Eileen doesn't see me coming into the great hollow. She's immersed in concocting something over the alchemy cauldron, working with a honed focus of an artisan craftsman. Occasionally, she would nod, shake her head, and gasp as an idea comes to her, then writes into a journal on the side.
I sneak up to her without alerting her. There are more shelves than I last remembered, each layer occupied with potions and elixirs. The journal page she is writing into is filled from end to end with measurements and crossed out equations, a testament to her hard work.
"You've been busy," I say over her shoulder.
"Uwah! Mistress?!" Eileen trips over her skirt, but I grab her before she tumbles into the cauldron. She gives me a big hug, and I put my arms around her in return. "Wow, it feels like ages since I've seen you."
Unlike Cammy, Eileen doesn't look a day older than I last remembered. As long as forged worlds are fueled by magic, people inside won't age faster than those outside despite the stretch in time. Witches of old use this method to achieve a pseudo-longer lifespan. It's not something that can be done as easily in modern day since it requires vast amounts of magic for each living soul in here.
"There's someone I'd like you to meet. This is Ceris." I step aside to introduce the elven priestess.
Eileen is awe-struck, the words are caught in her throat and she has to shake the jitters to speak again. "M-My name is Eileen. It's a pleasure to meet you, Ceris!"
"Likewise, Eileen." Ceris takes both her hands. The warm smile and touch is all it takes to seduce a human woman.
"Did you make all of these on your own?" I ask, inspecting the many vials and beakers on the shelves.
There are some I don't recognize. Some look as thick as cement and others are like clouds in a bottle. Among them are restoration potions, stamina droughts, and even an elixir of gigantism which I'm pretty sure I only mentioned in passing to Eileen. Yet here it is, perfectly brewed.
At least I hope.
This means Zeke and I can—
Wait… why is my first thought to drink it and have sex with a dragon again…
Have I fallen so far?
"Many of them I just go by the book. Others I've experimented on and wrote it down for future use. I made sure to brew extra of the ones you use most often," Eileen answers proudly.
"I couldn't ask for a better apprentice. At this rate, you could make a living being an alchemist rather than just a witch." I pat her on the head, and she relishes in my praise. It warms my heart to see the once timid girl scraping by in a tavern, now finding an interest that stokes her youthful fervor.
I take another look around my home expecting to see a horny goblin, but he isn't here. "By the way, where's Gurk?"
"He helps out at the farming plots. Should be back any moment—" Eileen is interrupted by the sound of the door opening.
"Mistress is back!" Gurk drops the armful of carrots and races up to me. He jumps up, throwing his arms around my neck and surprising me with a deep, tongue-whipping kiss. I hear Ceris and Eileen gasp in embarrassment, but I'm too absorbed in the moment to care. The taste of my goblin, his sharp teeth scraping against my tongue, I've missed it.
When he finally pulls away and hops off, I'm already wet as a whistle eager to have him fuck me. His toothy grin and passionate kiss tells me how much he missed me. But I don't think he will appreciate the new addition to my body.
"My, Ellori. It seems you are well-loved here. Almost as though you are a high priestess of this place." Ceris kneels down to meet Gurk at eye-level. He's just as stunned by her beauty as the others.
"I'm sorry I can't offer you the same hospitality you showed me, Ceris. It isn't as lavish as your palace, but please make yourself at home. If you need anything, let Gurk and Eileen know."
Our little town of Ellowyn is a demihuman residence anyway. She shouldn't feel too much out of place.
"Nonsense, this accommodation is more than enough. I shall begin preaching the love of Vessyra to your people. Perhaps beginning with this one?" Ceris asks, kneeling down to stroke Gurk's cheek. He swallows hard and looks at me as though seeking permission.
"Yes. You may," I say, sighing.
"E-Even if Gurk has sex with other females, Mistress will always be mate!" he exclaims, causing me to blush.
While Gurk is helping Eileen fix up a late lunch, I take this time to fill my satchel and alchemy belts with potions. There's no telling what we will encounter in the megatower. Forged worlds fed with enough magic can create a whole universe, rife with never before seen creatures.
Before that, we have to deal with Abstinence and Glory, a whole army of Piety knights who are guarding it.
It won't be an easy battle, but one that must be waged.
I also pocket the potion of gigantism. There may be use for brute physical strength rather than magic. We have to be prepared for anything.
My mind is set at ease when I gaze into the room. Ceris fits in just fine, chatting up Cammy and Eileen. As a high priestess who engages in social interactions on a daily basis, she has a knack for charming people with gentle speech alone. She already puts others at a disadvantage being practically naked.
As drowsiness begins to take hold of me, glancing up at the shelves of potions and thinking about drinking a stamina drought, an idea comes to mind. I ask Eileen upstairs to speak to her alone while the others are eating.
"You've been dabbling in alchemy a lot. I was wondering… if you can create something to cure me of an ailment?" I ask, my eyes shifting unsteadily over the railings to make sure no one is listening to us.
Eileen beams, eager to please. "I'll research it! What do you need?"
I put a finger up to my lips, urging her to keep quiet. Swallowing the rest of my pride, I lift my robes up to reveal my rather large but currently limp penis. "This…"
Her eyes cast down below my waist. She blinks a few times, unsure of what she's seeing until realization hits like a fireblast. "EEEHH— eep."
"Shhh!"
Eileen covers her mouth and apologizes.
"Did you always have that?" she asks.
"Of course not! It happened when I drank Miuna's secretions from dissolving a tennoraphallus. It's been over a week and hasn't disappeared, I'm beginning to think it's permanent," I explain.
"I could look into it…" Eileen continues to stare at it with a hint of repulsion. "But if the effects aren't wearing off like they should, you're out of luck."
***
I spend the next hour before I leave taking a walk with Cammy through our prospering village. Just like herself, the landscape around us has also grown. Homes and dwellings are much larger, demihumans are cohabitating just like in Vessyra, and each residence has a smaller farming plot to contribute to the community.
Orcs, kobolds, and human women alike bow as we pass by. I quickly learn that it isn't to me, but Cammy they are offering their reverence to.
We pass the cistern that is still running despite being displaced. However, that will soon stop when the crystals run out of magic. Translocating the village into the forged world was supposed to be a temporary solution. We can't just dump them outside of Lotherain and expect the humans to just get along with them.
The green scenery is gradually being replaced with a tint of orange and red as the autumn season approaches. Even here, nature is still bound to the laws of time outside. Orc and kobold children frolic about, jumping on raked piles of leaves and making trouble for their human mothers.
It would be nice for them to grow up without having to worry about war. Then there's my adopted dryad child, who has already matured despite how much I wished she didn't have to face this turbulent era.
"You must have many questions about my sudden growth spurt, Mama. I can hear it in your heart," Cammy says as we walk along the beaten paths of the village.
"Seeing as you were half my size before I left, surprise wouldn't even begin to describe what I'm feeling. How did you grow so much?" I ask.
"I'm not too sure myself. At first I thought the number of my worshippers increased, but that isn't so. Eudora believes it has to do with being inside the forged world, that my guardian tree is absorbing more magic than it normally would," she answers.
On top of having worshippers, the growth of a dryad is also dependent on the magic in the soil. Come to think of it, I never asked Eudora what exactly is powering this forged world. Does she have soul stones at the top of the tower?
"Mama?" Cammy stops in place before me and grabs my head. Her face lingers close to me, so close that I think she's about to kiss me again. "Did you know you have become fertile again?"
"...Eh?"
My brain draws a blank.
Cammy lets go of my face and kneels down, putting a leafy hand on my stomach.
"Flora's boon still resides strongly in you, and since I am a seed born of her, we are connected. I can feel the fertility within you. However, it isn't in your womb— it's your… other part," Cammy explains, putting a hand to her chin and falling into thought.
Speechless, still drawing a blank. My mouth flops open like a fish out of water.
"Are you… telling me that my ejaculate is… fertile?" I should already know the answer. Cammy appears to know that I do.
She nods to confirm my fears. "Yes, likely since a few days ago."