Chapter 187: Trial by Fire

Deep below the city itself, in a cavern lit by roaring, orange light and thick with the smell of hot iron, Vuvi stands before one of the great forges, a thick pair of goggles strapped over her eyes and a heavy, flame-resistant coat hanging off her shoulders, while Kandoril guides her through the forging process with the breathless enthusiasm of a man who has waited his whole life for someone to actually care.

Vuvi stares up at the forge in open, unfiltered awe. The thing is easily bigger than a house, its mouth glowing a furious white-orange, heat rolling off it in visible waves even from a dozen paces back, sweat already beading along her hairline despite the coat’s supposed protections. Kandoril walks her through the smelting process for each of the different ores, pointing out crucibles the size of carriages and molds stacked floor to ceiling along the far wall, then leads her along a raised metal walkway to the cooling systems, where a massive underground river churns and hisses through the heart of the entire operation, steam billowing up in great clouds wherever the water meets stray heat, the roar of it echoing off cavern walls carved smooth by generations of dwarven labor.

Kandoril lowers his voice as they walk on, glancing around the cavern first out of old habit. "Even the workers here don’t know the full extent of the flame crystal problem," he admits. "The forges tied to it are lit in a separate chamber entirely, well away from prying eyes. The Flame Mother’s crystals were kept secret from the start. The dwarves alone were meant to hold that kind of power."

"That’s kind of greedy." Vuvi pouts. "But I get it. Proprietary information and all that."

Kathoril, walking a step behind them, shrugs. "Nothing personal. Simply business."

Vuvi nods, knowing. "There are a few secrets about Pip I’d never willingly hand over either."

Kandoril takes both her hands in his, earnest to the point of nearly vibrating. "Of course. As his creator, you have full right over him. I only wish to know as much as you’re willing to share."

"I promise you, we’ll have that conversation properly." She smiles warmly. "Right after we sort out the Flame Mother situation."

Kandoril sighs, resigned. "Of course."

"Speaking of," Kathoril says, "our teams are already working to clear a path to her temple. The last expedition triggered a landslide that buried the only route through the mountains — the fight with the Flame Spirit left rather a lot of collateral damage behind."

Vuvi scoffs. "I’ll have my own mother and Eris with me. The Queen’s strongest general. I think we can handle one landslide and a flame spirit."

"We have complete faith in you." Kathoril replies, with a slight bow.

Meanwhile, back at the Pleasure Palace, well removed from the roar of forges and the mineral tang of hot metal, Vexena sits out front on a low stone bench in the mid-morning sun, watching the world drift lazily by, commoners and nobles alike wandering past, hawkers calling out prices, children weaving between market stalls, all of them simply living out their small, ordinary lives around her. She finds it, against every instinct, oddly pleasant.

A small cluster of dwarven guards strolls past and stops as one, in unison, to bow deeply in her direction before continuing on their patrol. She nods back, a small, involuntary smile tugging at the corner of her mouth despite herself.

Clients greet her warmly on their way in and out of the building, a few even pausing to thank her personally for gracing the establishment with her presence, as though she were simply part of the decor now, another fixture of the place alongside the banners and the balloons.

Eventually, Eris and Maribelle stumble out through the front doors together, grinning and groaning, each rubbing at a different aching body part.

Vexena eyes them both with an upturned nose, taking in the way Eris limps with every other step and the way Maribelle keeps one hand pressed protectively to her own neck. "What in the world happened to you two?"

"The Prince," Eris says, voice hoarse, "is far more powerful than I ever realized. I hurt everywhere. And I’ve never felt so incredible about it." She exhales, dazed. "I already booked another session, two days from now. I’m going to need time to recover."

Vexena’s brow shoots straight up. "Surely he can’t be that good."

"He’s... way more... than good." Maribelle’s voice cracks badly as she tries to answer, barely more than a rasp.

"What happened to your voice?"

"He gave my throat... a real workout." Maribelle grins, touching her own neck fondly.

"You cannot be serious." Vexena gasps, incredulous.

"That’s nothing..." Eris cuts in, "...compared to what he did to my arse. I genuinely thought he was going to split me in two." Her eyes go soft and distant, dreamy at the memory, one hand rubbing gingerly at her own backside. "It was amazing. I didn’t even know I was capable of that. "

"You’re both exaggerating." Vexena shakes her head firmly. "There’s no possible way a mortal-made construct did all that."

"That’s exactly what I thought," Eris says, "right up until he turned my insides to pudding. Over and over again. Everytime I thought he was done, he’d just keep going. Thought he might genuinely kill me... and I’d have let him. Happily."

"What!? How?!" Vexena asks in disbelief.

"He’s blessed by the Great Mother herself, Your Grace. He does the impossible..." Eris says matter of factly, "And makes you do things you never thought you’d be capable of. Never thought a little golden construct could make me scream his name while he filled my arse with holy magic."

"Never thought I’d love having my throat filled with glowing metal, either." Maribelle smirks, the words croaking out of her.

"It’s like his touch makes you forget all your inhibitions completely." Eris says, smiling proudly, "Go see for yourself, my Queen, you’ve got nothing to lose. Except maybe a little dignity."

The two of them dissolve into giggles.

"Absolutely worth it, though." Eris adds. "Better than tearing through an entire enemy battalion, and that’s truly saying something coming from me. It’s like he released something in me."

"A lack of shame!" Vexena scowls, "You speak so brazenly about being ravaged."

"You’d do the same after a session. It’s a pleasure every woman deserves to experience." Maribelle agrees solemnly. "It’s a shame that any women be deprived of the priviledge to know what true pleasure is."

"Having my throat or my backside broken doesn’t exactly sound like a pleasureable priviledge." Vexena groans. She glances back toward the front door, her gaze lingering there a moment longer than she means to. Then she scoffs, shaking it off entirely. "No. I’ve got better things to do with my time."

"What could possibly be better," Eris asks, "than having your back blown out by a glowing, divine-powered sex-golem with a metal wyvern between his legs that spews holy aphrodisiac?"

Vexena opens her mouth, searching for a response, and finds absolutely nothing there. no counterargument, no clever retort, nothing but a faint, traitorous warmth creeping up the back of her neck.

"We’re leaving!" She grunts instead as she storms off toward the palace without waiting for either of them, robes snapping sharply behind her.

Eris and Maribelle trail after her, hobbling along the cobblestones together like two soldiers fresh off a losing battlefield, Eris draped half over Maribelle’s shoulders, wincing and rubbing at her own butt every few steps.

"So, what was it like?" Maribelle asks, tapping Eris’s lower back gently.

"Felt like I was being filled all the way with a burning battering ram." Eris sighs as her voice goes light and dreamy. "Orgasmed through every second of it!"

"Oh gods!" Maribelle smirks, still rubbing her throat softly. "I think I might actually try that next time!"

"Better go in prepared." Eris replies, voice now serious. "Next time I’m bringing ice-slime lube. Maybe some numbing oils."

"Oh, please, it can’t hurt that much." Maribelle snorts and slaps her sharply across the backside. Eris jerks upright with a hiss, wincing hard, and curses fluently at a delighted, giggling Maribelle.

The two continue the rest of the long walk, discussing, in great detail, their plans for their next session with Pip.