NTR Quest

Marrien cleared her throat at the podium, demanding the attention of the assembled Priests, Aurars, Investors and you and your sister, of course.

“Notes from my husband that were returned to me in a sealed chest suggest that the trip to the continent will be long. I am not going to sugar coat this. Some of us may not return. Some of us will possibly experience worse than not being able to return. The notes that he provided are not pretty or fun. According to the annals, many of his expedition was lost on the journey itself. So, without even reaching our goal, many of us may be lost.”

“Yeah, yeah.” Sammead took a puff of his cigar, then turned to exhale onto Teuta, the pretty blonde head Priestess. She waved away smoke as he continued.

“So darlin', tell me more about why I shouldn't be lendin' you my ships?” He lifted a brow, a cheeky smirk crossing his cracked lips.

Fiona, your sister, rolled her eyes. “What a creep.” She leaned over to say below a whisper. You let out a chuckle that you cut short as the fat Investor shot a glance your way.

Marrien waited for the crowd to stop rumbling. “Are you done? Good. My accounting would not grant any value to this expedition if there were no tangible benefit to outweigh the costs. My Husband is the whimsical one, not me. I deal in guarantees which is why we we have the support of the crown...” She motioned towards a royal delegation, featuring two princes with emerald eyes and their assembled aides and guards and advisors.

“Support from the East. Marrien motioned towards the Aoian delegation. You glanced over curiously and saw a confident looking boy around your age standing with a group of other humans. One man was regally dressed, similar to the royal delegation. The boy glanced back at you, seeming to detect your gaze. He smiled and waved.

“We have gathered heroes from our known world, including my own children.”

“Lucky, that. Two from the same household.” Sam said snidely.

“Good stock.” Marrien returned in a subtly venomous tone.

“Hoh...” Sam laughed quietly to himself.

“The Orran's are of course a great support and this expedition would not be possible without their vessels.” Marrien admitted in recognition of Sammead.

“But, what you all want to know is, why is this dangerous journey so important?”

“And so lucrative.” Sam added.

She stared him down. “Yes... My husband sent back word of a tree. A living being greater in size than the highest mountains we have ever seen. He claimed that you could be mistaken for assuming that it holds up the sky. It is our worlds oldest creation and no secret can be kept from it. He said...” When she finished, only the Aurors and the Priesthood seemed excited. Jeane, one of the lead Aurors was grinning widely. You stared particularly hard at her for some reason, drawn in by her pale skin, or possible something else. It was so hard that she turned to stare back in confusion. You quickly averted your gaze.

“Alright. And for the rest of us 'laymen-'” Sam began, standing up to speak. He rested his cigar on the podium.

“The continent and the islands leading up to it are supposedly host to Beastfolk. Incarnates. Mythical Species that most of us have only ever heard of through stories. Dragons and their kin. Seraphs... We are heading to the Mythical realm, people and we are gonna take it for all it's worth.”

The crowd looked to Marrien who nodded reluctantly. “Yes. I appraised him to secure his investment. He is not incorrect.”

“For those interested, we'll be bringin' back spoils. Beastfolk an' other things to sell or keep back home as pets. Everyone that helps us out gets a piece of the profit. It's only fair.” The Priesthood shot him a sharp look.

“What? They're not Human. They aren't even elves.” He gave a nod to a stern-looking Jeane.

“No offense.”

“None taken...” The Auror lied.

From the Aoi delegation one of the regal figures in blue robes stepped forward. He had deep sapphire eyes and long, messy blue hair. He had a scholarly air to him.

“If you have time, sir, I would like to speak to you about helping to subjugate these Beastfolk and... 'Dragons' you say?”

“Yep, Dragons.” Sam confirmed, picking up his cigar and returning it to his mouth to bite down on it.

“Anyone that wants to talk to me can come to me on the flagship. Unless we're in stormy waters, we're connecting all the ships by chains.”

“Is that wise?” One of the fat human princes asked. He was standing next to the Queen Mother with his brother. She was a woman with light skin and emerald green eyes, just like the two boys. Her hair was dark, but with a faint green sheen to it.

“It's an Orran fleet technique. Creates a floating city. We use it to... Have fun all around the world. Some of you probably know.” He winked at the Aoian's.

“Unless there's a fire or a storm there's no downside to having the ships chained together. Don't you worry your pretty little heads and by all means, if any of you think you can sail better than an Orran, be our guest.” He waited. No one stepped forward.

“Good.”

Marrien pinched the bridge of her nose. “Good, indeed... Before we end this meeting, I would like to also thank the Elven delegation for bringing this discovery to us. As thanks, we are accepting a party of explorers from their lands, as well. Including a woman that should prove incredibly useful according to all of the accolades she has received. The Elven people provide excellent archers and fighters, in general and will be good pathfinders on the islands leading up to the continent.” As Marrien explained, you looked over to admire a matronly blonde elf with a pony-tail and glasses. She was standing proudly with her arms crossed under her generous chest. Around her was a group of Rangers in colorful red and blue armored costumes featuring large feathered hats with wing insignias on them. Under the scrutiny of continuous stares, the woman finally uncrossed her arms and gave a short wave to the other parties.

“I am Serane. A researcher. I found the chest on a dig. I believe we all have a vested interest in finding the continent and the Tree.” Everyone kind of just passed the implications of her digging up the chest, as if it was a n old discovery, but you caught it. A few other people seemed confused as well, but the support for the expedition spoke for itself.

“Very good.” Marrien nodded.

“Quite the circus, no?” A tall, pale, dark haired woman said while leaning over and resting a hand on your shoulder. It was Gallia, a friend and confidant of your Mother.

“Yeah? I guess.” The woman licked her red lips. Ever since you had known her you have never known her to look any different. Though, your mother also aged particularly well, so it may have simply been a quirk of the area you grew up in.

“Your mother is handling the expenses but I am organizing the distribution of supplies, clothing and spoils. You are in good hands.” She insisted, squeezing your shoulder. Staring deep into Gallia's amber eyes, you believed her, for a moment. Then you quickly shook it off. You knew that it was actually with your Mother's planning and your Father's notes that it felt safe and sure. The woman leaned back when she realized she no longer had you.

“Orran fleets have very good logistics. The trip will not be so bad. It will be like living at home, except instead of standing on solid ground your world will be in constant motion.”

“Thanks?” You said uncertainly.

“She's just messing with you.” Fiona claimed, brushing the woman off your shoulder. Your sister has always been about as protective of you as you have been of her. The two of you, being twins, trained together and were found out to be Heroes together based on your Traits. They were ambiguous, granting something nebulous that was only described by the Priesthood as 'Potential.' Like you she wore a set of tight-fitting metal and leather armor with thin cotton clothes lining the inside. You two were often mistaken for one another.

“Oh...” Gallia feigned ignorance.

“I am so sorry. I thought I was speaking to Fiona. The two of us are friends, you see.” She winked.

“Go away!” Fiona ordered annoyedly. Gallia lifted her hands in surrender and backed off into the nearest shadow.

“Dumb pests like that you just need to shove off of you.” She advised.

“Right.”

She craned her head to stare across at the Aoians. “Apparently that one with the dark hair is a Hero, like us.”

“Yeah?”

“They're taking this thing pretty seriously. All of them. I feel pretty good about it.” Fiona was putting on a strong front but you could see how tense she was. Her hand was clenched. You glanced down and rested yours on top of hers to comfort her. She smiled appreciatively.

“Thanks.”

“No problem. I feel pretty good about it, too.” Despite saying that, you were also quite nervous. Your father had disappeared on this journey and only sent back an odd package containing notes and maps. It was a package with a strange and confusing origin that only the researcher, Serane, likely had insight into. It seemed suspicious. Fortunately you hid your apprehension far better than Fiona.

She leaned back and took a deep breath. “If they write about us, what do you think the book will be called?” She asked conversationally.

“What?” You stared at her in confusion.

“We're Heroes, right. We've read about Heroes before us so people after are going to read about us, right?”

“Yeah, I guess.” You conceded. You were still trying to figure out what she was getting at, however.

“So what would the book be called.”

“Just call it something... It doesn't matter.”

“Well-” She looked up in thought.

“I think the title should reflect the content. It should summarize it to some extent. It should hint at what you'll find when you read it.”

“You think that? So what if it's called 'Everyone Drowns.'”

She stared at you angrily. “We can't call it that because then you know what will happen.”

“Oh, I see. Like a self-fulfilling prophecy, huh? It's all going to happen if it's in the title? Maybe it's a diversion.”

“People would get annoyed.” Fiona insisted.

“It has to reflect it somewhat and not be a trick.”

“So we're on a 'Quest'.” You brainstormed.

“Why not call it 'The Quest.'”

“Isn't that a bit presumptuous?” She criticized.

“Okay. You just want it to be very on the nose? Exploration Quest.”

Fiona smiled widely. “So we can be absolutely, positively sure that there will be lots and lots of exploration. I like it. It's perfect.” The girl mused.

“Just a title...” You muttered.

“Will there be exploration?”

“Yes! You can already guess by the title that there will be opportunities for Exploration on the journey. At sea, on the islands and on the continent itself when we reach it. Now that we've named it, it's guaranteed. There is nothing else that could happen.”

“Aah, of course. Good job.” You snorted.