Chimera King Box Set Books 1-3

by Atlas Kane

  “Of course, Interface Controller Cade.”

  Pressing on, Cade asked the demon, “Under the options for basic housing or rudimentary structures, is there anything close to a cave? I need to build basic houses, but no doors, furniture, or bedding is required.”

  Micah’s reply came at once. “There are two structures that might be suitable. Mud Cave and Stone Cave, both of which are often used for basic storage, or in some cases, the fermentation of food or spirits.”

  Cade inquired as to the difference in price, and decided to go with the Stone Cave. Micah described the relative size of each cave, and Cade figured they would need to build six of them to comfortably house all of the apes present.

  Using a mental map of the town itself, Cade assigned each of the caves to the opposite shore of the pool. There was just enough space, with a wide patch of clay that could serve for gatherings. It was perfect.

  Finalizing the choices, Cade felt his stomach drop as he gave the second command he was here to give.

  “Micah,” he said, loathing the moment. “Please cancel the Barrier Shield. It is too costly for the time being.”

  “A wise decision, Interface Controller Cade. Otherwise, you would have run out of Mana Shards within a week,” the demon replied, then asked Cade to finalize his decision.

  He did so, but asked for Micah to wait one full minute before doing so.

  Cade and Ketzal hurried from the room and strode out of the cave. They moved through the silent grove, heading back toward town.

  The bright-blue sphere of power was visible through the branches, and as they exited at last, it shuddered briefly, and then winked out entirely. He imagined the fear this had caused those who’d grown used to the near-impregnable protection the shield provided.

  Walking through the bottom gate and around each of the fortified walls, Cade and Ketzal examined their fledgling defenses. Six guards were posted at the top of the hill, three on each section of wall. Thirty feet apart, they stared out into the near blackness.

  “How do you feel about this?” Ketzal asked simply.

  He stopped and touched her on the shoulder affectionately. Grinning, he answered as honestly as he could. “I feel as if we’ve just exposed our junk before a pit of vipers. Still, I don’t know what else we could have done.”

  Seeing his words had done little to comfort her, he pulled her into an embrace. Then he looked her in the eyes once more. “Come on. Let’s go make sure our new friends are comfortable. Then we should get some sleep. I have guard duty in a few hours.”

  21

  The Wine and the Coconut

  “It’s a gift, Cha. Really. I think it would be best just to accept it and say thank you,” Ketzal tried once more, trying her best to remain patient.

  The councilwoman was having none of it. “I don’t enjoy the vile jungle wine our own people make. How am I to trust this filthy brew? What sort of vile ingredients do they make it with anyhow?” Cha said, holding the wide bowl filled with the pulpy wine the apes made.

  Having tried it himself, Cade could attest to the drink’s quality. It was crude, but in its own way, had a delightful flavor. And it was booze. Nothing to criticize there. “Here, give it to me,” he offered at last. He couldn’t sit by and watch the woman make any more offensive excuses.

  Taking the bowl from her roughly, Cade smiled to the Kotani Ma and a tall female who’d accompanied him. Bowing slightly, Cade put the bowl to his lips and drank deeply.

  It was heady, especially so early in the morning, but if doing so would honor their allies, Cade was all for it.

  Luckily for him, Ronden was nearby. He waved the big man over. “Ronden, do me a favor?”

  “Anything, brave Archon.”

  Cade winked at the giant as he ambled over. “I need you to drink the rest of this wine. Can you manage that?”

  Ronden blinked a few times, his mouth growing into the world’s toothiest grin. “Why, yes! I do believe I can handle that without any qualms!”

  The man’s enthusiasm amused even the apes as he took the bowl and gulped down its contents in a handful of seconds. Belching loudly, he stepped up to the Kotani Ma and slammed a fist against his chest. “Tell him that his woman is beautiful and his drink delicious enough to satisfy the gods themselves!”

  When Ketzal had finished translating, the ape alpha puffed up, his huge chest gleaming in the morning sun. Mimicking Ronden’s behavior, he struck his own chest before turning back to see to business in his portion of camp.

  “Thank you,” Cade said, watching the ape go.

  When Ronden didn’t reply, Cade looked over only to see the giant bending over, clutching his knees. “Stronger than it tastes. My gods, it’s too early for that.”

  “That’s what I said last time,” Dan muttered as he too found something more useful to attend to elsewhere.

  Cade laughed and patted Ronden on the back. “I’d say it puts hair on your chest, but the gods have seen fit to give you plenty of that already.”

  A few more appointments were seen to, one to convene with Latsi. The woman was pleased to hear all about the performance of the cannon the day prior. “How fast were the villagers able to fire and reload? My best guess was maybe once per minute.”

  “That’s probably accurate. Though, not consistently. Satemi said the shells were insanely hot, and they had no proper tool to eject it with,” he reported, studying the woman’s reactions to his words.

  Latsi chewed the end of a charcoal pencil, yet another innovation Camp Casmeer had come up with. “I thought to develop such a tool, but instead, I think I can design the barrel to eject the shell upon firing. This would save much time. Tell me, Cade, were the rounds very damaging?”

  He considered and found the question hard to quantify. “Satemi used the cannon to shoot a beast so big it was nearly a god. Still, it did hurt the monster, even if only a little. Against something as strong as me, however, the cannon would be devastating.”

  “Good,” she crooned, steepling her fingers together like the mad scientist she was.

  Before he knew it, he was being thrust from her work space once more. He couldn’t blame her though, just laughed at the woman’s uncouth enthusiasm.

  Cade met with the cooks to ensure an increase in food production would be forthcoming. He saw Tessra, amid a massive order of repairs and replacement clothing. Cade congratulated her on her nuptials and left her to the madness of her own Occupation. Minda’s herbalists were furiously setting to tasks in their gardens. The supply of herbs had been ravished by the survivors of the battle, so the lot would be busy for a few uninterrupted days.

  Only with Satemi, sitting on a sunny log for lunch, was he able to have a calm conversation. The rest of the townsfolk were frantic, though most of the energy was positive.

  “I know you probably have your own chores, but am I the only other person thinking of the dungeon?” Cade asked, licking the grease of a turtle steak from his fingers.

  Satemi shook her head in mock disapproval. “Cade, you might not be, but you’re the only one foolish enough to voice it so soon. I say we give it a week or two. This town needs rest, recovery, a chance to heal.”

  Burying his desire to explore further, Cade asked her of the leather work she’d been crafting. She regaled him with a thoroughly detailed accounting for the armor she was fashioning for Ketzal at the moment.

  That afternoon, Cade was called to visit with the Kotani Apes. It was a request he’d been expecting, but it was delivered quite formally. A youth whose fur was still drying from a thorough scrubbing approached him with a perfect piece of fruit in his hands.

  After Ketzal was found to deliver the message, he headed straight over.

  The Kotani Ma met him outside the six Stone Cave habitations he’d summoned through the Town Interface the night before. Cade was given a tour of each of the caves, and wasn’t surprised in the least to find that each was, top to bottom, one hundred percent cave-like.

  They were uniformly de
signed, a perfectly round entrance about ten feet high and wide that led to a steep decline. At the bottom another twenty feet of tunnel ran underground. Because most of each cave was underground, the apes’ side of camp looked incredibly tiny and simple compared to the variegated mess that was Camp Casmeer proper.

  For some reason, the Kotani Ma wanted Cade to see the inside of all six caves. Cade was patient, and even learned a few things.

  The apes had a serious appreciation for their jungle wine, for instance. Already, several pockets of stone had been carved out, filled with smashed fruit and then water. That the fermenting wine already had a mild tinge of alcohol to its smell as well as the introduction of an elder Kotani tribesman, Cade discovered that the beasts had their own Occupations.

  Timbroo was a Brewer, of sorts, and was most proud to display his latest work.

  Likewise, the ape’s son and daughter were displayed near a patch of chopped jungle leaves, all of which had the beginnings of white mold growing on their edges. Ketzal explained that the mold would mature, and in time, be compressed into a food source. After a long while of back and forth communication, the demoness likened the mold to cheese or some other source of stable protein.

  Considering the innovation, Cade was reminded of the Leaf Cutter ants on Earth. That the apes used primitive forms of horticulture spoke highly of their intelligence. Having to rely on the constant availability of meat, even when the alpha Kotani apes were such proficient hunters, was a short-sighted strategy.

  At last, Cade met with a wrinkled old ape, so withered he couldn’t tell what their sex was. The beast, no taller than Cade by then, showed a series of unfired clay pots that were already drying. Several bunches of medicinal herbs hung from vines stretching across a nearby wall.

  They even have shamans! I wonder if that means that the apes are given a choice of class like the rest of us. Perhaps they have more limited options. As his mind delved deeper into the potential similarities in the two groups, and had made a note to ask Ketzal if she thought the Kotani Ma itself was a singularly specialized class, Cade was interrupted by another member of the tribe.

  Still deep within the shaman’s cave, Cade was approached by a lovely young female. He could tell she was young because the ape hadn’t quite grown as tall as the other females.

  He could tell she was female from her small and sloping breasts as well as the signature swollen hindquarters, the center of which was bald and slightly pink, unlike the males who had furry asses. A lot like human men, Cade joked to himself.

  The female came up and spoke at length with the Kotani Ma, who was still sitting back on his great haunches, his head nearly scraping the tall ceiling.

  When they’d finished, the great ape pressed his hand to his lips and then chest, a sign Cade had come to know as agreement or permission.

  Ketzal flashed Cade a wicked grin just a moment before the female ape turned around and presented him with a flattering offer. More red than pink, the ape’s ripe sex practically glowed with eager desire.

  Not wanting to offend his guests, Cade made sure to bow deeply, and even struck a fist to his chest like Ronden had done. “Ketzal! Tell them thanks but no thanks!”

  Backing away slightly, the female still “in position” and beginning to grow confused, Cade watched as his demoness lover helped defend his honor. And for the second time since meeting the great apes, Cade turned down a good time.

  As Cade left soon after, the Kotani Ma bid them farewell, then proceeded to indulge the young female to her heart’s desire.

  Ketzal had tears in her eyes by the time they’d made it to the entrance of the cave. Cade was laughing too but was a good deal more disturbed than she was. “You’re lucky one of the big boys didn’t hit on you, Ketzal. How would you like to wrestle with one of them? Might damage your lady bits.”

  “Actually, the apes have tiny phalluses and testicles. One alpha, and only occasional windows for opportunity for reproduction. That is what you were offered, Cade. Their leader felt you’d done something noteworthy, so he gave you the privilege of depositing a little bit of Cade into their gene pool,” she explained, sounding more like Minda than her usual self.

  “Quite the scientist these days!” Cade noted, assessing the woman from a different perspective.

  She only shook her head. “Not quite. I am only so knowledgeable in the matters of sex. Demons can’t reproduce, but that doesn’t stop us from trying like mad. And we observe other species who do the same.”

  The two crossed the stream, using the narrow bridge that had been erected a couple weeks prior. Workers were already driving posts to triple its width, and add a little strength, so that the apes could benefit from it as well.

  Evening came quickly, and another feast was held.

  The boars, all housed in the same structures down below now, ate like kings and queens. The Casmeeri villagers and the Kotani apes dined together. It made for an awkward and infinitely hilarious exchange, one that delighted the apes as well. They seemed to think the humans, beastkin, and other Antinians, were equally strange to look upon.

  Ketzal helped translate jokes, challenges, and a few compliments. Another of the boar handlers, a young man who appeared to be what humans would call an elf, began learning the Kotani language. And by the end of the night, Ketzal had an official assistant.

  At last, pooped out and stuffed, Cade retired to his shelter. He’d pulled guard half the previous night and was looking forward to undisturbed rest.

  Satemi had announced she’d be in her workshop till past midnight, and had asked Gemma to help her speed up the smelting process. Minda kissed him on the lips and headed out for guard duty.

  Enjoying the rare moment of solitude, Cade closed his eyes and lay back on the pile of furs.

  He whistled an old tune that had strangely popped into his head. It was a nonsensical song with a tropical theme, but for the life of him, he couldn’t rid it from his mind.

  The man was about to indulge himself and sing it aloud when Ketzal entered.

  Patting the furs beside him, he called her over. Rather than sit, however, the woman sat before him and held out a round, bowl-shaped object.

  Reaching over to turn up one of the oil lamps, Cade saw it was the hard shell of a local fruit. He’d liken it to a coconut if it wasn’t for the crimson husk and gauzy strands of seed guts that filled its middle. It was more like a melon in that respect, and when he inspected the item, and learned it was a Coco Melon, he almost rolled his eyes.

  “I’m full. You know I would, but I think I broke a rib tonight trying to eat as much as the apes,” he explained, pushing the shell away.

  She smiled, mischief and delight dancing in her bright eyes. Her horns glinted gold, and he knew her mind was elsewhere. “No, Cade. Take it. I would like to ask a favor of you.”

  Taking the bowl-shaped husk in his hands, he peered into its depths. Inside, the fruit had been scraped away and replaced by a pale violet, creamy substance. “What do you want?” he asked, not entirely understanding her implicit request.

  “This is Coco Melon Milk. The apes’ women gave some to us. It apparently works wonders for dry skin and hair,” she explained. “Could you rub some into my neck and shoulder?”

  “Could I rub? I don’t think you need any more words than that, sweetheart,” Cade said, perking up, as eager as he’d ever been.

  Ketzal turned around and took off her shirt, tossing the garment in the corner of their shelter.

  Shaking his head, Cade admired the sleek angles of her body. Even from behind, only her torso exposed, she was gorgeous, almost painful to look upon.

  She pulled her hair over one shoulder and took a deep breath.

  Yeah, poor girl. She really needs this, he thought.

  The request was legitimate.

  Of late, the demoness had taken on a good deal more than she had in the past. Not only had she been the head beast handler, training the new handlers and developing her own war mount hand signals, but she�
�d been at the forefront of the battle itself. The woman was strong, perhaps stronger than she’d ever been. Yet that kind of dedication and sacrifice always took a toll.

  Cade dabbed some of the cream onto his fingers and traced a line down the center of her back. Gathering more, he worked only to smooth the cream into her skin. Then, when her back was shining, the purple of her skin rich and lovely, he gave her a pleasant surprise.

  Few who knew Cade in his 30s guessed he’d once trained to be a masseur, a “massage therapist,” as he’d always insisted people call him. It was a valid distinction: one implied sex work more than the other, though both got wishy washy when it came down to it.

  But after getting discharged from the service, nothing seemed better than to focus on healing his own body by helping others with theirs. With a ruined L4/L5, tendon issues in both of his shoulders, and nerve damage in his feet, however, the body work ended up becoming another way of messing himself up.

  And then there were his shitty boundaries.

  After fucking a few clients, Cade soon found out that he was better suited in a profession where everyone kept their clothes on.

  Still, even years later, his girlfriends were spoiled rotten by his touch.

  Ketzal gasped as he pressed into the yielding flesh of her upper shoulders, rolling the muscles rhythmically. “Wow. I didn’t know that you—” she tried, but fell silent as he continued his patient assault.

  Moving up her neck, he worked at the tense muscles, then down the side of each arm. Finally, using his knuckles, Cade stripped down the long muscles to either side of her spine. “Roll forward, slowly,” he encouraged, pressing deeper than before. When she moved to obey, he added, “Slower. As slow as you can go, girl.”

  She tipped forward, letting her lovely head fall to her chest as he lifted up on his knees for more leverage. Pressing down firmer than before, he held his knuckles in place as they dragged down her curving back. After a few minutes, she gasped, her forehead finally coming to rest on the floor.