My Servant System

When we eventually made our way back around the carriage and towards the others, we found that they had all clustered together to do something instead of just sitting around and mulling it over, refusing to let the lust that Cali spread around so carelessly eat away at them from the inside.

A campfire had been constructed with a few different racks set up around the flames, each one laden with one of the furry wolf pelts we had acquired as they all got to work tanning what they could and preparing the furs to be used for something else.

So far we had managed to encounter two different biomes that took the climate to the extreme, with the hazardous and insane winds of the quartz desert and the heat of the lava lakes that we had dealt with more recently.

Both were extremes of the extremes, and that just brought up a new worry that they had apparently thought of while Jahi had pumped two thick loads into me behind the carriage; what happens when we encounter a biome that has harsh, deadly drops in temperature?

Yes our entire party composition besides Draka, Jahi and I that could utilize Fire Magic to keep us all warm, and yes it would take a true extreme to actually threaten us in a biome like that, but so far we had been shown that there was a good chance something like that could exist, so taking precautions was a good idea.

That was why they were apparently making thick cloaks for everything to wear if need be, and during our time in any other more temperate place we could use them as bedding instead, so there was actually a reason for us to be lugging these pelts around with us besides the hope that maybe Anput would use them in some kind of armor sometime down the line...

When Jahi and I made our return they all paused for a second and looked us both over, the earlier awkwardness returning a little as they showed a mixed array of reactions; Leone was embarrassed and shied away, Draka pursed her lips and turned away after a moment, Anput seemed conflicted on being pissed at Cali and horny, and then...

Well, there was the hunger that was still present in Lady Fenyras as she just gave me another look over that lingered on my curves before she shrugged and went back to her current task, and then there was the curiosity and slight hunger that was in Lilith's eyes as she eyed up Jahi and I together, not discriminating at all...

And of course there was Mom, who's conflicting emotions were stamped down with a mixture of guilt and anger as she too looked away a moment later, and that hurt me a bit more than I thought it would, further sharpening the knife I wanted to drive into Cali's throat the next time she appeared.

All we could do though was just act like nothing happened as we reintegrated ourselves with everyone, though we stayed away from the older members of the group to give them the time they needed since they showed the more concerning reactions to what had happened when compared to everyone else,.

Specifically, we went over to Anput and had the Jackalkin show us what ew could do to help, and that was what we did for the rest of the night as we passed the time by as best we could, with my cooking helping to stave away some awkwardness from before alongside some much needed sleep.

The next morning we were back on the move yet again, avoiding that forest that Lilith had helped me see and instead having to take our first ever detour as we went around it, stepping into another biome nearby and having another of our firsts a few minutes later.

Leaving the last biome behind, we logically expected to find ourselves on the edge of this biome and close to another that we had seen when we made our way down the hill and into the flat grassy plains, and yet when we reached the bottom of the hill and began climbing up another we were quite shocked at what we found.

The emerald forest that had been just ahead of us - the one that also bordered the desolate forest when we had last looked at it - was now completely gone, replaced by a vast expanse of tall, thick grass that rustled in the soft winds.

"What did I tell you all? If you aren't looking at it the entire time, and aren't perceiving it, then there is no way to guarantee it will still be there. That is why we will NEVER be separating during this time. We will ALWAYS need something to keep us anchored together.

This carriage works as a sort of anchor now, alright? Keep it in sight and you should be fine. You won't slip away into some other part of the Labyrinthian so long as you keep near this carriage. If you were to just walk that way and lie down in the grass, we might never see you again. That's how odd this place can be... but if you have a marker to help orient you, well..."

Lilith didn't seem at all bothered by the weight of her own words, and as always she just left us with more questions as we felt that the carriage we were lugging around had suddenly skyrocketed in importance; even Lady Fenyras was staring at the carriage with pursed lips, the Demon Wolf not saying anything and yet conveying a clear uncertainty that shook her a little.

She had told us something similar earlier but now it was all the more real as she pointed us in the opposite direction of her mark back at the entrance, leading us towards the center once more and leaving us to mull over that in our minds.

Clearly there was some odd magic at play that warped reality itself, but how could we fight against or even just exist with that kind of insane power that could so easily lead us to our deaths..?

Were we still capable of leaving this place sane?