NOVEL NEXT 43. Warrens and Waterfalls
Bonny and Miu spent the evening like they did their first morning together, teasing and exploring.
This time with an audience, though. Bonny felt a little awkward, being watched, but she knew and was comfortable with all of her companions, even Willowbelle, whom she had known the least amount of time.
Afterward, everyone curled up together to sleep, as usual, letting Bonny’s purification aura wash them clean. When they awoke, they rinsed and splashed around in the pool and waterfall, then set out.
“Miu?”
“Yes, Bonny, nya.”
“Can you find the goblin camp we were in?”
“Should be able to, nya. Why?”
“I’m not sure. I want to see where I appeared and see if there’s a clue or anything else interesting. It feels important. I think all the goblins should be gone, right? Even if there are some, we should be able to handle them, I think?”
Eloisss nodded. “Goblinss sshould be gone.”
“Okay, nya.” Miu led the way down the river, then across at a narrow section of the stream.
Bonny shivered at the memory of falling in and getting bit on the legs and lower lips. They had no problem crossing, but there was plenty of time and help, since they weren’t being pursued.
Miu led them back north and west, finding the trail, even though it was almost two weeks old at this point. Eventually they found the rough palisade, surrounding the camp and caves, but it was broken, shattered logs pointing outward, as if something large and angry had burst out from the inside.
It stank. It smelled of goblins and shit, but most of all, it smelled like decay. Bonny summoned her wind spirit to blow air across her face, somehow removing the scent from the breeze. Adelina did the same, but with a stronger breeze that everyone gathered around.
They went through the camp, carefully, finding nothing of value. There were several goblin bodies, in various states of rot, some partially eaten. There were flies and bugs, infesting the bloated corpses.
They moved into the caves, crawling through the tight tunnel. Eloisss lowered her torso almost even with the floor and supporting herself with her hands. They emerged into the room that Miu had been held captive in, the crossed logs that she had been tied to were broken. There were more bodies in here, in a similar condition to the ones outside.
Bonny stepped over to the cat girl and hugged her tight, feeling the shivers of fear, both from Miu and herself.
There were four openings from this room. The one behind them led out and Bonny was pretty sure the one across the room led to the pit she had woken up in. She hadn’t explored the other two.
“Willowbelle and Kanae, can you stay here and watch those two tunnels?” Bonny pointed at the two new ones, then at the one she remembered. “I need to check this one, but don’t want anything sneaking up behind us. The rest of you, please come with me.”
The party split, as asked. It was a short tunnel, with a curve, as remembered. The two goblins Bonny had stabbed were gone. They found the door and forced it open to emerge in the pit that occasionally haunted Bonny’s nightmares. It looked like she remembered, some stakes broken or knocked down, mostly full of mud.
There were still skeletons, the human shaped one now looked more like an animal kin, probably a deer, than actually human. It had been picked clean, along with the actual deer.
Bonny searched the area she remembered waking up in, eventually finding a heart shaped locket on a necklace. She remembered it, Matt had given it to her at some point, but she had stopped wearing it the last few months of their relationship. He must have taken it and somehow brought it with him. It looked gold, but steel shown through where it was scratched. The locked opened, reluctantly when she pulled at it. There was a picture of her and Matt inside. She stared.
“Courage? Did Matt appear here too?”
“Yes. After you escaped.”
“You said he cried. All the goblins were gone, right? Chasing me?”
“Yes. He stayed all night, until they returned and captured him.”
Bonny wondered what she would have done if the one goblin hadn’t surprised her. Would she have stayed? Was it different because Matt had killed her and presumably knew what he had done? Did he feel remorse? It didn’t seem like that in the fight a few days before, but maybe that was just Wrath.
“Courage, does Matt still exist as a person? Can we rescue him from Wrath?”
The goddess didn’t answer right away. When Bonny looked down at her shoulder, where the two often stood, Courage was lost in thought, staring into the distance. Bonny waited and Courage looked up at her after a couple of minutes. “I do not think so.”
“Okay. Thank you.” Bonny finished searching the area, finding nothing else of value. They headed back up and rejoined the other two.
The next tunnel was empty, ending in a room that looked partially dug out. Maybe an expansion?
As they headed down the last tunnel, they heard some clicking ahead. Eloisss moved in front, and pulled out one of her falcata.
The tunnel turned at the end, opening up into a fairly large room. It was a rough circle with piles of carrion. Perhaps used as storage.
Something struck at Eloisss, but she brought her sword up in a blur, slicing through whatever it was. A head and body fell to the ground. Some sort of large centipede. Bonny shivered as she looked around, seeing several others feasting upon the decaying food.
“Poison.” Eloisss warned, then they went to work.
A whole colony of the giant insects had made their home here after the goblins had gone. The party made short work of them, Eloisss drawing out her other falcata and moving to the center of the room, her hands a blur as she diced anything that came near.
The ceiling was too low for Miu to use her bow effectively, but she moved in front of Bonny and used her knives to protect her from anything that got past Eloisss.
Willowbelle conjured stone walls to help protect them and Adelina blasted a few with air, forcing them back. It didn’t hurt the bugs, but held them back long enough for Eloisss and Miu to take care of them.
Once done, they searched the room. It may have been a storeroom for goblins, but there was nothing of use or value to the party. Goblins apparently had a different value system.
They headed back toward the river, Bonny lost in thought. She came to a decision as they reached the river crossing again.
“Miu, take us back to the waterfall camp, please.”
The cat nodded and led them north after crossing the stream. They undressed and scrubbed themselves and their gear clean in the pool under the waterfalls.
As they ate a light dinner, none of them very hungry after the warrens. Bonny finally spoke up.
“Sorry, everyone. I had to do that. To go back and see. As you know, that’s where I appeared, after Matt killed me in my own world.”
Kanae, Willowbelle, and Adelina had gotten a brief explanation of Bonny’s journey, but now she explained in detail, what she remembered from her own world and what had happened since arriving.
“We need to get stronger. We couldn’t face Matt back in Willowbelle’s grove and I’m sure he’ll be getting stronger too.”
They nodded and Bonny continued.
“I can’t give a divine blessing to anyone else, but I may be able to create talismans of Lust. Courage indicated that it may increase stamina, but it will probably make you all more horny as well.” She smile around at them. “I don’t think we want to give you an actual blessing from Lust. Or would it be a curse? Hopefully an artifact will be almost as good. Is that something you would want?”
Miu, Eloisss, and Kanae all agreed. Willowbelle and Adelina hesitated.
“I can make one and see how it goes. You can decide after that.” She turned to Adelina. “You gave me a wind spirit. Can you give me another? Or how do I get more?”
“I can. Go to windy places and invite them. I will look, on the journey.” The little fairy’s voice chimed in pleasure at being asked to help.
Bonny turned to Kanae, “Can you help train my aura? Like we did before?”
The fox nodded. She looked around at the others, then scampered over to a small tree and plucked a leaf. Then trotted back and triggered a change. Smoke and mist wreathed her, cascading down from the leaf placed on her head, hiding her body. When the smoke dispersed, a Bonny clone stood there.
Willowbelle and Adelina stared. Kanae had changed forms before, since they had joined, but not so openly.
“I get payment?” The fox with Bonny’s body smirked.
“Uh, I’m going to try and help you get stronger too. But what do you want?”
“More play.”
“Play? You mean extra sex?”
The Bonny clone nodded.
“That wouldn’t be fair to everyone else helping me train would it?” Bonny looked around at the others, who were all watching the negotiation closely.
“Feed me?”
“You want me to feed you? For payment?”
The clone nodded again.
“That, should be fine. How about starting tomorrow morning?”
“Okay.” Bonny-two grinned slyly and nodded, then shimmered back into the four legged fox, the grin still in place.
Bonny turned to the lamia, “Eloisss, I’ll need help with the shield. And maybe other combat. Miu can you help as well?”
“Of coursse.” Eloisss nodded.
“Yes, nya.” Miu agreed.
“Willowbelle, I know you use magic. What kinds? And you can help as well?”
The dryad nodded. “Earth and water.” She handed Bonny two crystals, one of each.
Bonny looked at the two crystals in her hand, then pulled on them, willing the spirits to join her. They melted into her hand and she felt her connection to Water increase. She also felt an odd sensation in her feet, an echo through the earth.
“Thank you. Can you help me learn to control and use these as well? I don’t really know what I’m doing.”
“Of course.” Willowbelle smiled at her.
“Ok, how about we stay here tomorrow and work on training. I hope you can all help each other as well. Eloisss, you’re probably the strongest and most experienced. Can you help us all build up our physical stats?”
Eloisss agreed, then slithered over and pick Bonny up into a tight hug. “Enough talk. Tonight iss mine. I choosse jusst uss tonight.”
They cuddled and comforted each other, ignoring the rest of the party.
