Dao 4 Chapter 27 (Patreon)

“And his pursuit of the Mo has caused this?” Old Jin frowned, but his words broke the tension that Bai’s words had formed.

“Something attacked us when he killed a Mo a week ago. Then we believe the same entity caused the crack in the sky,” Sha answered for Bai. “Whatever this is, it poses a danger for us all.”

Dar had expected some of them to back down and state that it wasn’t their problem. Whatever was happening was clearly powerful.But The Deep One and Hong both stared up at the crack with predatory expressions.

Dar realized that, despite all their talk, he was surrounded by beings that had risen to the top of the food chain. They did not take well to being threatened.

There wasn’t an herbivore among them; they were apex predators that were just told something else was hunting in their land.

“Then the first attack was smaller than this? It has escalated?” Old Jin asked.

“Yes. I hope to continue and draw it out.” Dar saw his chance to align their goals with his wishes.

The celestials nodded.

“Many of my demons have grown bored and complacent in the ocean.” The Deep One crossed his arms and flexed as he grinned. “We’ll come up hunting from the ocean.”

“If Bai isn’t going to have a problem with me lighting her territory on fire, I’d be more than happy to. I’ve always wanted to give it a try.” Hong played it off as if it was no big deal.

Bai groaned. “My territory is already done for. Light it on fire if that would please you, just burn the devils out.”

Hong snapped his fingers and a jet of flame flew from them up into the ceiling. “Well then, daughters, we have some fun to do today! Say goodbye.” Hong pushed away from the table as if he couldn’t wait to get away from the other celestials.

The Deep One stopped his insistent pacing and nodded. “I do hope you can lure this… thing out. I’d like to eliminate it.”

Dar felt like whatever was up in the crack needed a name, and the only thing that came to mind was a box that unleashed horrors upon the world. Pandora.

Old Jin didn’t leave so quickly. “What happens when the Mo are defeated?” He asked.

“Life continues on,” Dar said with confidence. “But that only happens if we put an end to this. I haven’t seen any change in the crack since it opened. I don’t think it will heal on its own.”

“Makes you wonder.” Old Jin gazed out at the crack in the sky. “Just what is it?”

“We believe it killed the Drasil,” Sha told the old dragon.

He nodded, not showing any surprise. “It was always too hopeful to believe that they left. I knew that long ago, but maybe part of me hoped they had died of natural causes.”

Old Jin stood and put his hands on the table. “Good luck to you all. I’ll keep the other two in line. After this is over though, I doubt they’ll be much help in getting the territory back in shape.”

Bai snorted. “I don’t need their help. I can manage just fine on my own.”

The old dragon nodded and turned to leave.

As soon as he left, Sha let go of a large part of the structure, and it crumbled to sand around them.

“Well, you got what you wanted,” Sasha finally spoke. “That means we are going to hunt down the rest of the Mo?”

“If you would take over, Bai, I would enjoy the opportunity to rest in Dar’s inner world.” Sha put a hand to her forehead.

Dar reached over to comfort her, even as a small smile rose on the corners of her lips.

“Cheat,” Bai snorted. “Valdis, help me navigate to the closest Mo. We’ll let Sha rest, and then she’ll have to trade out when we get to the Mo.”

“Thank you both for your assistance.” Dar had no idea how he would have handled the recent events without them. Their protection and power was what he needed to finish the quest before him.

Bai waved away his words as a block of ice peeled back Sha’s sandstone and cleanly transitioned them to a slab of ice. “Just let your maids continue to serve me while I’m working. They truly are the best. And I’d like a chance to enter your inner world soon as well.”

Dar realized that his inner world was being treated like some sort of reward.

Sha cleared her throat, and Sasha stood behind her expectantly.

“Oh. Right now.” Dar drew them both into his inner world and sighed.

“Don’t be like that,” Valdis teased him. “You have a bevy of beauties vying for your attention. You should be happy. Besides…” She smirked. “Your life dao is complete. So maybe I can draw Bai a map and see what all the fuss is about.”

“Well, we have a lot of travel ahead of us. I’m sure we’ll all find some time to spend together.” Dar then sat down cross legged to escape before Valdis teased him further.

Sinking into his consciousness, Dar felt himself stand amid the grass of the courtyard. Sha was there with Sasha, waiting patiently.

“Well, this is the inner world,” Dar said, standing up. “Over here is the black keep. I assume Lilith built it inside of me. And this is the dao tree.”

Sha inspected the tree and stepped up to it, putting a hand on its bark. “It is overflowing with different dao.”

“We find cultivating our dao paths underneath it is incredibly beneficial,” Dar explained. “Hearthway is this way.” He gestured away from the tree, knowing that he had yet to fulfill his obligation with Sha or Bai on having a date.

He appreciated that neither had pushed.

“Oh, your village of immortals. Yes, let’s go see what it is about.” Sha took his arm and Sasha disappeared.

Dar looked down at her arm wrapped around his, his brow furrowing. She’d never been interested in much touching before.

But then it clicked. Sasha had most definitely been coaching them. “So, you’ve been talking with Sasha?”

“Is it that obvious?” she asked.

“It is. You can stop. Just because Sasha has advised you on ways to get and keep my attention, that doesn’t mean you have to do them. I’d much rather you be yourself,” Dar replied.

Sha was playing with her hair and stopped with a frown. “I am in new territory and sought advice. Besides, you make me feel funny.”

Dar squinted and decided to ignore that part, unsure if it was more of Sasha’s advice.

“Lord.” Tabby waved at him from the hearth where people were gathering for breakfast. She was stirring a large pot, scooping a serving for him.

At her shout, heads turned, and the people of the village had bright smiles as they waved at Dar.

“Lord,” echoed around the hearth as people stood to give him their thanks, making it difficult for him to make it over to Tabby for breakfast.

Walking through the crowds as quickly as he could without being rude, Dar eventually reached Tabby. He took a bowl from her as she poured another for his guest.

“Who might this be?” Tabby asked with a raised eyebrow that told Dar that the gossip mill would already be churning.

“Sha, The Desert Queen. She’s the celestial spirit that lives in Sineld,” Dar introduced her. “This is Tabby. She’s the wife of one of my trusted council members and amazing at everything she does.”

“Lord,” Tabby scolded him. “She has—”

“It is great to meet you.” Sha took the bowl from Tabby and dipped her finger in it, only to lick them off. “He is correct. You are wonderful at what you do. In Sineld, it is a great respect to enjoy someone else’s cooking. Thank you.” Sha bowed to Tabby.

“H-hold up.” Tabby waved her hands. “It’s just a little food.” She looked to Dar for help.

Dar greatly enjoyed seeing the stern woman so flustered, but Dar stepped in to save her. “Thank you, Tabby.” He put an arm around Sha and pulled the celestial spirit away before she caused a greater stir.

“Your people look up to and respect you. I’ve seen many leaders rise and fall. The way they treat you is the mark of a great leader and very often a great person.” Sha smiled at him as he pulled her down to an empty set of stumps and sat to eat with her.

She watched him closely as he made two spoons, handing her one and dug in himself.

Sha was a beautiful woman, and it was making Dar a little flustered with how much she watched him. She still wore light cloth from the desert that stood out among Dar’s people, and she had enough jewelry adorning her that it would make some nobles jealous.

“Is there something I can help you with?” Dar asked to break the silence.

“You dao companionship would be nice, but I know you do not give it away freely. If I’m honest, I’ve never pursued somebody like this. It’s a little amusing, and a little frustrating.” Sha smiled and stuffed a spoonful of the porridge in her mouth. She sucked on the spoon loud enough to turn a few heads.

“Stop that,” Dar grumbled. He was half-tempted to smack the spoon out of her hands.

Sha laughed but at least spared him the embarrassment. “I’m only having fun. Besides, you have a lot of villagers that seem interested in stopping by.”

Dar turned away from her to see a mother and daughter pair waiting in the wings. As soon as he acknowledged them, the daughter shot away from her mother.

“Thank you for saving my pa!” She squeezed Dar’s side tight.

Her mother had an apologetic expression for the little girl, but she looked pleased for the chance to thank him herself. “She has been waiting to thank you.”

Dar hugged the girl back. “I’m glad to be able to help anyone from Hearthway. How’s your father?”

“Better, much better. Cherry has them starting the fields back up. Are we really inside of you?” The little girl blinked up at him before looking down at his stomach and tilting her head in confusion.

“Yes, sort of.” Dar wasn’t quite sure how to explain it to a little girl.

She frowned non the less. “How are you inside yourself?”

Dar opened his mouth, having even more trouble with how to explain what he knew.

The mother noticed his pause and hushed her child. “You’ve said your thank you. Now there are others that want to greet the lord.”

Dar realized his presence had once again summoned a small line of villagers ready to thank him for their help.

Sha leaned against him. “Such a wonderful leader. I’ll just sit by your side and let them get used to me before they realize who I am.”

Dar rolled his eyes at her and then accepted the next person in line.

***

The next few days were relatively simple as they traveled through the desert.

Bai and Sha took turns as they moved, following him around his inner world and learning more about his people.

Hearthway was undergoing a drastic change. Farming was a primary focus. No longer stuck in winter as they enjoyed constantly beautiful weather, they were working to get the fields up and running.

They’d lost access to the bison meat, but the goats had come with them, along with all of their stores of meat.

The goats were partially set free to roam Dar’s inner world. Normally, they’d need to fence them in from predators, but in Dar’s inner world, there wasn’t anything but the villagers to hunt them.

So they were left to explore the wide world.

As they’d been moving, Dar had spotted the ocean and made Bai stop so that he could draw a vast amount of water into his inner world, forming a natural basin. He’d even managed to get some basic sea life and fish to fill it.

With all of the travel, he was exploring his inner world and had become afraid that it was now boundless. Or more appropriately, he wondered if it would eventually curl back on itself and form an actual planet.

“Caught you!” Valdis crashed into him and knocked him down at the edge of the giant lake.

Dar chuckled. “I guess you did. What are you doing?”

“Stopping you from avoiding me any further.” She raised an eyebrow at him as if daring him to deny it.

He was perfectly fine denying it. “I wouldn’t say I was avoiding you.”

“Sure seemed like it. Like now that you have the dao of life, things got a little real. Truthfully, I’d fuck you even without it.” Valdis’ expression softened. “I know I didn’t know you at first when I wanted to share our dao, so you’re probably a little skeptical now. But I think you are an amazing man. The way you care for your people and your women, it’s special. You fight with such passion, and from what I hear, bring passion to other parts of your life as well.” Her eyes twinkled a little. “I am honored to fight by your side and I would love to share more with you.”

She shut him up with a kiss before he could argue, her wings coming down and laying over them like a giant downy blanket.

Dar didn’t use words to tell her what her words meant to him. Instead, he used his hands. He reached up under her chain mail and tried to find the clasp for her armor.

Valdis groaned and rubbed herself against him, which actually hurt with her armored skirt.

“There’s no way that can be helpful. Stop rubbing that against me.” Dar grimaced.

“I’m just that fucking horny, deal with it.” Valdis grunted. “Also, there’s plenty you can do to fix it.”

Dar laughed. “Help me with your damn clasps.”

She rolled her eyes and tucked her wings before rolling off him and tossing all her armor all aside quickly with rattling thumps. After that, Valdis was on his lap, ripping off his clothes. “Sasha said if you were still being resistant today to just go for it.”

“Did she now?” Dar chuckled before Valdis’ warm hand wrapped around his cock, and her thumb started to stroke the head as it rose to attention.

“She did.” Valdis bit her pink lips and stared at him. “She told me a lot of things to help too.” Valdis leaned in and kissed him hungrily, her lips tugging at his.

Dar threw aside any reservations he had and grabbed the back of her head, smashing her plump lips to his as he went to war with her over their tongues.

The kissing seemed to make Valdis forget his cock as she grabbed his face with both of her hands, pulling herself as close as she could. She started kissing him with complete abandon, her wings curling around him possessively as she pulled herself into his lap.

Valdis’ wet sex ground against his hard cock.

He felt himself slip just barely inside her with a few of her thrusts, which started driving him wild. Valdis seemed to feel the same, kissing him even more fervently.

When she finally pulled away, her green eyes had a little of her death dao spilling out the edges. “Fuck me. I needed this.”

Dar smiled, grabbing her hips and lifting her over his cock before spearing into her.

She wiggled for a moment against him as he settled fully into her body. “Yes.”

Dar kissed along her tender neck as she arched herself against him, swaying her hips. “You feel good.”

“Great even,” she breathed, her hands pawing at him for the right grip as she ground in his lap.

Wanting to help her find the right spot, Dar sank his fingers into her luscious thighs and lifted her up along his shaft, then slid her back down. He controlled the motion, making her ride him.

Valdis stopped trying to take control and followed his movements. She rested her arms around his shoulders, kissing him as he moved her up and down along him.

As she kissed him, she did it with less fervor. Instead, she became slow and tender, her lips gliding against his until she grew satisfied that she had covered every inch. Then she kissed along his jaw line and found a sensitive spot where his jaw met his ear.

“Like that?” she asked.

Dar grunted as he continued to lift and lower her sex over him. She glided smoothly over his cock, her walls squeezing him like a gentle lover coaxing them slowly to new heights.

Dar let her set the pace. Each kiss was a stroke, and she quickly caught onto his game, returning to his lips and groaning into his mouth with heady breath as he lifted and lowered her onto himself.

Her sex was gentle for what he’d expected, but it felt amazing. Valdis’ soft feathers brushed his back as she clung to him, little soft mews coming from her as he got eager and picked up the pace.

“Dar.” She squeezed her thighs against his side as she begged. “Faster. Finish it.”

Dar had no problem complying and driving her down harder and harder onto him. Gone was the soft love making as they shifted into something much more animalistic. They both desperately wanted to come.

Her sex glided over him with wet squelches each time he bottomed out into her, and she let out a cry, her body driving her crazy with need. Each time he pumped her down onto him, she cried louder and louder. He smiled, seeing just how loud he could get her to cry out.

“Yes, Yes, YES!” Valdis cried out and her wing snapped open as her eyes rolled up and she opened her mouth with the loudest cry yet. Her sex quivered with pleasure as she rolled into her orgasm.

Dar didn’t stop pumping, continuing to thrust her over him and drag out her pleasure as he reached his own peak, shooting ropes of his seed into her womb.

With the union, he felt both of their dao paths curl around each other, intertwining and joining them as dao companions.