A Little Bit of Trust and Lust; Art by Letsdrawcats (Patreon)

“Don’t worry, cutie, you can trust me.” the dragonkin assured him for what had to be the fifth time in the last half hour. It wasn’t a very good sign.

The young furkin had been sent to the town of Longview, in the Free Timberlands, to meet her. He had had reservations about the situation from the beginning. Resting at the edge of the Leveran Forest, the community was much different than others out in the boonies. Unlike most of the settlements in the freelands, Longview was founded by lizardkin. A Raven Knight like him would probably not be a welcome sight there.

The furkin, a wakaleo named Riyo, had received a missive via carrier crow. The crow had been one of the rare albinos he’d only heard gossip about. How it’d found him was a mystery, but given who was rumored to use the white birds, he wasn’t all too surprised.

As the albino crow indicated, the message had been from the Queen Lesser, Azalyn de Lioncourt. A shrewd lioness, Riyo had only met the stone-faced monarch once, and she’d left quite an impression. The kind of impression spiders leave on flies, and he’d never wanted to get entangled in ‘her’ web. He’d face down monsters, demons, rogue wizards, and even elderians; but that woman he feared. There was something unsettling about the adorable lioness. She was like stopping to smell a tulip and finding out it had fangs.

The message had been brief. It read;

“To Sir Riyo Vandeleur, Captain of the 7th,

I am in need of an agent to represent my interest in the Free Timberlands. I trust your affairs there have concluded. Nasty business those cultists. I’m glad such fiends have been dealt with, and you are unharmed.

Before you return to Bast, you will proceed to the settlement of Longview on the eastern edge of the Freelands. A contact will approach you in the pleasure house, ‘The Full Nightingale’. Receive them warmly and return to me the information they share. You will know them when you see them. I trust a man of your exceptional caliber understands not to speak of this to anyone.”

Her Royal Majesty;
Queen Consort Azalyn De Lioncourt

It was an odd request to say the least. The Courtian crown had no real authority over the Order. The Raven Knights had been founded to be an autonomous entity, free from any bureaucracy or pressure from the royals and nobility. Or at least, that’s what the intention had been. The Order was still honor bound to accommodate the crown when it could. Giving them priority in matters of the arcane. On the surface this didn’t seem to be within the purview of that relationship, but Riyo wasn’t sure it would be wise to disappoint the ‘Queen of Shadows’.

“Nor do I want to be one of her ‘shadows’.” he’d thought. Though ultimately if Queen Azalyn wanted you as a pawn on her chess board, there was fuck all you could do about it. So the wakaleo had made his way to Longview to meet with the Queen’s ‘contact’. It had not been what he’d expected.

Longview was mostly kobolds and lesser lizards. Those who grew tired of the constant conflict between furkin and lizardkin in the closing days of the Baptism. So when he entered the upscale pleasure house to look for this contact, he was surprised to find a dragonborn prancing around on stage. It wasn’t something he’d ever thought he’d see.

The dragon was a feminine thing. With vibrant violet scales over most of her slender body. Though her front, from her neck down to her groin, had wider, blue scales. They also ran the length of the bottom of her tail. The tip of which was in a bit of a heart shape.

"Cute," Riyo thought upon seeing it.

The dragonborn had long, wide ears, and curved horns on either side of her head. Her long blue hair seemed to deepen in shade the further away it got from the top of her head, and she had sweeping bangs that highlighted her mint green eyes and pretty face. Shecertainly stood out.

Riyo was no better. He definitely stood out in a crowd too. A handsome furkin of a rare and exotic race, the wakaleo had gotten looks and propositions the moment he’d stepped into town. Dressed as he was as a simple Palawan of his tribe, he’d not been foolish enough to arrive in any official capacity; so his enchanted armor and weapon had been left outside the city. Guarded by his Ravenhawk, Wahn.

He instead wore the garb of a paramour of the Moinee. A tan top, tied together with braided rope, adorned with colorful designs and beads. He wore a traditional fanged necklace, a ganawani cloth around his waist, and a braided belt that had pouches tied to it. He stood tall in a single, side slung loincloth, with leather fixings around his ankles to his feet. The footwear was ornate and comfortable.

He knew he'd stand out in a way, but given that the tribes had always done business in Longview, he doubted the locals would find him too out of place. In addition, the reputation of Palawan paramours was legendary. So the interest of the ladykin and the males of the city was not surprising. Especially from the young kobold girls. They loved their males tall, and were always strangely attracted to other species.

He’d caught the dragonborn’s attention from the moment he walked into the room. His amber eyes met the dragonesses and he could see something, perhaps recognition. Maybe even a little appreciation. There was a bit of a wink and a kiss in that look that let Riyo know the reptite approved of his appearance. Or at least that’s what he’d assumed.

The dragonborn finished her dance to the sounds of thunderous applause and bowed to the crowd . Before long, she gave Riyo a sly look, announcing that she’d been booked for a private show. The patrons tossed kellings on to the stage and cheered. Loose coins and small satchels hit the polished wood floor like the staccato beat of drums. The Raven Knight observed that most threw copper and silver, but there was some gold, and even a single platinum kelling in the mix. That one came from a large, scarred gator who gave Riyo an appraising look. He’d never seen a dancer make so much money. He tried not to gawk, but the only other things of interest were the gatorkin and his entourage. A single suggestive wink from the massive lizard turned Riyo's attention back to the stage.

A small blue kobold hustled about, gathering the money as the foppish dragon ignored the cash and made his way to Riyo.

“Ready to get what you paid for?” she asked loudly, before bounding over a few patrons and falling into Riyo's arms. Without hesitation the dragonborn took the wakaleo in her embrace and kissed him full on the mouth, much to the crowds' amusement and jealousy.

The kiss was long and intimate. Riyo felt the tongue of the lizardkin coil around his and begin to roll. It was a pleasure that few lovers could offer and the dragonborn was apparently good at it. Riyo tried his best to maintain his composure as he listened to the crowd cheer and beg. Some wanted them to return to the stage, insisting they’d pay good money to watch. Rao put on a great show as she ran her hand through Riyo's short, spikey, white hair and pressed her body against the wakaleo's tan, white-spotted fur. Murmurs from beyond the girl let Riyo know that a lot of coin was being offered to continue the show publicly, but the dragonborn declined, saying that they wouldn’t be able to afford that 'pleasure'

She then led a confused Riyo to the back where she asked;

“So, you’re the Queen’s kin?”

Before Riyo could answer the dragon reached a hand down to his loin cloth and took in his ‘measure’. She seemed to be pleased at her findings.

“She said you were a beauty, but I had no idea.” she whistled. This brought Riyo up short. The Raven Knight stood back defensively; giving the dragonness a curious look. He didn’t much like having a stranger in his personal space. Especially one of dragonblood. A simple exhale would be all it took to bathe him in dragon fire.

His trepidation must have shown on his face, because the dragonborn laughed cutely, promising;

“Don’t worry, honey. You can trust me.”

You can trust me. She'd said it before Riyo had even learned her name. She’d said it after too, when the dragonborn introduced herself as Rao, an agent of Empress Aetheria. She’d said it again when they reached the back alley of the establishment and Rao began leading him down the darkened path. She’d insisted that Riyo could trust her when they came across the hidden corpse of another dragonborn. One who seemed to have died in the middle of an enjoyable act, if the condition of the body was any indication. She’d even said it as she explained who the dead dragonborn was and why Rao had killed him.

The statement had lingered in Riyo’s mind as he helped Rao dispose of the body and followed the salacious lass back to her place on the east end.

“You can trust me...” she’d said as she led Riyo into her lavish apartment; with it’s sheer drapery, fancy paintings, and ornaments. The gifts and trinkets she’d received from adoring fans. Rao wanted to be trusted as she led Riyo past the secret entrance into her real bed chamber. A room with knives and weapons neatly sitting upon the wall. Where there was an echosphere on a table, up a large dais, and several candles around a large circular bed that looked as soft as it was large. She wanted Riyo to trust her as she stood close, in the wakaleo's personal space, speaking seductively and handing him a parchment. Smiling the whole time with a look on her face that promised that she would only bite if asked to.

Riyo was loathed to take his eyes off the pretty dragon girl. Not because of any attraction he held to her, though that was there, but because he typically didn’t like to turn an eye away from spies and assassins. Especially those so magically inclined. Riyo did not in fact trust her.

The other dragonborn, the dead one, probably trusted her. Probably didn’t see the little dandy as a threat. She was simply a kin about town. A runt who would be a bit of a good time. Rao was merely 5’7”, small for one of the dragon’s blood, that was for damn sure. Riyo towered over her, but did not feel comforted by this fact. He’d known many dragonborn. They were dangerous no matter their size.

Sighing, Riyo turned his attention to the parchment. What was written was of great intrigue.

It seemed that Rao had intercepted a correspondence between someone named Etoirir, to a Belkin Lord named Fyodor Turgenev. Etoirir was a prominent figure in Sauria’s ‘War Faction’, which was surprising. He’d always thought the War Faction hated all furkin, but in the last couple centuries it seemed their ire was focused exclusively on Lioncourt. The komodo had heard rumors of a new kind of artificery. One that generated a shielding spell powerful enough to protect an encampment. She was offering two hundred kobolds, instead of three, in exchange for the schematics of the artifact. As well as sizable financial compensation for Fyodor and his 'interests'. Etoirir ended the message by remarking that she ‘trusted’ that he’d find her offer more than fair.Riyo found he trusted the situation less and less.

Espionage was a ranger's bag and he was no ranger. Furthermore, he had no idea why the Empress would want to pass this information along to the Queen Consort. Though the Empress opposed the War Faction, she wasn’t exactly an ally to the furkin Kingdoms. The woman had killed droves of furkin during the Baptism over 300 years ago and her husband had tried to assassinate the former King of Lioncourt at an armistice. Though the Sauria King too met his end that day. The wakaleo didn’t think there was much love loss between the two royal ladies, but he had to admit, he'd never paid attention.

“Fucking politics,” he grumbled as he backed toward the exit.

“Oh, you’re leaving so soon?” Asked Rao, sitting on her bed, legs crossed. Riyo had received the information, though he didn’t fully understand the implications. He would return to Lioncourt and report it to the Queen. Let her deal with it. In his eyes, his mission was over, but Rao had other plans.

“Oh come now, handsome stranger. I am booked for the night. I’m certain it’d be less suspicious if you actually used all your time.” she insisted. Riyo shrugged. Despite the reassurances, or maybe because of them, the wakaleo didn’t trust the beautiful reptite. Something about pretty spies had always screamed ‘Danger’ to him, but Rao insisted that people would notice.

“You’re quite the kin yourself, y’know. Beautiful... exotic... noticeable.” She insisted.

“One simply doesn’t spend the kind of coin it takes to get my time and then walk away. Everyone would notice. They might ask an uncomfortable question or two.” She continued.
“And what about my reputation? It’d be bad for my cover.”

Riyo scoffed at her explanation, but entertained the idea of staying the night. Though if he did, he’d sleep somewhere else. Not that he didn’t find the little epicene enticing, he just didn’t want to end up like the corpse he’d recently helped dispose of, but Rao was undeterred.

“Plus there is the little matter of my payment in all this. I’ve gone to great lengths to get this information to your Queen. She promised to pay my fee and guaranteed you’d be accommodating to my needs.” the dragon pointed out leaning forward suggestively. Her long tail swept out and wrapped itself around Riyo, pulling forward a bit.

Unwilling to be put off, Riyo decided to change tact.

“And what is your fee?” he asked. If it was reasonable, he’d match it. The little lizard couldn’t argue with that; and if it meant that he could fulfill whatever promises the Queen had made on his behalf, all the better.

“Well, I only go for the night and that’s one platinum kelling, dear.” Rao informed.

Riyo could not keep his composure after that. Nearly choking on his surprise, he gave the little dragon girl an incredulous look.

“100 gold kelings for a simple romp?” the Raven gasped.

"A courtesan of the Pandorican Court is merely 10 gold kellings; and there are no better lovers in all the land." he exclaimed. He didn't think you could do better than a beautiful race of furkin that had spent more than a thousand years bought and traded as sex slaves and concubines. He had no idea what made this girl worth a platinum kelling.

“You’d be surprised what one would pay for the honor of lying with one kissed by the dragons.” teased Rao. She then reached forward,  gingerly laying a hand on Riyo’s groin.

“Though one as lovely as yourself, I’d gladly service for free.” she teased.