Chapter 1
“The struggle itself towards the heights is enough to fill a slut’s heart.
One must imagine Sisyphus horny.”
Chapter 1 – The 30-Year-Old Cow and the Sea
Naked, I waited in the depths of fog, over open waters. Over the sea wind and the waves came the strained sounds of ropes and gangplanks being connected between ships, along with occasional shouts from their crews. However, only silence and nervous tension came from the Seacow—the ship I remained bound to 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 eagerly anticipated the pleasure of the bonds and movement from the attachment inside me. And especially the magic which would make me one with the vessel.
There was not much else to do but think about how my life had led to this place. If the years had been books, there would have been volumes by this point—three to be exact. 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 through our adventures there.
Of course, the simple times could not last forever.
Shortly after my early graduation, the pervy god 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.
Recently, these powers had become more numerous. In addition to a growing number of distant islands attaining newfound naval power, a new threat had arrived from the mainland where I now lived. A goblin sorcerer called “The Master.” After we had defeated him, the Master had exiled himself beyond the powers of the mainland. Leading him to bring his wares out to the Wild Seas.
Which brought us to the now. Captain Tab, of the Seacow, had picked up a rumor about a major trade between the Master and a minotaur monopoly (a minotopoly, if you will) called Hask Farm. In addition to any sentient enchantment that might need rescue, there were few scores as profitable as the kind of trade going down between them.
I had a wedding to save up for—to my mermaid fiancé, Zolreya. And though the great adventures and battles against threats to the civilizations of this world were currently at a lull, it was our job as pirates to remain a constant pain in their asses.
My thoughts returned to the present when 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 who looked a lot more like an axolotl-taur than any sort of winged reptile. He signaled the helm.
Qas stepped out first—a tailed dragon of the same people. Qas was the principal sorcerer of the Seacow, with myself serving as her apprentice while aboard. The sorcerer extended her hands out over the waters. Immediately, the fog she had summoned shot forward—struck by a heavy wind!
“Take the helm!” shouted Captain Tab, the inch-tall human who commanded the ship with her growing expertise in navigation and commanding with an iron will. Despite her stature, the one magic she had mastered involved projecting her voice to exactly the degree she needed in any given situation.
Pleasure struck as the dildo inside of me pressed forward … before beginning to vibrate. Magic flowed from me—making me one with the entirety of the Seacow. I let out a moan, or maybe the groans came from the wood and metal of the ship when it suddenly began to move. Either way, ecstasy coursed through me as I physically 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. That my actual body was experiencing the same only made my connection to the ship deeper.
In seconds, the Seacow was moving out of the fog and straight for the gangplank between the Master’s ship and Hask Farm’s. I might have feared being crushed. However, my physical body was well over them by this point. Netting—like the frills of a night gown—draped along the underside of the ship. Ready to catch our shiny 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!
For a moment, my connection to the magic was severed. I squirmed helplessly, trying to pull my torso out of the way. But, not matter what I did, I couldn’t move enough.
“Keep speed, Bow Maiden!” Captain Tab barked.
Having learned to trust my captain, I took a deep breath—focusing on the rigging around me, the ship, and how we were one under the firm hand of the crew. Once again, the ship began to gain speed.
“Clear the way!” Captain Tab shouted.
The sky darkened for just an instant, as Qas extended her control to the clouds above us. Suddenly, a flash of light sent the head of the spear into a thousand pieces—followed immediately by the crack of thunder!
In the blink of an eye, we snapped through the gangplank, the loot tumbling into our net. Minotaurs and goblins leapt back to their ships and even into the water for dear life. We were gone before the first sails unfurled, leaving the enemy scrambling in our wake.
In the blink of an eye, we were already away—making good distance long before the enemy ships had even hoisted their sails. Had they been naval ships, maybe we would have shot a volley to slow them down. However, these cargo ships would not have been able to catch us even under the worst of conditions.
We sailed easily until they were out of sight.
Eventually, I felt a large hand grab hold of my arm. The spell connecting me to the Seacow was broken. I collapsed as I was unfastened from the front of the ship and hauled aboard.
-O-
The voyage home was brief and filled with celebratory sex, literally and figuratively, over our plundered treasure. Qas, Tab, and Raathgur piled onto on end of a pile of golden coins. Meanwhile, I straddled Xania—a minotaur with white fur, orange patches, and soft curves. Her enormous tongue filled my mouth and throat.
Festivities continued until we arrived back at the mainland.
Once we arrived, Xania took it upon herself to row me to shore. We weren’t far from the Other Place, on the southern end of an isthmus central to the known world. In the distance, hundreds of workers worked on a new, joined project of the mainland cities. A canal widening the shortest river from the North Sea to the South Sea—where we had come from.
Xania maneuvered the tiny boat expertly through the reeds. I probably could have swum the distance—having also become much more familiar with the waters than I used to be. But Xania always volunteered to bring me all the way to the mainland; and I always enjoyed having her company for a little while longer. Perhaps … I thought to myself as I watched her row with surprising elegance … more than I realized.
As we pulled next to an abandoned dock, Xania pulled me into a warm embrace. Planting a wet kiss on 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. Then I shook my head with a smile and continued. “But I’ll be back in a few weeks, and then you can continue your arduous task of narrowly avoiding becoming a sorcerer yourself.”
Xania laughed. “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, not used to this kind of directness from her. “Lucky hucow,” I said, feeling a distinct amount more warmth than I expected.
The two of us then broke the moment with some nervous laughs and final looks. Finally, we 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 demonstrating the anglers’ impressive knotwork that I knew … intimately. However, this dock had clearly been abandoned to swamp—a biome more prevalent as one traveled west on the mainland. Reeds and willow trees grew through the planks beneath me and along the path ahead. The trail was small and overgrown, but I was pretty sure it would lead me to the Other Place.
I looked around the docks for any sign of Zolreya, my merfolk fiancé. I had somewhat expected to see her earlier—floating up beside the Seacow from the ocean waters. However, she hadn’t been there either.
In an old compulsion –which I found odd for all the time I’d lived in this world—I reached for my pocket before remembering that I had no phone with which to check the time and date. However, Qas had seemed quite sure about the date when I’d asked earlier. 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, desperate to read her mind. Now, I could hold the uncertainty—mostly. But the closer we got to the wedding, the harder it was to ignore the growing gaps between us. 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, a stark contrast to the polished deck of 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 I was just in my head.
The footpath eventually led to the Other Place. What I did not expect, as I stepped from the forested marsh to an open field, was to see a different familiar face sitting just outside the makeshift city where I’d first met her. It was Namali, my ceratopsian partner with her three horns, silvery crest around her face, and warm, dark skin over sculpted muscles.
Namali was resting in the grass, just where the path ended. Her red dress a bit wrinkled and singed—no doubt from some battle at her alma mater. When she saw me, Namali smiled and waved.
I smiled back, happy to see her. For just a half-moment, I worried that something bad had happened to Zolreya while I’d been out at sea. However, Namali’s calm demeanor diminished the worry from my mind. When I approached, she wrapped me in her enormous arms.
“I missed you,” I said, nuzzling into her 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 for a long moment.
“Is Zolreya okay?” I asked when we finally pulled away from each other. 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. It was one we’d been sharing more frequently, as of the 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.”
However, the truth was that I could feel a cacophony of insecurities bubbling within me. This wasn’t the first wedding delay beyond either of our control. It seemed that the closer we got to the actual event, the more persistent the obstacles became. And Zolreya was around less and less so that we rarely had a chance to talk about it. On the rare cases when we could, she seemed distant.
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. “What about you?”
Namali pursed her pointed upper lip together with her bottom one and then sighed deeply. She 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. Daava and Aamalyn were currently out on a quest together, their own letters would be pinned to the family board. The one in Namali’s hand would be her own.
It wasn’t uncommon for Namali to also go on quests. However, hers were also less frequent than the rest of us. And 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, and her gaze distant. Finally, she sighed and pointed to the Grand Hoohas—the home of both the dwarven and ceratopsian people. Namali’s people.
I took a deep breath and then finally said, “If you need to do this alone, I support you. But if you’re doing the whole strong silent type thing—going off on your own because you’re worried about involving those you care about—then I want in! You are big, and strong, and sexy … and those back muscles … and … what was I trying to say?”
Namali let out a smirk that turned into a warm smile. Then she went expressionless for a moment. She seemed very unsure about the idea of bringing me, though … maybe not at the idea of some company?
“Or I could walk you there?” I said, finding it a bit difficult to know what to suggest without the full context of whatever her quest was. “You could show off the hucow you captured to all the other ceratopsians. They’ll be so jealous.”
Namali didn’t respond for a moment, her eyes drifting to the distant mountains of her home. Her jaw tightened for a moment, then softened. She rolled her eyes 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.
Hand-in-hand, we made our way home. As we went, it was I who looked out into the distant mountains I only knew through Namali’s drawings, and through the stories of a dwarven friend. The cities there were beautiful … but loud. Something that Namali generally did not abide.
Whatever awaited us, I would be at her side for as long as she needed.
