Commissioned by BigToFu.
"So, this was your surprise?"
"Yes, master," Sprite smiled up at me from my side.
The ship in front of us was thin and sharp, long and black. In the end, the final design we'd settled on had some things in common with actual boats, just for the convenience of a water landing. Namely, they were shaped generally like water based ships. They even had an upper deck to walk on. When I finally embraced the fact that we wouldn't be needing lighter than air or any form of propulsion beyond magic, it had simplified things. The 'boat' style airship was convenient for its shape, but with magic doing all the work, I could make a rock fly if I really wanted.
"Bloody fukken' hell."
"Oi. Rudy. You're tellin' me we're ridin' on that?"
"Yep," I popped the 'p,' mostly ignoring Tallhand as I eyed the other dwarf. A shipwright I had spoken to, when I had first gotten into Wind Port and begun construction on airships.
Grim the shipwright ran his hand over the smooth, painted steel surface of the ship, before knocking on it. "Solid steel. And not a seam," he muttered.
I gestured towards the gangway that led up into the side entrance, high up on the ship, which rested on a set of struts that would retract into the sides when it was time to fly. "Let's go up."
We ascended the gangway and entered the top level of the ship. The walls on both sides appeared to be glass, allowing us to see out… which, on the exterior facing wall, would've been plausible, but on the interior-facing wall?
Grim noticed the discrepancy immediately, poking his head out and eyeing the solid steel hull, then back in to eye the windows. "Mage shite."
"Holograms?" Roxy asked, and I nodded.
"A spell to bend the light from outside and bring it inside." I reached out and knocked on the wall, revealing it to be just as much steel as the rest of the ship. Except the interior deck and ceiling, which appeared to either be wood or wood paneled.
Following Sprite's direction for this tour, she showed off the furnished cabins and amenities. Unlike the larger ships, my personal airship was built for luxury and comfort as opposed to cramming as many people and supplies in as possible. Wood floors and walls in every cabin and room, adjustable temperature and breeze settings in each room, control panels that could make the walls, ceilings, and even floors display holograms of the outside world. Large quarters for every guest, each with their own bathroom and kitchen facilities, essentially making them more like apartments. Beds, chairs, tables, lighting, and all the things one would expect. It was basically one part flying mansion, one part ship.
We took an elevator up from the top deck into the superstructure, straight up to the bridge. There was technically no need for one, but I was a fan of the classics, which Sprite knew.
"Wow!" Aisha yelled, running up to the wall and putting her hands on it as she stared out at the area around us. We had a great view of the other ships from here—five much larger ships parked outside Wind Port, where refugees would be berthing for the duration of the voyage. "We're so high up!"
The others were likewise looking out and around us as the ceiling and floor also went seemingly transparent. I chuckled, walking over to Aisha to pet her hair. "Sprite, what's the status of the refugees?"
"Nearly finished loading, master," the girl answered, moving to my side.
"Alright. Get us under way."
"Aye, aye!" Sprite cheered.
The ship rumbled faintly and both Tallhand and Grim stumbled as we silently, smoothly lifted up from the ground, swiftly ascending—the view around us expanding as we lifted up over Wind Port. "Oh fuck!" Tallhand yelped, dropping to his knees and putting his hands on the floor. "Lad, me heart canno' take this kinda excitement!"
"You'll live," I grinned, sparing a glance at Grim. The other dwarf had grit his teeth and was faring much better, even as the ship swung about on her axis and smoothly accelerated away from Wind Port, heading north east.
"Rudy, where are we going?" Roxy asked, quietly.
I sent her a grin. "You'll see. Everyone, you're free to explore. Or if you want, Sprite can show you to your quarters. The deck level is open too—don't worry, you can't actually fall. I need to go stash my luggage," I hefted the still hogtied and unconscious form of Elinalise, to a malicious giggle from Kishirika.
With that, I left them to it as I hauled Elinalise back downstairs. Finding an empty set of guest quarters Sprite directed me to, I tossed Elinalise on the bed as her luggage materialized on the floor from wherever Sprite had temporarily stored it. "Alright, let her sleep it off. If she wakes up, let her know she can explore or whatever," I instructed Sprite, before setting off to track down Roxy and Lilia and do some catching up in person.
"Rudy…"
"Yep," I grinned, hugging Roxy to my side as we looked down on her former home. "Let's go down and see them."
"But…" Roxy hesitated.
"Oh! Right," I remembered. Reaching under my shirt, I pulled out Roxy's pendant—the one she had given me so long ago, before she left Fittoa. Reaching into the enchantments already on it, I added a new one. Pulling Roxy close, I slipped it around her neck.
"Rudy, I gave this to you…"
"And I said I'd return it," I reminded, kissing her lips. "Go ahead, reach into it. It's got some new magic on it…"
I knew the moment she did, as her eyes lit up and I felt her mind wrap itself around my own and all her feelings of love, lust, happiness, and more washing over me. I returned them with my own and kissed her again as the ship lowered until the deck was level with the plateau the village was situated on. Gesturing out at the ground nearby, I cast earth magic and shaped a wide bridge from the plateau to the deck. Below us, I shaped a cradle for the ship to rest in securely. The ship rocked a bit as it settled into place.
"Oh thank all that's holy!" Tallhand yelled, running off the deck and leaping out onto the plateau, throwing himself bodily to the dusty ground. "Ground! Solid ground!"
"You're exaggerating," Roxy sighed, rolling her eyes.
Giving her a grin, I pulled her along and we stepped out onto the plateau, where the village had already begun to leave their homes to investigate. "Well?" I asked quietly.
"I can hear them. Feel them, too," Roxy nodded. She closed her eyes and I felt her reach out. A wave of shock ran through the entire Migurd village, before with a psychic and verbal cry of "My Roxy!", a woman came running towards us. The older, bustier version of Roxy swept her daughter up in her arms, weeping happy tears and clinging to her daughter, physically and mentally. I felt Roxy return the mental hug and smiled at the sight as she finally got what she had wanted for so long—the thing that had forced her to leave the village in the first place. If the two of them broke down crying, I politely ignored it.
Rowan and Rokkus approached, along with the man's two assistants. Rowan looked between me and his daughter with a frown on his face, but with a reluctant sort of acceptance, he met my eyes and nodded once, before going over to join his wife and daughter. Rokkus sent me a smile. "You've returned to us, Rudeus. And you've grown. I'm glad." Turning, he nodded towards Ruijerd, who was approaching from behind with Eris. "You've done well, looking after them. And I see young Eris has grown as well."
"Yes. Though my duty is not yet complete," Ruijerd agreed.
"Yes, sir," I nodded, pulling Eris into my side when she leaned against me, clearly wanting attention. "It's good to see you all again. Let's talk. Walk with me a bit, if you would."
The old man smiled and nodded, and his assistants—who were, in all likelihood his daughters or granddaughters—helped him walk across the dock and onto the ship. We made our way into the superstructure and up to the bridge. Moving back to the lounge area in the rear, I opened the refrigerator and fished out a pitcher of cold tea (imported, obviously) as they settled onto one of the couches.
"Thank you, young Rudeus," Rokkus smiled as I poured tea for everyone. "Oh, cold," he murmured, sipping carefully. "But good."
"It's very nice, thank you," the woman on his left said, smiling up at me as she sipped her own drink.
"And sweet," her all but twin added.
"Eris, if you don't put that wine back, you're getting a spanking," I threatened as the girl tried to sneak a drink in.
"Oh come on, Rudeus!" Eris whined, but she did as I told her and settled for tea herself. We sat down across from them and Eris opened things up. "Your village is dying."
All these years and the one lesson I had completely failed to impart was tact.
Rokkus didn't seem bothered, however. The man nodded. "Yes. Sadly, we are. I fear that within another three or four hundred years, the Migurd will pass on from this world."
"It doesn't have to be that way. It's this place, this life, that's killing you," I gestured around us, at the plateau and beyond, the Demon Continent in general.
"It is, Rudeus. But what are we to do?"
"Sprite?" I asked, and the girl materialized at my side. "Aerial view, Fittoa region."
"Yes, master," she agreed, and produced a hologram above the table between us. "This is the Fittoa region as it stands now. As you can see, it's been reduced to a mostly level grass plain in a circle centered on Roa, covering an area of roughly one thousand square miles. They're calling it the Grass Sea of Fittoa now."
Eris made an annoyed sound and I pulled her in, kissing her cheek. "Not for much longer," I promised quietly, and she nodded. Turning back to Sprite, I asked, "Got a census for the Migurd people?"
"I've cataloged exactly one thousand three hundred and seventeen individuals on the Demon Continent, spread between their villages and all the cities and other settlements. Approximately fifty individuals in this settlement."
I gestured at the map. "That's a lot of land, Rokkus. When we get back, I'm going to rebuild the entire region. Roa, every village that was there before, every road, every farm. It won't be any inconvenience to set aside some land and build villages for your people. Places where they won't be bothered, unless you want guests. No monsters. Fertile land. Lots of game to hunt. Water to fish."
The old man nodded slowly, silently contemplating it. Eventually, he asked, "Why would you do this for my people?"
"You mean, why would I save my first wife's family from extinction? Why would I want to keep them safe and happy? Gee, that's a real head scratcher," I rolled my eyes.
"Don't ask stupid questions," Eris snorted. "He's doing it for Roxy, obviously."
The old man nodded again. "And what of Milis? They don't tolerate our kind. One or two demons wandering the continent, I'm sure they'll overlook—Roxy herself is proof of that. But several entire clans? The entire Migurd people? Milishion will wage a holy war to eradicate us all."
"By the time they would be ready to march, we'll be unassailable. We'll have made ourselves so invaluable to the Asura Kingdom, to the continent itself—hell, to the world—that no one would dare raise a hand against us." Left unspoken was the fact that I would kill anyone who tried it. I had air superiority now, anyone who didn't like what I was doing could get fucked.
"What do you think, girls?" Rokkus asked.
The one on his left hummed and answered aloud, for our benefit. "I believe we should take him up on the offer."
"Agreed," the one on his right nodded. "We're dying a slow death right now. We should at least try to save ourselves. Rudeus is offering a hand in friendship. Let's take it."
Wish a nod, Rokkus reached out telepathically and sent the message to the village, telling them to gather their things. Sprite interpreted that as the 'go' signal and, instead of waiting on the Migurd to collect their belongings, immediately began teleporting everything in the village into the ship's cargo hold, carefully separating and storing it all. "Done," she said a moment later. "Everything in the village has been accounted for. All they need to do is board."
Rokkus startled for a moment, before laughing and sending out another message, telling his people to come to the ship. "Well, I suppose that's faster than trying to carry everything. Thank you, young lady."
"Sprite will show you to your quarters. We've got an entire floor below deck reserved for you all, but feel free to explore the ship if you want. There isn't really anywhere off limits, except other people's quarters." Standing up, I offered my hand to Eris and pulled her to her feet. "Now, I have a dwarf to finish mind breaking. Please excuse me."
I reached out to Roxy and beckoned her back to me, grinning as every Migurd in the vicinity felt it. I was immediately inundated with chatter, but with a mental laugh, I shut them all out.
"Well, what do you think?"
The surly old dwarf frowned as he crossed his arms over his chest. "Fucking mage shite."
"Uh huh."
"…And some of the best work I've seen in all my days," he admitted with a dour look. "Wish I'd'a listened when you came into my office back then."
"I'd say you've got a year."
"Aye? What's that?"
"About a year before I finish gathering up the Fittoa refugees and get settled down. Once that happens, I'm going to start mass producing these. You're looking at the future of travel. Shipping. Commerce. Goods and people delivered from the Demon Continent to the Central Continent and back within a week, as opposed to months. No more losing ships at sea. No more storms, pirates, dragons, or other hazards sinking vessels. Merchants trading back and forth, far and wide, and all of it—the entire industry—under my control. You'll pay a fare to use my ships to send your goods or travel anywhere in the world—cheaper than it is to take a ship by sea now. They'll never run out of fuel, they'll never rust, and if they're in need of repair they'll repair themselves. So. I suggest you either figure out how to design airships and come up with something pretty I can use, or start looking for new work."
The dwarf snorted. "You're a petty little shit, Rudeus Greyrat."
"That I am, Grim."
"Giving me a fucking heart attack, lad." Laughing, the dwarf shook his head. "Can't beat 'em, join 'em. How do I get in touch with ye?"
"Sprite will give you a phone. If you have any questions, ask her," I shrugged, before gesturing towards the door leading to the gangway. We were currently hovering above the docks in Wind Port, drawing a crowd of gawking onlookers as they stared at my ships—all of them, lined up in the air over the port, ready to leave as the sky turned pink with sunset.
"One more thing, lad," Grim said, one foot out the door. "Ye can't have a ship without a name. It's terrible bad luck. Make sure you name her before setting off."
As soon as the dwarf was off, the door closed and the gangway retracted, and the ship rose to join the others. I made my way up to the top deck, where I found Eris and Roxy talking quietly between themselves at the prow of the ship, leaning against the railing and looking down at the port below us. "So," I called as I approached, and the girls turned and sent me smiles. "Grim's gone and we can go. But he made a good point. Ship's gotta have a name."
"Can I name it, Rudeus?"
"Maybe the next one," I denied, making Eris pout.
"You have something in mind," Roxy accused. Accused! Like she suspected I had some sort of trick in mind, a plot I was bringing to fruition, or a trap I planned to spring.
My first wife knew me well, it seemed.
Fighting down my grin, I asked, "Say Roxy, you haven't left the town by land, have you?"
"No, I've been with you…"
"Such a pity," I sighed, shaking my head. "If only there were some way you could see…"
Eris' eyes lit up and she grinned. "Oh! Oh, oh!"
My redheaded wife bounced in place (doing amazing, eye-catching things with her tits in the process), turning her full attention on Roxy, an expectant look on her face as she bit her lip in glee and waited. Impatiently, but she waited nonetheless. Roxy, seeing this, grew suspicious. "What…?" She looked between us, "What did you do?"
"You know, you've actually earned yourself a title?"
Roxy blushed. "I'm aware," she muttered.
"Roxy the Wayfinder."
"I said I'm aware," Roxy pouted. "What I don't understand is where—" The penny dropped. "You."
"Me," I agreed, Eris nodding and beginning to giggle beside me.
"Show her, Rudy!"
"Sprite, would you?"
A hologram sprang up between us of the current view outside Wind Port. Right outside the front gate on the main road, in fact. Where a statue stood atop a pedestal, set in a compass. The compass showed the cardinal directions, along with the nearest villages, Rikarisu, and the next rest stop—all denoted with a number beside them, indicating distance. On the pedestal was a life sized, full color depiction of Roxy, her staff held in one hand and the other gesturing towards the gates. On the pedestal was an inscription—in every written language in the world, including one not of this world.
Welcome, traveler.
Your journey is at its end.
From here, the world is open to you.
We part for the last time, and I bid you fare well.
Roxy began to flush, her face turning pink as her eyes went wide. But Sprite wasn't finished. She knew what I wanted almost better than I did. Another image popped up, a picture of the next waypoint. And another, and another. Every one with Roxy pointing the way towards the next waypoint and Wind Port. From Wind Port north along the wide, flat, smooth road I'd built that cut a path across the continent—with bridges that spanned gaps sometimes a mile or more across, where the terrain was bad, or with tunnels that had been bored straight through mountains.
Every waypoint save for the one at Wind Port bore the same inscription.
Weary traveler, be welcome.
Rest your head and tend your wounds.
Here you are safe.
Fear not, I will show you the way.
"S-stop," Roxy squeaked.
All the way to Rikarisu, and another inscription.
Traveler, you stand at the start of your journey.
The road before you is long and arduous.
Where I stand, you shall find rest and succor.
Follow me and I will lead you home.
"No more, please," Roxy buried her face in her hands and shook her head, tears of embarrassment springing to her eyes as she turned beet red. I had been right—she blushed real good.
Eris laughed, before pulling Roxy into a hug. "What? You should be happy! Everyone we're bringing back has you to thank for showing them the way."
"Nnn!" That only made Roxy grab her hat and try to pull the brim down over her face.
"One more, I think," I said, drawing a horrified look from Roxy.
"No~."
With a mental nudge towards Sprite, a view of the bow of the ship came up, showing us standing there. I pointed my staff and below us, Sprite summoned metal—silver, from the look of it. Metal twisted out from the hull and merged with the lump of silver as it took shape… into one more life-sized Roxy. This one was (tastefully) nude, with her hair in its braids hanging over her shoulders and down the front of her body, carrying her staff and pointing it outwards with both arms.
"No, no, no, no, no," Roxy shook her head in mortification, even as Sprite summoned paint and began to quickly apply lifelike color to the highly detailed figurehead. The view shifted one more time, to the port and starboard side bow of the ship, along with the stern. Blue paint, the same shade as Roxy's hair, spelled out in Demon script Roxy Migurdia.
Roxy collapsed to her knees, her staff falling from limp fingers as she laughed and cried all at the same time. Eris looked down at her, before looking back up at me. "Maybe we went too far?"
"Master, you're not supposed to bully your wife," Sprite said, her tone chastising.
I knelt down beside my blue haired future wife and pulled her into a hug, then began kissing at her lips. "You know I love you."
"I can never show my face again."
Eris snorted quietly before asking, "Is it too soon to say I want my own ship, with my name on it? Oh, but make the paint red, obviously!"
Roxy made a strangled noise of frustration before reaching out and wrapping her fingers around Eris' throat, where she began to squeeze and shake the younger girl, who simply laughed.
Dark fell as we flew south and stopped over Zant Port for the night. Our ships were unlit, dark shadows against the sky, but people still noticed. I ignored them as I went down to the port and took an away team with me, consisting of Eris, Roxy (who had calmed down, thankfully), Lilia, and Ruijerd.
"Rudeus! I'm taking Roxy to go look around the market!"
"Have fun," I waved Eris off. Looking to Ruijerd, the man nodded and trailed along with them silently, to my thanks. Turning to Lilia, I smiled. "You were here not long ago. Did you have a chance to browse the market?"
"I did, master Rudeus," she nodded.
I sent the stubborn woman an annoyed look. "Lilia," I sighed, but gave it up for the moment. "Alright. Think you can show me where we can pick up some fresh fruits and vegetables?"
Lilia nodded. Taking my arm in hers, between her large, soft breasts, she pulled me along. I allowed myself to be led, content to enjoy the soft, warm feeling of Lilia's tits around my arm through her top. "Your lust is showing again, master Rudeus."
"Can't help it. You're a beautiful woman, Lilia."
The maid/my step-mother shook her head. "I'm old—"
"And still very sexy," I cut her off immediately.
She sighed. "You really do take after your father."
I sent her an unamused look. "I haven't pushed you down and had my wicked way with you."
Lilia looked up at me, her amethyst eyes staring into my green, and with an absolutely serious look and tone of voice, said, "Perhaps you should."
I laughed, freeing my arm from her tits and pulling her into my side instead. "Sure. I just might. Eris and Roxy might be unable to contain my lust and like a ravenous beast, I'll stalk the ship looking for prey. I'll follow your scent to your room, where you and Aisha will be sleeping. 'No, no, please master Rudeus,' you'll say, but your pleas will fall on deaf ears, as I'll be too far gone to turn back now. So valiantly, in an act of noble sacrifice, you'll throw yourself upon the mercy of the beast to save your daughter. 'Take me, master Rudeus! Use my body to slake your lusts! Just spare Aisha—'"
"You can have Aisha too."
I stumbled. Turning an incredulous look on her, I found… her eyes twinkling with mirth as the woman fought to keep her lips from pulling into a smile. "Now you're just fucking with me."
"Or so you believe," she smirked.
"When did you grow a sense of humor?" I asked, shocked. "You were always so uptight and strict."
"Hmm," Lilia hummed quietly, her hand around my waist squeezing me a bit harder. "Perhaps around the time I began to truly see you as your own person, and not…" she trailed off and I nodded. Quietly, she continued, "I owe you everything, Rudeus. Aisha and I both do. Our lives, our pride and dignity, our freedom. Your care for us saw us to safety, through Sprite. You sent Roxy to bring us to you, and she ensured we were not bothered, even when we were assaulted on the road."
"What." No one had told me that part of the story.
"The seventh prince of Shirone, Pax Shirone, sent a squad of soldiers to capture Roxy. Roxy defended us from them, negotiated with the King, and secured our freedom."
I felt sick to my stomach. The thought of what nobles would have done to any of them, given the things Ariel and I had spoken about…
Rudy: Sprite, you didn't tell me about this.
Sprite: I'm sorry, master. Roxy asked me not to. She considered the issue peacefully resolved and didn't want to upset you. You were under a lot of pressure at the time, which only grew over time with your worry for your mother and other sister. I felt it was best not to trouble you with it.
I sighed quietly, before nodding. Note to self: stop by Shirone and 'thank' the king. Bring Roxy along. See if I can bait the seventh prince into giving me an excuse.
Squeezing Lilia a bit tighter, I said, "Lilia, family don't hold debts over each other. I did everything I did for you because you're family. You don't owe me anything."
"And yet, I will spend the rest of my life repaying you, regardless. Because I feel that I do," she countered, and from her tone of voice I knew she was dead serious. That was what she intended to do and there would be no changing her mind. "I will serve you faithfully until my dying breath, to repay you and make up for how I treated you as a child. I've trained Aisha to do the same, if you'll have her."
"I don't want my half-sister to be my maid, Lilia. Not if she doesn't want to be," I shook my head. "She doesn't have to be anything she doesn't want to. Neither do you. I don't need a maid, I want you as family."
"I saw your room as a child. You need a maid."
"Ouch," I winced. "Come on, I wasn't that bad and you know it!"
Lilia simply smiled faintly as she led me up to a food stall. Together, we began selecting fruits and vegetables to take with us on the trip—along with things to go into my collection for replanting and growing later. We were even able to pick up rice and wheat, along with beef, pork, and chicken, if at prices that bordered on extortion. I had Sprite teleport it all back to the ship's freezer, only to frown as I realized something.
Rudy: You could have teleported food to me from anywhere you can see, at any time.
Sprite: Yes?
Rudy: …I'm an idiot.
I could have skipped shitty demon continent food this entire time. I almost wept at the realization. I wanted to bash my head against the nearest flat surface.
Fuck it. I'll just… gather things on the way back and I'll make pizza at some point.
We left the market and found Roxy and Eris, but no sign of Ruijerd. "Where'd Ruijerd go?" I asked, and my future wives shared a confused look.
"I thought he left to go find you?" Eris asked and Roxy nodded.
"Sprite?"
"Approximately one quarter mile due east, master. Moving fast."
"Audio, please."
"Connected."
"Ruijerd. Something up?" I asked, hearing the man running along at speed.
"Rudeus, I've discovered what I believe to be a kidnapping ring. I'm moving to intercept them."
Frowning at that, I turned to Eris and Roxy. Eris looked determined and was already limbering up. Roxy met my gaze and nodded. Turning to Lilia, I sent her a smile. "I'll have Sprite get you back to the ship. We'll catch up later, alright?"
"Very well, master Rudeus. Stay safe."
"I plan to," I agreed. "Sprite?"
Lilia closed her eyes as she abruptly rose into the air, in the grasp of Sprite's telekinesis, pulled straight up to the ship. At the same time, our bikes dropped down and settled on the ground in front of us. I helped Roxy into the seat on mine and showed her how to strap in, then got in myself. Eris took off before me, growing impatient. Rolling my eyes, I secured my belt and took off, following Sprite's waypoint to Ruijerd.
We found the man waiting on the top of a building, glaring down on a warehouse near the dock. Setting down on the roof, we hopped off. Without me having to ask, Sprite produced a hologram, showing the inside of the building—along with another showing what amounted to blueprints of the building she built using various views from the inside and exterior. We saw a bunch of beastkin children being held in cages, along with a number of human kidnappers. "Alright. Eris, take the rear entrance. Don't let anyone escape. Ruijerd, the front. Roxy and I will breach here," I pointed at a near wall, where there were no cages. "Enter after we breach. Capture them alive. I want to interrogate them. Something like this? Probably part of a larger operation. Usually is, when it comes to slavers. Got it?"
"Right," Eris nodded.
"Understood," Ruijerd agreed. "Rudeus, after…"
I nodded. "We'll clean up the trash once we're sure we know everything they do. Go now."
Ruijerd and Eris leapt from the roof, heading to the locations I had directed them to. I watched them move as Sprite showed me their progress. Once they were in place, I picked Roxy up and took her the fast way down. Setting her on her feet, I gestured towards the wall. "What do you think?"
Roxy hummed. "Water Blast and Wind Blast, after turning the wall to sand first to eliminate the possibility of flying debris striking anyone."
"Sand, water, wind," I confirmed the order and she nodded. "On three."
I counted down quietly and on three, I cast the first spell to turn the brick wall into sand. Roxy's Water Blast had enough of a travel time that I was able to get my own Wind Blast off on the heels of it. The wall exploded inwards and we walked into the resulting chaos. Roxy cast a fireball above her to produce light and in case she needed to fling it while lightning danced over my fingers and arced over my staff, ready in case I needed to zap someone.
In the yells from captives and captors alike, Ruijerd kicked the front door inwards in a blast that sent it slamming into one of the guards, knocking him flat on his ass. Eris, meanwhile, ninja'd her way through the back door and used superior agility to begin taking people down non-lethally.
Only one of the enemies actually managed to make any sort of real fight of it. He ducked down into a North God Style stance and rushed me and Roxy, likely figuring us for the weakest links, as mages. Lightning arced out and sent him tumbling to the ground before he could make it three steps, leaving the man a twitching, smoking heap. After that, the fight immediately went out of the rest of them and we began gathering them up.
Eris collected the keys and began freeing slaves, along with Roxy, while I used telekinesis to haul the slavers outside with Ruijerd. "Go ahead and take off your headband, would you?"
Ruijerd nodded and pulled the headband down, revealing the sense organ in his forehead. Pants-shitting terror, literally, washed over the group of men as they realized they were faced with a Superd. Smiling down at them, I said, "Now. Who wants to start volunteering information? When my friend here gets in a mood, there's no holding him back. Me? I'm just going to kill you. Quick and painless, no fuss, no muss. This guy? Well, Ruijerd holds a special place in his heart for kids… and people who hurt them. He'll make you wish you were dead…"
And that was how we learned of the beastkin slaving operation and where more were being held. When it was all said and done, we left the warehouse behind as a pile of flaming rubble full of corpses burned down to blackened bones. Needless to say, I immediately agreed to Ruijerd's request to track down the other hideout and the kids being kept there.
We made our way back to Roxy… plus a bunch of kids, who at first screamed at being hauled into the air, but then looked out over the deck at the town below in awe as we turned southeast. My plans for a nice reunion dinner were a bit soured, but Roxy, Lilia, Aisha, and I (along with some help recruited from the Migurd willing to come assist us) still hit the kitchen and prepared a meal for ourselves and the kids.
"You seem happy," I mused towards Eris as we all sat around the dinner table in what would, on another vessel, be the officers' mess.
"Mm!" Eris confirmed, beaming a grin. "Beastkin girls, Rudeus! Beastkin girls! So many ears and tails, so many girls to pet! Oh, oh! Maybe we can convince one or two, even three or four, to come with us! No, I don't think I could be satisfied with anything less than ten. And they can't be all one type! Cats, and dogs, and rabbits, and—"
I sighed, palming my face as the others laughed. "My future second wife, everyone," I muttered.
"She is a Boreas after all, Master Rudeus."
"I remember what I'm marrying, Lilia."
"Hey! I'm not a what!"