Tense, but the road is peaceful

When you awake in the morning, a tongue is eagerly licking your shaft while it's still buried in a warm, wet hole. You open your eyes to see both women are where you left them, Zalreanne making the best of the situation presented to her. Kay gives a sleepy moan and stirs soon after, the lavender maid's tongue also brushing against her cleft in its quest to please her masters. "Mmm, I could get used to waking up like this," the princess claims your lips while she starts to slowly move up and down on your shaft. It isn't long before she gives a little gasp and spasms, then lifts herself off of your twitching cock to allow your servant to receive her favourite breakfast straight from the source. Your hand slides between Ari's legs and she moans and pushes against your hips as she's pleasurably brought out of her slumber, and after an orgasm of her own the two of you get up and start to prepare for your journey while Ikaria guides the dark elf back between her legs. "Enjoy your trip; don't have too much fun without me! I'll hold down the fort: such an, mmm, hard job. Oh my gods, yes, keep doing that!"

It's tempting to rejoin the two women on the bed, but you have places to be, so you step through the portal with Ari. The rest of your champions are already assembled in the throne room despite the early hour. "Hey babe, feeling better this morning?" Tina skips up and wraps her arms around her double, the two sharing their characteristic tender greeting kiss, then Ari pulls back and beams.

"Yeah, I'm still not sure about Kay, but I guess she isn't quite as bad as I expected." She turns and gives the energetic angel next to her a hug as well.

"Oh, she's 'Kay' already? Sounds like someone got charmed last night." A blush crosses the warlock's face. "It certainly sounded that way at the time." Mariel gives her friend a wink and steps back.

"Alright, enough teasing the princess here, everyone ready to go? I'm not sure quite how far it is to Fairweather Bay, but I imagine it'll be quite the trip."

"About two days, I believe." Tina speaks up. "I've been there once. It's huge! You'll all love it. Well, maybe not someone," she casts a glance your way and smirks.

"Why are we coming? Unlesss you expect to be attacked on the road, we can't visssit a city with you, Ri, and Cee." Tlax looks a bit depressed as she speaks.

"Oh, no, you can come in actually! Fairweather Bay is a sort of neutral ground: everyone is allowed in as long as they don't cause too much trouble." Tina cheerfully fills you all in. "It's actually a really neat place: it's really rare to see monsters and adventurers in the same place not attacking each other! Except here sometimes, I guess."

Tlax's face shifts to excitement and before you can comment she's zipped off in the direction of the portal. Sera lets out a melodic laugh and with that the five of you make your way after her, finally catching up to her partway down the mountain path.

"So why are we going to the capital anyways?" Sera pipes up once your group has switched to a more leisurely pace.

"Well, it sounds as if there's some sort of... contest or something going on. Basically, various adventurers are all looking for an item that will let them get really powerful, maybe even become gods, and doing so will probably cause a mess for all of the monsters in the area. Seeing as we'll be part of that mess, we're going to see if we can recruit a friend to get the item and not trash the place—or at least my lair. I was thinking Selena, since she seemed by far the most interested in my powers during our last few meetings, but any of Amara's group would probably do if they agreed."

"Wait, become gods?" Tina pipes up, disbelief evident in her voice. "I mean, I guess I should know not to take Shards at face value given, well, this," she gestures at herself and then around, "but that seems a bit far-fetched."

"I'm not sure I believe it either, but I've spoken to multiple powerful monsters and everything they said lines up. Besides, the gods have to come from somewhere, don't they?"

"Say, at first I thought that this was 'just a game'—"

"Which you reminded us of on occasion," Ari smirks as she butts in.

"Oh, just once or twice," Mariel gives the ex-adventurer a friendly slap on the back.

"—but I guess this sort of makes sense. After all, if this isn't just a game, then how do the admins—sorry, gods—get their powers?"

"Well, nobody is really sure, but it apparently involves this item, being summoned into their adventurer body without being bound to a dungeon, and then killing a whole lot of monsters. Permanently."

"Which means me now, I guess." The daemonologist doesn't look thrilled at the idea. "Maybe I should've stayed as an adventurer."

"Well, maybe you'd be our champion if we'd known what we know now a month or two ago," you squeeze her to your side as you walk, "but now you're one of us. Besides, would you really want to be a goddess?"

"I don't know, maybe?" Celestina leans her head against you as she walks. "A few months ago I'd definitely have said yes, but I guess life has a way of taking you places you don't expect." She lets out a little laugh. "Quite a bit so, in my case. I guess I should count myself lucky I'm here at all. Can monsters become gods?"

"If I had to guess, that's what the daemon lords are," Mariel speaks up. "Maybe the fae kings and queens as well, and possibly even the archangels? They aren't quite the same as the gods or each other, but I doubt Aze would complain about being a daemon lord."

"I don't know, too much being summoned into dingy basements for my taste." Tlax gives that comment a skeptical glance. "Okay, maybe it would have some benefits. Well, if the path to godhood is any indication, that's a problem for at least... about sixty-seven levels from now. And it probably won't be as easy to keep levelling up once almost every adventurer is way beneath us."

"Well, guess that means it's time to get ahead of schedule." Sera gives a grin and cracks her whip in the air for emphasis. The rest of your champions are silent with thoughtful looks on their faces, and the scenery blurs together as you travel down Imporne and through the forest, turning near the road to follow the route towards Fairweather Bay from the safety of the woods. The familiar hills and trees of the region fade to stranger lands, the deciduous forests shifting suddenly to pine. The forest floor beneath the needles is dark and utterly quiet, all undergrowth smothered by the dense trees above. When you light a flame to see better, the flickering light illuminates such an area in its eerie glow that you decide to quench it: any light under these trees must be faintly visible for kilometres, and you aren't walking in the middle of the woods to call attention to yourself. Soft footfalls retreat in the distance when your light goes out, probably a deer or other animal by the pace. The utter quiet is so demanding that your party even steps as lightly as they can, seemingly worried that any unnecessary noise will bring something through the endless dark trunks.

The terrain gradually slopes downwards, and eventually the glow of light pierces between the dense branches ahead. The light comes closer and closer until it becomes blinding, and then as if stepping through a door you're out of the forest and into the tall grass of a meadow. Sunlight glints off of sapphire blue water in the distance, and a massive cluster of buildings sits at the end of a bay, ships moving in and out of the bay to and from the unknown sea beyond. The city itself is completely unlike Broadbridge, the usual low-rise cobbled buildings mixed with tall towers, a gigantic temple, a large keep, an area that looks almost like an orc camp, several massive trees with wooden platforms dotting up their trunks, and many more styles of building besides. Voices drift over the grass from the road, and although you aren't close enough to make out the words the tone is distinctly draconic. You creep through the grass, trying your best to avoid making any noise you can avoid, and finally peek out of a tall bush to see a group of kobolds walking casually down the road. A party of adventurers walks in the opposite direction, and with little more than a glance the two groups pass one another, the kobolds continuing their trek away from the city while the adventurers make their way down the hill to the bay itself. Safety presumably confirmed, you motion to the others and step out onto the road.

"Ooh, this is different! It's nice just walking along like this." Mariel runs forward a bit with her arms extended, then turns around and waits for the rest of you with her hands on her hips and her wings outstretched behind her. Her sister charges towards her in a bull-rush pose, and at the last minute the younger angel shoots into the air.

"Get back here!" The two chasing one another a few metres up while the rest of you stroll forwards casually.

"Thisss placsse isss ssso ssstrange," Tlax looks down at the city, the first adventurer buildings she's really had the chance to see other than the monastery and the necromancer dungeon months ago. "Why isss it all ssso tall? Why not dig down, where it'sss warm and sssafe?"

"I wonder what they have in the shops this time. They have things from all over Arkus here! I've never left this region, but I've heard the world is huge." Tina has a huge smile on her face and her hands swing excitedly as she walks. "I could really use some new clothes, and maybe a nice staff... you brought money, right Aze?"

An exaggerated groan leaves your lips as you play up your ****. "Just don't bleed me dry. We still need something to keep the adventurers coming back." You unhook a sack of gold coins from your belt and toss it her way, and she catches it with glee.

"Say, what do you suppose they have to eat? I've never been this way before." Ari perks up at the thought of foreign delights.

"Mmm, I tried this pastry which was full of sweet beans a while ago. And this curry with porous flatbread you used to scoop it up. And..." Celestina tempts her old avatar with stories of the many culinary delights that can be found in the regional capital. Farther ahead, a group of tough-looking adventurers walk your way, and you tense up but they simply give you a nod before going on their way. Another group passes and you tense a little less, and by the time you reach the gates you step through without needing even the slightest push, in stark contrast to your trips to Broadbridge in the past months. Once inside the gate, though, you simply stop and let your jaw hang wide open as you stare at the scene in front of you. The city is huge. Massive. Gargantuan, even. The street in front of you seems to continue forever, streets bustling with adventurers, NPCs, and the occasional group of monsters. Signs of shops, inns, taverns, guilds, and more hang in front of every door. Smells and smokes waft from side-streets. Roofs stacked over roofs fill the sky to either side. How are you supposed to find anyone in this mess!?

"Heh, your first city?" Celestina looks around, all of your other concubines wearing much the same expression as you are. "Well, what's the plan?"

"I, uh... find Amara and Grungil. I think?" You simply shrug in defeated awe.

"Okay, so whereabouts are they?" Tina looks expectantly at you.

"Um, here, somewhere. Probably." She looks at you for a few seconds, then holds her head in her hands and breaks out into a fit of giggles.

"Oh dear, you really don't know anything about cities, do you? Okay, let's try starting in a tavern. Ooh, 'The Grinning Daemon', that one looks nice. Those are always a great place to find out what's going on." The daemonologist walks off, and you're so baffled by the environment you don't even take the chance to ogle her retreating form. A sharp clap snaps you and your companions out of your daze, and Celestina looks expectantly to you and then points at the door. Finally snapped out of your stupor, the rest of you file towards the tavern.