Godsforsaken

Chapter 4: Southern Blades And Blowjob Tips

Martin and I kept talking a bit longer, both about business and, now that the air was cleaned up between us, the woes of men trying to keep three women happy. One beer too many had me oversharing about the sorts of things Alisha enjoyed and he had a good laugh about that. He was a bit inebriated himself and asked if I wanted to know how my mom played with his other wives. I replied by asking him if he wanted to get decked.

Soon enough my mom led my women into the room and sat down at the small table with us. They were accompanied by Amelia, mom's other sister wife. She must have come in while the women had been talking. Alisha, Selene and Yume sat down on the same lounge I was. Alisha's face was red and she huddled into me and buried her face in my chest.

“What happened?”, I asked.

“Lily asked us what our necklaces were about and Alisha explained”, Selene told me. “When she was done Lily told her she was expecting some adorable half-elf grandchildren soon.”

“Ah”, I said eloquently, then turned to mom: “You shouldn't tease her about that. She's already obsessed with the idea. It's just not practical yet.” Then I realized I'd just admitted that I wanted to have kids with her eventually and I felt the color drain from my face.

“Oh you're in for it now”, Amelia teased.

“So what about Selene and Yume?”, mom demanded immediately. “Are you going to give them babies, too?”

I stared at my mom, then very carefully looked over to Selene and Yume, trying to gauge their reactions. Selene was blushing and not meeting my eyes while Yume was sitting impassively, a small smile on her face and her tails wagging. Yeah, those reactions were pretty obvious.

“We haven't really talked about that yet”, I began, “but if they want to, then yes.”

Immediately I saw Yume's tails wagging slightly more enthusiastically.

“I'm looking forward to it”, my mom said.

**

A few hours later it had gotten dark. After a pleasant dinner that Alisha and I helped mom and Michelle prepare we considered sleeping arrangements. Every time I'd stayed here I'd stayed in the guest room, which was even less suitable for four people than our room at the Plucked Cockatrice. I didn't really want to bring it up but mom beat me to it:

“Oh, that reminds me, we're using the guest room as storage space now”, she explained. “We built a small auxiliary building, a tailor's workshop that has a small apartment on top. The ground floor is so I have more space to make clothes and the upper floor is so you have a proper place to stay if you visit.”

I frowned. “You built an entire apartment for the one or two times a year I show up?”, I asked deadpan.

Mom shrugged. “If you insist on sending me money, don't be shocked if I spend it on something frivolous”, she countered.

I opened my mouth, then closed it again. There was no use arguing with her when she got like this. And since it was highly convenient at the moment I had no reason to protest.

Soon enough I caught Selene yawning uncontrollably and even Yume was having trouble keeping her eyes open. She would have been yawning as well but she had some weird notion about etiquette that made her think yawning was rude and so she suppressed it violently, which was a shame since she looked damn cute when she did. Alisha had snuggled into my side an hour ago, though with her it was always hard to tell if she was actually tired or just in need of affection.

Mom showed us the way to the little loft and it was actually a very pleasant little place, complete with a bed, a small bathroom with running water, and a tiny little stove. Running water was an abnormal luxury out here in the countryside but if you had enough money to afford certain magic gemstones it was possible to get water anywhere. More impressive was the fact that this bathroom didn't use the gems that created water out of thin air but merely the ones that pulled it up from a cistern or well, meaning that in the few years since I'd last lived in Aphrodite's Orchard someone, possibly Martin, had installed plumbing to the entire village.

“This is nice”, Alisha said when she saw the large double bed. She was trying to sound suggestive but she just sounded tired. And I was a little thankful for that. There was no way I was going to fuck my women just yards away from where my mom slept.

So the first thing I did after stepping into the room was to reach underneath the bed. I grabbed hold of something and then yanked. There was a loud yelp as I dragged Michelle out from under the bed by her ankle.

“Out”, I commanded.

“Oh come on”, she whined, “I was just curious what kind of fun stuff the four of you get up to at night.”

“There will be no fun stuff going on at all”, I told her.

“Why not?”, she complained.

“Because I know full well that if we leave these sheets in anything but pristine condition you, mom and Amelia will sit together and speculate about what caused which stain”, I said.

She didn't deny it.

**

The next morning I woke up feeling amazingly well rested. It really only sank in how uncomfortable the caravan wagons were after a night in a proper bed. True to my word to Michelle we had kept our hands to ourselves throughout the night, though that hadn't stopped Alisha from waking me up the fun way. Or, as she put it, “There can't be a stain if I drink every drop.” Alisha always woke up first and started breakfast before we woke up but Amelia had already threatened her in case she dared to help with breakfast, so clearly she'd had some morning energy to burn and I had been the best outlet for it.

Breakfast was a pretty opulent affair since it was mom's birthday. Bread, butter, cheese and meats, scrambled eggs, bacon and a huge fruit bowl that Alisha eyed as lustfully as she had my cock earlier this morning.

I had tried to give mom her birthday present after congratulating her but she told me to wait until the party later, which I didn't really have a problem with. It was nothing embarrassing. Just a collection of souvenirs we'd picked up since her last birthday, same as always. Though this time they were a little bit more personal than usual.

As we ate, something suddenly occurred to me. As Martin and his wives all shared a golden apple together I finally realized why all four of them seemed ever-so-slightly younger than they should be. Clearly they'd been eating the apples daily, which meant they benefited from the longevity effect. I smiled. Normally even rich merchants couldn't afford to buy many of these apples but Martin didn't just have the mun to afford it, he also lived in a village famous for them. This meant he could buy them significantly cheaper than any merchant based in the capital. Gods above, he was the one selling them to the capital at an enormous mark-up. Had he settled down in Aphrodite's Orchard specifically because of these?

Well, I wasn't one to judge. We didn't share a single drop of blood but we did share a sense for business. After all, I always tried to make sure to kill any monsters we encountered in the most lucrative way possible, like ripping the eyes out of cyclopes because their eyes, if left intact, fetched a staggering price. That reminded me.

I turned to Martin and asked: “You wouldn't happen to know a really good tanner, would you?”

“Where's this coming from?”, he asked.

“Well”, I said, “during our last quest we came into possession of some really special furs and I was wondering if you knew someone you trusted. I've never had to find a tanner before so I don't know who to turn to. I really don't want to waste these.”

He considered. “How special are we talking?”, he asked. I thought for a moment whether to tell him and his wives about it. I didn't really want to worry my mom, but...

“A few days ago we fought a Beast Master Dark Lord and he was chosen by Shub-Niggurath.”

All of them gasped.

“I would say that's impossible”, Martin began, “but I wasn't there and you definitely know more about Dark Lords than me. So what, you got Outsider furs?”

I shook my head. “No, true Outsiders dissolve when killed so you'd have to skin them alive if you wanted to keep the furs. But he had done some messed-up experiments and one of them was to inject some barghests with Outsider juice.” 'Outsider juice' sounded so much nicer than 'the blood red breast milk of the bitch who stole Syr's body'. “Barghest furs normally confer protection against spirit creatures but these barghest furs should protect against Outsider magic as well.”

Martin considered. “If you're right then these furs could be considered legendary materials, if not mythic”, he said. “I can see why you wouldn't want an amateur messing around with them. How many of those furs do you have?”

I considered lying but, then again, what was the point? “Twelve”, I said. “I would want to make six into fur cloaks or something. Four for us and two spares, just in case.”

“So you'd have six left over”, he said. “Hmm. I'm sure I can find you a tanner. With quality materials like these he might even trade the labor for one of these furs. Would you be willing to sell the others?”

I bit my lip. “I wouldn't want to give them away or anything but if you want the other five I'm sure we could come to an arrangement”, I said.

Of course I knew that whatever he gave me for them he'd easily make back by selling them to someone else but I'd still get a good price out of him. Even with him as an intermediary I knew he had connections I couldn't hope to gain. Connections to people rich enough that they wouldn't even talk to me, let alone deal with me.

When we had finally reached a price we were both happy with I put on a glove and pulled out the furs. Normal barghest furs looked like basic wolf furs, gray and fluffy, except limned in pale green light that hung on the furs like will 'o' wisps. These barghest furs, by stark contrast, were a slightly darker shade of gray and were limned in a sickly yellow haze. I still wasn't entirely sure if they were safe to touch with bare hands, hence the glove. Martin put on a glove himself to grab them and put them into one of the several bags of holding he wore on his belt.

“Oh, that reminds me”, I said as I dug through my own bag of holding, “tonight we're having a barbecue, right?”

Any time Martin and his wives had a birthday to celebrate they threw a huge barbecue at night and invited half the village.

Mom nodded.

“Then I'd like to contribute this”, I said and pulled out two enormous cuts of meat.

One was clearly from the rib and the other was... well, you'd call it a rib-eye if it was from a cow.

“Excellent marbling”, Martin commented as he looked the meat over. “Deep red color. I'd say this is some real prime beef, but you're an adventurer so I'm going to assume this is something more exotic, right?”

I nodded. “It's hydra meat”, I said. “There was so, so much of it that we haven't been able to sell all of it. The butchers we visited all ran out of coin before we ran out of meat.”

“Is it good?”, Michelle asked.

“It's amazing”, Yume fawned, her tails wagging. “It's a lot like beef but also smoky and really tender and all the fat melts really nicely.” I always thought I was obsessed with meat, but that was before I'd met a woman with the instincts of a carnivore.

I smiled at my little fox and then, as I looked between her and Martin, I remembered something else.

“Martin?”, I asked.

“Yes?”, he asked back. Apparently he'd also been distracted by Yume's overwhelming cuteness.

“Do you trade with the southern kingdoms? Or trade with other merchants who do?”, I asked.

“I do have some connections, but right now trade is a little dried up”, he said. “This time of year there are certain monsters that make travel by boat between here and there almost suicidal.”

“That's fine”, I said, then turned to Yume. “Yume, how about you tell him what you need?”

Yume's eyes grew wide as she realized what I was saying.

“So, uh, I was originally born in one of the southern kingdoms”, she explained. “I am adept at sword fighting but I can't handle the swords you Northerners use. Felix and I have been looking for a proper sword since we got back to the capital but we haven't found one yet. Do you have one?”

Martin bit his lip. “I have two southern style swords but I can't guarantee they're what you're looking for”, he said.

“May we look at them?”, Yume asked.

“Of course”, he said. “Follow me.”

Yume and I left Alisha, Selene, mom and her sister wives behind as we walked to his warehouse. He had several and this one was clearly the one he had for weapons and armor. It looked like a damn armory and, given that he had a contract to outfit the village guards, it probably was.

The first sword he showed us was a simple long sword that reminded me of the gladius design I was used to, but with an oddly short hilt. Yume barely glanced at it before she shook her head.

“This is a southern blade”, she agreed, “but it's not from my mother's kingdom.” She turned to me and added: “This is from the same place as the Qi techniques I taught you, from the Jade Emperor's realm.”

I nodded. I was a little interested in that but I had a powerful sword I had only just gotten used to.

Then Martin showed us the second blade. It was huge. The hilt was as long as five hands side by side and the blade was twice again as long. The blade was very thin, single-edged and with the blade tapering to a curve at the tip just like how Yume had described the blade she was looking for. I tried to imagine my cute little fox swinging this monster and just couldn't. Yume examined it for longer than the first but then shook her head as well.

“This is from the right kingdom”, she said, “but the wrong style of sword. This is a nodachi, meant to be wielded against mounted troops. It's far too unwieldy to fight foot soldiers with. Imagine a shorter blade and a much shorter hilt and that would be exactly what I am looking for, a katana. In a pinch I would take a tachi or a wakizashi as well, which are longer and shorter versions respectively, but this I can't use.”

“Well then I'm sorry to say I don't have what you're looking for”, Martin said, looking genuinely sorry, almost upset really. Clearly he wasn't used to not having what his customers wanted.

I was a little relieved that Yume wouldn't be running around with a sword as long as the average spear but it still meant we'd struck out yet again. I was already beginning to see a shopping trip to the southern realm in our near future.

**

We spent the rest of the day preparing for the celebration in the evening, setting things up and helping prepare the food. Mom used to ask me to tell her stories of my adventures but now all she could talk about were my three women and she demanded all the stories I could share. Honestly I was glad that she liked them. I guess I had inherited her good taste.

Of course, telling my mom stories meant I was mostly isolated from what my girls were going through. The one time I passed by Selene and Michelle all I heard was “So, I bet he loves those gorgeous lips of yours wrapped around his cock, doesn't he?”

I mean I did. I really, really did and she loved doing it, too, but that was really not the sort of thing I wanted mom's sister wives knowing.

Similarly when I passed Amelia and Alisha in the kitchen they were in a serious discussion. At first I thought they were talking about cooking until I realized they were exchanging tips on oral sex. After what I heard I decided to make sure to get cleaned up a little more thoroughly than usual in the bathhouse.

All the while Yume was never quite leaving my side and if so then she didn't stray far away from me. Eventually I just couldn't take it anymore and walked off with her in tow. When I finally thought we were alone I turned to her.

“What's wrong?”, she asked when she noticed that we'd gone far away from everyone else.

“That's what I want to know”, I said. “Don't get me wrong, it's kind of cute how you're following me around but something's wrong, isn't it?”

She looked away and her ears twitched. Her tails were wagging a little but they were drooping as they did. “I...”, she paused. “Ah gods damn it. I want to say it's nothing but it's obvious you won't believe me.”

I nodded and waited for her to continue.

“It's just... too many new people”, she finally said. “Everyone's really nice but I kind of don't like being around so many people.” She paused before she added very quietly: “Not anymore.”

I nodded in understanding. “It has something to do with him, doesn't it?” I didn't need to tell her who I meant.

“Yes. No. Kind of”, she explained. Not. “Those slavers who took me? They took me in a crowded place, came up behind me and slipped that collar around my neck.”

“Fuck”, I said quietly. “I'm sorry.”

She shook her head violently. “Don't be”, she said. “I didn't tell you because I didn't want to make a big scene out of it. I thought with the three of you around I would never be scared again but...”

“Well, now I know what you're dreaming about when you jolt awake suddenly”, I said.

Her face reddened. “Yeah”, she said. “I dream about waking up and finding out someone took me away and slipped another one of those collars on me. It's horrible. I'm free. I know I'm free. But my thoughts clearly aren't.” I'd heard about this. Usually it happened to adventurers who had something truly awful happen to them, like a big monster shredding through their entire party. Even when the bad thing was gone, the fear stuck with you.

“I'm so sorry”, I said. “I'll try to be more considerate.”

She shook her head again. “It's something I'm just going to have to live with”, she said. “Having you around helps a lot. It relaxes me. You've already gotten rid of one of these collars, so I know you can do it again.”

“I would take you in my arms right now”, I said, “but I'm not sure that would help.”

She summoned up a small smile. It was a little sad, but it was something. “It always helps when you hold me”, she said and I pulled her into a hug.

There was nothing exciting about it. I just held her close and listened to her breathing. She hugged me back and soon enough her tails went from drooping to standing tall and wagging with more enthusiasm. I reached out further and pulled her tails into the hug, stroking the soft fur. Eventually I noticed Michelle leaning around the corner, trying to spy on us but I gave her the stink-eye and she went away.

“It makes me furious what those bastards did to you”, I finally muttered into one of her pointy fox ears. “You're so powerful, so confident, and yet they were able to do this to you.”

“I'm happy you are so angry for my sake”, she muttered. “But still, I need to be able to take this. I need to take my life back, little by little.”

“I understand”, I said. “I'll do whatever I can.”

“Then can I keep clinging to you, just a little longer?”, she asked.

“Cling for as long as you want, my little fox”, I said. “Just so long as I can see you smile again.”

She looked up at me and gave me a genuine smile, her long canines showing and her eyes squeezed shut.

“You're going to the bathhouse before the celebration, aren't you?”, Yume asked eventually.

“Yeah”, I said. “Want to come with?”

“Definitely, but until then, do we have anywhere to be?”, she asked.

I considered. “Not really”, I said, then smiled. “Did you have anything in mind?”

She grinned. “Oh yes, something very naughty”, she said and I saw her ears twitch as I heard a little “Eep” from around the corner. “I want to see that technique you've been playing around with.”

I chuckled. “Well then, how about I show you?”

So we walked off into a small wooded patch close to the village and I showed off my new technique. I'd made sure there was a little pond around in case I accidentally started a fire but the grass I hit was fresh enough that I only created a singed patch on the ground. From the loud gasp I heard after using it I was pretty sure Michelle had followed us to find out what kind of technique I was going to show my little fox and I was pretty sure I'd exceeded her expectations.