by Prax Venter
They rounded a bend and came to a long, straight cave that stretched into darkness. Ahnix heard something and made a quick hiss, putting her hand up for them to stop.
Mark heard it too. It was like someone screaming far away. The volume multiplied, and a small, winged woman rapidly approached them, letting out a continuous “Hey!”
She swooped to a stop a few yards away, and Mark thought it was his old friend the helper fairy at first. But this tiny woman had short, black hair, glowing, red eyes. She wore black, skin-tight shorts and a leather jacket.
“I'm so glad I found you guys! She's-” was all she was able to say before she was forced to dodge a three-foot sewing needle, zipping through the air.
Her eyes flashed, and a beam of red light struck Roo's hand. The velvet-girl cried out in pain as she slapped at her hand like she was putting out a fire. The pixie hovered long enough to make her own tiny, hissing noise before her wings buzzed, and she retreated back the way she came. Mark could feel frustration and shame radiating from the miniature woman.
He ran over to Roo and took her soft, white hand in his. There was a small burn hole in her fabric, like a one found in a blanket after dropping a cigarette. He quickly closed up her wound and looked up into her black eyes.
“Why did you shoot her, Roo?” Vale asked, her eyebrows pulled down.
The velvet-girl shrugged, looking innocently up at the giant naga.
“We're here to kill a Collector with an Enthralled pixie.”
Ahnix snorted, “She's right. Fat chance to see another one of those down here.”
“Let's keep moving,” Mark said. “But I think it was the right call. She seemed more pissed than shocked.”
They continued deeper into the caves and eventually came to a large cavern with a blazing fire coming from a hole that ran along the back wall. To the one side was a pile of dead dragonkind. They looked to be just husks, burnt to a crisp. Standing in front of the flames were six dragonkind and one hovering pixie. Mark could easily tell that one of the short, scaled creatures was Rezura, the one they were here to destroy.
She looked similar to the female he had seen in the camp and had a confident and capable beauty oozing from her. Held in her hands and tilted at a forty-five-degree angle was an enormous, flaming two-handed sword that Mark could tell she knew how to use by her stance alone.
She was smiling, tiny fangs pressing into her bottom lip.
“Well, look at you four. No wonder they didn't fall for your 'pixie in distress' bit, Vixacious.”
“Careful, mistress. The male is a healer.”
“I see. Another Collector.”
Mark expected some more banter, but the dragonkind Fighter moved straight at him, crossing the distance across the cave without seeming to move a muscle. Before he realized what happened, a deafening thunderclap of metal on metal erupted as Vale activated her Perfect Cover and took the devastating attack meant for Mark on her shield.
Mark blinked and then dove to the left, bringing his crossbow up and firing at one of the dragonkind warriors advancing across the cave. The ball of energy exploded and sent the stunned creature back into the flames.
Ahnix sprinted out to intercept and dispatch the other black, scaled warriors before helping with the main threat.
The pixie known as Vixacious was suddenly in Mark's face, and he felt horrible pain all over his body as she blasted him with her eye-lasers in quick bursts. Ahnix was removing the intestines of one of the warriors when she felt Mark's pain.
She hissed and teleported right behind the buzzing woman, batted her roughly against one of the cave walls with her hand, then Retracted back to her previous position to continue shredding the dragonkind warriors.
Mark shook off his burns and heard Roo yell out, “Horrible Hooks!”
Four metal fish hooks attached to chains emerged from the floor and shot towards Rezura who was currently hammering away at Vale. Before the hooks could connect, the Fighter held her sword close to her stomach, pointed it straight up and instantly started spinning like a fiery cyclone.
The whirling defense completely parried Roo's attack, sending all the hooks bouncing off in different directions, and Vale had to quickly move her shield to deflect two of the sharpened barbs sent flying in her direction.
Vixacious was back in the fight after picking herself up off the floor, and she focused instead on zapping at Vale's exposed face with her burning, red beams of energy.
Roo tried to help by launching another needle at the fast-moving pixie, but the tiny woman dodged again, continuing her frantic assault on Vale.
Rezura changed targets and sprinted for Roo holding her flaming weapon up high. Roo watched in helpless terror as the giant sword swung downward, poised to cut her in half.
Mark reacted at the last second and popped up a bubble just as the sword came down. This Fighter was too fast, Mark thought. Ignoring the shielded Roo, Rezura quickly changed her focus again and started sprinting towards Mark.
Vale wasn't having it and tried to nail the dragonkind Collector with a Shield Bash, but Rezura just ducked the attack and, used her momentum to swing her sword in a horizontal slice, low on Vale's body.
The impact sent sparks flying, and Mark knew that if Vale hadn't been wearing legendary armor, the attack would have ended the giant naga's life.
Vale had to pull in her shield to cover her face from the incredibly annoying and precise blasts from Vixacious while Rezura continued forward, headed for Mark.
Before she could reach him, Ahnix was there by his side. She had cleaned up all of the other dragonkind, and it was down to just Rezura and her Enthralled Pixie.
Ahnix leaped forward and screamed, “Doom Kick!” but her foot whiffed the air as Rezura quickly changed direction, ran up the cave wall and backflipped over the attack. Mark had no idea how she held onto that massive sword and moved as fast as she did.
“Mark! Hit my ring!” Vale yelled as she took another series of laser blasts from the pixie, pinning her down.
He dropped the shield on Roo and trusted Vale. If she wanted to use her new Charm, she must be serious. He tried to ignore Ahnix's hissing as the cat-girl attempted to dodge the flurry of counter-attacks from Rezura and tore open the universe for his giant naga. He focused on the white-haired beauty's dominating side and found that it was a more prominent part of her than it was before.
He channeled the tidal wave of energy that built up behind him straight into her Charm ability, and he could feel her have an orgasm right in the middle of battle.
An enormous, thick ring of glowing power struck her throat with arcs of lightning as it closed in on her. The distraction allowed the pixie to land another blast on Vale's face and caused the naga to snap out of her blissful stun.
Vale lowered her shield, held her black, pearl ring up and locked eyes with the annoying Vixacious. The naga's mesmerizing melody started slow but built to an other-worldly, final note that lingered in the air, and a pink halo appeared over the tiny woman's head.
She blinked her red glowing eyes once and rubbed them with her hands.
Vale pointed at the dragonkind Collector pushing Ahnix against a wall with her flaming sword.
“Attack her!”
The pixie's tiny face twisted into a snarl. She spun and began to emit a constant beam at her mistress. The unexpected attack struck Rezura in the back, burrowing through her leather armor and reaching her scales underneath. The dragonkind spun, growling.
“What-”
Ahnix took the opportunity to quickly cut into the Fighters arm with her claws, and four, blue trails followed behind her swipe. Rezura danced backward, and Mark launched a bolt of energy at where he expected her to be. The agile dragonkind flattened herself to the ground, ducking under his attack but was hit in the leg by another blast from her enthralled pixie.
Mark could feel rage and hatred for them all pulsating out of Rezura, especially for the pixie, and he suddenly got the feeling that Vixacious wasn't treated ve
ry kindly. Years of an abusive relationship were set free by Vale's Charm, and the pixie unleashed a gushing blast of energy right into Rezura.
She quickly tried to spin her giant flaming sword to block the torrent of energy, but Roo took the opportunity to pierce Rezura's forearm with a needle, and the Fighter started to scream, dropping her weapon.
Mark was stunned when the pixie known as Vixacious started screaming too, then held her hands out and unleashed a blast of energy so powerful he was finding it difficult to rationalize that it was coming from such a tiny creature.
The potent beam attack silenced Rezura's screams by completely vaporizing her pretty dragon-like head.
When the Collector died, the pixie fell out of the air and ungracefully plopped the floor.
The roar of the flames in the back of the cave was the only sound, and it was deafeningly silent after the last few minutes of intense combat.
- 15 -
Mark and his girls carefully approached the tiny pixie as she weakly tried to lift her body off the floor with her arms. They all stood around her looking down on the pitiful creature.
She put her palms over her eyes and just started sobbing. Mark could feel the sudden regret of years wasted spent with a horrible person fill her soul. He thought back to the first night with Ahnix, in the desert and her story about the Fighter prince that mistreated her.
He looked up, and his cat-girl met his eye, seeming to know he was thinking about her. After all this time Mark was still unsure what being Enthralled did to someone and what choices they had. He made it clear to his girls that they could do as they pleased, and it seemed that the absolute freedom only drew them closer together.
“Just kill me already. What are you waiting for?”
Mark knew she was back to square one as far as her stats and abilities, and killing her now was clearly not the right thing to do.
“We aren't going to kill you,” Mark said, squatting down near the tiny, helpless pixie. Her eyes were no longer glowing red, and he could see she had stunning, bright green eyes as she turned her head up to face him. She had black antennae curving out from her short, black hair. Her skin was a caramel tan, and he thought she was actually quite pretty, for a twelve-inch woman. She could be enthralled again if he had room in his party.
“Why? Plan on taking me prisoner. Feed me to your cat slave?”
Mark looked up at his girls, he eyebrows raised.
“Does every Collector but me treat their Enthralled as slaves?”
He didn't wait for an answer and turned his attention back to Vixacious, who was getting up off the floor, testing her wings with a few flutters.
“No. You are free to go. I know you have no desire to seek revenge on us for killing Rezura. She treated your poorly, didn't she?”
The small woman looked up at him skeptically, then at the towering women around her. Vixacious sighed and turned her attention to the headless corpse of her former Collector.
“The sex was good- at first, and the power was addictive. After a certain point, I knew I was tied to her permanently. If you're not going to kill, rape or eat me, I suppose I should be grateful.”
Vale slowly got down on her stomach so she could face the small pixie.
“We are honorable and will not harm you in any way. But, if you are grateful, the best thing you could do to repay us is to go out to the Magi Clan and spread the word that Rezura is dead.”
Mark finally noticed the burns on Vale's face and felt stupid for not realizing sooner. He looked around and saw that Ahnix also had some singed fur and cuts on her arms and legs. Anger at himself for not healing them after battle rose- then an idea hit him. It seemed like all his cool-downs were up and he decided to try something new.
He stood up and said, “Everyone hold still for a minute.”
He reached inside himself, trying to link his heal and his enhancing abilities. He'd done it once before in Sizor's Pit, in the grip of desperation, and he knew he could enhance himself again.
Closing his eyes and focusing on making everything right with everyone nearby, he tried to push the range of his heal from a single target to an area-of-effect ability. After some mental twisting and realizing it was more like masturbating than anything. Mark felt the two pools of potential join together and pass energy back and forth.
He opened his eyes, and a soft white glow radiated outwards. He triggered his healing ability, and the entire cave was awash in slowly falling sparkles like someone sprinkled miniature diamonds into a fish-tank.
All of the girls moaned as healing pleasure permeated every fiber of their being. It was a potent heal.
After it was over, Ahnix put a hand on her tight stomach. “Mmm, that was a good one.”
“This is what it's like being Enthralled to a Lover?” Vixacious said, panting.
“That was nothing compared to... everything else,” Roo said with a wide smile on her puffy lips.
“Glad it worked. Okay, let's get out before the Magi Clan comes down on our heads.” Mark turned his attention to the small woman on the ground. “Good luck, little lady.”
The pixie started her delicate insect wings buzzing before launching upward. She headed for the entrance to the chamber and paused, hovering in mid-air, and looked over her shoulder at Mark. She turned up the collar of her leather jacket and zipped through the cave towards the exit.
Roo held out her hand and summoned her magic door.
After getting home, Roo immediately opened another door back to the naga encampment, right in front of Kital's tent.
The red-hued naga was visibly relieved when she saw them emerge from the doorway, and her face positively lit up when she saw Vale.
“Well?” the commander asked.
“Rezura is no more, and I believe her previously Enthralled pixie is spreading the word of her demise as we speak. Did my platoon make it back safely? What were the losses?”
Commander Kital put her hand up, “Relax. Not only did your whole platoon make it back, those giddy bastards can't stop singing the praises of you and your team. We did take a few losses to the Boomers, but with the success of the mission the Siv'Shyra Empire has grown stronger and its citizens safer.”
Vale looked down at the trampled brown grass in front of her. “I know, but it's-”
She was interrupted when a pair of blue-hued soldiers wove up to the group.
“Beg your pardon, Your Highness- but Commander, everyone. You should come see this.”
They moved at a quick pace to the edge of the naga encampment, right up against a small cliff. From this vantage, they could see the entire battlefield, including the enemy fortification by the fire temple. Mark smiled to himself. The centaurs were headed north and west, around the temple in a mass exodus and half of the dragonkind tents were ablaze. He could see spurts of fire and explosions blooming all over indicating the infighting was well underway.
“Fires burn me, that was fucking fast!” Kital was positively beaming. She turned to one of the naga standing nearby. “Lieutenant, assemble all units. Wait until the centaurs are gone and then wash over any remaining bastards. Wipe them all out.”
Vale turned to Mark, “I suggest we go with the main forces and head right back into the temple with an escort to help watch our backs as we cut a path. There could be a bunch hiding in there or making a last-ditch run for the artifact.”
Everyone agreed, and the plan was set.
An hour later they found themselves back in the final chamber of the ancient fire temple. Rezura's sword was gone, but otherwise, the room was exactly as they had left it.
“So now what?” Mark asked, looking at the pile of burnt dragonkind corpses.
Vale slid up to the wall of fire in the back of the chamber and tapped the gem at her forehead. Her armor faded away, and she stood nearly nude, her massive breasts covered by only a few strips of white linen cloth. She reached up to one of her long ears with both hands, tilting her head slightly as she pulled out one of her many earrings.<
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“If the tales are true, we need to toss in an offering with the intent of communing with the fire spirit.”
She focused her thoughts and then tossed her earring into the flames. The naga slid backward as the roaring fire instantly grew higher and tapped her gem again, deploying the Star Scale Mail.
“And then what?” he asked.
Mark jumped when a booming voice filled the chamber.
“Will all or one run the trial?”
Vale looked deep into the flames and confidently said, “All.”
Everything went black for a moment, and then he found himself standing in a square room with an iron brazier on the floor near one of the walls. All his Enthralled were with him.
After his initial shock of being teleported somewhere else, Mark took a closer look at his surroundings. The walls of the room were formed out of rough, stone bricks and covered with soot. One smooth slab of stone with a carving of a single flame made up the ceiling, the chiseled groove filled with burning embers.
“Look,” Ahnix said, pointing to a lone loaf of bread sitting on the floor, near the brazier.
The voice that spoke in the cave chose this moment to speak again.
“I am the essence of the flame. I consume and reduce to ash. You must endure the trials and prove you understand my nature or remain here for eternity. The first lesson- There is a fire in each... in many of you that needs to be fed. I am the fury of life. Make your offering.”
Mark looked down at the bread on the floor, his brow furrowing.
“Oh, I get it now,” Roo said, smiling.
“Get what?” Vale said, weaving over to the round loaf of bread and picking it up off the floor.
“Eating. It's like fuel for your body's warmth. It's so simple.”
Mark chucked. “Is that why the fire spirit corrected himself? Roo's our special, air-eating girl?”
Ahnix crossed her arms. “Let's not to mock the fire god in his temple.”
“Good idea,” Vale said, as she moved up to the brazier and tossed it into the flames.
“Correct.” The voice boomed around them. “Your offering is accepted.”