Reilanis had locked herself in her study with all the books and documents they had accumulated over the last few years, containing information on the Cedarstone Forest region, the Oastwill Plain, the Laraef Empire, and the Agrilisa Kingdom. All this in the hope of finding some opening that she could take advantage of, to work out a plan of action in case things got complicated.
She started with books concerning the Laraef Empire, which contained its history from its founding to the present.
According to historians, more than 900 years ago, around the year 1600 of the first era of ascension, a man was born, who would be known in history as The Reclaimer, Edward Forsen Laraef. Thanks to this legendary man, who led a group of brave men, all the most dangerous monsters were hunted down around his hometown, which was located on the shores of the great Lake Lirmrot, now the capital of the Empire, Tsotgal. Due to his actions, the whole region had become a safe area to live, cultivate fields and raise animals.
After several years of prosperity, Edward, together with his faithful companions, founded a new kingdom in the region, now known as the ancient kingdom of Laraef. This kingdom grew at an alarming rate, expanding its territory to the north and founding new villages, which would become the great pillars that would further increase the power that they were gradually gaining in the region.
Thanks to a good administration, an abundant amount of food, manpower, and technological advances in the military field, the kingdom of Laraef had become one of the great powers in the central part of the continent. Their army grew to be one of the strongest and most numerous, something they made good use of in the years to come.
600 years later, King Domaelis Culgron Laraef, would have a dream where he saw his country taking the whole continent under its wings. That same day he gathered everyone in his palace, announcing the birth of the Laraef Empire. Under the rule of the new emperor, Domaelis, the great era of conquests would begin, or as some would call it, the expansion of the Crimson Beast, so named for the bloodthirsty campaigns of the first emperor. For the next 270 years, the Laraef Empire would wage constant wars, gain new territories, annihilate small countries, and increase its power and influence.
Everything changed when, at the age of 15, Emperor Hubtos Alferis Laraef the fourth ascended to power, and all the era of blood and wars that sickened his beloved nation came to an end. Hubtos IV saw that his empire was falling apart, his economy, once one of the largest and most prosperous, was now nothing more than a mere thing of the past. The young emperor began to prioritize his people, focusing his efforts on improving food production and public safety. He sent his best men to research new technologies for farmers so that they could have better and more abundant harvests, built better roads by expanding transportation routes, and sent most of his soldiers to patrol these areas regularly, getting rid of bandits and monsters that impeded free transit between villages.
During the next 30 years of his rule, Hubtos IV managed to pull his empire out of the pit of poverty and decadence into which his predecessors had thrown it. The infrastructure of his cities improved enormously, building better-fortified walls to defend them, houses more resistant to the passage of time and the inclemency of the weather, the streets and districts of both the capital and other cities had improved to such an extent that, in current times, it was difficult to find homeless people or criminals.
Such was the wisdom of Emperor Hubtos IV, that he closed deals with several trade guilds, further expanding his economy and influence. Even he closed a vital deal with the adventurers' guild, offering them total independence in their country, allowing them to grow without any hindrance and creating a large market for monster-derived products.
The last years of his government, which he does not seem to want to abandon, have been focused on the military field, improving its quality. He had concluded that, in the years to come, the empire would be besieged by the surrounding countries, in search of recovering their old territories or expanding their own, coveting the fertile lands or the large mining areas in the mountainous region known as the Torias Ridge, a place that is found surrounding the Mostla peak.
After reading all this information, Reilanis realized that the Laraef Empire had not only a great history but also a blood-soaked past. Its territory was huge, and its army was incredibly powerful. It wasn't something she could easily handle on her own, but it wasn't as if she had to do it, let alone something she wanted to do.
She let out a weary sigh, imagining how complicated everything would become if she had to go to the extremes of fighting directly against an entire empire. What a horrible fate that would be, she thought bitterly. Avoiding that was one of her goals now.
Next to the book with the history of the empire, there was a stack of papers; scrolls of reports, written by Vistelia on her many trips to Dorgayano and the nearby villages. She picked up the first one and began to read it.
Dorgayano is a city located approximately 5 days’ walk north of the dungeon territory. Its current population is 12486 people, stable over the last 10 years. Of these, a small percentage is made up of non-human races, including slaves, which are more diverse. Its economy is based mostly on wool production, brought from the many breeding grounds scattered throughout its territory and the remnant villages of the Oastwill plains.
The city has an important headquarters of the adventurers' guild, which has a fairly high influx of members, although the vast majority of these are just passing travelers who usually do not stay more than a month in the territory, and choose to move to other lands due to the difficult living conditions in the region.
Although Dorgayano appears to have a stable economy and to be a city in which life can be prosperous, such an image is only an illusion for foreigners. Few foods are grown in these lands, and most of those that fill the stores are imported from other regions, causing the price to be much higher than in other places. This is one of the reasons why Dorgayano is known as a transient city.
Various kinds of rumors are circulating in the city. Many of these mention the city's lord, Baron Astor Miraleiquis. Among the most prominent are its poor administrative capacity, which has led to travelers staying less time than in previous years. Times when the influx of people resulted in 1 out of every 100 visitors staying as a permanent resident, has become 1 out of every 10 thousand. Others talk about how the Baron's pockets have increased in size in recent years, dealings with criminal organizations, and even a countless number of bastard children with multiple prostitutes who mysteriously disappear. I have already checked many of these and the vast majority have turned out to be true.
More rumors are talking about some of the villages on the plains of Oastwill, which supply the city with products. These talk about them being run by regional bandits who have turned them into slaves, or that a necromancer has settled in the region and taken control of them. It is difficult to determine the veracity of these rumors because no travelers are allowed in any of these towns, and anyone heading towards them is followed by hooded men and never seen again.
Reilanis was a bit speechless. This guy, Astor was pretty much one of those evil nobles, traced from the stories. He just needed to be fat and have Mephistopheles' mustache and beard to have the full combo. The Oni just shook her head in disapproval and moved on to the next report.
I went to the adventurers' guild, to pick up rumors from travelers and discovered some disturbing things. Some rumors are floating around that talk about a large golem that inhabits the Cedarstone forest. Some say this monster is protecting some kind of ruins deep in the forest, others say it is guarding a dungeon, and some say the golem is a guardian deity of the forest. It is impressive how close they are to the truth, even though the number of adventurers who have approached Orphy's territory is extremely low, and far fewer have actually seen and/or encountered it.
It was certainly worrisome. While, a dungeon like this one "fed" on its visitors; especially adventurers, Reilanis had managed to make the most of it by having Orpheanus lead wandering, harmful monsters or any "nuisance" into the dungeon, to use as food to make it grow. Since they had settled there, it was a strategy that had worked so well, it wasn't even necessary to have other types of visitors. This was the reason why the dungeon had grown so much without being discovered. Unfortunately, it seemed that in a short time that might change.
The Oni moved on to the last report about Dorgayano.
A rumor has been running through a certain sector of the population for the last few days. Among the wealthiest of the city, and a large number of soldiers and knights, word has spread that the Miraleiquis are about to achieve their greatest ambition since they were assigned as lords of the city of Dorgayano. It is not clear what exactly this dream they speak of is since they seem either not to know it, or refuse to utter it. This is in addition to the fact that there have been strange movements of Baron Astor's troops. During the nights, small platoons of 30 or fewer soldiers leave in carriages in the direction of the villages surrounding Cedarstone Forest. It is quite impossible to know what they are doing there, as the villages are heavily guarded and surrounded by a strong detection barrier. After only one day in each place, the troops leave, carrying a single carriage with an unknown cargo. I suspect it may be gold or even people, but due to the difficult approach, I had no way of confirming it. My lady, I strongly urge you to investigate this thoroughly. The fact that they are having unknown businesses near our forest could bring too big problems for the dungeon.
Another sigh escaped Reilanis' lips. This was what she had read the other time when she met with everyone. The fact that these soldiers are conducting strange business in the villages to the west and north of the forest confirms that they are preparing for something nearby. If she had not had the information from Reilan's memories, it is possible that they would never have been able to prepare for this.
Just as she did the last time, she put on a sour expression and threw the papers on her desk. There was very little she could do about it, let alone without knowing when they would put their plans into action.
Lani leaned back in her chair, rubbing her eyes. She was tired and a bit fed up with the current behavior of those selfish and greedy humans. While all intelligent races were somewhat similar in that, the vast majority would put those of their own race first. Humans, however, were quite the opposite. They would kill their own without batting an eye if it brought them the slightest benefit. This bothered the Oni even more because it reminded her of her childhood. Idiotic, selfish adults who thought only of themselves.
"I can't even see a difference between what they did, and how these humans act. In the end, they're all the same shit."
Lani let out a tired exhale, then got up and walked out of her study. All the stress of remembering those things took away her desire to keep working.
"A good bath and a good night's sleep should be enough to clear my mind."
And so, the Oni took a long, much-needed hot bath, feeling her body relax.
Naked as she was, she stared at the ceiling trying to clear her mind. One thought began to creep into her head, though. The face of a person, an elf with a cute little smile, a voice that, no matter how many times she heard it, always brought her calm and joy. Her sweet, purple, glossy lips. A color she wasn't used to seeing and it felt... exotic. Reilanis remembered the taste of those lips, the touch against her own, the way that mischievous elf would slip her tongue into her mouth and make her tingle all over her body.
Reilanis felt how a part of her body, the new accessory hanging between her legs, had awakened and begun to harden. Lani felt embarrassed, but this time it didn't feel... wrong. It was good, wasn't it? She told herself. Thinking about Lia, who was now technically her wife, wasn't bad, right?
As if answering her question, she felt a contraction in her erect member. Lani closed her eyes as if to ignore it, but her mind had already drifted more and more toward her partner. The image of the elf's body was perfectly etched in her memory. The thought of that day, when they were having breakfast together, Lia wearing that cute pale green dress, which, although it had short sleeves, showed the upper part of her chest... Reilanis had never really had a better view of that part of her body. They weren't too big, but what little she could see told her that they were definitely in good shape. What would they be like? what would it feel like to touch them? To kiss them, to lick them. Lani bit her lip. At this point, her erection was already painful and she couldn't ignore it any longer. She needed relief and she needed it now.
Hesitating a bit, she brought her hand down to her crotch, grasping her hard, hot member. She didn't quite know what to do, but she remembered what Lia had done last time and decided to imitate her. With a gentle grip, she began to move her hand up and down, hesitant but excited. She went the entire length from the soft tip to the base and back again. Each movement reminded her of her moment with Lia, and it was making her hornier.
Her breathing quickened and her whole body began to heat up. She couldn't tell if it was from the water or from what she was doing, though she didn't care. It felt great and that was all she needed to know.
"Shit..."
It felt really good, so good that she'd started to gasp and moan a little. Was it the technique, or was it the fact that it was her own hand? She had no idea, but she wasn't going to stop anytime soon.
She needed more, more of that feeling. Her hips moved in rhythm with her hand, while her free hand traveled to her breast. A place she never touched unless she was cleaning her body. She cupped her boob in her hand and gently caressed it in circular motions, squeezing it a little, playing with her nipple.
"Ahhhhhh!"
A loud scream escaped her lips. It felt so good that she didn't want to stop. She kept remembering what happened the other night. The elf's skillful hands, her tongue running over every inch of her cock, licking it and then being devoured by those sweet lips. In and out of her mouth, soaked and glistening with her saliva. Wet sounds echoed and Lia's moans overlaid that.
"Ung, fuck, I'm close..."
Lia's ass. That juicy, smooth ass. She wanted to grab it between her hands and squeeze it. Throw her on the bed with her delicious ass towards her and... and then... then...
Then the memory... the sight of herself being forcibly penetrated as her blood dripped to the floor...
"FUCK, FUCK, FUCK, FUCK, FUCK!"
Reilanis got up from the pool and started screaming furiously. She pounded the water with her fists, desperately trying to get that memory out of her mind.
"Why!? Why!? WHY!?"
The Oni was overwhelmed with anger, she threw punches into the air, into the dry ground next to the pool, breaking parts of the ceramics, while continuing to scream curses one after another. She wanted to cry from despair.
"Why the fuck did I have to remember that now!!!? I just wanted to... fuck... FUCK."
After quite a while of trying to control herself, at last, she came out of the bathroom. Edel was outside, waiting for her.
"Prepare some meat, I'll eat and then go to bed."
"Right away my lady."
"Damn it all..."
That night Reilanis didn't get much rest, being constantly awakened by the recurring nightmares she had thought she was finally free of. It had only been 2 days since she had been alone in the dungeon and she knew that, now that this torture to her mind had returned, it was going to be an incredibly difficult week.
I really enjoyed the lore that we got this chapter. The Laraef Empire really has an interesting history behind it and I look forwad to seeing how they are doing at the present day timeline of the story.
Poor Reilanis, she really is going to have to have to relive her past all over again in the form of bad memories randomly surfacing in her mind and without the support of Vistelia at the moment. But it is to be expected, after seeing what she had to go through as a teenager in the prologue chapters.
As all things should be.
