WIEDERGEBURT Act IV: Chapter 17

I spent most of the night healing the injured. While we had responded quickly enough that there were very few fatalities, it did not mean there were no casualties. Quite a few people had been hurt. Those people who invaded the lamia city had snuck inside by traveling beneath the sand and attacking when they were practically under our feet--or our tails. Once I finished using my water element to heal everyone, Queen Medusa had Aliya direct us back toward our room inside of the palace.

I didn’t know what the queen was doing right now, but us five had spent the last few hours just lying in bed. None of us were tired. However, given the state of the city, we figured it would be best if we waited here until everything settled down.

“What do you think that was all about?” asked Fay. She was lying against a large pile of pillows, her breast exposed as she fed Raul.

“Who knows?” Kari shrugged. She was sitting with her legs tucked partially beneath her. “Back in our previous life, I didn’t think anyone was dumb enough to attack the lamia’s city.”

“No, there are a few who might do something like 66this for the right price,” I said. “There aren’t any mercenary companies who’d do it, but I think the Red Scorpions might.”

“You think those people were members of the Red Scorpions?” Kari tilted her head, placed a finger against her chin, and tapped it several times. “Now that you mention it, I remember the few times we faced off against the Red Scorpions and they were wearing the same outfits as these people.”

“So you think the people who attacked this princess’ home are these ‘Red Scorpions?’”

Lin was lying with her head on my lap as I stroked her hair. Siv was too. Both dragon and lamia looked like they were greatly enjoying my ministrations. Lin released gentle yet pleasant on the ear hisses, and Siv let out a low rumbling sound in the back of her throat. It was like the dragon equivalent of purring.

“We won’t know for sure until Queen Medusa comes back from interrogating that man we spared,” I said. “I think there is a high possibility they are the Red Scorpions. The problem is I still can’t see a reason why they would attack the lamia city. Even without us here, attacking this place is practically suicide.”

“Maybe they were paid a lot of money?” Siv suggested in a quiet voice.

“It must have been enough money to rule a nation,” Fay muttered as Raul stopped feeding on her. She brought our son to her shoulder and burped him as she continued to speak. “While these people might be the kind who would attack the lamia’s home, I doubt they’d do without incredible incentive.”

Fay brought up a good point, but again, we wouldn’t know for sure until Queen Medusa finished her interrogation.

As if my thoughts brought her to us, Queen Medusa walked through the open entryway and into our room. She paused upon seeing her daughter blissed out from having her head pat as she rested it on my lap. Shaking her head, the woman continued slithering along the stone floor and stopped before us.

“Thank you again for protecting this queen’s people,” she started. “Without your intervention, this queen is certain many of her people would have died. It is because of your fast actions that only a few were killed. Even those who had received life threatening injuries did not suffer any permanent damage.”

“It was no trouble,” I said.

“This is Lin’s home,” Kari added. “It’s only natural we would defend it.”

“This queen can tell Lin is very loved. She is grateful to the four of you for your favor.”

Queen Medusa stopped talking for a moment, expression growing pensive. The five of us glanced at each other. I think we all knew something was going on.

“Did you finish questioning that man we caught?” I asked.

“We did…” Queen Medusa’s frown grew more prominent, causing wrinkles to appear on her forehead. “The man you kidnapped is called Jafar. Many years ago, he tried to usurp this queen’s position as the ruler of lamia by gathering men who were dissatisfied with my rule. They failed, of course, and this queen banished them.” She looked at her hands and clenched them into fists. “This queen should have killed them, but she hesitated because we lamia are not a populous species. There are only a few hundred of us. Killing even ten lamia makes this queen’s stomach churn.”

None of us said anything. This was actually information we didn’t know. Even in my previous life, I had not been given an accurate estimation of the lamia population. Also, this conversation was a lot heavier than any we’d had thus far.

Queen Medusa shook her head as though dispelling those thoughts.

“This queen has learned much from questioning Jafar. He told her a great many things, like how he went on to form a group called the Red Scorpions. They are marauders who travel the Endless Desert, killing and stealing from whoever they please--at least, that is what everyone is led to believe.”

“Are you telling us the Red Scorpions aren’t simply marauders?” I asked.

“Yes,” Queen Medusa answered simply before explaining. “This queen has learned from Jafar that the Red Scorpions work for the Malik Family. They are a powerful human family who owns a good deal of fertile land in the Endless Desert. They trade in all kinds of things from food, clothing, and water to slaves and information. This queen has come to learn that many of her people were captured by the Red Scorpions and sold off to the Malik Family, who owns an auction house in the Endless Desert.”

“An auction house?” Fay straightened where she sat. “You mean a place that auctions off rare and powerful artifacts?”

Queen Medusa denied her words. “No, this auction house is a slave auction house. They only auction off slaves, and it seems they specialize in auctioning off lamia slaves.”

“Lamia are very popular slaves,” I muttered, biting my thumb. “Lamia are considered exotic by many of the Endless Desert’s nobles, so a lot of them want a lamia or two as a sex slave.”

Queen Medusa nodded at my words. “This queen did not say anything to you, but several of her people have disappeared since your group arrived. Please forgive this queen. She did not believe you had the right to know since this is not your home.”

None of us were particularly upset by Queen Medusa withholding information from us. She was right, after all. This was not our home.

“What happened to the people who went missing?” asked Lin.

“They were delivered to Jafar, who sent them to Muqadas, where the auction house is located. We have also learned from Jafar that the one who kidnapped them was none other than Muhammad. Unfortunately, Muhammad and his son Jahin have gone missing. We believe they ran away.” After explaining what happened, Queen Medusa bowed her head to us. “This queen knows it is impudent to ask, but won’t you please lend us your aid and rescue the lamia who have been kidnapped? We cannot go ourselves. Even if we are stronger individually, the human race is too populous for us to defeat them in open combat… but you five are very strong. She believes you may be able to save them.”

The fact that Queen Medusa herself was asking us to rescue her people was shocking to me. I understood now that my previous thoughts on this woman were skewed because I didn’t know much about her, but a lot of what I now knew didn’t mesh with what I learned from my previous life.

Queen Medusa was not a vile or reprehensible woman, but rather, a proud and noble queen who had sacrificed much for her people. I no longer felt obliged to be polite because she was Lin’s mother. I now respected this woman for her strength and will.

“What do you girls think?” I asked.

“There’s no question about what we should do.” Lin removed herself from my lap and sat up. “This princess’ people have been kidnapped, and she will not stand for it.”

“I also believe we should rescue them,” Fay added.

“You already know what my thoughts on the matter are.” Kari shrugged and offered me a mischievous smile. “Even if I wasn’t against slavery, I couldn’t let my beloved little sister’s people go on to become some noble’s sex toy. It wouldn’t be right.”

My first three wives gave me their opinions, but Siv still hadn’t spoken. I glanced at the young dragon girl. She sat up, looked at the four of us, squirmed a little as though embarrassed about giving her opinion, and then spoke up.

“We should rescue them.”

Since everyone was in agreement about what should be done, we decided to get a little more information before heading off. We asked Queen Medusa all kinds of questions regarding the number of lamia who had been kidnapped and whether they were male or female.

“Thirty lamia were kidnapped,” Queen Medusa answered. “Five of them were men. Twenty-five were women. I can give you a list of their names and a physical description of them, so you’ll know who to look for.”

Since the Endless Desert was a patriarchal society, it made sense there would be more male nobles seeking female bed warmers. I actually didn’t think there were any women in charge of noble houses here. At the very least, I had never once heard of a woman being the head of a noble family in the Endless Desert.

Our next discussion was regarding how we should travel. It would be much quicker to simply fly to Muqadas. Siv, Fay, and I could reach the city within a few days if we traveled by air, but Lin refused to fly with us. She could probably keep up by traveling underground, but if she did that, there was no way she could track us through the air. Kari also could not fly with us. She was capable of flight, but she had only reached the Third State of Spiritualism, which meant she had a limited amount of Spiritual Power to use.

The difference between the Third and Fourth States of Spiritualism was like heaven and earth. In the Fourth State of Spiritualism, Spiritualists not only had massive reserves that were nearly triple what Spiritualists who had reached the Third State of Spiritualism possessed, but they could also absorb the natural element they had an affinity toward and use it to empower themselves or control said element in its raw form.

For example, a Spiritualist with a water affinity who had reached the Fourth State of Spiritualism could travel into the water and absorb the natural Spiritual Power emitted by the water to enhance their own reserves. They could also manipulate the water as they pleased without using their own Spiritual Power. While in the water, that Spiritualist would have an unlimited supply of power. They were basically invincible.

“I think Siv and I should act as the vanguard,” I said as we sat around the couch early the next morning. “It shouldn’t take more than a few days for us to reach Muqadas. We can travel there first and gather information regarding the captured lamia and the auction house, then come up with a plan once you three join us.”

None of us had slept the previous night, but it wasn’t like we were tired. Spiritualists could go several days without the need for rest. I remember in my previous life after reaching the Third State of Spiritualism, I had once gone an entire month without sleep, though I did end up sleeping for nearly a week after that.

On that note, Raul was currently sleeping on the bed.

“Wouldn’t it be easier to simply find and attack the caravan before they reach Muqadas?” asked Fay.

It was Kari who answered. “How do you propose we find them? The Endless Desert is vast, and there are no set trade routes for people to use.”

“We could narrow our search field by only searching the areas between here and Muqadas,” Fay said.

“The area between this city and Muqadas covers a couple hundred kilometers.” Kari once again rebuked her friend. “That’s a lot of ground to cover. Also, how do you propose we find the caravan? If they are trading in slaves, they will probably have the lamia hidden away inside of wagons with no identifying marks. We could search every caravan we find, but that might also cause us to become infamous. If enough traders complain about us to the local lords or even the king, we could have a bounty placed on our head, which will make our work much harder.”

Rather than looking upset at being rebuked, Fay crossed her arms and considered what Kari was telling her. She eventually relented.

“You do have a lot of good points. I’ll defer to your judgement on this matter.”

Kari smiled at her friend before speaking again.

“I believe Eryk’s idea is the best one right now. He and Siv can travel to Muqadas and be there far ahead of the caravan. They can also gather information about the auction house and the Malik Family. In the meantime, you, me, and Lin can travel there by wagon. It takes caravans about a thirty days to travel from here to Muqadas provided there are no unforeseen incidents. It will take us longer, but we can cut that time down by traveling for several days without sleep.”

Nobody rejected our idea, so Siv and I traveled to the throne room to inform Queen Medusa about our plan. She seemed intrigued.

“It is a bold plan, but this queen believes it can work,” she said. “This queen shall leave it to you.”

Because we didn’t need to pack (all of our supplies were already inside of our storage rings), our group traveled out of the palace immediately after receiving the queen’s approval.

Like the first time we had arrived, our group was subject to many stares. This time, however, those stares were not of wariness, hostility, and hatred. Many of the lamia we ran across were thankful.

“Thank you for saving us!”

“You people are very kind for humans!”

“I’m so grateful our princess found such wonderful humans!”

“You saved me from certain death! Thanks so much!”

A lot of lamia came up and thanked us for saving them during last night’s attack. We accepted their thanks with a smile, but tried to move along. Since we had a job to do and time was of the essence, we didn’t want to remain there for too long.

Our Giga Monster was in the same place we left it, lounging by the oasis. We learned that someone had been periodically feeding it raw meat while we were busy. I would have to thank whoever did that. Giga Monsters required a lot of sustenance to maintain their top physical form.

“We’ll see you two in less than a month,” Kari said as Fay went through the process of attaching the Giga Monster to the harness for our wagon. Lin was carrying Raul this time. He was strapped to her chest so her hands were free.

“Safe travels, you four,” I said in return.

Siv flapped her wings as I released my Spiritual Power and used it to float in the air. We ascended to several meters in height.

“Siv!” Lin suddenly cupped her hands and shouted at the dragon girl, who looked down at her curiously. “You might be spending the most time with Darling right now, but don’t get cocky! This princess won’t let you hog him all to yourself! If she finds out you’ve used your time alone together to get pregnant before she does, this princess will never forgive you!”

Her words made me roll my eyes, but Siv blushed a bright red. I was sure she had no intention of getting pregnant. To be honest, I didn’t even know if I could impregnant Siv.

With those parting words, the two of us ascended even higher into the sky and took off. Our destination was Muqadas.

***

It took two days of nonstop flying to reach the edge of Muqadas. When the city appeared on the horizon, Siv and I set down and traveled the rest of the way on foot.

About one month had passed since we last set foot in Muqadas, and the guards at the front did not seem to recognize us, though they didn’t give us a hard time as we paid the toll to enter. The most they did was stare at Siv’s dragon wings and long tail.

Siv hugged my arm to her chest as we walked into the city, which remained as lively now as it had the last time we entered. There were stall vendors hawking their wares. The scent of food filled the air. People wandered the streets.

A pair of kids ran past us as they played a game of tag, darting around the legs of adults. Several men, their chests bared for the world to see, glanced our way when they spotted Siv. One of them actually tripped. I didn’t know whether that person was shocked to see someone with wings and a tail, or if there was another reason he hadn’t been paying attention.

Since we’d been traveling without food, water, or rest, I decided to buy us some food at a stall. Because Siv preferred meat for her meals (not counting dessert), I bought some shawarma served with tahini sauce.

“That’s quite the exotic beauty you’ve got there,” the stall owner I was buying from exclaimed when he saw Siv. “She’s not a lamia. What is she? Where’d you buy her?”

“I didn’t buy her, what she is should not matter to you. If you continue to look at my wife like she is some kind of toy or a commodity to be bought, I will break you in half.”

While I tried to speak calmly, I was pretty sure some anger slipped into my voice, and I might have even begun leaking some killing intent. It was all unintentional. The man reeled back as though he’d been struck. His face rapidly paled as he raised his hands like he was attempting to placate me.

“E-easy there, young fella. I didn’t mean any harm by it. I had no idea she was your wife. My apologies. T-tell you what, since I accidentally insulted you, how about I give you another wrap for free. That should serve as an apology, right?”

“I suppose I can accept that as an apology.”

“G-great! A-anyway, you two enjoy your day!”

I paid for two wraps, got a third one free, and handed the extra to Siv, who ate a lot more than me. Siv’s eyes sparkled as she received the second wrap. A loud rumbling sound alerted me to her hunger. It was so loud even the people around us stopped and turned to stare at Siv, whose cheeks were tainted a dark scarlet.

“Thank you,” she murmured softly as she hid behind my back.

“For defending you?” I asked. “That isn’t something you need to thank me for. I’m your husband, aren’t I? Defending my wife’s honor is a privilege.”

“Not that.” Siv shook her head. “For the extra food.”

“Ah.”

Of course she was more concerned about the food than she was her honor.

The first thing we needed to do now that we had reached Muqadas was find a place to stay. I thought about going back to Kazanufa Lodgings, which had great service and was located in a safe neighborhood, but that inn was also expensive and I didn’t want to draw attention to us. It would be better to find a place that was cheap.

I asked around while Siv gobbled down her shawarma and was eventually directed to an inn called the Prancing Strut. Located within what could have been called the poor district, it was a two-story building made from the same mud bricks as everything else. There were several windows, but like most buildings here, they did not have glass. A sign hung over the front entrance. It depicted a Strut that looked like it was dancing.

“This must be the place,” I said. “Let’s go inside and grab a room.”

Siv nodded as she stuck close to me.

We entered through the front entrance, which had no door, and found ourselves in a relatively well-lit room. Natural sunlight filtered in through the large windows. There were also a few oil lamps burning on the tables. The Endless Desert didn’t have many Demon Beasts with a fire affinity, so they hadn’t discovered how to create monster core lamps.

The musty air was a bit stale, and the scent of food mixed with the stench of alcohol to create a somewhat repugnant odor. I was used to it, but Siv wrinkled her nose.

I led Siv by the hand, walking past several tables filled with patrons. Many of them were what I’d call the unsavory type. There was a middle-aged man with numerous scars crossing his face, a younger man with a muscular build was cleaning a knife, and a few people decked in mercenary gear meant for desert environments sat around a table.

All of them eyed us like we were prey about to be devoured. While Siv seemed a little shaken, I didn’t let their looks bother me as I went up to the bar in the very back, where a bald man stood with a rag in one hand.

“I want a room. How much?” I asked.

The bartender looked at me, then Siv hidden behind me. He blinked when he saw the dragon girl’s wings and noticed the scales on her cheeks, arms, and legs. The shock of seeing someone so inhuman kept him from speaking, but he did eventually get over his surprise.

“One room will cost fifty valis a night.”

I had expected this man to try and rip me off, but he gave me the market price for most rooms in Muqadas.

Pretending I was reaching into my pouch for money, I summoned several gold coins into my hands, removed my hand from my pouch, and placed them on the counter. There were four gold coins, which amounted to four hundred valis.

“We’ll pay for eight nights for now.”

“Very well.” The man grabbed all four coins, slid them underneath the table, and pulled a key out from somewhere. He handed it to me. “Your room is the second door on the left.”

“Thanks.”

With the key in one hand and Siv’s hand in the other, I traveled up the stairs, to the door the man had indicated, and unlocked it. A single push opened the door. We stepped inside.

The room was simple. It was a small space of about twenty square meters, with a pile of palm leaves in one corner of the room to serve as a bed, and nothing else. The wooden floor creaked as we walked into the room and shut the door. A soft breeze drifted in through the window, bringing with it the scent of sand and cooked food, along with the sounds of people going about their business.

“What should we do now?” asked Siv.

“Now? I think we should get some rest.”

I tugged on Siv’s hand and brought her over to the palm leaves. We looked at the palm leaves, then each other.

“I’m not sleeping on this,” Siv said.

“Me neither. So let’s do something about our sleeping arrangements.”

Because there was no telling what kind of situation we might find ourselves in, I made it a point to always bring a futon and several blankets. The futon mattress I summoned from my storage scroll was several meters long, contained cotton pads sandwiched between soft wool. While it was not as comfortable as the bed in our wagon, the extra thick padding still meant it was a lot better than a pile of palm leaves.

I also summoned a fleece blanket. Since it was still daytime, we didn’t need it right now, but it would get colder during the night.

I laid down and pulled Siv with me, the dragon girl not resisting as she fell on top of me. Siv buried her face into my chest. I could feel her small breasts on my stomach. Her nipples poked through the fabric of her dress.

Had we not been traveling for two days without sleep, I was sure this position would have led to us having sex, but we were both tired. Sure, we could have gone on without sleep. We didn’t need it right now. But even if we didn’t need sleep, it didn’t mean we had no desire for it.

Siv shifted against me and took several deep breaths as though inhaling my scent.

“Eryk?”

“Yes?”

“What should we do now?”

“You mean what should we do after getting some sleep?” I thought about my answer for a moment. “The first thing we should do is check out the auction house. I haven’t seen it yet. I’d like to see how they operate. After that… we should probably find Qawruin and inform him of what we’re here to do. Depending on what he says, I may have to cash in on that favor the king owes me.”

“Okay,” Siv said. She turned her head up, setting her chin on my chest, and looked at me with those big green eyes of hers. “I know I’m not as reliable as Kari, Fay, or Lin, but I’ll do my best to support you.”

“Thank you, Siv. I appreciate how willing you are to help me, but you’re wrong about not being reliable.” I placed a hand on her head and rubbed it. Her soft hair reminded me of feathers. “You might not like being the center of attention, but whenever I need you for something, you always help out to the best of your ability. Don’t try to compare yourself to your sisters. Each of you has your own strengths and talents.”

Siv’s wings flapped and her tail thumped against the futon. They didn’t seem to be actions she was consciously aware of. Like Lin and her expressive tail, Siv’s extraneous body parts appeared to unconsciously respond to outside stimulus. It made knowing how she felt very easy.

“Thank you.”

Siv wrapped her arms around my waist and hugged me tight. He ran my fingers through her hair, lightly scratching her scalp in the way I knew she liked.

“What are you thanking me for?”

“For everything.”

“Everything, huh?”

“Yes. Everything.”

Siv didn’t elaborate on what she meant, but I didn’t really need her to. I might not know what “everything” entailed. Even so, I wasn’t sure I needed to know to accept Siv’s gratitude.

We remained like that for several minutes. I continued to run my fingers through Siv’s hair as she closed her eyes and her body relaxed. When gentle snores escaped her small mouth, I closed my own eyes and reclined against the pillows on my futon. Like that, I fell asleep.