Plansect Forest

The party managed to evade any further pursuit and reach New Remina without incident, although Ben speculated that it was probably due to the fact that the Monster Lord's castle had handed off the problem to the police. Stealing Angel Halo from the Monster Lord's castle was as serious a crime as stealing a valuable painting from a museum. The sword was not easy to hide, either, given how much it stood out. Emma thought it best to keep it in her scabbard, carrying her own sword in her hand for the remainder of the journey to New Remina.

"So how exactly do we catch a flight back to Sentora?" Ben asked. "Emma is carrying enough contraband on her person to put her away for fifty years!"

"We're not going to catch a flight," Promestein said. "From here on, we travel the old fashioned way."

"Flying is the only way to get to Sentora!" Ben argued. "It's impossible for ships, there's no port!"

"Oh, you're going to fly," Promestein said, smirking. "Emma and I will be teleporting. Ashley will fly you over the mountains and to Sentora."

Ben looked again at Ashley and her small wings.

"No, no. No!" Ben shouted. "That's crazy! Her little wings can't fly me over mountains and across a sea!"

"Ben's right, Promestein," Ashley said. "I'm so afraid of flying that I only ever fly a few feet off the ground. I can fly awhile carrying Ben, but not over that kind of distance. I don't even know if I can achieve enough altitude to get over those mountains."

"Well, we don't exactly have any other options," Promestein said. "You like old movies, right Ben?"

"Um…. Yeah," Ben replied, afraid of what she was going to suggest next.

"I'm not a movie buff myself, but good, solid science movies I sometimes enjoy. Remember Apollo 13? How they had to reduce weight?"

"Even if he was naked it would be a big challenge," Ashley said.

"It's a start. We'll discuss it further when we reach the mountains."

They did enter the outskirts of New Remina, but only to pick up supplies. They bought real food instead of convenience store snacks, since they would be spending a lot of time outdoors. Fortunately, Promestein's debit card paid for everything.

"Can't the authorities track us with you using that thing?" Ashley asked.

"They didn't get our names at the castle," Emma noted.

"Yes, they are still antiquated in many ways," Promestein said. "But I'm sure I was caught on security cameras, so they'll have my face. Not that I'm in any records anywhere police are likely to have access to. Emma lived outside of the United Provinces' jurisdiction, so they'll have nothing on her. That just leaves Ashley and Ben as identifiable. Eventually they'll find us by looking for you two."

"Have you ever considered trying to build my confidence instead of telling me why I'm going to die or get thrown in jail?" Ben asked.

The party camped two hours south of New Remina. Their plan was to reach the mountains before noon the next day, at which point Promestein would teleport Emma across to Sentora, while Ashley would attempt to fly Ben over the mountains and the Northern Sea.

"So are you ever going to tell me why I need to go find these spirits?" Ben asked.

"I already explained to you what they are," Promestein said. "It should be obvious."

"You're looking at a guy who didn't believe in magic like two days ago!" Ben retorted. "I know they represent the four magic elements, but pardon me if I don't know how that helps me. I know nothing about magic!"

"That's why you need the spirits," Promestein explained. "The idea is that if your body and soul are strong, they'll accept you and give you access to their powers. Of course, you'll have to learn how to use their powers once you get them. They'll help as much as they can, but it does take time. Still, right from the start they'll make you better in a fight in small ways. How far you go after that will depend on your aptitude."

"Did Luka get the spirits?" Ashley asked.

"He did," Promestein answered. "Heinrich did as well. They are the only two humans I've ever heard who the spirits accepted."

"And you think slug boy is at their level?" Emma asked skeptically.

"That's why he's here," Promestein said. "I see a lot of Luka in him. Finding the ring is going to be difficult. I don't know that Ben can survive until then as he is now. Your sword lessons can only get him so far."

"Speaking of which, are we ever going to actually start those lessons?" Emma asked.

"Assuming I don't get attacked while taking a piss again, tonight's fine," Ben responded.

"You're not wandering off alone anymore," Promestein said. "You'll pee in front of us just like you get blown in front of us."

"Thrilling," Ben said sourly. "It just gets better and better."

Emma backhanded him in the chest. "You're damn right it keeps getting better, slug boy! Two monster girls who can't get enough of your taste and a quest with an immortal being! Didn't you dream of doing something like this when you watched all those ancient movies?"

"It looks a lot more exciting when you're not running from the law, getting raped in a coliseum in front of an audience, and knowing that you haven't even gotten to the really tough part yet."

"Speaking of which," Ashley said. "You still haven't told us what this dire threat to the world is."

"The truth is," Promestein admitted. "I don't know that much about it. All I know is that just as there's a heaven, there's a hell."

"Hell?" Emma asked. "Didn't humans once believe the Dark God was the master of Hell? But now we know that to be a mythical place, right? The Dark God lives in subspace."

"No, Alipheese the Dark God was never the master of hell," Promestein replied. "But there is a hell, believe me. Ilias, the Goddess, long before man walked this planet, long before the Dark God created the Six Ancestors or Ilias created the Seraphs, came into conflict with a being that she hadn't even known existed. It appeared to emerge from the ground, but Ilias knew that was impossible, because her awareness encompassed the entire planet. We know now that this creature came from another subdimension."

"Subdimension? Like Earth?" Ben asked.

"No, Earth is a different dimension entirely," Promestein explained. "Heaven is a subdimension. Subspace is a subdimension that connects all the dimensions together. Hell is also a subdimension. Albeit one we've had no contact with for over fifty thousand years."

"So what happened?" Ashley asked. "Did Ilias trap this creature in hell?"

"I don't know the details," Promestein said. "Ilias never spoke of this to me before appearing to me in a dream a few weeks ago. I found out by reading a book in heaven's library, when I was a young angel. It was sort of a journal, where Ilias kept track of all the important things she'd done before she created angels to do that work for her. In that book, she mentioned an evil demon that rose from the earth and rampaged all over what is now the Sentora continent. Ilias had been overseeing the evolution of the apes of the continent, trying to direct them towards intelligence so that she could have fellowship with them and cure her loneliness. If you know your legends, the Dark God existed at the time, but could not interact with Ilias. But this creature, this demon, definitely could, and not in a friendly way. Ilias came to the surface because it was ruining her plans, killing all living things indiscriminately. Ilias demanded that the demon stop. The demon just laughed at her and told her that she'd flay the skin from her bones, that she'd burn forever, yada yada. It came down to a fight. Ilias was victorious, and sealed the demon back into the hell dimension that she came from."

"So is that demon….. is it back?" Ben asked.

"Not yet," Promestetin answered. "But she warned me in a dream that the demon was trying to break through to our world again. But it gets worse."

"How can it possibly get worse than a hell demon!?" Ben asked.

"This time she has an army," Promestein said. "When that army breaks out, it will sweep over the entire world. They'll turn our world into their world."

"That sounds bad," Ashley said.

"And you think this Luka ring is the only thing that will stop her?" Ben asked.

"We live in a world with no true gods anymore," Promestein said. "Luka depowered Ilias and Alipheese."

"Why did he do that?" Emma asked. "Doesn't that leave us defenseless?"

"He did it because they were the biggest threat to the world," Promestein answered. "Ilias had tried to destroy all living things twice, and Alipheese had tried to conquer it several times. Luka handled it appropriately. He made it so that they would never be strong enough to threaten the world that way again. But he left us an insurance policy. That ring contains his power. His power was the equal of a god's. In theory, Ben, if you get that ring, you can defeat the demon."

"That's…. that's a lot on my shoulders," Ben whispered.

"We'll be with you all the way, Ben, no matter what," Ashley said, reaching over to take his hand.

"And I'll protect you with my life until you're strong enough to do what needs to be done," Emma said, taking Ben's other hand.

Ben shed a tear and thanked them quietly. He was deeply moved that these two women who he had only just met not three days ago would care so much about his welfare.

"I know we're having a moment," Ashley said. "But it's time for my medicine."

Emma rolled her eyes and let go of Ben's hand. "Go do what you have to do, Ben. I'm not hungry yet."

"Thanks, Emma!" Ashley said cheerfully, grabbing Luka's hand and leading him to his sleeping bag.

The group reached the mountainous outskirts of Hellgondo without further incident. The problem that remained was getting over those mountains, over the Northern Sea, into the Noah region, and then somehow getting to the Forest of Spirits.

"Why can't you just teleport back and pick each of us up?" Ben asked.

"I'm afraid I've never been good at teleporting," Promestein replied sheepishly. "Especially not with passengers. Over the distance I'm going to be taking Emma, it's going to be a big strain. If I try to do three full round trips, I'm as likely to materialize us inside a mountain or under water as my intended destination."

"Okay, I guess we fly then."

"We'll meet here," Promestein instructed, pointing at a location on a map displayed on her tablet. The location was in the middle of nowhere, on a Gold beach. It was the closest point between the two continents. Ben was still not sure how Ashley was supposed to carry him that far by air. "Emma and I will set up camp a mile from the beach, at this point. Do you think you can find it, Ashley?"

"I hope so," Ashley replied dubiously. "I'm more immediately concerned with getting over these mountains."

"Ben," Promestein ordered. "Give me your pack. Now take all your clothes off."

"What!? " Ben erupted. "Do you know how cold it's going to be up there?!"

"Then Ashley will just have to be quick getting over those mountains," Promestein replied. "I wouldn't worry, you'll be asleep through the whole flight."

"I'm not going to be able to sleep with a little succubus flying me over mountains and a sea with her little wings."

"Oh, you will be," Promestein chortled. "Because she's going to need your energy to make it."

"Ah….." Ashley said, understanding where Promestein was going. "You want me to drain him first."

"His Earth blood gives him more potent semen," Promestein noted. "It should give you the energy you need. Just be careful not to kill him."

"I'll be gentle!" Ashley promised."You heard the boss, Ben, take your clothes off!"

"Okay, first off, she's not the boss!" Ben retorted. "Secondly…. Oh, fine! Can you two at least do what you're going to do so we can be alone?"

"No problem," Promestein said, grabbing hold of Emma and vanishing.

"Let's not keep them waiting any longer than we have to!" Ashley said excitedly as Ben removed his clothing. When he was finished, she rushed him and put him flat on his back, preparing to mount him.

"Wait, no!" Ben yelled in protest. "Please, I can tell what you're about to do, and… please, not that. It's the only thing I haven't done yet."

"Oh," Ashley said, nonplussed. "I guess I can do it another way, but this way was going to be the fastest. With my succubus pussy I'd drain you dry in minutes."

"I'm sorry," Ben said. "I don't know if I can make someone like you understand, but I really want that first time to be special."

"You think that because I'm a succubus that I can't understand?" Ashley asked, slightly miffed. "I do, I really do. You know, my culture wouldn't have tolerated me waiting like that, but don't think I didn't want to. I've always wanted a real romance. Not many of us succubi ever experience that."

"I'm so sorry, Ashley," Ben said sincerely. "Maybe I'm out of line here, but it sounds like you left Succubus City for more than just medical reasons."

"I did," Ashley sighed. "Maybe I'll tell you all about it later. Right now, we can't waste time. So, how do you want me to drain you? What have you experienced so far? Let's see, I can use my hand, I can use my mouth…. Anything else?"

"You can use your breasts, too," Ben said."That one's already been done."

"Okay, I can work with that!" she said excitedly, moving down to his groin area.

Ben had expected that she'd pick one, but instead she seemed to want to do all three at once, placing his penis between her breasts, jerking it, and putting her tongue on it all at the same time. Although she'd promised to be gentle, he quickly experienced sensory overload and passed out after two orgasms.

Ben awakened in his sleeping bag at camp. Had he dreamed that they'd reached the Hellgondo mountains?

"Finally awake, I see," Promestein said.

"Did Ashley make it?" Ben asked. "Is this the Noah region?"

"It is," Promestein said. "Ashley's still sleeping. It was quite an ordeal for her, but your energy gave her just enough endurance to make the trip. It's night, now, so you might as well go back to sleep. Emma and I are about to turn in."

"So if we're in Noah, and Undine is in Noah, why are we going all the way to Natalia to get Sylph?" Ben asked.

"Because if you tried to approach Undine first, she'd probably kill you," Promestein answered. "Sylph is the easiest going of the spirits. She'll let you leave alive. Just probably not as a virgin."

"Unless I convince her to contract with me."

"Exactly," Promestein replied with a thin smile as the group went to the exit to await their bus. "If she refuses, then we focus on finding Luka's ring. That's the most important thing anyway. The spirits are just to help you survive until we get to that point, since we might be searching all over creation for it. Probably beyond creation."

"So Luka had both the spirits and his power?" Ben asked.

"First he had the spirits," Promestein said. "Later on he discovered his power, slowly learning to use it better as time went on. In both cases you'll have to learn how to use what new abilities you get. I just hope you learn in time."

"How much time do we have?" Emma asked.

"Hard to say," Promestein answered. "Could be weeks, could be months. Could be days, if we're very unlucky."

"Let's hope not," Ashley said. "Seeing as it will take us five days just to reach Natalia."

The fact that time was not on their side weighed heavily on them as they tried to sleep.

The party had to pass through Plansect Forest to get to the Natalia region. The forest was lovely, but Ben knew of the potential dangers, having read about them at length in his research for his term paper. Plansect contained primarily insects, plants, and slimes. The insects and plants had a history of hostility often breaking out into outright warfare. The slimes more often than not tried to play peacemaker, and in extreme cases intervened to prevent genocide.

Although Plansect was technically part of the United Provinces, they were effectively autonomous. Ben had read that in earlier ages Monster Lords had intervened more directly when conflict broke out. But in modern times, both human and monster society had mostly decided to wash their hands of the whole affair, considering both plants and insects to be inferior and violent. Refugees who chose to settle in the civilized world were welcomed with suspicion and prejudice by monster and human alike, with plants having an easier time integrating than insects.

The problem, as far as Ben was concerned, was that humans didn't venture into Plansect that often, and neither insects nor plants had much respect for the law. A young man wandering into Plansect was likely to get raped, and the authorities generally considered it to be his own fault. Murder was a different story entirely, generally drawing a harsh police response, sometimes military if the person eaten was important enough. That tended to increase the hostility plants and insects alike had towards the outside world, although it did deter the outright consumption of humans to some extent. Still, many plants and insects alike were carnivorous, so there was still some risk to Ben, and to a lesser extent, his companions.

"I thought Luka brought technology to this place?" Ben inquired.

"Initially yes," Promestein answered. "But the on and off warfare tended to be destructive, and few humans or monsters wanted to chance coming here to maintain it. Plansect has always been a thorn in the side of both man and monster. Many Monster Lords tried to set this place up as a model for coexistence. Some, like Alipheese the Seventeenth, even succeeded for a couple of centuries. There were other factors that kept the peace. Fear of Luka's intervention, at least while they thought he was alive, and the coming of the slimes, who are much more peaceful. The Heavenly Knight Erubetie tended to take a direct hand in keeping things civil, since Plansect had become the best place for weaker slimes to live. They had a powerful motivation to ensure that their home didn't get ruined. Insects and plants alike love to use chemical warfare against one another. Slimes are very vulnerable to environmental poisoning."

"I've never met an insect or plant monster before," Ben mused. "Is it true that they are fearsome and ugly?"

Ashley laughed at that. "Semen deprivation is a problem for many monster species," she explained. "It's a vicious circle, because the prettier monsters are, the more semen they have access to, and the semen makes them prettier by providing essential nutrients. But in more isolated places, they don't get as much, and being ugly makes it much tougher in turn to get it. That being said, you'll still see your share of attractive ladies here if you're interested."

"No, no!" Ben insisted. "I was just wondering. I was doing a term paper on monster relations with humans and other monsters."

"You WERE doing that," Promestein chuckled. "Remember, I finished it for you."

"Anyway," Ashley continued. "There's no inherent reason why any species would be unattractive, with only a few exceptions, like roach girls. Flowers are lovely and many insect species are also quite beautiful. It's just that plants don't tend to be smart or ambitious, so have trouble living in modern society. Most plants just want to spend their time basking and relaxing in the sun. They need semen like all monsters to thrive, but for survival they only need sun and water for the most part. Insects tend to have a more communal intelligence, making them also incompatible with modern society. The ants found a way to work within society, but the bees and hornets never did."

"I didn't realize you were such a scholar," Promestein observed.

"I read a lot," Ashley replied proudly. "I'm not your average succubus. It's been a problem for me. That's why I'm so glad I found friends who like me for who I am."

"Well, let's hope we all live long enough to be long time friends, because we've got company," Promestein cautioned.

Sure enough, numerous plants had emerged from the forest to investigate.

"Halt, intruders!" one of them shouted. This one was some kind of pitcher planet. A carnivorous species. Great, Ben thought.

"We're not intruders!" Emma responded indignantly. "It's a free country! Last I checked, Plansect is part of the United Provinces and you all get to vote in elections the same as everyone."

"In practice, we don't get to vote much," a rather lovely alraune replied.

"Maybe if you didn't keep on eating the activists who come here to register you…." Emma shot back.

"Bad people doing bad things," the pitcher planet leader said. "We have no intention of harming any of you. But there is a tax to pass through our territory."

"Ah, so you're a gang," Emma said, drawing her sword. Ben decided to back her, drawing Angel Halo, albeit clumsily, which drew a guffaw from one of the plant girls.

"You're seriously going to fight us without even hearing what our price for safe passage is?" another alraune asked, seemingly hurt by Emma's reaction.

"I think I know what you want!" Emma shot back. "And you can't have it! This boy is our food, not yours!"

"Wait, what?!" Ben asked. "I'm your food?!"

"Shut… up…" Emma said out of the side of her mouth.

"It's so adorable when city monsters try to pretend they are authentic," the pitcher plant taunted.

"First off, I'm not a city monster," Emma retorted. "I've lived in the wilderness of Hellgondo my entire life, which is a much more intense place than this suburb. The only reason you have problems here is because you fight each other. You wouldn't last a day on Hellgondo!"

The pitcher plant tried to put on a brave face, but hearing that Emma was from Hellgondo seemed to frighten the other plants.

"We may not be able to match your toughness dragonkin," the pitcher plant said. "But don't think we didn't come prepared."

A particularly lovely flower girl emerged from the forest and sprayed a fragrant substance at the group, catching them completely by surprise. Ben inhaled a full dose of the mysterious fumes and immediately fell asleep.

Ben awakened under a large tree. He sat up with a start, looking frantically for his friends. Before he could sit up fully, branches from the tree wrapped around his body, restraining him.

"Sorry, love," the tree girl said apologetically. "Can't let you go just yet. My friends have to feed, first."

"Emma!" Ben shouted. "Ashley! Promestein! Help!"

"Why are you so afraid?" the tree girl asked. "We plants are gentle. We'll make you feel so good. Then we'll let you go. We don't want any trouble from the authorities. We just need to get fed. Just lay back and enjoy it."

"Clara speaks truth," the pitcher plant girl from earlier said, emerging from behind a tree. "You will experience things with us that you can't experience anywhere else. I'm going to submerge you in my digestive liquids. But don't worry, I can control their corrosiveness. You won't be dissolved. You will only feel intense pleasure as you've never felt before. At worst, there will be some numbness for a few days."

"And we're going to massage you with our petals," two alraunes said. "Even a kistune's fur isn't as soft as our petals."

"I shall use my special branch to suck out your semen," Clara the tree added. "Or if you prefer, I can insert your entire lower body into my mouth and suck on it. My branch is better, but some men have a vore fetish."

Ben turned just enough to see that indeed, the face behind him was huge. The tree girl would easily be able to fit most of him into her mouth. Horrified, Ben renewed his struggles.

"Stop resisting!" the pitcher plant ordered. "We know you're a virgin! Your dragonkin friend pleaded on your behalf! We don't intend to make you fertilize us! We only want nutrients!"

With that, his pants were torn off by another branch. "You two go first," Clara said to the alraunes. "You are the most gentle. He may pass out again if Lucie or myself pleasure him first."

The two alraune girls approached Ben and immediately began to massage his entire body with their petals. Ben gasped at the amazing sensations the soft petals delivered. His resistance crumbled immediately.

"See?" Clara said soothingly. "Just enjoy it. Your friends are safe. We simply had to incapacitate them. Enjoy this experience."

"I suspect that like many men, he'll be back for more," Lucie the pitcher plant chuckled. "Especially when he experiences my way of giving him pleasure."

The alraunes added tender kisses to the petals. Ben, like many teenagers, had indulged in internet porn from time to time and had always fantasized about being with more than one woman. The two alraunes were absolutely gorgeous and were making love to him as if he was the most desired man in the world. The petals softly caressed his entire body from head to toe, avoiding only his penis for the time being. The alraunes clearly wanted to get him as aroused as possible before seriously going to work.

"A virgin must be prepared gently," one of the flower girls whispered into his ear. Ben noted that the magic was indeed real, as her soft breath in his ear only sent him to new heights of arousal. Seeing his reaction, the alraune chose to continue to whisper, promising any lewd act Ben desired if he'd only ask. Meanwhile, the other alraune had decided that he was ready for serious stimulation, wrapping a particularly soft petal around his member and squeezing. Ben nearly came immediately, so the alraune switched to more gentle stimulation, slowly moving her petal up and down along his shaft. As badly as she must have wanted to feed, she also didn't want to render Ben unconscious and thus deny her friends.

Nevertheless, they weren't going to wait long, and so after about three minutes of gentle stroking, the two alraunes wrapped their petals around each side of his penis and squeezed, which caused him to erupt and cry out. The alraunes sighed in satisfaction as his seed dirtied both of their petals.

"My turn," Clara said, and a branch shot out and forced his dick inside. This was an entirely new sensation, far more intense. Despite the hard, barky outer branch, the hole he'd been inserted to was soft and sticky with sap. As Clara stroked him, the suction was unbelievable. She made him come three times in three minutes. Loss of consciousness was rapidly approaching.

"Sorry, my dear," Clara apologized. "I'm a large monster, so I need more than the flower girls."

"Now for the grand finale," Lucie said lasciviously. "Clara, put him inside my pitcher!"

Ben was only dimly aware of being lifted from the forest floor and placed into Lucie's carnivorous organ. The moment his feet touched her small pool of digestive fluid, he became fully awake, and aroused once again. Clara gave him no time to savor the feelings as they moved up his legs and towards his waist. He was unceremoniously dumped into the liquid up to his chest. Just standing in the liquid was too much, causing him to ejaculate a fifth time.

"You came just from that?" Lucie asked arrogantly. "I haven't even done anything yet. Now, feel the pleasure that only a pitcher plant can give!"

The plant's walls squeezed around his entire body, causing the liquid to rise up to his neck and fall back down to his belly. The movement of the digestive fluid combined with the feel of the pitcher's walls around his body were easily the most intense things he'd ever experienced, prompting two more orgasms in quick succession. Satisfied, Lucie directed Clara to remove Ben from her pitcher and place him back on the ground under the tree.

"Sleep well, dear," Clara cooed softly. "When you awaken, there are still five more of our friends to feed."

Ben was too out of it to even be alarmed. He didn't even hear her last words before he passed out.

When Ben awoke, he was dimly aware of a commotion. He could make out a lot of yelling, cursing, and sounds of a scuffle. Still half asleep, Clara released him.

"It appears your friends have managed to rescue you, dearie," Clara said. "No hard feelings, okay? You were delicious."

"Ben!" Ben became fully awake when he saw Emma staring into his face. "Are you all right?! They weren't too rough on you, were they?"

"You came to rescue me?" Ben asked blearily.

"Of course we did!" Emma replied heatedly. "I pledged my sword to you! I wish I could say it was me who saved you, but I can't."

"Clara, how many times have you been told not to participate in the kidnapping of males?" an authoritative voice said out of Ben's sight.

"I'm rooted to the ground, Matilda," Clara responded ambivalently. "I'm not about to turn down food when it's brought to me."

A slime knelt down beside Ben and looked him over.

"The boy appears mostly unharmed," the slime named Matilda observed. "That should be enough to keep the government out of our forest. But that does not excuse what's been done here. This boy is barely an adult. He has been gang raped by your ruffian friends, with your active aid and participation! No one owes you semen, Clara! The only reason you will avoid jail is because imprisoning you would be pointless given your obvious immobility. Your cohorts shall not be so fortunate."

"We could burn her," Ashley offered threateningly.

"That is not our way, either," Matilda admonished. "I assure you, succubus, Lucie and her gang will be put away for a long time. We slimes are determined to keep order in this forest."

"Easy for you to say!" Clara responded. "Men enter this forest looking for slimes to pleasure them! Except for the flower girls, we plant monsters only eat what we take!"

"Nevertheless, this boy did not come into Plansect looking to get raped. He and his monster friends were obviously just passing through. I hope you enjoyed your snack, because it shall be the last you have for some time. Guards will be posted near you for the next year, and will steer men away from you lest they get too close and give you an opportunity to ensnare them."

"No semen for a year?!" Clara objected, disbelieving. "My leaves will turn gray! Even my fleshy parts will turn… barky!"

Ben turned to look at Clara for the first time. She was actually quite attractive. She was a tree, but she had a lovely face that was embedded in her trunk. Wouldn't she technically be called a treant? Ben thought. Despite what had been done to him, Ben felt sorry for Clara. If she lost that beauty in her face, she'd never find willing prey again.

"Maybe…" Ben started to say. "Maybe I could come back and feed you once in awhile?"

"You would do that?" Clara asked, surprised. "Really?"

"He will not!" Matilda interjected. "Your leaves shall not wither. We slimes regularly travel into human settlements to buy semen. You will receive enough to keep you healthy."

"Semen out of a carton?!" Clara asked, shocked.

"Unless you'd prefer none at all," Matilda responded, folding her arms. "You need only water and the soil to survive. But you are correct. Given enough time without semen, you will be hard to tell apart from all of the other trees in this forest."

"Fine!" Clara replied, resigned. "I accept your sentence. One year of no semen except what you bring me from the…. Supermarket."

"It is more than your cohorts shall receive," Matilda said with finality, then turned to Ben, who was being helped to his feet by Emma. "Boy, I hope this incident didn't give you a bad impression of Plansect. We have a…. tenuous relationship with law and order here."

"Yeah, I think you're right," Ben replied. "But thanks anyway for the save. Exactly how long were they going to keep me?"

"Supposedly just one more day," Matilda stated. "But critical ecstasy is a dangerous thing. They didn't intend to kill you, but they could have. You could also have become overwhelmed by the pleasure and become addicted to it, so that even if your friends rescued you, you would not want to leave. As much as we slimes try, we are not adept at deprogramming males that have submitted themselves to the monsters who dwell here. They tend to want more of what they've been getting from us. Due to our own appetites, we often oblige them."

"Which just makes them more addicted to monsters," Promestein said. Had she been there since Ben had awakened? Ashley stood next to her, looking concerned and more than a little peeved. "We have human therapists who help with that. I think Ben's all right though. Are you all right, Ben?"

"I… think so," Ben replied shakily. If he was being honest, he still wasn't sure what he thought about the whole situation. It had been scary, revolting, and yet… unbelievable. He'd read that plants weren't even among the most intense experiences a man could have. That, of course, was the reputation of the succubi. Ben began to wonder what Ashley could do to him if she wasn't holding back. And Ashley wasn't even skilled by succubus standards!

"I'm really sorry about this," Promestein said. "I should have identified that species of flower and warned you. As old as I am, I'm still not great in the field. I'm a lab geek. I'm so not ready for any of this."

"That makes two of us," Ben replied.

"Three," added Ashley. "I've never been on an adventure before. I wish I was more help."

"This isn't new to me," Emma said softly. "And yet I failed to protect you. I'm sorry, Ben. You're the great hope of the world and I'm a dragonkin warrior, and I let a small gang of… plants make off with you and rape you. Some warrior I am."

"I wish I could say you won't get raped again," Promestein said. "But I think you know the truth by now. This world is nowhere near as vicious as it was a few thousand years ago, but there are still dangerous monsters out there. If you want losing your virginity to be special, I suggest you do it soon. The world has already taken everything else from you in that respect."

"Yeah, I guess it has," Ben said. Emma and Ashley looked particularly guilty. Ben sought to lift their spirits. "Guys, it's okay. You're my friends. You didn't force me."

"While I imagine this is all very therapeutic," Matilda interrupted. "I need to know which way you intend to go. If you are going to be entering insect territory you will need an escort. As harrowing as this experience has been for you, the insects are far less gentle and very likely to try to keep you as breeding stock."

"Don't the authorities come looking for kidnapped males?" Ashley asked.

"Eventually," Matilda replied. "The insects do not keep breeding stock forever as they did in ancient times. But in a few weeks they can easily force a man to mate with the queen enough times to produce thousands of eggs. Then they release him. As you know, the authorities only enter Plansect if someone has been murdered or if it is clear that a man has been taken and will not be released. Both the plants and the insects know exactly how much they can get away with. That is why it has fallen to the slimes to prevent abuses as much as we can. Alas, we cannot be everywhere."

"I thought slimes were the weakest monsters?" Ben asked. "How do you maintain order with so many stronger monsters around?"

"Not all of us our weak," Matilda huffed. "I am the strongest slime since Erubetie herself. In another age, I might have been a Heavenly Knight. But even the weakest of us have natural advantages. We are very hard to hurt. That is not the case with insects and plants. We do the best that we can. Better than the United Province authorities do, anyway."

"Sorry, I didn't mean to be insulting," Ben said apologetically. "I've just been doing research for school on monster societies and such."

"I have already forgiven you," Matilda said, smiling. "Please feel free to return any time if you wish to do more research. As chaotic as things can be here, Plansect is a fascinating place with a rich history. No one will molest you if you are here as my personal guest. Ah, your escort is here."

Several slimes emerged from behind the trees. Promestein informed them of the party's route, and thus they were able to complete their journey through Plansect without further incident. Still, Ben couldn't help but notice how glum Emma was. As the only experienced fighter of the group, she took her failure to protect Ben very hard. Ben tried to comfort her by putting his arm around her. She shook it off and glared at him.