Chapter CXXXVII In a Dwarf Town (Patreon)

That side story I mentioned with the last ASB chapter is still a WIP. I'll post it when it is done. I have however managed to get this done. Sorry about the long wait for it though.

Misaki stretched as she stepped out of the wagon. It had been a few days, and they had finally reached their destination. A quaint little dwarf town named Voribar where they would find the dwarf they were looking for. The one that Dewari had mentioned would orgasm at the chance they were offering.

The trip here hadn’t been entirely uneventful, but thankfully they had seen neither bandits nor a certain dragon the entire way here. If she did follow them, she didn’t bother them. Something Misaki very much considered to be a blessing.

Misaki looked around at the sturdy stone buildings, and the people she could already see going about their day. Misaki’s eyes quickly picked out their outfits, and she noted that book she had brought with her was right. The dwarves did dress differently than the people in Bordertown. Instead of cloth, most of their clothing was made from woven threads of metal. The only reason the dwarves she saw wore what they did was because most adventurers dressed based on what they could get, and these clothes weren’t available outside of Dwarven lands. Not to mention a surprising number of Dwarven adventurers were actually born and raised in Human dominate lands. As such it might not be surprising that they would adopt human clothing and manners. Here in their lands however she would get to see more of their clothing and culture. Already she was noting the differences in design. While the metal clothes weren’t cut the way a lust demon would cut them, she did notice they weren’t human cut either. Not as conservative, but not as risque as a lust demon’s either.

She could see a few dwarves milling about already. Giving Misaki her first real look at Dwarven style. One thing she noted was that stomach baring tops were quite popular among females. Daring cleavage cuts didn’t seem to show much on those tops however, instead most of them had interesting cuts to their skirts that showed tantalizing bits of thigh and crotch. As for the men long shirts, and pants seemed popular.

Behind her, Phyllis stepped out of the wagon. She looked towards the town, and then turned her gaze back to Misaki. “I’ll find the inn, why don’t you look for the temple. Hopefully Goddess Dewari can point us in the right direction, or this might take awhile. It would help if you, at the very least, knew her name.”

“It would,” Commented Misaki as she noted a guard approaching their group. Mira’s party had also noticed, and was patiently waiting for the guard. Misaki figured she would let them take care of it. She was more worried about finding the dwarf she was looking for then actually getting into town. She had half expected Dewari to just show up when she got here, but so far the goddess in question was nowhere to be seen.  No matter, she had expected that, and planned for it. She had no doubt now that the goddess must be waiting for her to visit a local temple.

As she suspected, they had no problems entering the town. While everyone else went to secure lodgings she spoke with several locals and found her way to the temple. It was a modest one, but it contained a shrine to the goddess she was looking for. The main god, well goddess, here was a divine that Misaki wasn’t all that familiar with. The goddess’ domain was apparently related to metalworking and fire. Although the fact that her statue was naked from the waist up was interesting to her. Then again, on the way here she had spotted a few dwarves, all of them females walking around without tops. Might be a culture thing there that she wasn’t familiar with.

Dewari’s shrine was set away from the main shrine, but still in a location of prominence. Her statue was glossy and well cared for, and there were even a couple of priestesses cleaning the statue over the altar when she came in. Neither spoke to her, but they did acknowledge her presence. Misaki nodded to them, and approached the altar and knelt before it in prayer for guidance. A prayer that was quickly answered, as almost instantly she found herself in a familiar space. Dewari’s realm.

Dewari was seated comfortably in a large armchair. It was one of her sitting rooms, and she gestured to a second chair. “Glad to see you made it safely. Do sit, we have quite a bit to discuss.”

She nodded. There was quite a bit that had been left unsaid about the dwarf they were looking for. Most notable being her name. There was more that would be useful to know, but at the very least they needed her name. With that, they would be able to ask around and eventually find her.

As soon as she settled into an opposing chair, Dewari began, “That young follower of mine I mentioned lives on the northern edge of the town, and has her own shop there. Mainly dealing in mana tech, so she would, as I said, be able to help you.”

Misaki interjected, “While helpful I was kinda hoping to learn her name.”

Dewari responded with a wry smile, “I was just getting to that. Her name is Mizu Himawari. She is a very bright and lustful young lady, and don’t be surprised when you go to meet her, but she is expecting.”

“She’s pregnant? That might have been good to know earlier.”

“It wouldn’t have changed anything, and she very much is the person to help you with your mech problem. Besides, the father of her unborn child won’t be around for it anyway. Mizu doesn’t know, but suspects the truth. As for what that truth is. He left on a quest the day after she conceived, as he is an adventurer. He should have been back two months ago, but he ran afoul of bad luck in the mountains and met his end. I know because I handled his reincarnation.”

That didn’t sound good. She wondered what the girl’s mental state would be. People reacted to that kind of grief differently after all. Misaki didn’t want to know how she would deal with that. After a moment’s silence, she slowly asked, “Has anyone told her?”

Dewari shook her head, “Afraid not. None of the locals know for sure, and no adventurer has yet found his corpse nor those of his party. There is a survivor of that ill fated party, but that young lady was captured by kobolds after narrowly escaping with her life. Might be a while before she makes it back to civilization.”

“Does that mean I might have to tell her?”

“Actually you won’t. Me telling you already is bending the rules, but I trust you not to say anything stupid.”

Misaki just nodded, and mentally locked the info away. She didn’t know why this was bending the rules, but there must have been some reason for it. Still it felt cruel not to say a word when you know something like this, but then again it might also be cruel to take away their hope. Misaki felt a bit conflicted about this. Dewari forbidding her from sharing this knowledge was in a way almost a blessing in that regard. Almost.

She shifted in her chair, and changed tracks. “Anything I need to know before I go meet her?”

Dewari smiled, “There is actually...”

Misaki stretched as she stepped out of the temple complex. The sky was darkening and turning red. Her meeting with Dewari had lasted hours, and it was already late in the evening. She was honestly exhausted after that long meeting as well. It seemed she would have to put off meeting with Mizu until tomorrow. With a yawn she surveyed the area in front of the temple, and soon spotted Phyllis waiting nearby.

She tiredly took a step towards her cute little succubus princess. She was already looking forward to curling up against her in a nice bed. Normally she would have wanted something a little more, but she just didn’t have the energy for that. Maybe in the morning, it would be more fun when she isn’t tired and falling asleep on her feet.

The moment she reached Phyllis she was pulled into an embrace, where she could feel the other girl’s breasts pressing against her own. Like always it sent shivers up her nerves, and she very much enjoyed the brief touch. Without any words they broke the embrace, and Phyllis led her down the streets. Thankfully the inn wasn’t far, and Misaki was asleep as soon as she hit the pillow in her room. Phyllis curled up beside her moments later. Both knew they would have a busy morning though, and as always their nights weren’t going to be uneventful. They had five infants of their own after all. Lovely little girls, but they could be quite the handful at times, and the worst was yet to come.