A couple days after the hunt, Chloe finally found a moment alone with Ellie. Shifting on the seat of the wagon as the light grew dimmer, she spoke up. “So, who are you?”
Ellie blinked, then gave her a second look before laughing, “That’s an odd question. Unless you want to get to know me better.”
“That’s not what I mean, and you know it.”
She let out a breath, “What gave it away?”
“Little things, but the way you handle those axes merely confirmed it.”
Ellie gave her a look, eyes glowing. A magic formed, and then broke. Ellie groaned, “I don’t suppose I can convince you to just drop this?” Then a thought flashed through the cowgirls eyes, “Wait how’d one so young even know...”
“That you aren’t Ellie?” finished Chloe, then she sighed, “Let’s just say I’m more versed in the dark arts than I let on. Possession is primarily the domain of spirits, but with Ellie’s soul displaced it would be easier to take her body for a spin so to speak. Assuming she wasn’t wearing her soul pendant, and for the last couple of days Krellick has had her soul stone.”
Ellie blinked, frowned, then her eyes widened, “Don’t tell me, you’re like me. That’s not your body either.”
Chloe chuckled, “Perhaps, perhaps not.” Then she turned more serious. “But it’s you we are talking about. Are you stealing Ellie’s body?”
“Stealing? Of course not, I’m just borrowing it for a while.” She shifted uncertainly, “I’d tell you more, but I’m not really allowed to discuss the details.”
Chloe frowned, “Some kind of contract with Krellick?”
“Oh he brokered it, but the contract is with the church, not Krellick.”
“Zylesh’s church?”
Ellie nodded. Confirming her suspicions, but she still had another question.
“And what, pray tell, happens to the original owner? Does she have any say in this?”
“Of course not, and she won’t remember anyway.”
“Won’t remember?” inquired Chloe, “and no input at all?”
Ellie ran her hands down her flesh. “All this is just property, owned by the church. Why would the property have a say in how it’s sold?”
That was most illuminating, they didn’t see Ellie as a person at all. How interesting. “I see,” she gave Ellie a look. “And what happens to the original soul? Is it considered property as well?”
“Sure is! The church reserves the right to do whatever it wants with the soul too. As for what they will do with it? I don’t know, and don’t care, but I’m given to understand that she’ll occasionally be allowed control of the body.”
Chloe sighed, then leaned back, “Not really my style.” She commented, but it might not have been that different from what she’d done in the past. From the perspective of mortals that was. Raising the dead and turning them into soldiers in her army hadn’t always been seen in the most positive light. “Who is in charge of this... body renting thing?”
“The goddess of course.”
“I see,” she replied, adding one more item to her list of things she wanted to discuss when they actually reached the goddess. Footsteps told her to shelve the conversation, “Anyway I’ll ignore this for now.”
Ellie grinned. “Thank you!” Then she noticed Alicia walking up, “And if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to have some fun!”
Alicia took her place and Ellie ran off. She watched her go, then said, “Chloe? Recall what I told you the other day on the hunting trip?”
Chloe nodded, “Yes, what about it?”
“Have you seen any milk hornets?”
Chloe blinked, now that Alicia mentioned it... “No, not one.”
Alicia replied, “I’ve not seen any hornets of any kind, or well, any other flying insect.”
Chloe glanced at the ceiling of the tunnel, “I’ve not seen any either.”
“Nor had Terri or any of the other guard captains. We all agree, it’s weird. Something isn’t right.”
Chloe frowned, Alicia was right. This was strange, but she couldn’t say why it had happened. Any number of things could have caused the oddity with the flying insects. Yet she couldn’t help wondering if this was a lead on the Maveran Brood Queen. Chloe couldn’t say for sure if it was, it might have been completely unrelated. They already knew monsters were drifting into areas they should not. But they were inside the patrol zone of Black Blossom, so things should be safer than they might be in other parts of the Dark Wood. “So you want me to be on the lookout for anything unusual and alert you if I see it?”
“That’s right! I’ll be telling Sae the same thing. It could mean a new monster is in the area. I can think of several that might scare away the bugs, but nothing else.” Alicia said, concern written on her face.
Chloe could guess why, all such monsters mainly ate bugs, but there were a couple that would attack the humanoid races, both were quite dangerous. The others were less dangerous but no less a problem for reasons that were less immediately apparent. Many monsters filled vital nooks in the food chain, but when an invader moved in? Nothing but chaos followed and one invader moving in may lead to a more dangerous predator going unchecked. “Are we going to talk with the city about this when we get there?”
Alicia nodded, “I plan to.”
____________________
Night fell not long after and the caravan rolled to a stop at the latest camping site. This one was a little different, as it connected to another road through the Dark Wood. As such there was a second pair of watch towers and an additional barracks for the caravan guards to rest at. There were even a few extra townhouses in the area for the merchants. Chloe found herself still in a tent however. Part of it was Myshi not wanting to be far from her cargo of newborns, but they’d arrived to find a second caravan setting up camp as well.
From what Chloe had gathered, this other caravan had been using the other road and had come from a deeper level of the Underdark. Come morning they’d be moving towards Tyna, this campsite being the interchange they needed to switch roads.
Chloe had taken a moment to gather some information on the other group. Terri had been quite helpful since she was naturally inclined to do just that, so putting an eye on her, or well renewing her shadowed eye on the girl had been helpful. The other caravan was largely populated by Drow and Dark Elves. As a result the female members of the other caravan wore little, and exposed pussies were common. Drow wore less the higher their status, and drow merchants tended to be higher ranked than the average commoner. Anything more than a bikini would be strange for a drow merchant, and their guards wore about the same. Meanwhile Dark Elves believed a woman’s pussy should never be covered, so split skirts were common in their dress style and panties had never really caught on with them.
Another cycle did not seem to have changed that, she knew cultures evolved but some beliefs would always hold strong. Many of these were core defining traits of the various humanoid cultures. The Drow had always seen nakedness as akin to godliness, so they used clothes as a marker of status, the more you wore the further from the divine you were and therefore lower on the social ladder, only saints and those blessed by the gods were allowed to be nude in public. Chloe knew that would be a problem for her. The moment a Drow saw her Nature’s Embrace trait, they’d deny her clothing. If she went to drow territory, she’d be treated like a royal. Having a female form meant she’d be of higher status automatically among them.
Meanwhile the Dark Elves believed that to cover the pussy was to cut a girl off from her connection to nature. Doing so would harm her magical ability and her health. Something Chloe had tested, and while their beliefs weren’t entirely accurate. There was a kernel of truth to be found, as was so often the case with myths, and legends.
As for what the other caravan was moving, she’d learned their carts were laden with refined precious metals. Stacks of Gold, Silver, Mythril, Platinum, and Celestium ingots filled their carts. Smiths and jewelers in Tyna would pay a fortune in coin for those, especially the Celestium. Celestium was a shiny blue metal that roiled with living starfire. It was incredibly beautiful, with powerful magical qualities. Leading to its use in high end enchanted jewelry, magical weaponry, and armor. Chloe even had a good idea, who was buying it. It hadn’t escaped her notice that the breastplates the Bysha Trading girls were wearing had been alloyed with Celestium and Mythril for their magical properties, and Titan’s Steel for its durability and strength. Part of why they were so tough, and if the guild was using armor made from it, they likely had a supplier.
Chloe suspected that these merchants were the supplier’s supplier. While that didn’t exactly roll off the tongue, any business relied on a chain of suppliers. Bysha Trading, dealt in slaves, hired out mercenary guards, and sold a wide array of goods, including armor, and weapons. Some of which she’d seen Myshi selling to the other guard companies in the caravan. Those goods all have to come from somewhere, just like the food at a market. The comparison was simple but apt. Farmers needed land, water, and seeds to grow food, but they also needed tools to work the land. They’d buy those tools from a blacksmith who in turn bought raw ingots and lumber from others. Logistics was never simple, it was complicated, like a spider’s web. Every business was interconnected. A farm couldn’t effectively operate without a blacksmith for metal tools. A smith can’t operate without miners to provide ore, or a smelter to make ingots. They also needed lumberjacks to provide lumber, both to make things like handles for the tools they make, but also to provide vital ash and fuel for their tasks.
Farms also needed a steady supply of water, which meant they sometimes needed the services of a water mage to summon rain. Fertilizers were also important, as plants don’t grow in barren soil. That’s where fertilizers came in, they replenished vital nutrients that were depleted by the plants the farmers grew year after year. Animal dung was a common choice for that purpose, which opened a connection between farms, and local ranchers and stables.
Even this tent was the result of a complex web of interdependent groups, either working together or independently to produce a useful product. Chloe was certainly happy with the results however, it was a good tent. If she had the coin, she’d buy one from Bysha’s Trading in a heartbeat. The armor the guards were buying was also a good product, if perhaps a tad overpriced.
Taking the hammer, she drove the last stake into the ground. Nearby, Alicia checked another connection and smiled, “Okay, that’s good.”
Ellie, with juices dribbling down her leg, and half hanging off a man Chloe didn’t know approached, “Hey girls! Done setting the tent up?”
Chloe sighed as she connected the dots on the kind of fun Ellie had been getting up to, or well the spirit in charge of her body. She didn’t say anything, it was not the place for it. Even if she figured the others would ignore it. Alicia greeted her, “Yup just finished.”
“Great! I’m going in, let me know when dinner is ready.” said Ellie as she vanished into the tent. Just moments before the door to one of Myshi’s three cargo wagons opened and the young lady came out.
Looking around she said, “Done with the tent?”
Chloe nodded, “Just finished.”
“So where’s Sae?”
Chloe pointed over towards the drow, where the girl was busy chatting with one of the drow merchants. A nice younger woman with the build of a practiced dancer, medium breasts and long silver-white hair. She had kind eyes and a gentle demeanor, which put everyone around her at ease. Perfect for a merchant and she liked kids, and had a selection of dolls. Sae had wanted to buy one, so Alicia had given her some spending money. Right now she could be seen chatting happily with a doll clutched to her chest.
“Well she seems to be having fun.”
Sae evidently finished with her purchase, as she said good bye to the merchant and hurried on over.
Chloe nodded and addressed Sae. “Did you find a good one for your collection?”
She grinned, “Sure did!” she showed off the doll, revealing that it was like that first doll she’d shown Chloe. Anatomically accurate, fully detailed and dressed with removable clothing. Sae had even bought a couple of outfits for the doll.
Alicia came over, “Nice pick, any change?”
Sae nodded and pulled out a few silvers and coppers, “Here!”
Alicia counted them and pocketed them, but said nothing. Chloe took the moment to give the new doll a closer look. She didn’t care to ask how much had been spent on them, it wasn’t really something that mattered to her.
The next words to reach her ears sent a shudder down her spine, “Alicia? Can Sae and Chloe sleep with me tonight?”
“I don’t see why not, but you should ask them.”
Sae smiled, “A sleepover!? That sounds fun!”
Chloe groaned. This entire thing spoke of danger, particularly for her poor tail. Then a thought occurred to her and she sighed, reluctantly saying, “Sure why not?”
Myshi practically vibrated on the spot. Her fingers twitching, as she twirled a little brush and held a basket of ribbons. Chloe had a sinking feeling about what she planned to do with them.