Arland Followed Leera up to the counter within the guild hall. The lady - a young demi-human with a pair of bright purple cat ears turned to face the pair.

"Hello and good meow-rning! How may I help you today?" She asked.

Leera leaned against the counter, "Hey, yeah. I got an apprentice here that's joining the guild."

The lady looked over at Arland, "Oh? He's still an apprentice?"

Arland furrowed his brow, "What's that supposed to mean?"

Leera glanced over with a raised eyebrow, "Wha- Oh! Oh, no. He's ten. Big for his age, but only ten."

The lady looked back at Arland, "Sorry for my rude tone. I didn't know he was that young. Let's get you registered, then we can discuss all this stuff."

Leera pulled out her ID - a small sylvanite square etched with various information about herself, "He's apprenticed to me, so we'd like a Devilwood Card if you have one in stock."

The cat lady nodded and pulled out a similar square. She pressed it to Arland's palm and chanted a brief spell. Suddenly the card was etched with information. She smiled and looked it over.

"Arland, ten years old, five-foot-two. You're tall for your age. Let's see, starting as a rank 0, knight. Wait, Knight? I thought you said he was an apprentice. According to his card, he's a full-fledged knight."

Leera grinned, "Indeed. He's been training under me for the last five years. His drive to learn and succeed is second to none. I'm planning to continue his training into a swordmaster."

The woman smiled, "Ah, I see. That's fantastic to know, Leera."

She turned her attention back to Arland, "Right. Well, here's you're ID card. It's got all the info to identify you on it. Being a Devilwood Wilds card, it's made of sylvanite and virtually indestructible. And as with all guild cards, it will automatically update with new information."

Arland turned to Leera, "So this means I'm officially in the guild? What's our first quest? Save some damsel? Hunt some beasties?"

Leera turned and walked over to the quest board before grabbing a sheet of paper, "You're rank 0. This means we, as a team, can only take up to rank 2 quests, since I'm rank 5. So our first quest will be this: Go out and pick some medicinal herbs. We'll get to the more exciting quests later."

Arland groaned, "Why is it picking herbs? There's not even one for like... hunting a small beast? Like a Carbuncle or a Crocotta?"

Leera sighed and pinched the bridge of her nose, "No, Arland. You start with a basic quest. But if it's any consolation, Skvader are known to munch on these herbs."

"Skvader? I know they're far from harmless, but they're freaking rabbits, aren't they?"

Leera shrugged, "If you're going to underestimate them, maybe I'll handle the quest alone."

Arland stared for a moment before taking the sheet and walking out the door. Leera beamed and walked over to accept the quest from the Catgirl at the counter before following after him.

***

As the sun touched the horizon, Nury settled on the side of a mountain, by a cave. She poked her head in and breathed a small lick of flame. Empty, and largely cavernous inside. A former volcanic caldera, she guessed.

She pulled back and clawed at the sides, opening it wider, before slipping her full body inside. She looked around and released another small flame. The top had been sealed. Some unlucky miner had likely dug into the mountain expecting to find granite or marble and instead found a room full of lava.

Unfortunate for him, but it suited her needs quite nicely. She could make a small home here, and no one would know.

She sat down and looked around. The room was massive, large enough that she could have stretched her wings out and not touched any two sides of the cavern. She nodded and stalked over to a nearby outcropping.

With a swift lash of her tail, she broke it off revealing a small, dim glow of heat, which cooled quickly.

"As I thought, the magma is still present. Still, it keeps it warm. This'll do nicely."

She set about changing and altering the cavern to better suit her needs - using her fire to melt and reshape the stone, her claws to carve out an area to sleep and an area to eat. Almost as an afterthought, she also included a table and a chair for a human just in case Arland decided to visit.

She felt her heart drop as she thought about him. That fun, cheerful little boy that she spent a week getting to know. He was genuinely her best friend. She pondered the implications - She was over two hundred years old, but he was the first person she considered a genuine friend.

On one claw, he was just a child the last time she saw him. They only knew each other for only a week, and more importantly, he was only a human. a kind not known for living more than seventy years.

On the other claw, her heart almost seemed to yearn for him. It's been five years since that day that she sat silently in her former cave, watching his carriage disappear into the distance. Not a day has gone by that her mind didn't wander to him.

"How big has he gotten, I wonder. It's been... five or six years. He had to have grown in that time." As she pondered, she sat back on her haunches and gazed up at the stars.

"Oh, Arland. One day, when you're a grown man, will you even remember the dragon that made you laugh so much as a young boy?"

***

Agdron stood on the balcony of his fort and gazed out across the sea of sands. There, in the distance, he could see a looming shadow, growing larger, day by day. As the slaves built the new castle, the shadow grew daily. He wasn't going to be satisfied until it stretched to the heavens. those elves may not be as powerful as some of the other races, but their long lives and natural resilience to disease made them very profitable to keep as slaves.

He turned and walked back inside, seating himself behind his desk. Sadly, the life of a monarch, even one of the demons, was ever filled with endless paperwork.

As he hunched over his desk, reading and scrawling his name, a knock sounded from the door.

"Enter," He replied, not bothering to raise his eyes from their current document. The door creaked open, the leather hinges worn and dried - another reason he couldn't wait to be out of this forsaken fort.

"Excuse me, sire. Sorry to intrude, but I thought you might want to know that another three slaves were crushed this morning when a falling granite block slipped its bindings."

"Is that the loud thump I heard this morning?"

"Yessir."

With a weary sigh, he looked up at his advisor, a tall, lanky demon that wore his wings wrapped around his shoulders like a cloak. "Do what must be done. Oh, and Krokt, bring me Rania. I feel the need for a distraction."

"Very good, sir." Krokt bowed deeply before backing from the room, the door swinging shut and thudding into place.

Agdron leaned back in his chair and grimaced. The flip side of elven slaves was their slow reproduction rates. He had pulled the females aside, encouraging them to breed more often. He kept them well-fed and well-maintained. The males, elderly, sick, and infertile were all sent out to work while the females of childbearing age were kept safe in a lavish dungeon. The children were raised to childhood, then set to work in the fort for the day, to learn subservience.

Another, softer knock rang out.

"Come in, Rania."

Rania, a tall, slender elven woman stepped in, blonde hair hanging down her back, the sides draped over her shoulders, drawing the eye to follow the lines and curves of her body. Despite being a first-generation slave, she still looked every bit as resplendent as ever.

His eyes wandered over her, visually devouring every inch of her. His mouth watered as his eyes settled on her ears, poking through her silvery-golden hair.

He walked over to her, "Good day, Rania. How are you today?"

She smiled, "I'm well, thank you. Certainly better than my kin," She gestured out the window to his balcony.

He nodded, "Indeed. I may be the demon here, but you're plenty demonic - selling out your kin as you did. And for what, the request for a better position than them? I could've gone back on my word."

She walked around him, trailing a long, painted nail along his collarbone, "Agdron, my love. It's been so long since you last called for me. Do I not satisfy you any longer? I was afraid that maybe you had lost interest in me, my dear."

He grinned as her nail went up and over his shoulder then down his back, between his wings, "You're not worried about me losing interest, aside from you being sent out to the others. You're afraid of what they'd do if a guard let it slip that you were the one that sold out the last settlement we captured."

Rania nodded, "That too. But in the time I've been your cocksleeve, I've come to enjoy our little visits. I feel like we've got a bit of a rapport now."

Agdron turned to her, "Oh, my dear Rania. You're so much more than just my cocksleeve. You're my stress relief. and I actually kind of admire how ruthless you were."

She blushed and grinned, "Stop it, you're too kind. I know I'm still a slave, but at least I'm not out there."

Agdron leaned in and slowly licked her cheek, "I'd never send you out there. If I did, who would I call to lighten my load?"

She sat on the bed and crossed her legs in a delicate, lady-like manner, "Krokt, I'd guess. That guy's got it hard for you."

"Perhaps," Agdron said, nodding. He stood and walked over to her, "Tell me, what do you think of him?"

"I'm but a lowly slave, my lord. My opinion is worth less than the opinions of the imps that scurry around."

"Indeed. But I still find value in imps, and I find value in you. So answer my question."

She looked up at him and grinned, standing and running her hands along his arms, to his broad shoulders, and down his chiseled chest, "Truth be told, I like him. He's good to you. Loyal. He'd be willing to face a dragoness in your stead, should you ask him to. Without him, I fear you may have drowned in paperwork by now, and who would I be servicing then?"

Agdron grinned and pulled her close, her arms wrapping around his neck, "That's what I thought. So, are you interested in helping me with something new? I've been sitting too much recently. Just a massage today."

She nodded and stepped back, "A massage, sire? Anything else?"

He smiled, "A drink. A glass of kadine, if you would. I'll get ready for the massage."

Rania nodded and stepped from the room while Agdron stripped off his shirt and stepped out of his pants. He stretched and sighed as he caught sight of himself in the mirrored silver plate - his horns curled up majestically and were the pride of his appearance. His skin was an off-black with red highlights etched around his form, the symbol of his authority as king of this realm.

His muscles bulged and rippled under his flesh. His wings folded tight against his back and his tail waved behind his back as he admired the view. He trailed his eyes down between his legs, to the trunk attached there - his cock was another point of pride, well above average for the demon race. It was easily nine inches and tapered beautifully to a soft-barb-covered tip. He nodded, pleased with the shape he kept himself in.

The door creaked open and Rania stepped in, carrying a tray of massage oils and a glass of frosted kadine - a specialty drink of the demonic realm. Made from a spicy liquor and a sour fruit, with tints of red provided from the blood of a Carbuncle which provided a mild sweetness that tempered the spicy and sour. It was a favored drink among demons.

"Mmm thanks," He said, taking the glass and taking a sip from it. "Perfect, as always."

"Thank you. Please, take the bed. I'll get started on your massage. Which oil would you prefer?"

"Lavender. Relax me."

Rania nodded, "Very good."

She uncorked the bottle and poured some of its contents onto her hands, warming it slightly before pressing it to his back, slowly running her palms along the surface of his back, moving ever closer to his shoulders. He groaned as she increased the pressure, working out the various knots that had taken hold in his ripcord muscles.