Kink University Ch 22 Journey

Chapter 22 - Journey

I woke up to the pulsing of my ring and total dark. Everything was warm, and I felt a leg on either side of me. My head was rested on a fluffy pillow of Mystery's pubic mound. That was when I remembered that we had spent most of our weekend down hours having sex ... even though the details on how that started were still a little fuzzy to me. But now, it was the first of the week and the first day of our long quests. I lifted my head a little, trying to figure out which way would be best to escape the blanket.

However, I quickly felt a hand take a handful of my hair. My face was forced down as Mystery's legs widened. Then I was pulled into the Glory, and Mystery briefly wrapped their legs around my head to force my mouth as deep inside them as possible. After a few seconds they pulled me out and finally threw the cover that had been covering their body and all of me.

Mystery looked down at me with a smirk and said, "Now that's my kind of morning kiss." They giggled.

I rolled my eyes and tried to put on a grumpy face, but ended up just giggling with them. Then I said, "Long quest day!"

"Date vacation with optional objectives!" Mystery cheered along with me, sending us both into another fit of laughter.

We got out of bed and went to retrieve our bags, which we had pre-packed the night before. From there, we filed out of the cabin and hit the showers together. This, of course, involved a lot of washing each other-and not always just with hands or wash rags. Then we got dressed and walked outside.

Waiting outside was none other than Daava, her cheeks turning a bit red when she saw me. She too was all packed and ready to go.

I quickly gave Mystery a hug and told them to have a nice sex vacation, before returning my attention to Daava. She seemed a bit more tense than usual, though not necessarily in a bad way. And, in addition to all her gear, she held something at her side in a velvet bag. I couldn't help but notice that the item inside seemed round and hollow, like an oversized bracelet.

"I'm ... really excited for this," I said, trying to pretend like I wasn't too curious about what was in the bag. "I'm glad you asked me. Though, to be honest, I probably would have asked you if you hadn't." I let out a short and nervous laugh.

My words, however, seemed to help Daava relax a bit. She relaxed her shoulders and gave a warm smile. "I'm excited too."

Before more could be said, we both noticed Professor Ozrgrub walking in our direction. To our surprise, the usually chipper orc was dragging his feet and staring at the ground. When he spotted us, he walked over glumly.

"Are ... you okay, Professor Ozgrub?" I asked, worried about what could have put him, of all people, into such a state.

"Hm, oh, I just rather wished to have missed you two before you left," Professor Ozgrub replied, his tone matching his overall disposition. Then he lifted his hand, as if to correct himself. "Not that you two aren't always a delight to see. But I'm afraid we need you both to join us in the Director's office to discuss some unfortunate turns taking place outside the University-turns I wish I could have in good conscience let you avoid until after the long-quest. And ... well, I'm afraid I can't say more about it here."

I turned to face Daava, who had also furrowed her brow and was wearing a heavy frown. She exhaled heavily, took my hand, and we made our way behind Mr. Ozgrub to the Director's office.

We entered the auditorium, making our way past Mrs. Frostberry's unoccupied office and then watching Mr. Ozgrub enter to join his wife, the Director, and Hyrranesus, I felt Daava give my hand a nervous squeeze. I took hers into both of mine and decided to be the one to lead her into the office. I think we both had a sense of what this was about.

"Welcome, Lilly and Daava," the Director said, their tone also sounding quite restrained. "I'm afraid we received unfortunate news from Crudehook. The creatures-which Miss Lilly identified from her home world as 'ticks'-have grown in numbers exponentially. While at first, simple measures of cleanliness and awareness were enough to keep infections at a minimum, this is no longer the case."

"W-what about all the measures we put together?" Daava asked, looking more fragile than I'd ever seen her. She was referring to the ideas we had put together over the past few months from my self-admittedly limited knowledge of the topic. I had suggested remote lizard-boxes as bait for the tick nymphs-outdoor terrariums for the preferred food options of baby ticks and which had in my world helped to cleanse them of lyme disease. We had also advised building chicken coops around the perimeter of the village, as the animals would serve as harmless bait as well as predators for the parasites travelling along the ground. These had been submitted to the Director, who was in strained contact with the elder of Crudehook. Together, they had begun work to attempt to make these ideas work. That was the last we had heard about the matter.

"For a while, they worked with tremendous efficiency," Hyrranesus said. She opened a satchel and placed vials containing an assortment of ticks on the Director's desk. "The ticks around the perimeter of the lizard boxes-while significant in numbers-created a population that carried no trace of the disease. Even the perimeter was limiting the number of ticks within Crudehook. Unfortunately, a plague of burrowing mice have now taken residence in Crudehook-driven out of the dwarven city of Magrod, which had undergone renovations to make their grain-stores rodent-proof. These burrowing mice have the unfortunate trait of amplifying and spreading the effects of the disease within the tick population, while also serving as transports. Since they've been raiding Crudehook homes for any scrap of food ..."

For a moment, nobody responded. There was a grave silence that hung over us, and I wondered if everyone else was thinking the unspoken question in my mind.

"How bad is it?" Daava asked, her voice hollow- like she'd had the wind punched out of her.

"It's everyone," Miss Frostberry said somberly. She walked over to try to comfort Daava-who pulled away from her, as well as from my grasp on her hand.

I felt my stomach drop.

Miss Frostberry gave an acknowledging nod and said, "It's gravely affecting the ability of the Crudehook people to farm and trade, I'm sorry to say. We've donated as many spare food supplies as we could manage, and even asked nearby cities and villages to pitch in. But..."

"But nobody else will help a bunch of dirty, thieving, goblins," Daava replied darkly, her voice nearly a growl.

The Director spoke up this time. "While that is not how we see your people, your assessment is mostly accurate. Granted a few individuals of limited means have contributed what they could-particularly the ranchers around this area. But nobody with the means to help significantly has aided the cause. I'm sorry."

Daava folded her arms and stared distantly at the ground.

Everyone gave her several moments of silence. I wanted more than anything to hug her tightly, to tell her anything comforting I could think of, to remind her that my magic was well on its way and that we shouldn't give up. However, I could read her nonverbal communication as clearly as if she were saying, "Stay away from me, everyone."

However, what Daava finally said was, "I'm going home."

The Director, Miss Frostberry, Profesor Ozgrub, and Hyrranesus all moved forward and spoke at once in a jumbled mess. It was the Director who followed up with, "None of us can recommend that course of action. We would rather you stay safe with us, especially with all the progress you and Lilly have been making toward the cure."

"That Lilly has been making," Daava said, her fangs bared and tears streaking down her green cheeks. "We all know that I haven't been able to contribute anything for weeks. She doesn't need my magic bond anymore, she has her courses pre-selected for the next two years, and she's plenty motivated to do it. I'm absolutely worthless, here! I need to go home and take care of my family. My whole village will starve soon ... my family. Maybe .... maybe just one junior sorcerer will be enough to at least buy Lilly some time."

"You're not worthless; you mean so much-" I choked on my words after that, but it didn't seem to matter.

Daava was staring past all of us, seeming lost and dissociative as she began walking toward the door. I tried to follow her, but Daava seemed to sense this and held out her hand behind her without looking back. "Please, just stay here. I can't-" That was all she said before she began running back through the auditorium.

I remained there, stunned for a moment as the tears welled and an invisible weight fell over me. I felt myself begin to sway. Before anything else could happen, however, I felt the familiar arms of Hyrranesus pulling me into a hug. I let out a sob, and then another-my body feeling like it was going to collapse beneath me. I didn't know what emotion was most prominent. Fear because Daava was running into danger? Disappointment because I knew the world had snatched away what would have been a special time between us? Despair because I was far less sure than Daava was that I would be able to do this on my own? Anger because she had left me? Empathy for all the pain I knew she was absolutely feeling? There was so much ... and I was only able to wish that I had the inner strength to also scream while I was crying into Hyrranesus's chest.

"If I can't convince Daava to stay, I'm going to make sure she leaves with every protective ward I can place on her," Miss Frostberry said placing a hand on my lower back briefly before rushing out of the room.

"Good thinking," Hyrranesus whispered without letting me go. She then shifted and said, "Director, is there any way we can assign more students to problem-solve the food shortage when they return?"

"Absolutely," the Director said. "I'll begin writing up some plans and assignments now."

Lastly, Mr. Ozgrub let out a determined snort and added, "I'll search my enchantments classroom for any items that might help keep Daava safe. And ... well ... my office is always open to you, Lilly, should you need any support whatsoever."

I nodded without breaking away, trying to show that I was grateful for his kindness, but too overwhelmed to do anything close to a good job of it.

-O-

Alone, in a pasture, I let out a frightened "moo" when lightning blazed across the sky, causing the earth to rumble. One of my feet fell through the ground beneath me. I looked down to see that my foot had fallen into a hole. No ... a hole would have meant that there was earthen sides and a bottom-even if far below. Here, the earth only wrapped around my ankle; there was no dirt or rock or sand underneath. It was only empty air-taking on more space as the ground continued to crumble around where my foot had sunken in. I screamed another moo, my tail thrashing rapidly. I looked down one last time to see that the empty blackness beneath was not pure nothingness. It was crawling ... millions of tiny black bugs swimming their way up my legs.

Thunder crashed again-this time sending words echoing through the collapsing field. "I can feel the raw power ... all for the taking. Yes, I've decided. You will be mine."

I looked around desperately for anywhere I could go. But like a controlled implosion, the ground simply fell into itself-revealing the tiny black bugs for as far as the eye could see. Except for something white I saw as it bubbled up toward me. Deep down, I knew what it was even before it fully emerged as the smallish skeleton of a goblin.

I bellowed a final frightened moo as my torso shot up out of bed. Sweat dripped down my forehead, and it took me a moment to realize that it had been a nightmare. I looked around for Mystery to comfort me ... but they were gone. That's right ... gone with everyone else in the school to their various long-quests. Which reminded me where I should have been.

I wrapped my head in my arms and gave out a sob. Unlike the day before, when I had cried for hours about everything that had just happened, my grief was not so pure. It was mixed with the edges of an idea, a memory that dangled hope dangerously-as if a carrot on a stick swaying over the edge of a cliff. It was what Aamalyn had said in my dream ... and the first time I had met her. She had seemed convinced that taking me would give her great power. My question was, would I share in that power too? Even Hyrranesus had said that my misadventure in the mine had grown my powers beyond what classes could have. If it were possible to rush getting my milk perfect and my powers optimized, I could go to Daava and help her before she got infected.

I had heard once that the brain makes a decision within a second of a problem being presented. That most of what we think of as the decision-making process is really just the justification of a choice we've already made. I certainly didn't know whether this was entirely true for everyone all the time. But even before I had time to think about my options, I knew my brain had made a decision. I knew because I suddenly felt like I needed to throw up, and my body started shivering uncontrollably. Breathing became hard-particularly through my chattering teeth. And the bubble in my brain-the accursed final sign of my panic attacks and PTSD episodes-began inflating and squishing my thoughts to the side.

Why did I even think I could do this? People like me were not the kind who were able to solve problems that were this big and important. No, when I imagined brave adventurers, I always imagined someone determined-who had chosen in their strength to do what needed to be done. They had a mission in mind, a destiny that all signs pointed to. Some catalyst event happened, like a death or invasion, and they determined in that moment everything before them. The only question was whether they had the strength to make it to the end of their journey.

I did not come close to such a person. Tears in my eyes, my chest heaving, my muscles so tight it was painful, I dragged myself to my backpack and started packing just about everything except for my maid's dress. I fastened it all in my saddlebags and donned the saddle itself with an aching feeling of emptiness for how light it was without Daava. I had ... a vague idea that

might

have had the chance to make my healing milk-magic strong enough to help the goblin people of Crudehook. But it could all be a waste of time ... a waste of time that could really hurt me ... and others.

As I shuffled out my door, I realized that I had no idea whether what I was doing was the right thing. What if this was just a waste of time that would put Daava in even more danger? What if I died ... and the only known cure was gone forever. I already felt like I was drowning. What is just me trying to grab onto a sharp rock because I was too afraid to face my own helplessness?

I didn't know the answers, and just the thoughts made me feel pangs of guilt and shame. Then, side B of my cruel inner dialogue kicked in, telling me I was just trying to make excuses so that I could take the easy path by staying at the school. I could almost hear the voices of my parents and partners ... calling me lazy ... telling me I was giving up on hard work because I was weak. I shuddered; there was no winning ... and I knew that.

I stepped outside, into the fog of a dreary morning. It was only once I was out of my room that my thoughts cleared just a little. Enough for me to remember my last traumatic journey. And while the memory of it still presented me with some fear, it had also taught me a great many things. The only way out of the current was through. If this journey turned out to be a bust, I would come back and resume classes. Just like if Daava and I had gone to our long-quest. Where ... we would have had an entire journey together ... and I could have found out why Daava had been so happily nervous with that bag in her hand.

When I had gone through the current, it had been a voice that had guided me-that of Zolreya. She had given me affirmation and support and advice while I had been drowning. And though the water had been all I could really hear, and the sensation of drowning and being struck by rocks all I could really feel, I had made it through by listening to that quiet voice of encouragement.

I looked down at my foot-at the pink scar tissue from where the rock had sliced me open. And I felt the emotional and psychological pain of all I was going through. There was no escaping any of that. But as I felt all the things trying to shut down my body or make me claw for safety, I listened for the still, small voice that was my own. It took several minutes of quietly spinning in my own bubble-smooshed brain. But then I heard and whispered the words from within. "This is what I think is right." It was simple, nothing flashy, and certainly nothing smelling of certainty. But it was real, and it was enough.

I took one last deep breath, fought off a shudder, and stepped off my front porch. I had only taken a few steps when I spotted the friendly reptilian face of Mr. Spleck in his own maid's dress. He was carrying several bags filled with delicious-smelling contents, as well as a pitcher of what smelled like tea.

"Lilly, you're up," Mr. Spleck said, cheerful at first. But when he looked around me and saw my bag, his smile fell quickly. "Please tell me you're not going to do what I think you are."

"I'm ... going to to the Other Place to enhance my magic quickly," I replied, looking down to hide my embarrassment.

Mr. Spleck's eyes widened. "That's even worse than what I thought you were going to do! Sweet Lilly, that place is not for people like us. The people there can be mean and rude. They practice their magic in

actual

combat with one another. And ... well ... it's all-around dangerous!"

I nodded, only a little of that information being new to me. "But ... is it true that I could make my magic better more quickly there?"

Mr. Spleck bristled at this. "Quick, yes ... but students here become far stronger in the long run."

"I'm going to come back," I said and exhaled with the closest thing to resolve I could muster. "But I need to see if this would be the push I need to help Daava. Before she gets sick. Before her entire village..."

Mr. Spleck looked at the ground and shook his head. "I don't like it."

My eyes welled a little and I shook my head. My voice cracked as I said, "Me either."

Mr. Spleck looked up quickly at this and quickly softened his expression. He gave me a small hug, and then began to find places in my saddle-bags for all the food he'd brought. Then he took my thermos, poured out all the water, and replaced it with tea. "Forget what I said earlier. You're going to go to the Other Place-which is on the opposite trail from the Temple of Kavtagro. You are going to beat the ever-loving snot out of those pissants. Then, you are going to make it back here safely. And if you aren't back by the end of the long-quests, I will go there myself and level the city if I have to. Truce be damned."

"Thank you," I whispered, wiping my face and giving my best smile."

"Think nothing of it," Mr. Spleck said, taking both my hands in his own, platonically. "Just do your best to be safe. You're my favorite apprentice, of all the ones I've ever had."

I giggled, "And the only one."

"Which makes you all the more my responsibility," Mr. Spleck said with a smile. "But I doubt it will come to that. You can do this, Miss Lilly Pond."

I gave a resolute nod and finally released his hands-only to give Mr. Spleck a quick hug before I separated, waved, and began walking back toward the temple of Kavtagro. My mood bolstered, at least for the moment. There was someone who believed I could do this.