by Prax Venter
The cheese originated from the mammaries of the villagers, and he was fascinated by all the unique flavors and textures. Each Lagomorph woman had their own signature taste before any additives and apparently there was a whole guild in Gylmear Fields dedicated toward honing their craft. Abby deflated when she realized there was no meat offered by the vegetarian rabbit people, but she was brought back around by the variety and flavor of many artisan cheeses.
The fermented milk took a few sips for him to get over, but once Mark’s lips started to feel numb, the pleasantly warm feeling in his throat became considerably more enjoyable. Learis, Jezebel, and Amina wandered off together, and through his perpetual bond to the Druid, he knew that heavy talks on the nature of this virtual reality had begun. He was happy to leave them to it.
Abby also drank way too much after goading from Sasha, and she’d passed out in a corner fairly early while the Techno Succubus had since gained the attention of a gaggle of drooling bunny-boys.
More cheese, vegetables, drink, and cheerful Lagomorphs kept coming up the stairs and despite the worry over Thomellia, Maliah, and the fate of this universe, Mark let himself get carried away simply enjoying these simple people.
He and Princess Verrelle were currently chatting up another balloon-chested, purple-eyed beauty named Kyma in a silky gown who was the gold ribbon prize-holder of this year’s cheese festival when he noticed Angel had moved in close to his side.
“Hey, sexy ass robo-chick,” he said with only the slightest slurring. “I hope you got a chance to get those talented lips around some of this stellar Lagomorph food.”
“While I am designed to taste and dispose of any ingested biological substances, I have chosen to fully orient my focus on my task while everyone else enjoys this time.”
“Oh? And how’s that going?”
“I translated much of the ancient language then corrected many of the subscript drift errors found within this facility’s systems. In addition to reestablishing two teleportation options linked to this hub, I believe I have restored some basic resource manufacturing functionality. When you are ready, Commander, I have sent test instructions to the first floor’s object printers.”
Mark turned to the totally sober Blazar Princess and attractive rabbit-woman currently discussing Lagomorph economics.
“Pardon me, ladies, but this here Lunar Power Droid wants to show me something.”
He nodded to them both and then winked at Angel before walking straight for the closest open window.
“Meet ya downstairs,” he said with a small wave to the confused bot before casually falling backward out the window.
With a giddy smile lounging on his face, Mark felt the wind flap his silk shirt for a few seconds then came to an immediate stop.
Several bunny people leaned out of the windows above, their ears flopping downward and their small mouths hanging open as he got to his feet and dusted himself off.
Movement caught his eye, and he saw his emerald-eyed doe standing just inside the entrance with her arms crossed.
“I thought that sounded like a Mark hitting the ground.”
“Mmm hmm. The others with you?”
He knew they were. To his emotional antenna, Learis and Amina were strong pinpoints taking this moment they had alone in the shadows of the ancient structure to simply stare into each other’s eyes. His thoughts turned to poor Prince Isskeld back under the red Blazar dome, sitting at home while the Awysai Chieftain and the dimensionally displaced Lagomorph grew closer together with every passing minute.
“You really think she’ll Enthrall Learis?” Jezebel whispered as Angel landed silently on her tapered legs behind him.
Mark gave her a grin and a shrug. “Not our business, but this pert little soldier has been busy.”
They both turned to Angel.
“Indeed. I would like to show Learis something she might find interesting that I discovered within the autocrafting database.”
Mark wrapped an arm around Jezebel’s waist and held out his palm to the interior behind them.
“Show us what you got.”
His bonded satyr leaned into his side as they followed Angel past the softly pulsing blue circuits running through the walls.
“You got drunk?” she asked with a small shake of her head. “I wish I could learn to let myself go like that.”
“It takes work,” Mark said, tickling her tan skin just above her wide furry hip.
“Stop,” she giggled then sighed. “Just make sure you work that cock into me for an essence transfer before you pass out.”
“Deal,” Mark said, but he’d stopped pouring the fermented milk down his throat when the ancient structure started spinning under his feet. ‘Letting go’ and getting ‘blackout shitfaced’ were two states he hadn’t always been able to separate in his past. And the further from that past he got, the less it felt like it was his own.
By the time they met up with the curvy Amina and the well-endowed Learis, the Blazar Princess had also come down to join them the normal way via magic legs and stairs.
“Most of the autocraft patterns I found were for industrial components,” Angel said as she tapped a flashing red button. “Yet, other interesting objects remain viable.”
A metal bin slid out the wall in response and the short droid bent over to retrieve something within. She handed whatever it was to Learis and everyone pressed in close to get a better look.
“You 3D-printed an action figure?” Mark said, his lip curling into a smile.
The stiff piece of (what looked like) vibrantly colored plastic was clearly a Lagomorph female and wore futuristic armor close to Angel’s sleek outer coverings- even over her long ears that stuck straight up. She held some sort of high-tech bow in her white gauntlet and her huge front teeth were exposed in a primal battle cry.
“This statue… W-who is it?” Learis whispered as if she’d forgotten how to breathe.
Angel answered. “That is Parilla the Stormrunner. She was honored by the Lagomorph people for her leadership, bravery, and combat prowess during an event labeled the Void Rift Incursion. Most of the data is corrupted, but this figure and some fragments about her life survived through the last 4,607 years, which is when she eventually succumbed old age.”
Learis swallowed hard and shook her head. “This is priceless.”
“There is enough residual multi-use compound to autocraft several thousand copies,” Angel said.
“Your shaping technology is astounding,” Verrelle said, turning to look at the wall of computers. “I want to know everything about this and all Lagomorph history.”
Learis simply looked up into Angel’s pixelated eyes, and Mark could tell she was thinking the same thing.
“I am able to record perfect translations in an instant, but I believe you would be able to teach yourself the language if given enough time to study what remains. I am 79% sure that we will find more data fragments and autocrafting recipes at other such depots, and I have established a possible connection with two such structures. However, if I can gain access to the intact central facility my mistress has visited before, it stands to reason that there’ll be large stores of information to discover.”
Mark reached out and patted the Lunar Power Droid on the top of her glossy helmet.
“Ya done good, Angel… Really good.”
“Also,” Jezebel mused as she rubbed the tip of her horn, “we might be able to find further information about the Blazar and the Time Walkers archived there as well. And, along those lines, if more structures exist on the moon where Angel was built and remain intact- like that safe thing we saw, we might be able to find yet more. This gives me great hope that substantial parts of these ancient cultures have survived.”
“As awesome as this is,” Mark said, sobering up a little. “Our priority should be to autocraft weapons and armor to help make sure Maliah doesn’t purge these past records and us along with them.”
“Agreed,” Learis said as she squeezed the a
ncient heroine in her furry hand. “I will learn. I will fight. And I will make the Lagomorph as strong as they once were.”
Amina turned her glowing purple eyes on his and she didn’t open her stubby muzzle, but he read the Chieftain’s vivid thoughts. She wanted to speak to him alone as soon as possible.
“Okay,” Mark said trying to will himself fully sober. “Angel, how hard would it be to scout out those two points you unlocked and then come back here? Is there some limitation to the times we can teleport?”
The bot shook her head. “As long as the cosmic wind can be collected below, they should teleport indefinitely. And since the depots appear to be operational after thousands of years, there should be no issues with that plan, Commander.”
“Commander?” Jezebel said, shifting her gold-flecked eyes between them.
“I was promoted when we cleared this place.”
She gave him a sly smile. “Very good, Commander. Angel, can you show me the basic controls for this teleportation? I’d like to make sure more than one of us knows a little something if we get separated.”
“Of course,” the bot said with a nod.
“Oh, you know I’m coming too,” Princess Verrelle said, and Mark knew the Blazar Royal had found her purpose on this multi-dimensional adventure.
“As am I,” Learis added, still clutching Parilla the Stormrunner in her fist.
“Awesome,” Mark said. “Learn the basics, then let’s check out these other two places today and find out if we can get any closer to the Jar of Stars. Jez, you fly around while Angel messes with collecting more crafting recipes at the other depots. Abby is out of commission, and our competitive-drinking succubus probably isn’t far behind her. And I- uh, shouldn’t have pulled down so many shots of that throat-burning stuff they call ‘Blumish’… Either way, my intra-dimensional door will be ready by morning- er, like, maybe ten hours from now. Still not sure about the day-night cycle here.”
Amina gave Learis a nod toward the stairs, and the rabbit-woman nodded back. To Mark’s probing eye, they were already having whole conversations non-verbally.
“Don’t teleport without me!” Mark shouted after the group heading back up to the top.
Jezebel waved over her shoulder without turning around, then Mark addressed to the voluptuous, nude Awysai warrior next to him. “Shall we walk and talk, Collector Amina?” he said, indicating the exit.
“I would like that, Collector Mark.” She gave a polite nod then laced her hands behind her back as they strolled out together.
The blue sun was indeed setting in the periwinkle sky of Lagos and the constant warm breeze fluttered everything as they moved down the path away from the ancient structure. When they reached the main road, Amina turned to step away from the village, and Mark stayed by her side along the edge of infinite whispering grasses. The walking pumped his blood and encouraged his body to filter out the strong buzz he still felt while the gentle winds seemed to pass through him leaving only tranquility. The pleasant fragrance of the world was some alien, savory lilac and only became strong enough to notice as they walked into the wind. Vulpath-Mark would probably have all sorts of unique hearing and scent sensations to experience on Lagos. One of the distant pillars of dirt that stretched a mile into the sky of this floating island world caught his focus, and he wondered what other strange dimensions awaited them just a portal hop away.
“I do not know what causes it,” Amina began finally. “But Learis feels both like a childhood friend and an irresistible sexual partner. After her milk was inside me, and changed me, this feeling has become unignorable.”
“Then don’t ignore it,” Mark said with a shrug.
“It concerns me,” she said, turning to face him as they walked into the wind. “I feel… changed. I want to protect my people, but now I also want to protect her. I desire to see Learis achieve this ideal I see inside her. I have never seen a Lagomorph before today, but her fur and form demand my attention. The outward softness that covers her will to fight… Her scent. I feel a powerful need to see her eyes look into mine with the same desire.”
Mark smiled at the ground.
“Welcome to being a Collector. It’s something I’ve thought about and assumed it was just because of who I am, or this virtual world making my mind want to play the game. When a Collector bonds with someone, there is this base-level sense that you have control over them- that you alone are the gatekeeper to the power they fought to earn. But it’s kinda backwards. I feel this indescribable weight of responsibility. It is they who really hold my leash. It is really I who am Enthralled to their growth and wellbeing.”
“Learis is not my Enthralled,” she said.
He waited a few steps then turned to look into her glowing purple eyes.
“…yet.”
She took a deep breath and faced forward again. “Yes. The very reason I wanted to talk to you, outsider Mark. I have no experience with being a Collector. Binding myself to the first person I see gives me pause. As if her milk was a love potion, and I am being tricked or bewitched.”
There it was. His eye pulsed with unignorable emotions of desire and terror flowing from her. Amina was frightened over how strong she’d felt for this person she’d just met. The Crystal Heart truly did mess with people’s minds.
“Do you know what her magic milk did to me?” he asked.
“Tell me,” she said, ferociously curious.
“It unlocked the ability to travel to her home dimension.” He waved his hand to encompass everything they saw. “My mindreading abilities insist that Learis is not trying- or even really capable of- deceiving anyone. She is merely a special girl. And I will be honest with you, if I had room in my battle harem, I would have snatched her up myself.”
Amina remained quiet, a part of her doubts melting away.
“I believe the effect she has on you might go a step further,” he said after a time, and Mark had the Chieftain’s full attention again. “Jezebel’s theory of an ancient alliance between your Blazar ancestors and the Lagomorph rings true. I get this deeper sense that your races are still connected somehow. It could be biological like in your pheromones, or it could be lingering magic bullshit, but once she mentioned this possibility, my instinct tells me it’s the truth.”
She nodded slowly. “I would be a fool not to trust your instinct for truth.”
They continued for a while longer and the village began to recede behind as the sinking ball of fire in the sky saturated everything in a gradient of azure and plumb.
Then, Amina just stopped, and Mark stopped with her.
“I cannot deny my desire to Enthrall Learis. I believe we would make a good team and we would both become exponentially stronger to face what threatens all worlds. Though, it is still too fast, Mark. And… what of a family? Children? That path would be closed off with the enduring bond of a female.”
Mark nodded back toward the village and Amina followed him back as he offered a different perspective.
“Well, I don’t know about what Learis herself would think, but there would be nothing stopping you from keeping her bound to you while you became involved with, oh let’s say a certain Blazar Prince with a kind heart. He might drool at the chance to have two exceedingly sexy partners.”
She started chuckling and waved a dismissive hand.
“You are a Lover bound to a four-person relationship; it is different.”
“Mmm, now that I’m thinking about it, I’m not sure why I don’t have any kids yet… I’ll have to ask about that. But why is it different? I’ve seen you get that pretty snout all up in other people’s genitals to please our goddess. I know you and your kind aren’t uptight about that sort of thing. Eh, it’s only something to think about. I’m just helping you talk out all sides of this new responsibility, Collector. Please don’t think I’m pushing you into anything.”
She had her doubts, but the seed had been planted. Silence took over again as they walked back, and Mark could feel her arousal growing.
She was currently fantasizing about having her tongue deep into Learis’s bald pussy while Price Isskeld pumped his royal cock deep into hers.
“Also,” Mark said after clearing his throat. “You do know you can Disavow her if it doesn’t work out with you two, right? It’s not a permanent decision.”
“I have vague knowledge. Collectors were not common among my kind. I knew none in my lifetime and those that were elevated had left, never to return. Tell me of Disavowing.”
“Before Abby, I met a Vulpath painter who asked to temporarily fill my third slot for a few days. She wanted to unlock some rare skill that could be used for Painting. It was a lot like my True Sight ability but like with art or something. Wait a minute- what am I talking about? You met Audra for about ten seconds before we fled Thomellia.”
“This is very good to know,” Amina said. “I did not think the bonds of an Enthralled could be so casually dismissed.”
“No,” Mark said. “That’s not entirely true. I know that if I’d kept Audra longer than the two days or so we were bound, it would be much harder to let her go. Especially since we were so compatible. And I can tell you that it would be literally impossible for me to ever willingly disavow Sasha, Jezebel, or Abby.”
A rush of dark, soul-rending terror clawed into Mark’s mind in the form of a faded memory. A dim cave, a restrained cat-girl, and some horrendous sea creature forcing…
He swallowed hard, shaking off the lingering visceral emotions from Other Mark’s invasive flashback and turned to Amina.
“There’s more you need to know,” he continued, his voice almost cracking. “It is possible for you to Enthrall creatures that are considered wild, or that aren’t necessarily sentient. I saw a Kalorplast cabbage girl do it with a wild nut. I watched this new mind fill itself in and become a fully functioning person where before he was more like an animal. If you Disavow an Enthralled, they will always lose any powers or levels or whatever, but if they were wild, they will also lose their minds. I don’t truly have what could be considered direct experience with that- it’s a long story. But I do know that you never ever want to do that to someone.”