Several days after the festival, Dorian was still spending time with his newly born daughter. They had decided to name her Mira, a name that no other queen had ever been named before, which would mean that she would be the first.
He had stayed with Esi, the current queen, inside their large royal quarter inside of the grand pyramid. Life in the city of Yarrin was great, and he was treated as a king, which he technically was despite the queen having all of the power, but he was starting to feel the urge of going out and seeing the galaxy again. Luckily, he was given an opportunity to do exactly that when went to visit Callie in his ship, The Chimera.
"Welcome back captain, I have great news!"
Dorian has talked to Callie a few times after the festival, though she seemed to be slightly embarrassed about something at first. While docked in a small clearing right outside of Yarrin, the small girl had always preferred to sleep inside of her private quarters aboard The Chimera, rather than inside the city.
"Any word about your sister's object yet?" He asked, referring to the object that he had learn the existence of when he rescued Callie from her sister's gang.
"That's the news, I found it!" She seemed proud of herself, being able to contribute to the man that had rescued her. They both already knew that it was on the planet Grion, but without a specific location it could take years to search the entire planet. Now she had the location, though only after nearly two weeks of combing through information that she had intercepted from her sister.
Dorian has an urge to sweep the short girl up in a hug, but decided against it. "Well done Callie! I knew it was a good idea to bring you aboard. Where are we heading?"
She blushed slightly at his praise, not used to positive reinforcement.
"The object is in the possession of a mystic who lives in a cave. I've found records of peasants from a nearby village who claim to bring her supplies every few weeks."
"A mystic? Great..." he felt a strange feeling in the pit of his stomach.
***
While Callie prepared The Chimera for the journey, Dorian said a temporary goodbye to his wife and daughter.
On his way back to the ship, he passed the priestess who forced him to impregnate her during the festival. She was starting to show her pregnancy very slightly due to his genetics speeding it up. She noticed him and put her hand on her stomach, winking and making a seductive face before laughing. He glared and looked away, continuing to walk. The queen had clearly told him that he could have sex with anyone he wanted, as long as they weren't a citizen of Yarrin,which meant that he hadn't told her about being the father of the girl's baby. The priestess knew this, and took great pleasure in taunting him. Her baby would be a threat to the queen's daughter if anyone ever found out, since their mothers were inseminated naturally, rather than artificially.
He reached the makeshift landing pad and boarded the ship, trying to push the tattooed priestess out of his mind.
When Callie was also ready, they sat in the cockpit and lifted off the ground, leaving the jungle below them. She plotted the course while he piloted, taking them out of the atmosphere. After lining up, he engaged The Chimera's jump drive and they took off towards their destination.
***
The journey to Grion was fairly short, lasting only a few hours. The planet was mostly covered in large forests that were only broken up by occasional mountains. At the base of one of these mountains was their destination, the village that Callie had discovered during her research.
The Chimera came in low over the short wooden building, having to touch down in a field due to the lack of landing pad. The two of them stepped out of the ship, and were immediately met with the shouts of an angry farmer.
The poor man ran up to them, covered in dirt. He wasn't human, seeming to be of a bipedal species with earth-tone colored skin and four arms. "What the hell are you doing?!"
Dorian held up his hands in a calming gesture. "Hold on, let me explain. We are looking for someone, and we'll leave as soon as we find her. Until then I'll pay you to use your field. Fair?"
The mention of money seemed to calm the farmer somewhat, which allowed him to consider the proposition. "Hmm, you say you're looking for someone?"
"A woman, she lives around here somewhere. Apparently she is known as a mystic."
The farmer immediately looked uncomfortable at the mention of a mystic, and he began backing away. "Look..I don't want any trouble. Just use my field and finish your business here quickly, I don't want to get involved with The Black Cloaks."
He quickly left before they could ask him what he meant, and they exchanged a quick glance. "Well that's not a good sign." Callie remarked.
They walked to the edge of the field and followed the dirt road to the main part of town. All of the townspeople were the same species as the farmer, their skin matching the trees and the ground. One of the buildings seemed to be an inn, and they decided to start their search there, hoping that someone would be able to lead them to the cave.
The inn was mostly made up of wood from the surrounding forests, but there were small traces of technology and steel breaking up the wooden esthetic.
There were only a few people inside, and Callie pointed out a man who had a black cloak concealing most of his body. The farmer had mentioned a group known as 'The Black Cloaks', making the assumption that the man was part of the group a reasonable one.
They approached the man cautiously. "Excuse me, you seem like someone who might be able to help us. We're looking for someone, a mystic." Dorian explained.
The man's hooded head perked up, the subtle motion telling them that he indeed knew about the woman they were searching for. "Ah a mystic...we've been told to expect you." the way the man talked put them on edge. "The mistress has been waiting for you...I'd be honored to guide you to her."
Dorian's eyes narrowed in suspicion. "What are you talking about?"
The hooded man lifted his finger to silence Dorian. "All will be explained, though not by me. Now come, the cave is not far."
He walked out of the inn, fully expecting them to follow him. Callie looked to Dorian for leadership, and he decided that they should follow the strange man, knowing that the reward was worth the risk.
***
The cloaked figure led them to the village edge where a path begun, leading into the forest separating the town from the mountain. They followed the path for several minutes, ready for an attack that never came. When they reached the mountain, the path began zigzagging up the steep slope.
Nearly a mile up the mountain they finally reach the entrance to a moderately sized cave.
"Can we...take a break..." Callie asked, sweating. She had strong, large thighs that helped with climbing, but her short height meant that she had to walk twice as fast just to keep up with the two men.
Dorian examined the cave. The opening was double his height. The cave extended into the mountain about six feet before being cut off by a wooden wall with a door in the center.
