Drip-Fed

 

The party had expected the entrance to Chimerion to be something special. A gash in the side of the mountain or a vast assortment of small cave entrances. Instead, they were treated to a large skull lying at the end of a valley, its maw open.

An impressive sight, no doubt, just not the gargantuan thing they had expected for a dungeon that had influence over an entire continent.

What was exceptional was the crowd of monsters loitering around its entrance. Usually, a Guild outpost would have been located near a dungeon, especially a prominent one like Chimerion. Even poorly visited dungeons often had a token member of the Guild looking over it, just in case something unexpected happened. Breaks from that rule typically had to do with inhospitable terrain.

A gathering of various monsters created by blending already dangerous animals together and spicing the result up with magic could be described as inhospitable terrain. Rather than spread out into the surrounding landscape immediately, the former dungeon inhabitants spread out at a leisurely pace, many preferring to stay near the ambient mana of the dungeon. As long as they had that, the creatures did not need to eat.

“Entering the dungeon will be difficult,” Apexus whispered.

The three female members of his party just nodded, preferring not to make unnecessary noise. They had climbed up a ridge and gotten as close as they felt was safe. From gathered information, they knew that the monsters that left the dungeon were much weaker than the ones within. The influence zone of Chimerion had a difficulty rating of Level 15, while the dungeon covered the spread from 25 to 30. The former was easy for the party, with an average level of 22 between them before they had set out. The latter was deadly if approached carelessly.

Between the mass and the potential that genuine dungeon monsters could have hidden in that crowd, attacking it was unwise. Not that they had planned to enter the dungeon at this time anyhow. First, they had a package to deliver.

They managed to retreat from their observation spot and then make it to the wider landscape without issue. As Aclysia had predicted, once they were east of the dungeon, things got notably safer. What previously had been wild with only scarce signs of regularly used trails turned into a half-civilized display over the next half day.

Frequent paths created by footfalls, campsites, and hunters who dared to look for game further away from civilization. All of those sights became more frequent. They failed to ever overcome the wilderness but they at least managed to put some order into it all. By the end of the day, they saw the border fortress in the distance.

The structure stretched from one mountain to the other. On the map, it had been presented as a properly constructed castle of grey stone. In reality, the fortress mimicked the wider patchiness of Chimerion in how it had been cobbled together.

Majorly, the structure consisted of a wall that went between the barriers created by the mountains, filling out any gaps in the natural defences. Active construction was underway on the wall, replacing simple earthworks created by Shamans, Druids, and other nature-attuned spellcasters. The castle, located in the middle of the largest gap between the mountains, was a total mess of parts. Wood, stone, dirt, crystal, and whatever else had been used to create an assembly of towers and other fortified positions, all of them used to oversee the gate that served as the sole entrance point on this half.

Too far away to make the distance while they still had sunrays guiding their steps, the party decided to go away for the night. “So how long did we take?” Korith asked.

“We aren’t there yet,” Aclysia pointed out the obvious.

“Next morning we will be though?” the kobold asked.

“Not quite: our destination is behind those walls. We will be travelling another one or two days,” Aclysia revealed. “Summerdawn is a small settlement surrounded by farmland in every direction, alongside half-tamed wilderness.”

“A noble cause to dedicate one’s life to reshaping the land for the welfare of one’s descendants,” Apexus remarked. “What is that?”

The question was in reference to an object in Reysha’s hand. It did not quite reach the size of the average chicken egg, was similar in its shape, and was made from exceptionally smooth metal. “Oh, ya know, just a thing,” the redhead purred playfully.

“You bought one?!” Korith shouted once she realized what it was. Rapidly crawling over, the kobold looked at the small object with intense curiosity. “Is it… good?”

Reysha’s grin grew a little wider. “Haven’t tried it yet.”

“Are you going to?” Korith wanted to know. “Tonight?”

“Don’t need it, we have a guy that can do the same thing for way cheaper,” Reysha answered.

“What is the purpose that this object and I share?” Apexus wanted to know.

“It vibrates,” Aclysia answered with an audible sigh. “The object in Reysha’s hand consists of a small Mana Gem contained in a metal shell. A second piece is keyed onto the magical frequency, allowing for remote activation of the Mana Gem. The magic fuels a very simple, high frequency motion spell.”

“Look at you two, knowing all about it,” Reysha teased.

Aclysia and Korith blushed in unison. While Korith pulled away and tried not to turn too red, Aclysia cleared her throat. “I was interested in this sexual toy, admittedly, but deemed it a waste of money. It has only a singular setting and darling provides quite well when it comes to this kind of pleasure… which begs the question of why you have bought it?”

“Just curious about it.” With a mischievous grin on her face, the tiger woman put the object down on a shelf.

__________________________________________________________________

 

‘Of course,’ Aclysia thought, dryly, and followed Reysha’s motions with resigned eyes.

The redhead was holding onto Apexus’ arm. That, on its own, was far from unusual. A member of the harem grabbing her man in any fashion was a common occurrence. That Reysha, of all women, managed to stay attached to him was odd, however. Usually, the redhead was constantly in motion.

A description that could be applied still, in a way. Twitching and trembling, the redhead alternated between walking with a degree of confidence and stumbling along. Her tail was moving irregularly. Her cat ears drooped down, only to perk up suddenly. Her shoulders pulled back, then slouched.

Aclysia knew what a climaxing Ragressian looked like. Korith knew what a climaxing Ragressian looked like. Apexus knew very well what a climaxing Ragressian looked like.

The humanoid chimera had to ask, “Why are you walking around while orgasming?”

“Just orgasming… occasionally.” Reysha swallowed, trying her best to regain control over her laboured breathing, and pressed the little button on the remote in her pocket. The buzzing inside her panties stopped. She exhaled. Her gait returned almost to normal over the next ten seconds. “It’s training, I tell ya, training!”

“What kind of training?” Korith asked, highly doubtful.

“Managing to use my abilities even while I’m… distr-ah-cted.” Reysha had pressed the button again, feeding her a fresh buzz of pleasure. “It’sssss… important!”

“I believe you are simply getting off on it,” Aclysia commented dryly.

“That’ssss a side benefit.”

The party was only a few metres away from the gate now. Turning around and forcing the redhead to take the vibrator out was an option. Apexus opted to let her try. For one, unorthodox as it was, it was not entirely without merit. For two, if it did not work out, he trusted she would disable the toy and play it all off as the kind of temporary issue that females suffered with some regularity.

Reysha pushed the ki down the usual paths, muting her presence just as they stepped into the earshot of the gatekeepers. The goal was not to fully hide herself, only to make it so her fidgeting went ignored.

“Name and purpose?” the captain of the present guards asked.

The humanoid chimera considered the question for a moment. “Our purpose for entering Summerdawn? Is that what you desire to know?”

“What else?” the captain answered brashly. He was not the average kind of guard that the party was used to, the kind used to control average people. Only retired adventurers were strong enough to prevent Chimerion from spilling over into the hard-fought fields that they used to sustain themselves. It was a base requirement that members of the guard were level 10 and the majority were level 15, increasing their levels gradually throughout their years of service. A captain had to be at least level 20.

In other words: they could afford speaking to adventurers as if they were idiots.

“Keep your monk-ish thickness out there in the world. I need your name and your intentions while you stay in Summer-“ The guard stopped suddenly, his eyes snapping over to Reysha. Like all men when face to face with a gorgeous woman like the redhead climaxing in front of them, he was stunned for a moment. The panic of discovery made Reysha cover herself up again before it could be truly worked out what was happening. “-…dawn. In Summerdawn,” the captain continued, not quite sure what he had just seen. “Does your companion have a fever or something?”

“She is certainly heated,” Aclysia threw in sarcastically, then cleared her throat. “I apologize for my tone, honoured guard. If you would allow me to answer: we are the Inevitable party.”

“Pretty cool name…” another member of the guard muttered and pulled out a ledged. “Never heard of you.”

“This is our first run to this area of this Leaf,” Aclysia informed them. “My name is Aclysia, these are Reysha, Apexus, and Korith.”

“Last names?”

“Apexus and I do not possess such. Korith goes by Hoardseeker, if I remember correctly?”

“A Goldborn…” The captain eyed her with annoyed tiredness. “Due to public order offences in the past, you must be informed that the trading of Hoardcoin is forbidden in Summerdawn.”

“What! That’s--- fine… that’s fine…” Korith’s voice got quieter while she beat down her own annoyance.

“What about her?” the guard holding the ledger asked. “Any last name?”

“Mrrrrrrrritklas,” the redhead purred, for entirely removed reasons. “Spelled with… with… three rs…” Before her legs could start to give in, Reysha pressed the button to stop the vibrations. “Just in case that’s important,” she continued, gathering her voice.

“Purpose?” the captain asked again.

“We aim to deliver a package to the local Adventurer’s Guild outpost,” Aclysia responded. “Afterwards, we will replenish our resources and set out for Chimerion.”

“You’re in luck then. The next expedition will start soon.”

“Expedition? Apologies for the question, but we have not been capable of getting our hands on a copy of the encyclopaedia so far.”

“I’ll forgive it,” the captain answered, his voice dripping with belief in his own generosity. “Because of all the monsters that linger around the entrance of the dungeon, we periodically organize large-scale expeditions into the dungeon. It’s a good way to network, diminish casualties, and sweep the landscape clean.”

“A wise policy,” Aclysia agreed.

“In any case, with all of that covered…” the captain took a step aside. “Welcome to Summerdawn. Enjoy your stay, spend money, make money, spend more money.”

Reysha suppressed a moan when she reactivated the vibrator.

______________________________________________________________________

 

The delivery of the package was a simple affair.

A three-story building at the centre of the biggest town in Summerdawn served as a joint headquarters for the Adventurer’s and Trade Guild. The package was handed over, money was received in return, and information was quickly gathered. The expedition would set out in a week’s time.

“Do we want to wait?” Korith drew shapes on the uneven surface on the table, using the tip of her claw and some remains of spilled beer that were left from the last party.

“For the food? We should, we ordered it,” Reysha answered.

“Very funny, buzz crotch,” Korith shot back.

The redhead burst out laughing. Reysha had not expected a swift retort from the blonde. After they had made it through the castle in its entirety, the redhead had stopped playing with the remote. Less a factor of decency and more of a realization of how damp her panties were getting. The vibrator was still there. She did enjoy just knowing she was one click away from very nice sensations.

While Reysha cackled, the other three continued talking about the future. “I believe we should wait,” Apexus gave his opinion. “The new edition of the encyclopaedia is supposed to be out any day now. I would prefer not relying on hearsay.”

“Networking is never disadvantageous,” Korith agreed.

“There is also a chance we can learn proper strategies if we ask around,” Aclysia weighed in. “We have some money to spend on consumables now.”

Adventurers lived and died by the strength of their abilities and the quality of their gear. Those two factors were, exceptions like Apexus not included, what people used to scale upwards into better dungeons. Where most equipment was meant to remain worn until it was made insufficient by the increased level of the enemies, consumables were exactly as the name implied: consumed on usage.

The party had been using the general kind of consumables so far. The oils used to maintain their equipment, packaged food, even Reysha’s throwing knives could technically be counted in there. The ‘true’ kind of consumable were the kinds of items adventurers used to achieve a temporary effect that let them either punch above their weight one time or fulfil another kind of goal.

The Atlas Party had shown them several consumables. Water that had been cultivated in the purest place, capable of transmitting mana much better for the Shaman using it – until that usage inevitably tainted it and turned it back into regular water. Charms that amplified curses but burned up in the process. Warding glyphs that could grant greater protection to someone in armour. Poison that slowed even dungeon bosses.

Those sorts of things were useful to have around – useful and expensive. No parties liked to rely on consumables. They were a burden on the purse of parties and it was commonly accepted wisdom that using consumables in base combat would distort one’s fighting style in an unhealthy fashion. Still, the strategic advantages of having short-term boosts to help with tricky situations could not be understated.

“Then we are in agreement,” Aclysia summarized, when no protests were raised. “We should investigate our options tomorrow.”