A Growing Garden

"And how do you look like Kara, again?" Gilford, Mother, and I stop at the entrance of the church, seeing carts in the distance.

Mother steps in. "We have the ability to share our bodies and souls with one we choose, Gilford. For simplicity's sake, you would do well to assume Kara and Dusk are the same person."

"I...see..." Gilford pauses, and the three of us look out, waiting for our visitors to arrive. "...but why wouldn't she do that with Camilla? I always assumed-"

"Cammy was my - Kara's first choice, but tradition dictates she offer herself to me, instead, due to a life-debt."

Mother nods her head. "An oversimplification, but yes. I have told you about life-debts in my homeland, yes Gilford?"

He nods. "I see..."

During the brief time I'd had between talking to Cammy and meeting Rose's thralls, I figured it would be best if Riverbend's spiritual leader would join Mother and me, so I asked Gilford to help.

We stand in silence as the four carts approach, circling the square as the horses settle down. However, it seems that the people on the carts are...agitated, to put it lightly. To put it bluntly, I'd say they look like **** addicts who haven't had their fix in a while. A redhead woman (they're all women, actually) with a white rose in her hair (once more, a trait they all share) steps down from the cart in the lead as it passes us, stumbling a little before patting down her dress to look to us. Her most striking feature though... Her breasts are bigger than any I've seen -except maybe in porn- and her hips and ass are just as exaggerated.

"E-excuse me, do you all know where we could find Lord Blackwing? We've been sent by King Toran." She holds out a parchment she had been carrying, and I reach out to take it, noticing her hand shaking.

I bow my head. "He's unavailable at the moment, but permitted us to speak on his behalf. I'm Kara, this is my mother Miki, and this is Riverbend's resident priest, Gilford."

The redhead's taken aback, but leans in closer. "Do you know about...um..."

"Yes, yes. I can show you where Rose is once we're done here."

Mother steps forward. "If you all would join us in the church, we can discuss your lodgings and likely duties around town."

The redhead nods, and she goes to speak with those in other carts. One by one, the twelve women come and sit in the pews, many of them fidgeting nervously and scratching at their heads and necks. The redhead would seem the least nervous, if not for the youngest one here, a raven-haired, lithe woman who was barely an adult, if at all. As such, the redhead seems to continue her leadership role: "When can we see the Empress?"

"In due time. First, we need to discuss what you brought with you, both in materials and in expertise."

The redhead gulps, and glances to the other women present. "I guess we'll start with myself. Oti- ugh, sorry. Olivia Alister. I was a merchant before the Empress liberated me." She moves behind one of the pews, setting her hand another woman's shoulder. "This is Maggie; she's an alchemist." After that, she begins going down the line. "Flora's a florist, Nia, Darcy, Freya, and Charlotte are all guards, Helja's a mason, Molly's a cook, Arya's a baker, Mila's a carpenter, and little miss Astrid here doesn't have a specialty." Olivia ruffles Astrid's hair, the young brunette. "She'll probably be sticking around the Empress most days, helping serve her. The rest of us have brought the tools of our trade, as well as extra food and clothes."

All but Astrid give nervous smiles, and Arya even waves, but the tension still remains. Helja's a dwarf, maybe she can talk to the other one about where the orcs found her, so we can help her get home.

Stepping forward, I raise my voice a bit so they all can hear me. "Welcome to Riverbend. We've been working on clearing some trees so you can have housing near Rose, but there were some complications yesterday that made it so we couldn't finish them. I apologize for the delay, but in the meantime, you can rest here, or there are a few rooms available at Garth's."

"Speaking of," Mother continues, "I believe Molly, you're the cook?" The brunette gives a nod. "You and Arya will likely end up employed with Garth for now. Mila, you'll be working closely with James. Maggie, Flora, you'll come to me. Guards, you'll report to Captain Camilla or Lieutenant Belinda for your duties. Helja and Olivia, we don't have dedicated equivalents to your positions in town, but that makes you all the more valuable."

I nod, expanding on what she's said. "We'll move your carts to the north edge of town, and then lead the horses to the stables in the east. Any questions?"

"And then we'll see the Empress?" As Olivia mentions it, most of the thralls in the pews fidget a bit more, paying special attention to our next response.

"Yes. Once the horses are in the stables, I'll take you to the Empress myself." I nod.

A bit of tension seems to be relieved from the group, and they all stand, Olivia making way for those in the pew. "Let's get started, then."

Without delay -at least on their part- Mother and I lead Olivia's horse up the north road, the other carts close behind. A glance in her cart reveals three wooden chests, possibly one for each of the people that rode inside it. None of them are opened, unfortunately, so I don't get any insight into their belongings. Taking the horses back to the stables, we're lucky to find that there's enough room for them, but that we might need to get more feed soon.

Once that's done, Mother and I lead the dozen women between some houses and into the woods, trying not to draw too much attention to our group parading through town. As we start getting closer though, one by one, Rose's thralls start rushing past us, eager to meet their empress in person. Only Astrid, the young and quiet brunette, remains behind Mother and me as we finally reach the miniature clearing Rose resides in.

Some of the group -like Mila- are kneeling on the ground, prostrating themselves. Flora -I think it's her- and a couple others are more marveling at Rose, stroking tendrils and petals in fascination. Olivia, meanwhile, is just standing there, like she saw a ghost. That's made a bit more creepy by the fact that Rose has been quiet so far.

Actually, now that I think about it, can Rose even talk to me like this? Kara doesn't have a flower, and I don't think it'd be a good idea to give her one...

"My subjects," suddenly a young voice speaks up from behind us, "it is with great pleasure I greet you here today." Astrid struts between Mother and myself, and I see her flower is a vibrant purple. 'Astrid' continues to step closer, walking up a strangely stair-shaped root and sitting on a raised vine, looking down on her 'subjects', who all gaze up in awe. "I have seen your struggle, your plight. Some of you have graciously accepted your liberation. Some," she makes eye contact with Olivia, "still need some time. However, time is what we lack. Our closest ally, Lord Dusk Blackwing, is in dire straits, and your fellows' return to us relies on him succeeding at the difficult task before him. For our own prosperity, we must assist him in bringing wealth to the king's coffers."

'Astrid' brushes her hair out of the way. "I understand you all have been assigned tasks based on your previous occupations. I encourage you to follow through with these. Furthermore, from here on, unless one of Lord Blackwing's orders contradicts one of mine, you will obey him as if I had given the order myself. Now, you are relieved for the day, but I encourage you to go out and meet the villagers. If things go well, we will be staying here a long time." She smiles and begins descending, her flower returning to its original white.

Mother whispers, just loud enough for me to hear. "I think we need to have a discussion about this verdure..."

I nod, and as the group begins to disperse -some seeming to stick around, and others walk back through the wilderness- Olivia approaches us. "All due respect, Kara, Miki, could you please take me to Lord Blackwing? I have a feeling we'll be working closely, with how small Riverbend is, and I'd like to introduce myself properly."

Giving her a nod and a smile, I raise my arm. "Right this way." Then, under my breath: "you know where to find me, Mother."

Olivia and I make the short trek to my humble house, and on the way, I retract my consciousness from Kara.

Opening my eyes, I can't help but sigh, once more feeling...the lack of feeling in my legs. Didn't even take the time to enjoy walking...

"[D] Are you okay, Daddy?" I'm surprised by the child's voice, and awkwardly bend my neck to see Violet looking up at me from the crook of my arm.

"[D] Yeah, yeah, I'm fine. Why aren't you with your sister and mother?"

"[D] I thought you might be lonely." She says it matter-of-factly.

The expected knock on the back door draws my attention. "[D] Daddy has to take care of something, then you'll have my full attention, alright?"

With a giddy smile as acknowledgement, I raise my voice for Kara and Olivia to come in. Although, when Olivia sees me, she can't help but stare, in surprise, or confusion, I can't quite tell.

Seeing as she won't speak first, I make the first move. "I take it you're Olivia?"

This snaps her out of her stupor enough to realize the situation. "A-apologies." She bows. "Ot- Olivia Alister, third so- no, sorry, second daughter of Baron Alexander Alister of Rolas. It is a pleasure to meet you, Lord Blackwing."

A noble? That already makes three in town, though I kinda doubt Roger should count right now... What's Toran up to? I nod my head. "Uh, appreciated, Lady Alister, but please, call me Dusk. I'm not quite used to 'lord', yet."

She quickly nods, needing to brush some hair out of her face. "O-only if you call me Olivia, sir."

"Sure. How can I help you, Olivia?"

She glances down to my legs, making me a bit self-conscious, before returning to loose eye contact. "I wanted to introduce myself to you, as given my experience, I will likely become a local merchant, trading goods between your lands and the regions nearby..." She pauses, but clearly wants to say something else.

"You have something on your mind?"

She purses her lips, before nodding. "...as an apology for...Captain Roger...please, let me know if you need anything, anything at all."

I nod, not really thinking of anything...until I remember her reaction to seeing Rose just moments before. "How are you...taking all this? Your...conversion, I mean? You used to be a guy before, right?"

Olivia blushes, embarrassed. "...y-yes... My wife helped at first, but when I saw the Empress for the first time...it all became that much more...real. Apologies, I shouldn't be complaining-"

"No, no, I'm the one that asked." I wave my hand dismissively, before trying to change the topic. "Why don't you take a look around town and try to take your mind off things?"

She nods, a hesitant but relieved smile on her face. "I think I'll try that, Dusk. Again, if you need anything, you're close enough that the Empress can hear you. Good day." With that, she bows once more, before awkwardly extending it into a curtsey, and leaves.

Turning to Kara, who's been standing there silently the whole time, I thank her and send her off to spend more time with Camilla.

"[D] Daddy, who was that lady? Her hair's really pretty." Violet readjusts herself so that she's sitting in my lap.

"[D] That's Olivia. She's probably going to be Riverbend's new head merchant."

"[D] Oooo...what's a merchant?"

I can't help but chuckle. "[D] A merchant is someone who buys goods from one place and sells them somewhere else. So she'll buy things here, and sell them in a place like Recuan, then buy things there and sell them here."

She moves to end up straddling me, and excited look on her face as she bounces. "[D] What kinds of things does a merchant buy?"

I have to pause on that one. "[D] Well...it's generally things they think they can sell for more money. Food is a big one, since everyone needs food... Materials like wood and stone can be traded, too. The more rare an item is, the more people will want to buy it, so the more coins they'll spend on it." I reach into the nightstand next to the bed, and pull out the sack of coins, using my other hand to take a silver out of the bag. "This is a silver. Silver is worth more than copper, but less than gold. I don't remember what each is worth, but we could probably ask."

Handing her the coin, she flips it around in her tiny hands, something brewing in her mind...

Anord

"Finally..." I come upon the river that gives my destination its name, and promptly collapse onto my rear. I'll have to remember to ask Master about teleportation magic... I quickly take off my boots and massage my aching feet. Staring across the water, I see a lumbermill, the church, a small pier with a man and boy fishing, and only a little further, what looks like a rope bridge, with a couple guards on the other side.

Shouldn't have to worry about them -there aren't that many- but I should still stay hidden when I can...

After a measly amount of recovery time, I head a bit further upstream, then uncover my wings and flutter across. It's so dumb I couldn't fly all the way here... Why can't lesser concubi fly for more than a few minutes? Shaking my head, I bring my focus back to my objectives here. Poison, mask, empresses. Poison, mask, empresses. According to Master, Rose should be somewhere around the north edge of town...

Ignoring the pain in my legs, I walk through the trees, giving a wide berth to the nearest buildings. Buzzing begins to reach my ears, and I quickly duck behind a tree. Only a couple types of monsters could make a buzzing sound, and around here, it's likely hornets. That means the Hornet Empress...or the twins. Possibly both.

The buzzing gets a bit louder, and I take the risk of peaking around the trunk. A short ways away, through the trees, I spot a boy with fox ears and tail, closely followed by a girl who looks like a cross between a human and a bug. It looks like they're playing a game of tag. A few seconds after they pass, a beautiful blonde flies after them, butterfly wings adorning her back. That's her...but I should probably get her by herself...the kids are gonna be an issue.

After waiting for the buzzing to die down, I head further east, seeing some trees that have scorch marks on them. Getting close. Taking a turn south, I can't help but notice the bright red of a giant, not-quite-blooming flower as I approach. If I didn't notice that though, I've found it difficult to ignore the 'boss bar' at the top of my vision. Status Effects should keep me safe from her spores, but I should still keep my distance. I don't step much closer, keeping a couple trees distance between myself and the Rose Empress.

Suddenly, I feel a cold, metallic pressure on my neck. "What do you want with the Empress?"

I didn't hear her at all? If it weren't for the knife at my throat and her hand on my shoulder, I doubt I'd know where she was at all! I'm not even getting a whiff of lust... "...I'm just here to talk." Slowly raising my hands, I turn my head to get a glimpse at the woman - the girl! Her face is cute -I'll give her that- but it's impossible to tell if she's an adult.

"Walk closer. She wants a better look at you."

A better look? She can see? Regardless of my silent query, I don't resist her pushing. Let's hope Status Effects really does work against this... The girl stops pushing me forward a couple yards away from the large, bulbous verdure in front of us. Honestly looks kinda like someone cut the head and legs off an Ivysaur or Venusaur... "So...can you actually hear me? Do you even have ears?"

"She can hear you." The grip on the blade against my throat shifts slightly.

"Huh... Well, I've been made aware that you're currently enslaved by a certain devil. I came to offer an...alternative..."

Dusk Blackwing

I'm stirred from my assigned reading by a knock on the back door. "Come in."

Miki enters, closing the door behind her before relaxing her illusionary appearance and revealing her ears and tails. "It's good to see you're taking this seriously."

"I don't know, I might just be bored out of my mind." I **** a chuckle. "Not like there's too much else for me to do, right now, at least not without possessing someone. The machine dungeon down south is gathering resources, Rose's thralls should be able to make some potions and bread, and if Olivia is quick enough, we can sell it all in Recuan in time for the king."

Miki sits in a chair next to my bed. "Speaking of Rose..."

"Right." I nod. "What do you want to know?"

Miki spends the next who-knows-how-long asking every question she can think of about Rose. It's long, and arguably boring, but having someone here is better than laying in isolation.

"...and I'm pretty sure that's everything. By the look of it, she'll probably gain some more abilities in the future, but it's impossible to say exactly what." ...even with the quests, I only see that Selective Rooting feature coming soon...assuming I actually finish the quest.

Miki hums. "She is...quite powerful indeed. Although, her abilities seem short-sighted. If she enthralls everyone, there are no men, which means no children."

I cock my head. "That's a good point...unless..." My eyes drop, remembering the Status Effects feature from when the gods first spoke to me.

"Unless what?"

"Well, what if she was never meant to be in charge? What if she was...some kind of advance party, to weaken a place before a powerful monster took over?" I'm no expert in this world, or in warfare, but if I was malicious, I'd find a way to do just that."

"And there would be plenty of women to subjugate and ****." Miki nods. "But if the gods are attempting that..."

"I was always supposed to find her. Maybe I was even meant to find Diana, both of them are perfect for building an army." ...just as the quest wants. Sakurai died a year ago...how long have they been planning this? I swallow.

"You're considering it?" Her face is...I can't really see if she's disappointed or not...

Pursing my lips, I weakly nod, unable to look her in the eye. "...they gave me a quest last night. The rewards...they're too good to pass up, right now."

The silence that passes makes me sweat. We sit for several minutes with me averting my gaze before I hear her shuffle. "Well, if that is your plan, we need to ensure you're up to the task."

She pulls the blanket on me away, causing me to startle and look at her. "What are you-" I do a double-take, and immediately know where Kara got her...assets. Miki's robe is pulled away, revealing her bare breasts to me. They're bigger, with a bit of sag from age, and just as magnificent as her daughter's.

"This is a good first step, but spinal injuries are known to diminish sexual capabilities. We'll need to see if you can still perform." I mostly tune out her words as her hands work to pull down my pants, not wasting a moment to take my growing manhood between them. "Hmm, maybe I'll have to ask Kara to borrow you. Kaguya could never handle a sword this big."

My brain restarts, and I register her words. "Wait, what?"

She gives a knowing grin as she keeps stroking. "You're not the only one with multiple lovers, Dusk. Before we came here, I had three others. Daisuke's dick..." She shudders. "It reaches places I didn't know I had." A chuckle, making it all the stranger how nonchalantly she's treating all this.

"Miki, what are you-" A grunt, as the pleasure begins building up.

"Now, daughter, is that how you should address me?" Her grin widens. "I'm merely assisting my child with their ambitions, of course. Perhaps if you even ask nicely, I'd be willing to have another child, myself."

The thought of impregnating Miki...my dick twitches at the image of fucking her pregnant form... Oddly, the thought shifts to Kara getting pounded instead, but my thoughts are interrupted by a knock at the front door.

"Come in!" Miki raises her voice before I get the chance to stop her.

"Nonono-"

The door opens, and Olivia takes a step in before freezing in place.

Miki speaks up again, not stopping her pumping. "Olivia, wonderful. I have to check on my husband; would you mind taking over for me? Lord Blackwing needs his daily stimulation, after all."

I give her a side eye -noting her ears and tail 'missing'- before turning my attention back to the stunned redhead. "You don't have to-mhm, you don't have to do that, Olivia."

The lady blinks, and by now her face is as red as her hair. "N-no, i-it's f-fine. A-anything for the Empress' f-friend." She visibly gulps, and completely enters the room, closing the door behind her. "I-I m-may-" She takes a deep breath. "I may need some...assistance..." Her gaze stays fixed on my erect member.

"That's fine, dear. Although you will have to disrobe. The young lord oh so loves playing with breasts." Then, while her mouth doesn't move. "If you're not willing to go this far, how do you expect to complete that quest of yours? Besides, we should find out how far their 'loyalty' goes."

I stare accusingly to Miki, briefly at her breasts, whispering: "You heard her coming?" All I get is a sly smile.

Olivia's face flushes even more - assuming that's even possible. "Dis-...disrobe?" She stops suddenly, as if jolted from a trance.

"Yes, that is how the young lord is normally pleasured. My daughter is usually the one to do this, but she's busy with her fiancé at the moment."

I look at her with a bit of confusion, but glancing back to Olivia, I notice her rubbing a loose ring on her left hand. "Fiancé, yet she still..." It's quiet, but she wasn't trying to hide it. She swallows and nods, as if hyping herself up, before reaching behind her back. After a bit of work, her leather corset falls, causing her breasts to jiggle. Stepping closer, she reaches up for the collar of her dress and pulls it down - not that it needed to drop far for her massive melons to pop out. "I-is this..." She trails off, clearly still flustered and nervous.

"That's wonderful, dear. Now come and straddle him so he has full access." Miki pats my lap, and Olivia slowly steps over...climbs on the bed...and sits on my lap, facing me.

Despite my knowledge that this used to be a man, I can't see anything other than a blushing maiden in front of me...with the biggest rack on the planet. They're so big, she actually needs to lean back to fit them between us, and even then, they're squished up against me.

"That's good, dear. Now, you take his manhood, and he takes your breasts." Miki's looking at me now, in a 'you better do this' sort of way, but her hand is finally off my dick, only to be replaced by two more dainty ones. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I'll be checking on Kaguya. Thank you for your time, Olivia."

The redhead gulps, unable to look me in the eye. "O-of course, M-miki."

As she heads out the back door, I catch a brief glimpse of her tails before my focus returns to Olivia, bending my neck to try to meet her gaze. "Olivia, you don't have to do this if you don't want to."

"N-no..." Her hands squeeze, and she makes eye contact. "I...I want to..."

With her blessing -however...skeptical I may be about it- I reach up, cupping her magnificent tits, causing her to stiffen. They're smooth, and soft, and...obscenely huge. I'm gonna struggle to keep myself from fucking these things...

"You...you can be rougher..."

"Oh? You like it rough?" I pull up a breast and nip at her nipple, causing her to squeak cutely. I'll take that as a yes. Without warning, I squeeze her melons, but this time the sound is unexpected.

"Mooo~" While I'm stunned for a second, Olivia wastes no time to start grinding against me.

Another squeeze, another moo. "You like me playing with your udders?"

"Moo~oo~" She shudders, and only a bit of fondling later, her whole body shakes, before she collapses against me, her breasts enveloping my head as she does.

Well then...that was a bit of a let down...

[[A/N: Hey, everyone! I know it's been...wow, nearly 7 months...but I'm back! For the most part? I'm honestly not sure yet. I've got so much planned for this story already, but a lot of whether or not it gets done is literally just getting the words on paper and sometimes my muse hates me. I've actually had a couple chapters on backlog for a bit now, but for a good month or so I was wondering if Olivia and the other flowers are really how I want to take this plot point, or if I was just horny. (If it's not obvious, it's both.) Anyway, the current plan is to post every Thursday for the rest of October with a spoopy three-part, back-to-back release around Halloween. After that, I'll try get back into a one-per-month grind, but there's no way to really tell how my muse wants to go sometimes. Thanks for sticking with me, and I'll see you next week!]]