Kits-Inn
“I’d say it’s time for a break.  Let’s have some lunch,” Nayeli suggested, hoping to ease the sudden heaviness in the air.  It was as good a suggestion as any, and Diya was quick to produce what remained of their bread and cheese.  Tuli whispered something in Sarahi’s ear as the Ferruda sat down to lean against her leonine shoulder.  Whatever it was made Sarahi roll her eyes with a grin...and Oro, ears twitching, roll his with annoyance.  Nayeli and Diya passed out sandwiches for everyone, including the kobolds, then Diya brought a small, cherrywood box to Nayeli.
“I wanted to ask what you think this is,” the little female explained, opening the lid.  The velvet interior contained a single sheet of paper covered in gold lettering.  The smooth, flawless material made it difficult to read the bright, reflective wording without constantly shifting the page side to side to manage the light.
“Well...just at a glance, I’d say it looks like a property deed,” the priestess explained, fluttering the page, “A very important one, judging from the quality of the paper.  ‘Kits-Inn’,” she read the title, arguably the most legible part due to the extra large print used for that portion, “I wonder where—”
She stopped mid-sentence as the lighting changed, and looked around.  They all did.  The cave was gone, replaced by soft lighting on warm wood framing walls of what appeared to be a thin paper and floors of woven reeds.  The treasure was gone, along with their equipment and even the food that had been in their hands, replaced by a long, low table and soft, pillowy cushions underneath them.  Even their clothes were gone, replaced by luxuriously soft, warm bathrobes.
A stranger sat at the end of the room, dressed in long, flowing robes of silk decorated in patterns of long, brightly colored fish.  A fluffy tail of bright red fur curled around his knees, and his face was that of a Fox Ferruda — which was impossible, of course, as everyone knew such creatures didn’t really exist.  His eyes were so narrow they almost appeared to be closed and his smile was so friendly it was a little suspicious.  “Welcome back to Kits-Inn, Master and most-honored guests,” he greeted them warmly, bowing his face briefly to the floor, “I am your humble host, whom you may refer to simply as ‘Host’.  I am terribly sorry to interrupt, but food and drink from the outside world are only permitted here if they are of vastly superior quality to that of my own making.  Regrettably, nothing you possessed met that criteria.”
“Fusk the food,” growled Oro, one foot already under him and one hand instinctively reaching for a sword he no longer possessed, “You’ve got about one breath to explain what just happened before I eat you!”
Their host’s smile never faltered.  “Absolutely, honored guest!” he clapped his hands together once, taking a nice, deep breath.  “A new master has called my name,” he gestured to indicate Nayeli, “While no other living master has claim to me, thereby transferring all rights of use and ownership.  This also initiates the first summons, bringing Master and her honored guests into my domain for introductions, a tour, and any clarification of the terms, if she desires.  Obviously, master and her guests may also make immediate use of the facilities.”  He managed it all before having to inhale again, smiling brightly at Oro.  “Will that suffice, or must I now be devoured by the honored guest?”
The ease with which he said it...suggested it, even...gave them all pause.  Even Oro suddenly had second thoughts about whether he wanted to eat this strange man or not.  “I think,” Nayeli spoke up, though a little hesitantly, “I would like to hear more details.  But first, to clarify, this is Oro, our husband,” she nodded to the Rabbit, “And probably the one you ought to be referring to as ‘master’.  I am Nayeli, his first wife, and these others are also his wives: Sarahi, Tuli, Diya, and Kylan...yes, even the male.  Grik and Gaki there are...companions,” she stated tactfully.
Host nodded to her.  “I understand, and will address whomever you wish however you wish.  But to be clear: you will always be the master.  A flaw in the crafting of the spell, intended as a safe-guard against theft, prevents ownership from being transferred while you still live,” the Fox explained, “I belong to you, respond to you, and cannot be given away...unless you wish to commit suicide, which I will never permit and cannot facilitate.”
Tuli blinked, and raised her hand.  “So...you’re saying we’re under a spell?  Like an illusion?”
The Fox chuckled, as if she’d suggested something naive but endearing.  “I am an advanced weave of several classes of spells, predominantly conjuration, alteration, and endowment...but yes, there are threads of illusion and transportation mixed in as well.”
“You keep saying ‘I’ as if you’re the focus,” Oro noted with a sneer, rising fully to his feet now, “Does that mean if I eat you the spell will be broken?”
“Absolutely not,” Host shook his head with an apologetic smile, “The Kits-Inn is a small, spell-bound region.  This host is merely a convenient construction for interaction, and one of several available to you at any—”
Oro crossed the space in one jump.  What happened next was mostly (mercifully) hidden from view by his hunched figure, but when he stepped back his bathrobe had been thoroughly stained with blood...and their host had lost no less than two feet from his upper body.  Oro looked...disappointed.
“Oro!” Nayeli shouted, jumping to her feet far too late to save the unfortunate Fox.  Before she could admonish him further, however, the wall behind the body slid open to reveal another Fox Ferruda, identical in every way to their original host except that this one appeared to be female.  She bowed politely before crawling into the room and sliding the wall shut again behind her.
“Do not be concerned for me, master,” the Fox smiled at Nayeli, “Honored guest has merely laid his suspicions to rest.”
The Rabbit nodded, kicking over the remains of the host’s previous body, and it disappeared in a puff of glittery smoke.  So did the blood “staining” his clothes, leaving them as pristine as if he’s just arrived.  “It’s a fusking spell.  All of it.  Animals have more taste than this.”
“Absolutely,” Host agreed with a nod, then gestured to the wall behind her, “Does the master wish to hear more, or would the tour be more helpful?”
Nayeli rubbed her head.  “Thank you, but we really don’t have time to stay.  Maybe another day.”
“If I may argue,” the Fox bowed apologetically, “Time is compressed here, compared to the outside.  For every three sunrises you see in this place, only one will have passed outside.  At the very least, allow me to provide a hot bath and lunch, to make up for what you left outside.”
That caused ears to perk and eyes to widen.  “Oh, I would adore a bath,” Sarahi sighed, looking askance at Nayeli.  Neither of them had had a chance to clean up since...those activities.  That probably bothered the Sha'khari more than the Ferruda, too.  And they were all tempted by the promise of a hot meal.
Outnumbered and not terribly adamant in her own right, the priestess nodded.  “Very well.  If what you say is true, we have time indeed.  Show us your offerings, then we’ll take a bath and a meal, please.”
“Absolutely!” Host clapped her hands delightedly, and several of the walls immediately slid open to reveal neighboring rooms, “Obviously, you are already sitting in the dining room, and the kitchen is right over there, should you enjoy preparing your own food other than what I provide.  I admit the taste and appearance of what I serve is strictly illusory, but conjuration provides both the substance and nutrition...which is to say you will be well fed here, and remain so even after you depart.  Over there is the foyer,” she pointed to the room beside where they currently sat, in the direction opposite the kitchen, “Ideal for reading, chatting, and generally relaxing.  Further on is the ballroom and behind it the arcade.  Both are empty at the moment, but I am very flexible in what furnishings and decorations can be provided.  That stair,” she pointed to the inobtrusive staircase tucked between two of the sliding walls, near the front door, “Will take you to your private rooms on the second floor.  There will always be one for the master and each guest, but of course you may share and swap as you see fit.  There is another stair on that floor to provide direct access to the baths,” the Fox smiled.
“What about outside?” Oro growled, “I notice there is a front door.”
“My grounds are not terribly large,” their host nodded, “There’s just enough room for a nine-hole golf course.  At present, you are surrounded by a bamboo thicket cut with walking paths and a lazy river ideal for swimming or boating.  None of them lead all the way to the border, as my borders cannot be crossed.”
Kylan blinked.  “What’s a golf course?”
“A game of hitting a small ball into a hole in the ground using particular sticks,” the Fox explained, “It appears to have been forgotten to the outside, but it was quite popular in the days of my first master.  I was specifically crafted to fit the minimal amount of space necessary for a course.”
Nayeli tilted her head at that.  “How long ago was that?  Do you know how old you are?”
“Not specifically,” the Fox admitted with a shrug, “I need a master to visit occasionally, to make me aware of things on the outside, and there was apparently a very substantial stretch in which I had no master.  But I do know that I was created a little before the onset of what you now call the ‘Time of Chaos’.  My first master sought a retreat from the state of the world leading up to that era, and so created me as a pleasure resort.”
Dead silence filled the room.  Even Oro looked taken aback.  She said it like it was just a historical bit of trivia about an old building...but if it were true, this place—this spell—was older than the known world.  No one knew how long the Time of Chaos lasted.  By its very nature, it defied cataloging.  Any and everything that might have existed before that age, if there was a ‘before that age’, was a rumor at best and utterly lost otherwise.  But this place knew that it had a beginning...and that something had come before.
Nayeli looked faint.  “I take it back,” she said weakly, “I need to lie down, I think.  Please, show us to the rooms.”
“Absolutely, master,” the Fox nodded, already stepping forward to help her to her feet and keep a steadying hand on her arm.  Oro beat her to it, warning her off with a look that said he still did not entirely trust this spell-creature.  Host did not look the least bit offended, and was perfectly content to guide them up the stairs.
There was a short hallway at the top, lined on one side with eight doors before terminating in another descending set on the other side.  Oro kicked open the first door he came to, intending to lay Nayeli on the bed...and froze in his tracks the instant it opened.  The interior was...spartan, at least as furnishings went.  It looked more like a cave than a room.  Along both sides, people of various races and species were shackled to the wall, looking whipped and broken-willed.
A single, large pile of straw dominated the far wall, ostensibly as a bed.  Atop it, hogtied and leashed to a ring on the floor, was a Dog Ferruda.  She was somewhere in her early teens, naked, and shivering.  Her fur was uniformly black, her wide eyes a dark green, and she began to squirm and strain against her bonds in a steadily growing panic the instant her eyes lit on Oro.  “No...oh gods, no!  Please don’t, Oro! Please!”
The demon-possessed Rabbit, lips stretched in a savage smile showing far too many teeth and eyes wide with menacing glee, practically tripped in disappointment the instant she said his name.  “‘Course it’s not her. The fusk am I thinking?” the Rabbit growled, eying their host narrowly, “She’d be passed thirty winters by now, and she never knew that name.”
“Quite so,” the Fox nodded, smiling as if nothing unusual had happened, “The rooms furnish themselves to the tastes and comfort of the first person to touch the door...but, if I may say so, honored guest: you are quite strange and self-conflicted.  I am not sure I will be able to accommodate you properly,” she gestured to the various people chained around the room.  “I can make any manner of fruit or vegetable, and even animals that act and taste exactly as you understand them to.  Souls, however, are quite beyond my ability.  So, while the flesh may be nutritious, you may find your snacks...lacking.”
“Oro...who is she?” Nayeli asked, trying hard to ignore the rest of the nameless men and women in the room, and what they implied about Oro’s idea of ‘comfortable’.
The Rabbit pulled the door closed again, frowning at it angrily.  “No one worthy of a name.  That Rabbit knew her in his time, and she did not live through the night he met Gorgorond.”  Moving to the next door down, Oro was careful to let Nayeli push it open before ushering her through.  As soon as he’d verified this one contained no other people-like things, the Rabbit pushed her inside and slammed the door in Host’s face before the Fox or anyone else could utter a single syllable.
“For once, I agree,” Nayeli sighed, though he hadn’t said a word, and sat herself on the edge of the soft bed in the corner of this modest room.  “I just need a minute, and some quiet,” she promised, taking a deep breath.
This place seemed to have plenty of that.  The furniture was rustic, but smooth and solidly built.  A low fire burned in the fireplace, boiling a kettle, with cups and tea-leaves waiting on the little table beside it.  The ceiling was low, but not dangerously so, and small plants and flowers rested wherever people were not likely to sit.  On the whole it felt...cozy, verging on being cramped.  A small window looked out over a meadow surrounded by a forest in late spring.  A young doe grazed in the middle of it.
Oro leaned against the door, ensuring no intrusion or interruptions.  “Ah...that’s better,” the priestess sighed a few minutes later, lifting her face from her hands and gazing out the little window.  “It’s just too much.  I have so many questions all of a sudden...and I don’t know that I actually want the answers.”
“Philosophy will do that to a mind,” the Rabbit snorted, “That’s why I don’t dabble in it more than necessary.”
She chuckled at his very characteristic answer.  “Thank you.  I am sorry.  Two artifacts from the dawn of the world in the same horde...one of them possibly from before that time...it’s just overwhelming.  I can’t begin to imagine what the Matriarch (may she live again) will say when we arrive at Corruscant.”
He looked like he had some thoughts on that, but declined to share them.  They were probably not very flattering anyway, especially to someone who actually respected the founder of the Order.  “You should get that bath,” he recommended instead, “It’ll help relax you...and kill that fusking scent for a while.  Then I can think more clearly.”
Nayeli nodded and smiled sympathetically.  “You’ll have to scrub me thoroughly, then,” she chided, getting to her feet and heading toward him and the door.
“Fusk that,” he snorted, “You and the other wives can—”
She laid claim to the belt of his bathroom with both hands, gently pulling him away from the door.  “You will join us.  You could use a bath yourself, and some personal time with your wives.  All of them.”
Oro frowned sternly.  “An all-consuming demon coats my skin...all of my skin.  I don’t get dirty.”
“It can enjoy the refreshing feel of water on its tongue, then,” the priestess retorted, unyielding, and moved her grip from his belt to his ear as she opened the door, brooking no further argument.  Dragging him to the next door in the hall, Nayeli knocked gently and waited patiently until Diya appeared in it.  “Oro and I are going for a bath now,” the priestess explained with a smile, “Will you join us?”
“Oh, sure!” the little female nodded, stepping out into the hall with them.  The same question was put to Kylan at the next door, and given the same answer.
No answer came at the next door, however, and after a short wait Nayeli moved on down the line.  After a soft knock here, Tuli promptly answered, poking just her head into the frame while Sarahi could be heard (though not seen) shuffling about further inside.  Nayeli chuckled at the sight...and implication.  “Sorry to interrupt,” the priestess smiled apologetically, “We just wanted you to know we’re heading to the bath, if you care to join us.”
“Oo!  We’d love to!” Tuli immediately and cheerfully answered...then glanced behind her briefly as Sarahi said something, and deftly stepped around the door and shut it behind her before anyone could get a glance at the interior.  “Give her a second,” the stark naked Ferruda giggled, “She’s a little more shy than I am.”  Diya was giving her a look that said she could do with being a little more shy, herself, but otherwise kept the thought to herself.  It was no small miracle that Oro made no remark.  A second later, Sarahi strode through the door with her bathrobe fully in place, draped modestly even over her back half.
Before Nayeli could knock at either of the remaining doors, their host appeared at the top of the stairs.  “Those two have gone to explore the grounds,” the Fox explained helpfully, “They are intent on finding a treasure for their dragon, so I’ve taken the liberty of hiding a sizable gem in the kitchen for them to find.  Shall I fetch them?”
That made Nayeli giggle.  “No.  Let them have their fun, and thank you for providing for it.”
“I exist for no other purpose,” the host bowed humbly, then lead them down the stairs to a small dressing room lined with shelves full of bathrobes, towels, soaps and shampoos, sponges, and all manner of other nicities to be enjoyed in a bath.  The whole group stripped here (Nayeli pointedly untied Oro’s robes herself and removed them), gathered up some brushes and soap, then filed into the bath.
It was one long basin, lined with glass-smooth stones and steaming pleasantly.  The sides were tiered like steps, providing plenty of room to sit along the entire length, and deep enough at the center to swim outright.  By the scent of the steam alone they could tell some sort of herb or mineral was mixed in the water, giving it a crisp, pleasant smell.  As Nayeli and Tuli lead the way into the water, a half-dozen clones of Host emerged from the steam, dressed minimally in bathrobes themselves, and knelt at the edge of the pool, offering to scrub their guests’ hard-to-reach places.  Nayeli politely waved them away, wanting this to be a bonding time just between their family, including hands on each other...
They spent the better part of an hour, one after another, lathering and rinsing and remarking on each other’s figures in good-natured envy.  The hot water washed the cramps and fatigue of the last two days away just as thoroughly as the dirt.  Nayeli made certain even Oro got scrubbed from the tips of his toes to the tips of his ears...though she almost had to enlist Sarahi to hold him down for part of it.  At last she settled in to soak beside him, sinking into the water right up to her neck as she laid her head back against the rim of the pool.  Diya was floating near the center with a contented smile on her face, and Kylan was swimming lazy laps from one end to the other, while Tuli...seemed to be giving an extra-thorough cleaning to a particularly difficult-to-reach place underneath Sarahi, hidden by the steamy surface of the water.
With a squeak, Tuli was suddenly pushed back against the side by Sarahi’s front paws before the Sha'khari straddled her with a lustful smile.  Tuli leaned back, her knees just breaking the surface of the water, and neither seemed to remember at the moment that they had an audience...
Nayeli averted her eyes with a bemused smile, focusing on Oro, whom she wanted to have a private word with anyway.  The other wives’ distraction made for a good opportunity, in her book.  “Something has been bothering you,” she noted quietly, “You’ve been quiet these last two days...for you, anyway.  You promised to tell me once we got to the treasure.”
“Break its teeth,” the Rabbit growled...not to Nayeli, but to the two Ferruda across the pool, about to shamelessly indulge each other right in front of their husband.  He was specifically staring at Sarahi, who froze at being called out, and even the shameless Tuli blushed in surprise.  “I warned you: it’s a trap, and you are dead between its teeth with your foot on the trigger now,” Oro remarked coldly, “Break its teeth, or back out while you can.”
Nayeli frowned at him.  “They’re married, too, dear.  Let them enjoy themselves,” she sighed.
“I’m not stopping anyone,” he growled right back at her, “But it’s going to hurt more if I have to cut her out of it later, rather than dodging it now.”
Sarahi scowled at him, but turned a more thoughtful look down at the Ferruda between her paws, open and ready to receive her.  “I don’t mind,” Tuli assured her, running a hand down the Sha'khari’s leonine chest and rocking her hips against the part hidden beneath their shadow, on the verge of penetrating her.
It was a welcome invitation...and sorely tempting, still.  But Sarahi’s expression grew more disappointed the more she mulled the thought in her head.  “Will you mind,” she said at last to the patient Ferruda, “If I admit he might be right?  Last night was my first time.  And while I would not have refused you or Nayeli before that...or anyone but Oro, really...I have been struggling to think of anything else all day.  Even when I was about to be eaten by a giant worm,” she admitted with an embarrassed chuckle.  “And...I’m not sure it’s for the right reasons.”  Lowering herself back down again, the Sha'khari looked over her shoulder at their husband.  “Is this what they call being ‘turned on’?”
Oro smirked.  “Sucks to be male, doesn’t it?  Especially around this fusking smell,” he added, putting an arm around Nayeli and surprising her by pulling her close, “Not that my advice is worth shit, but if you want to break the trap, find a moment when you’re not horny and decide, in as clear terms as you can manage, when and why you will or will not fusk anything that moves.  Then stick to it, especially when you’re horny, because the minute you break your own rules you’re caught.”
Sarahi sighed in disappointment, but accepted the cautionary word.  “...I’m sorry,” she said sincerely to Tuli, who lowered her knees back beneath the water without the smile on her face ever fading.  The busty Ferruda placed a kiss on Sarahi’s upper belly before the Sha'khari moved out from over her.
“No, I still don’t mind,” Tuli promised, settling in to just sit beside the former princess, “And I’ll still be ready when you decide it’s time.”
“Now, if you two are done making lovey-dovey with each other,” the Rabbit cut in, “Listen up.  All of you,” he added for emphasis, gathering in Diya and Kylan with his eyes before he jerked his thumb at Nayeli, “First-wife here is trying to have a talk about something important to all of you, even if she doesn’t know it yet.  You should pay attention.”
Nayeli blushed a little, embarrassed at the sudden attention.  “Uh...actually, I hoped we could talk about that...just between us.”
“No,” he answered flatly, “You’re the one who wants them to trust you.  That’s not going to happen if you keep taking important talks with us one at a time.  You’re going to have to learn to lean on them more, if you want them to do the same, and support each other.”
She didn’t like his tone one bit.  She didn’t like the way he seemed to be excluded from that, like it was just her and the other wives, either apart from or against him.  “Us, dear,” she admonished softly, “I do want them to trust us.”
“Fusk that,” he huffed, “Anyone that trusts me to do anything but eat them is a fusking idiot.”
“That’s not true,” countered Sarahi, of all people, surprising everyone.  “You probably have the vows in mind more often and clearly than any of us...but I simply cannot believe you would work as hard as you did at helping me through the traps, much less teaching me what to watch out for, if it was just your own hide you were looking to protect.  You deliberately put me in positions where I had to trust you, if only for a moment...and came through, every time,” she admitted, only slightly begrudgingly.  “And that’s to say nothing of the extra lengths you go for Nayeli at the most surprising times.  We...and I hate to be the one to say this...but we would be fools not to trust you when it counts most,” the Sha'khari declared finally.
All eyes were on her like she’d grown a second head.  Moisture gleamed in Nayeli’s eyes that had nothing to do with the steam of the bath.  “Thank you,” she said softly, and Sarahi just nodded in welcome.
“Fine,” Oro sighed, not wanting to belabor the point on himself.  Nudging Nayeli’s back, he gestured half-heartedly to the rest of the group watching them.  “Get started, then.  Tell them what’s bugging you.  Maybe they can think of something to put you at ease.”
“Me?!” Nayeli frowned at him, “I was asking what’s been bothering you these last two days.”
“Yeah, but it’s fusking me you’re dealing with, so you’re not getting the answer until you tell us what’s got you in such a twist,” he scoffed, “You’ve been on edge since the vampire showed up.  That sword about made you fusking explode.  I can tell when you’re seeing the pieces to something fall into place, and I want to know if it’s the same picture I’m seeing.”
Her jaw worked, but no words came out.  She frowned at him like he’d cheated at a particularly difficult game.  Then she settled in under his arm, with her shoulder against his side.  “Someday,” she warned, “I am going to work up the nerve to slap you.”
“Gotta stop forgiving me so much first,” he suggested.
She sighed a bubble into the water, and sat quietly for another minute, meeting eyes with each of the other wives one by one.  “That sword troubles me,” she admitted at long last, closing her eyes, “Deeply.  It is not something just idly misplaced, or traded for any favor or price.  There is only one conceivable way it came to be in this horde.”  Her face scrunched up as if she hated even thinking the words.  “That dragon killed the paladin that carried it.  A Heavenly Sun-Blade would be entrusted to no one else, and it would have been a paladin of the Valiant Order at that.  One whose very voice is that of the Authority.  It is terrifying to think that it could contend with such a man, and downright unthinkable that it did so while he carried the Heavenly Sun-Blade...but there is no other explanation.”
“Dragons are that tough, huh?” Kylan asked, “But Oro killed it and...um, please take this as a compliment...it didn’t seem like that much trouble to him.  Way more than we could handle, obviously, but...”
“It was delicious as Hell,” the Rabbit smiled at the memory.
Nayeli failed to suppress a shudder.  “That...is what bothers me the most,” she admitted quietly.  “Dragons are notoriously powerful, especially the old ones.  They are not gods...but the distinction is one of nuance.  They are creatures both material and spiritual, more ‘real’, for lack of better words, than most things that exist.  It is said that if a dragon believes there are thieves out for its gold, thieves will appear...and if it believes a kingdom has been brought to ruin, it will be found in ruin.  Reality breaks for them.”  She lifted her head to look Oro in his golden eyes with no small amount of concern.  “But you ate that one.  It even seemed — relatively — easy.  I am worried, Oro,” she laid her face against his chest with a sigh.
The Rabbit arched a brow at her.  “What are you getting at?”
“When we first met, I was quite certain you could not have stood against a paladin,” she explained, “I’m still sure that was true at the time.  But now...for eight long years we have been on this journey.  I try not to think about how many souls we have fed to Gorgorond in that time, even if I tell myself most of them deserved it...or at least could not be helped.  Some of them have been quite powerful in their own right.  One of them now has been a dragon...and one strong enough to overcome not just a paladin, but one wielding a Heavenly Sun-Blade.  Oro...is Gorgorond actually growing?  Could it become rival to the Saints...a threat to the Order itself?  If that is true...St. Culbert will have to come for you, and soon.  I...don’t...”
He cut off her budding tears with a snicker.  To his credit, he tried to choke it down, but he really couldn’t seem to help himself.  And after the first few chuckles, his demeanor broke entirely, and the grim and foreboding Oro broke into a fit of diabolic laughter.  It rocked him for a long minute, surprising everyone, and Nayeli began to worry she might have to invoke a blessing just to steady his breathing again.
“Oh...oh...,” he groaned when the fit finally passed, rubbing his chest with one hand as though his ribs ached, “Fusking idiot woman...you really will be my salvation, or else my final damnation.  I can’t tell which, yet,” he admitted, running his fingers gently through her hair in a shocking display of affection and smiling at her fondly for the first time in her memory.
“What?” she asked, understandably perplexed.
“That’s the best part,” he chuckled softly, “You don’t even know.  You have no idea how close I have been to dying every minute of these last two days, and still you pull me back from the edge of the grave.  Oh, Death is going to have some choice words for you when you finally meet,” he grinned, laying back against the side of the tub with a sigh.  “Alright.  My turn.  You sure as Hell earned it this time,” he congratulated her.  “I am on a mission to personally devour every living soul on the face of the earth,” he reminded them, mostly for the other spouses’ sake, “That was my pact with Gorgorond: as long as I keep feeding him, relatively regularly, he’ll hold off on devouring me.  As far as I’m concerned, the whole fusking world deserves it, not least myself.  Still haven’t changed my mind about that, though I’ve come to admit some deserve it sooner than others,” he winked at Nayeli.  “But, as much as I hate to say it, I’ve learned along the way that the So-Called-Authority is fusking strong.  I don’t know any other god that can exercise its command over faithless creatures, much less other gods.  I knew he’d be trouble, sooner or later, and I would have to think of a way to deal with that.”  His smile inverted at the next thought.  “Then you dragged me in front of the fusking Matriarch.  At least I expected there to be trouble when that happened, I guess.  She’s about a hair’s width from being a god herself, and with a reputation for intimidating the fusk out of demons, so it wasn’t much of a surprise that Gorgorond struggled against her...or didn’t, as it was.”  His frown deepened into a scowl, and his habit of grinding his teeth returned.  “And then along comes the damned vampire.  Breaks my favorite sword.  Moves faster than I can track.  Blesses me right out of the room before I can even tense a muscle against it.  That was when I started to think — just maybe — it isn’t possible.  My mission is doomed.  When the Order has had enough, decides I’m too dangerous or just no longer useful, it’s over.”  He opened one eye to look at the surprised priestess.  “I know I’m stubborn, but I’m not the sort to blindly pursue a lost cause.  If I ever become convinced that I cannot succeed at this...I will stop.   If you’re lucky, Gorgorond will be generous enough to leave a little blood-splatter for you to remember me by.”
Oro sat up, looking her hard in the eyes now.  “I very nearly decided it when you drew that sword.  Your assessment is pretty accurate, as far as I can see.  If that thing gets pulled on me right now, I’m done for,” he added a meaningful glare at Sarahi while he was at it, “And I’m being asked to carry it...the instrument of my own execution...all the way back to Corruscant, to hand it over to the executioner myself.  Fusking vampire knows that, if he knew that sword was in the horde at all.  That is why he didn’t come at me yesterday.”  Leaning back against the side of the tub again, he huffed a sigh, shoving down his irritation with the absent Saint.  “For all of yesterday and today, I’ve been trying to think of how to move forward, meaningfully.  I thought it must be possible, but only because I’m stubborn, and don’t believe anyone is invincible, including the Authority.  I just didn’t know how, or how to find out.”  He smiled again, broad and smug, at Nayeli.  “But you did.  No, it hadn’t even occurred to me that Gorgorond might be growing off the souls I feed him.  I figured it was just sustaining him, like everyday food does for mortals.  Now...now I just have to hunt down the biggest, baddest, most powerful souls I can find, and keep eating until he can swallow the fusking Authority himself.”
“By the Authority, no, Oro, you cannot,” Nayeli whispered.
“Not yet,” he admitted, “You can still stop me.  Right now...or as soon as we get out of here, at any rate.”  He lifted her chin and lowered his, leaning in until their lips touched, just barely.  “Will you do it?  Will you strike me down with that oh-so-sparkly sword?”
He glanced up as water sloshed around them, disturbed by one of the others moving.  The clap of a hand against his cheek was so loud it might have been mistaken for his neck snapping, or Sarahi’s fingers breaking.  “Fuck you,” the Sha'khari hissed, “I’ll do it, if it comes to that.  Let her go.”
Oro was fighting back a laugh again, feeling each and every individual finger outlined in the print on his cheek.  He’d already released any semblance of a grip on Nayeli, but the priestess made no effort to move away.  If anything, she looked a little ashamed that Sarahi had had to come to her rescue.  “Now I’m horny,” he chuckled, slouching lower in the water with a contented sigh.  “And hungry.  Let’s eat.  I’m sure we’ll all feel much better on a full belly.”  With that insistence, he stood up and marched out to the dressing area to dry and pull on a fresh, fluffy bathrobe, practically humming to himself the entire way.
“To think I was just starting to feel some sympathy toward him,” Sarahi sighed, rubbing her stinging hand as she shook her head.  Then she looked down at the shocked Nayeli.  “Are you okay?”
Although she had asked, and her concern was genuine, she was still surprised to see that priestess shake her head.  “I’m not ready,” Nayeli hissed through a tight throat, “For him to die.”
The princess sighed, and laid down beside her, putting her arms around the shaken priestess.  “You trusted me with his life when you gave me that sword,” the Sha'khari reminded her softly, “I won’t bare it against him until you’re ready.  But I have to admit...my hope is that you never are, and it never becomes necessary.”  Lifting her up, Sarahi swung her around onto the Sha'khari’s back, letting her sit there and lean against her shoulders while she worked through the rest of her shock and tears.  “Come on.  Some food might not be such a bad idea.  We’ll see where things go from here.”
They took their time getting dried and dressed, and gave Nayeli a few minutes to console herself in prayer.  She was much more composed and back in control of herself by the time they wandered into the dining area again, where Oro was waiting patiently, leaning on the table with an uncharacteristic smile on his face.
Almost as soon as they sat down, Host appeared, bearing covered plates that she laid in front of each of them.  Steak and russet potatoes, poached pheasant, pancakes runny with syrup...each uncovered plate revealed a favorite meal, some of them surprising their companions.  The dome she laid in front of Oro was tall, and Nayeli quirked a brow as he reached for it.
Lifting the silver cover revealed the Dog Ferruda.  Just her head, nose turned straight up at the ceiling, with a roasted apple in her mouth.  Oro smirked in amusement as he stuck his fork into one sightless eye...
The dome slammed back down over the plate.  “Absolutely not,” Nayeli frowned.  Oro rolled his eyes, hardly surprised but uncommonly accepting, and snapped his fingers for Host’s attention.
“Bring me what she’s having,” the Rabbit instructed with a shrug, “It all tastes the same to me anyway.”
As the new plate was laid in front of him, and he began absently digging into the seared salmon, Nayeli asked once more, “Who was she?”
“You are determined to spoil my good mood,” Oro observed, taking a conspicuously large bite of his meal.  After a moment of thoughtful chewing, he laid his silverware down and pushed the plate aside to make room for his elbow, on which he propped his chin.  “Fine.  Thanks to you I’m fairly confident of seeing a few more sunrises, so I’ll humor you.  I’ll tell you the story, and share two thoughts with you that might give you some hope as well.”
The priestess stopped chewing, surprised at that promise, which got the attention of the other Ferruda around the table as well.  “The bitch,” Oro began, “Was the daughter of the Dog family that took that Rabbit’s mother and her family in when they fled from human lands.  They shared a room for a while, while a hut was being built for the Rabbits.  He admired her, and she became his first friend.”  Oro smirked, as if amused by the idea.  “Well...he thought she was his friend.  Then came the night they couldn’t resist anymore.  He could still hear his mother screaming, crying for her children to run, in between begging for her life.  He was almost to the edge of the fields, just one stone wall between him and the trees, when she happened upon him.  Idiot actually trusted her, even then...thought she was going to help him over when she held out her hand.  But when he took it, she got him around the neck, too, and started yelling for the adults.  ‘I got one!’ she shouted, ‘Over here!  I’ve got him!’”  Oro absently stabbed his knife through the ribs of the fish on his plate.  “It was a chaotic night, and even moreso when he came back with Gorgorond.  The demon ate a lot of people, very quickly.  If the Rabbit had any regrets about that day, it was that he didn’t get to see the traitorous bitch’s face when Gorgorond gulped her down.  Everyone looks more-or-less the same to the demon, so it couldn’t even confirm exactly when or if it ate her with certainty...but nobody survived that day.  So, dissatisfying as it might be, he died confident in his revenge.”
Nayeli shook her head, a little regretful that she’d asked.  Oro tapped hard on the plate to bring her attention back.  “Now, less depressingly: everything you and I said about feeding Gorgorond to make him grow is purely speculative.  You don’t know that he’s actually getting stronger.  I don’t know that he’s actually getting stronger...and you can bet I’d rub it in your face if I did.  I’m going to run with that idea...I have decided to believe it...because that’s the only way forward I can see right now.  But in the end, it’s all guesswork, and might be a load of crock,” he admitted with a slight sneer, a bit of his good mood burning off.  “So there’s your first hopeful thought.  For the second one...I’m going to get a little annoyed with you for making me argue with your estimation of my power: that dragon was a fusking pussy, if tales of its kind are to be believed.  There is no way it killed a paladin while he carried that fancy-pants sword you’re so afraid of.”
The priestess tilted her head in confusion.  So did Sarahi and Diya, though Kylan and Tuli just leaned in closer, eager to hear the rest of his reasoning.  Oro just waved his knife around at the room in general.  “It had this place, didn’t it?  Hey, princess: hopeless idiot here made you promise not to give that thing to anyone but the fusking Matriarch...so where is it right now?”
Sarahi frowned at his verbal mockery...but was secretly a little relieved he was acting more and more like his usual self.  “Wherever the rest of our gear went when we came here,” she answered plainly, “Which I presume means it’s still back at the cave, though I can’t say for sure.”
“Exactly,” Oro declared, turning back to Nayeli, “Do you get it yet?”
The priestess’ eyes widened.  “It...it stripped him of the sword before he could use it!”
“It’d be fusking stupid not to,” the Rabbit rolled his eyes, “You don’t bring your belongings here when you come.  So sir paladin draws his glorious pig-sticker on the dragon, the dragon calls out to Kits-Inn, sir paladin is suddenly down one sword, all his armor, and probably his sense of direction besides.  Assuming the dragon didn’t give him a chance to use that divine voice of his, one spit-wad later it’s all over.  It fusking cheated, like the weak, conniving, wretched beast it was,” Oro declared with a strange sort of pride, leaving Nayeli stunned in her seat.
Sarahi shoved an oversize bite in her mouth to chew.  She refused to gift him with a smile right now, especially knowing how quickly he’d turn on it just out of spiteful habit.  She tucked away the idea that he could, given the right motivation, actually be tolerably nice...at least to Nayeli.  The Sha'khari wouldn’t take any bets on his ability to behave the same toward any of the rest of them.
The priestess put her face in her hands for a minute, hiding the tears of relief swimming in her vision.  The dragon hadn’t been that old, or powerful.  It had been lucky, and cunning.  Even great men could be undone by that pairing, if they did not have it themselves.  “Oh...I am loathe to say this,” she shook her head, “But that is a relief.  The situation may not be as dire as I feared.  They won’t...there’s still hope.”  Oro had the good grace not to argue with that, as was his habit.  Host appeared with a warm, damp hand-towel for her to wash her face with, which she accepted readily.
“Master seems to be feeling much better,” the Fox observed with a sympathetic smile, “Perhaps a nap, and she’ll be right as rain again.”
The priestess nodded, handing the towel back gratefully.  “Yes, that is probably true.  But not here.  You have been very kind, Host, and I thank you, but we really must be getting back now.  There is work to do.”
Again the Fox nodded sympathetically, but what it said was not so encouraging.  “Absolutely.  As soon as the exit conditions have been met, you will return to exactly the place you were when you came.  Less than two hours have—”
“Conditions?” growled Oro through clenched teeth and a suddenly threatening grip on the knife in his hands, “What fusking conditions?”
Host tilted her head from side to side, as if deciding how direct to be with her answer.  “In the future, master should take care to read all of the paperwork when accepting a title or deed,” she gently admonished Nayeli, “I was crafted as a pleasure house, with very specific intents in mind.  Before the stay is over, master and all of her guests must come to a happy ending—that’s euphemism, of course—and master must be satisfied that she is ready to return to the outside.  I can provide partners to each guest’s tastes, if—”
“Fusk this!” Oro roared, slamming his fists down on the table, “You can send us back, or I can send you to Hell!” His scarlet skin was rippling violently, his eyes blazing in the sockets, and his clenched fists had already eaten through the table in front of him.  The other Ferruda were on their feet now, holding their ground but hesitant to approach.  Even Nayeli had taken a step back.  “I am not some animal in your trap!”  The voice roaring from his throat was no longer the Rabbit’s, or at least not entirely, as his body swelled and roiled and began flashing rows of jagged teeth among the folds, “I am the breaker of traps, wrecker of cages, ruin of the world!”
Walls slammed shut on all sides of him.  He ate them, and more closed in.  A vacuum formed, pulling in the wood and the food and the cushions and the tables, just as fast as Host could reform them.
“Master,” the Fox looked at Nayeli for the first time without a smile...although she didn’t exactly look alarmed, either.  More like impressed.  “What should I do?  I cannot contain him for long, but neither can I send you back.  I do not know what will happen when he breaches my borders...and I do mean when, at this rate.  It may be that master and her honored guests will not survive.”
She...it was a complicated spell.  Sophisticated enough that it might be said to have a degree of intelligence.  But at the end of the day it was still a construct.  An automaton.  It was accommodating, but not reasonable.  It could not claim to possess free will, and so could not even challenge the conditions that had been placed on its use, much less break them.  Nayeli realized it was doing all that it could to preserve their safety...but Oro was apparently beyond its limits.
The priestess took a deep breath, and put back on the calm, friendly manner that had become every bit as much a part of her habit as the robe and veil.  With an apologetic smile, she instructed Host, “Channel him as much as possible, but let him come to me.”
He burst through a wall, and it was not replaced.  More walls sprang up to interpose between him and his other spouses, and he tore through them in passing, but followed the gap straight to Nayeli.  His form hardly resembled a body anymore.  It was a mass of roiling skin and muscle, peppered with impossibly deep throats lined with sharp, gnashing teeth.  The mass rolled around her, sparing her its touch by less than an inch on any side, but she reached out to lay a gentle hand on top of it.  “Oro, dear, calm down.  You are not trapped.  Not by our good host, anyway.”
A wave of the flesh rolled up, as if about to wash over her, but stopped short of touching her, instead thrusting a portion of the Rabbit’s face almost against hers.  He was absolutely livid with fury.  “Release me, fusking leash!”
Bravely, she shook her head.  “I will never hold you against your will, except to spare the lives of others.  You know this.  But...I am sorry...it is apparently my selfishness keeping you here now.”  She gave him her best effort an an apologetic smile.  “Just once more...could I beg you to indulge me?  I will never bring you to this terrible place again, but it has been...refreshing.  I would like to leave it with a fond memory.”
His body lashed against the walls again, but his face did not turn from her for a long minute.  “FUUUU—sk you!” his roar reverted with startling speed to a tone and volume natural to his own lungs, and his body seemed to swallow itself, drawing in all the roiling mass until it was only the scarlet-furred Rabbit huddled on knees and elbows at her feet...still trembling with rage, mind.  “Fusk you!” he spat again, “I’d as soon kill you as touch you!”  So saying, he got violently to his feet and stomped through the last hole he’d made in the wall, making his way toward the huddled spouses.
Sarahi steeled herself and stepped forward to accept his wrath...but he shoved her aside without so much as a blink, and snatched up Diya by the back of her neck, causing her to squeak.  “W-what?!” she gasped as he tucked her under one arm like a bath towel and began stomping toward the stairs.  “Why me?!”
“You’re the only fusking one that won’t put me to sleep before we’re done!” snarled the Rabbit, making a hard turn to ascend the stairs.  Diya cast a pleading look at Nayeli...but the priestess could only shake her head this time.  Now was not the time to provoke him further.  She must...much to Nayeli’s regret...endure.
“I am sorry, master,” Host apologized, sounding as sincere as anything it had ever said, “I have been deficient in my services.  I should have made the terms clear from the start.”
The priestess again shook her head.  “Your priorities are not yours to choose.  And you were not wrong to say that I should be more careful around magical artifacts.  Now...not to be rude, but I think we would appreciate as much a sense of privacy as you can give us.”
“Absolutely!” the Fox bowed, and disappeared.
“Whew!  That was...intense,” Tuli tried to sound upbeat, like everything was okay now, but... “Will...she be okay, do you think?”
Nayeli nodded with a comforting smile.  “He is angry — very angry — but in his own mind again.  So he will remember the vows, and also that Diya is in no way the object of his fury.  That would be me, mostly.  So she will be fine.  Now, we need to decide what the rest of us are going to do.”  Looking around, she realized they were down two other members of their party, and soon found Grik and Gaki beside the broken wall, kneeling and bowing ceremoniously in what seemed to be a moment of worship to the strength of their dragon-god.
The priestess sighed.  “And what to do about them.  I cannot, in good conscience, let them pair with each other...and I cannot, in good conscience, pair them with any of us, who have taken marriage vows.”
Tuli tilted her head, looked a little guiltily at Sarahi for a second, then slowly raised her hand.  “Um...if it wouldn’t make you mad at me...I wouldn’t be bothered by taking them.  We’re kind of trapped here if we don’t, and I think that’s going to bother Oro a lot more than infedelity...if he even cares at all.”
Nayeli shook her head slowly.  “I would not be the least angry, but its seems to me unreasonable to ask one of you to do something I would refuse.”
The busty Ferruda giggled.  “Well, you didn’t,” she pointed out, giving an apologetic look to Sarahi.  “And neither did you.  Sorry.  Tomorrow night?”
“Let me take Gaki, then,” Kylan spoke up, surprisingly, “I’m more her size anyway, and it’s not like she’s not cute.  I’d be fine with her...though I don’t know how we’re going to explain this to either of them,” he admitted.
Nayeli chewed her lip, moved by their generosity and efforts to keep her conscience clear.  She could break the language barrier easily enough, at least for a time, but...
The wall beside them slid open, briefly, and in crawled Host, followed by two other kobolds with blue scales.  The Fox smiled apologetically.  “Forgive the intrusion, Master, but you are clearly uncomfortable despite the generous offerings of our honored guests.  I was interrupted during my explanation before, so I will repeat it: I can construct forms suitable to a guest’s tastes, if more partners are necessary or desired.  I can also speak any guest’s language, which I understand makes couplings much easier.  Will this help put the master at ease?”
The priestess breathed a sincere sigh of relief.  “It would, Host.  Thank you.  Please explain the situation to them, and give them my most sincere thanks.  Ah...it may help to phrase it as an offering to their god at the request of his first-wife, if they seem worried.”
“Absolutely, Master,” the Fox bowed before departing immediately.  The two blue kobolds inserted themselves into the sibling’s ritual briefly before introducing themselves.  Whatever explanation they provided was apparently acceptable, as Grik and Gaki turned and made similar bows to Nayeli and the others briefly before trotting off to their respective rooms with the constructs in tow.
Sarahi took Nayeli into a reassuring hug as the pair disappeared from view.  “Feel better?  About the vows and all?”
“Much,” the priestess confessed, leaning back into the embrace for a moment, “Thank you.  All of you.  Really.  I am humbled by your willingness to take pains for the sake of my pride as a wife.”
“Says the woman willing to sacrifice it for our sakes, if need be,” Sarahi rolled her eyes.  “Now...not to sound...well, decadent,” she blushed, “But there’s no reason I can see why we have to go by twos.  From what I’ve been told,” she gave a sideways look to Tuli, not unhappily, “It wouldn’t be the first time you enjoyed each other as a group, so if it would save you any further guilt over picking partners, I’d be happy to take all three of you to my room.”
Nayeli shook her head, but reluctantly.  “I...am going to have some difficulty, under the circumstances,” she admitted, “And would prefer to be able to focus on just one partner.  That said, I will be happy with whichever of you takes the trouble of me, and will make no further complaint or conditions.”
Kylan leaned against Tuli’s hip, pushing her into Sarahi’s side.  “You two seem to want some time together already, if the baths were any hint,” he chuckled.
Tuli grinned, and bent down to kiss the top of his head.  “Alright...and thank you, for earlier too,” she added with a truly grateful smile, taking Sarahi’s hand.  Stepping out of the Sha'khari’s opening embrace, Nayeli nodded and motioned for the pair to go ahead and get on with what they’d been dying to do all day.
“So...I took the lead, and remember what you said and all,” Kylan began nervously as they all started for the stairs, “But are you sure you’re okay with me?  Small and all?”
Nayeli just smiled, and silently took his hand as they ascended the stairs a little behind the other pair.  Leading him wordlessly toward the door to her room, she invited him in without hesitation.  The larger Ferruda, yet young and beautiful even by the standards of her own kind, would show him full well how “okay” she was with every bit of him...