Well, he's the only one.

She can roll over so Sky's on top of her and then snuggle in to Laurent's side, because yeah she does in fact like him a lot she opened with unrestrained nerdbabble and he understood her perfectly and babbled right back and if that's not grounds for a crush Eelesia doesn't know what is.

All this warmth and soft skin and snuggling is so super comfy and she really really hopes this becomes a regular thing.

"You want to be in the middle? Or should I glomp Eelesia instead?" Coventina asks Laurent quietly.

"The middle sounds like a good place to be."

He snuggles up to Eelesia and Sky.

Is that progress? That might be progress.

Coventina cuddles up to him, squishing him between her own naked body and Eelesia's.

It's very cozy and no one is having any ongoing medical emergencies. He drifts off into a sound and restful sleep.

And a new day dawns without incident. For once.

How would Laurent like to spend it? His party is ahead of the curve on leveling, they've got enough money to be comfortable for months, and of the available quests at the guild hall, none seem urgent. (In fact, the bounty board is looking a little sparse. Adventurers, flush with cash from the cabbage harvest and excited to break in new gear, have been questing more eagerly than usual today.)

He nevertheless reads through all the quests left on the bounty board after breakfast, just to see what's out there.

There's one quest that is covered in warnings, with a level minimum of five.

There's what appears to be a rather old quest, on wood rather than paper. It was previously covered up by other, newer quests, but there appears to be an apothecary on Arcane Avenue that is offering 10,000 Lake per intact monster egg delivered.

Over here is a slightly less old-looking notice, on paper but surrounded by a high-quality frame. Level requirement: 3. The alraunes in the southern hills have begun their migration, as evinced by the cabbage harvest. For the health of the land, it is requested that male adventurers travel to and inseminate the remaining unpollinated alraunes so that they may join the migration. 5,000 Lake per alraune.

Also of interest, there appears to be a new quest, also requiring Level 3, offering 50,000 Lake per pound of drider silk, to be delivered directly to The Succubus Cafe on Whisper Street. There is a domesticated drider colony a day's walk to the west; this appears to be mostly a fetch quest.

"Well, that's certainly a selection. Thoughts on which quests seem appealing, anyone? The drider silk is offering a lot of money, but I've never tried inseminating alraunes and maybe I could get ten of them in less than a day and then that would be more lucrative..."

"The alraunes are closest," Coventina notes, peering at the egg quest. "Was this here the whole time? This was here the whole time, wasn't it."

Peer. "Oh, I know that place. I think they closed? Maybe they just forgot to take down the notice."

"We could go look at the apothecary and see if they still exist and are still backing their monster egg quest. If anyone thinks we should be selling them monster eggs."

Blush. It's really very obvious who would be getting egged, if someone in this party is going to be getting egged on purpose.

"Sure! Let's go check it out. Either way though I think Coventina's right that the alraunes are the most convenient except we wouldn't be much help with that one besides guarding you while you're busy and spotting for you in case something goes wrong but I don't mind if you don't."

"I would definitely appreciate both the spotting and the guarding, and perhaps also an explanation of how inseminating alraunes is generally supposed to go. All right, let's check out the apothecary and then go look for alraunes and perhaps, depending on circumstances, acquire an opportunistic monster egg on the way back."

"I've never seen an alraune up close but I've read about them and they're lure-types and really docile by monster standards so probably it will be easy. Okay! This way!"

She leads them to a street that has a very wizard-y aesthetic and then to a small door crammed between two larger shops.

[GONE FISHING]

"That does not look like a door that will reliably pay us 10,000 Lake apiece for monster eggs."

It really doesn't does it.

None of the girls disagree.

"Alas. Well, off to inseminate alraunes, I suppose." Did they remember to grab the quest on their way out of the guild hall? He double-checks his card.

Coventina swung by the counter to register them for that one just in case, especially since they probably won't be the only party doing it and also how would you bring back proof on this one.

"We're set."

"Excellent."

To the forest! Probably? That's where the alraunes are, right? He's pretty sure...

Wooded hills. It's not quite a forest, but the trek to get there takes them up a short hiking track into a secluded grove.

The earth here is churned up in blobs and trails, but after a little wandering, they find their first alraune.

Imagine something the approximate shape of a pumpkin, only soft and green, ringed by pink flower petals. Out of the top of this, grows the upper half of a nubile girl, soft and inviting, bare breasts and open arms. Her face is a work of art. Literally. Painted in pigmentation onto plant-skin, lacking true eyes, mouth, or nose, not meant to be convincing, just alluring. A half-dozen glistening slits sit prominently on her lower body, arranged in a ring around her circumference, each ready and waiting, at the perfect height and angle for a man to fall face-first into her boobs while he fucks her.

There is a scent in the air. A soothing, calming, welcoming aroma.

The alraune's waist rotates within her lower body, allowing her to face them and reach out in welcome toward Laurent.

Well that's sort of unsettling but sure, he can interact with this setup in the obvious and straightforward fashion.

"How do you want us arranged?" Coventina asks. "Close? Far? Making a perimeter? Standing by to help you? Standing by to 'help' you?"