ShipTeaser

  It seemed that Hyath had actually mao succeed iing spores while we were gone, which surprised me, but Ixitt merely snorted a ugh and said perhaps talk of a reward had motivated her. Seeing her smiling at me, hope and tears in her silver-violet eyes, I once more sidered what granting her request would e. Sure, Shaeu saw no issues dallying with servants, and Hinata would probably say the same, but Eri a wasn’t the ere raised. Although I’m starting to accept that as long as everyone is happy and my sce stand it, we ’t be bound by the wisdom of the past or ventional ws. The world has ged, and we have to ge with it. Still, happiness first. If I fail at that, then why am I even doing all this?

  “So, you show me?” I had asked, looking at one of the remaining two Degraded Kobolds, and she nodded. When we were in full gear again, safely past the Fae Stones, she called forth a billowing cloud, moments ter the kobold and the grasses around it were dying, covered in rapidly shrivelling mushrooms.

  “Sooo, is master happy? Did Hyath do gooood?” she asked, and I gave in, patting her head.

  “Yeah you did great. There’s further to go, but for now, you take a break.” I told her, and she looked at me, puzzled. Seeing that, cute even behind her mask and goggles, I patted her head again. “Yeah, right now, I’m curious about something. How are you with trees?”

  “Trees?” she asked, still fused.

  “Yeah, but I’ll expin after we’ve had a rest. Today has been another hard one…”

  ********

  “Are you sure we ot tell prince Shaeraggo you are here-here?” one of the maids was asking Shaeu again, a tiresome litany that she was extremely fed-up with.

  “No-no, I have too much to do to be b with my brother.” She sighed, taking a drink from her gss of wine, which Hyath was serving her, much to the annoyance of Risha, Vilna and the other maids. Still, Shaeu seemed to be warming to Hyath, which pleased me. There was another person in the room giving me a saze as well though, and it was a Kamaitachi, one of the two I had killed initially. The st of Shaeu’s kin had returo her, so this was a bit of a celebration, as well as some mueeded recouperation, after being on edge in stant battles with the Myids. “I will arraime for him to visit when our business is done. Until then, do not-not bother me. I wish to enjoy this happy time.”

  “I still ot believe you ended up with him-him.” The Kamaitachi sighed. “Your mother, she will be..”

  “… delighted, I am sure-sure.” Shaeu spoke over him, also sick of this particur versation. “My mother is assuredly not-not a fool, so why would she be unhappy with Akio, who has achieved mud loves me dearly? Now put aside the anger of your first meeting, or else I shall send you back to her!”

  At that threat, Hyath started giggling. “Yooo got scolded by the mistress. Bad servant!”

  The Kamaitachi scowled, helping itself to some of the food id out on the grand dining table. “Fi will be as you wish-wish it, princess.”

  “Good.” Shaeu approved. “Tomorrow, you return to our Territory, through the Faerie Ring Gate. It is a far-far cry from the small and dingy one we occupied before Akio defeated us. I believe Ixitt will be returning as well-well?” she eyed the Ratkin, who was quite drunk on the fare Shaeraggo had left stocked for us.

  “Indeed, I have been given several tasks by your sort.” He grinned drunkenly, tail shing fitfully. “The expnation as to why was… opaque… for some of the items, but I believe whatever you are doing will be magnifit.”

  “Grul says he is bored and will also return. Grul will find his trolls and crush some enemies, but he will e back.” Grulgurgled, emptying a massive barrel of ale down his cavernous gullet with oy hand, while his sb-like teeth tore at a massive animal-carcass. Whereas before he usually ate separately from us, fighting together against the Myids seemed to have improved his camaraderie with us. Still, he’s a bit of a battle maniac to be sure. Not that I criticise, I’m always looking for ways to train more effitly.

  “Sure, just see that you do return.” I allowed it. “After all, we need you to tank for us against the Myids.”

  “Grul will not miss it. Grul enjoys stomping on, hitting, kig, hammering and breaking little weak fungi!” his rumbling ughter sounded, and I almost felt sorry for the Myids.

  “To think the day would e when I am having a pleasant dinner with Grulgor, of all-all people.” Shaeu arched an eyebrow at me. “By the moon, wonders never-never cease.”

  “True.” As we tio make merry, I caught one of her maids looking at us with a troubled, almost bitter expression on her face. When she spotted me gng at her she hastily looked down, hiding her features. Seriously. Get over it. Shaeu is mine now, and I’ll not let her go. Besides, she’s not the weak little princess you used to know. You should be happy about the ge…

  “Still, I am-am curious too.” Shaeu was red-faced and tipsy, the wine going to her head despite her high stats. “I worry yoing to try something foolish to save the dryad. A hawk that chases two-two hares with cateither, I believe. We o focus on the Myids.”

  “Yeah, I get you. And while I admit I hate to see girls suffer, and the dryad tugged at my heartstrings, if I didn’t think we could gain from it, I wouldn’t shoulder the risk. So… how about I tell you the pn ter?” my gaze went to her bedroom, and she licked her lips, smiling sciviously.

  “Some pillow-talk, is it? I have no-no issues with that.”

  The butler-weasel held in a wi her seductive reply, and I bit down on a sigh. e on man, you should be used to it by now as well. It isn’t like we haven’t been having fun in that room every night… The rest of the meal passed peacefully, and after some more wine, we put the drunk Hyath to bed, having to fight to stop her removing her clothing and jumping on me, calling herself a “disgrace as a servant fetting drunk while serving”, before Shaeu and I also retired to her bedchambers…

  ********

  “Seriously?” Shaeu was looking at me with astonished eyes, her head using my arm as a pillow, her hair spread out over my naked, sweaty body. “Is that… is that even-even possible?”

  “You know, I’m not sure.” I readily admitted, stroking her hair, enjoying the silky feel of it. “To be ho it’s a long shot. Probably harder than just wiping out the Myids to be ho. But that would likely kill the dryad too, so… she gets mercy either way. I think it’s a risk worth taking.” Ever since I saw the dryad and her grove, it was like a fire had been lit within me. If I could make this work… the advantages are huge. I have to think long-term for us as well.

  “The Myids, they will not-not let this pass unnoticed. It was quite deep ierritory, was it not-not, the grove?” she warned.

  “Yeah, that’s the hardest part. My calcutions are… well, troubling. But worst case sario, the dryad receives a merciful death. I’m not prepared to have you die over it. Nor anyone else.”

  “I should hope not-not. Without me, you are quite hopeless. Still, before that, we have time to rex and enjoy ourselves, right?” she raised her head and kissed me, our toangling, and she reached a hand under my bs.

  “Yeah, I guess we do.” I ughed, scooping her up in my arms again, unwilling to think of difficult problems ahead while Shaeu was in my arms…”

  ********

  “Well, this is… pretty much illegal, uhical research.” I mused, as we were all suited up again, to protect us from the spores Hyath was going to jure. We had travelled far outside the mansion, but were still within Seelie Court Territory, in a small grove of ash and elder trees, simir to the Earth Rhyming Trees iainted grove.

  “Yes, it does stink of Unseelie arts.” Shaeu frowned, a touch troubled. “Still, I know-know you are only doing it to help the dryad and recim our nds.”

  “Yeah, but the thing about this is…” I hesitated, but then admitted the problem. “… ohe genie is out of the bottle, it never goes ba. Hyath is an absolutely devastating biological on now. She was dangerous before, sure, but imagine if when we first fought she used those spores. We might have survived, but I doubt it, not without foreknowledge of how they work. She’d have turned Shirohebizumi shrio a dead wastend of mushrooms and toadstools.”

  At that Shaeu paused, realising we had indeed created a monster. Seeing her pensive eyes, Hyath looked at us, serious, none of her usual crazed jocurity present. “Hyath is happy master gave her a name, reached ooout a hand to her. Even mistress is being o her nooow, and there are other mistresses yet tooo meet. I knooow I should be dead. But instead I get to serve, tooo teh and hooome. Hyath will never betray master. I prooomise!” and with that she curtsied, weird in the protective gear. “I will ooonly use the curse when master orders me too! I… I am a brownie, I aaam!” she decred.

  “I see.” Shaeu smoothed her troubled gaze a over to Hyath. “It is hard-hard for me, but I do now trust you. However… I think now-now more than ever, you o be bound to Akio more securely. You are far-far too dangerous to let run free.”

  “I wooould wele that, mistress!” Hyath cheered.

  “All right, I get it. We’ll talk to Eri, Hinata and the others. Shit, this only really works if everyone switch between the Boundary and Material at will. I see a lot of Chirurgery in our futures.” I sighed. Yeah, more than one genie is out, or are they monkey paws instead? “Well, enough talk. We o run some tests. Just put out a little of the spores, enough for oree, all right?”

  “Of course, master!” Hyath giggled, her humour returning. She called upon her nature element, and suddenly a number of the trees around us started sprouting the vile fungal iions. “Ooops, I did it again! Sorry, sooorry!” she apologised frantically.

  “It’s fine. I get that it’s hard. Oh well, the trees will grow ba time I guess. Shaeu, pie and start healing it, cut away all the fungus first.” With that said, I turo the rapidly dying tree beside me and began to rip out the pestilence, usiher Healing tthen ahe tree afterwards…

  ********

  “That is quite-quite the challenge.” Shaeu observed, and I had to agree. All around us was a grove of dead trees and ruih, which I had to se with fire to make sure that no spores remained. Shaeu had been keeping up a wind barrier to prevent any from leaking out and spreading, so all-in-all we were extremely drained. Still, we had learned quite a lot, judging by the half-dozehy trees remaining within the desotion.

  “Yeah, the rger the tree the harder it’ll be, and that Rhyming tree is a damn big oill, we discovered Ether Healing work on trees, sihey are living beings. Better still, Hyath help with the sing, her nature energy is good for that. I guess they don’t often call it wood element in ese myth for nothing.”

  “Of course, that is but-but one part of the problem.” We had gathered and ied all the stray spores, so now she had doffed her hood and mask and was gnawing at her lip pensively. “Even if we could-could administer such healing, how we prevent reiion by the airborne spores and seeds?”

  “I’m hoping we don’t have to, but… well, time for the really fus.” I swallowed reflexively, extremely nervous at what was to e, though previous tests on the kobolds had indicated this was likely safe. If equally likely to bloody well suck.

  “Are you sure? I do not-not like this…” she said as I shed my rubber suit, only the undershirt remaining on me.

  “We’ve dohe sce, and I’m far tougher than the kobolds were. I want to test just how well Ether Healis it. After all, it has rge resistanow. We also o check how well the cream funs.”

  I retrieved one of the barrels of barrier cream, and opening the lid I was about to smear it all over myself when Shaeu stopped me. “No, Hyath and I, we shall-shall do it.” Her grin was sly.

  “All right, but be gentle… hey, Hyath, not there!” she had grabbed a handful of the gloopy cream and immediately thrust it into my underwear, groping for something she should definitely not be toug. “Damn that’s cold…”

  “Ihat part should be coated by me!” Shaeu shoved her aside and immediately thrust her own slippery hands down there, while Hyath pouted, making do with my bad neck.

  “All done.” Shaeu decred satisfied, a few mier, and I grinned wryly.

  “No kidding, I was also nearly dohere. Your hands are dangerous now, you’ve got really good at that.” As she ughed at my baded praise, I looked down at my lower left arm and hand, which was the only area not covered. I pulled on my mask and goggles as a precaution, aured for Hyath to begin. Shaeu put up her wind barrier, and after a great deal of hesitation, Hyath finally released a small jet of spores, spraying my exposed skin. Well, at least all our failed tests have improved her trol a lot…

  For a moment nothing happened, and then I was blindsided with sudden, agonising pain. The spores were digging into my body, but even as they were I used my Eye to observe, and Shaeu was doing the same, a matg amber shining. “Are you well?” she asked, ed, and I managed a nod, tears filling up my goggles.

  “Yeah, Ether Healing is already w automatically, burniher to keep it out. Still, even with that, it hurts a ton.” For around ten miher Healing fought it off, before mushrooms finally started to bloom from my flesh, the defences defeated. Still, it’d held out pretty well. “Shit. Here we go then…” I carved out my own ied flesh, although only a small pertage of spores had survived the Ether Healing, and as Shaeu burhe corrupted remains I repaired the damage. “That was as messed up as I expected. The Spring definitely ’t be taken back by ventional methods.” I shook my newly healed arm. “Though I have to say, seeiher Healing work so hard… I think I break through the Rank 6 wall. And all it’ll e is pain… lucky me.” I snorted. “Without my Determination and Resilience so high, I’d never be able to pte this. If this was the me from a few months ago who wouldn’t even exercise as it sucked too much… damn, I’ve e a long way!”

  “Are you sure-sure you wish to tinue?” Shaeu asked me, and I hugged her, though she struggled a bit as her rubber suit was getting slimy.

  “We have to run the set of tests anyway. So I might as well get some sweet gains out of it.” I the an agonising couple of hours being sprayed down by spores, over increasingly rge parts of my body. Still, eventually as I y on the ground, blinking tears out of my eyes, staring at the beautiful giant moo my drained aether, I rejoiced at the amber notification I was seeing. “Finally.”

  Your Skill, Ether Healing has advanced from Rank 5 to Rank 6, overing the first bottleneck, the wall that blocks progress. Your ability to heal your own injuries and those of others has increased substantially, repairing damage to subtle bodies. Your subtle bodies will draw in a further signifit quantity of ether from their surroundings and automatically repair themselves, and your resistao elemental damage has noticeably increased. You also have a great resistao harmful substances and fn matter, and the more you are exposed to a particur inant, the weaker the effect of it will be, as your aether and subtle bodies will adapt to it, though you sciously trol this and lower this resista will. Your silver cord has strengthened and is more effit and your uanding of the rules that aether governs on subtle bodies has also increased signifitly. [Css: Noble], [Type: Rule]

  I see. Those are some great improvements. It’s jumped up one Css and oype as well, and the text hidden by question marks I couldn’t see before is now revealed. I uand the rules of aether better, do I? Actually, I do… The process of and feeling how the aether in my body respoo the intrusion of Hyath’s Myid spores, isoting them aroying them, as well as repairing my Astral, and through the silver cord, my Material body, had definitely given me fresh insights, and perhaps I could leverage those into an upgrade to my silver cord and chakra work in time. Though that would take signifit effort and experimentation, no doubt.

  “So, how is it?” Shaeu asked, ed.

  “Great.” I gave her a weary thumbs-up, and seeing that, Hyath brighteoo. She had served me faithfully, stantly bathing me in spores, but for a brownie, hurting her master had been agony for her, and she had wailed and cried loudly fes. “I got plenty of buffs from it, but the major one is now I adapt to specifiinants, rendering them less and less effective. And the wele bonus is… I should be able to get drunk again!” It seemed a small thing to get worked up over, but being able to drop a resistance sciously was great, and on the upside, when I was tired of being drunk I could rapidly purge my body of the effects. The best of both worlds indeed, praise be to the wall breaking!

  Struggling to my feet, I grinned. “All right, bathe me with it again, Hyath. This time it should be a lot less painful, and I basically grow immune, which gives me no end of options. Plus if my aether adapts to it, I heal others from the spores easier.”

  “Are yooou sure?” she asked, and I nodded, only for Shaeu to strip off her suit and start thering up with barrier cream.

  “What are you doing?” I asked, though immediately realised it was a stupid question.

  “Of course I am taking this-this opportunity to train my own skills.” She smirked at me. “Feel free to apply the cream to my body, anywhere you wish!”

  “But your Ether Healing is only at Rank 2! I know I heal you, but… it’ll hurt so much.” I warned, scooping up cream and rubbing it on her modest chest and down her front and thighs. She shivered at my touch, but still smiled reassuringly.

  "Yes, I expect it will be quite-quite cruel, and I know you will not-not enjoy seeing me suffer. But for such gains, which will definitely help with our quest of the Myids, we must both be strong.” She stuck out her tongue and we kissed passionately. When we were done, Hyath looked at us doubtfully.

  “Don’t hate me, mistress, master! I am ooonly serving!” she said, hesitating.

  “I know, and you really are the best maid.” I reassured her. “Those weaselkin ones supared to you. So… do it!”

  As the surge of spores hit my whole body, I shivered, feeling intense prig where my Ether Healing ting to aroying them. I barely had time to think about that though, as Shaeu’s slender arm began to sprout, flesh ising. She screamed in pain, but even as she suffered she was w Ether Healing. I immediately responded, and soon her arm was restored to pristine pale flesh, only phantom pain pguing her.

  “Again.” She muttered, and once more we were sprayed with the deadly mist, her screams beginning anew…

  ********

  “That was quite-quite the torment. I face-faore today. We shall resume tomorrow.” Shaeu panted, shuddering, after a half-dozen brutal exposures. Even so, her Ether Healing had indeed improved, and was now Rank 4. “I feel the skill strengthening, I sense-sehe flow of aether eager to repair me aroy the invasive fungus.”

  “Well, we’ll have time, and now I don’t even need gear, although…” I had finally taken a risk and breathed in the deadly spores, but I had adapted so readily that it did little damage. “… I’m still going to wear the suit, in case the Myids have any deadlier variants. It would be weird if they didn’t. Besides, why take risks?”

  “Very wise.” Shaeu hissed, being me in for a reassuring hug.

  “I would really like to get Eri, my sis and the others Ether Healing too, the bonuses are just too good to ignore, but I don’t think I subject them to this pain.”

  “Maybe you make a game of it with Eri.” Shaeu chortled. “I heard rumours in the Seelie Court that games of pleasure and pain-paihings some lovers do.”

  “I’ve no i in hurting women, but… I guess I should at least offer them the choice.” Much as hurting them, even food cause, paihey are strohan I ever imagined, so they deserve the ce, in full knowledge of the plusses and minuses.

  “Master, what abooout me?” Hyath asked. “I think I shall not be hurt by the spores.” She decred, and I exged a look with Shaeu.

  “I don’t feel fortable you to suffer, but if you holy want to try, I heal you.” I said, and she nodded, stripping off too. “Master, smear your slimy cream all ooover my uing booody!”

  “Damn, you really are a pervert!” I said to the panting maid. “But, I don’t want you getting hurt so…” There’s nothing sexual about this at all, it’s medie. Of course the fact she anting and twitg armingly as I quickly rubbed a yer on her body, without any of the toug and pying I did with Shaeu, was making it hard for me to believe that. Still, I finished as quickly as possible, trying tet the soft feel of her flesh under my fingers.

  “Here we gooo!” she decred, bathing her own arm in the spores. I waited for the pai after a while there was nothing. I trickled some aether into her, only to discover her body had reabsorbed the spores harmlessly.

  “Sooo, did I do well?” She asked, and I nodded.

  “It makes sense you ’t be hurt by your own spores. That doesn’t mean that Myid ones won’t affect you. We’ll o do some more tests but…” Shaeu was exhausted, as was Hyath, as she had been using nature element all day. I myself was feeling washed out and pale after all my suffering. “… let’s call it a day. It’ll be a while before Ixitt and Grulgor return anyway, so we’ll pick this back up tomorrow.”

  “A grand idea.” Shaeu approved. “e, Hyath. I shall-shall allow you the luxury of washing Akio’s ba the bath. Mioo-too.”

  “Su honour, mistress! Hyath is sooo happy!” As she perked up, almost skipping back towards the mansion, we exged a grin.

  “So, do you think we really do this?” she asked, and I shrugged, still carrying our bundled protective gear.

  “Who knows? But if we try our best, we at least have a ce…”