"Sure. Let's visit this Palace of Passion!"

Kass jumped up and down, clapping her hands as she stowed her axe and shield.

"Wonderful! You won't forget this decision!" Kass said gleefully. As she hopped in place, she tried to pull her dress back on.

She hissed as the fabric touched her burned package and tossed the dress aside, apparently opting to walk to the Palace of Passion with everything hanging out in the open.

Alea followed the cheery girl. Her unusual appearence, both armed and naked, let everyone know she was a mystic artist. The townsfolk quickly cleared out of the way and the two futas followed the open path through the center of Hardrock and back to a massive red building Alea had spotted earlier.

"Here we are!" Kass spread her arms wide. "The Palace of Passion!"

The doors opened, and an alpha stepped out. "Returning so soon, Mistress Ironbeat?"

"Sure am! Put it on my mother's tab!" Kass replied. "And anything my friend here gets too. I'm treating her on a night out." Kass explained.

The guard turned her gaze to Alea, and it suddenly felt like the air grew denser. It weighed on Alea's shoulders as the guard examined her. This was the gaze of a superior mystic artist. Alea's strength was that of an infant before a full-grown adult.

Alea hadn't gotten a sense for these things, but she felt the guard's presence to be weaker than the two mystic artists at the fifth layer of resolve condensation she'd seen fighting just a few minutes ago, but stronger than Alea herself. Somewhere between the second and fourth layers, then.

"I see. Then I hope Mistress Ironbeat and her... guest have a good time." The guard said.

Kass skipped inside, dropping her weapons and torn dress by the door where an attendant collected them. Before she could, the guard stopped her with an outstretched hand.

"The Ironbeat clan is wealthy, and a major investor in our establishment." The guard whispered to Alea. "You would be wise to give Mistress Ironbeat whatever she wants."

Alea felt her stomach tighten. "I'll... keep that in mind." She stepped around the guard's arm, trying to follow the overly happy rich girl.

"Weapons and clothes." The attendant said, palms open as she held her arms out.

Alea's hands still clutched the ornate case holding the pill of resolve. "I need this pill. It's to cultivate resolve."

The attendant shrugged. "Suit yourself. But you may still leave your clothes here."

Alea quickly undressed, not letting the pillbox leave her sight. The moment she was naked she dashed up the stairs Kass had walked down only to find the pink-haired futa waiting for her.

"Thanks for waiting." Alea said.

Kass flashed a smile. "No problem. So what do you want to try? Naked wrestling? Bondage? Betting on the beta fights? Whipping betas?"

"I just want to find somebody I can use this with." Alea patted the box containing the Pill of Resolve.

"Vanilla sex." Kass sighed. "How boorish. Still, it's a good way to meet new betas. In fact..." Kass slapped a fist against her open palm. "Let's break in some new girls! The auction house is right over here! The best time to use one of those Pills of Resolve is right as you’re turning an untouched futa into a beta, so this is perfect! Follow me!"

Kass grabbed Alea by the hand and led the way past a round open chamber and down several narrow corridors. The twisty turns looked random to Alea, but by now, Alea was certain that Kass was a frequent customer of this establishment.

Soon they came to a semi-circular room with a pudgy alpha standing at a lectern before a set of curtains. Infront of the alpha were rows and rows of chairs. The chairs were half filled with futas as naked as Kass and Alea, some sipping on wine, others being serviced by betas.

"Thank you patrons one and all for coming to the Palace of Passions New Slut Bidding!" The announcer shouted in a voice amplified far beyond natural shouting. "As you know, we ethically source all our girls from reputable slavers and debt repayment agencies. These girls here are all on contract with us for at least five years, and to commemorate their new status of Palace of Passion Sluts, they need to be broken in!

"We're selling not only their first night as a Palace Slut, but for many we're also selling the opportunity to break their balls as well! What greater pleasure is there than that?"

The crowd of futas clapped and roared in approval.

"Alright folks, with that, let's get the show on the road! First up, we have this lovely pair of animal girls, recently captured by our local game wardens!"

"Let's find these two somebody to show them a good first night! Unfortunately, you won't have the opportunity to pop any eggs with these two, but I can still promise a night of fun! Any bidders?"

"One silver!"

"Ten silvers!"

"Fifty silvers!"

Alea's jaw dropped at how quickly the bidding went up. 50 silvers for one night with a pair of animal girls? That was more than Alea's entire life savings before robbing the bandits. In some places, you could even buy an animal girl for that price. This was a pair of wild-caught mutts, so they wouldn't be worth much. The catgirl breeds were only valuable as pets, so Alea had never had much interest in them. Sheepgirls and Cowgirls were far more valuable in her mind because of their usefulness on a farm.

Kass seemed entirely disinterested in this auction. Alea couldn't figure out if it was because she didn't care for animal girls or because she was interested in smashing some nuts, but she figured she'd find out soon.

Sure enough, Kass perked up at the sight of the next girl on put on display.

"This girl here was a minor daughter of the Ylissara clan. For those of you in the audience who haven't heard of them, they're an ancient rival of the Ironbeat clan who financially support our wonderful Palace of Pleasure. Historically, they were once the Ironbeat clan's servants, but in an act of rebellion they overthrew their former masters and seized control of their city, renaming it Ylissara city and declaring it a free and independent city state. This wayward futa was an important figure back there, but she decided it would be a bright idea to go hunting for wild animal girls. Out in the woods, alone!"

The crowd laughed, and the gagged girl fumed.

"As you can see," the auctioneer continued, "she's unbroken and untamed. Who'd like the honor of reducing this former princess to a beta clocksleeve?"

"Fifty silver."

"Thirty silver!"

"A hundred silver!"

Kass slammed her hand down on the chair in front of her as she leaped into the air. "One hundred gold!"

Alea's jaw dropped open on the number, nearly fainting. One hundred gold!? Her entire village could work for fifty years and not put together that much money. And Kass was spending it on a whim?"

"One hundred gold, going once! Going twice! Sold to the young Mistress of the Ironbeat clan!"

Kass rubbed her palms together before one finger trailed lower, massaging her growing erection.

"Did you really spend 100 gold?" Alea asked in disbelief.

"My allowance will be tight this month, but I can cover it. Sorry. Try not to spend over 10 gold on whoever you pick." Kass said, "Though if you give me a hand with this I'll let you bid up to 50?" She gestured at her hardening member.

Alea was eager to get her hands on a girl of her own. She didn't want anyone in particular, just somebody she could fuck and use her Pill of Resolve. She ignored Kass's offer for additional bidding money in favor of bidding on a lot of girls until she finally got one cheaply.

"The slavers tell us they captured this girl across the mountains to the northwest. Who will be the lucky futa to break her in?"

"A northern barbarian?" A futa asked, eyebrow raised.

"They're rare, I suppose. 10 silver."

"60 silver."

"100 silver." Alea said, mimicking the confidence Kass had displayed before. That had been her maximum bid on every girl she'd found remotely pretty.

Nobody else bid any higher.

"100 silver going once. Going twice! Sold to the young mystic artist in back!"

Alea blinked, surprise she'd finally won.

"Decent choice." Kass shrugged. "Now that you're settled. Let's book a room and claim our girls."