Drip-Fed

What climate was more hospitable to life: a rainy plain with regular seasons or the desert?

The answer was obvious. Although it got chill in the winter and dry in the summer, the overall temperature of the planes was predictable. More important than that, plains held plenty of the most fundamental resource of all: water. Where there was no water, life had a very difficult time.

Thus, deserts were among the most inhospitable terrain imaginable. It was hot during the day, very hot, and that brought on the additional issue that it was generally easier to find solutions to keeping heat inside than losing it. Plenty of species had stopped in their evolution, size wise, because the increase in metabolism would cook their insides.

This was the normal state of affairs. However, the Inevitable infinitely preferred the desert over the winter plains.

Apexus, to begin with, did not mind the heat at all. Being hot increased his energy. It also increased his energy consumption, but that was a much smaller concern these days. Practically everywhere he went, he was the apex predator and getting calories to burn was relatively easy – especially with all of the food that they were hauling around.

Aclysia was similar. As an angel made of metal, she did not really suffer any drawback from being hot, up to the point she started to melt. While the desert sun was hot, it was not that hot.

As for the two regular mortals in their party, one was herself from a desert species. After just two days in the desert, Reysha was darker than Apexus had ever seen her. She was borderline ebony. Korith did not tan as harshly, but she was no indoor species either and the cover of scales she over much of her diminished the primary concern of the sun. Even if the general heat could be weathered, the rays could cook a person in other ways.

What skin remained visible, she and Reysha covered in a thin layer of cloth to be as protected as they could be. There was something strangely erotic about the loose fabric. The veil Reysha wore on top did further add to it, especially since the mouth part was translucent enough to still see her ever-present smirk behind.

That being said, they were not adapted enough to act on that eroticism in the middle of the desert.

With the sun dealt with, the lack of water was the only major problem remaining. The Mobile Estate turned that into a non-issue.

All in all, travelling the desert was quite pleasant for the party. They walked the ridges of the dunes and followed the bend of the bay. “At our current pace, we should arrive in Stallious within 2 weeks,” Aclysia reported.

“Huh? I counted the tiles on the map, ‘Clysia, there were eight of them,” Reysha protested.

“The tiles are normed for flat or otherwise simple to traverse terrain. Which, for as well as we are coping with it, the desert is not.” Aclysia gestured at the sand beneath her. She opted to hover above it, while the rest of them trudged along the incredibly fine grains. When disturbed by the steps, they flowed down the sides of the dunes like a liquid. Korith and Apexus sunk down to their ankles on every step. It was not as bad as snow, but it was a slowing factor.

And then there were the monsters.

“Du- Crouch,” Apexus instructed.

The women did, lowering themselves to the hot sand as Apexus leap. An enormous cascade of sand was thrown their way. It was like a localized sandstorm, enveloping only the three of them. The dune beneath them was eroded by a vortex, its centre in the put between two dunes below.

Apexus beat his wings until he was right above the eye of the storm. Beneath him was a towering insect. It was a fat creature, most of its body hidden beneath the sand. Enormous muscles allowed it to spin its head at a constant speed, harmonizing with wind magic to create the sandstorm. Sweet cries mixed into the howling winds. Any unprepared traveller could have been charmed.

These monsters were called Antlions of Temptation for their likeness to the much smaller insect and their magic. Each one was classified as a level 24 to 26 monster, making them amongst the strongest foes an adventurer could encounter outside of dungeons on the entire leaf.

Descending on it, Apexus quickly found out why.

Before the descending foot of the Monk could crash into it, the Antlion lowered its head, presenting the thickest part of its carapace. Then, it threw its head back with enough force to send Apexus flying again. This time it was an involuntary flight, straight into the still whirling storm.

The fine sand made for a confusing experience. Apexus sunk deep into the dune, coming to a slow stop compared to other experienced of being launched by superhuman powers. He almost had to swim to the surface, where he was greeted by yet more sand. Had it not been for his tremor sense, he would have easily gotten lost. Even relying on it, he almost jumped straight into the ready jaws of the Antlion.

Apexus ducked under the closing mandibles. He moved in for an upwards hook, only to be swiftly stopped by the many small, clawed legs that lined the belly of the beast. A light jab with the Rippling Palm was all he managed. Unlike the Lanaan insects, with their leathery hide, the carapace of this insect was near identical to armour. Still, the force behind the attack did not inhibit the creature at all.

Now above him, Apexus appreciated the sheer scale of the monster. The Antlion extended three metres from the sandpit and was two metres wide at the broadest. In other words, when it brought its weight down to crush him, it was a serious threat.

Apexus dug his heels in as best as he could and took the strike with his head and both hands simultaneously. Dispersing the force expertly like that, he withstood the blow. Curling legs ripped feather out of his wings. A minor injury, while the Antlion and the adventurer engaged in a simple power struggle.

Unfortunately for the level 25 creature, it was against a level 30 Monk.

Mana surged into muscles. Momentum slowly shifted. The creature went from pressing down from shovelling sand to stay anchored. The struggle for dominance ended when Apexus lifted the enormous monster from the sand. He held it above his head for a moment, then threw it before the temporary strength boost could fade.

The Antlion landed on its back. It wiggled, thrashed, trying to flip around. Apexus danced at the edge of the pincer’s range. The surrounding storm slowly calmed down without the monster to fuel it. Once the cover of sand had diminished enough for her to get a line of sight, Korith took the shot.

Rogues were renowned for their throwing weapon skills. They were accurate, taking out eyes, finding gaps in armour, and generally exploited weak points. Hunters and Rangers were up next with their ranged weaponry, specializing fully in it. Warriors had their own role to play in this arrangement: they could chuck large objects really, really hard.

The gravity-enchanted spear created a low, artificial humming sound as it flew. It slammed into the armoured belly of the creature, cracking chitin plates like stone under a sledgehammer. In pain, the Antlion curled upwards. Apexus immediately exploited the opening, landing a devastating Rippling Palm on the top of the monster’s head. It tore through a vital part of the nervous system, causing a series of spasms that ended with the monster dead in the sand.

“Lunch break?” Reysha shouted down from the ridge of the dune.

“Yes.” Apexus pulled the spear from the purple flesh of the monster. He handed it over to Korith who began to clean it while Apexus and Reysha went on to feast on as much of the bug as they could fit inside themselves. After that, they moved into the Mobile Estate for a deserved rest.

“Why did you say ‘Du-‘ by the way?” the redhead asked, once they were comfortable.

“I started to say ‘duck’ but I did not want to be confusing. There was no such bird in sight.”

“Pfffft… ahaha… AHAHAHAHAHA!” Reysha broke out into shrill laughter.

“Why is the word for crouching the same as for a water fowl?” Aclysia wondered. “The more I hear about your inquiries, darling, the more the questions on language confuse me as well.”

“Speaking of ‘well’, why is that the same word for wellbeing as it is for a water well?” Korith asked, while filling a glass with refreshing clearness.

“Common is so confusing,” Aclysia lamented.

“It’s fucking hilarious is what it is.” Reysha cleared her throat, then sneezed. A few ‘bless you’ were thrown her way. “Thanks, thanks,” she said and sniffed. “I think my nose doesn’t like going from all dry outside to all humid in here so quickly.”

“It’s balanced humid in here,” Apexus answered.

“Which is pretty humid by my standards.” Reysha pulled her clothes off without even thinking about it. Neither did she consider whether she could start touching herself for more than a second.

The redhead laid on her back, putting her darkened self on full display. The stripes all over her body, even the two that surrounded her eyes like permanent warpaint, had darkened alongside the rest of her skin. Just by the laws of how dark things could get, the tiger print had not stayed as far ahead of it, creating less of a contrast than usual.

That aside, she was every bit as fit and nubile as ever. Her balanced figure was an exemplary display of the female adventurer, with peaks and valleys in all the right places. Medium-sized breasts that enticed without getting in the way, hips nice and wide to move the centre of gravity lower and ease an enticing sashay, and a face that was gorgeous in a tavern or a noble’s dining hall.

“We are not taking a sex break,” Aclysia pre-empted the question.

“Awwwww.” Reysha did not let that deter her. She could take care of herself pretty quick.

Apexus slightly tilted his head, following the scene of the redhead masturbating. “I have something I would like to test, if you are up for it?”

“Will it make me cum my brains out?”

“Probably.”

“Can she still walk after?” Aclysia asked.

“Most likely.”

“Come oooooon, bubble butt, our strait-laced leader wants to test something pervy on me! How could we say no?”

“By saying no,” Korith drawled. “It’s pretty easy. Although…” She shuffled in her seat. “…I am interested in what this test is?”

Aclysia sighed and let nature take its course. With the tacit approval from the voice of reason given, Apexus stood up and went to his little laboratory. He returned after a few moments with a vial of something pink and glowing.

“I have been experimenting with my pheromones,” he said. “I wanted to see if I could intensify the effects.”

“Aha! I am not the only horny one around here!” Reysha declared.

“This was never in question, my consistent complaint has been your lack of decorum in your nymphomania.”

A slow roll of the tiger woman’s eyes stopped at the vial. “So, what do I do with it? Drink it?”

“No.” Apexus pushed a needle out of the tip of his index finger. The cavity within was swiftly filled with a small sample of the pheromone. “A quick injection. Limited doses. I do not know how potent it is.”

“Do you know it has no side effects?” Aclysia asked.

“None that I would not enjoy, by the Third Law of Alchemy.” Apexus recited from memory. “’The brew is a reflection of the maker and, thusly, will carry effects of the maker’s personality. Those effects grow more pronounced the more personalized and powerful a brew is.” He stopped for a moment. “Confusing that basically everything, no matter what aggregate state, is called a ‘brew’ in alchemy.”

“Not sure I like getting’ poked…” Reysha looked at the needle with some distrust. “I’ll give it a try because it’s you though.”

“I appreciate your trust.” Apexus brushed over the skin of her lower abdomen, just south of her lightly toned abs and north of the soft swell of her pubic mound. Once he had found the meridian, he gave it a quick poke. Reysha did not even feel it. The concoction was injected, the needle drawn back, and no visible damage to her skin done.

There was a visible effect of the concoction, however. A short, faint pink pattern appeared beneath the epidermis, resembling a stylized heart. It was gone within a second. Reysha inhaled sharply, goosebumps all over her arms. “Ooooh, that’s… good,” she purred.

“What’s it like?” Apexus asked.

“Like I just spent the last five minutes with my nose against your chest,” Reysha reported. Her fingers sped up a bit. It was not an intense effect, just a pleasant bit of high that some skinship could produce. It certainly paled in comparison to other drugs Reysha had tried over her career as a thrill seeker.

“Interesting,” Apexus put the brew away in storage. He did not want to overuse it and Reysha needed no further motivation to do her thing.

Aclysia was pleasantly surprised when they continued on schedule.