Later that morning Kal found himself in a very unexpected situation: riding piggyback on Ikuno. She was taking advantage of the natural trail that ran along the base of the mountain range. The oni surmised that it had been made over many years by herds of game animals traveling north and being turned aside by the steep mountain faces, eventually creating a decently wide path. Kal had used it a few times to get to Ikuno’s but it wasn’t significantly faster for him to go north to the trail and then come across than to use his normal route straight through the forest. Since planting Eludora he hadn’t used it at all, stopping to check on his daughter each time it was light enough out to do so.

Trees whipped by from the screaming pace Ikuno had set with the help of Kal’s haste rune. He could move fast with his runes but the oni’s long legs were eating up the distance to their target at an impressive rate. Ikuno informed him they had a good reason to test traveling like this. An unfertilized harpy’s egg started losing it’s magic as soon as it was laid, meaning they will need to get from the harpy nest to the salamander’s cave in the eastern mountains as quickly as possible.

They were far beyond any lands he was familiar with when she finally slowed then stopped in front of a rocky crag on the mountainside. A fissure ran up the stone that had slowly filled with rocks, making a slope for them to start climbing.

As she caught her breath, Ikuno looked up at the fissure and the sheer stone faces on either side that stood well over the treetops. “Last test,” she said, “climb up then jump down. I’ll catch you if something goes wrong. Don’t forget your strength rune too before you jump.”

Kal rolled his eyes, “Yes Mom,” he said in a voice dripping with sarcasm.

Ikuno glared at him as he set both their travel packs down and began climbing the slope of loose rocks. He appreciated her worry, but they had done this same test of his feather fall rune dozens of times already. At this point, he had to constantly push away the thought that she doubted his abilities and remember that she was only being so cautious because she loved him. On the other hand, he could understand her concern. The feather fall spell and rune were going to be their quick way back down once their business with the harpy was done. He disliked the idea of becoming a greasy smear on the side of a mountain as much as anyone else.

The strength rune brightened when he was about halfway to the top and he launched himself to the edge of the fissure, grabbing the lip and quickly pulling himself up with his enhanced muscles. He then calmly walked off the edge of the cliff as the feather fall rune began glowing white. True to all his other tests, he floated down towards Ikuno. Unlike in his other tests, a side wind knocked him off course and he had to push off a couple of tree branches before maneuvering himself into a clear spot to land.

Ikuno smiled, “I should make you do it again just for the ‘mom’ comment,” she said handing his pack to him. Kal laughed and checked the crystal tucked into a small pouch he had put on his vambrace for just that purpose. Observing that it was about three-quarters drained he slipped it back into its leather holder, not seeing the need to switch it out with one of the other three he had brought along.

Ikuno had also stocked up for this trip, Kal had gotten so used to seeing her horns with black tips they almost seemed odd now that they were completely golden again. After getting drunk on magic last year she made certain that there was room in her energy stores whenever Kal was around so there wouldn’t be any repeats.

As they reached the top of the fissure Kal looked over the bleak landscape. A few scraggly trees were managing to eke out the nutrients needed to live from soil that had blown into the cracks scattered about the rocks. Fauna was nearly non-existent, the only exceptions being the occasional bird flitting from tree to tree searching for seeds or bugs. Large spikes of rock that had long ago sheared off nearby stone faces jutted out at odd angles giving the area a very inhospitable atmosphere. Occasionally small patches of lichen could be seen tinting the stone green in areas protected from the biting wind.

The stiff breeze whipped Kal’s cloak about now that they were above the treetops and there were no natural windbreaks besides the peak they were about to climb. Ikuno went on ahead as Kal flipped up his hood and secured the rarely used fasteners sewed into the garment. He wondered for a moment if other wizards had to deal with such issues or if they had some spell that protected them from the annoying gusts. As he started after Ikuno, Kal mulled over the concept of a protection from air spell but quickly discarded the idea. He didn’t need a rune to accidentally protect him from the air he needed to breathe.

Unlike the mountains by Ikuno’s cave, there were no game trails between the northern and southern forests for them to follow. Up ahead Ikuno was carefully making her way across an area of sharp looking rubble and broken rocks. Kal looked up at the area just below where the snow covered the very top of the mount and sighed. For all of their haste in getting here, he had a feeling that this was going to be a very long and very slow climb.

------

About noon they found a dimple in the rock face along the tiny ledge they were traversing. It gave Ikuno and him just enough room to sit and get a bite to eat. There had only been two mishaps on their journey so far. The first where another ledge similar to the one they were sitting on crumbled beneath Ikuno’s feet. She lunged forward and caught the ledge in front of her with her claws and hung there with an annoyed look on her face until Kal jumped the missing section and helped pull her up. The second was when Kal overbalanced while passing under an overhang and had to quickly anchor himself to the rock with geomancy to keep from falling.

With all of their attention on the treacherous climb, there had been no opportunity to talk until now.

“For a couple of magic users this seems to be the slowest way we could go about this,” Kal said.

“If you have any ideas, I’m all ears,” Ikuno responded, “I could probably climb straight up with a little magical help.” She grinned at the look Kal was giving her, “I know I said earlier that we should conserve our magic since once we get the egg there won’t be time to rest and recharge, but if I’m being honest, I’m as sick of this as you seem to be. Were you wanting to try the piggyback again? I’m worried that will be a lot of weight pulling me backwards.”

“I have something in mind,” he said looking over the edge and fighting off momentary vertigo. Down below them was a small rock ledge that they had crossed earlier. Kal reached out and as quickly as possible tied his will to the rock but with much smaller magic cables than he had used when practicing with Gerda. Giving a small tug Kal felt the connection was secure enough for what he planned.

“Okay, I’m curious. What have you got?” said Ikuno as they finished up their midday meal.

Kal stood and studied the steep rocky slope above. A fair distance up he could make out a ledge big enough for them to stand on. He crouched for a moment as the strength rune shined bright then sprang high into the air well above his intended target. As the feather fall rune glowed he reached out with one of the magic cables and attached it to the wall behind the ledge. Yanking himself forward as he severed the rope he quickly drifted down onto the outcropping, anchoring himself with magic as he touched the wall. Kal checked the crystal he was pulling magic from. The entire maneuver had only taken a couple of seconds and he only saw a small drop in the crystal’s level.

Looking back down he could barely make out Ikuno’s smile as she cast a strength spell on herself and with the nimbleness of a cat quickly climbed up to join him, the claws on her hands and feet sinking easily into the stone. Kal kept one hand anchored as he reached out with the other and helped Ikuno onto the ledge.

Smiling up at Ikuno, Kal said, “This feels more like how a wizard should climb a mountain.”

“I couldn’t agree more,” she replied. “The harpy’s nest should be off that way.”

Kal looked in the direction she was pointing and picked out his next destination.

------

Kal sailed up over the ledge in front of the harpy’s cave, then stared in shock as a human male dressed in thick furs screamed in terror and frantically scooted backwards from where he had been sitting. Kal was so surprised he forgot to pull himself forward onto the ledge. Thankfully, he was close enough to reach out and grab the lip as he slowly floated downwards and with some help from the strength rune quickly pulled himself up. The two men stared at one another until recognition dawned on both their faces.

“Rone?” asked Kal.

“Kal? Kal!” cried the man jumping to his feet with tears in his eyes and running over to wrap Kal in a big hug. “Master Kal! Thank goodness! I didn’t know if anyone knew I had been kidnapped! I can’t believe they sent you to rescue mmph!”

Kal had heard the scratching of claws on the rock behind him that suddenly stopped just below the ledge followed by a quiet, “Dammit, dammit, dammit,” from Ikuno when she realized there was another human there. Worse yet, a human from Telsin.

Kal had grabbed Rone by the collar and put his hand over the man’s mouth. His eyes glowed followed by a menacing red light from his strength and fire resistance runes. “I am not here to rescue you and I will happily leave you here if you don’t swear that you will speak to no one of what you are about to see.” Kal hated to scare the life out of the already distraught man but Kal knew Ikuno would not come up unless she knew her secret was safe from getting back to his mother.

Rone’s eyes flicked from the glowing runes to his eyes before the man nervously nodded.

Kal removed his hand from the man’s mouth and in an official manner said, “Do you swear on your life you will never speak to anyone about my companion until the time I release you from this oath.”

“I... I swear,” said Rone nervously. Kal saw a bit of magic snap into place between the two of them that was slightly similar to the bonding magic, Kal hoped that if Rone failed to keep his mouth shut he wouldn’t suddenly keel over dead from this.

Kal called back over his shoulder, “You can come up now, Ikuno.”

“Are you sure?” came a call from over the edge, the man’s eyes darted towards the voice.

“He swore an oath. He’s good,” Kal said as the runes faded and his eyes returned to their normal color.

With a fair amount of claws scratching on stone, a large blue hand appeared on the rock ledge quickly followed by the rest of the oni as she pulled herself up. Looking at Rone, Ikuno attempted to give him a kindly smile but Kal could see the strain in her eyes. He would have to tell her about the oath and the magic that seemed to go with it.

Rone saw things very differently. At Kal’s call, a blue-skinned ogre climbed up and started walking towards them, flashing her fangs and grinning hungrily. Rone’s conscious mind fled in terror leaving only instinct. The man screamed at the top of his lungs, abject horror and the certainty that he was about to be killed and eaten painted upon his face. The man ripped his collar out of Kal’s hands and bolted, still screaming, into the mouth of the cave. Turning off into a side tunnel he ran full bore back to the harpy’s nest and curled up into a ball off to one side. With no exits besides the one he just came in, he shivered and awaited his end.

Kal’s first impulse had been to run after him but he only made it a few steps before his eyes were drawn far upwards to take in the enormous cave opening before him. The arched entrance could easily hold the entire Inn back in Telsin with plenty of room to spare all around it. At the peak of the arch, you could set a second inn on top of the first and still have at least a few paces between the roof and the stone above. The cave appeared to run a good distance inside before sloping upwards and disappearing off further into the mountain peak. Like Kal, Ikuno had been too distracted by the sudden appearance of Rone to notice the gigantic opening and now stood staring in amazement next to the slack-jawed runesmith.

“Holy hell. Did a dragon live here? Or, more importantly, ‘does’ a dragon live here?” Kal said looking up at Ikuno, only to find that the oni had shaken off her momentary amazement and was looking down at long furrows in the rock beneath them.

“Not a dragon,” said Ikuno looking confused, “If it had been a dragon there would be a second set of claw marks up there where the front legs came down when landing. Whatever lived here landed on two feet and they were much larger than a dragon’s. You go deal with your friend, I’ll see if I can figure this out.”

Kal nodded, not bothering to correct Ikuno that he and Rone weren’t friends as it didn’t much matter at that moment. Rone’s parents had been the ones to purchase his grandparent’s old farm from Kal’s mother. After getting things cleaned up Rone’s father tended both farms until his son was old enough to take over their old farm. He and Kal had run into each other a few times in town over the years and chatted amiably but never to the point if considering the man a friend.

Kal stepped into the small tunnel just inside the cave entrance that Rone had disappeared down. It continued into the rock then made a gradual turn to the left before going back towards the center of the mountain for a few paces and finally opening up into the room Rone was huddled in.

The small cavern appeared to have been carved out of the stone specifically for a human-sized occupant. One corner on the back wall was filled with a large nest that Kal assumed had been made by the harpy they were seeking. Broken wooden shelves ran along the opposite wall next to a jutting piece of rock that looked suspiciously like Ikuno’s flat-topped stone cook stove, Kal could see magic flowing through it along with feeling the heat it constantly gave off on his face. Kal could see a couple of runes he wanted to investigate further on the side but right now his priority was the man quivering in fear behind the broken shelves.

“Why did you run Rone? Ikuno is with me. She won’t hurt you,” said Kal to the wide-eyed man.

None of what Kal had just said registered with the terrified man, “I’m sorry Master Kal! When I get home, I’ll ask my parents to give you your grandparent’s farm back! They can come live with me and Marda, I won’t mind! Just don’t let her eat m…”

“RONE!” bellowed Kal making the man shut up with a startled whimper. Rone’s voice had been getting more hysterical as he went on and Kal could see the man was on the verge of passing out from hyperventilating. Kal held up a finger, “Number one: Ikuno does not eat humans. Two: If I wanted your parent’s farm I could easily buy it from them, many times over. Three,” Kal took a moment to pull a small stone stool out of the middle of the room and sit down, “How the hell did a farmer like you manage to land as fine a woman as Marda?”

The wonder of seeing Kal use magic right in front of him immediately followed by such a mundane question seemed to derail Rone’s terror and he sputtered for a moment before answering. “Dad got sick this last winter, I was making trips into town to pick up his medicine. We started talking a bit and suddenly she showed up at my farm one day. Watched me all day as I worked, asking questions the whole time.”

Rone visibly relaxed as he told more of his story, “She spent the night with me,” the man blushed, “then got up and left the next morning. Two days later she showed up with a cart full of her belongings and moved in, it never occurred to me to turn her away. At the beginning of this spring, her dad and the Tanner made it official. The woman’s been a godsend and she’s pretty sure we have a little one on the way already.” Rone’s face fell, “I hope she doesn’t think I’ve run off on her.”

The apothecary’s second daughter had been the star of quite a few of Kal’s fantasies just before he met Ikuno. The woman was the definition of voluptuous and was not ashamed to flaunt it by wearing low cut dresses to show off her ample cleavage. She was also the center of attention for some time when her eldest sister visited from the capital, where she was studying to be a cleric, and brought a new fashion that was popular there called a corset. More than once Kal walked into the apothecary’s store to find it filled with young men buying silly things just for the chance to ogle the woman.

He also knew that she was very strong-willed, having seen her get into arguments with her father behind the counter numerous times as he went to pick up medicine for his mother. This was also the reason, according to the town’s gossip circle, that she hadn’t seen much for suitors. Rone’s story didn’t surprise him much.

“I’d be more worried that she thinks you’re dead, Rone. How long have you been here?” Kal said quietly wishing for a moment that he had been able to form a bond with Perra the same as the rest of his women, so he could at least get a message to the family that the man was alive.

Rone’s eyes widened in horror at the thought until he mentally conceded that Kal had a point. “Four days,” he said, “Is there any way you could get word to her that I’m alive? Felli picked me up when I was out in one of the back fields, away from the house. I doubt she could have seen me get taken.”

“Felli?” asked Kal.

“The harpy, her name is Felli. Disgusting thing she is, eats her own young. She laid an egg yesterday then cut the top off and slurped half of it down like it was a fine ale. Worse yet she offered the other half to me. I ran outside and emptied my stomach on the ledge. Then when I come back she turns around and acts all sweet and loving towards me like she didn’t just kill and eat her own child! I can’t figure out how something so warm and caring, even if she is forgetful, can be so horrible at the same time. Now that you are here to take me home I won’t have to worry about it.”

Now who was being forgetful, thought Kal. “Rone I’m not here to rescue you, I have business with the harpy. Felli? Is that correct?”

Rone’s face fell, “You did say that outside, didn’t you.”

“I’m sorry, but we didn’t bring anything with to get you down the mountain safely. Had we known you were here things would have been different. As things stand, between Ikuno and I, we might be able to figure out a way to get you down, but I won't risk either myself or her dying for you. Your best bet is to make a deal with Felli and get her to take you back or you will have to wait a few days until we can mount a proper rescue with the correct gear.”

“Make a deal? How do you mean?” asked Rone.

“Have you had sex with her?”

Rone looked appalled, “Of course not!”

“Good, there’s your bargaining chit. Agree that you won’t sleep with her until she promises to take you home.

“Why on earth would I sleep with that monster?!”

“Why not? It’s your quickest way home.”

“Only to watch her eat my child in a couple of days?” Rone stood up, furious that Kal would even ask him to consider the idea.

Kal waved off the man’s ire, “I would never suggest such a thing. A harpy will defend a fertilized egg with her life, the one she ate was unfertilized. I’m sure you have chickens back at home and know as well as I do that they’ll keep laying eggs without a rooster, only those eggs will never hatch. It’s the same concept.”

“I’ve never seen a chicken eat its own eggs,” Rone growled.

“Of course not, you take care of your livestock. Starve them or deprive them of water and you may see a different side to them before they stop laying completely. Harpies don’t have that luxury, they won’t stop laying and it takes a lot out of them to make each of those eggs, both from their bodies and from their magic. Which brings me to why I’m here, I need one of her unfertilized eggs for some magic I’m working on. If she agrees then I have to leave the moment it’s laid,” Kal said calmly.

Rone bit off his retort when he heard Ikuno’s voice from the tunnel’s entrance.

“Is it safe for me to come in, Kal?” she called.

“Yes!” he yelled back. Rone had already shrunk back into the corner by the time Ikuno’s large blue form entered the room, partially bent over so she didn’t scrape her horns on the ceiling of the passageway. “I think I’ve convinced Rone you aren’t going to eat him. Find out anything interesting?” he asked.

Ikuno’s eyes flicked to Rone’s frightened visage, then directly to Kal’s eyes. She dropped to her knees by the doorway and slowly crawled over to Kal, “The only man in danger of being eaten is you, Master,” she said with a sly grin while shooting lustful glances at his groin.

Kal knew the display was for Rone’s sake but that didn’t stop the front of his trousers start to rise. Ikuno laid her head on his leg and Kal gently ran his fingers through her hair, getting a very honest purr from the oni. He looked up at Rone who had started to relax at the unexpectedly tender display, “Ikuno belongs to me, Rone. As I said before you have no need to fear her.”

“How on earth did you tame an ogre?” the man said staring wide-eyed at the large blue woman.

Ikuno grunted in annoyance but Kal answered, “She’s not an ogre. She’s from the far east and called an oni. How she became mine is a story for another time.” Kal looked down at her, “Did you find anything interesting?”

Ikuno sighed in disappointment, she had been enjoying the feeling of Kal’s fingers through her hair. Sitting back on her feet with her knees out in front she said, “I think I have, and it may mean that we need to explore these caves some more. I’m beginning to think that this may have been a roc’s nest.”

Kal looked dubious, “A rock’s nest? I’m pretty sure stones don’t need nests.”

Ikuno giggled, Kal knew it was for the kidnapped farmer’s sake yet again, but it felt very out of place coming from her. “No, not like stones. Like the legendary bird, sounds the same but it’s spelled differently. Imagine a bird that can make those scratches outside.” Kal and even Rone nodded after a moment, “Those were made by a baby roc, barely out of its shell.” Both men’s faces showed their shock as Ikuno continued, “Rocs were known to have attendants, usually an elf for their long lives, whose main duty was to deal with the ‘lesser races’ on the roc’s behalf. Where we are now would have likely been the attendant’s quarters. Rocs are also known to be extremely magical, far beyond dragons even, as well as being master stone shapers, able to hide massive caves like this from those not worthy of being able to fly.”

Kal sat quietly for a moment and processed everything Ikuno had said. “That must be why we never saw the cave entrance as we were climbing. You said we should explore the cave some?”

Ikuno gave him a beaming smile and nodded a little too vigorously, “Yes, Master!”

Kal sighed and looked at Rone who seemed to be completely at ease with Ikuno’s presence. “Sorry, Rone,” the man gave Kal a questioning look as he turned back to Ikuno. “Drop the act please, it’s just too strange seeing you behaving like that.”

Ikuno sighed as the look of adoration left her face and took on a more normal smile. “Fine then,” she said. Rone seemed to be getting very agitated about the deception until the oni leaned forward and put her head back on Kal’s leg then reached up and directed his hand to play with her hair again. “That’s better,” she said contentedly, then continued with her explanation. “I think we should see if there is any chance of even a tiny shard of the egg left or, if we got really lucky, a feather. Even after thousands of years, either one should still have far more magical potential than the harpy’s egg.”

“Then perhaps we should do that while Felli is still away,” Kal looked over at Rone, “Any idea when she will be back?” he asked.

Rone stared at the oni seeming unsure of what to make of her, “She usually takes a few hours to hunt each time she leaves,” he answered only paying partial attention to his words. “She left not too long before you two showed up.” Rone looked up at Kal, “If you find something will you come back here or leave right away?”

Ikuno looked up at him, “If we find an egg shard then the next half of our journey won’t be necessary, so we wouldn’t need to leave right away.”

“He is hoping that we might be able to rescue him. He was kidnapped a few days ago by the harpy that lives here,” said Kal.

“I thought that may have been the case. If we find something in the nest, rescue could be a possibility. Unfortunately, feather fall wastes too much magic for me to guarantee a second person would be able to make it down the mountain and still have enough left for the trip east.” Ikuno raised her head up and gave Kal a kiss on the cheek before standing, “That felt wonderful Kal. If he needs rescuing, it would be easiest to wait a couple of days and come back with Gerda once she returns.”

“Gerda?” asked Rone nervously. He liked the oni better when she wasn’t towering over him.

“Another one of Kal’s women,” said Ikuno, “She’s an earth elemental and can move through rock like swimming in water. She can also take people with her. She can’t get you home, but she can get you to the bottom of the mountain safely and quickly.”

Kal stood as well, “Let's worry about that later. I’m curious to see what this roc’s nest looks like.”

Ikuno nodded and ducked as she entered the tunnel outside. Kal turned to Rone, “Think about what I said. Felli isn’t dumb, she can be bargained with. She just wants you to give her a child, agree to that and you may be home as soon as tonight,” he said before turning and following the oni.

Kal caught up with Ikuno as she started up the slope towards the nest. When she felt they were out of earshot of anyone standing inside the tunnel they just came out of she stopped and rounded on Kal.

“What are you up to Kal? When we started this journey, you were ready and willing to fuck this harpy, Felli or whatever her name is. Now you seem to be dead set on letting your friend in there do your dirty work for you.”

“Rone is an acquaintance at best, not a friend. He may not be the most assertive guy but from what I know he’s a decent man. Takes care of his animals and his woman too, his wife wouldn’t put up with any mistreatment for even a second. I’d rather give Felli’s chick a chance at having a father nearby than someone like me who will only be around every so often.”

Ikuno seemed taken aback by his answer, “I must say I’m impressed. I was a little worried that your change of attitude might make you feel like you had free reign to put your cock in any hole that was available.”

“Technically I could do just that,” he said stepping up to the oni and slipping a hand underneath the leather flap to cup her pussy, making her gasp. “However, I have plenty of options already and sometimes have a hard time keeping up with those. I don’t plan on adding any more to this little harem unless necessary.”

“Hmm, maybe I should teach you that rejuvenation spell sooner rather than later if just the five of us are getting to be too much for you.”

“‘Just the five of you,’” Kal snorted and continued walking up the slope, “if I ran into another woman with yours and Perra’s sex drive I think someone would just find an empty husk that used to be me fluttering in the breeze.”

Ikuno followed him, “Hey now, that was Aradelle that tried to suck you dry, not me and Perra.”

Kal laughed, “True, but you both have certainly have been trying your hardest to match what ‘Dell did.”

“Do you want us to stop?”

Kal smiled, “Not on your life.”

------

It was late afternoon when a very confused Perra walked into Master Jurien’s store. The normally jolly man had a dour look on his face.

“How can I help ya, Lady Perra,” he said in an uncharacteristically exasperated tone.

“Um… Master Jurien is your daughter here?” she asked.

The apothecary looked surprised for a moment, “Aye she is, but she just lost her man a few days ago and is in no mood ta be talking ta customers.”

“My apologies Master Jurien but I’m not here as a customer I came to see her specifically.”

Jurien’s eyes narrowed as he glared at Perra, “Marda! Lady Perra is here ta see you. Nina, you’d better come too,” he yelled without turning. “Now don’t be going and upsetting my girl she’s had a hard couple of days.”

Perra nodded nervously under the man’s gaze as they waited. Moments later Marda pushed aside the leather curtain that covered the door to the back area soon followed by her mother.

It was plain from Marda’s eyes she had been crying, “Can I help ya, Lady Perra?”

Perra struggled for a few seconds to find the right words before suddenly blurting out, “Your husband is alive!”

Hope was tempered by disbelief on all three faces in front of the young woman.

“Please don’t be lying to me, Lady Perra.”

“I’d almost bet my life on it that he was talking with Kal not long ago. What’s more confusing is that Kal is hours away, getting spell components from a harpy in the northeastern mountains. I believe he is upset but unharmed.”

Marda’s eyes lit up, “A harpy! That would explain why his tracks just stopped in the middle of the field!”

Nina nodded at Marda’s assessment having seen the tracks herself and readily accepted Perra’s words. Knowing Rone was safe, she quickly reverted to her profession saying “Blast it, wish I had known that Kal was going to a harpy’s nest. I could use a few feathers.”

Jurien was more skeptical, “How on earth would you know that, Lady Perra.”

Perra shook her head, the look of confusion evident on her face, “In all honesty Master Jurien… I don’t know.”

Her pendant glinted as the setting sun touched the treetops.

~~Edited by: Old Fart~~