《Succubi's Gift Online》 Chapter 1 I turned left and right in my bed. It had been almost three hours since dinner and since everyone had gone to bed. Some metres away to my right was Lana, while some metres away to my left was Danor. Both of them looked deep in sleep in their respective beds. I sat up. I had had enough. I couldn¡¯t see how Lana and Danor could sleep so peacefully. I envied them in fact. Heck, they were the ones with way more youth than me. I should be the one able to get lost in the land of dreams quickly. Ever since the day I had tamed the succubi queen, I had barely done anything that required energy. The first few days I had gone about the villages that were at the periphery of the territory of the succubi and assured the villagers that they needn¡¯t fear the succubi from now on. Many of the villagers from the villages who had left early on, during the time when the succubi queen had first declared the area around Mount Succubus as her territory, returned as well. That was pretty much all I had done. It was easier to control the succubi than I had imagined. I had instructed them to spend their days ordinarily till they became normal girls again. And I didn¡¯t think that any of the succubi would ever protest against me. They seemed to follow my words earnestly as though my word was their command. I wondered if it would have been better if I had asked Lana and Danor to return to their homes. But I was sceptic Danor would ever return to the village that had treated him like an idiot. As for Lana, I didn¡¯t really want her to go. I had never put any advances towards her, and I doubted if I would do so in the near future, although I believed that she loved me. I was an old man at the end of the day. Perhaps, there would come a time when I would be able to regain my youth, but until then, I didn¡¯t want mine and Lana¡¯s relation to progress any further. I presently stood up from the bed, which creaked. I went out of the tent. Ours was the largest tent. It was previously the tent of the succubi queen. Outside, for miles in every direction were the succubi. They preferred to sleep in the open. They seemed to have no fear of the dark and so I had let them have their way. When it rained the succubi would simply cover their heads with their wings and make no complaints at all. The night air smelled fresh to my nose. The moon was shining bright tonight, even though it was only a half moon. It illuminated Mount Succubus well, the volcano standing a few miles to the north. I recalled the day the volcano had exploded. The explosion had really been a let down. It had been over quickly as well. I had thought the entire volcano would burst but it hadn¡¯t. Still, I had asked the succubi to stay away from the volcano. Maybe it would have a bigger explosion in the near future? The volcano still smoked after all. For a while I looked up at the moon and the stars. It was a relatively cloudless night and the moon and the stars glowed in their full glory. The milkyway was visible and for once I got lost in the beauty of the heavenly bodies. And then a small voice in the back of my head suddenly reminded me that the beautiful sky that I was seeing was merely a two dimensional image created by the makers of the Second World. I grimaced, wishing if the small voice inside my head had not spoken up. I still remembered my days as a child in the real world. Countless years had passed since my childhood, yet I still recalled certain instances from it with striking clarity. I recalled that I would often stare up at the sky on summer nights and wonder about the heavenly bodies.If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation. Whenever I saw a shooting star my heart would leap and I would make a wish, usually for candies or some other such stuff that kids desired for. Sometimes my wishes would actually come true. I felt an abrupt urge to return to the real world. I wished if it was possible, though I was well aware of the fact that it wasn¡¯t. The consciousness of a person could only be uploaded to the game world, but it couldn¡¯t be downloaded from the Second World to the body of a living person. Of course, there was no way any living person could download me into their body. How could I survive inside a different person, when their consciousness still resided in it? Transferring my consciousness into the body of a dead person was out of question as well. Just then, I noticed a shooting star in the sky and it pulled me out of my thoughts. Usually shooting stars barely lasted a second, but this one went on falling towards the earth. Heck, it must be one big meteorite, I thought, my mouth wide open in wonder. However, the rational side of my mind reminded me that the shooting star was merely a two dimensional object much like the moon and the other stars. The shooting star however kept getting bigger and bigger. Wait a minute, was it falling towards where I was standing? I gulped. It¡¯s a two dimensional image! Was it? I became uncertain. That chunk of rock was falling straight towards where I was standing! Panic took over me even as the night suddenly seemed to be converted into day due to the intensity of the light from the shooting star. At once, I alerted all the succubi by mass messaging them, an ability that I had acquired after defeating the succubi queen. I asked them all to move away. Then I dashed towards the tent. Lana and Danor were still sleeping there. ¡°Wake up!¡± I yelled at the ears of both of them, first Lana and then Danor, giving them each a very violent shake. Both of them of course looked pissed off. But there was not time for any explanation. I grabbed their arms and pulled them out of the tent, even though they resisted. But once we were out and they witnessed the glare of the meteorite, they realised the reason behind my actions. All three of us ran away from the tent. Barely a quarter of a minute had passed when the meteorite hit the tent. Such a loud explosion followed that we had to cover our ears. The next moment the tent had just about vanished, leaving behind a hole in the ground that was ablaze with fire. However, after a few moments, the fire died down. The meteorite had thankfully burnt up considerably in the atmosphere, and by the time it had hit the tent, it had shrunk largely in size as a result of which the area around the tent wasn¡¯t much affected. Both Lana and Danor were stuck with awe. Danor turned at me and said, ¡°I was never expecting a meteorite to fall from the sky aimed at the tent I was sleeping in, sir.¡± The three of us approached the big hole in the ground. The succubi and the demons too huddled around it. I had a feeling that there was no way that a shooting star could fall out from the sky and destroy the tent that I was supposed to be sleeping in could be a mere coincidence. There were unknown powers at play here for sure. I shivered at the thought what would have happened had I actually fallen asleep and not come out of the tent seeking fresh air. One of the succubi leapt into the crater. ¡°It can be dangerous!¡± I said to her. The succubus was careful not to touch the bottom of the crater with her feet, for vapours were still coming out of the ground, and she beat her wings hard to stay hovering. She picked up what seemed like a shard of glass. She flew over to me and showed me the shard of glass. Now that it was closer, I was suddenly struck by the realisation that the shard of glass was actually a crystal! Of course, not the most dazzling of crystals, but a crystal nevertheless. ¡°Does it look like a rocket?¡± Lana said, raising a brow at the crystal, ¡°Or am I dreaming it?¡± I took the crystal from the succubus¡¯s hand. Heck the crystal was shaped like a rocket of sorts. New Book Release! Hey guys, A better edited version of Succubi''s Gift Online is also available for preorder on amazon at the special preorder price of 99 cents! as an ebook and goes live in 5 days! A Moon Succubus?? Heck yeah! The succubi queen has been tamed and now Lanak is the master of all the succubi and the demons that were previously under the queen. Do-nothing days are taking a toll on Lanak, but when a meteorite falls from the sky and destroys the tent he was supposed to be sleeping in, Lanak might have been wiser to be thankful for the do-nothing days.A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation. Now Lanak, his giant friend and his superhuman girl must travel all the way to the moon¡­ succubi tamers do end up in space sometimes! Grab your copy today @ $0.99! Warning: Book contains over-the-action and pulpy adventure. Read at your own risk! (Note: Succubi¡¯s Gift Online is a novella of about nine thousand words that takes place in the same world as Succubi¡¯s Curse Online, but it can also be read as a standalone) Chapter 2 ¡°This doesn¡¯t belong to either of you, right?¡± I asked Lana and Danor for they were the only ones living in the tent with me. ¡°Of course it doesn¡¯t!¡± Lana said. ¡°Never seen it,¡± Danor said with a shake of his head. ¡°So it came from the meteorite?¡± I asked. It could be the only possibility. Just then a message popped up in my vision, even as the crystal began to glow, making Lana and Danor gasp. Even I only barely managed to keep the crystal in my hand and prevented myself from dropping it to the ground.
Hello, If you see this message, it means that the rocket has been delivered to the right person. Only a person who can truly help us can see this message. We are the moon people, and we dearly need your help. If you concentrate your powers on the crystal then you can create a craft out of it that can transport you to the moon so that you can help us. A great tragedy has fallen over us. Thousands of our people are in coma and we do not know if they will ever revive. A powerful succubus, who is a native of the moon, is doing this. We need your help to tame her. We are ready to give you whatever you want. But please, do not ignore this message. I will probably be in coma or worse by the time you receive this message.
Immediately following the message, a quest notification popped up in my vision.
New quest available! The moon people need your help. Would you like to help them?A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation. Yes/No? Rewards: Unknown
I looked from Lana to Danor to the succubus who had brought me the crystal from the crater. I told them of the message that I had just received. ¡°What do you say?¡± I asked them. ¡°They sound like they really require your help,¡± Lana said. ¡°To be honest, I am getting bored, eating and sleeping the last few days,¡± Danor said, ¡°I would really like to accompany you on this adventure, sir, besides wouldn¡¯t it be a good deed to help them?¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know how to concentrate my powers,¡± I said. ¡°Do not worry, lord,¡± the succubus said. ¡°Just command us, and we will all focus our powers on the crystal. Our power is your power after all.¡± I was still unsure though. People had sought help from me in bizarre ways in the past. Yet, nobody had nearly burnt me and my friends to death while seeking help from me before. ¡°You are sure, right?¡± I asked Lana and Danor for I really wanted their opinion on the matter. The two of them nodded earnestly. ¡°I would like to help them,¡± Lana said, ¡°but if the person that sent the message is not dead yet, I would like to punch their face because they really ruined my sleep tonight.¡± The quest message was slowly fading from my vision as I had not responded to it. With some hesitation, I chose the ¡®yes¡¯ option. I turned at the succubus. ¡°Concentrate your powers,¡± I ordered her. I mass messaged the other succubi at the same time. The succubus nodded and took the rocket crystal from me. This she went and placed in the crater where she had initially found it. The succubi all went very quiet. Up till then they had been moving and flapping their wings or making conversation with each other. But now, not even as single one of them made the smallest of movements or sounds. Suddenly, the rocket crystal placed in the crater began to glow brighter. It glowed so bright that we had to close our eyes. The intensity increased even more and closing our eyes was not enough. We needed to shield our eyes with our hands and yet we could still see the light. And then suddenly the light was gone. I opened my eyes. I gasped when I saw the rocket in the crater. It was in a horizontal position and it occupied almost all the crater. The rocket was no longer made of crystal but of a strange gas like substance that somehow managed to retain the rocket shape. ¡°It is done, lord,¡± the succubus said. The rocket reminded me very much of the Sphere that we had lost in the sea. Of course there were still many differences between the two. The Sphere had been made of metal, while this was not. On one side of the rocket there was what looked like a door. Standing at the edge of the crater I was able to grasp it and I pulled open the door. Touching the gas-like substance was similar to touching water. Solidified water that is, although not quite like ice either. With some hesitation, I was able to get inside the rocket through the door. Lana and Danor also made their way in, the faces of both of them filled with awe. The door was small for Danor¡¯s size and he had a hard time getting in. There was a seatte inside the rocket where the three of us sat down. ¡°So what next?¡± I said. The rocket didn¡¯t have any kind of a control board. But barely had I spoken when the rocket shuddered. Next moment we had a feeling as though we were floating. The windshield of the rocket was also made with the gas-like substance spread in a very thin layer, and through it I could see that we were slowly but surely rising from the crater. And then it abruptly turned and assumed a vertical position so that we could feel the force of gravity on out chests and heads. Chapter 3 ¡°So this thing has a mind of its own?¡± Lana said. ¡°Perhaps it has been programmed to take us to whoever needs our help?¡± I suggested. ¡°If anything goes wrong, I will grab you two and jump out,¡± Lana said. Those words provided considerable relief. Lana could fly after all. She could bring me and Danor safely back to the ground if anything went wrong. Still I was unsure if Lana¡¯s powers would work once we left the atmosphere of the earth. Or who knew? Maybe, the moon of the game world was in the atmosphere of the game world earth itself unlike the real world moon? As the rocket rose, its speed increased. A peculiar sound ensued from below the rocket. And then next moment the rocket shot into the sky at top speed. We focussed our efforts on stopping our teeth from clattering and from keeping our faces straight. Even the Sphere had never moved at this speed! After a while the rocket seemed to slow down and we could catch our breath. ¡°Look!¡± Danor pointed out through a small circular window that was near him. Lana and I hurried to have a look. Outside, there were no clouds in the height that we had reached. Down below was the earth. Its spherical size could be noted easily. I could see a great chunk of the subcontinent as well. Mount Succubus was a mere dot down below. ¡°We are in space!¡± Lana said. I reckoned even the game world moon was not inside the atmosphere of the game world earth. The rocket kept advancing towards the moon. You could tell that it was moving quite fast. The moon was slowly getting bigger. I had never been as thrilled as this before. A succubi tamer in space! How crazy was that? After an hour or two we had reached the half-way point of our journey to the moon when the three of us noticed a dot in the distance way ahead. We couldn¡¯t make head or tail of whatever it was, until Lana told of the possibility that it might be a meteorite. The hands of panic embraced me once again. What if that thing hit us?Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon. Danor peered hard at the dot. ¡°Nah,¡± he said, ¡°I do not think it¡¯s a meteorite. It more like a¡­ like a ship.¡± A space ship? ¡°Ship?¡± I asked Danor. Being the younger man, he had better eyesight than me. ¡°Yes, you know, like the ones that are used to travel seas.¡± Okay, that did not make much sense. But after a while even I, with my eyes weakened by the lack of youth, could see that the dot in front of us was indeed a ship! One with sails that too. It even seemed to have a flag, one with the picture of the full moon. If there was a ship, I reckoned there would be people on it. Were they the ones who had sent the rocket? We kept getting nearer and nearer to the ship, until a giant mechanical hand shot out of the side of the ship and grabbed the rocket. The mechanical hand took us to the deck of the ship. There were quite a few people on the deck. They were all dressed in rather amusing clothes, that were a mix of the clothes worn by sailors of ancient times and the clothes of ordinary people in the game world. One person, a senior looking man with a trimmed head but with a flowing beard opened the door of the rocket for us. ¡°We cannot thank you enough for coming,¡± he said to us as we went out of the rocket. While the man did sound grateful there was something about his tone that indicated that he was under considerable pressure. Once on the deck, I noticed that the ship was surrounded by a very thin sphere on all sides made of some gas. Oxygen perhaps? It would explain how we were breathing. ¡°I am Modart,¡± the man with the trimmed head and flowing beard said, ¡°I am the captain of this ship. Our king went into coma sending the message for help to you, but we are eternally grateful that you did not ignore our message and decided to come to aid us.¡± ¡°Well, you nearly burnt us to death with the meteorite though,¡± Lana said testily. ¡°The meteorite destroyed our tent and we barely escaped it.¡± Modart hung his head in a guilty way. ¡°We are sorry that happened,¡± he said, ¡°but please understand that there was just no other way to send the message to you. We the moon people cannot enter earth¡¯s atmosphere. There is an invisible magical wall around the earth that prevents us from going to the earth. To break this wall in any way, magic is required. A kind of magic that harms the one who uses it in unimaginable ways. Many of us are NPCs but many are also players. Players are randomly placed on earth or in the moon. The invisible wall appeared around the earth after the war broke out and some glitch happened in the system of the game world.¡± ¡°Why do you all have the same hair and beard styles?¡± Danor wondered aloud, looking at the other sailors. Why, Danor was right! It was odd that I should notice it only now, but every single one of the male soliders had a well trimmed head and a flowing beard. As for the female sailors, they had a unique hair style of their own. The right side of their heads had been trimmed while the other side possessed long hair. The hair style didn¡¯t look as odd as it sounded. Chapter 4 ¡°It¡¯s the tradition of the moon people,¡± Modart said. ¡°Over the time and the seclusion from the rest of the people on earth, we have come to develop our own unique culture. No other hair styles are allowed on the moon for a moon citizen.¡± ¡°Tell us about the succubus,¡± I said to Modart. The Modart nodded, seemingly wanting to get to the main thing than to talk about hair styles. ¡°Her name is Luna. She has been around for as long as the moon itself. But never in history has she done anything to cause us any trouble. I do not know the reason behind her sudden anger at all the residents of the moon.¡± Modart gestured us to follow him even as he continued speaking, ¡°The succubus Luna is slowly poisoning all the water in the moon. Many of our citizens have fallen into a coma after drinking water that had been poisoned. ¡°We tried to talk to the succubus but she refused any discussion with us. Our king had once received a blessing which allowed him to send a message to earth. And since no time could be greater than this, he decided to use it.¡± We had reached a strange device at the very centre of the deck of the ship. It was shaped like a gun and was placed atop a stand. But the device didn¡¯t have any barrel through which a bullet could be fired. Instead it had an antenna of sorts. There was also a small telescope attached to the top of the gun-like device. Modart placed a careful hand over the gun-like device. ¡°It is through this device that we were able to locate you in the earth,¡± he said, ¡°we scanned the earth, searching for someone who possessed considerable power and who could tame the succubus. When we came to know that you controlled thousands of succubi and demons, we at once knew that it was only through you that we had our best chance at saving our home, the moon. Our king used his blessing to send you the message and also the rocket so you could travel to here. However our king passed into coma in the process because the magic associated with sending the message was too powerful. Until a short time back he was in the ship before we decided to send him to the capital so that the best physicians could attend to him.¡±The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. ¡°The message said you would give us anything in return for helping you,¡± Danor suddenly said. Modart¡¯s eyes widened a bit. Maybe he hadn¡¯t given much to the fact that we could actually want something in return for our services. Then Modart forced an earnest smile onto his lips. ¡°Of course, anything!¡± he said. ¡°We are ready to give you anything in return for saving the moon.¡± ¡°Anything? Really?¡± Danor said and there was a rather expectant edge to his voice. Modart nodded vigorously. ¡°Money, spells¡ª¡± ¡°Spells?¡± Danor said. ¡°I would really like some cool spell¡ª¡± I placed my hand on Danor¡¯s shoulder so that he became quiet in a rather embarrassed way. We had yet to actually help the moon people. The moon succubus was yet to be tamed. We could think about what to ask for rewards later on. ¡°Where will we find the moon succubus?¡± I asked Modart. ¡°In the north pole of the moon,¡± Modart replied and he seemed somewhat relieved that he didn¡¯t need to go on giving us a list of rewards that he could offer in return for our services. ¡°That is where the ship is currently headed.¡± It took us a good two hours to reach the north pole of the moon. The north pole of the game world moon was covered by a great ice sheet. There was what looked like a castle made of ice exactly at the pole which Modart told us was the lair of the succubus. The castle was surrounded by what looked like trees that were made entirely of ice. Green plants also grew, but they were at a considerable distance from the forest of the ice trees. Modart gave each of us a special kind of vest that could protect us from the cold below. The vests were stretchable and they fit our bodies perfectly like they had been made for us. Once I had worn I vest, I felt considerably warm even though the regulated temperature at the deck of the ship was mild. The ship dropped us just outside the forest of the ice trees. Modart told us that if the ship went any further, the succubus would be able to detect it and the consequences could be severe. Very carefully, Lana, Danor and I began to make our way through the forest of the ice trees. The ice trees grew close to each other so that we could no longer see Modart¡¯s ship. Danor plucked a leaf from a tree and observed it. ¡°How did this come to existence?¡± he wondered aloud, turning the leaf up and down. He tried to bent the leaf to check its flexibility. It shattered. Danor let out a sound of disappointment and let the leaf fall to the ground. Just then I heard a noise behind us. I whirled around at the spot, alert. I made my sword materialise in my hand. ¡°What happened?¡± Lana asked me. ¡°I thought I heard something,¡± I said, scanning the trees with my eyes, but there was nobody. The three of us didn¡¯t make the slightest sound or the slightest movement for a few moments. But we didn¡¯t hear anything further and we decided that it was safe to continue moving towards the castle. Chapter 5 In a few minutes we reached the edge of the forest of the ice trees. We could see the ice castle of Luna the moon succubus clearly now. It was built entirely of ice and had a very jagged look. The ground between us and the castle was quite bare. But just as we took a few steps forward, when suddenly from the very ground itself sprung a monster¡ª An ice demon of sorts. It had a humanoid appearance but it was four times Danor¡¯s size, who himself was a giant and the demon had red eyes and great canines. Its body consisted entirely of ice, very much like the trees of the forest. Even as we were taking in our situation when yet another demon appeared. This was followed by yet another. Within a minute at least twenty more demons had appeared. The demon closest to us raised its arms and brought them down onto us. Lana, Danor and I leapt in different direction to protect ourselves. The result was that I landed in front of another ice demon who grabbed me with his giant hand and took me off the ground. He squeezed me hard. In a bid to save myself I hit one of the demon¡¯s fingers with my sword¡ªas if that would work. The demon simply took away my sword with his other hand and threw it away. Just then, Lana came flying at top speed. She hit the ice demon on the head with such brute force that the ice demon¡¯s head separated from its neck and went flying and hit another ice demon. The body of the ice demon went limp and it tumbled down, the fingers of its hands still wrapped around me. Luckily, the ice demon fell on its back so that I was spared from being crushed to death under its immense weight. I was somehow able to remove the fat ice fingers of the ice demon from over myself, and I stumbled onto the snow. Lana was still hovering overhead. In the distance, one of the ice demons had caught Danor. Lana was about to fly towards him to help him when another ice demon leapt to the air and grabbed her and brought her down. Lana began to box the hand of the ice demon, but I could see that she was running out of steam as her punches seemed to be low in energy. Still she was able to break herself free from the grasps of the ice demon. There were still so many of the demons that there was no way we could win over them. Lana might be able to deal with one or two more ice demons, but soon she would be depleted of energy and she would need to recharge. I was quite useless against the ice demons. All I had were my tamer powers and they wouldn¡¯t come quite in handy against the ice demons. The thousands of succubi and demons over whom I exercised power where hundreds of thousands of kilometres away on earth.The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident. Wait, I still had my blast spell! I had used it so many days ago that I had almost forgotten that I still had it. Danor let out a cry. The ice demon had its arms wrapped around him and was trying to crush him to death. I pointed my hands at the demon and cried, ¡°Blast!¡± Immediately the blast of air hit the ice demon, so that it was thrown backwards. Danor was able to get away from the ice demon even as the demon slowly recovered from the effects of the spell. And then came the cry. Or ¡®cries¡¯ to be precise. They came from the forest of the ice trees. The ice demons were also confused and for a few moments the three of us were no longer their centre of attention. After a second, we saw who were crying out. And no, the cries were not ones of sorrow. But they were battle cries. Green beings began to jump out of the forest of the ice trees. At first I struggled to comprehend what they actually were, and it took me a moment to realise that the green beings were actually¡­ plants? Well, they had leaves for hair and their bodies seemed very like the stems of trees. But they also possessed eyes and were quite humanoid in appearance. The soles of their feet also seemed to possess roots. These tree men and women threw themselves at the ice demons. They however, totally ignored us. The ice demons were stronger than the tree creatures, however, the tree creatures had the upper hand because of their sheer numbers. Amidst the chaos, Lana and Danor somehow made their way to me and then the three of us watched with awe as the battle raged between the tree people and the ice demons. The tree people carried swords. However, the swords did not always work well against the ice demons since sometimes the swords would get lodged in the thick bodies of the ice demons and it was hard to pull out the swords, while other swords shattered at the sheer impact. However, the tree people had other tricks up their sleeves. Their fingers could elongate and shrink as per their wish. Several of the tree men would throw their elongated fingers on an ice demon and wrap the demon completely in their fingers, such that the ice demon could be rendered motionless and then one of the tree men could decapitate the head of the ice demon with a sword. For what seemed like a good while, the battle went on. I reckoned the reason behind the tree men not attacking us was that they had seen us being attacked by the ice demons. Since they themselves were enemies of the ice demons, they had thought that they needn¡¯t do anything to us. Chapter 6 ¡°Look!¡± Lana said, pointing at a point close to the great door of the ice castle. A considerable amount of snow was up in the air at that spot and through it I could make out the outline of a lady. A rather tall lady, perhaps as tall as the ice demons. The snow settled. I saw that the lady was in fact a succubus who possessed horns. Her skin was white as snow, and so were her eyes and her lips and her hair and even the bare clothes she wore. Luna the moon succubus. She held up her arms and let out a cry. ¡°Enough!¡± Immediately the raging battle seemed to freeze all of a sudden. The tree people, lost in their quest to kill the last of the ice demons still standing had probably not seen the succubus until now. The succubus bent down near a dead ice demon and then she wiped her eyes as though she was sobbing. She looked up at the tree man who was closest to her. ¡°Why?¡± she asked. ¡°Why do you kill my brothers?¡± ¡°Why did you kill our brothers and our sisters?¡± the tree man shot back. His voice sounded odd, something that could have never been produced by the throat of a human. ¡°Kill your brothers and sisters?¡± the succubus said and from the tone of her voice she sounded rather confused. ¡°Of course!¡± another of the tree men barked. ¡°You are poisoning all the water in the moon. Many of our people have shrivelled. They no longer speak or communicate with us in any way and we do not know if they will live!¡± The succubus gasped.This narrative has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road. If you see it on Amazon, please report it. ¡°I-I was doing it only to take vengeance on the humans,¡± she said. ¡°I did not mean to harm you. Look the ice trees are also trees and they are my friends! They have been so for all eternity.¡± ¡°But they do not require liquid water,¡± one of the tree people said, ¡°unlike us. And if you want vengeance on the humans, then you should do something to harm them, not us. Water is required by every creature on this moon.¡± ¡°Why do you want to take vengeance on the humans in the first place?¡± I found myself asking tentatively in the loudest voice possible. I thought my own voice sounded odd for it was so much different from the voices of the tree people. ¡°Ah, humans!¡± the succubus said. She had probably missed us so far. I felt all eyes that were nearby shift towards me, Lana and Danor. The succubus began to stride towards us. There was a visible frown on her paper white face, or was it a glare? Usually, I felt a pull whenever a succubus approached, even if it was a succubus over whom I had authority. However, I felt not pull of attraction towards the moon succubus. She didn¡¯t seem to cast any charm spell either. However, I did think that the looks of the moon succubus were quite exquisite. ¡°One of you did it, didn¡¯t you?¡± the moon succubus said and the anger in her tone was evident. Beside me Lana shifted ever so slightly, assuming a defensive position. I took a step closer to her. If the moon succubus tried to do anything to harm us, Lana could grab us and shoot to the sky where Modart¡¯s ship awaited us. ¡°Did what?¡± I asked. ¡°Stole my moonstone,¡± the moon succubus said. ¡°Moonstone?¡± I said. It was the first time I was hearing about it. The moon succubus was merely a few metres away from us now. Her face was so high up that I had to crane my neck to look up at her. ¡°Why pretend that you do not know anything about it?¡± the moon succubus asked. ¡°There are quite a few humans on the moon,¡± I said. ¡°You should not assume that we are the ones who stole it. Why not enlighten us about the moonstone? Maybe we can help you get it back?¡± I wanted the moon succubus to see us as possible helpers. I wanted to be on good terms with her. I did not know what kind of powers she possessed after all. ¡°If you are as innocent as you claim,¡± the moon succubus said though by the narrowing of her eyes I knew that she didn¡¯t think that we were even remotely innocent, ¡°then let me tell you that the moonstone is my most precious belonging. It is what gives me strength and helps me live on. A few days ago I went to the room in my castle where I keep it only to discover to my horror that it was gone. I was however able to find the footprints of humans in the room so I know without a doubt that it was one of you who did the crime.¡± ¡°Why didn¡¯t you tell this to the human king and his followers when they tried to talk to you?¡± I said. ¡°It would have helped significantly in you getting back the moonstone.¡± Chapter 7 ¡°I was too filled with my rage that day due to the freshness of the discovery,¡± the moon succubus admitted, and for the first time she seemed to think that she had made a mistake in not responding to the humans earlier. ¡°Can we go to the room where the moonstone previously was?¡± Lana asked the moon succubus. The moon succubus seemed to ponder over it. ¡°And what good will that do to anyone?¡± she said. She obviously didn¡¯t want humans entering her castle. ¡°Maybe we can find some more clues as to who really stole the moonstone?¡± I replied. It was a moment before the moon succubus replied. ¡°Okay,¡± she said, ¡°come along with me. I¡¯ll show you the room.¡± She then turned to the tree people. ¡°Please do not fight. I will pull my magic out of the water that I have poisoned,¡± she told them. ¡°I never meant to do any harm to the tree people.¡± She turned at the spot and marched towards her castle. Lana, Danor and I followed at her wake. The castle of the moon succubus was built exactly over the north pole of the moon. Yet, when the moon succubus ordered the massive door of the castle to open and we walked inside, the temperature was pleasantly warm and nothing like the cold outside. We moved along the corridors of the ice castle. All the rooms and the doors were gigantic such that they allowed the giant moon succubus easy passage and good room to move about. The moon succubus¡¯ tail moved right and left as she led us. I tried not to stare too much at it or at the taut cheeks on either sides of the base of the tail. We finally reached what was probably the largest room in the entire castle. But it contained little compared to the other rooms. But the noteworthy feature of the room was the floor which consisted of snow. At the very centre of the room there was a pole made entirely of gemstone. At the top of the pole was a human hand also made of gemstone.If you encounter this narrative on Amazon, note that it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it. The moon succubus led us to the pole. ¡°This is where the moonstone previously was,¡± she said, pointing at the human hand, which had been carved out of gemstone as though it was holding something. There was just the slightest shudder in the succubus¡¯ voice indicating how much she held the moonstone dear and how much she missed it. I looked around the spot. ¡°You said of footprints,¡± I said, ¡°where are they?¡± The moon succubus pointed at a nook. ¡°There,¡± she said. I moved over to the nook. I saw that there indeed were foot prints on the snow. But the foot prints were rather small, as though they belonged to a child. So a child stole the moonstone? Now that had to be impossible, right? How the heck could a child have gotten past the ice demons? And why had the moon succubus failed to detect their presence inside the castle. I was sure that she at least had some kind of a system that informed her when some intruder got into the castle. ¡°Can you share with us the circumstances under which the moonstone was stolen?¡± I said, ¡°Anything that happened that day that was odd or special except the missing moonstone?¡± ¡°We were having our yearly ritual,¡± the moon succubus replied, ¡°the only time of the year when we are completely lost in the spiritual world. Alas, I made the mistake of thinking that nobody would dare steal the moonstone because we hold our yearly ritual on different days every time of the year. It is not possible for anybody to have guessed when we hold the ritual and when the castle is vulnerable, but they somehow did.¡± Now that explained a few things. I was about to turn from the spot of the foot prints when suddenly from the corner of my eye I saw what I thought was a peculiar kind of white rock. It piqued my attention and I bent down and took it in my hand. It was quite small really, but it was not a mere rock by any means. It was a toy dragon. One made of mud painted white. I reckoned the moon succubus had failed to notice it earlier owning to its white colour. However, the dragon only added to the theory that a child had somehow been involved in the stealing of the moonstone even though it seemed impossible. I didn¡¯t tell about my finding to the moon succubus and instead quietly kept the toy inside my pocket. I marched back to where the others were standing. ¡°How far are the nearest human settlements?¡± I asked the moon succubus. ¡°A few miles,¡± the moon succubus replied. *** Chapter 8 Lana held me and Danor as the three of us hovered some distance away from the closest human village to the North Pole. Unlike the earth the north pole of the moon wasn¡¯t as cold, which was why humans could live so close to it. ¡°Are you sure we need to go from house to house asking if anyone lost a toy?¡± Lana asked and she sounded not quite convinced of my plan. ¡°You have a better plan?¡± I asked her instead. Lana stared blankly at me. Lana, Danor and I went from house to house in the village, asking if the toy belonged to any child of the house. We made up the story that we had found the toy in the outskirts of the village. The villagers cast us suspicious looks since we were obviously rather earnest in returning the toy to the child, but the most they did was shake their heads and ask us to go away from their homes. The entire day went by. We were now inquiring in the very last houses of the village. If the toy belonged to nobody in this village then we would have to continue our search in the next village, because I had promised the succubus that I would get the moonstone for her and she in return had lifted her deadly magic from the waters and even casted a new spell to heal all those who were in coma. Perhaps it was the sheer joy of the villagers at seeing their loved ones revive because of which they didn¡¯t not bother about us outsiders going from home to home asking about the toy¡¯s owner. Finally there was only one last house remaining. Something felt rather odd about it. All the doors and windows of the house were closed. The other houses had been in a rather festive mood unlike this one. ¡°You think the owner of the toy is in this house, sir?¡± Danor asked.You could be reading stolen content. Head to the original site for the genuine story. ¡°Well, let¡¯s hope so,¡± I replied. I felt tired. My health bar had slowly fallen because I hadn¡¯t eaten anything in a while now. I went and knocked at the door of the very last house. We waited for nearly a minute but nobody came out. ¡°Think no one is inside?¡± Lana said. I wasn¡¯t sure. The door was not locked. There had to be people inside. But after a few moments and after repeated knockings nobody came to open the door and it became evident that nobody was going to open the door at all. ¡°Perhaps they are sleeping?¡± Danor offered. Disappointed, the three of us turned and were about to leave the house when there was a sound and the door opened a chink. ¡°Is it you, brother?¡± the small voice of a child said. He then gasped on seeing us. I could only see the eyes of the child through the opening. I held up the toy that I had been carrying all along. ¡°We found this toy¡ª¡± ¡°It¡¯s mine!¡± the boy said, his eyes wide, swimming in happiness. The boy opened the door wider. ¡°It¡¯s mine,¡± he repeated, ¡°where did you find it?¡± I exchanged glances with Lana and Danor. I was really at a loss as to how to proceed. Should I beat up the boy to make him confess the crime he had committed and tell him that he alone was responsible for all the problems that the moon people had to face lately? The boy snatched the toy from my palm. ¡°Who is it, Gony?¡± a female voice said from the inside of the house. The voice sounded rather weak. I squatted down near the boy so that I was at eye level with him. I placed a hand on his shoulder and squeezed it gently but also maintained an air of authority. ¡°Do you remember where you dropped it, child?¡± I asked the boy. The boy nodded. His earlier elation at getting back his toy was somewhat vanishing, as though he now thought that he was in the midst of doing something that he shouldn¡¯t or that someone had forbidden him to do. The boy, Gony, suddenly shook his head and held out the toy. ¡°It¡¯s not mine, sir,¡± he said, with a slight shiver in his tone. ¡°But you just said it¡¯s yours!¡± I said. ¡°It looks similar,¡± Gony said and it was crystal clear from his face that he was trying his best to invent stuff out of air, ¡°but it¡¯s not of the same colour and the shape of the toy is a bit different from the one I lost.¡± Just then a cry pierced the air from behind. ¡°Hey!¡± a male voice yelled, ¡°What are you doing to my brother?¡± Chapter 9 I turned my head towards the gate of the house. It was a boy of about seventeen years of age. His face was convulsing with an expression that was a mixture of utter anger and fear. He came running to us. He looked like he was quite ready to strike us even though we were three and he only one. ¡°Nothing,¡± I said to him as I held up the toy and his eyes widened, ¡°we just came to return your brother¡¯s toy. But it seems like it is not his.¡± ¡°Yes, it isn¡¯t,¡± the seventeen year old said, and he shoved his way past us and into the house. ¡°So you can go away now.¡± He shut the door with a bang. I stood up, the bang of the door ringing inside my head. I turned at Lana and Danor. ¡°What do you think?¡± I asked them. ¡°Let¡¯s beat up the older kid and make him speak the truth,¡± Danor said, curling his fingers into a fist and punching the palm of his other hand. ¡°I have a feeling he might be the thief,¡± Lana agreed. ¡°Then let¡¯s make him accept that, eh?¡± I said, ¡°He¡¯s not that old a kid after all.¡± It only took a mighty blow from Lana¡¯s fist to break open the door. Cries came from the inside immediately. It was Gony, cowering near a door that led to a second room. He ran into the second room, we followed him.The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation. The moment we entered the second room, the older kid threw himself at me. He had a chopper in his hand and he tried to hit my neck with it. He was strong and he pushed me against a wall. Thankfully, I had not come alone. Danor grabbed the boy by the back of his shirt and lifted him to the air, while Lana wrenched the chopper away from his hand and threw it away. He tried to fight back, but the giant Danor, who was having difficulty standing in the hunched position inside the house, kept him under control. Only now did I take in the second room properly. On the other end of the room there was a bed on which lay a middle aged lady. She had a pallor like that of someone who had recently been in a great illness and was only recovering. Near her was the frightened Gony. He stared at us with wide fearful eyes. ¡°Please let my son go!¡± the woman pleaded. ¡°Then make him speak the truth,¡± Lana told her. ¡°Go on, kill me,¡± the older kid who was still hanging from Danor¡¯s hand said. ¡°Shut up, you,¡± Danor said slapping the boy¡¯s mouth. ¡°Where is the moonstone?¡± I asked the three residents of the house. ¡°I know you have it. Do not lie. Because of you countless people have had to suffer so much.¡± Suddenly the woman burst into tears, and even the older kid who had been struggling so much until then let out a sob. ¡°I-I never expected that to happen,¡± the boy said. ¡°I-I just wanted to heal mother.¡± Tears streamed down the face of the boy. Seeing that the boy had accepted his guilt, I nodded at Danor, who let go of him. The boy dropped to the floor. ¡°Tell us everything,¡± Lana said to the boy, her voice slightly more tender. The boy nodded solemnly. He looked like he no longer cared anymore whatever happened to him. ¡°I shall,¡± he said, ¡°but I want your word that even if you hand me over to the succubus, you would not harm my mother or my brother.¡± ¡°We promise,¡± I said to him. Chapter 10 It was a moment before he began to speak, his tone lacking any life. ¡°My mother has been sick for over a year,¡± the boy said, ¡°her body was slowly becoming paralysed. Even the smallest of things was becoming difficult for her to do on her own. Recently, her health was deteriorating even more. One day I decided that she had faced enough difficulties. Everyone knows about the existence of the moonstone and that the succubus keeps it in her castle and that the moonstone is very powerful and has healing powers. ¡°So one night, a few days ago, I set out towards the north pole, deciding that I would either beg the succubus to give me her moonstone or steal it from her. I had only gone a short distance from the village when I heard some sounds behind and saw that it was my brother following me. I was infuriated at him and demanded him to return home, but he didn¡¯t and began to cry. I decided to give up on my quest and return home because I did not want to risk the life of my brother. ¡°However, my brother began to march towards the North Pole on his own. When I ran up to him and stopped him he begged me to continue on the quest to get the moonstone as he wanted to make mother normal once again. I was at odds regarding what to do. I finally decided to go for the moonstone. When we reached the forest of the ice trees we heard the sounds of people repeating strange incantations over and over, and soon I realised that the succubus and her demons were performing some strange ritual outside the ice castle.This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report. ¡°I doubted that the succubus would just give me her precious moonstone if I just asked it to her. So my brother and I stole into the castle and got the moonstone. The succubus and her demons were so busy in their ritual that they didn¡¯t take any notice of us. ¡°As we were making our way back towards our home barely in grasps over out luck when my brother suddenly told me that the toy that he couldn¡¯t find a toy that he always kept with himself. He told me he might have lost it in the castle, but there was nothing either of us could do as the succubus had probably ended her ritual by then and it would be dangerous to go back to the castle. ¡°The moonstone healed mother¡¯s disease and she is recovering very fast. I want to return the moonstone, but I do not know how to without angering the succubus.¡± Done, the boy hung his head. I exhaled. ¡°So where is the moonstone?¡± I asked him. ¡°Here,¡± the mother said from her bed. She held up something wrapped in rags, her face moist with tears. ¡°But please let my son go. He just did this to save me.¡± *** ¡°Where did you find it?¡± the succubus said. There was a lot of thankfulness in her white eyes, but there was also a lot of disbelief in her voice. ¡°Does it matter?¡± I asked her. ¡°You have it now. Do not get so lost in your ritual like the last time again, all right?¡± Just then a notification popped up in my vision.
New Quest Completed! Congratulations! You have completed a new quest! You receive 200 youth!
The wrinkles in my body began to disappear as my skin became taut. Euphoria took over me. Ah, the cycle of old age and youth!