by Cat Wilder
Vikarous looked off to the left, rumbled a spell, and a silver collar exploded out of a pile of gold coins and flew into Izzy's lifted hand. She opened it wide with a look of wicked glee. I didn't care. I just wanted to please my master and obey him.
"Are you going to give me the Dragon Lance, Carly?"
"Yes, master. I will give it to you."
"Don't do it, Carly," Garik said. "It's our only bargaining tool. And we won't stand any chance against him without it."
"Izzy, take Garikarous outside and slit his throat," Vikarous snarled. "Hurl his corpse to the rocks below."
Chapter 23
Garik put up one hell of a fight. Izzy called for help from a minotaur and some humans. I watched them struggling to get hold of Garik, since his legs weren't bound. That man could kick like a horse. He sent the minotaur crashing back into the cavern wall, knocking him unconscious. Garik proved so good at fighting off Vikarous' minions that I worried the dragon would bite his head off.
"Carly! Fight the compulsions! Don't let him subjugate you!" Garik shouted as he fought. "Fight him! Fight him all of the way!"
Izzy shouted commands, and then rushed in. Garik brought his knee up into her chin, and I cried out when her head snapped back and she collapsed. Relief filled me when she moaned and groaned, writhing on the ground as her indomitable will fought to stay conscious.
Izzy would be all right.
"I will kill you all!" Garik shouted as he kicked left and right, battering men, elves, and dwarves. Suddenly, Izzy shook away the cobwebs and lunged at his legs. She wrapped her arms around his knees and held on for dear life. His only weapon immobilized, the other minions quickly swarmed over the powerful dragon-knight. Then they hefted him up upon their shoulders and began to battle through the tunnels.
Yeah, Garik wasn't going gently into that good night. Oh no.
"Carly, look into my eyes," Vikarous commanded.
I had no choice but obey. I tried to fight the collar, but I proved too weak. I frowned at him, unhappy with Garik's death sentence. Yeah, the collar's magic kept me from any feelings of rage and defiance. And his hypnotic eyes quickly suppressed and banished what little anger I could muster.
"Master, Garik is only trying to help," I said. "Please allow him to live and serve you, too."
"He is too dangerous," the dragon said, remarkably softly considering his big bass voice. "Killing him will be best for me, him, and you, too. Garikarous will cause no more trouble for anyone."
Despite a strong need to believe him, something deep down refused to be quieted. I opened my mouth to argue further, but Vikarous began a kind of humming chant, while swaying before me. I followed his amazing eyes devoutly, feeling him pushing into my brain, penetrating my emotional defenses, and stilling that last flickering flame of defiance.
In my head, I heard, "Love. Obey. Love. Obey. Love to obey." I couldn't tell if that was me saying that, or some voice his magic thrust into me. But I liked it. I began to sway in sync with him as my belly filled with butterflies, and feelings of love filled me until my sex ached.
He's good, I thought. Is there a Skill of Seduction?
"You are mine, Carly. All mine," the voice whispered in my head. "Open your heart, and accept that you are mine. Mine to do with as I please."
"Master, I am yours," I purred. "Command me."
"All you desire is to please me."
"Yes, let me please you, master."
Tears of joy and love streaked my hot cheeks. I panted furiously, aching with the desire to make him happy. I would do anything to please him.
"Carly, nothing would make me happier than for you to give me the Dragon Lance," Vikarous rumbled gently. "Give it to me now."
"Yes, I want to," I groaned miserably. I indicated my collar, hot tears flowing in my misery. "It won't let me. I'm so sorry. Please don't be angry with me."
"I will help you, my dearest Carly," he said, and tapped the collar with one sharp talon. The collar snapped open and fell to the ground. "There, my love, give me the Dragon Lance. Place it at my feet."
"Yes, I will. I will," I cried joyfully.
I smiled sultrily up at him, and then bit my lip. He had me all riled up, and ready to rock and roll. His magical eyes truly entranced me. And I found his magical seduction the best I'd ever experienced in the game. Actually, few in the game really attempted real seduction. It was a lot cruder world than that. Shame I had a level 97 in Sex, or his seductive magic might've stuck better.
Opening my inventory, I heard the dragon suck in a sharp breath. He looked eager, though how I could discern dragon expressions was beyond me. I just sensed his excitement.
"Yesssss."
I willed the Dragon Lance out of inventory, and it appeared in my hand. Inventory closed as I looked up into Vikarous' eyes. I held the Dragon Lance in both hands before me.
"Master, I give you the Dragon Lance!" Lunging forward, I thrust the enchanted lance into his chest. "Right through your black heart!"
A dozen messages popped up, as HPs scrolled, and his health bar came up. I ignored it all, staying focused on my objective. Kill the dragon!
The dragon roared in rage and agony. Falling back, he pulled the lance from my grasp. I watched Vikarous as he writhed on his back, thrashing his head and tail all about. His cries of rage included torrents of fire that melted piles of gold coins into solid lumps. The ruby in his forehead glowed as bright as hellfire.
"Your magic truly makes me desire you, dragon," I shouted with glee. "And I really did want to answer all of your yearnings and desires. But I have a Sex Skill of 97, so I'm not so easily seduced. I WIN!"
I grabbed my Bow and Dagger Rings off the pile, slipping them onto my fingers. The Bracers came next. Then after pulling the Gloves of Strength on, I stalked towards him. Time to fight the big boss. Whether I freed him from the curse, or slayed him, didn't matter. I had to win. I had to defeat the big boss. That was what the game was all about.
"What are you doing?" Izzy cried as she came racing back in. "Vikarous! No, stop it. You're killing him!"
The drow ran toward the dragon. She wanted to pull the Dragon Lance out, which would save his life. I couldn't allow her to do that, so took off running to intercept Izzy. She pulled her sword with a snarl, so I called up my sword and shield. We slammed into each other with a crash of steel on steel.
Slash. Slash. Parry. Jab. Slash.
We fought like two hellcats. I had more skill, but she fought with the heart of a woman determined to save her man. And she had one advantage over me: Izzy had no issue with killing me.
"Carly!" Garik cried from the entrance. He'd broken free and came back, but minions caught and tackled him just inside the cavern. "Vikarous is pulling the Dragon Lance out!"
A quick glance showed it true. The dragon had one hind claw around the haft trying to pull it out. Vikarous struggled, the pain so great it made him too weak to pull out the lance.
"Guess I missed the damn heart," I muttered. His health bar showed 41 percent. "He should already be dead."
The ruby in his forehead glowed brightly, its magic barely keeping him alive. Didn't matter. If he got that enchanted lance out, then he could heal himself super fast. And then I'd be twelve hours from being a steaming pile of dragon poop. Probably Garik, too.
"Issy!" I shouted, using my spell Loud Speak. My voice thundered in those close confines, startling her and everyone else. She froze, giving me the chance I wanted. I swung my shield into the side of her head, and she collapsed bonelessly. "Gotcha."
The dragon pulled out the Dragon Lance at that moment. It light up with hellfire in his grip, the remaining rubies detaching and swirling around the lance head. I saw the arcane flames consuming his flesh.
I raced up, and hacked off one of the toes wrapped around it. Vikarous wailed, sending flames all around. The chest wound was still open and bleeding, but healing so fast I could see it. So I stabbed his paw, forcing him to release the Dragon Lance.
The magical f
lames around the lance vanished, and the rubies returned to their previous places upon it. I released the sword and shield to vanish back into my bracers. With enchanted lance in hand, I charged him again. I thrust it once, twice into his belly to keep him down. Then I crawled up onto this belly while he thrashed upon his back, worked my way up to his chest, and thrust the Dragon Lance in as deep as I could.
Vikarous wailed louder than anything I'd ever heard. My ears rang like crazy afterwards. Then he curled up, all four feet clawing at the impaling lance. I had to leap off to avoid being mauled to death, but I could tell he'd get it out again.
It's now or never.
Calling up the dagger, I leapt upon Vikarous' neck and started climbing to his head. Our best hope still lay with removing the cursed crystal. He tried to shake me off, but his primary focus remained on the Dragon Lance buried deep in his chest. I suspected I missed the heart again.
If I survive this, I'm going to study dragon anatomy so I can hit the heart next time.
Vikarous rolled over, forcing me to hide between two long, rock hard spikes to keep from being crushed to a pulp. He forgot about me soon enough, and returned to clawing at the lance. I scrambled as fast as possible, heading toward his head. Izzy recovered enough to cry out in despair. A glance spotted her racing to the dragon's aid.
"Gotcha," I muttered, reaching his head. One huge red eye turned toward me, but then Izzy arrived and grabbed hold of the Dragon Lance. As soon as she tugged, he spammed in agony. His head began swinging back and forth again, and it took everything I had to hang on.
"Leave it in him until I say to pull it out!"
"No," Izzy shouted. "You're killing him."
That was the least of my concerns at the moment. I slowly worked my way to the spiky crest of his head. Crawling between the two longest horns, I spotted the glowing ruby embedded in his scaly forehead like a third eye.
"No! Get away!" Vikarous cried, as the ruby flashed even brighter.
One viciously taloned hand came up toward me. I knew a moment's panic, envisioning those foot-long claws impaling my body in four places. So I took the razor-sharp dagger in both hands and thrust it with all my might into his forehead, at the very edge of the crystal.
Vikarous screamed like thunder. He jumped and bucked, and then slammed his head against the floor. Izzy cried out in triumph as she finally pulled the Dragon Lance out. I put my weight behind the dagger, and forced it deeper and under the crystal, which still refused to pop out. It hung on tenaciously. And then the dragon finally caught me, wrapping his massive paw around me. As feared, four sharp claws pierced my flesh all the way to the bone.
I wailed. I felt the worst, the most exquisite pain I’d ever known. My Health bar appeared, showing my health dropping fast. He started pulling me away so, with the last of my strength, I ground the point of the dagger against his skull, and swirled the blade around the crystal.
And it popped out.
"You did it!" Garik cried.
Vikarous threw me across the chamber to land next to a pile of silver and gold coins. The impact shook the pile, and a fortune slid down to cover me. I shook my head out to breath, but didn't have the strength to free myself, much less pull out a Healing potion.
"Carly! Carly!" Izzy cried, sliding in next to me. She looked frantic. Terrified. "Don't die! What can I do?"
"Healing… Potion," I whispered.
"I don't have any. The stupid dragon took them all."
With the last of my strength, I pulled the bag of potions out of my inventory. Six healing potions. Izzy fumbled with it, but got a potion out and open as Garik came up beside me. He pulled it from her shaking hands and poured the contents into my open mouth.
"Swallow, damn you," Izzy demanded, stroking my neck.
I swallowed, and divine heat infused my body. My health bar finally stopped dropping. At just 10 percent.
"Quick. Another," I begged.
Izzy got another healing potion out and poured it into my mouth. I drank it greedily, loving that horrific taste for once.
"Thank you," I whispered. I looked at them. Garik looked worried. Izzy was crying. "I don't think I've ever seen you cry before."
She sniffed. "Enjoy it. It won't happen again in your lifetime."
I turned my head and looked at the dragon. He'd morphed into a man, but wasn't moving. "Someone might want to give Vikarous a healing potion or two."
Both of them raced over to him. That sucked. I was enjoying all of the attention. Struggling up to rest on one elbow, I watched them open his mouth and pour two potions in. He swallowed, so I smiled. We saved him. We did it.
"Hey, I'm good at this hero shit," I said, and fell back to stare up at the dark ceiling. The light globes looked like stars to my dazed mind. "I kicked the big dragon boss's ass, all by my own self. Hell yeah."
Izzy returned, urging me to lie still while the healing potions did their job. I complied, and she rewarded me by smothering my face with kisses. I have to say, that mean-ass drow could kiss and knew how to make a girl, or a man, feel special.
"Elf!" Vikarous' voice echoed through the chamber. "Did you have to stab me so many times?"
"You are welcome," I called back weakly. Then I noticed something about Izzy. "He already removed your slave collar?"
"No. It opened and fell off the instant you freed him from the crystal. I guess all of the minions are free now."
"I'm so damn heroic," I said, and giggled. "Hang with me a few more minutes, babe. And then we're going to celebrate like there is no tomorrow."
Chapter 24
Vikarous and I both required two 50 point healing potions.. It took a full twenty minutes for the potions to work their magic. I healed completely, and showed Health 100. Izzy helped me to stand, and we joined the two dragon-knights.
"Wow," I said, looking Grand Master Vikarous over. "They don't make ugly dragon-boys, do they?"
Vikarous stood before us in all his majestic glory. Yeah, butt-ass naked. He had a dark complexion, with long brown hair. My first thought: supermodel Cindy Crawford as a man. He merely needed the mole. Nothing feminine about him, though. Muscles galore. Six-pack abs. The man was CUT. Arms as thick as my legs. Did I mention hung like a horse? Yeah…
Izzy laughed. "No, they don't. But I don't think they like to be referred to as 'dragon-boys,' at least not to their face."
"Oops. My bad." I beamed my brightest smile at them. That smile flipped into a frown when I noticed the collar still around Garik's neck. "Why are you still collared?"
"He's barely recovered," Garik said. "I thought I'd at least give him the chance to dress before asking for help."
Actually, Izzy was the only one of us with clothes, being fully armored.
"Clothes. Yes," he said, for a second looking adorably uncomfortable. Vikarous held out his hand, muttered something under his breath, and bright red robes flew from across the chambers to his hand. He quickly put them on, without diminishing his masculine gorgeousness at all. I approved. "There. That's better."
"Not necessarily," Izzy and I said in unison.
Everyone laughed. Then he held his hand out again, and dark blue robes came out of the treasure to his hand, which he handed to Garik. He didn't move to get me any clothes.
"Hey, dragon-boy… Um, I mean, O Great Dragon Lord, I need clothes, too."
"I know, but what a shame," he said, admiring my body for a long moment. Then he looked around, before calling up another robe. The thin silk dressing robe only covered me to mid-thigh. Better than nothing.
Vikarous started examining Garik's collar before I could voice any complaints, frowning the whole time. "Nasty thing, this collar. Extremely powerful magic."
"Can you remove it?" I asked.
Garik looked worried. He'd put all of his hope into that quest to save Vikarous in the belief the Grand Master could remove the hated collar. Vikarous cast a number of spells that failed to open it, and one that failed in spectacular fashion. The resultant explosion knocked the
two dragon-knights twenty feet apart.
"Success," Vikarous cried.
I looked at Garik as he stood unsteadily. The collar still encircled his neck. I said as much to Vikarous.
"Not that. I learned exactly what spell the mage used to enchant the collar," he said. "Now I can easily remove it."
He hurried away, leaving Izzy, Garik, and I alone in the chamber. Izzy immediately started grabbing gold coins from a dozen kingdoms, and lots of jewelry.
"Put that back," I said. "That's all stolen property. It has to be returned to the rightful owners."
"Who says?"
My jaw dropped. I looked to Garik for support, and he replied. "Who says?"
"Since when do you care about right and wrong, law and order, Carly?" Izzy asked. "You're an adventuring renner. People like you tear through the lands, killing and maiming, and stealing all of the treasure you can get your greedy hands on. You slaughter without remorse."
I never thought about it like that, but she was right. Players killed and destroyed, with no regard to law and order, right or wrong. NPCs and their treasure existed only so players could kill and rob them.
"Well, I'm feeling heroic now, and heroes return stolen treasure," I said. "Besides, we can't carry it all away."
"She's right," Vikarous said as he returned. I noticed he had a large silver skeleton key in hand. Garik's collar didn't have a keyhole. "It's my duty to return all of the tributes, as well as what I stole. I burned down farms and homes, which I'll have to help rebuild. I suspect I will be busy for the next few years."
"But it wasn't your fault," Garik said. "You were cursed."
"That doesn't matter to the family who lost their farm or shop," he said. "I'll return what I can, and use the rest to help the other victims recover what they lost."
"Ha! Vindication," I said.
Garik shook his head wearily. "Great. She's going to be impossible to live with now."
"I know, and I'm the only one who has to live with her," Izzy said. "Neither you nor Vikarous have to stay with her."
"You love it," I said. "No one else worships the ground you walk on like me."