Knight in Nelanthas

"The moon!?" Taolung shouted as we walked the streets of Nelanthas, "Veranya, Ruboria, and the moon!?"

"That's right," I said.

"Which moon?" she asked.

"I don't know!" I said.

"How are we supposed to get there?"

"I don't know that either!" I said.

Before leaving, the Sorceress has said that she would refine her search for Master Delvo, and figure out a way to get there, but it would take time. Then she bid me on my way, and I met up with Taolung again.

"At least we'll both have lot's of time to get to know each other," Taolung said somewhat sarcastically, "Where are we going tonight, sensei? Will you begin training me?"

"Tonight, I am exhausted," I said, "I heard there was an inn around this corner, and tomorrow we make ready to leave."

"If we don't have any money then how will we pay for a room?" she asked.

"We'll have to think of something," I said. We turned the corner and finally spotted the inn called The Sanctuary. It sounded like a lively crowd, and I was apprehensive to cross the threshold.

"I'm right here, sensei," Taolung assured me. I nodded and we walked into the inn hand in hand. Immediately, the raucous died down as dozens of pairs of eyes all focused on the only man in the entire city. A couple of women were giving me some very intense **** glares, and I squeezed Taolung's hand tight for what protection it offered.

"ADIRAN!" someone from the back of the room of the screamed, "ADIRAN!" It was Ilnara who began waving her arms over her head and jumping up and down.

"Ladies come on give me some room to walk!" she said pushing towards the front, "Adiran, I *hic* was just telling these ladies about the amazing sex we had! *hic* They didn't believe me, but here you are! Ladies, this is Adiran! *hic* I saved his life twice and we had sex last night!"

"How drunk are you?" I asked nervously. The crowd started chattering again, with most of them trying to squeeze closer to me since I had become the new center of attention. The tough customers who had tried to stare me down left shortly, and after that the crowd was more hospitable.

"Can I buy you a drink, sir knight?" someone asked.

"Can I rent you a room with me?" someone else asked.

"Make space!" Taolung shouted, "Don't crowd in like a mob!"

"Hello, human," the innkeeper greeted me dryly, "Is there anything I can get you?"

"What's a Sindaran drink like?" I asked.

"Probably more than a mammal like you can handle," she said, "I'll start you off with something light."

"I don't have any money," I said as several more people entered the inn.

"It's true! There is a human here!"

"It's on the house, but just for tonight," the innkeeper said, "I'll make it back by the end of the night and then some, trust me." Everyone in the inn was still crowding around and quite a few of them seemed to be very excited in a very certain way.

"So you really took the fourth generation parthen's virginity?" someone asked, "Does that mean their family curse is broken?"

"I have no idea," I said.

"How did you meet?"

"And who's this?" someone asked about Taolung.

"Whoa, one story at a time please," I said.

"Did someone say stories?" I was startled by a bright green, feathered Sindaran woman hanging from the rafters. She had deep red eyes and lips, and her hair was a crest of red feathers. She also had immense, green bird's wings and no legs, which I realized when she slithered down to the floor.

"No don't move," she said, "Let me look at you. That is nice..."

"Hello," I said awkward.

"Oh dear, pardon my manners," she said, "I am the bard, Cicitlalcoatl. You might have heard of me even on your world."

"Cheechit- Cicit- what?" I asked.

She rolled her eyes and sighed.

"It means Starry Serpent," she said, "Just call me Starri, and stories are my profession, sir knight. So what brought such a handsome human to Sindara, especially this town?"

"I never said I was a knight," I said.

"Your **** friend told everyone all about you," the bard said. I glared at Ilnara who only shrugged while giggling giddily.

"Was she telling the truth?" someone asked.

"I don't know," I said, "What did she say?"

"That you defeated three of Gliaan's bandits with your giant penis," someone else said.

"No! I said *hic* I said *hic*," Ilnara tried to explain. I rolled my eyes and sighed then took a sip of the drink the innkeeper handed me.

"I guess I better set things straight," I said, "I arrived here three days ago through a portal..."

I continued telling stories well into the long, winter night. The crowd didn't always have the same faces, and it wasn't always the same size, but it clung to me the whole time. All the while, my audience paid for anything I wanted like food and drink, and I recounted far more than just the last three days.

All the while, Starri, the coatl bard strummed her lute, setting my tale to music. When it slowed down, she played a lullaby-like tune with gentle fingers. When it got more exciting, she accentuated it with a quick jig or an ominous march.

I told them about our fight with the summoner and how that had might or might not have a caused a huge portal storm on this planet. Some of the other patrons, mages I assumed, seemed much more knowledgeable of portal mechanics and filled in some of the details that I couldn't understand.

At one point, Ilnara let slip that I used to be a criminal, and I reluctantly shared the tale of my biggest heist. My gang had been tracking a noble's stagecoach for days until they were finally able to set up a road block. Unfortunately the body guard was too skilled a fighter and none of them were able to make a move until I snuck through, jumped onto the back of the lead horse, and rode off with the entire score. The rest of the gang caught up to me later and we **** the noble into giving us the haul.

Many of the women wanted to know about Cadionia, so I shared what I knew about some of the lands I had visited, especially Tasmar. That was the home of my planet's last true dragon, a three-headed zmey who lorded over a cult of sorcerers. His followers, the Three-Heads, were regular foes of the Paladin Corps.

I shared my duels with arrogant swordsmen, and they especially liked the tale of the Last Sword of King Lest. The Last Sword was a retainer of a kingdom who had fallen in a war, and he had taken to hunting down paladins to study their fighting styles and techniques. I was sent in alone to find him and put an end to it. He tried to lure me into a trap, but I sprang it back on him. His trap ended up setting the entire forest on fire and it became a running duel through the flames.

When they insisted I share my finest hour, I told them about the Great Demon Incursion where I saved my city Argendale from a massive hoard from the depths of Pandemonium. I recalled to them how Sharonna, Hastor, and I went had to fight through the hoard to the cathedral where the demons' general had entrenched himself. He was an ancient wizard who had struck a deal for immortality, but when we finally defeated him after he tried raining hellfire and brimstone on us. He then begged us to kill him; his mind was trapped inside a demonic vessel and this was his last act of free will.

The demons didn't just disappear after we killed their general, but without any cohesion or order they were much easier for the city's other defenders to finish off. We three paladins were personally thanked by the king and awarded our choice of treasure. Sharonna asked for the king's finest sword; Hastor was gifted the finest, fastest, and strongest horse in the kingdom; and I wished for a large piece of land for my family.

The Sindaran ladies all wanted to know more about the other paladins, but I recalled Crystalline's warning that Hastor was being held captive in an enemy kingdom. Although it was unlikely, I feared that someone present might possibly hail from that land, Veranya. So I avoided talking about any of their current whereabouts. As I would find out later, my tongue was loosened that night with a lot of ****. I did tell them about the other paladins though.

"Hastor may not have the sharpest mind, be he has a good heart," I told them, "You can always count on him to do the right thing after trying everything else."

"Is he as handsome as you?" a sultry maiden with red scales asked.

"He's been hit in a face a few times," I said, "With a battleaxe. He's as strong as five men though and as tall as any of you. And Sharonna, gods what a woman..."

Then I got lost in my own thoughts as I dreamt of my lover. The crowd stared at me expectantly, then confused, and finally impatiently. Finally Ilnara tapped me on the shoulder and brought me back to the present.

"Right, sorry."

Lastly I told them of Master Delvo, and a strange, eerie silence settled on the crowd. Not everyone reacted to that name, but those that did backed away while staring at me. Not with awe, but terror. I didn't start storytelling again right away though, because I remembered something Gliaan the bandit had said about Master Delvo.

"I know that name, it's a very hated name," she had said. Granted she was a bandit, so it didn't mean much to me if she hated that name. Ilnara lifted my spirits by handing me another drink, then I started up again with the stories.

As the night went on, something strange happened, though. It began so subtly that I didn't notice it at first, but when I finally caught myself, my story had become a lurid, graphic description of taking my lover, Lila the thief, in her butt. The crowd had drawn much closer now, all eyes were looking at me from under heavy, lustful eyelids, and Starri's music had become a low, monotonous but pleasant thrum in the background.

"What happened next?" someone asked. Before I could stop myself, I continued the erotic tale and the audience became more and more amorous. Ilnara had long ago left my lap and was now laying down on top of another woman, kissing her deeply. Taolung was trying to keep her composure, but every time she looked at me, it was at my increasingly erect cock. Three women including the innkeeper were massaging my muscular arms, and by this point I had long ago stopped my storytelling.

Finally, something broke the sexual tension in the room, and I didn't remember anything other than bits and pieces of the rest of the night, of the depravity that went on in that inn. I vaguely remember the patrons throwing themselves at each other and me, and fucking multiple strangers whose names I didn't even know. I recall being exhausted the next day, and my seed was utterly spent, testament to how much cum I had given that night. Woman after woman took me inside her, but I didn't remember any faces, just an endless procession of tits and willing slits until I retired to bed with Taolung.

Although I had no recollection of it, this is how it happened.

At first I was with a completely random woman, fucking her aggressively from behind while she matched my rhythm. Finally, she clamped down around my cock inside her and I came at the same time then slumped back in the chair behind me while the woman crawled away to suck on the tits of someone else nearby.

My new apprentice had shed her clothes along with everyone else when she slid into my lap then grabbed hold of me and yanked me into a hungry kiss. I grabbed her by the shoulders and stood up while she wrapped her legs around my waist.

The floor of the inn was an obstacle course of loose clothing and women blindly, mindlessly succumbing to their inner desires, and all the while the bard's lute never stopped its hypnotic thrum. Somehow we made it into a room without tripping over someone, and I threw Taolung onto the bed. She grabbed my thigh with her tail and pulled me towards her while spreading her legs for me.

I fall on top of her while she clawed at my back like a cat. We wrestled with each other's tongues and I barely avoided her fangs biting right through my lip. I barely noticed anyway, nor did I notice how her claws and antlers tore up the bedding. The only thing either of us could focus on was each other.

I had no self awareness anymore, or else I would have wrenched myself away from Taolung. Paladins shouldn't be fucking their apprentices. No good would come of it. I was too far gone though, and soon I was inside her tight virgin pussy.

Unlike Ilnara, Taolung still had her hymen intact, and she whimpered gently as my tip pressed up against the final wall of her maidenhood. I looked to her for approval and she nodded while biting her lip and I pushed through as she cried. Her tears almost immediately disappeared and she wrapped her arms and legs tight around my body.

"Oh, Master," she moaned as we rocked back and forth in the small bed, slowly at first, then with more and more vigor until I was trying to push her right through the bed into the ground below. Her tail flopped up and down with every thrust, and she grabbed her antlers and held on tight while she writhed uncontrollably.

"OH YES MASTER!" she cried over and over again for all of Nelanthas to hear.

Finally, I felt myself reaching a climactic finish and had just enough presence of mind to pull out. I decorated her thighs with cum, and then collapsed on top of her, completely and utterly spent. Taolung purred into the crook of my neck and then we fell asleep in each other's warm embrace.

I awoke and was startled to find myself cradling my new apprentice's head on my bare chest. My quickness woke her as well, and she she groggily sat up in the tattered bed.

"What..." she groaned, "What happened?"

"It looks like we slept with each other," I said, "Our first day as teacher and apprentice and we're already in bed together. That's a great start."

"You didn't enjoy it?" she asked a little disappointed.

"I don't remember any of it," I said sullenly.

"I remember some of it" she said wrapping her arms around me from behind and nuzzling the crook of my neck, "And for what it's worth, thank you for making a woman." I glanced at her , sighed in resignation and took her hand.

"We haven't even trained together yet," I said, "This won't make any complications for us, will it?"

"I don't know yet, sensei," she said, "You really don't remember any of it? That's a shame."

"I remember..." I paused for a moment then said, "Strings."

"Strings?"

"Yes," I said, "Music. Like a harp or a... lute."

"A lute?" Taolung asked, "The bard was playing her lute the entire time last night."

"Yes she was," I said as I got to my feet and marched out of the room followed by Taolung. The main hall of the inn was mostly empty now, but there were still a few clusters of women scattered here and there, and the coatl minstrel was still playing her music while hanging from the rafters. I nearly tripped over someone who turned out to be Ilnara, gently kissing another woman while tangled in her arms and their tails intertwined.

"Hey, Nari," I said, "Time to snap out of it." The music was starting to get to me again, but it wasn't affecting me as strongly as it had last night. I glared at the green-feathered woman and confronted her.

"Good morning!" she sang, "Did you enjoy your night, sir knight?"

"Starry Serpent, wasn't it?" I asked "I should have realized what was happening before it went so far: eromancy, sex magic."

"You sound displeased," the bard said.

"My order forbids magic that can alter the mind," I said, "Especially when it can be used to make people sin. Now I'm no saint, or a virgin, but whatever happened to consent?" Starri rolled her eyes but didn't stop playing.

"I hear this all the time, and I really hoped you would be different," she time, "My magic can only set the mood, but it can't make anyone do anything they don't want to do. What you experienced last night was no more dangerous to your mind than a round or two of stiff drinks."

"What about them?" I asked pointing to Ilnara and her lover on the floor.

"They are under no spell except each other's. See," she stopped playing and both women blinked their eyes and looked around in confusion. When they made eye contact again, they smiled and continued coiling their forked tongues.

"I see," I said, "But really, the entire inn? Do you have any restraint?"

"You're the first man any of us have seen in twenty years," Starri explained, "It was a special occasion."

"Where are my clothes?" I asked. The bard grabbed a pile of clothing with her tail from the rafters then lowered them down to me. Sure enough, they were mine.

"I have all of your companion's clothing up here, safe whenever they need them back," she gave me Taolung and Ilnara's clothes as well as a show of good faith, but when I tried to leave she gently grabbed my shoulder.

"I have a proposition for you, Sir Knight," she said as she slithered down to ground level.

"What do you want?" I asked.

"You're about to embark on a dangerous quest," she said, "A daring adventure just like the old tales. I want exclusive rights to your story."

"Whatever for?" I asked with genuine curiosity.

"For my opus," she said, "To be placed in a harem, I need to write an epic ballad, and the Quest of the Wayward Paladins sounds like it will be a huge hit."

"What would exclusive rights entail," I asked, "What's in it for me? And how do I trust you?"

"Whenever we enter a new town, I'm the one who'll be retelling the story," she explained, "I'll also need to travel with you to make sure nothing's left out."

"I don't need an eromancer," I said.

"If you're going to Veranya though, you will need me," she explained, "Xeela hates humans. She'll imprison you just like your friend if you travel there alone. But they love me in Veranya, and I understand the royal court inside and out. If you take me with you, I can secure and audience with the queen and she couldn't touch you if you were my guest."

I had hoped to leave that part out. If I was entering presumably enemy territory, I didn't want them waiting for me when I got there. I guess it wasn't just the magic that had clouded my judgement last night, considering how many drinks I had.

"How do I know you won't betray me when we get there?" I asked.

"What if I were the one to finance your quest?" she added, "I can give you a blank check for anything you need for your journey. I would be obligated to protect my investment then."

"You'd do all that just for exclusive rights to tell my story?" I asked skeptically, "I don't believe it."

"If you're story enables me to be placed in a harem then it's the least I can do," she said then joked, "If it makes you feel better, I could add a clause that you would be obligated to get me pregnant, but that seems like a bad idea since we'll be on the open road."

"What?" Ilnara asked when she finally finished her lovemaking, "She's not coming with us is she?"

"Don't lie to me that you didn't enjoy yourself, girl," Starri said.

"That's beside the point!" Ilnara said with flushed cheeks.

"Well, I like her," Taolung said, "You're just jealous that you have to share Adiran with yet another new girl."

"She said she'd pay for the whole quest, Nari" I said, "And one of her conditions is that she gets to come along with."

"Adiran, I thought Taolung couldn't survive the wilderness," Ilnara explained, "but this city girl will only slow us down, or worse, get someone killed."

"I can handle myself better than you realize," Starri said, "I'm well read about the Sindaran wilderness and I've travelled all corners of the world."

"Alright fine, then here are my conditions," Ilnara said, "You are forbidden from giving any advice, and you follow my or Adiran's instructions to the letter, understand? Otherwise I can't guarantee your safety."

"Whatever you say," Starri said and Nari growled like a cat, "But you'll find out I don't need your guarantee. So, Adiran, wasn't it? Do we have a deal?"

It took me more than a moment to decide, and I swear my cock didn't do the thinking for me.

"Fine, deal," I said, "Nari would you please go with her to buy everything we'll need, with her money?"

Before they left I pulled Ilnara aside and we shared a kiss.

"I'm glad that you didn't get swept away back to your homeworld," she said.

"Well now I have a quest into an enemy kingdom, a desert on the other side of the world, and the damn moon," I said, "It would have been a lot easier if I had."

"Well, I'll be by your side the whole way," Ilnara swore, "But really, the bard, after what happened last night?"

"You did enjoy yourself," I joked, "But that's why I'm glad you're here. I don't fully trust her, but I trust you."

"Thanks," she said and gave me a quick kiss then turned to Starri, "Alright, city girl, your dime."

"What about you and I?" Taolung asked after she had redressed.

"You and I will need armor," I said, "Let's find that blacksmith."

---

"Quilts?" Taolung asked, "We're wearing quilts?"

"It's gambeson," I said after leaving the armorer behind. Using a credit slip from Starri, I purchased some surplus armor from the stock that the militia hadn't taken first.

"It's lightweight, maneuverable, inexpensive, and most importantly for us, it's easy to maintain," I explained, "Moreso than Ilnara's leather armor or a full suit of mail would be at any rate."

"Anything with claws will shred right through this," she said.

"It will take longer to shred it than it would our travelling clothes," I said, "You'll live long enough to make a counter attack. It's much more defensive than you realize."

Before we left the inn, Ilnara told us to meet her at the east gate. When we arrived, she and Starri were putting the finishing touches on our tiny caravan. I noticed Taolung looking Nari up and down in her tight, leather armor which showed her curves delightfully, then she looked down at the loose, frumpy, quilted armor she was wearing and sighed.

"I look like a blanket that got up and walked away," she said.

"You'll live," I said, "Ilnara, Starri, we're here," just then a large reptile appeared out of nowhere to my left and I jumped back with a yelp of shock and terror.

"Hey, Adiran!" Ilnara waved while some red liquid dripped out of the jaws of the creature.

"What is that thing?" I asked.

"That's our pack-ottem," Ilnara said cocking an eyebrow, "What, don't they have ottems on Cadionia?" I peaked around it's long neck and noticed it was indeed tied down with what I assumed was all of our gear and equipment. It's body looked like either a hairless wolf or big cat, with a long tail that it held off the ground. It looked powerful and not in the way of a bull or a stallion, more like a predator.

"No," I finally answered, "We have horses."

"What's a horse?" Taolung asked.

"Is it... carnivorous?" I asked Ilnara after she walked up to the creature and patted its neck.

"That's the thing, their omnivores," she said, "You don't need to pack food for them because they will eat anything!" The red liquid dribbling from it's pointed snout turned out to be berry juice. Ilnara pulled another handful of them from her own satchel and the scaly lips gobbled them up, but then a second later a small lizard dashed out from under a crate and the ottem snatched it up and chomped it in half.

"We're not on the menu, I hope," I said with brief wince.

"What's a horse?" Taolung repeated as a second ottem appeared with just as much gear.

Ilnara rolled her eyes and said, "And this one is all just the bard's furnishings."

"No reason we can't travel in luxury," Starri declared after slithering over to us, "You don't look too bad in that getup, sir knight, although it fits your companion a little loosely. I saw her body last night, she should be in something far more becoming."

Taolung gritted her teeth and said "I agree!"

"I'm footing the bill," Starri reminded me, "You could have purchased something a little heavier."

"On someone else's credit?" I asked, "If it bounces, I'd rather not owe the armorer an entire year's earnings on full plate."

"If you insist," Starri shrugged.

"I don't," Taolung whispered under her breath.

Ilnara finished tying down the last sack to the pack ottem and petted the creature's snout.

"Do you need anything else, Adiran?" she asked, "If not then we should leave sooner rather than later. We have only a three day window to get to the mountain pass and then only a day to pass through before it's completely choked with snow. If we don't make that time, then the only navigable pass is a hundred miles south. We can move a little at night, but only when both moons are up, after that we'll be at the mercy of nocturnal predators."

"Well then we should be moving," I said, but then there was a commotion on the street and the buffeting of large wings.

"There they are!"

Three armed guards started running towards us, but their weapons were still sheathed.

"What did we do?" Ilnara asked.

"I'm not going to wait here and find out!" Taolung said and bolted before I could stop her, but she was blocked by the huge wingspan of Captain Nausan who landed right in front of her. Starri and Ilnara both tried to flee as well, but they too were cut off by the guards. As much as I might have wanted to do the same, as a paladin I was required to cooperate with authorities, even from another planet (most of the time anyway, unless they were acting openly corrupt. Paladins are allowed to use their better judgement within the bounds of the code).

"Please don't make this difficult," Nausan ordered.

"Hello, Captain," I said, "What... uh... what's happening here."

"You're all under arrest for public indecency and lewd acts," Nausan said.

"Public indecency- oh," I said as the realization hit me. Last night in the inn.

"Witnesses who had enough sense not to get involved said that you were the center of an impromptu public orgy," Nausan continued, "I know what humans think of our world, but that doesn't give you the right to make a mockery of our culture."

"Uh..."

"What, did you come our planet hoping you could live out your sexual fantasies like so many others of your kind?"

"How many other humans do you actually see?" I asked.

"Public indecency is a two night prison sentence, so that's what you'll get, but after that-"

"Excuse me, ma'am," Starri spoke up and slithered to my side, "It wasn't his fault. It was mine." Nausan cocked an eyebrow and her wings twitched slightly.

"I thought it was a special occasion, since he's the first man we've seen in a very long time, so I performed eromancy at the inn last night."

Captain Nausan said nothing for a while and I hoped none of my companions did anything rash.

Finally she said, "You're the minstrel, aren't you?"

"Yes ma'am," Starri said, "Please, eromancy isn't against the law, and nobody was hurt or ****, and the human wasn't the instigator of it, I was. I just... I just wanted for people to have some fun and merriment."

Nausan glared at her and sighed while shaking her head.

"You're free to go, sir knight," she said, "But you're making some poor choices of companions. As for you, minstrel, you're coming with me. Cuff her."

"WHAT? No you can't-" Starri shouted, "Adiran!"

I probably should have left her for getting me in trouble with the law, but I made a contract.

A paladin's word is sacred.

Just as they started to drag her away I approached Nausan and spoke to her quietly.

"Captain, I'm about to leave on a journey, and I need her for what's to come," I explained.

"You're already walking on thin ice, human," she said, "Don't push it."

"Am I allowed to act as a representative of justice?" I asked, "What if you place her in my custody?"

"You already have a fugitive in your custody?" Nausan said, "And you probably just want her to come with you for her eromancy so you can fuck your new harem silly."

"Seal away her magic then," I said, "I need her for her connections not her magic. Or if you can spare one of the militia to watch her on the road..."

"Yeah, no," Nausan said, "I could seal her magic though, until you return to Nelanthas. Cicitlalcoatl, for the crime of public indecency, I hereby seal your magical talent."

The captain produced a small crystal from her pocket and forcibly touched it to Starri's forehead then she ordered the guards to release all of us. Ilnara yanked her arm away from another woman's grip and Taolung looked like she was overwhelmed with terror when she scurried to my side with her tail literally between her legs. Next, Ilnara and I each took the reigns of one of the pack animals and led them to the gate.

"I'll be watching closely next time you visit though, human," Nausan called. I nodded then followed Ilnara with the rest of the party out the gate.

Back on the road again, we past more people coming and going to the city. Word had apparently gotten around that there was a human male in their midst, so most of them didn't stare at me with the same overt shock as they had yesterday.

Once Nelanthas was behind us and we were back in the open country, Ilnara's mood perked up again and she grew just as flirtatious as she had been when we first met. When it wasn't Nari, it was Taolung, and at times I felt like I was being pulled apart by the attention of the two "young" women. That attention did not extend to each other though. They took turns with me near the front of our little caravan, but whenever they were together, their moods turned sour. And I was right in the middle of them. I asked each of them in turn what the problem was.

"She's tried to kill me in the past," Ilnara explained.

"You met each other before the other night?" I asked.

"When Gliaan's band tried to rob me, she was there," Nari said, "I ran for my life and she almost caught up to me."

"That's not the same as trying to kill you," I said, "She seemed really **** to do that the other night."

"It's all an act, Adiran!" Ilnara hissed then fell behind when Taolung stepped to the front of the line.

"And what's your problem with Ilnara?" I asked.

"She treats me like shit and tried to cuckold me yesterday with you," she said.

"She said you tried to kill her," I said, "I think her mistrust isn't unwarranted."

"Do you trust me, sensei?" she asked.

"You have to earn it still," I said.

"Even after we slept with each other?" she groaned.

"That was an accident," I said, "And listen, we can't do that again."

"What?" Taolung asked bluntly, "Wait, WHAT?!"

"We can't have that kind of complication between us as master and apprentice," I explained.

"So the parthen girl gets to sleep with you whenever she wants then, is that it?" Taolung asked and stormed off ahead of the caravan.

"Taolung!" I called after her but she refused to answer. Ilnara was smiling victoriously, but I gave her a stern glare and warned her to knock it off.

It was late afternoon when I looked back and saw Starri had fallen behind. Not that she could go very fast without legs, but she seemed downtrodden. So I asked Taolung to hold the ottem's reigns and I went back to speak to the bard.

"Hello, sir knight," she said.

"I wanted to thank you, Shechit-"

"Don't butcher my name just to thank me," she said, "Just call me Starri."

"Well, I appreciated your honesty back there, Starri," I said.

"You thought I would throw you to the wolves?" she asked.

"I admit that it went a long way toward earning my trust after last night," I said.

"And your thanks is to seal away my magic?" she asked, "Nothing feels right at the moment. I should have just spent two nights in jail."

"Have you ever been in a cell before?" I asked.

"No," she said.

"Trust me, freedom, even a freedom like this, is better," I said.

"Easy for you to say," she said.

"My magic is gone too," I said, "I can't even summon my armor, so here I am wearing a quilt and hoping that the next sword doesn't cut right through it and then me. I'm deeply sorry, Starri, but sealing your magic was the only way to get Nausan to release you. And thank you for financing this quest, but I still don't buy it that you're doing this just to be able to tell my story."

"Did you come back here just to tell me you still don't trust me?" she asked.

I started to walk back to the front when she said, "An oracle told me I would meet a human warrior, and that it would be in my best interest to help him on his quest."

"What else did she say?" I asked. Starri looked away. Her cheeks were suddenly bright red which showed like a beacon against her green skin.

"Hey, Slither!" Ilnara shouted back, "Snow's falling and we can't afford to be slowed down!" Starri hissed at her angrily and I promised to go talk to her.

"No it's fine," Starri said, "I may not have legs, but I have wings!" Then she posed in a gentle s-curve like a cobra and unfurled her massive, emerald-feathered wings while squeezing her tits together with her arms. I looked away and she giggled quietly then coiled around me.

"No reason to be ashamed," she said flicking her tongue in my ear. It was forked just like Taolung and Ilnara's, but while theirs were fleshy and prehensile, Starri's tongue was more like an actual snake's: long and thin with hard tines.

"We need to keep moving," I said pulling my legs out of her soft fluffy coils.

"Unfortunately," she sighed trying to catch up.

"So are you a princess too or..." I asked.

"Oh, because of my wings?" Starris asked, "No, not all winged Sindarans are royal blood. My father wasn't, but coatls are of divine ancestry though."

"Oh really," I said skeptically.

"Absolutely," she said, "Didn't you know? True coatls were gods before they procreated with humanity."

"Oh, so you're a demigoddess?" I said, "My apologies, Your Worship."

"Ha ha, but no," Starri explained, "The blood of the Eternal Serpent is diluted in my family line, the only traces left of my divine heritage are my heavenly beauty and angelic voice. Obviously."

"Heavenly?" I smirked, "You're pretty, I'll give you that, but not much prettier than them." I pointed forward to Ilnara and Taolung who were avoiding each other like a plague. I really hoped their rivalry wouldn't get anyone hurt.

Starri glared at them, then at me, and said "Fine, but you've never heard a Voice like this." Then she opened her mouth... and... well...

She wasn't singing. Calling it singing would be like comparing a lump of charcoal to a diamond, same make-up, radically different result. Now I understood exactly what she meant. Her Voice wasn't merely magical, it was literally divine in the same way I could channel the authority of the gods into my voice. She didn't demand my attention, she became my full attention. Her Voice absorbed me. It absorbed Ilnara and Taolung. It even absorbed the two pack-ottems.

Wildlife started to appear on the side of the road, drawn to the melody as if by instinct such as the need for food or water. Scaly birds circled Starri overhead, and a herd small of two-legged reptiles lined up on one side of the road. Then three fox-like creatures with scaly legs and wings perched in a tree branch as close to the source of the melody as they could reach.

All the while Starri slithered forward with her wings outstretched, and when she reached the front of the line, the Melody reached an operatic crescendo. She held on to the last, supernaturally high note for a whole minute. Then suddenly, there was eerie silence, as if her Voice was so fundamental that nature couldn't handle it's absence. I gradually came to my senses though, and the animals all scurried away to carry on with their lives. The other girls and I still stared at her slack-jawed in pure shock and awe though.

Starri had to take a moment to catch her breath after that, but eventually she looked back at me and said, "I told you so."

Ilnara bit her lip while squeezing her thighs together and I remembered from that morning that apparently she liked women too. Taolung on the other hand continued on as if nothing had happened once her initial shock wore off. She did give the bard a very overt glance in passing, but I couldn't be sure of its meaning.

"Hey, Adiran?" Ilnara whispered, "Next time we... you know... could we possibly invite Starri to join us?"

For the first time, I really started to notice how gorgeous Starri was too. Her sinuous coils drew the eye in a way other Sindaran girls didn't. While her eyes didn't literally glow like Ilnara's or Taolung's, they were like a pair of polished rubies and glinted brightly in the sunlight. Most of all, her feathers looked so invitingly soft, like her whole body was a giant feather pillow.

"Come on," Starri said, "We won't reach Veranya sitting here.