Setting Foot

Eshenesra quietly scratched some notes about the book she was reading. Her new 'master', Hob Arkwright, had purchased a few texts covering the subjects of Light and Fire magic at her request, so that she could review them. It had been some time since she had attended the University of Ukashruk, after all, and there had been a number of advances in the fields too. She was quite interested in the explanations proposed by Ahn Ikamika to explain how Light magic interacted with plants in somewhat unintuitive ways... even if it was largely irrelevant to what she was here to do, which was act as a healer for Hob and his... other slaves.

He had owned only two; now he owned four. Jutaana seemed very, very happy in her position as slave, and in fact had said to Eshenesra that she had found their journey south a "surprise nice thing" because Hob was having sex with her more.

He was also having sex with Pichi and Azanaga, which seemed as consensual as any sex that anybody could have with a slave... particularly given that he hadn't decided to make her fuck him.

She wouldn't have a choice if he did. He would just say 'suck my cock, Eshenesra,' or 'present your pussy and hold that position, Eshenesra,' and she would have no choice but to do exactly what she was commanded.

She shook her head. He clearly wasn't that sort of master, given that he hadn't done that to her yet...

She was still surprised that Azanaga had sex with him consensually, though. The other slave had seemed... quite irritated with the reality of her position as a slave, when Eshenesra had talked to her. She understood, given that unlike Eshenesra's own position, Azanaga's term as a slave would last until her owner chose to free her, which was unlikely to happen. But she didn't understand why the other woman had sought out Hob for sex.

She had just been staring at the same sentence in the text for the past three minutes, hadn't she? She shook her head and closed the book, leaning back in the seat and looking up at the roof. There were various... wet noises, coming from Hob's bedroom, and Pichi was there, presumably sucking his cock, just guessing by the noise.

"Is the book that Hob bought you being interesting reading?" Jutaana asked, making Eshenesra jerk a bit in surprise at the other woman's presence.

"Oh, yes," Eshenesra said. "Well, it's useful, at least. A lot of it is things I already know, but it's good to review."

"I am seeing," Jutaana said, nodding along, then tilting her head. "Well, I am not really seeing, since I am not being able to read, but I am understanding, I think? Is like having an elder teaching a song you are only remembering by half, yes?"

"I can't say that I've had that experience, but I suspect yes," Eshenesra agreed. "Since I was sold into debt slavery, my assets were liquidated, which included all my old study materials from University."

"Mm," Jutaana said, nodding along.

"What about you?" Eshenesra asked, not wanting to seem self-centered. "Are you... doing well, on this trip?"

"It is being pretty boring," Jutaana said. "Sex with Hob is being great," she added, nodding very rapidly as if agreeing with herself. "But he is saying since I am so active, we should be waiting until we are out of the torrid zone, because it is going to be making the ship hotter... am I understanding correctly? I am not being super-well understanding how the ship is working."

"Ah, I think he may be being a mite overzealous, but yes. Because the region of the equator is that little bit closer to the sun, and the angle the sun's rays hit it with are spot-on, the temperature of the area is hotter than is safe for people. This airship is designed to create a closed environment, insulated from the outside heat. Heat dissipates into the air, normally, but with temperature outside being higher than in here, there's nowhere for it to go... there are some, ahh, chemicals, I think, that help it..." She knew the basic principle but she was hardly an airship engineer.

"I am seeing, I think. So it is like trying to cool off by jumping in very hot water? But it is the air that is hot?"

"Yes, something like that," Eshenesra agreed. Jutaana was young, her accent was thick, and she was from a relatively primitive society, but she seemed fairly smart.

"If we were to open the door, we'd die in a few minutes," Azanaga said, her voice sharp as she opened a cooler, removing a tall bottle from it and starting to drink it.

"That is being very fast! It is a bit exciting when you are saying that!"

"I don't really see it as exciting," Azanaga said, sitting down in a chair. "This whole trip is so stupid."

"Eh? But we are going to new place! Almost nobody is having been there! We are explorers!"

"Who cares?" Azanaga countered. "It's a bunch of superstitious barbarians. You can find plenty of those in the northern hemisphere."

If Jutaana caught Azanaga's thinly-veiled insult, she didn't show any sign of it. "I am supposing, but those are being superstitious barbarians everybody is already knowing. Not even Nijri were going to southern hemisphere, and they were going everywhere!"

"Nijri?" Eshenesra asked, somewhat confused.

"Her mangling of Nyzhraga, just like Hob's Nithren," Azanaga said. "The proper term is Nyzhraga," she added, to Jutaana. "We're the greatest empire in the history of Kurazdurm, you can at least get our name right."

"Nij-rag-guh?" Jutaana tried, and Azanaga just sighed and chugged her drink. "So, sex with Hob is being great, right? You cannot be getting pregnant before me, okay?!" She added, a certain note of panic in her voice - and Azanaga responded by choking on her drink a bit, a sputter of brown carbonation hitting her chin as she hurriedly wiped at her face.

"Like I want some half-human baby," Azanaga sneered.

"Good! Because I am wanting some half-human baby and I am the one who should be getting it if anybody is," Jutaana explained.

Eshenesra really had no idea what to say to any of that... so she just reopened her book as an excuse to opt out of paying any more attention to the conversation, hurriedly scribbling away notes to try to drown out the pair.

* * *

The trip through Kersh's torrid zone was a long and boring one. They weren't able to even look outside - the Swordfish had no windows. All they had was the books they'd brought, the increasingly-static-ridden radio signals from the northern hemisphere, and each other.

Pichi, Jutaana, and Azanaga all had... the obvious way to pass the time, with Hob.

That being sex.

By how Pichi and Jutaana spoke, he was very good at sex and they liked it a lot. Azanaga was more ambiguous about it, talking about how 'he's the only man around,' but Eshenesra got the impression Azanaga might say such things no matter how good Hob was. She didn't know any of them that well, but Azanaga certainly seemed to have a level of pride that drove her to act in ways that... well... Eshenesra certainly wouldn't have said some of the things to Hob that Azanaga had said to him!

But... she did get the impression Hob was a good master from that, since he didn't avenge Azanaga's slights...

Though, also, that he didn't force Eshenesra to have sex with him. When he had bought her, she had imagined she would soon enough be on her knees, sucking his cock, forced onto her back and getting plowed by his thick rod, made to say the sort of degrading things that Azanaga seemed to say by pure instinct because of Hob's orders...

Instead she mostly just sat around and read.

She was reading some of Delnor's studies on the manipulation of thermal energy via the manipulation of Fire when she heard a loud rapping noise from one wall of the Swordfish. She approached the source of the noise.

Tap-tap-tap-tap. It was like something had gotten loose and was now repeatedly hitting the wall - but this was the outside of the vessel. She leaned in quietly, closing her eyes and just trying to listen as she pressed one long ear against the wall.

"It is being alive!" Jutaana said, making Eshenesra jump in surprise.

"What?"

"The noise, it is being living thing! Listen close! Whip whip whip!" She made little motions with her hands like a bird or butterfly to explain she meant that it was flying.

"I think your hearing is better than mine," Eshenesra admitted, having not caught such a sound even when pressed against the wall. A glance up at Jutaana's ears, swiveling where they attached to the top of her head, made that obvious.

"That is meaning we are out of torrid zone, yes?! Hob!" She bounced. "Hob, are we being able to fuck hard because we are being out of the torrid zone?!" She rushed back towards Hob's bedroom, presumably in the hopes of having more sex.

Hob emerged shortly, heading towards the cockpit of the Swordfish, pulling out a manual and cross-checking various screens and dials against it. Eshenesra watched curiously, as he made a few quick math notes, then seemed to nod to himself. "We should be out," he said. "We should have been out for about... an hour or so, now, gauging by these numbers."

"Yes! That is meaning that we are able to be radiating heat, yes? So we do not have to worry about heat?" Jutaana asked.

"Mm. Given that the torrid zone is a silent killer, I'm not sure I want to take that risk right away." Hob sat down in the seat at the cockpit, continuing to consult the manual and the devices in front of him. "Keep in mind, archaeological evidence is that there have been at least five previous civilizations in the northern hemisphere before the present era, and there are no signs any of them passed through the torrid zone."

"So we are being extra super first and exciting!" Jutaana said. She paused, then pouted, crossing her arms. "How long until you are feeling sure we can be having very sweaty sex again, Master?"

He let out a small laugh at that, then looked at Eshenesra. She felt her cheeks suddenly start to glow, imagining that perhaps he was thinking of having very sweaty sex with her-? If he ordered her, she wouldn't have any choice... "You're a Fire mage, are there any spells you can use to check the temperature outside? If the equipment's off, I'd like to know before we crack the seals."

"There is bird on outside," Jutaana said.

"She did hear one," Eshenesra added. "I heard it tapping the wall, but I couldn't hear the wings... and yes, I think I can put together such a spell fairly quickly."

"Great. Do it, then."

Inexorably, she headed back to the living room, where Azanaga was lying in her underwear on the couch. She collected her books, and a notebook, and started her work. She literally had no choice - her master had given her an order. She had to put the spell together. The power of her slave crest was quite incredible, though she found, as she scribbled, that whatever magic handled it couldn't tell a good equation from a bad one. She could write down something that was complete nonsense, and it wouldn't try to stop her, but if she tried to tear up her notes, her body refused to obey. Whatever magic laid in the order, though, eventually faded as she worked... but she finished up regardless.

Jutaana was clearly very pent up, and the younger woman was very energetic already, without adding in an almost obsessive need to get fucked that was going unfulfilled by Hob.

Once she had the appropriate forms worked out for the spell, she took the notebook with her, headed over to the wall where she'd heard the tap-tapping earlier, and pushed her mana through the appropriate shapes. She paid careful attention to the regions of tension and resistance, since those were the feedback which would tell her whether it was still boiling hot outside, or instead some more reasonable, balmy weather.

After checking the feelings against the diagram and performing a couple quick mental calculations (she was hardly used to the spell, after all), she could say with reasonable confidence that the outside was a heat that humans could handle. So she came back to the cockpit. "It seems warm, but not too hot. I think we've cleared the torrid zone," she explained, and Hob nodded.

He looked up at Jutaana, who bounced up and down, from sole to toe and back again, smiling all the while as their eyes met. "The readouts say it's a safe temperature, the dials say we're far enough south to be out of the torrid zone, and Eshenesra says it's a safe heat with her Fire magic."

"Also, I am having heard a bird or other flying thing outside! No animals are going from south to north, right? Is only sea things!"

"Some sea things are animals," Hob said. "It is dangerous, if those things are wrong. But if you want to check, form a closed airlock and you can open it. We're only a few hundred feet over the sea level, so you'll be able to breathe and shouldn't get sucked out. If it's safe, we can fuck."

"Yes!" Jutaana bolted for the doors, and Eshenesra watched her go, unsure about the whole thing. Was it really right to take advantage of Jutaana like that?

"Eshenesra?" He prompted her, making her jolt in place. "I told her that there was danger. I didn't order her to do anything. I'm not going to just throw my slaves' lives away, don't worry," he reassured her, standing up, and she was reminded that he was quite a bit taller than her at that point, as well as much more muscular, having a certain intimidating aura to him. At any moment, he could do anything to her, and no one could stop him... not even her...

"Yes, thank you," she said, her voice warbling a bit as she spoke.

"There are being birds!" Jutaana yelled out. "They are coming into airlock! It is cute birds, very colorful! This one is rich purple, it is not landing feet on ground! Very impressive bird, just flying! Master, I am wondering if you are wanting some fresh food?"

"I am not food," came a high-pitched voice, in rather thickly accented Almerese.

"Eh?! The bird is being able to talk! Is it like a parrot?"

At that point, Jutaana opened the door to the airlock, revealing herself, accompanied by a very lovely bird. It had a thin, long beak with a small hook at the very end, constantly-beating wings, stubby little legs, and a fat body. Its body was only about the size of Eshenesra's fist, and its wings were no longer than one hand's breadth. It had a purple belly and dark purple-black wings behind it.

It flitted about in apparent distress, swooping out of Jutaana's reach almost immediately, but staying away from anyone else. It flicked its gaze back to the door to the outside, which would have closed shortly before the inner airlock could open.

"I've read about these," Hob said, his voice full of undisguised interest. "They're talking birds, yes. Intelligent. They offer advice. They don't land around humans, for fear that they'll have their magic stolen - we have no intent to do so, by the way," he added, with a small, respectful bow.

Instantly, Jutaana copied it, bowing extra-deep. "Ah! I am sorry for being insulting, Lord Bird! I was not knowing you are smart and talking and worth respect! Thought you were just normal bird which is for eating!"

The bird floated in the air for a long few seconds, then spoke again. "I accept the apology."

"We're here in the southern hemisphere for the first time," Hob explained. "I was hopeful you could give us some guidance - we're explorers, looking to find places that humans from the northern hemisphere have never reached."

The bird flitted in place, bouncing up and down, then spoke again. "There are many places in the southern hemisphere." It spoke somewhat curtly, not really answering Hob's question the way he wanted, but... its mannerisms seemed familiar to Eshenesra, it taking a few seconds for her to piece together.

"Would you like us to let you back out into the open sky?" Eshenesra asked, feeling stupid the moment after the words left her lips.

There was an awkward pause, then the bird spoke again. "Yes."

"Oh, sorry," Hob said, quickly heading back to the airlock, Jutaana hopping behind him, Eshenesra following as well. A few bits were pressed, and the doors cycled, letting the bird float out into the open air, where it promptly started to follow after the Swordfish at a decent distance. It was surprising to Eshenesra - the Swordfish was moving south quite quickly, but the bird didn't seem to struggle to keep up at all. "So, any recommendations for a spot northerners haven't been yet?" He prompted the bird once again.

The bird floated there for a few seconds in silence, thinking over the question. "I think Kitran would be south enough for no northerner to have been," it said, at last. "It is a great island kingdom, and sometimes the fine wares of its local fauna and elves are sold this far north."

"Great," he said. "Do you know which direction that is from here?"

The bird hesitated. "South."

"Right." He sighed. "Thank you for your assistance. Sorry again, to have accidentally confined you."

"I am being very very sorry!" Jutaana said, bowing repeatedly to the bird.

The bird seemed to decide to just leave at that point, abandoning them to stare at the open sea. It stretched for quite a ways out in every direction, vivid blue water reflecting the light of Eigan as well, leaving colorful splotches in Eshenesra's eyes. Raising one hand to block the sunlight from her eyes, she looked more closely, spotting a small island off in the distance.

"Perhaps we can stop there?" Eshenesra suggested, pointing out at the island. Hob squinted himself. "There may be people."

"It's as good a place as any to start," Hob said. He headed back to the cockpit, hitting a switch to release the clamps on the front shield, then twisting a crank until you could see out the front window again. He paused for a moment, looking over the newly-exposed horizon, but there weren't any islands visible that way, so he instead twisted the wheel, the whole lurching, sending Eshenesra threateningly to one side, Jutaana letting out an excited giggle as she hopped from one foot to the other to keep her footing.

Once it was pointed at the island, Hob dialed in the autopilot and stood up. "Don't mess with the controls unless there's an active danger," he ordered Eshenesra, who nodded in response. "Jutaana, let's have sweaty sex in the bedroom," he told her.

"Yes, Master!" She said, surprising Eshenesra as she actually scooped up Hob, hurriedly carrying him back to the bedroom, as if he was a bride and her the groom. He just smiled up at her, the pair seeming to make quite the sweet couple. She didn't even bother to close the door behind them as she arrived back in his bedroom.

"Nnghuh," came Azanaga's annoyed voice. "Why'd we lurch?" She asked, stumbling out of the 'slave quarters,' a pair of bunkbeds that they slept in when they didn't sleep with Hob. "Something happen?"

"We're out of the torrid zone," Eshenesra said. "We're heading for that island."

"Ugh. I fell out of my fucking bunk," Azanaga muttered. "Fuckin-" Squeaking noise came from Hob's bedroom as Jutaana started riding him on the bed. She approached it rapidly. "Couldn't have warned me about the turn, prick?"

"Close the door, Azanaga," Hob said, and Azanaga promptly did so, leaving her on the far side of the door from Hob and Jutaana. She muttered to herself and then returned to the bedroom, slamming the door shut behind her.

Eshenesra fidgeted for a few seconds. Pichi was still sleeping. Akamarina was quiescent. Azanaga wanted to sleep...

She quietly creeped towards the door to Hob's bedroom, aiming to make her footfalls as quiet as humanly possible, and then pressed her ear against it.

Not that she really had to - Jutaana wasn't quiet. "Master! Master! Please can I be getting pregnant now? I promise to be good mommy and not get in trouble, if you knock me up!" Eshenesra's cheeks burned and she hurriedly stepped away, hoping that the leporagi woman's ears weren't good enough to make out what she'd been doing...

* * *

"Holy fuck," Azanaga grunted, holding her boots and socks in either hand, bare toes wiggling against the sandy shores of the island. "Yazhubalot's must still be alive because I get to fucking stand on solid ground again, I was going fucking stir crazy in there."

The Swordfish's wings had rotated ninety degrees, so that rather than cutting vertically through the air, they cut horizontal; the vessel itself now quietly floated in the water, only a minute's swim from the shoreline here. It was firmly locked and secured out there - and all five of them, plus Akamarina, were here on the shoreline.

"There are people on this island," Hob said. "I saw fortresses, and actively-burning fires, before we descended," he added. "Surprised nobody's come out to meet us."

"Ehn. Probably watching us from the treeline," Azanaga said, and everybody looked at the trees. "Just to see if we're hostile, don't get spooked." She walked back to the water, swishing her feet in the shallower parts of it, sighing again in relief. "Ohh, this is fucking so ni~ice, better than sex."

"Sex is being better than being barefoot, especially with Hob," Jutaana immediately replied, even managing to sound offended somehow.

At that point, a figure emerged from the tree line. It - no, she looked like no one that Eshenesra had ever seen before, save perhaps a racist caricature of a caninu. Rather than merely having the furred ears and tail, though, the whole body of the woman was covered in a light layer of speckled brown fur, with a head not like a human's but instead like a dog's, albeit one with more rounded ears, like a mouse. She could only really tell that it was a woman at all due to the breasts and clothing, light, tribal garb not uncommon in hot climates. The dog-woman positively bestial in mien, with large, carnivorous teeth as she spoke gutturally.

In a language none of them spoke. It was peppered with barks, but otherwise like human speech - maybe like one of those languages with the clicks?

At any rate, the woman didn't seem angry or upset, her voice growing more gentle as she went on. But she also became more short in her speech, saying only a scant few words here and there, huffing intermittently. At last, she said something in Nyzhraga, a language both Eshenesra and Azanaga spoke - but, gauging by their reactions, Jutaana and Hob didn't. "You speak this one?" Was what she said, albeit thickly accented and with a loud licking noise midway through.

"Yes," Eshenesra said quickly. "I speak that language. This man, Hob, is my master," she explained. "We are explorers." She really really ought to say at least one thing that would help them out here. She couldn't read the dog-woman's face at all. "I am a healer and can offer medical assistance if you have any injured among you."

"Master, eh?" The woman barked out, her tail flashing, her gaze going to Hob. He just offered a pleasant-enough smile. "As in, slave master?"

Eshenesra considered what to say - but she didn't get the chance. "Yes," Azanaga cut in. "He's our slave master."

The woman let out a bark of laughter at that, and was shortly joined by the laughter of her whole group, their bodies hidden past the tree line but clearly audible. "So you are northerners," she said, at last. "Well, if you can heal, it will be helpful," she said. "One of the whelps hurt himself recently. We can provide some food, perhaps some maps," she explained.

"What is she saying?" Hob asked.

"She's inviting us along. I offered to heal any injured people they have," she added, hoping she hadn't gone too far. He just nodded in reply. "They also offered food and maps."

"Great," he said. He turned his gaze to the woman, who eyed him closely for a long few seconds before she turned around, gesturing for them to follow.

They did.