They were not lost, that was the good news. Rykard climbed up a particurly rge tree and scanned the surroundings. There was a distinct border where the current deciduous trees met a cluster of pines. In other words, they were in the corridor that led to the centre of the Hexagon.

  The bad news was that they still had not spotted anyone or anything.

  Rykard plucked a few more fruits from the trees on the way down. When he nded back in the dirt, swaying branches disrupted the integrity of Vyra’s shade. The vampire dy hissed at the momentary exposure of sunlight on her naked skin. “My bad,” the sovereign apologized.

  “An unfortunate mistake,” Vyra responded simply, her manners and control keeping her annoyance in check. The vampire was a true dy, not an entitled woman keeping up a front of good behaviour. She could live with some misfortunes.

  Dipping a cloth back in the bowl of water that Rykard had brought her from a nearby spring, Vyra continued to clean herself up. The morning had, of course, begun with him receiving service. That had ultimately escated into him pumping several loads all over her face and tits.

  Rykard had been contempting if he even wanted to bother with the clothes. He had gone with yes, for no other reason than the alternative being to store them somewhere in the unopened backpack. Putting them on was easier than putting them away. Vyra did not have that choice. Once she was cleaned, she covered herself head to toe again. The cover of the leaves was good enough that she kept the veil lifted, but the bck hat stayed on.

  Together they continued their journey in the rough direction of the Hexagon’s centre. For an hour, they just walked and chatted, their eyes just drifting about for any signs of sapient life. The dense foliage limited their sight fiercely. Still, they had to come across something at some point.

  They wandered a little bit before Rykard noticed it.

  It was the gap where the singing of the birds had been. It was the ck of rodents rustling through the bushes. It was the absence of bees and other insects buzzing around them.

  At the very st moment, Rykard gripped Vyra by the shoulder. The vampire dy was pulled out of the way of a streak of red fur and green pnt matter. The monster’s pounce had it connect with the trunk of a nearby oak. Immediately, thick cws buried into the bark, allowing the creature to retreat upwards into the branches.

  Above them, half-covered by the leaves, the monster prowled. Now that he had spotted it, he could follow despite its cover. It was a tiger, at the base. A tiger of deep red fur, about as long as Rykard was tall. Like all felines, it was of a graceful build, but there was a bulk to it that made every part a moving weapon.

  The colour of its coat blended in surprisingly well with the half-shade of the trees. The camoufge was aided both by stripes and various leaves that were interwoven with and seemingly part of the creature’s body. Despite the monster's size, the branches under its paws barely buckled. Green eyes stared down at Rykard, the dotted pupils narrowing with annoyance that he kept up the focus. The tiger pulled its maw back and revealed long, pointy fangs.

  Rykard continued standing his ground, even as a growl rumbled from deep within the chimeric monster. When that, too, failed, the creature shifted its approach entirely.

  Sitting within the treetops, it kept its gaze focused intensely on the two of them. Its form began to shrink. Striped tail retreated. Fur turned into long, wild hair, the leaves remaining woven within. The stripes stayed, shifting into a deep brown that painted a chocote bone body. Moderately sized breasts made up the top of a trained and toned figure. Her abs were visible, shifting as she kept the bance of her now squatting form. Her thighs were simirly defined. The space between her legs was, much like her chest, hidden by a minimalistic bit of grey fur and leather.

  The wood elf, for that was what the pointy ears identified her as, stared at Rykard and Vyra with wild eyes. Dark red lips were pulled back, continuing her threatening growls. Even in this state, she had fangs, albeit much, much diminished. She was gorgeous and she was dangerous.

  Rykard immediately wanted her.

  “Did the contestant send you?” the elven druid hissed.

  “I am said contestant,” Rykard introduced himself. “King Rykard of New Eden.”

  “Leave,” the druid told him.

  “If you know what I am, then you know that it would be against my interest to do tha-”

  “I don’t care!” her voice whipped through the forest. “We will deal with you on our own time. Accept this and await our approach or stay and suffer my wrath!” Fur began to sprout again from her brown skin.

  If he wanted to say something, he would have to say it fast. Of course, negotiations were easier once an enemy had been subdued.

  Rykard decided to do the unusual thing. He would just talk about it. “Let’s not be hasty!” he shouted and raised his arms in surrender. “I’m here alone with my one companion, there’s no need for violence! I merely aimed to make contact with the elven vilge I summoned! Please, just give me a chance.”

  Halting mid transformation, the druid observed him. The half feline, half humanoid creature, in a way more monstrous than the full chimeric form, slowly reverted to her fully elven state. “Fine,” she spat out. “I’ll listen to your expnation, invader.”

  “I am sorry if I have trespassed in any way, it wasn’t my intention.”

  “You thought you could just summon and walk into our forest and somehow NOT trespass?”

  “This is the fourth Hexagon I have summoned and none of them have been this strict.” Rykard kept a diplomatic tone, careful not to make his words sound like an accusation of being unreasonable. “I simply did not and do not know where your borders y.”

  “Mhhhrrrrmmmmrrrrrr.” The redhead made a throaty, thoughtful sound. She tilted her head, pointy ears wiggling. “You seem to be honest… let’s say I believe you, what would you want next?”

  “I’d request you to point me to your vilge, so I may speak to your leaders. You say you will speak to me when you are ready, and I respect that. You should know what to prepare for, right?” Rykard allowed himself to lower his hands at that point. “I’ll be forthcoming with my goals and resources. I’m sure we can come to an agreement of some kind.”

  He did not really intend to leave before he had ‘Yes’ for an answer, but stating that outright here would hinder more than it would help.

  The druid kept on staring for several seconds. Then, she bounced back half a step, falling through a gap in the branches. She nded a few metres in front of Rykard and Vyra and carefully approached. “No tricks,” she warned. She considered herself the superior. Rykard was of half a mind to test that theory. “Follow.”

  ‘For now, I have what I want,’ he thought and trotted along behind her.

  The redhead’s ass was a nice sight on the way. The tiny grey thong she wore dug into her backside to a degree that Rykard could almost ignore that it was even there. Her bubble butt quivered with every step, a nice and jiggly contrast to the definition of her thighs. There was just enough fat on those to take the edges off their toned shape.

  “May I inquire why you’re so hostile?” Vyra asked.

  “No,” the druid snapped back. “You can talk to my sister. She’ll get this sorted, Tey willing.”

  ‘Tey… Tey…’ Rykard tried to find anything in his memory reted to that name.

  After a few moments, it clicked.

  “Tey wills the beauty we strive for and the morning we survive for,” he said.

  The druid stopped dead in her tracks and turned to face him again, her aggression majorly dimmed, albeit not entirely quenched. “You know of the goddess?” she asked.

  “I know a bit,” Rykard responded. “Tey, goddess of Survival and Beauty, a twinned soul fused on ascension, an embodiment of nature, in all of its gorgeous facettes…” At this point he put an arm around Vyra. “...and all of its dangers.” He allowed a bit of his own power to flow into his voice.

  The druid pulled her lips back slightly, but bit back the growl. Instead, she gave him a curt nod and resumed her lead. “How did you learn about our goddess?”

  “Books,” Rykard confessed. “I never had the pleasure of meeting one of you in person before. In my home realm, there is only a modest presence of your faith in only one location.”

  “A waste,” she stated. After a few more steps, she said. “Tena.”

  “Rykard,” he re-introduced himself.

  “Vyra,” the vampire dy spoke for herself.

  The rest of their march continued in silence. Tena did not appear interested in further conversation and Rykard did not care to push her on the matter. Before he made any advances, he wanted a good view of the situation - and for once the situation was not the ass or tits of a potential haremette.

  The arrival in the vilge was sudden. They stepped through an invisible outskirt at some point, Rykard did not know when. He only realized he was at the heart of the vilge, when he noticed various elves peeking out of their treehouses. Literal treehouses, as was so often the case with elves, as they lived within great structures located within at least one, most commonly many, tree.

  The elves he saw had two things in common. First, they were all a variety of brown skinned, ranging from a light brown cinnamon colour all the way to an almost bck tone of chestnut. Second, they were all female. It was a wood elven vilge of the most heavenly variety.

  The present females wore one of three styles of dress. Either they wore a simirly minimalistic and tribal garb as Tena, or they wore white, gold-trimmed cloth wrapped around their bosom and derrieres as a very simple robe, or they wore nothing at all. There was no concept of shame regarding their nudity and they followed Rykard and Vyra as they advanced with curious eyes.

  “Tena brought the invader to us?” “How unusual.” “He is quite handsome…” “I haven’t seen a man in years…” “Hmmm, if you’re feeling needy then I can…”

  The whispers all around had lewd undertones at the worst of times. Rykard smirked and just followed along. Tena guided them down winding paths that, now that he knew he was in the vilge, were quite apparent to him. As was the building they were heading towards.

  The temple at the heart of the vilge was a bifurcated tower, twenty metres thick at the base, and hollowed out by the gentle application of magic. That the ancient tree was used as a temple did not bother it in the slightest. In fact, it was greener and more vibrant than anything else around.

  The left side of the tree was covered in thorns and its bark was rough and unwelcoming. Its entrance y a dozen metres off the ground, to be reached only by those nimble and willing enough to climb up. The right side was more welcoming. Windows had been shaped into the outer bark and filled with decorative, winding patterns that continued through the grooves in the mostly smooth bark. The entrance was right there and surrounded by golden leaves. The inside of the tree was gently illuminated by fireflies.

  The duo followed their guide into that temple. “MEL!” Tena shouted. “MEL! GET YOUR GORGEOUS BUTT OUT HERE!”

  “Tena, I told you not to shout in the house of beauty,” a gentle voice responded from behind a wooden wall. Rykard noted the soft sound of a book closing, before the origin revealed itself.

  She had long, white hair - seriously long, cascading past her butt. Huge breasts were cd in the same white, gold-trimmed garb he had already seen outside. It simirly hid the woman's thighs, but Rykard could make out that she was quite the blessed figure above and below anyhow.

  The priestess of beauty had a figure that was wonderfully curvy. Those breasts were not quite as rge as Vyra’s or Hey’s, but they were certainly on the giant end of the spectrum. Her hips were wide, her midriff narrow. The muscles that moved under her brown skin, as delicious in its chocote tone as that of the redhead, were subtler. This one seemed to enjoy a more rexed lifestyle, as could be expected.

  Unusual for a member of this vilge, aside from the complete whiteness of her hair, was a structure of golden marks. Thin lines began somewhere underneath her skirt and unified around her belly button in a diamond shape. There was a hint of more below and a single line wandered upwards, getting hidden by her cleavage, before fanning out like the crown of a mighty tree at her colrbone, stretching from shoulder to shoulder.

  “How else am I going to grab your attention?” Tena asked and rapidly walked over to ‘Mel’. The redhead went in for a kiss, but was gently rebuked.

  “You know I don’t approve,” the woman scolded, strictness mixing in with the gentle softness. “Keep your affections to yourself.”

  “But they’re not as fun if they’re just mine,” the druid whined.

  “Be that as it may, you must anyhow.” The priestess turned to Rykard. “I apologize for my sister, she can be a bit rash.”

  “Sisters?” Rykard asked, more interested than surprised. There was a resembnce there, although the general beauty of elves made them all a bit more alike than was common with other species.

  “Fraternal twins,” Tena stated firmly. “We’ve been together forever.”

  “And pn to stay that way,” ‘Mel’ added, while keeping her sister at arm’s length. “My name is Mena. Do I understand correctly that you are a messenger of the contestant?”

  “No, I am the contestant,” Rykard stated.

  “Oh.” Mena looked at her sister. “You brought him here?”

  “He made good points and he knows of Tey.”

  “Hm… well, call upon the council. We should do this correctly.” The redheaded sister finally let up in her pyful advances and left the room. “I do apologize again for her conduct. It is unbecoming to behave that way in public. Can I offer you refreshments? You must be weary from the distance travelled?”

  “A pce to sit and some cool water would be appreciated.”

  “In the shade, if I may be so bold,” Vyra added, her red eyes almost glowing in the twilight.

  If Mena was afraid, she did not show it. “Of course, follow me.”

  As they walked, Rykard presented the first question that was on his mind. “Any reason why Tena was so hostile?”

  “The violence of contestants is well known,” Mena responded.

  “Is it?” Rykard asked.

  “Oh… is that not common on other worlds?” the priestess asked, half-interested, half-surprised. “Our sacred texts hold that the world of Whisperwood was nearly destroyed by the fights of the contestants. No one won, everyone lost, because their power was too great. Only the intervention of our goddess Tey prevented the total colpse.”

  “First time I have heard of such a tale,” Rykard told her. “But the universe is vast.”

  “And filled with beauty,” Mena said and opened a door for them. “Wait here for a moment, I will fetch refreshments.”