by Tamryn Tamer
“Please,” Desdemona chimed in. “We’ve really missed you and we haven’t had a real date night in weeks.”
“What’s a date night?” Ka asked while staring at the paper in Frost's hand. “And what is this Ayoyou?”
“An Ayoyou is a promise,” Desdemona answered while squeezing Frost’s arm possessively. “And a date is a romantic evening where two people spend time with each other. I turned in one of my Ayoyous to collect on the promise of a date night.”
“Oh,” Ka said, fixating on the paper. “They must be very valuable, yes. How do I get these Ayoyous?”
“You’ll learn about that in orientation!” Desdemona said while looking at the assembly of harpies, her mood suddenly diminishing. “Right, orientation. We have to get you oriented and Brynn’s not here to help.”
“There aren’t that many,” Lysandra said optimistically while tightening her grip on Frost. “I’m sure that our husband won’t mind waiting for us to conduct orientations. He can always take a quick bath and change.”
“I don’t mind him like this,” Desdemona said, staring at him like she wanted to eat him. “It’s kind of enticing.”
“But probably not the right kind of enticing,” Lysandra said while pointing out a small bit of drool forming at the corner of Desdemona’s mouth. The beautiful white-haired elf pressed her chest against him and smiled seductively. “But it’s ultimately up to our husband.”
“A bath is a good idea,” Frost chuckled. Although there was a lot of heavy rain on the way up to Mawth, the way back was dry and he probably smelled more like his horse than he cared to admit. He turned his attention toward the harpies and gestured at Desdemona and Lysandra. “Ka, I’m going to need you and your followers to follow these two and do as they ask. They’re going to ask you some questions and explain to you how the village works. After that, you’ll be given some clothing…” Frost paused and glanced at Lysandra. “We have stuff that will fit them, right? I know when Ke, Kie, and Ki came to the village we had to have things custom made.”
“We’ll send an order to Mira and ask her to rush it,” Lysandra said reassuringly. “Don’t worry, we can handle getting them situated.”
“Herald Frost,” Ka timidly approached him while glancing back at her followers. “Do you intend to leave us alone with the pred…I mean Lady Desdemona?”
“Yes,” Frost said firmly. He gently pushed Desdemona in Front of him and Ka took a quick step backward. “Des, do you remember that trick I taught you?”
“Right,” Desdemona said while gesturing at the white-feathered priestess. “Can you please come here for a minute.”
“Okay,” Ka nervously walked toward Desdemona until she was standing right in front of her. The harpies watching from a distanced gasped while whispering to each other about their priestess’ boldness and bravery. “This is good, yes?”
“Very good,” Desdemona said, bending over slightly so her and Ka were at eye level. “Now I’d like you to pat my head.”
“P-pat your head?” Ka asked while glancing at Frost for confirmation. “Really? That is okay, yes?”
“Yes,” Desdemona nodded while patting her own head to demonstrate. “Just like that. Can you do that for me?”
“I can do that, yes,” Ka slowly reached her wing out and patted Desdemona’s head several times. “Like this, yes?”
“Very good,” Desdemona answered cheerfully. “Can I pat your head?”
“You may, yes,” Ka nodded as Desdemona gently patted the harpy’s head.
“Isn’t that nice?” Desdemona asked. “I’m not as scary when you pat my head, right? If you or your followers are ever nervous while we’re doing orientation you can feel free to pat my head. Herald Frost says it’s a very good method of making oneself less threatening.”
“It is, yes,” Ka answered while continuing to pat Desdemona’s head.
“Can I try?” Vee asked, stepping forward and raising her crimson wing.
“Of course,” Desdemona answered while flagging the harpies to come over. She glanced back at Frost, grinning happily as Ka’s handmaidens approached with their wings out. “I think we’ll be fine handling this if you wish to go take your bath Herald Frost.”
“Alright,” Frost said. He glanced down at Lysandra and gave her a small peck on the lips. “You know where to find me if you need anything. I’ll be getting ready for date night.”
“Okay,” Lysandra said while sliding her hands down his waist. “Be sure not to get yourself in trouble before then. I want you to be ready and raring to go.”
“Have I ever gotten in so much trouble that I wasn’t ready and raring to go?” Frost chuckled.
“You know what I mean,” Lysandra said. “Just be good.”
“I’ll try,” Frost said, giving her a parting kiss before heading to the bath. Frost noticed several demihumans rushing into their homes and coming out with baskets filled with soaps and towels as he started walking toward the bath. He glanced back and smiled at Lysandra while shaking his head. “Well, I’ll try to try.”
CHAPTER 11
In the evening, the streets were bustling as the villagers returned from hunting and gathering.
Groups of demihumans rushed to the tailoring workshop with baskets of raw materials to collect their rewards and small hunting parties dropped off sacks of materials in front of the monster hunter’s guild. The demihumans that spent their day working on projects that benefitted the entire village, like guard duty or building houses, lined up at the temple to turn in their paperwork. There were so many jobs and villagers that Desdemona had to recruit officers to assist her in keeping track of everything
The officers were recruited straight out of the academy and the positions were considered extremely prestigious. In order to qualify they needed phenomenal language and accounting abilities as well as unquestionable integrity.
The primary responsibility of the officers was approving job requests and ensuring that the payments for the postings were distributed upon completion. Since payments frequently included reputations points, they were responsible for recording those numbers in each villager’s ledger.
Reputation points were a separate resource which were required for special purchases. Basically, they acted as substitutes for rel when dealing with resources owned by the village itself, such as houses.
Frost could have just given everybody homes as soon as they arrived in the village but it was much better to make villagers earn them. It normally took a few months for a new arrival to earn enough reputation points for a house but when they finally earned it, they were extremely proud. There were even celebrations for villagers that earned their first homes.
Homes weren’t the only thing villagers could spend their reputation points on.
Frost worked out various arrangements with crafters guilds to ensure that the villagers valued reputation points even after they purchased homes. In exchange for materials, and a small fee, the blacksmith guild agreed to give out certain pieces of equipment for reputation points.
A well-crafted steel sword might cost an adventurer over a hundred rel in Blackwater but his villagers could trade a hundred reputation points for a Sword of Pluma. It was essentially identical to a well-crafted steel sword but slightly fancier. The pommels had gemstones harvested from golems embedded in them and the grip was elegantly wrapped with Arachne silk. The materials also gave it a slight stat-boost over a normal steel sword.
There were also bows, daggers, staves, corsets, cuirasses, gauntlets, boots, helmets, cloaks, potions, and other equipment that the villagers could purchase as well. The key was making sure it could be mass produced so Frost could easily farm the materials.
The village officers were responsible for maintaining individual logs of each villager’s reputation points and ensuring they could purchase at the shops. Points could only be added or deducted from the ledgers by officers and to make sure there weren’t any games, Desdemona randomly audited the ledgers. She also regularly swapped their logbooks and req
uired them to audit each other anonymously.
Desdemona made sure that the officers were paid extremely well in terms of reputation points since the positions required an enormous amount of trust and responsibility. As a bonus they were permitted to purchase hug, kiss, and cuddle Ayoyous. Although, the prices were rather exorbitant.
Frost might have been the village gigolo, but he was an expensive one and Desdemona’s employees were worth it.
The officers were indispensable when it came to maintaining village operations. Without them, Desdemona would have been working so much that she wouldn’t even have time to sleep, let alone time for a romantic evening.
“Just one more minute,” Desdemona said optimistically as she turned to a small group of officers and started directing them to various areas of the village. She handed one of the officers a small stack of papers and they immediately rushed to a job board and started posting them. Seconds after the papers were posted, glowing palm-sized fairies began crowding the board snagging up papers along with werewolves looking for night patrol jobs. Once everything was settled, Desdemona rushed over to join Frost and Lysandra in front of the temple. “Sorry. It’s just really busy today with the newcomers and Brynn being out of the village and if things don’t get posted and collected on time then everything starts to bleed into tomorrow.”
“I understand,” Frost said with a grin as he took Desdemona’s hand in his. “You don’t have to explain yourself. I know how important you are for the village. What did you end up doing with Ka and the others? I half expected to see her here?”
“Ke, Kei, and Ki agreed to take them in,” Desdemona said. “It was difficult to follow but they all started gossiping and Ka seemed really excited to tell them about Twi.”
“That’s good,” Frost said. “Thank you for all your hard work. I know there’s a lot more for you to do without Brynn to help.”
“Still,” Desdemona blushed. “I feel bad about making you and Lysandra wait since I was the one that demanded the date night.”
“I don’t mind,” Lysandra said cheerfully. “You did use one of your Ayoyous for both of us after all.”
“Thank you,” Desdemona said, flashing her fanged smile.
Desdemona and Lysandra were both dressed in stylish gowns. The dresses were well-tailored to both of their bodies and the designs were more sophisticated than their day to day clothing.
Lysandra was wearing a white modified empire gown with a golden band located immediately beneath her breasts, highlighting them. The straps of the dress fell off her shoulders, giving Frost the impression that one firm tug would expose the violet-eyed elf’s stunning chest. The rest of the gown hung comfortably from her body, contouring it just enough to know her shape while remaining loose enough to not hug her baby bump, which Frost insisted that he didn’t notice.
Desdemona was dressed in a cerise sheath gown with a sweetheart neckline exposing an almost profane amount of cleavage. The demoness’ large pale chest was practically popping from the red gown. As opposed to Lysandra’s loose fitting dress, Desdemona’s dress hugged every curve so tightly that she was practically naked. The crimson-haired demoness was absolutely breathtaking.
Their hairstyles also separated the two. Lysandra was wearing her gorgeous long white hair down which was typical for her but Desdemona had pulled hers back into an elegant chignon. With her long crimson hair tied into a tight knot, her body looked different and he couldn’t help but run his hand up her naked back as he stared at her slender neck.
“You both look so amazing,” Frost smirked as the two women pressed their bodies against him. “I’m feeling a little underdressed.”
“You look perfect,” Lysandra said reassuringly as she played with one of the buttons of his black vest.
“You really do,” Desdemona said cheerfully as she wrapped her arm around his and began feeling his silky white undershirt.
Frost’s outfit was simple but dressier than his casual clothing, primarily because of the ornate designs on his vest and the accessories. His shirt was crafted from a breathable Arachne silk and was incredibly soft to the touch. The cuffs of his shirt were connected by golden cufflinks with shiny black stones embedded in the center. His black vest was tailored perfectly to his body so the lines enhanced every aspect of his person and covered in ornamental golden filigree. His pants and shoes matched his vest perfectly.
“So,” Frost looked around the village. Demihumans ran in and out of their homes getting changed and heading out for the evening as others cooked dinner for their families. Myrran, Florenee, Durra, Arachne, Gorgons, Werewolves, Orcs, Centaurs, and Lamia all ran around the village as tiny glowing fairies flew around lighting paths and escorting villagers. “What’s the plan for the evening?”
“We’re going to go to a show!” Desdemona said excitedly. “Jasmine’s troupe is performing a show tonight at her theater! She said that she’d make sure we had the nicest table and all of our food and drinks would be free if I brought you there on a date!”
“I’m sure she did,” Frost said as Desdemona dragged him toward the colorful building on the south side of the merchant district. The walls of the building were covered in murals featuring the various shows that Jasmine’s theater put on as well as the times they were going to be performing.
“Herald Frost,” Lysandra pointed at a small stand setting up jars of pickled vegetables. “Can we get some…”
“Obviously,” Frost chuckled as he handed Lysandra some rel to run off and buy herself a jar or two. Ever since her pregnancy, she’d developed cravings for various pickled vegetables as well as various sweets, frequently together. On more than one occasion he’d caught her covering pickled vegetables in sugar before devouring them as ravenously as Desdemona devoured boars. The elf came running back with an enormous smile and a jar of beets that she quickly started gnawing on. “So, the theater?”
“Yes,” Desdemona said as the three of them wandered through the streets.
Frost, Desdemona, and Lysandra were interrupted nearly a dozen times on their way to the theater by villagers, mostly elves doting on Lysandra and asking if she needed anything. That was another change that occurred since the pregnancy. Elves used to approach Lysandra to ask for things but ever since she started to show, the women in the village actively checked in on her to make sure she was doing alright and offer assistance. It was quite the change.
Although, if Lysandra wasn’t around, every one of those same women would attempt to corner him and while rattling off a list of qualities that would make them great mothers.
“Herald Frost!” Zinnia shouted, waving at Frost as they turned down the small street leading to the theater. The curvaceous woman smiled excitedly as they arrived in front of the theater entrance. “Are you here for tonight’s show?”
“That’s right,” Frost smiled at the voluptuous Durra woman as he admired her figure. The dog-eared woman’s outfit was more appropriate for a brothel than a theater. She was wearing a short white skirt with knee-high boots and every time her fluffy brown tail wagged Frost could see a flash of her pink panties. Her top was a red vest that barely covered her chest and left her midriff completely exposed. “How have things been here?”
“Hmm,” Zinnia tapped her chin while twisting her body back and forth. Her large breasts swayed from side to side and Frost couldn’t help but look. Durra women just had a way of making even the simplest behaviors seem obscene and they were completely oblivious to it. “Jasmine’s been a little bit frustrated lately but we’ve put on a lot of shows! The children’s shows in the morning are always really popular but evenings are really random. It’s not like the brothel where we were busy every night.”
“Are you all having fun though?” Frost asked.
“Of course!” Zinnia said cheerfully as the top button of her vest came undone. One of her large breasts nearly popped out as the voluptuous woman moved to rebutton it. “Oh, no. Not again. Anyway, did you want to buy some tickets?”
“O
h,” Desdemona presented three tickets. “We already have tickets.”
“Wonderful! Come on in!” Zinnia said as she rushed to open the large wooden door. Frost stole several glances at her exposed backside and immediately felt both of his arms being squeezed.
“Thanks,” Frost laughed as they entered the theater.
Jasmine put a lot of effort into decorating her theater and it was easily the fanciest building in the village. The entire southernmost wall was covered by a curtain and a stage thrust out from beneath it into the dining area. The balcony was fairly small and wrapped around all of the walls except for the one where the stage was located. The bar and kitchen area were both on the northern side of the large playhouse.
The theater itself was decorated in a style that Frost would have described as fairy-inspirited. Various colorful plants were located throughout the theater and the ceiling was painted to look like they were inside of a forest filled with trees of every color. Even the furniture was styled in a similar manner with swirls and runes carved into the woodwork. There were even literal fairies that Jasmine hired to fly around the colorful crystal chandelier throughout the evening while providing additional lighting.
As they entered, music echoed through the large hall. It imagined from the stage where two elves wearing flowing gowns played instruments. A golden-blonde elf was sitting on a stool playing a harp while a blue-haired elf played a flute as she slowly spun around the stage. The sounds of the two elves meshed together beautifully creating a relaxing melody.
“Oh!” A black and orange haired Myrran girl quickly jumped out from behind a hostess stand. She looked remarkably like Jasmine except her hair was more black than orange. Small chunks of chocolate frosting stained the corner of the cat-eared girl’s mouth as she smiled and bowed. “Welcome to the Wilderness Theater!”
“Um,” Desdemona tapped the corner of her mouth. “You have a little something…”
“Shit,” she said while pulling a crumpled napkin from her pocket. “Shit! I’m not supposed to say shit. I mean, let’s start over. Can we start over? You won’t tell Jasmine, will you? You can’t tell Jasmine. She’ll get really upset. Especially since I swore in front of an important customer.”