Chapter 1
“The struggle itself towards the heights is enough to fill a slut’s heart.
One must imagine Sisyphus horny.”
The 30-Year-Old Cow and the Sea
Naked, I waited in thick fog, over open waters. Over the sea wind and the waves, I could still hear movement from an enemy ship. The strained sounds of ropes and the clatter of falling gangplanks, occasional shouts from their crews. And yet, I couldn't help but get lost in my own inner-world.
Only silence and nervous tension came from the Seacow—the ship where I was bound to the front as the bow maiden. Metal clasps locked my neck, wrists, arms, ankles, and waist securely over the sea—mercifully padded in leather. A certain appendage was secured inside of me—inactive with nobody managing the helm.
I was supposed to be eagerly anticipating the pleasure of the bonds and movement from the attachment inside me. And especially for the magic which would make me one with the vessel. But my mind was on the past.
If the years had been books, there would have been volumes by this point—three to be exact. More than two years ago, I had arrived in a world of strange magic fueled by sexual pleasure. I’d enrolled at the University to master my power and met my four partners during our adventures.
Of course, the simple times could not last forever.
Shortly after my early graduation, the two pervy gods of this world had dragged me out to sea in a storm. I met new companions, also lost at sea. Together, we formed a pirate crew. By the time I made it back home, I had a lucrative new job pillaging the hostile powers roaming the Wild Seas. At least, when I wasn't bumbling through misadventures on the continent.
Which brought me to now.
Tab, the inch-tall human captain of the Seacow, had picked up a rumor about a major trade between the Master of Tormented Enchantments and Hask Farms. (A minotaur monopoly ... or ... minotopoly, if you will.) We needed to rescue the sentient enchantments being traded, but also pillage the money passing between them.
After all, I had a wedding to save up for. I was promised to be married to my mermaid fiancé, Zolreya.
"Lilly, you need to focus," Mistress Qasven whispered down at me from the deck of the ship. Ever since my first journey into these waters, the silver circle-dragon sorceress had been my magical mentor.
I looked up to see the wind pass through her bluish axolotl-like frills. Only her elven-like torso was sticking out over me, leaving me unable to see her lizard-like lower body and tail.
Right ... I needed to focus ... on keeping up my horniness.
Unlike the University of magic I had dropped out of, Qasven did administer tests. And this was one of them. Today, I was expected to do far more than any normal crewmember in our raid. Which, at a certain point in my life, might have made me stress.
However, the immediate urgency was a welcome break from my other concerns. Concerns such as the growing darkness I had adopted into my body, which was growing every day. As well as from the fact that I had recently devoted my soul to a mischief-pixie ... turning it into a minor deity.
I heard the mechanical click of Raathgur’s brass telescope. I looked down and saw his reflection in the waters below. Raathgur was the first mate—a pink, tailless, circle-dragon. He signaled wordlessly toward the helm.
Mistress Qasven extended her hands out over the waters. Immediately, the fog she had summoned shot forward—carried by a heavy wind!
“Take the helm!” shouted Captain Tab, dropping from Raathgur's shoulder onto mine. The one magic she had mastered involved projecting her voice to exactly the degree she needed in any given situation. So all of the crew heard her instructions, loud and clear.
Pleasure struck as the dildo inside of me pressed forward … before beginning to vibrate. Magic flowed from me—and I let myself become one with the Seacow.
I let out a moan, or maybe that sound was the groans from the wood and metal of the ship. When joined to my vessel, it was impossible to distinguish the feelings between us.
Either way, ecstasy coursed through me as I felt the waves meeting the ship like silk sheets on my naked skin. Using my bow-maiden magic, I caused gentle shifts in the wood on the underside of the ship—forming ripples that accelerated us more quickly than otherwise possible.
I almost didn’t remember the advanced technology that the circle dragons had installed onto the ship. Until the ship rose over the surface of the water—sustained by the metal wing below the water. A hydrofoil that allowed the Seacow to almost fly over the sea.
In seconds, the Seacow was moving out of the fog and straight for the gangplank set up between the Master’s ship and Hask Farm’s. I might have feared being crushed. However, my body was hanging well over them by this point. Netting—like the frills of a night gown—draped along the underside of the ship. Ready to catch any dropped treasure.
The enemy crew finally saw us. To my surprise, one of the minotaurs pulled a spear of his back—pointed right at my midsection!
In a moment, my connection to the magic was severed.
I shot a blast of magic through my arms, popping the shackles that had kept me in place open. I dropped onto the gangway between the two ships.
Raathgur joined me, jumping on the other side of it. Tossing me my training staff.
Immediately, I slammed it into a goblin carrying a crate full of enchantments. Then I looked back and asked, "No sword?" My expression curled into a pout.
"Lilly, look out!" Raathgur shouted.
I had to lunge desperately, the metal frame of the Seacow snapping the gangway in two, forcing us onto either enemy ship. The Seacow moving between them.
Raathgur shook his head with a laugh as he locked swords with a minotaur. "My dear, you may be learning to fight. But we both know that you'll cut yourself just as soon as you hold a blade."
A dozen goblins charged me.
For a moment, the darkness inside me churned in my chest, begging me to let it fight them, until they were all blood and screams.
No ... I could handle this myself, my way. But I had learned better than to neglect my darkness; I would let it help me. Calling on it, I extended a hand, casting a wave of shadows that toppled the goblins in every-which direction. Letting it feel that its presence was welcome inside of me.
“Excellent work, scary sea-wench!” Captain Tab barked at me. She then turned to our ship and shouted. "Fire!"
Immediately, chain-shots fired, cutting through the masts of the ship. While we had no intention of drowning the crews, we weren't about to let them chase us down either.
"Lilly ..." Captain Tab cajoled teasingly, and pointed at the bow.
Fuck!
The Seacow was nearly clear of the enemy ships!
I tore down the front of the goblin ship, Raathgur mirroring me, both of us hauling our stolen goods. We both lunged desperately off the bows to catch the trailing nets behind the Seacow.
Both of us just barely caught it, the ocean waves soaking us as we bounced over the surface of the water.
The sky darkened for just an instant, as Qasven extended her control to the clouds above us. Followed immediately by the crack of thunder!
The enemy crews scrambled away from the cannons.
We were gone before they even knew how badly they'd been hit. A year and a half's worth of practice showing, compared to our first raid. Where we had barely escaped with our lives. When I'd been left with a concussion from swinging into the mast of a ship.
Eventually, I felt a large hand grab hold of my arm.
I looked up to see Xania. A full-bodied and massive minotaur, with fur of orange and white, and a heart shape on her forehead. It was the same mark still branded with a tattoo into my backside. Xania's expression was warm and excitable as it always was.
As soon as she had pulled me aboard, I collapsed happily into her loving embrace.
-O-
The voyage home was filled with celebratory sex over our plundered treasure. In both the literal and figurative sense. Mistress Qasven, Captain Tab, and First-mate Raathgur piled onto on top of one another on one pile of golden coins. Festivities continued as we moved effortlessly through the magical Mist that allowed our entry back to the continent.
Only when the bell rang, did we all begrudgingly return to the upper deck.
Before I could climb down to the shore-boat, however, Qasven stopped me. "A word, apprentice. About your test."
I nodded, falling back into a more serious expression. Which was a little challenging, considering that we'd both just been indulging in an orgy together. Still, I managed to nod and ask, "Did ... I do alright?"
Qasven's mouth curled into a wry smile. "Were you at a Circle-dragon school, I would have counted this as passing your sorcerer's graduation exam. And given that your University had no exams ..."
My eyes widened.
For the most part, Qasven never openly discussed my progress. Especially not comparatively to any other student. I'd always just sort of assumed that she was sparing my feelings. But this, this didn't sound like she was sparing anything at all.
"You mean ..." I began to ask.
Qasven nodded firmly. "You are ready to begin graduate-level education!"
My expression fell a bit flat. "I thought ... you were going to say that I was now a full ship-sorcerer. You know, no longer the lowest-ranking crew member on my own ship?"
Qasven let out a hearty laugh that went on until she literally needed to wipe a tear from her eye. "Perhaps if you were on a ceratopsian ship, after you earned their Master's Robe. But, on this ship, you are a circle-dragon apprentice. A high rank aboard would require ascension all the way to High Sorcerer."
I let out a sigh that ... admittedly ... wasn't as bitter as I wanted it to be. As much as I complained, I did actually enjoy learning more about magic. Truth be told, I wasn't if I'd ever be ready for that to end.
"But you do get a raise," said Captain Tab as she passed us on Raathgur's shoulder.
I smiled eagerly. "Are we thinking a half share? A whole share?"
Raathgur smirked and tossed me ... a single coin.
"Thanks," I muttered, leaving the rest of my crew cackling at their own cleverness.
-O-
Xania maneuvered the tiny boat expertly over the waves, and eventually through the reeds. I probably could have swum the distance. But she always wanted to; and I enjoyed the quiet last moments we had together. Perhaps … I thought to myself … with more than just the gentle nuances of romance currently between us.
The southern end of an isthmus, as the center of the continent, was idyllic in its own way. In the distance, I could see hundreds of workers worked on a new, joined project of the mainland cities. A canal widening the shortest river from the North Sea, where my home was, to here on the South Sea.
Maybe, when it was finished, we could row all the way home ... together.
When we had pulled next to an abandoned dock, Xania pulled me into a warm embrace. Wetly kissing my lips, she said, “I’ll miss you while you are on shore, my sweet pet.”
“Me too,” I said, taking her large hands in mine. For a moment, I nearly lost myself in her deep brown eyes. “But I’ll be back in a few weeks. Then you can get back to narrowly avoiding becoming a sorcerer like me.”
Xania laughed at this. “Lilly Pond! For the last time, I’m not a perv. I just seem to have fondness for a certain hucow who is herself one.”
I blushed, enjoying the uncharacteristic directness from her. “Lucky hucow,” I said, feeling a distinct warmth in the cheesy line.
"Lilly ..." Xania said, like there was something important just on the tip of her tongue.
"Yeah?" I asked, almost hopeful.
Xania opened her mouth to say something, but then stopped. Her face went red, and she made her voice smaller. "I'll see you soon!"
I smiled at her, leaned over, and gave one last peck on her lips. Then, we both awkwardly waved goodbye.
I stepped out of the rowboat, onto a rickety old dock between Crudehook and the Other Place. It was clearly of goblin origin, everything bound together with ropes and knots that demonstrated the anglers’ impressive skill. Knotwork that I knew … rather intimately, thanks to goblin partner, Daava.
Reeds and willow trees grew through the planks beneath me and along the path ahead.
I looked around, as I went, for any sign of Zolreya. I had somewhat expected to see her earlier—floating up beside the Seacow from the ocean waters. In an old compulsion, even I reached for my pocket. Before remembering that I had no phone with which to check the time and date.
Maybe I had given the wrong date of arrival in my letters?
Deciding this to be the most likely reason for Zolreya’s absence, I started walking in the direction of home.
Two years ago, I might’ve panicked over her absence. Now, I was a little better at holding uncertainty. Still, it was hard not to notice the growing gaps between us. Especially as the wedding drew closer.
Zolreya had been gone ... a lot more than usual. Ever since I'd first returned home from the Wild Seas, in fact. And I couldn’t tell if it was just the pressures of her society, or if it was ... something else.
The planks creaked underfoot as I went, softened by moss and time. In fact, being on land again stuck out in stark contrast with the Seacow. Here, there were no shouts, no clash of steel or crackle of magic—just the occasional call of a bird in the reeds.
It was almost peaceful enough to convince me that my worries just came from being too much in my own head. The footpath eventually led to the Other Place. Where I saw a different familiar face sitting just outside the makeshift city.
It was Namali, my ceratopsian partner, in all the glory of her sculpted muscle and towering frame. Her three horns, silvery crest, glimmered in the light, as did her freckled silver scales over warm skin. Her red dress looked a bit wrinkled and singed—no doubt from some fun battle at her alma mater.
When she saw me, Namali smiled eagerly and waved.
I smiled back, happy to see her. When I approached, she wrapped me in her enormous arms.
“I missed you,” I said, nuzzling into her broad chest.
Namali nodded deeply, which I felt in my shoulder. To emphasize her point, she pressed her chest to mine. Our hearts beating together, in a moment I lost myself to entirely.
Then I remembered. “Is Zolreya okay?” I looked around for our mutual partner, as if she might have been waiting in some nearby pond.
Namali nodded, but there was no missing a certain grimace as she did. She didn’t need to draw it out for me to understand the meaning of her look, one we’d been sharing more frequently these past few months.
“Another quest at sea …” I said, trying to hide my disappointment.
Namali again nodded, tensing the muscles in her face. I could tell that she was also trying to hide her feelings.
“That’s fair,” I said, even if the news still left me feeling somewhat unsure. “We were supposed to be planning for the wedding when I returned. But I know societal expectations among the merfolk are … different … more demanding.” But I wasn't sure that my tone was convincing. It felt lost in the cacophony of insecurities bubbling within me.
This wasn’t the first wedding delay. It seemed that the closer we got to the actual event, the more persistent the obstacles became.
Namali raised an eyebrow, seeming to have been studying me all the time I’d been thinking.
“Yeah, I’m … feeling things,” I admitted, feeling a little guilty for saying even as much as I had. “What about you?”
Namali sighed deeply and then reached into a pocket and retrieved a familiar piece of paper. It was one of the schedules that Namali, Zolreya, Daava, Aamalyn, and I had recently started leaving for one another before going on a quest.
With there being five of us, it could be a challenge to keep track of who was where and for how long. It was how I knew that Daava and our elven partner, Aamalyn were currently out on a quest together. Their own letters were pinned to the family board at home.
The one in Namali’s hand was her own. However ... there was a certain grimness to her expression as she held the letter out to me.
I took the offered letter and scanned the details. What I immediately noticed was an uncharacteristic lack of them. I furrowed my brow and said, “Wait, you don’t know how long you’ll be gone? And we won’t be able to contact you?”
Namali shook her head, biting her lower lip. I could see her muscles go just a little more rigid. Finally, she sighed and pointed to the Grand Hoohas—the mountain home of both the dwarven and ceratopsian people.
Namali’s people.
I took a deep breath, pausing to think before I finally replied, “Namali ... if you need to do this alone ... I support you. But if you’re doing the whole strong silent type thing—then I want in!" Then, for reasons that eluded me, I repeated, "Strong, silent, sexy … and those back muscles … and … what was I trying to say?”
Namali let out a smirk, but then the expression fell. Was she unsure about the idea of bringing me?
“Then ... can I walk you there?” I asked, finding it a bit difficult to know what to suggest. “You could show off the hucow you captured to all the other ceratopsians. They’ll be so jealous.”
I did a twirl.
Namali looked me up and down playfully and gave a firm nod.
I smiled, excited to finally get to see her home. As far as daring adventures went, being eye-candy on her shoulder was exactly my ideal speed.
Namali took my hand, and began to long trip back home.
As we went, I looked out at the distant mountains. The ones I only knew through Namali’s drawings. Her depictions of the ceratopsian city made them seem beautiful … but loud. Something that Namali could not abide to such an extent that she found it uncomfortable to speak.
This did make me worry. But whatever awaited us, I would be at her side for as long as she needed.
