’ll keep an eye on things from above. Maybe that’ll keep my mind off...” she smirked as she looked him up and down, “you.”

Kal chuckled as Kashka kicked off her boots and stepped off the road, disappearing into the vegetation in the direction of a gray, smooth-barked tree. Kal stored the Sandwalker boots on his feet and slipped the Boots of the Traveler back on before returning his attention to the road’s overgrowth and raising his glaive.

A mental shout from Kashka spun him around, his eyes darting around searching for danger as the glaive came up defensively. He looked up to where Kashka clung to the side of the tree, looking startled

“I’m okay,” she sent him over the bond.

“What happened?” he asked.

“I wasn’t expecting to jump this high.”

“I know I mentioned that women who are bonded with me get boosts to their powers after we make love.”

“I remember. I just never knew there was magic in my jumping ability,” she replied as she scampered up the tree into the forest canopy.

Kal blinked a few times as she seemed to vanish among the branches. He knew her location because of the bond, but now that she was trying to be stealthy, the cat seemed to vanish completely. Even if they did run across some of the ape-type monster girls Ibu and Melir spoke of, they probably wouldn’t notice her.

Lifting the glaive, Kal again started cutting away the branches and fronds blocking his way.

“At this rate, the garrison you mentioned to Chaldi will need to pay you for clearing their road,” Kashka sent with the scene of the road behind the mage from her vantage in the trees.

Kal glanced behind him. The path was quite a bit thinner than earlier since he started only cutting the vegetation on one side of the road for the sake of speed and to conserve mana. Using so many runes at once drained him more quickly than expected. The day’s efforts already burned through two of his mana crystals, and the angle of the sun filtering through the trees indicated it was still early afternoon.

“Something’s coming up the road,” sent the cat-girl a few seconds before Kal heard something crashing through the underbrush. A moment later, he felt a deathly calm come over the cat-girl as she drew her daggers.

Kal backed up and shifted the glaive back into his staff. As the sound grew closer, he made out the familiar cadence of human footfalls.

A man burst out of the vegetation. His ruddy face and arms were covered with scrapes and small cuts from his frantic dash.

Kal’s eyes went immediately to the tattoo on the man’s neck. It matched the drawing Ibu showed him and Kashka, indicating this man was a Reaver. The Reaver’s eyes widened in fear upon seeing another human, but his expression quickly turned to one of desperate hope.

“Please! Please save me!” he shouted, running towards Kal. “Lock me up! Whip me! Just don’t let her take me!” The Reaver stumbled against the mage, grabbing Kal’s staff to keep from falling.

Before Kal could push the man away, four forearm-length, needle-like hairs sunk into the Reaver’s back.

The mage forgotten, the man began spinning around, grasping for the hairs that were just barely out of reach. He yelled out in ever-increasing panic before freezing in place. The tortured scream ripped from his throat was only matched by the terror in his eyes. The man continued screaming as he sank to his knees and didn’t stop until he collapsed into a heap on the road.

Kal paid no attention to the man as his body twitched in its death throes. Instead, he peeked out from behind his magic shield, scanning the rainforest for the Reaver’s attacker.

“You don’t have the Reaver’s mark. I have no quarrel with you,” said a female voice from the underbrush. “Leave here before the bandits kill you.”

“I can’t do that,” said Kal. “I’m hunting those same bandits. If you are doing the same, perhaps we can work together?”

“Work to—” The mage detected a hint of hope in the woman’s voice. “No, no, no, no ... We can’t work together. I’m hideous. You would run away the moment you saw me, just like all the other men.”

“You are a monster girl, right?”

“Yes.”

“I have many monster girl lovers,” he said while tracing the spell for a simple illusion. “I’m not easily frightened by your kind.” Beside him, an image of Ikuno appeared that shifted to Aradelle, then Perra, Gerda, Kuto. Kal couldn’t help smiling as he added Kashka into the rotation. He listened over the bond for the cat-girl’s reaction but was met with the frightening stillness of Kashka’s mind preparing to kill the unseen woman if necessary.

“They’re all so pretty,” said the mysterious voice. “They aren’t like me. I’m different. Men take one look and run from me. You will too.”

Kal dropped his shield and stored his staff as a sign he had no intention to harm the woman, “If you do not want to work together, that’s a little disappointing. But since it seems like we are both hunting the Reavers, I’d like to get whatever information you have on them. I should also know what you look like, so I don’t end up attacking you by accident.”

“Why are you hunting them? Did they wrong you somehow?” she asked.

“Someone I knew was killed by bandits. I’m just trying to keep others from going through what she and her father did. What about you?”

“The Reavers drove me from my home.”

“You lived in the ruins?”

“I was born there.”

“I couldn’t get much information on the ruins or their camp. Anything you might offer would be a huge help.”