NTR Quest - Odyssey 29 - Accept Ashur (Patreon)

Lamasu sighed heavily. “This is no place for the Son of an Emperor...”  He complained. There was a blinder over his eyes which he removed to look around. The servant he had assigned to the duty was still fanning him nervously.
“Do you know where Cao Young is?”

The servant gulped nervously. “I-I can't answer that, Your Highness.”

“Oh, right...” He covered his eyes again with the blinder.
“Where is Cao Young?”

“Master, he is still under water and has been for roughly an hour.”

Lamasu laid back down, continuing to sunbath on the beach. The island that they had rested on had a very short shallow section where ships could safely anchor. A literal desert island. They were forced to stop and repair, and prepare for the next fight with the Seafolk.
“Why is it that no matter how long I bathe in the sun like this I can not get a tan?”

“I have no idea, Master.”

He turned over onto his side, licking his lips. “My skin is very soft, don't you think?” The servant began to sweat. Before he could say anything, there was a splash off the coast where the depth dropped off that was like an explosion. A loud, low, trumpeting groan like the sounding of the end times bellowed out as a large creature bigger than all three of their ships combined crested and floated lazily on it's side. Lamasu uncovered his eyes.
“I hope that's dinner.” He salivated a little to look at it. Whatever it was, if it was in the water it was just a big fish to him. He squinted, seeing a small figure standing atop the felled beast. It jumped off and swam like a torpedo to shore. In the time it took the figure to swim there, the water that had been thrown up came down in a shower on top of Lamasu.
“Ah! Cover me, quickly! The salt water is bad for my skin!” The servant quickly jumped on top of his master, who hugged him forwardly.
“Just kidding.” He winked, sticking his tongue out.

“M-master...” The servant was horrified.

The figure walked up onto the beach. He was a tall, muscular young man with brown eyes. He was wearing nothing but a white loincloth. As he walked up he stared at Lamasu curiously.
“Lizard, what're you doing with that man?”

“He is protecting me from the salt water you kicked up, Hero.” Lamasu hugged the mortified servant to his chest tightly, like someone protecting a baby. Cao Young walked around, still wet, and began flicking water at Lamasu from his finger tips. He flinched each time.
“Stop... Stop!” Reluctantly he let the servant go.
“You are too brave to be human. Maybe I should kill you.”

“If you try to kill me and fail I'll just end up becoming stronger than a lizard. Then what'll you do?”

“Lizard...” Lamasu stared the boy down in disbelief.
“Can you at least be a little bit respectful?”

“You're a 'Blue Lizard.', right?”

Lamasu grumbled quietly. He pointed out to sea to change the subject. “That thing.” He covered his eyes.
“What is it? What happened?”

Cao Young glanced back. “That guy tried to eat me when I was meditating at around five-thousand feet so I dragged him up here and he died because I went to fast. I dunno if he tastes good.”

Lamasu tapped his chin in thought. “Five-thousand. Is that a lot?”

“Third of a way to their deepest cities, I think. Maybe half?” The Hero smiled.

“Currently I can rest at that depth comfortably and live down there four at least an hour while exercising and moving. In about a weeks time I'll be able to go down twice as far and stay down for maybe a whole day while I'm moving and fighting. That basically means, just another week here and I'll be able to completely conquer these folks.”

Lamasu felt curious. “What is it like down there?”

The Hero plopped down in the sand. “It's pitch black in every direction. There is no Aura. Nothing except what comes off of the life down there. Oh... Everything is huge once you go that deep. That guy ate me, but he was running from a serpent that was roughly a hundred times bigger. He didn't notice me though because I was too small. The pressure is deadly... The exciting thing is, I think it probably goes way deeper.”

“Are you sure there's anything down that deep?”

“Yup. There's a Black City at the lowest depths where no light exists. There's no life but there is something ancient and powerful that I can't quite understand. But, if it's like it is in my dreams, it should be fun for sightseeing, since every building is larger than the largest thing you can thing of and has Aura within the walls. It would be like walking around in daylight to me. The thing with no life and no Aura is promising me power if I can go deeper, Lamasu... What do you think?”

“W-WHAT!?” The Dragon stared at him, then lifted the blinder to fully show his horrified expression.

“Pfft! Just kidding! There's nothing down that deep. Maybe.” He winked.

“Can't believe I spooked a Lizard.”

“Wait... Did you get into my special book collection?”

“Ah, I better go carve that thing up for dinner, right?” He ran towards the water.

-

you looked over. Ashur was practically vibrating. “Are you okay?”

“I'm excited!”

“Ah, that's good...” You were not sure how to feel around the prince, but he seemed harmless, to say the least.
“What's exciting?”

“I'm a part of the team.”

“Oh, okay.” You smiled and could not help but think it a little cute. You glanced away as Fiona whispered in your ear.

“He is NOT a part of the team.” She said.
“No way.”

“Be nice.” You lower your voice to an even quieter degree.
“He sucked me off when we went to meet.”

“Huh?” Fiona leaned back, covering her mouth with her hand.

“Was he good?”

“He was fine, I guess.” You shrugged. You motioned Djir over.
“What do you think?”

Everyone was whispering away from the Prince so Djir joined in. “He's cute, but not as cute as you, Fin.”

“Thanks.” Amun, Cyyani, Jeane and Teuta were below deck. Marrien suggested that the delegation should be light in order to not seem as if you are intimidating the Seafolk delegation. They were set to arrive within minutes. Marrien waved at you. You walked over to her.
“Yes?”

“Proud of you for making connections with the Prince. Look how happy he is just by being brought along.” She said cheerfully.

“Yeah. I mean... It's not what I expected.”

“You said he was very into tea parties, right?”

Yup.”

The corners of Marriens lips curled up. “Djir guessed it, but wouldn't it be easy to manipulate the little prince?”

“M-mom?” You looked at her strangely.

“I mean in a perfectly moral and acceptable sense. I am thinking that Fiona would be a good match, since she has a very dominant personality.”

“What about me?”

“Well, you have Djir, and Teuta, and Jeane.”

“How'd you figure all that out?”

“I'm not stupid, Fin.” She chuckled, covering her mouth.
“Also, Djir let it slip during his proposal. Part of it was him explaining how I was still going to get plenty of grandchildren. He is very eloquent and convincing.”

You rub your forehead in disbelief. “I feel like I was left out of this conversation, Mom.”

“Don't feel pressured, Fin. At the end of the day it is completely up to you who you love.” She offered genuinely. You smiled at that, then heard the sound of water moving beside the ship. It began to rock beneath your feet.
“That must be them.”

You walked close to the side and watched as a collection of differently shaped and sized humanoid figures emerged alongside the ship, riding atop some type of large creature. They hopped down onto the deck uncautiously while looking around at the production of the vessel. Sticking out like a sore thumb is the person at the head of the delegation with a tall frame surrounded by slick blue and gold robes. Their face was almost translucent and you could make out organs beneath the skin. Their face was like that of a squid with two beady black eyes and tentacles hanging down like a beard. At his side there are two other Seafolk that look to be women. There is a woman that is quite big and muscular wearing tight clothing that almost seems to blend with her smooth gray skin. She has gills on her sides, lining up between her rips and webbing between the normal number of fingers and toes. You could also see a thick, fin-like tail hanging behind her. As you looked her over, she looked back at you with human-like eyes that had black pupils. She grinned widely, flashing razor-sharp teeth. Each one seemed like a dagger that could rip flesh. On the otherside of the squid-like man you saw a more translucent-looking person with a feminine shape. She looked as if she were made out of blue slime, with no veins or organs within except for a round orb near the center of her chest. As you tried to lay your eyes on it it moved around through her body and hid within some of the clothing she seemed to be wearing. A smooth, reflective skirt and a low-cut tube top that constrained her quite large breasts.

“Greetings, Seafolk. We apologize for our Kin's difficulty.” Marrien began.
“On the surface where we are from, Humans and other folk come from various countries and lands that all have different cultures. We have a far more amicable attitude towards diplomacy.”

The Seafolk exchanged looks. The Squid stepped forward. “We are interested in speaking to friendly Humans, after the experiences we have had with the one called 'Hero.'” His tentacles did not move as he spoke and his voice sounded clear.
“We too have many different lands on the shelves that make up our continent. We are from the three largest Kingdoms that seek to cooperate to deal with this threat. Essentially, what we are facing currently is a war of survival. The being that we began fighting with was simple to deal with at first, then over time he only became stronger and more capable of fighting us on our own terms. We believe that it is only a matter of time before he is completely adapted to the depths required to overpower us underwater, a space where we should be unequaled. What are you able to do for us?”

Marrien gave the man a shrewd look. “I think it should be said to be the other way around.” The delegation looked shocked on both ends. She exhaled lightly and continued.
“We could chose to join them with no cost to ourselves and only benefits to be had, since we are technically all of the same make and source. We can work with them easily. For you, we are actually going to need to expend a lot of resources and political energy to help you. So, the question is not what we can do for you, with all due respect.”

“I... Suppose that is the case.” The Squid relented.
“What would you suggest, then?”

“Honestly, just favorable trade. We want some of the resources that you have access to at the depths we can't reach. If you promise to give it to us at a reduced cost, and in a way that is convenient for us to receive we can start to go through the effort of helping you. It also goes without saying that we want to have safe passage through your waters. Permanently.”

“We are prepared to accept that offer.” The Squid said quickly.
“It is a better deal than we expected. We may-”

“Ah, wait!” Ashur raised his hand.

“Yes, Prince?” Marrien looked at him.

“I can seal the contract with Royal authority so both parties have to follow the terms.” He offered, his emerald eyes glimmering.

Marrien seemed surprised. “Could you do that, Prince? Also, would the delegation agree?”

The man lowered his head. “Considering that it is simply sealing the conditions we have already agreed to... We may.”

“Alright. Go ahead, Your Highness.” Marrien motioned him forward.

You watched as Ashur stood between both parties. “Both Delegations leaders step forward.” He asked regally. Marrien and the Squid stood side-by-side. Ashur smiled.
“Look into my eyes and swear that you will follow the conditions laid out as they were spoken here today.

Both Marrien and the Squid said at once. “I swear.” Marrien then added.
“We can write up a more precise contract within those conditions, but the point Is that we swear to solve your problem, and you will in good faith follow our terms as well to the degree I laid out.”

“Of course. You are quite a negotiator, Madame. If possible, I would like to have a meal with you.” The Squid asked in a charming tone.
“Would it also be alright if my allies toured the ship on their own? These vessels intrigue us, and knowing more about them may help us fight our enemy.”

Marrien smiled. “Oh, yes. I suppose that is all fine. We have a deal, so we are allies at this point. Let's all strive to have a good relationship, right?” She looked to you and Fiona pointedly.

“R-right.”

Fiona whispered. “Listen... Who do you wanna keep an eye on? Whoever you decide to go help 'tour' the place, I'm gonna do the other one.” As you two were talking Djir walked over to the tall, muscular Shark and offered her a handshake and a pat on the shoulder. Fiona nodded.
“Seems like he's got the same idea. Who do you want?”