Dao 3 Chapter 14 (Patreon)

Thankfully, there had been no trouble getting back to Bellhaven. Despite Dar’s misgivings, having Tami with them proved helpful once they got to the gate.

She was known in the city, so the guard didn’t bother any of them. Although they received a number of stares as they walked through the city. Dar wasn’t surprised. His outfit was torn and bloody, and he was being helped along by Neko.

Dar had healed, but the walk in had aggravated his injuries even more. Thankfully, Neko never missed a beat and just took more of his weight as they walked.

“Let’s get him back to my place before he falls over here in the street and we have to drag him back.” Tami turned sharply as they entered the city and started heading uphill towards the nicer area of the city.

Dar was a little out of it as Neko supported him, but he recognized when Cherry slipped away into his inner world.

A block later, Tami paused and looked around. “Where’s Cherry?”

“She comes and goes. You get used to it.” Dar said with a smile.

Neko snickered and kept moving, prompting Tami to keep going as well.

“Just go lie down and rest. If you walk around the city looking like that, the guards are going to come ask questions.” Tami clicked her door open and stepped in.

Dar’s eyes narrowed as they scanned the room for Karn, but there was no sign of the demon. Good.

“Neko, make sure he gets some rest. I need to go report to The Prince.” Tami stepped back out and locked the door, leaving Dar alone.

Dar pushed, and the two maids popped back out of his inner world into Tami’s home.

“Dar!” Amber cried upon seeing him. She was so shocked that she dropped the title she always used.

“Not a big deal.” He tried to shoo her away as she picked at the remains of his clothes to see just how bad his injuries were.

“Off your feet this instant. Neko, get him on the bed.” Amber took charge as Marcie ducked under his other arm and between her and Neko. They nearly took all the weight off his legs as they hauled him into Tami’s guest room and laid him out on the bed.

Marcie hesitated for a moment before leaning in and whispering something to Amber.

“Yes. Go get them.”

The mousy maid bolted from the room, off on some errand.

“Neko, I need help getting him out of his clothes.”

The cat girl grinned from ear to ear. “My pleasure.” She leaned in and whispered into his ear, her breath tickling him and sending blood south.

“Maybe you should let me do that.” Dar grabbed his pants before she tore them.

“No. I can do it.” Neko grabbed them and jerked.

The two of them were in a momentary tug of war, which ended up rubbing Dar’s manhood. Between that and Neko’s chest threatening to spill out, he felt himself rising to attention.

The distraction caused Dar to lose the battle, and his pants were pulled down as his cock sprang up.

Neko looked at it curiously and batted it once, only for it to swing back, sticking up and pointing to the heavens. Her eyes gleamed like a kitten with a new toy and she batted it again.

“Stop it.” Dar tried to grab her hands, but she played with his erection, batting it and watching it stick straight back up. Apparently, his dick was as amusing as cats found a spring doorstop.

Amber was absolutely no help as she doubled over in laugher watching the entire thing. Dar wrestled with the cat girl and tried not to damage her new toy.

“What is—?” Marcie stood in the doorway, frozen for a second by the scene.

Dar paused, fighting Neko as he looked up at the doorway, and Neko took her chance to get in one more smack. “Enough.” Dar grabbed Neko and gently, but firmly, tossed her off of him.

Neko was poised to jump back up, but Amber had enough sense to grab her. “Pussy cat, you are playing with it wrong. Later I’ll teach you how to play with it if you are good.”

“I know how to use it. I just didn’t realize it would be so… fascinating.” Neko was still staring at it.

Dar finished shucking his pants and pulled off his shirt before sitting up and closing his legs. “What’s that?” He asked Marcie to change the topic.

“Oh. Just some ointment.” She pulled a jar out of the basket. “Let me.” The timid maid undid the lid and sat next to Dar on the bed, liberally applying the ointment before wrapping the worst of his cuts in bandages.

Neko calmed down, and in what felt like an apology, pressed herself to his side, rubbing her face against his shoulder. Her softer side always melted his heart and brought comfort.

But the moment was broken when Cherry popped back out of his inner world. “Good, we are in private.” She looked around. “Dar, you really should take better care of yourself.”

He snorted. “I’ll remember that next time a big bear demon wants to get in a fight with me.”

Cherry was less than amused. “You know what I mean. So, what’s next?”

The maids and Neko joined Cherry in, pausing and looking to him for the next step.

“If what Tami told us is true, the Mo in those hills is likely in an even weaker state than the one we fought at the ettercaps.” Dar tapped the bed in thought. “I might even be able to absorb it in its current state.”

Cherry nodded. “From what she said, you’d be putting it out of its misery.”

“It’s a devil.” Neko spat. “Better dead.”

Dar knew what Cherry meant, and he agreed. It would almost be a mercy killing to sneak up there and kill the wounded Mo. It was likely being eaten alive, only to regenerate and suffer more.

The thought sent a shiver down Dar’s spine. Never in a million years would he wish such a fate on someone, let alone someone who wouldn’t die.

“But I need time to heal first.” Dar was in no shape to go running through the forest and try to steal a dying Mo’s power, especially when that Mo was surrounded by a mass of devils, including one very powerful queen.

“And train.” Cherry pushed. “You still have that Dao of bright to learn.”

Dar wrinkled his nose, annoyed that it had remained out of his grasp for the moment. “I’ll continue to train. Amber, Marcie and Neko, for this battle, I’m going to ask all of you to sit out.”

“But Milord.” Amber started to argue.

“No buts. When I go for this Mo, stealth is going to be the highest priority. Bringing multiple people is just going to increase the risk.” Dar put a stop to any further conversation on it. “I can’t bring any of you.”

Neko poked at his chest. “Bring us inside. I will not stay behind while you go.”

Amber jumped at Neko’s request. “Exactly, Milord. Please bring us with you. Even if we cannot share in the journey, we do not wish to leave.”

“Exactly, Milord.” Marcie bowed low.

Dar glanced at Cherry for help.

“Sorry, but I think they have the right to come with you in that capacity, if needed. But all of you should prepare to spend a day in there. That means food, belongings.” Cherry coached them.

“Of course.” Amber nodded firmly. “We’ll have what we need.” She turned and beamed back at Dar.

He was wise enough to know that with all four of them in agreement; he wasn’t going to persuade them otherwise. “Fine. We’ll be ready to head out tomorrow. I think I’ll be healed enough to start the journey.” Dar stood, feeling restless.

“Shouldn’t you be resting?” Neko tried to pull him back to the bed.

“No, I’m not feeling tired. I’ll walk the city and check in on Dane. I want to see if he’s getting things in order to head back to Hearthway soon. Sasha will be getting antsy by now.” Dar picked his pants back up and slipped them on before Neko could get any ideas. They were torn. It made him look a little ragged, but there were more important things than his noble prestige at the moment.

“Snag me a variety of seeds for fruiting plants.” Cherry said before she disappeared back into his inner world.

The dryad seemed to be more at home there with every day that passed.

“We have our own shopping to do if we are to prepare for the trip.” Amber declared as Marcie stood behind her.

“I stay with Dar.” Neko stated, as if she were his protector. She hovered by his side, concerned that he was going to topple over.

But Dar felt better; the brief rest in Tami’s home had done wonders.

Getting ready, Dar strode out of Tami’s place with the girls in tow. The maids split off shortly after, heading to do their own shopping trip.

Dar cut for the docks, assuming Dane’s boat would be the best place to find him.

“What kind of seeds does Cherry want?” Neko asked, her head on a swivel as they walked through the city streets.

People were going about their days. Farmers walked with tools hanging over their shoulders; they seemed to be coming back from a midday meal and returning to the fields. Women were managing storefronts, working on some form of craft that could be done while they covered a counter.

The men were almost exclusively tucked away in the back room, making whatever was being sold.

While everyone worked, they seemed happy about what they managed. It was a very different experience from what Dar had experienced when he’d toiled through blue-collar jobs back on Earth. There was a lot of pride on their faces in what they built.

People stopped and talked as they worked. There was a sort of casualness about it all, as if they weren’t scraping by or working with a manager cracking a whip. There was something simple and enviable about the environment of the city as it buzzed with both productivity and cheer.

Dar realized he had paused, staring at the cheerful laborers around him, lost in thoughts of his previous life. He shook his head, pushing them aside.

He wasn’t ever going back. Granterra was his home now. He had people to protect and a little place carved out for his family. One day soon, he might even have the strength to make this world tremble.

Though it had only been a short time, his life back on Earth seemed a distant memory. His life was now in Granterra.

“Dar?” Neko poked him. “Are you okay?”

“Just thinking about things.” He ruffled her ears. “So, did you really not get into any trouble when you went into town before?”

“None!” she declared with a finality. “Some men tried to be mean to Neko, but they regretted that.”

“Yeah?” Dar asked. She hadn’t shown back up at Tami’s with the guard in tow, so he could only assume it had been minor. Either that, or she’d taken care of it thoroughly enough that there hadn’t been a problem.

Neko’s head bobbed, making her cat ears flop. “Neko is the best.”

“Yes, you are.” Dar kept his head up as they descended the slope into what he’d call the docks. With the change, the sounds of the city shifted, and the smell of brine filled the air. Buildings shifted from stone to wood, and they had a strange tilt to them as they seemed to lean away from the bay. The side closest to the water swelled with moisture.

“Stay close.” He pulled on Neko’s hand.

“Not to worry. Neko is tough.” She jabbed into the air.

The crowds thinned, yet the street was still crowded as bulky men hauled cargo or pushed carts laden with goods.

As they rounded the corner and saw the docks, Dar spotted four large river boats and two ocean faring vessels tied up.

But as they walked, Dar felt the hairs on the back of his neck stand up.

Looking around, he spotted a group of four men slinked out of the alley. A scrappy man in the lead spun a dagger threateningly at Dar.

Blinking, Dar didn’t know what to do for a moment. Was he supposed to be scared? A thug with a dagger would be like crushing an ant.

“It seems like you might be in the wrong part of town.” Scrappy strode over, as if he was Dar’s best friend patting him on the shoulder.

Dar looked past the man to assess the full group. There were two big meat heads and a man with an eyepatch. Fresh claw marks, like he’d gotten into a fight with a tiger recently, spanned eyepatch’s right eye, peeking out from under the patch.

His left eye shook with fear, but he wasn’t looking at Dar. No, he was looking at Neko pressed to his side.

The cat girl slipped out of Dar’s arms and stalked forward. “Bad men get hurt.”

“B-b-boss.” Eye Patch stammered and tugged at Scrappy.

“Cut it out.” Scrappy rolled his shoulder out of his grip and threatenly played with the dagger in his hand. “Where were we? Right, it seems you aren’t from around here. Let me introduce you to a few of the rules down here. First, you need to pay the toll.”

Dar looked at the man, completely baffled. Did they really think they were going to extort him? He noticed that everybody in the area was averting their eyes from them, clearly not wanting to get involved. Or maybe they were used to these thugs behaving this way. The fear in a few eyes told Dar that the men must have a nasty reputation.

But for the life of him, Dar couldn’t figure out why these men would be a threat. They didn’t have any dao that he could tell.

Before Dar even responded, Neko stepped forward, pressing her face into Scrappy's. “Bad men should learn to mind their own business. Plus, Neko has no money for tolls.”

The thug tried to lean away from Neko, but she caught him by the hair and hoisted him off his feet. Then she throttled his head into her knee as if he weighed only a few pounds.

His nose crunched into her knee and Scrappy went down, clutching his face.

The two brutes stepped forward, but Neko slipped through their guards. Her fingers became as sharp as claws as she tore into both of their chest. The attacks were deep enough that they both were suddenly far more concerned with stopping the bleeding than trying to grab Neko.

“You bitch.” Scrappy got back to his feet, holding his nose.

“Boss. I was trying to tell you. That’s HER.” Eyepatch grabbed Scrappy and tried to stop him from doing anything else that was stupid.

Dar just watched, amused at the beating Neko delivered.

Neko paused in her attack and stared at Eyepatch. “Did you do what I told you to?”

“Yes. Yes, we did it. Everything is okay. Please leave us alone.”

The cat girl turned to Dar as if asking for his opinion.

“Up to you Neko. I’ll support whatever you do.” Dar thought this would be a good learning experience for her. It seemed like she had successfully intimidated the local gang at the docks, regardless.

She calmed down and spoke carefully. “I will check to see if it is sufficient. If not, I’ll find you. But for this, you need to pay me a toll.” She held out her hand, very pleased with herself.

Eyepatch didn’t hesitate and emptied his pocket of whatever coins he had before sticking his hands into Scrappy’s pockets and getting additional coins from him. “That should be enough.”

“Good.” Neko closed her hands around the coins and shook them in her hand, making a noise. She paused, smiling at the jingling and doing it a few more times before her face returned to being serious as she looked back at them. “Go. You’re boring.”

They didn’t need to be told a second time. The thugs fell over themselves to get away from Neko.

“What exactly did you ask them to do?” Dar asked as they continued their trip to Dane’s boat.

“Huh?” Neko was busy shaking the coins in her palm, not paying attention to anything around her.

“Nevermind.” Dar pulled Neko close, spotting which of the boats was Dane’s. Although it wasn’t what he’d expected.

Dane’s boat was covered in small moving forms. As Dar got closer, he realized they were goats.

“Dar!” Dane saw him approach and came down the gangplank to greet him. The merchant’s eyes flicked to Neko, who was still amusing herself, shaking the coins in her hand.

Dane eyed Neko warily. It seemed whatever encounter on the docks she’d had earlier had spread, but Dar’s attention was on the goats. “I thought Bellhaven was having a food crisis?”

“They are, but they are also having a land crisis. Livestock doesn’t have enough room to graze, so it is butcher or sell them before they lose their value.” Dane kept staring at Neko. “But I wasn’t the one that secured all these goats. They came from… some less than reputable men. Started showing up yesterday. I’m going to run out of room here soon.” Dane’s eyes continued to look at Neko, who didn’t seem aware in the slightest.

It was everything Dar could do not to laugh as he got her attention by placing his hand on hers and stopping her from playing with the coins. He had a pretty solid theory of where those goats came from. “Neko, did you make the bad men give you goats?”

“Good men give gifts. They were very bad, so they needed to give Neko lots of gifts to become good.” She nodded emphatically. “When we get back to Hearthway, will Neko get more milk with all these goats?”

“Yes, I think this will give us plenty of milk.”

Neko’s smile was too bright for him to even consider chastising her. She hadn’t done anything too terrible, but he hoped they had some townspeople who knew how to care for goats.

“I should thank you too.” Dane smiled. “It seems my time at the docks has become considerably easier as well.”

“Well, at least there’s some good that came out of it.” Dar ran a hand through his hair. “What do we owe you for the goats?”

But Dane shook his head. “They are your goats. I haven’t paid a chit for them. I’ll charge you for shipping them upriver, but that’s it. And it sounds like the lady has your coinage.” He held out his hand for payment.

Neko looked at Dane, aghast that he’d consider taking her toy.

“Pay up, Neko. Otherwise the goats won’t make it to Hearthway.”

She frowned, her head going back and forth between her hand and the animals before seeming to come to a decision and passing the coins to Dane.

“Here. Take good care of my goats.” She unceremoniously dumped her handful of coins in Dane’s open palm.

“If you need more, I’m afraid you’ll need to work it out with Sasha in either salt or coin.” Dar explained as the merchant looked at the pittance of coins in his palm.

“Right, I’ll do that.” Dane shook his head, clearly trying not to laugh at the situation.

AN - Neko >.< What have you done!