Writer's Note: This chapter combines a scraped night scene from the chapter, "Whispers on the Cloud Plane" and some borrowed scenes and ideas from the chapter "Cloudy With A Chance Of No Pussy" written by an anonymous writer. Any content taken from the chapter, "Cloudy With A Chance Of No Pussy" was modified to take any plot points from the chapter "Isaac and the Cloadstalk" into consideration. Any content taken from the chapter "Cloudy With A Chance Of No Pussy" is credited to the original writer. Thank you for reading and please enjoy the chapter.
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Only a few hours has passed since they left the village.
During that time, the trio had traveled about less then a mile. The trio are currently taking the quickest route Mary knows to the castle. Not wanting to attract any unwanted attention by stopping by any other cloud villages, they decided to take detours around any settlement if necessary. While they walked, they mostly traveled through rolling white fields and large dark gray forests that always rained from inside. Amidst all the walking, Issac was able to learn about three strange biology of this realm from Mary. Most of the flora and fauna were alike to ones back on his plane but as expected, they are almost entirely made of cloud and mist. Not a single piece of non cloud material was here save for Issac and Issac, and at first they had concerns about food and hunger but were surprised at how filling and tasty the meat of a cloud rabbit Marry had caught was, it was sweet and tasted almost like chocolate in a way though Issac admittedly did not like chocolate all that much. Ilvir seemed to love it.
Ilvir. Now that was a concern. The entire journey so far had been fine save for Ilvir who was uncharacteristically quiet. He rarely spoke at all and Issac even using his mental link could never tell his emotional state. All Issac knew was the looks he gave Marry, not looks of lust or even malice, but looks like Ilvir saw something that was... incomplete. Marry paid no mind, not blinking an eye when Ilvir masturbated right in front of her, even when he penetrated his asshole with his fingers or an entire fist, Marry would only give a soft smile or continue to converse with them, as if she herself didn't even register the lewd sexual acts in front of her.
Issac had tried to stop Ilvir from doing such uncouth acts in front of their guide and while he promised not to several times by now, Issac was still worried. At least he hoped he was worried as they made their way through a particularly large rain forest, water almost constantly dripping all over them as the cloud trees themselves stormed, occasional streaks of lightning radiating across their leaves.
By the time they made a measly 3 miles worth of progress, night has descended on the cloud plane. With Issac now much lighter, the group of three had managed much more progress than they would've done had Issac not left the statues behind. While Issac did feel guilty for leaving the cloud village unprotected against the Cloud Kings men would apparently be arriving with the next few days to collect taxes, Issac knew he didn't want to waste any time. What horrors could already be crawling out of the Corruption's source back on the human world while he spent his time running around a cloud land?
Luckily, Mary was able to buy the cloud shoes the village elder has recommended before they left the village. The cloud shoes has made it much easier for Isaac to stay afloat despite his weight. However, Isaac was still too heavy to make any real haste through the cloud plane. Even though there is no longer a threat of falling through the island, Isaac feels as though he is walking through sand. luckily, it no longer feels as if he is walking through quicksand but the clouds still hinder his movement.
Due to the cloud plane's nature, the sun has disappeared from sight and the moon has appeared below the cloud island. The moon light from below the cloud kingdom gives the ground and the entire land a calming and eerie blue glow. Everything made of cloud was glowing with moonlight.
Upon seeing the moon below the clouds, Isaac realized just how tired he is. As far as he remembered, he hasn't had any real decent sleep ever since he entered the crypt. He might had slept once or twice but apparently not enough. He's not very sure how long it's been since he entered the crypt. He has been in mostly cave like areas and he hasn't really seen the moon since before he started his quest. He could have been in those caves for a day or for many days. Time has sort of lost meaning in the tunnels of the crypt. Upon reaching that realization, all that action has finally caught up with Isaac. Isaac suddenly felt really tired and requested the group to set up camp for the night. Marry seemed a little reluctant at first but soon relented when she saw the heavy signs of exhaustion with in Isaac.
The three soon set up camp. Thanks to the moonlight's luminescence, there was no need for a camp fire. A camp fire would attract unwanted attention anyway. Mary has set up makeshift bed sacks for the groups but neglected to set up tents. Apparently, cloud people aren't effected by rain or getting mildly wet, therefore, there was no need to invent tents. The three laid under the leaves of a raining tree that actually did nothing to keep them from getting wet in retrospect.
As the group settled down, Isaac found that he couldn't sleep. Despite his deep exhaustion, Isaac found himself thinking about what happened so far.
He has been replying the time when he and Ilivir had entered the cloud portal. There were many passageways in that cave. If only they backtracked a little, they wouldn't have to enter the cloud portal. Why did Isaac decided to enter the cloud portal? After a bit a thought, Isaac realized that the only real reason he entered the portal is because he thought there was probably another portal on the cloud plane that could bring him back to the crypt. Now that he's thinking about it, he realized how flawed and reckless his reasoning was. Even if they did find another portal on the Cloud Plane, there was no guarantee that the portal would bring them back to Isaac's world. Even if it did, there was no telling if the portal would even send them back home. If the portal brought him back to his kingdom, then he would have to restart his quest to purify or destroy the crypt. Not to mention that his friends and family will probably mistake him for a monster and try to kill him.
Speaking of loved ones, one of the reasons Isaac embarked for his quest to purge his homeland of corruption was to avenge or rescue any friends or family who were lost to the crypt before Isaac embarked on his journey. Including his best friend Nathan, who taught Isaac magic spells outside of paladin training. But he can't do that if he is not even in there to begin with! Isaac entered the portal under the impression that it could be a possible shortcut to the source of corruption. He's starting to regret that decision.
Another thing that's keeping Isaac awake was something that Mary and the Elder said that didn't 'click'. The elder didn't seem to be lying but it also felt as though he wasn't giving Isaac all the information.
Isaac decided to walk around the campsite to get some fresh air. As he wondered the beautiful moonlit campsite, he noticed Mary doing some secret training. He was amazed by the combat maneuvers she was executing. Yet, those maneuvers don't seem to be of novice levels. A lot of those training maneuvers reminds Isaac of battle techniques only seen from the royal family and royal guards from back home. Mary's fighting style is very similar to royal fencing with a bit of fatal blows thrown in.
As Mary finished her training movement, Isaac decided to start a conversation.
"So Marry, I thank you for bringing us this far but where now? Do we need to make any stops before we reach the king's castle?" Issac said, somewhat irritably as his soaked fur clung to his body.
Mary in turn, quickly pointed her sword dangerously at Isaac's throat. As soon as she saw who was speaking to her, she lowered her weapon and bowed in apology. "Sorry. Well, we have made some progress so far but... I do not mean to be rude but your slow body, even after shrinking it and putting on cloud shoes is still slowing our journey down quite a bit. If we want to head towards the Cloud King's castle, we need to find some way of moving you faster." Marry explained, chewing onto a chunk of cloud rabbit as she spoke, still wearing her armor save for her helmet which was held by the arm that was not holding the cloud rabbit, allowing for her light gray hair to billow down to her shoulders, the rain seemingly not affecting it.
"Alas, you don't need to tell me that, I've been dealing with this heavy body of mine for a while now, however like I said back when I... ahem, almost tried to stab you, I apologize for that, anyway, whatever I absorb whether it be by using my dagger or directly assimilating it I can take on its properties. Which by that logic means, if I can absorb several creatures from this plane, I might be able to become lighter than before." Issac explained somewhat awkwardly, not exactly comfortable telling a woman how he planned to lose weight by literally absorbing people into his body.
"I see... yes, you did mention that earlier. You say any animal right?" Marry asked.
"Yes, this plane's inhabitants seem to be pretty lightweight, if there is some magical element to their weightless bodies I could probably take advantage of that." Issac answered.
"Yes, making my Master faster would definitely have its uses..." Ilvir chimed in for the first time, drooling at what Issac assumed was his own lustful fantasies. He has apparently awoken in response to Isaac's alertness and came to join in on the conversation.
"Yes... a bigger, faster Issac.... oh yes..." the stone golem quietly, moaning, both of his granite cocks hardening, as he starting tugging them impatiently.
"Ilvir control yourself now... not in front of Marry." Issac said.
"Is Ilvir alright?" Marry asked with concern, once again showing no reaction to Ilvir's lustful state.
"Marry... I had assumed you know what lust is do you not? Ilvir has been acting like this for the entire journey so far, don't you feel the slightest comfort towards Ilvir?" Issac asked, confused.
"Oh is this lust? Interesting, but I currently have no interest." the cloud woman said, softly smiling.
"Currently? I'm sorry can you explain?" Issac asked, eyeing Ilvir from the corner of his vision, watching him jerk off both of his cocks with a lustful fervor, seemingly unaware of anything around him.
"Well, it may be hard to explain. After all our bodies being from different planes have obvious differences, not just on the physical, but also the biological as well." Marry explained.
"I see... if you wouldn't mind, please tell me more." Issac asked.
"Why tell when I can show?" Marry said with a mischievous grin. Standing up she started taking all her armor, every single last piece, taking several minutes as every inch of her body was being revealed to Issac who was now through his fur, stone, and scales was blushing furiously, covering his eyes as to not see.
When Marry finished taking off her armor she said "Issac just look already, I really don't mind." Marry said.
Taking a deep breath and doing his best to control his arousal, Issac uncovered his eyes and looked at the now naked Marry.
Marry herself was quite the looker, even more so naked, her cloud white skin matched perfectly with her curves, showing off every inch of her feminine features, every part of her glorious naked body was elegant and beautiful, had she been human, Marry surely would've been one of the fairest maidens in the material world. Yet almost immediately, Issac noticed two distinct features.
Not on a single part of her body showed a female organ whatsoever. While she had breasts, no nipples could be seen and between her legs was nothing but a light gray patch where her female genitalia should be.
"What... how do your people reproduce then? Issac asked, stunned but also trying to keep his arousal in check. Ilvir was still masturbating Andean now looking at every inch of Marty's body, admiring it as he continued to jerk off.
"Most likely the same way yours do if you are indeed looking for my vagina like I believe you are." Marry said. "You see, us cloud folk mature differently from how your people do. as we grow older, we change color, the youngest being a pure white and slowly transitioning into a deep gray as we age. When we reach the ends of our lifespan, we explode into rain and mist, our essence scattering into the ground to support new life. However, midway we develop our respective sexual organs and afterwards after maturing we become capable of reproduction. Before that we however do not have any feelings of romance, love, or lust. We have every other emotion you can imagine, but before our sexual maturing we cannot feel nor care about sexual pleasure in the slightest. Not even magic can change that. The grey spot between my legs signifies that soon I will develop my vagina and soon feel the emotions that plague Ilvir right now, before that though, I could care less about any lewd acts that you both do." Marry explained.
"I see... now please put your armor back on..." said Issac, trying not to look directly at Marry.
Marry gave a soft giggle, before redressing, taking another few minutes before she completely strapped her armor back on, sitting back now on the soft cloud.
"So then...if you are so close to maturing why come along with us?" Issac asked after her silver cloudy armor was back on.
Marry's face grew serious for a moment and her face became stern as she spoke "Whenever a woman matures in one of the towns or villages, the King is immediately notified and forces the women to come to his castle so he can have his way with them. He does it both for pleasure and for domination. He is already aware of my status as almost being fully matured and would no doubt send his mend to come for me once I do mature."
"I see, so you don't want to experience such pain that your fellow sisters and women have faced before?"
"Exactly, coming along with you gives me a chance for revenge for everyone." Marry said.
"That is a noble cause Marry, but I hope you do not try and do anything reckless, you may have been taught the basics of combat but only briefly. Do not try to rush in alone." Issac warned.
"I know, but because of that I also wish to hurry soon, according to the Elder, I will fully mature within the next seven days, should the Cloud King's men come for me and see me missing, my entire village will be punished no doubt."
"I had assumed so, then that means time is of the essence." Issac said.
"Yes, it is, now speaking of which, we need to capture some creatures for you. How on earth will you fight a sky dragon if you move slower than a flail snail?" Marry said, standing up.
"Very well, let's go hunting in the morning then. Where to?" Ilvir said, standing up, shaking his fur, spraying water everywhere.
"It'll sadly be a bit of a detour, but north west of here lies the Cumulus Mountains, there packs of viscous pegasi are said to roam that region. They are renowned for their magical abilities to summon tornadoes and are said to be able to fly almost as fast as an air dragon!"
"Interesting... I can't wait to see them up close then. Ilvir when you are done masturbating, be sure to lick up every drop of your semen, I'd rather not see the result of mixing your corruption with this place." Issac said to Ilvir, who nodded as he continued to fap heavily.
"Of course my Master, just let me- HHNNGGGG!!!" he screamed as he shot two loads of purple glowing semen all over his storm body in orgasm.
Issac sighed as Ilvir recovered from his orgasm and Marry made way back to her makeshift bed on the floor.
But before she could reach it, a thought occurred to Isaac. "Marry, before you go to sleep, I must ask you something that has been bothering me for a while now"
Mary returned a gentle smile. "Yes. Please. What is you question sir Isaac?"
Isaac's expression grew serious, "When you volunteered to be our guide, I was asking for anyone who knew the layout of the Sky King's Castle. Yet, according to what you just explained, the King's men hasn't taken you to his castle yet. How could you know the layout of his castle if you never been there? There is also the matter of our travel rout. Before we had decided to hunt down some Pegasus, we were supposedly taking the quickest rout to the King's castle. You even had the foresight to avoid any villages in order to avoid any encounters with the King's men. I'm not sure how many times you traveled outside your village but it seems you traveled to the castle before and you knew how to avoid the King's men. Then there was the matter of you buying all the equipment we need for our journey. I may not know much about the Cloud Kingdom's currency, but the Elder doesn't seem to be the type of man to just give away things that are being sold. Otherwise, he would have just gave me and Ilivir a pair of cloud shoes instead of having you buying some. Then there was matter of your fighting style. I may not know much about the culture here, but your movements seems a bit too elegant to be basic fighting techniques. They seem more like something only Royalty would only know. I have trained at my own kingdom's capital long enough to recognize some thing like that."
As Isaac finished his deduction, Mary's eyes showed panic, but they were quickly masked by a calm and gentle smile. "In truth, I have been infiltrating the castle and scouting out information for months. Me and the elder have been planning to assassinate the king on the night before your arrival. It was a small matter modify our plan when we fond out about you ability to absorb creatures. I have been saving up my money for my final trip to the castle."
So the Elder was secretly training Mary to be a assassin. But something still doesn't click right.
"This assassination plot sounds like a solo job. Why you? Why did the Elder picked you specifically to catty out this solo mission? Does it have anything to do with your seamlessly Royal fighting style? And why do you need my ability to assimilate other creatures? Judging from your training, you seem capable of handling this assassination plot yourself."
Marry lost her smile. And in it's place was the warrior within Marry. "You are asking for dangerous information Isaac. What I just told you was already a risk. Even in a forest like this, there could be eavesdroppers about. If any word of this reaches the Sky King before we get to him, then any chances of defeating him and his Air dragon are lost. I might answer your questions when the time comes but this isn't the place or time for that right now. Good night." That last line was said coldly.
Marry proceeded to go the bed. Isaac remained standing were he was. Despite Marry's explanation being sound, Isaac can't help but sense a lie somewhere. But he was too tired to tell what it was. Apparently, Ilivir has fallen asleep amiss their conversation.
Isaac decided to put the subject to rest for now. There will be more opportunities to find out the whole story later.
With that thought, Isaac promptly earned some well deserved sleep in his makeshift nap sack.