Chapter 110: 106. Eastern Desert, Part 6 (Suka)

106. Eastern Desert, Part 6 (Suka)

Spoiler

Consuming Prey

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“So, we just walk right in there, right?” I ask.

Dura, ever a monster of few words, nods.

The two of us stand before a skull-shaped cave entrance, my Flou scarf billowing in the wind. It was simple enough tracking the kidnapped Kobolds here by smell. My Ogress partner strolls inside without a care, and I walk double-time to keep pace with her massive strides. Light quickly dies as we step inside.

We feel things moving around us that have long since adjusted their vision to the dark. Dura summons her iron-studded club.

Cinderwolf Rush! Cinderwolf Rush! Cinderwolf Rush!

I stoke the embers of my core, wincing as the intense heat flows through me. My ash-grey hair begins to glow from the roots like coals with new life breathed into them. Dim red and orange light bathes the cavern walls and allows us to pick out the skulking Sand Goblins.

They wear long robes and white cloth wraps cover their faces, leaving only the eyes visible along with their pointed noses, and long, flat ears poking through. Their hands clench bone knives like butchers ready to carve us apart.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

“Take us to your leader if you want to keep your lives,” I command in my most authoritative voice, “We’ll find him whether or not you help us, but all we want is to speak and make a deal.”

“S’Gobbo no fear death!”

“But da Sheikh may wan’ talk. Take em’ see!”

“Take em’ see!”

“Yah!”

The Sand Goblins aren’t as cowardly as the normal sort, but even these creatures don’t wish to throw their lives away. They guide us through a maze of tunnels that might take those without a wolf’s nose hours to navigate. I sense the most-used path alongside the Kobold’s trail as if they were filled with glowing footprints.

We emerge into a large, natural cavern lit by torches on the walls. Grey-skinned Hobgoblins in the same robes and wrappings flank us as we walk but make no move to attack. They bear bone blade short swords and bandoliers of bone darts.

At the center of the room is a throne atop a dais carved from the rock. A muscular grey-skinned Goblin (the Sheikh) sits there. He wears the same robes as his underlings without the face wrappings, instead using a square scarf bound by a cord at the temple as a headdress. At his waist lies a steel short sword, a chain weapon, and numerous throwing knives. The fact he uses metal and the other Sand Gobbos use bone isn’t lost on me.

This guy has to be third-tier.

I don’t like our odds in a straight battle against him with so many second-tier monsters on his side, but I still feel like we could manage a fighting retreat if negotiations break down. Flou1 is our secret weapon. I maintain confidence and don’t show any sign of nerves.

He’s watching a group of belly dancers moving to the beat of a drum. They each wear transparent veils with diaphanous tops and loincloths that barely hide their sex, all in a dreamy pink. There are Goblins, Hobs, Cactus girls, and two Kobolds all dancing in choreographed unison. Several women are obviously pregnant ranging from four to seven months, so they all probably have a baby in their belly at some stage of development.

The Sheikh notices our approach and stops them with a gesture. Everyone turns to us at once. It’s kind of eerie.

“Ahem, Sheikh of the Sands, we’ve come to bargain on behalf of the Oasis Lizard-folk. My friend here, Dura, is also of Goblin lineage, so there’s shared blood between us. Surely there’s something we can do for you that will allow us to return these Kobolds to their home without shedding blood?”

His piercing yellow eyes study me while I talk, flicking to Dura as I mention her. After a breath of silence, he speaks in a surprisingly low voice for one of his short stature. “I care nothing for lineage,” the Sheikh begins, “And we’re a long way from the Deep Desert and the Goblin Sultanate. My word is all that matters here. However, I’m not unwilling to bargain.”

The Sheikh crosses his legs and continues, “A strange, new monster has begun harassing my Hobs and eating my Goblins. It’s difficult to track, too smart to trap, and too slippery for even me to catch. Perhaps a wolf monster like yourself will have better luck finding its lair. Bring me its head and the Kobolds are yours.”

I kind of expected this, but it is annoying to have come all the way to the Lizard-folk to be pointed at the Sand Goblins, to be sent on a monster extermination to get the Kobold we went on this mission to find. Better to be certain after all this…

“Which one of you two is Opal?” I ask the Kobold Belly Dancers.

They both glance at the Sheikh, who nods, before answering together, one finishing the other’s sentence.

“Opal isn’t here…”

“She’s in the monster’s lair.”

My eye twitches. This mission is fucking cursed!!!

“Dis way,” the Sand Goblin says as he waves his torch at the left path of the intersection. The Sheikh was kind enough to lend us a guide to show us the way to the most recent monster sighting.

“So, what kind of monster are we talking about, here?” I try to strike up a conversation. Goblins used to disgust me, but getting to know Gabby proved they aren’t all so bad. Maybe this guy is friendlier than the ones we’ve spoken with so far?

“Dura no care. Dura smash. Go home. Fuck Alex. Good Day.”

I didn’t expect her to play along with chit-chat anyway.

“Es big and long. Swallow S’Gobbo whole.”

“Maybe a baby Sandworm?” I suggest. All I get are grunts in response. I hate this mission.

After another minute of travel, our guide stops at an otherwise unremarkable part of the tunnel. We stop and wait. He looks at us dumbly.

“Well?” I finally say.

“Dis last place see S’Gobbo. Den gone.”

Alright, this must be the most recent monster ‘sighting.’ I transform to my bestial shape for the maximum wolf sensory experience. Poking my nose around reveals definite traces of Sand Goblin, mainly their sour sweat smell, and Kobold. No blood, which matches what our guide said about being ‘swallowed whole.’

I should mention the Kobold smell is a bit off. Having gotten a good, close whiff of several Kobolds in the pavilion, I can recognize how this aroma has a subtle spice added into the mix. Still, this has to be Opal’s scent lingering on the monster.

It seems the monster we’re tracking doesn’t have a smell—which makes me think Slime. Their bodies are formed from magic and don’t typically leave much behind in passing. They don’t make slimy trails like snails do. No, a Slime’s mass quickly evaporates once removed from the control of its core. That’s what you see after killing one, after all.

A Slime could also envelop someone to match that ‘swallowed whole,’ description as well. Except, why would a Slime take a Kobold prisoner?

No matter. I follow the trail to its source, navigating twisted corridors of stone deep underground with Dura and a Sand Goblin behind me. We pass intersections where the trail overlaps with an older trail, but I don’t get lost. Separating the paths by their ages is trivial for me.

“Hey, Suka,” Flou1 interrupts, “I just lost one of my bodies.”

I stop what I’m doing to question her. “Which?”

“Alex’s, but she gave me to Megan. She got separated and it doesn't look good for her, but don’t worry about that. Focus on your mission. Just keep in mind this body is slightly less expendable than before. I’d rather not be reduced to one body again.”

Part of me is glad I’m not the only one having a hard time, but I quash that thought. Pushing down on others doesn’t elevate me. I need to forge my own way to greatness!

At last, we reach a convergence with many paths. Unfortunately, the cave wall before us is riddled with holes that all have Opal’s scent wafting from them. It looks like this is a fox den situation.

The lair is somewhere inside with multiple entrances and exits. Even if I could wriggle through without getting caught in a tight corner (a very real and terrifying possibility) the enemy might escape through another path with Opal in tow. Dura is strong and beautiful, but not the fastest or brightest. I give it even odds that she’ll catch the target under these circumstances. Flou1 is at a third of her full fighting capability and couldn’t stand toe-to-toe with another powerful Slime in her condition. Those aren’t odds I’m willing to take.

Then I have a bright idea. “Hey, Sand Goblin, you’re supposed to be fearless, right? Crawl in there and scare out the monster for us to catch.” He won’t get stuck like I might, and he’s expendable if the monster attacks him instead of fleeing. Flou is too valuable to waste like that. “Hurry up, we’re burning daylight!”

When he doesn’t step forward, I turn to see Dura look back at me and shrug. We both round the corner we just came around to find an abandoned torch dropped on the ground.

Above the fallen torch looms a serpentine figure with womanly curves choking down our Sand Goblin guide. Her jaw is unhinged to fit her mouth around his waist, her throat bulges massively, and even her ribcage appears dislocated to fit the insane meal through her gullet in one gulp. Her claws tear through his clothes to swallow him naked as we watch in shock.

She stands as tall as Dura while rearing high on an incredible snake tail as thick as her waist. A diaphanous loincloth covers her modesty while teasing glimpses of a humanoid pussy covered in scales. Enormous breasts the size of her head swing beneath the pink see-through top that shrouds her nipples without concealing anything as her arms shove her prey into her maw as fast as possible. She rocks her upper body in a steady rhythm, undulating to help her muscles drag the limp Goblin corpse into her belly. Her red scales glitter in the flickering torchlight as feet disappear into her mouth.

Red scales…? Somewhere along the line, it finally clicks in my head. Sure enough, I see Alex’s mark on her belly. This is Opal.

“Get her!” I yell as her belly inflates to preposterous proportions to contain an entire Goblin.

She sees us as her jaw snaps back into place and hisses through the veil that falls over the lower half of her face. “Kyaaahhhsss!”

Dura summons her iron-studded club and hoists it into the air.

“I didn’t say kill her!!!”

The Ogress hesitates, allowing the Lamia to slither past with surprising speed. Except, Opal doesn’t appear to be used to her new, larger body because her tail clips Dura, causing her to fall forward. Opal crashes onto her belly.

That gives me time to get in position between Opal and the escape tunnels. Taking humanoid form, I spread my arms wide to give her nowhere to go. I almost start stacking my Cinderwolf Rush to the limit before realizing how badly I’ll burn her if I tackle the Lamia in that state. It’s my hesitation that costs us this time.

Opal flips her veil and spits venom at me from her fangs. I activate Cinderwolf Rush to dodge aside in the nick of time, but the Lamia slithers past me as well. Without going to dangerous temperatures, there’s no way I can catch her.

She dives for the nearest escape tunnel but underestimates her size. Rather, she forgets about the Sand Goblin in her distended human belly. Opal gets stuck halfway inside.

“Oof!”

“Help me grab her!” I yell as I sprint to take hold of the Lamia’s tail. Dura latches on close behind me just as Opal’s struggling forces the Goblin through some internal sphincter into her snake half, allowing her to fit inside the tunnel.

It becomes a tug of war, Opal trying to claw herself deeper while we attempt to drag her out. I’m honestly shocked by the Lamia’s strength that she can hold on for more than a few seconds. She is a big girl, though, and there are several bumps along her length that are presumably all the Sand Goblins she’s been eating that add to her weight.

Then something gives. There’s a tearing sound and Opal darts into the tunnel out of sight. In our hands is the discarded shed of her snake half.

I throw the tubular scale sock down in frustration and shout, “This mission is fucking cursed!!! Damn it all!” I slump to the floor with my back against the tunnel wall, put my head in my hands, and cry. Yes, I fucking cry. “I lost Opal. Alex is going to fucking kill me.”

Flou told me about Opal’s phobia of Slimes, so there’s no use sending her in there.

Dura blinks, drops her club, sits next to me, and gingerly, tentatively, puts her arm around me. She gives my head a gentle shove to press half my face into her sideboob. “Dere, dere. Alex soft. No kill. Gabby ’doh…”

“She’ll spitroast me in all my holes as punishment,” I mumble into the Ogress’s chest. “‘Maybe I can fuck some sense into this dumb bitch,’ something like that.”

“Yah. Sound right.”

“Aaahhhrrrggghhh! I want to be on top tonight! This sucks!”

She brushes my hair with tenderness I’m unaccustomed to from the lovable tower of muscle. “Dura…” the Ogress wracks her brain for a compromise appropriate to my emotional state, “Dura try no rough when hunting Suka tonight. M’kay?”

That’s a huge romantic gesture for Dura. I pat her on the thigh. “Thanks, Dura. You can be sweet, sometimes.”

“H-hey, did you say A-Alex sent you?”

I look up from my boob pillow to see Opal’s humanoid torso lying next to me, sticking out of a tunnel, propping her head on an elbow. Her eyes are deep wells filled with jewels that glitter like fire in the semi-darkness of my glowing hair. She’s a lot more human than even the Kobolds, having grown natural ringlets of auburn hair and long, pointy ears, but there are traces of red scales on her cheeks and throat.

Don’t move too fast. Don’t startle her. Fuck, don’t screw this up.

“High there, Opal, right? That’s correct, Alex told us about you. We came to the Lizardfolk to help them out and maybe take you back home. When you weren’t there, we went to the Sheikh. He sent us to kill the monster that’s been picking off his Goblins, but the bastard tricked us because it was you all along. Even the Kobold dancers told us you were in the monster’s lair.”

“Not technically a lie,” Opal agrees. She looks from me to Dura and thank fuck the Ogress doesn’t try to catch her again. After a minute of deliberation, she nods to herself. “I think you’re telling the truth.”

I heave a deep sigh in relief. “Alright, so what happened? What’s going on?”

“Well, the three of us got kidnapped by Sand Goblins, that much is true, but it wasn’t merely to become breeding slaves. The Sheikh tricks or forces monsters into wearing cursed garments that allow him to control their wills. They become loyal to him whether they like it or not. As soon as my friends donned their veils, they were all over him, sucking his cock and fighting to be the first to ride it. The same goes for the Cactus girls he captured.

“Except, when they put the veil on me, Alex’s mark on my tummy flared! I felt the Sheikh’s claws inside my head get burned away. Then the change came upon me, and I turned into this,” she says as she gestures down at her snake half. “Though I still gained the veil’s power.” She flicks her wrists to summon a bone blade to her palm.

Gabby is going to want to hear about this. Maybe I’ll get rewarded instead of punished…

I look down but don’t see any evidence of prey bulges on her flat human tummy. Her lower body is hidden in the tunnel. “Um, if you don’t mind me asking, why’d you start eating Goblins?”

“O-oh. It’s not very polite to ask a l-lady about her diet, but it’s alright since we’re both Alex’s brides.”

I scratch behind my head a little and wince at the admonition I’m about to make. “My and Alex’s relationship is a bit more complicated than wife and bride. I kind of promised I’d become more powerful than the Wolf Lord and make her my bitch—in a kinky way, of course!” Opal nods her head enthusiastically. “Well, come to find out that’s a really tall order. I feel like I’ve been losing ground against her more and more every day.”

She nodes again. “Alex is really strong! I’m fine with being a b-bottom; I even let Alex put one of her wife’s offspring inside me.” She flexes to give me a better look at her tummy tattoo.

“Oh, fuck. I’ve got Alex and Gabby’s brat in me, too. I guess that does make us sister wives.”

“We are??? You do!?! Our babies are going to be brothers!!!” Opal launches herself at me, grabbing my head and shoving it between her buxom breasts as she joyfully hugs me.

When I finally pull my head free I look down at our bellies one more time to confirm by Alex’s uterine markings that we’ve got full-blooded brothers inside us. Me and a Lamia—mothers of the same brood. Damn.

“Snek lady should know Dura got Gabby baby boy too.”

I wasn’t going to mention it now since I’m enjoying Opal’s huge knockers too much to share, but Dura’s right. All three of us here are Alex and Gabby’s baby mommies.

Opal lays her cheek against Dura’s breast, the big, squishy boob deforming as she uses it as a pillow. “I’m so happy! I never thought I’d feel this way again after my family was killed, but I’ve got two nice sister wives right here!” The Lamia sheds a bittersweet tear.

Then she sighs as her mind returns to my question. “Anyway, that’s the reason I had to eat so many Sand Goblins. They taste disgusting by the way, and I always puke up whatever clothes I don’t peel off them, but they’re even nastier naked. Yuck. Right, so I guess my instincts are telling me I won’t be able to swallow prey past my egg once it gets too big.”

That makes sense. I instinctively put my hand on her tummy to go with my mental visual of her stomach swollen to nine months pregnant while trying to swallow a Goblin whole, like I saw her do before. There’s no way she can stretch enough to fit him too, even for a few seconds!

Opal snuggles against me as she talks, pushing both of us onto Dura’s lap with her weight. She’s got no intention of letting me go, it seems. Dura’s left arm cradles me while her right lands on Opal’s waist. “I need to eat like this now because later on, I’ll have to fast until I lay the egg.”

Or you could, you know, chew...

“Got it. I think I understand now. All we have to do is pretend to capture ‘the monster’ and present you to the Sheikh, then attack him while his guard is down. Once we kill him, all his minions will be free, including the Kobolds! We’ll return them to the Lizardfolk, who’ll be so grateful they’ll jump to join Alex’s army!”

“Oh, no! No way, that’s never going to work!” Opal objects as I feel her serpentine lower half begin coiling around my legs. “I’ve seen the Sheikh fight. He’s way faster than you, and his blade is sharp. He’ll slit your throat before you know he’s there.”

“Dura smash!” the Ogress says with confidence.

I frown. “She’s right, he has a whole tier on you. Let’s not test that metal blade unless absolutely necessary.” Dura reluctantly backs down at our insistence. That doesn’t make me happy, though. “Fuck, so what do we do?”

“Send for Alex! Wait, no, don’t do that either. I don’t want to see the Sheikh stab Alex through the heart.”

That wouldn’t stop Alex but, from what I heard, it’d all be over if he shattered Alex’s core. “Then there’s nothing we can do. Let’s return to Alex and see what she and Gabby think.”

“I’m not leaving my tribe sisters! They’re still in there, trapped in their own bodies. I know it. Maybe if I wait here the Sheikh will drop his guard and I can rescue them.”

Damnit, I knew this mission was cursed.

“And I’ll return empty-handed.”

Opal grabs her melons and squeezes them around my face. “I wouldn’t say that. I won’t let my brave sister-wives depart without a little ‘thank-you’ reward.”

She waggles her eyebrows at us, and we get the message.