Chapter 12

	It is already midday by the time you awake. Groaning, you roll over and crawl out of your tent. Halitt and Pyritta don’t even glance at you as you seat yourself on a log.

	After you had blasted the arachne, Halitt and Pyritta had hastily broke camp and moved to a more secure location. You surmise from the baggage that some of the supplies had been left behind in the hasty retreat. After all, the Marrics had carried you to this new location. You had been too dizzy to walk; all you could remember was the two of them supporting you between themselves as your feet uselessly dragged beneath you.

	Wordlessly, you ladle yourself out a bowl of soup, and tear off a chunk of bread. It isn’t long until you finish your portion and go back for a second helping of soup. Just like in Oreath, the use of magic had left you ravenous.

“Don’t eat too much. We still have at least two days to go.” said Pyritta. She was facing away from you and didn’t even bother to look at you.

You finish the bowl of soup and set it with the rest of the dirty dishes.

“Are you mad?” you ask. The Marric's attitudes had been wearing, and you were in no mood to listen to another day’s worth of passive aggressive comments and snide remarks. If they had just bothered to teach you more about this world, you wouldn’t have to go blasting spider-women out of trees.

“You know Anon? I am a bit angry.” Pyritta set the bag she was packing down and strode towards you. “Because I get the feeling that you’re hiding something from us. You seem to know an awful lot about this world, and I know for a fact that the elves didn’t tell you most of it. For a person who hadn’t even seen magic until two or three weeks ago, you seem to be quite knowledgeable on the subject. And the monsters? How do you know about the various energies and how they interact? You’re asking questions you shouldn’t even know to ask. And every time I try to get some answers out of you, you dodge the question.”

“Py, stop, let’s just get go-“

“I’M dodging the question?” you say cutting Halitt off. “What about YOU? You two NEVER give me a complete answer. I don’t even know what direction I’m traveling in and yet you REFUSE to teach me any practical skills or knowledge.”

“Magic isn’t practical knowledge!” said Pyritta.

“It seemed pretty practical last night! Or in Oreath when I saved the town!”

“IT ISN’T, AND YOU’RE GOING TO KILL SOMEONE!” shouted Pyritta.

She was standing over you now. You stand up as well and stare back.

“I don’t know what you’re hiding, but I WILL find out.” said Pyritta.

“..."

You trudge back to your tent and pack your things. You can hear Halitt sigh behind you.

~~~~~~

	The day’s march was slow thanks to your fatigue. By nightfall, you were still a day and a half away from Stream’s Edge. The slow pace was made worse by the lack of conversation. Hardly any words were spoken the entire trip. Tonight, it was just you and Halitt eating next to the fire. Pyritta was bathing in a stream nearby. She said she needed to bathe, but you knew it was probably just a way to avoid another silent meal.

	You had been thinking hard about everything that had happened on the journey. Pyritta was surely contemplating something similar. Why was she so irritated by the fact that you knew things about this world? It was admittedly uncanny that an extradimensional being was taking to this new reality like a fish to water, but shouldn’t that be a good thing? So what if you knew about monsters or the Order or the Chief God? She should be happy that you were adjusting so well. The Marrics didn’t seem like the kind of people that would keep you in the dark to keep you dependent. They seemed like genuinely good people. So why were you under such scrutiny?

You stared into the fire.

“Hey Halitt, what am I going to do when we get to Stream’s Edge?” you ask.

He looked up from his slice of bread. “Well, I guess you can do whatever you want. We aren’t going to hold you back.”

“I mean what’s the plan for me. Do I just learn about the world and settle into society?”

“If you want.”

“Can I learn magic?”

His brow furrowed just a bit. “Sure… if you want, long as it can help you find a job or help people.”

Halitt opened his mouth to speak but faltered. His lips pursed together in a worried crease.

“Hey Anon, what types of magic do you want to learn?”

The question was innocent enough, but you could tell that he was worried about your response.

“A bit of everything. Alchemy, healing, maybe some elemental magic, and the magic that I’ve been using already; the kind that lets me blow stuff up.”

He winced a bit at the last part.

“Are you and Pyritta worried about me using that magic?” you ask.

Halitt sighs and prods the fire with a branch. “Combat magic is very limited in its… uses. If people know that you can use it, they will try and use YOU. Your whole life will be relegated to hurting others.”

“Don’t worry, I’m not from this world. I won’t join an army just because some king tells me to. I don’t have any allegiance to these nations.”

“It’s not the nations I’m worried about…” mumbled Halitt.

“…Is it the Order?” you ask.

Halitt put his elbow to his knee and rested his chin in his palm. “Yeah. If the Order finds out what you can do, they’ll whisk you away to become a weapon. It’ll be nothing but violence for the rest of your life.”

“You don’t support the Order?”

	He stiffened. “No! No, I do support the Order. I just don’t think that we should go murdering and pillaging monster villages just because they exist. If they don’t harm us, then why not just let them be, you know? Putting an army out there just puts more men at risk.”

“Sure, if the monsters just want peace, and they don’t harm people, why bother doing anything to them?”

Halitt’s face lit up. “Exactly! They just want to live their lives, same as we do. They aren’t the man-eating monsters the Order makes them out to be. If people would just li-“

“My my, what a riveting conversation.”

Pyritta emerged from the twilight and grabbed Halitt’s shoulder. “Just be sure not to lead Anon astray with your THEORIES.”

Her hand tightened on Halitt’s shoulder and his face shifted in pain.

“R-right, of course, those are all just theories. Just don’t use magic until we say so, ok? Respect the Order and the Chief God, but don’t let them turn you into a tool for political gain.”

Pyritta released her husband’s shoulder. “Halitt is right. If the Order finds out that you can use combat magic, they’ll turn on you in a heartbeat.”

“Then I’ll just refuse to serve them.” you say.

“The Order will drum up some false charge and throw you in jail until you capitulate.”

“They do that?” you ask.

	Pyritta nodded. “Quite a few of the Order’s forces are people who were ‘caught’ and arrested with the guards as the only witness and an Order arbiter overseeing the trial. The ‘criminal’ is offered a choice between a life in prison or indefinite service to the Order.”

Holy fuck. You were really missing the Bill of Rights. “Well then I’d just stay in jail.”

	Halitt looked away and Pyritta rolled her eyes. “You wouldn’t last a week in an Order prison. Chances are you’d be dead before you even reached your cell. That’s where all the worst of humanity is sent. And the ones who were innocent when they enter aren’t so innocent when they leave. Those fortresses are a nightmare.”

“Yeesh…”

“Even if you did manage to survive,” continued Pyritta “the Order would just torture you until you agreed to serve. A petty street thug may not be worth turning to the cause, but someone who can use combat magic would definitely get a visit from the ‘negotiators’.”

Ok well, that IS a pretty good reason not to use magic. Unless you learned how to keep yourself from passing out after using magic, you would blast one convict to bits only to wake up with a ruined asshole.

“The combat magic I’ve been using… how dangerous is it? That arachne from the other night, is she… dead?” you ask.

Pyritta raised an eyebrow. She was curious but you couldn't make out any other sentiments in the expression.

“No, I checked to make sure she wasn’t going to give us any more trouble. She was still breathing, but some of her legs were broken and she had some nasty gashes.”

	That’s a relief. You didn’t want to kill her. In the heat of the moment you had forgotten that at the end of the day she was just a lonely woman looking for a husband. Just like all the mamono. It was one thing to keep them away, but no one deserved to die for trying to find love.

“Thank goodness. I was worried that she died in that fall.”

“She didn’t. You seem quite sympathetic for the person who tried to rape you…” Pyritta’s eyes narrowed.

“Well, I don’t think she needed to DIE; she was probably just lonely. She learned her lesson, and I got out unharmed. The situation was resolved without any deaths.”

“Indeed. However, monsters are the enemy of the Chief God, and should be dealt with accordingly. Do not let your compassion kill you. She was still staring at you with narrowed eyes, but her gaze didn’t feel as harsh as her face implied.

Pyritta let out an exaggerated yawn and looked at Halitt. “I don’t know about you but I’m ‘turning in early’~”

Halitt almost choked on the food in his mouth as he stood up. “Meh shoo. Guh nigt Anun” he said with a mouthful of food.

“Yeah, ‘night…” you said as they bolted into their tent.

~~~~~~

You lay awake thinking. Again. It seemed like every night you followed this ritual. What were Halitt and Pyritta hiding? What was life like in Order territory? What were monsters really like?

	From the sound of it, the Marrics were no fan of the Order. Honestly, you weren’t too surprised to hear about the dirty deeds of the church. Considering the enemy the Order was facing, they needed to enlist powerful soldiers through any means necessary. Did they know that Pyritta was combat capable? She almost fought off the arachne single handedly.

And why was Halitt’s sympathy towards monsters so infuriating to her? Every time monsters were brought up, Halitt lit up and began to ramble, only to be shut down by Pyritta. If she hated monsters, why was she so critical of the Order?

Your train of thought is interrupted by a soft moan. There they go again. Thankfully they now attempted to keep the noise to a minimum after you had emerged with bags under your eyes several days in a row.

You groan and try to block out the sound with a folded shirt. How long would they go tonight you wonder?

Wait. How long indeed…

No matter how long the Marrics went at it, they never seemed sleep deprived the next day. Could it be…?

You don your amulet and crawl out of the tent. With delicate steps, you slowly creep towards their tent.

	It was all coming together. The strange dissonance between Order adherence and monster sympathy, why they were reluctant to tell you anything. Why Pyritta was able to fight an arachne despite being a middle-aged professor. Why three people went through rations so slowly. Why the Marrics were so worried about you using combat magic for the order.

The canvas of the tent gently swayed and shook in time with the moans coming from within. Grabbing the edge of the tent flap, you took a deep breath and tore it open.

“AH-HA!” you shout.

Pyritta was riding Halitt cowgirl, with his hands sinking deep into her soft rear. Her hands were on his chest and she was mid-thrust as you burst into the tent.

	She screamed and her hands crackled with energy. A bolt of magic shot out from one of her hands searing the bedroll. You fell backwards and scrambled away so as to avoid any errant bolts. One of the supports for the tent was knocked loose and the canvas began to fall. There was a puff of smoke and more screaming as the panicked couple tried to figure out what was happening.

This may have been a mistake.

Halitt managed to crawl find the way out first, still dripping with fluid and partially erect. He gently held up the canvas and tried to aid Pyritta as she thrashed inside.

Finally, she poked her head through the tent flap and gasped for air. Seeing you, she crawled out and charged you. “ANON WHAT THE FUCK?!”

	But she wasn’t the Pyritta you knew. This woman had a similar face, but far more beautiful. Her bare breasts were at least a cup size larger than before. Horns jutted out from her scalp. Small wings protruded from the small of her back. Several places on her immaculate skin were covered with intricate tattoos. As much as you tried not too, your eyes were forced to her bouncing breasts and dripping sex. Behind her you could see a thin tail whipping around. With all your will, you snap yourself out of the trance.

“I FUCKIN’ KNEW IT!” you retort.

Pyritta pauses, and slowly the gravity of the situation dawns on her.

“KYAAAAHH!” she let out a shriek while attempting to cover her horns and wings. She made no attempt to cover anything else. Hopefully she put a shirt on or something, seeing her naked was giving you a raging hardon. Damn this no fappin' rule.

Halitt leapt in front of her and put his hands out in a defensive posture.

“Anon we can explain! This isn’t what it seems to be!”

“So I HAVEN’T been escorted through the woods for days by a succubus and her husband?”

“Anon, no, it… it isn’t… we aren’t bad people!” pleaded Halitt. Why was he posed like that?

“Alright, you have thirty seconds to explain who you REALLY are and where we’re going. I want some answers about this world; no more bullshit! I’m tired of being lied to!”

“Ok! Ok, just calm down. Let me just get some pants.” said Halitt.

Halitt rummaged around inside the tent and emerged with some pants and shirt for himself and Pyritta. She was sniffling on the ground, curled up with her wings wrapped around her. The two dressed themselves as you began to ask questions.

“I asked you who you are. Give me an answer.”

“I’m Halitt Marric, and this is…”

“Magnara.” murmured the succubus.

“Where are we going? I doubt we were actually headed to Stream’s Edge. Does that town even exist?”

“Yes! It IS real, and we were taking you there!” Magnara said. She lowered her head in shame, drawing little circles in the dirt with her tail where she sat. “We never lied to you, we just… kept things secret.”

“And what, were you just going to auction me off once we get there? Find a monster to sell me to?”

“NO! Anon please don’t think of us like that. We only want to help you! You don’t know how things work here. There are people who really do want to take advantage of you!” said Magnara.

“You mean the Order.”

“Not just them, universities would want you to study you, nobles would want you to fight for them, people would make you work for scraps… you wouldn’t be able to make it on your own.” said Halitt.

"We were hoping to eventually move you to a demon realm where you could be protected." said Magnara.

“And monsters would take me the second I set foot into a mamono settlement...”

“There is a… high chance that you would be ‘wed’ soon after your arrival, but it would be much better than being a slave to humans! Monsters care about their husbands, they really do!” said Magnara.

“Yeah! Just look at me! I’ve been married for years and I’m fine! Better in fact. Monsters don’t actually eat people; that’s just Order propaganda to keep curious people away from mamono territories.” said Halitt.

“I know that. I want to know why you lied to me this whole time? Why not just tell me about the wonders of monster society right away and just take me to a mamono city?”

“If you entered Stream’s Edge and started praising monsters, you would be executed. They may be hostile to you anyways if they learn that you’re from another planet. We needed you to be able to fall right in with the Order’s teachings so that you wouldn’t draw any unwanted attention, Order or otherwise.” said Halitt.

“And we had to be sure that you were… safe. After what you did to the amazons, we couldn’t just let some violent battle mage wander into a crowded city. This trip was a good opportunity to gauge your demeanor and disposition. To make sure that you aren’t some sadist or psychopath.” said Magnara.

“And?”

Your question catches Magnara off guard. “Huh?”

“Do you think I’m someone who doesn’t belong in monster society?” you ask.

	Magnara looks at Halitt and they pause. “Well… we aren’t sure yet. I understand that the incident in Oreath was you protecting your friends and yourself, but you were far too forceful with the arachne. Yet you showed remorse for your actions later. And now you’re threatening us for answers… we don’t understand you.” said Magnara cautiously.

Damn. You hadn’t really thought about that. From a local’s point of view it would seem that you’re some sort of homeless wizard with a penchant for blowing up women who try to get in his pants.

“Oh…”

There was an awkward silence as you recalled all the strange things you’ve done and said.

“You seem disappointed. Why?” asked Magnara.

Welp. Time to level with them.

“So this may sound crazy-“

“You’re an extradimensional traveler who is somehow sexually compatible with the people of this world. Nothing you say can be too crazy anymore.” said Halitt.

“That’s true. So anyways, there’s some uh… ‘books’ in my world that match this world to a T. Same setting, same monsters, same plants, animals, energies, you name it. I’ve read them, most of them anyways, and so I have a vague idea of how everything works here.”

They stare at you. Please say something.

“So… people in your world somehow observed ours?” asked Magnara.

“No, I’m not sure how the author got the idea. It wasn’t by means of magic or science as far as I know. It may have just been coincidence. The reason it was written was to harvest cash from horny {weeaboos} on the {internet}.”

“That’s impossible! There’s no way that she could have written down every detail about this world with no connection to it!” said Magnara.

“That’s why I was trying to get a feel for this world. I had to know that the monsters here were the same as the ones in the books. And the author is a guy.”

“The monsters in the books, what are they like?” asked Halitt.

“A lot like her I imagine.” You say pointing to Magnara. “Beautiful women who used to be monsters under the reign of the last demon lord. Now monsters just seek a husband and live happy lives with their true love.”

“So, the books describe it as a very idyllic setting.” Said Magnara pensively.

“Yeah.”

“So when you thought that this may be the same world the books describe, you wanted to make sure that you weren’t going to get eaten. Were you trying to suss out where the monster villages and towns were with all those questions?”

You nod. “I wanted to find a nice place to live, and make sure that I avoided any of the monsters I didn’t like.”

Magnara’s face lit up.

“Does, does that mean you want to live with monsters?” she asked. Her tail was swishing back and forth behind her.

You smiled. She was so cute, even caked in dirt and half dressed.

“I do. Though I don’t know who I want to marry yet. I want to actually know who I’m marrying, not just be abducted and raped.”

Mangara let out a little squeal and fluttered into the air.

	“This is perfect! I was worried that we would have to indoctrinate you over the course of years! But you already WANT to go! I can’t wait to introduce you to everyone, and for you to find a wife, and for her to take you right there in the middle of a crowded plaza while everyone watches and…”

	“I think what she’s trying to say is that we are truly happy that you are willing to give monsters a chance. I promise that as long as you’re with us, no mamono is going to get their hands, claws, talons, or tentacles on you. Unless you want them to that is.” said Halitt.

“Thanks. So, are we alright?” you ask.

“Yeah. We’re fine.” said Halitt.

The two of you nod as Magnara lazily loops around the two of you, continuing her dictation of you meeting your wife.

“That begs the question, are we still going to Stream’s Edge?” you ask.

Halitt rubbed his cheek and hummed. “Well, if you really are on going to live with monsters, then we can go north to Admaz.”

“Alright, let’s do it!” you say. This is it, your ticket in! From here all you have to do is cherry-pick the monster of your choice. Too easy.

“We’ll still need to stop by Stream’s Edge to get supplies and a wagon.”

“A wagon sounds nice.”

You both chuckle.

“Mags, baby, are you listening?”

“-en you’ll go ‘ahn~, baby, I love yo-‘ but she’ll close your mouth and say ‘Shut up and prove it~’ and force her tongue down your throat while you moan and squirm and she’ll pick up the pace and say ‘This time together~’ and then y-“

“Mag.”

“Huh?”

“We’re going to Admaz after we restock some supplies. What do you think.”

“That sounds like a plan. I can go back to teaching at the school.” said Magnara as she hovered over you and Halitt.

“Don’t you already teach at a school?”

“This is different!” exclaimed Magnara. “This school puts the college in Stream’s Edge to shame! The school in Admaz teaches magic, not just staple academics.”

“Can I enroll?” you ask.

Magnara bit her lip.

“We’ll see when we get there. It isn’t my decision to make anyways.”

“Fair enough. I’m just glad I won’t have to live in Order controlled territory.”

“It’s settled then. I should also let the school and city know that you’re coming ahead of time so that you aren’t just pulled out of the carriage on the way in.” said Magnara.

	No wonder the Order was so strict. Humans really were nothing but a prey species to mamono. Even the docile ones were cunningly designed to seduce you. Physical strength wasn’t worth much in a world where your surprise suitor could probably bench twice your weight. Without magic you’d be washing some amazon’s thong by now. Not a horrible fate, but not exactly what you were looking for. Hell, now that you knew where they lived you could go find them any time.

“You should get some sleep, Anon. We still have a lot of road to cover.” said Halitt.

~~~~~~

At last your party reached Stream’s Edge. A medieval town if ever there was.

	The town proper was surrounded by a palisade roughly 15 feet high. Outside the wall you could see a swath of crumbling stone work expanding out into a field of scrub brush and stumps. Inside the walls you could see the tips of a single shingled roof, belching a lazy column of smoke into the blue sky. Several other smaller plumes drifted from different parts of the town. In the distance, you could see several large buildings, with stone walls and steep roofs. If you had to guess, the entire population of the town could not be greater than 150 people.

“Here we are!” said Magnara as you stepped out of the tree line.

“What do you think Anon? Doesn’t sound like the cities on {ersh}.” said Halitt.

“Not the big ones no, but we still had small towns. People lived like this, just not where I was from.”

“Most of the population of in this world lives in cities. There are smaller agrarian towns scattered in between, but about 80% of all mamono live in major metropolitan areas.” said Magnara.

Magnara had reapplied her polymorph or illusion spell and was back to her human self. Thankfully, you hadn’t picked up the habit of calling her by her real name yet.

The three of you approached the gate and Halitt gave a wave to a guard in the tower. The figure waved back and shouted something at someone beyond the wall.

“Remember Anon, just let us do the talking and follow our lead.” said Magnara.

	You nod and take off the amulet of articulation. The plan was for you to keep a low profile and go straight to the Maricc’s house. It would take some time to gather all the necessary provisions and materials for the next leg of the trip, and the Mariccs wanted as few people to know of your existence as possible. Ideally, all that would remain of your existence was a rumor.

You raise the hood on the cloak that Halitt lent you and draw the front together.

The gate swung open and a man in simple chain hauberk covered by a tabard sauntered out with two other men to greet you.

{Pyritta! Halitt! Good to see you again. I see that you brought a friend.} said the man.

{Captain Felsper! So kind of you to come greet us. This is Anon, we still don’t know where he’s from.} said Magnara. She gave you a little nudge. {Say hi Anon.}

You raise your head a bit and say hello.

The lead guard grins. {Woah! What was that? Is that an accent? He looks like he’s lived in a cave.}

{No, that’s just his language. We haven’t been able to get much out of him. He doesn’t like people much either.} said Halitt.

The man bent at the waist. {Hey, come on I’m nice. I’m captain Fellll-sperrrr.} he said placing a hand on his chest.

You squirm as he continues to stare at you in silence.

{He perks up once he knows you.} reassured Magnara.

{Oh well. Say, did you have any trouble in the forest? I know you had the elf to protect you going there, but were there any problems coming back?} asked Felsper.

{None. The elves gave us advice on how to return.} said Halitt.

{Figures they’d know a safe way back. We do still need to check you though.} said Felsper.

	The two men standing next to the commander, captain, or whoever the leader was stepped past him and approached Halitt and Magnara. Holding up what looked like rosaries, they began to chant. The charms shimmered and then returned to normal. One of them moved over to you and preformed the same ritual. Nothing happened.

The man gasped and took a step back. All three of the townsmen drew their weapons.

{What the hell?! What the hell did you bring here?! Is that even human?!} said the Felsper.

{Please calm down! He isn’t from around here, he doesn’t react to demonic energy the way we do. He’s not a demon or anything, look!} said Magnara pulling off your hood.

The action took you by surprise. The daylight made you squint as you looked at the contingent before you. You take a tentative step behind the Marrics and trust that they can sort out this misunderstanding. One of the men took out a small flask and uncorked it.

{Make him drink this. If he’s human it won’t hurt him.} he said.

Magnara caught the flask, and judging by how gingerly she handled it, the contents were bad news.

“Anon, drink.” commanded Magnara.

Taking the flask, you give it a sniff. It smelled faintly of lavender. Tipping the flask back, you swallow a mouthful of the contents. The liquid was fruity and refreshing, but left a ferric aftertaste in your mouth. Wiping your mouth with your sleeve you hand the flask back to Magnara.

{See? Human. Now please put those swords away, you’re making him nervous.}

Felsper sighed and sheathed his sword. {Very well. But please be careful professor Pyritta. You too, professor Halitt. That… human can stay for now, but he better not cause any trouble. The people of Stream’s Edge come first, not your studies.}

{Trust me captain, it’ll be like he was never even here.} said Magnara as she strode through the gate.

~~~~~~

	For the next few days, you remained cooped up in the Marric’s house. It was a simple stone structure with a wooden roof, comprised of a kitchen, sitting area, reading room, and a sleeping loft. There was also apparently a root cellar where as Magnara had put it “mamono things happen.” You had already decided that it would be best for your sanity not to enter. Instead, you passed the time by working on your Common language literacy.

	Your studies were split between translating, memorizing, learning new things, and recording various things in English that you were worried about forgetting. Now that you had no means of looking up anything about your language, it would only decay and devolve unless you preserved it in writing. You also wrote down facts about your life, family, and world. Surely, they would never fade right?
At night, the Marrics would return home and the three of you would cook dinner. You knew Magnara was a good cook from your time in the woods, but her camp cuisine was nothing compared to a meal prepared with proper ingredients. Most importantly, all the animosity between you had dissipated. Now the meals you shared were once again filled with chatter and conversation instead of sullen silence.
After three days, the Marrics had finalized their purchases and plans. Tomorrow you would be heading to Admaz.