The Merchant of New Borealis Ch. 7 (Original)

Sorry for the wait, folks!

Summary: You can't argue with Chrysalis and agree to help save the town with her and Yuya. You learn more about the town, and how to enlist some possible help, but at what cost? Includes: No Smut 

---

You don’t want to. You really, really don’t want to.

Never in your entire life did you consider yourself a hero, or some champion for good. You’re a merchant! You sell stuff to people, but… but… 

Chrysalis is looking at you, waiting for you to take charge, waiting to hear you promise that you, her hero, will save everyone. 

In the end, no matter how scared you are or how much you want to give up, you can’t. Not with her looking at you like that.

“You’ll help them, won’t you, friend?”

“We’ll… we’ll try to, Chrysalis,” you reply, and you watch as her lips turn into a smile and she presses herself against you. She can’t hug you, but she presses against you, making a sound akin to purring.

“I knew it! I knew you’d save them, friend!”

“Chrysalis, I don’t…” You sigh, shaking your head. “We’ll try to help them, okay? For now, let’s focus on getting our strength back and eating.”

“Okay!” You watch her release you, and she smiles at you once more, before she scuttles away to eat some food. Yuya snores in her sleep, and you can’t help but feel relief at the sound.

Your relief is short-lived as you wonder just what the hell you’re going to do to actually save this town…

---

You’re sitting inside your room in the inn when someone knocks on the door. You motion for Chrysalis to get under a blanket and pretend to sleep as you go answer the door. 

You open the door a crack and the Mayor of Undercliff smiles at you. “Greetings, traveler. I was wondering if we could talk? Bring you up to speed, answer any questions you might have?”

Oh, you definitely have questions. You glance behind you, and find the girls asleep. You step aside and let the old man in and with him comes a small girl, a mere child. She and the old man walk in and sit down on an unoccupied bed. 

“This is my granddaughter, Sarah.”

“Hello!” She grins, waving at you. 

“Uh… Hi.” You look at the old man and cross your arms. “So… monsters attacking your village?”

“Yes,” he sighed, nodding his head. “They’ve been attacking us for weeks now. Randomly, with no pattern. Sometimes it takes them a week to attack again, sometimes as soon as two days later. They always attack in the morning, while the sun is up, and when they do, they take our people, kidnapping dozens of us…”

“They… they took my mom and dad,” Sarah adds, looking down. “They told me to hide, and-” Her grandfather’s hand lands on her shoulder and sniffles away tears. 

“My son and his wife were taken by those things. As were many others. They attack anything and everyone. The only place they seem to refuse entering or even getting near is the church.”

“The church? Well, why not just have everyone stay there during their usual attack time? Hide and wait it out?” you ask.

“It is not a large church. It used to be a school, and even then, it could only fit one class of children. It can only fit a few people, probably less than twenty, and we are a town of hundreds even after we have lost so many of us.”

“It’s because of the Gargoyle!” Sarah declares, and you raise your brow.

“What’s a Gargoyle?” 

“You don’t know what a…? You must not be from around here,” the man muttered, and you nod your head, confirming it. “It’s said that before the Dark Days, before the Colonies rebelled, the Gargoyles were protectors of the land for Old Borealis. Servants of a higher power, as loving and fair as the angels who made them, but with the ferocity of the devils they fought.” 

You listen to the old man’s story. It sends like local legend, but considering you know a Succubus and a woman who looks part caterpillar, well… 

“The Gargoyles protected Old Borealis, until the demons they fought finally wiped them out. Most Gargoyles were killed in their great war, sacrificing themselves so humanity could ready their own defenses. That’s why our churches have gargoyles on them, to ward away evil spirits and as a sign of our eternal gratitude to the mighty warriors. Our own church has one gargoyle statue, kept in the basement of the church.”

“It’s not just a statue! It’s real, grandpa!” Sarah argued. “Dad said so! He said it was one of the survivors! That she used to protect the town like, thousands of years ago!” She looks at you, and you blink as she hops off the bed and walks towards you. 

“But an evil demon queen turned her into stone! That’s why the monsters can’t get to the church! Evil monsters can’t get near it!” 

“A child’s fable, I’m afraid,” the old man sighed. 

“Hm,” you just nod your head, glancing away. “So… What else can you tell me?” 

“Not much else, I’m afraid. We don’t know what happens to those they take. We only know where they go.” He points up, and you follow his finger as he points at your wall. “A nearby mountain. Any attempt to save our people, though… Well, the volunteers never return. We don’t know what happens to them,” he sighs. “I’ve rejected every attempt since to try and follow them…”

“We’ll save them!” You cringe a bit as Chrysalis’ voice is heard. You glance at Yuya’s bed, and the head of the Greenworm rises up, the blanket acting like a hood to help cover her antennas. “My friend is a hero! I’m sure if we all work together, we’ll save your people!”

Sarah smiles at Chrysalis as you shake your head. You open your mouth to speak, only for another voice to speak up. 

“A hero, huh? News to me,” a haughty voice huffed, and you can’t help but smile as Yuya begins to sit up. 

“You’re awake?” the old man gasps. “I haven’t seen anyone beat that monster’s poison so quickly.”

“Yeah, I’m a badass,” she replies with a shrug. She smiles at you, crossing her arms. “Do you mind giving us a moment, Mr. Mayor? I want to have a word with my… traveling companion.” 

“Oh, of course.” The old man nods his head, and steps out with Sarah. The child waves goodbye to Chrysalis, before the two leave, closing the door behind them. 

As soon as the door is closed, Yuya gets out of bed with Chrysalis. The Greenworm and Succubus look at you as the latter crosses her arms.

“A Gargoyle? Here? Are you serious?” She glares at you, and you flinch from her sudden anger. 

“You… know about them?” 

“Yeah. We have legends about them too. They killed hundreds of demons years ago. We barely survived their attacks! If there’s one here, I’m leaving! In fact, why are we still here? Why haven’t we left yet?!”

“We can’t! We have to help the people!” Chrysalis argues, falling off the bed. Yuya stares at her as you walk over to help her up. “They need us.”

“Oh. Oh, I see what’s going on here. Little bug gave you the puppy dog eyes, huh?”

“I don’t have puppy eyes. I have my eyes.”

“Shut it,” she growled. Yuya looks at you, pointing at you. “You want to save these folks for some bug pussy, is that it? You want to risk me getting eaten by a Gargoyle for her?!” 

“Yuya, calm down, I…” You sigh, rubbing your head. “Yes. I want to help these people, but it’s not just about Chrysalis. The mayor said those monsters attacking anyone trying to leave. We don’t have a choice, but to help!” 

Yuya scowls, before shaking her head. “You want to go up against an Ushi-Oni, a Wyvern, an Ochimusha, and devil knows what else?”

“I’m not saying fight them. I’m just saying we… help solve this problem,” you explain. “Maybe see if we can help.” Your mind returns to that confrontation, and your eyes widen as you catch onto an almost forgotten memory. “Hey, hold on, t-there was a symbol on them!”

Yuya’s anger vanishes for a moment as she raises her brow. “A symbol?”

“Yeah, it looked like a broken heart, but with a bunch of cuts and blood coming out of it? It was on the monsters that attacked us.”

“It was glowing!” Chrysalis adds. 

Yuya’s eyes widen, before she looks away. She opens and closes her mouth as she scratches the back of her head. “Are you sure?”

“Yeah.”

She sighs, rubbing her forehead. “Yes, I recognize the symbol. If I tell you it, can we please leave?” 

You glance at Chrysalis, who glances at you, before you both look at Yuya. “Probably not,” you answer honestly. 

The Succubus huffs, before closing her eyes. “It’s a symbol of control. Powerful Succubus put it on people they want to control.”

Your eyes widen. “Are you sure?”

“Yeah. I’ve seen other Succubus do it. It’s supposed to make someone your slave. Sounds like those three Demis, hell, maybe all the Demis that attack this place, are just under the control of one Succubus.”

Your eyes widen at the news, and you rub your head. Some evil queen in charge of an evil army of monsters? When did this become your life?

“Alright, well… is there a cure?”

“Yeah. You need to wash the symbol off.”

“That’s it?!” you reply. “Succubus magic and it can be beaten with some water?”

“Yeah, well, not letting our enemies know about it being that easy is part of the charm!” Yuya sighs, floating into the air as she crosses her arms and legs. She sits in the air, glaring at you. “So they’re under mind control. How does that help us?”

“Well, we can tell the people to splash them with water, get the symbols off them. That’s something.”

“...What about the Gargoyle?” Yuya mutters. 

“What about it?”

“What if… what if it attacks...us?” she asks. 

You blink at that, staring at Yuya. This demon fought a giant spider and was cocky and joking throughout the fight, but just the idea of a Gargoyle seems to terrify her. She avoids your eyes, but speaks as if she could read your mind.

“Look, we have scary stories too, ya know. Gargoyles were our horror stories. They could tear other demons apart, a-and fly as fast as lightning, and were invulnerable to just about anything we could throw at them. Stories say they almost wiped us out… How do I know that Gargoyle won’t do the same? M-maybe that’s why whoever is doing this is using slaves? That Gargoyle can probably smell Succubus blood…”

Yuya was getting panicked. You’ve never seen her so scared. She looks around the room, floating back and forth as she bites her lower lip.

“Yuya, calm down,” you plead, catching her attention. 

“Hey, you don’t have your childhood boogeyman in town! I just... “ She sighed, holding her head. “I’m dealing with a lot right now.” 

“We don’t even know if the Gargoyle is real,” you comment. “You could be worrying over nothing.”

“There could be a knife-wielding maniac outside the door, but hey, you could be worrying about nothing.” She sticks her long tongue out at you, before crossing her arms. She stays silent after that, until one of Chrysalis’ claws gently tap her side. 

Yuya looks down at Chrysalis, who smiles up at her friend. “Yuya is scared of Gargle Monster. Chrysalis understands that. I was scared of lots of monsters living in the forest, but do you know what happened to me?”

“You got caught and almost because some spider’s dinner?”

“And then my friends saved me!” Chrysalis beamed. “If this monster attacks you, we’ll protect you, and we’ll save you! That’s what friends do!”

Yuya stares at the small Greenworm, before looking at you. “I can see why you like her,” she sighs, crossing her arms. 

---

The next day, you plan on speaking to the Mayor with Yuya by your side. You man a stand with your two Demis that morning, because if you’re going to risk your life for these people, you might as well get a good deal on it.

You left Chrysalis in charge of a small stand you had procured, and you smiled as you watched her sell your goods for you. She might have been a bit naive, and not the smartest girl in the world, but damn, she knew how to sell. 

Who knew?

“How much for this?” a man asked, pointing at an old lamp you had. It was a pretty cheap piece, honestly, something for someone on a budget to buy. Maybe worth two silver pieces?

“How much you got?” Chrysalis replies, blinking in curiosity. “It’s a really pretty lamp. And I bet it’s super old too! Very good quality.” 

“Hmm… Three silver pieces?”

“Friend said that’s not much… Can you give me more, please?” She stares at the man with big, reflective eyes. It’s hard to say no to her, as you’ve learned.

“Ah… Okay, six silver pieces?”

“Yay! That sounds great!” 

The man holds the money out to and she reaches forward to take it, only to pause. She seems to remember she doesn’t have hands. You move to help her, when you see her lean forward and begin picking up the money with her mouth, licking the silver coins into her mouth. 

The man’s eyes widen as you nervously chuckle. “H-have a good day.” You motion the man away as you pat Chrysalis’ head. 

“Fwend! Wook what I got!” Chrysalis beamed, her mouth full of coins.

“Uh, good job, Chrysalis, but spit those out. You don’t know where they’ve been…”

Funny enough, even Yuya’s trying to help you sell your wares. Though her success is… debatable.

“Ooh, you like that sword?” You hear Yuya talking to a customer, and you look at her fawning over some man looking at a sword you have. “It’s nice, isn’t it? Long and hard… Mmm, my kind of weapon,” she giggles, leaning forward. “A real man’s weapon…”

The man looks at her, then back at the weapon. “Hmm…Nah.”

“Nah? What do you mean, nah?” she huffs, glaring at him. The man just walks away as Yuya growls, glancing down. “How the hell am I supposed to sell anything if I can’t show off my tits?!” She glares at you as you smile sheepishly. 

“Chrysalis seems to be managing,” you comment, glancing at the Greenworm in disguise. 

“Thank you!” she beams, licking up a few more silver pieces.

“Chrysalis!” 

---

Eventually you find the Mayor and you and Yuya leave to speak to him while Chrysalis mans the store.

The two of you walk up to him and you tell the Mayor what you know. His jaw almost hits the ground as he gawks at you. “Under control of another Succubus? Are you sure?”

“Yes. I know demon magic,” Yuya answers. “I’m an… err, expert.”

“That is amazing to know,” the old man nods. “We can put together defenses now. The monsters have always been physically superior to us, but if all we need to do is splash them with water, we should be alright.”

“You’re welcome,” Yuya smirks. Her cocky attitude fades for a moment “So… this Gargoyle,” she adds. “It’s just a statue, right?”

“Huh? Yes, of course. There are some who believe it be the genuine article, but yes. It is almost definitely a statue.”

Yuya nods her head, before she turns to look at you. “Can we… Can we check it out?” she mutters to you, keeping her voice low. You raise your brow, but nod your head regardless. 

You let Chrysalis know that you’ll be returning soon, before the two of you begin to walk. You reach the church in a few minutes, and the Mayor was right. It is small. It’s a single room, one story building, and you push open the doors without a problem, and step inside. 

Yuya, though, seems much more hesitant. She hangs outside the door, staring at it with wide eyes. 

“What is it?”

“I… I can’t walk inside.”

“Huh?” You blink, and approach her, walking back outside. “What do you mean?” 

She raises her hand and stretches it out, only to watch it press against an invisible wall. She can’t even reach the doors as she gulps. “I can’t enter it. T-there really is a Gargoyle here.”

“Huh? Are you sure?”

“Why else could I not get in here?! I’ve been to churches before, b-but this is… It has to be the work of a Gargoyle!” she growls, punching the invisible wall before her. 

“Well, maybe it can help the town? They’re supposed to protect people,” you comment, trying to calm her down, but it only seems to rile her up further. 

“No, they protect humans! Gargoyles attack and kill demons, like me,” she growls, trying not to yell. “A creature, famous for killing my people, is here. You better not try to tell me to calm down!” 

You stare at her as she pants, rubbing her forehead. “Shit…” She looks at you. “If there really is a Gargoyle here, it could help these people. Gargoyles were tough, really tough, and they loved humans but if the Gargoyle sees me… Well, they’re famous for killing demons...”

You can see the fear in her eyes, and she crosses her arms as you watch her think. You raise your brow as she looks at you.

‘That bug bitch sure has a way of getting into your head, doesn’t she? I can’t stop thinking about what she said… Saving this town. How she’d watch my back…” 

You can tell she’s on the edge of a decision. You glance behind you, at the church, before looking at her. “Do you think you could release the Gargoyle? If they’re really locked away?” 

“I… I might? I’d have to learn more about the magic keeping her prison first, but maybe?” The question was, did she want to? 

You just might be the deciding factor for her. Will you talk to her, reaffirm your friendship and unlock the mystery of the Gargoyle? 

Of course, that’s only if you really would put your life on the line for her. If the Gargoyle can be awoken, and you do free her, what if she wants to hurt Yuya? What if she wants to hurt you for associating yourself with Yuya?!

You gulp as you imagine a monster that terrifies demons attacking you… 

But it sounds like that’s what Yuya needs to hear if you want this Gargoyle to be free and help out. 

Of course, maybe you don’t even need the Gargoyle’s help…

It’s your choice. Your words will determine Yuya’s next move. Will you comfort her, promise to help her even if it means putting your life on the line? 

You only just met her a couple of days ago! And she was about to attack you! A couple of blowjobs later and you’re friends?

But… she has saved your life. Risked her life against giant spiders and other Demis for you… Maybe you two really are friends now?

Or do you disregard this all and tell her to forget it. Whether it’s out of a desire to protect her, or a distrust towards this supposed Gargoyle, you can just leave. Find another way out of problem. There has to be one, you know there is. 

So, what will you do?