When Elizabeth Bedlam inevitably woke up, she was going to be extremely angry at minimum. Kanae would rather her not still be in full gear once that happened. To that end, they stripped the sorceress of all her clothes and staff, bound her in rope, and tossed her into a barn. Terra called a couple of reliable goblins to look after her in the meantime, and to send for them when she awakens.
"Are we sure goblins are going to be the best ones to keep an eye on her?" Kanae asked.
"Why? You afraid they're gonna fuck her? Don't worry. They know I'll beat them senseless." Terra brushed off her worry.
Kanae's experience with goblins was that threats weren't enough to deter them from a chance at sex. But she trusted Terra. Somewhat. The two returned to the nursery longhouse where the others were waiting. Mitty and Art were seated together, chatting over some peanuts. The simulacrum had every opportunity to flee while Kanae was gone, but he didn't. That was a good enough start at least.
"How are you feeling, Art?" Kanae sat down next to Mitty.
"Better now that the sorceress isn't around. Sh-She was going to kill me!" Art cried.
"Hey, hey." Terra plopped down beside him and grabbed his hand. "You're fine now, snookums. We've got her stuff here, and she's tied up in a barn. Spellcasters like her are powerless without their staff."
Kanae arched her brow. They seemed strangely close. Or rather, Terra looked particularly attached to Art.
"Is there something going on between you two?" Kanae cleared her throat.
"Us? Oh, uh…" Art's green complexion flushed red.
Terra threw an arm around his shoulder and grinned. "We're mated! Well, technically every goblin in Barkwen is my mate. When Art came to the village, he was scared shitless. So I looked after him. I've never met any other goblin like him— except Mitty. Was just a nice guy. Then one night, I just snuck into his bed and rode the daylights out of him."
Right. Of course. How could Kanae forget that Terra was still a goblin, and her being a female goblin meant she treated men like male goblins treated women.
"I see… Anyway, Art. How far back do you remember?" Kanae asked nervously.
"I woke up in a bathroom in this body. I got scared and just… ran," Art explained.
Which meant Art had no recollection of the gangbang Kanae and Arenade had with him and the other simulacra. Still, the poor guy deserved to know the full truth. Kanae told him everything. Arenade, her goblin kink, Eliza's suggestion of creating a simulacrum and then following through with it, and finally the skeleton Edina provided them that contained a trace of a soul.
This was Mitty's first time hearing about it, too. They were all in shock. It was hard to believe after all.
"I… I was brought back to life in a goblin's body just to be a glorified sex toy?!" Art clutched his head.
"Think of it this way, you got to have sex with two of the most desirable people in the Commonwealth!" Mitty tried to calm him down.
"That's great and all, except I don't remember ANY of it!" He groaned.
"Hold on, Kanae. You're telling me, you guys made every part of Art? Even his cock?" Terra asked.
"Yep. Even his ten-incher. I know goblins are half that on average, but we made him purely for sex," Kanae explained.
"No wonder you were so endowed." The broodmother stroked his inner thigh and purred.
Good to know that Kanae and Arenade weren't the only ones who enjoyed it.
"Who did you used to be anyway?" Mitty asked him the one question Kanae had been wondering.
"Art Harvor. I was human. My occupation, adventurer. As for how I died, I don't… Wait, I remember! Ahh! I took a quest to slay wild dire boars by myself. Got gored in the gut. My wounds were bad but survivable, however… I died because I didn't have any potions or a healer with me!" Art cried out in frustration.
"At least try to die more heroically!" Kanae pressed a hand to her face.
He hung his head and said, "I know I only have myself to blame. But what's going to happen to me now?"
Good question, one that Kanae didn't have the answer to. It really depended on Eliza. She made it out like any simulacra with pieces of souls to them would go crazy. After talking to Art, however, he still looked and sounded alright in the head. Nothing to indicate insanity.
Before Kanae had a chance to open her mouth, a goblin stumbled in.
"Terra, the sorceress chick is awake!" he exclaimed.
"Already?" Kanae gasped.
They got up and hurried over to the barn. The other three goblins Terra had tasked to watch Eliza were standing outside, whistling out of tune.
"Why d'ya idiots look like you did something you shouldn't?" Terra growled.
"We didn't do nothing, swear!" one of them exclaimed.
Kanae and Mitty pulled open the barn doors and found Eliza inside, awake and sitting upright. The naked sorceress had light claw marks on her thighs, bite imprints on her nipples, and a streak of spunk leaking from her pussy.
They, without a shred of doubt, definitely did something.
"See, perfectly fine!" another said.
Terra planted a hand on the goblin's shoulder and smiled. He smiled, too. Then she slugged him across the face.
"T-Terra, wait!"
The broodmother wailed on all four goblins until they were bruised up in a pile on top of each other.
"If only you dumbasses can be more like Art. Sheesh. Sorry, Kanae. Guess I couldn't trust 'em to keep their hands to themselves after all." Terra sighed.
"I had a feeling that was going to happen." Kanae kneeled down next to Eliza and pulled off the gag, only for her to spit out a mouthful of spunk. "How are you already awake? I casted Sleep on you with the Blade of the First Temptress. That should've kept you knocked out for at least a day."
"I'm a crowned Sorceress, Amethyst. The potency of negative magical effects on me are lessened. But you have some nerve to do this to me! Those goblins had their way with me before going to look for you!" Eliza yelled.
"The goblin part is definitely my bad, but you can't fault me for taking precautions. You were going for the kill on Art. I couldn't let you do that," she explained.
Eliza's eyes flicked to the goblin in question, who recoiled with a start.
"Don't look at him." Kanae put herself between them. "Look at me. I'm begging you, Eliza. Please, tell me why you're so desperate. You're hiding from us, aren't you?"
A shadow of guilt draped over the sorceress' face but still resisted. Kanae had no choice. Eliza didn't leave her any. She casted Charm.
"Nnh! Amethyst…" Eliza winced.
"Tell us the truth," Kanae demanded.
"The reason why a simulacrum… with a shred of their soul still intact is dangerous… has nothing to do with their descent into insanity. The true reason is their soul existing in two planes at once. Ours… and the Realm of Eternal Sleep," she said at last.
"My soul is in two places?" Art repeated after her.
The sorceress nodded. "Inherently, there is no problem with that. But someone with more nefarious intentions may use you as a conduit between both realms. Take a necromancer. They must conduct strenuous rituals to even graze the afterlife. Using you, they will have unfettered access to countless souls with which to transfigure and mutilate. Edina, for all her eccentricities, will know better. I cannot say the same for others." She looked up to face Kanae. "Amethyst, you risk your young empire by letting him live. Allow me to be the villain to slay the simulacrum. Hate me. Despise me. But he must be put to rest."
Terra sidled up defensively to Art's side.
"Not happening," Terra said.
Knowing the full truth complicated things. Eliza had a point. What if someone like Riben Crow had kidnapped Art during the Saviran civil war? His undead armies would have been far more vast and unstoppable. What if one day, Edina decided she wanted to raise more than just death knights and dragons?
"Eliza, we've virtually resurrected Art. Killing him after what we did is wrong. Is there anything we can do to let him live out the rest of his life as a goblin?" Kanae asked.
"Wards, enchantments… Temporary measures. There is nothing more permanent than death. Or at least I used to think that way." Eliza sighed.
"I-I don't want to die. Goblins aren't long-lived, right? Just let me live out the rest of my life here! No one will know who I really am!" Art pleaded to them.
"Simulacra do not age. Your only way out is an exorcism or destruction," she explained.
Terra and Art went pale.
"Let's not think about that. Focus on the right now. Eliza, I'm going to release you. Because well… I can't exactly keep you confined. Will you promise to at least start with those wards and enchantments you brought up?" Kanae suggested.
"This could be resolved so much more easily, but… Fine, yes. Very well." Eliza relented at last.
"Can we really trust her?" Terra asked.
"While Eliza is currently under my charm, she can only tell the truth unless I ask her to lie to me. We can trust her."
Terre preemptively scooted Art behind her. Kanae nodded for Mitty to cut the ropes, then released Eliza from the effect of Charm. The naked sorceress stood up and slapped Kanae across the face.
"That was for what the goblins did to me," Eliza huffed.
"I deserved that—"
Eliza slapped Kanae again.
"And what was that one for?" Kanae massaged both of her stinging cheeks.
"I thought we were close, Amethyst. It seems I was the only one who was under that impression." Eliza frowned and stormed out of the barn.
Hurt, Kanae wanted to give chase. Mitty stopped Kanae and motioned against it to give Eliza some space. The sorceress kept her word though. Even after donning her robes and staff, she didn't attack Art.
For the rest of the day, Eliza performed a series of spells and rituals with the help of several crowned goblin mages. It took a lot of convincing to get Terra to calm down and trust her. By nightfall, the sorceress succeeded in giving Art a few spell effects, namely Death Ward, Shrouded From Magical Sight, and a ritual effect that prevented divinitation-type to penetrate Barkwen.
"That should do it." Eliza cracked her neck. "Obviously, these effects won't prevent someone from simply wandering into the village to find you. You're safe from most magic. Even I would have a hard time."
"Is this… really okay? You're just going to let me live, knowing what you know now?" Art asked Kanae.
"Don't get the wrong idea. I'm okay with letting you live. For now. If there ever comes a time where your existence threatens my territory and children, I'm going for the simplest solution," Kanae explained.
"Understood…" He gulped hard.
"I'll make sure it never comes to that! Don't you guys worry." Terra patted him hard on the back.
Kanae shot a glance over to Eliza just as she was leaving the longhouse.
"It was good seeing you again, Terra. If you're ever in Ehmvier, drop by the castle to say hi. You guys stay out of trouble now, alright?" Kanae got up to follow Eliza out.
The sorceress hadn't gone very far. In fact, she was sitting on her broom, levitating above someone's house. A pair of goblins were underneath trying to get a look up her robes. Kanae flew up to Eliza, who was taking a drag from her long pipe.
"You must think I am a heartless witch," Eliza said.
"What? Nooo. You're a crowned Sorceress," Kanae teased.
Eliza offered a soft smile and chuckled.
"I do not feel the same way the rest of you do. I don't mean this incident. I mean emotions in general. Ever since I imbibed the elixir of life, my magnum opus, it's changed me. I do not grieve the loss of life. Children's laughter does not stoke warmth in me. Instead…" Eliza balanced her pipe precariously on one finger. "I can only find delight in this, hot bath, and sex."
Unsurprisingly, the pipe slipped. Eliza swiped empty air. Kanae caught it, but lost a few burning herbs to the wind.
"And I'm down to give you one of those anytime." Kanae winked, taking a puff from the pipe. "But you're not unfeeling, Eliza. You are the one who agreed to put violence down and compromise."
"Only because there was no other way out for me. Sometimes, Amethyst… I wonder if I'm missing a piece of my soul. Perhaps that was the cost of immortality." Eliza sulked.
Kanae held the pipe in front of the sorceress' face until she looked up, took it, and placed it back in her mouth.
"That just means you have the opportunity to do a lot of good. Instead of you know, spending all that time in your books and creating inventions for yourself," Kanae said.
"I like my books." Eliza pouted indignantly, then scooted over to give Kanae room to sit on the floating broom.
The two of them took turns smoking from the pipe until the herbs turned to cinders. Over the horizon, the sun was beginning to set over the green pastures of the Commonwealth's countryside. The heavens looked like they were painted over with an orange brush.
"Amethyst, I want to apologize. I did not mean to put our friendship into question," Eliza said.
"Don't worry about it. You've done a lot for me. There's a lot that I'm grateful for." Kanae grinned.
"When we return to Ehmvier, I'd like to show you something that pertains to my past. It requires that we take a trip using the Arcen. You will be the first and perhaps only one I show. Will you come?" she asked.
Whatever Eliza wanted to show, she must consider their friendship important enough to warrant it. Kanae could only fathom what it might be.
"Of course," Kanae replied with the same sincerity.