Enthralled: Book 1: The Crystal Heart

by Prax Venter

  The naga finished stuffing it in her face, and her long tongue slid between her lips to get the remainder off her face. It looked like she could brush her hair with that thing if she tried.

  "So," Mark said looking up at Vale, "Going down the Hexer path, are we?"

  Her tongue stopped mid-lick and slurped back into her mouth. She looked over at him slowly, her eyebrows arching like she was caught with her hand in the cookie jar.

  "Y-you said I could pick, Master. A-are you upset with me?"

  "No, Jeez. Relax. I told you to choose your own path, and I'm glad you picked something you wanted. But I need to know what you picked. I was expecting you to focus on the defense route- but that doesn't mean it was the right choice for you and your fighting style. Other than blocking a few shitty, slug-made spears I haven’t even seen you fight. Tell me, what did you do with all that essence I pumped deep inside of you." He smiled at her and hoped she chose something good.

  She swallowed hard. "Master, I realize I will be taking the brunt of the damage, and I can take a lot." Mark nodded, he didn't doubt it. "I wanted to have better control on the field of battle and would never forgive myself if something got passed me and hurt you or Ahnix, so I decided I need to split my growth and took on the Spiteful Guardian class. Half Shield Warrior half Hexer."

  Ahnix was listening and chose that moment to interject, "It's a good choice, Mark."

  Mark relaxed a bit, unsure what anything Vale had just said actually meant. But Ahnix didn't give praise easily, and she seemed to be able to handle herself in combat.

  "Great," he said, "but what can you do? Remember I pretty much awoke in your world only days ago. I don't have a lot of experience, and I'm winging it most of the time."

  Vale looked down at him, surprised.

  "But that plan to rescue me, and the way you banished that corruption, and the way you... handled me last night on the boat. You are no novice."

  Mark sighed, "I'm glad you enjoyed yourself. Now please obey your master, and tell me what you picked."

  She grew serious, "Of course! I took a no-brainer from the Warrior path; Shield Bash, allowing me to damage and stun a single foe. And I took an advanced skill from the Hexer path; Hateful Sting.

  It's a ranged magic hex that will do serious damage over time and force the target to blindly attack me, no matter the circumstance. It lasts for about thirty seconds- depending on resistances."

  Mark sat back in his chair and considered everything she just said. Just then, another course was brought in front of them. It was a roasted hunk of meat sitting in a savory broth. There was freshly baked bread resting on the side of the plate that seemed perfect for dipping in the meat juices.

  Vale never took her eyes off of Mark, waiting for his reaction.

  He smiled up at her. "I love it, Vale! Love it. This is why I want you to direct your own growth. There is no doubt in my mind that you'll pick the best path for yourself and our party."

  Ahnix tore into her meat with her fangs. She looked up at Mark with juice running down her small furry chin.

  "And that whip," she said between chewing, "it's a Hexer only weapon. Pure Shield Warriors can't use it. But, it's perfect for her as it does mid-range damage and has a high chance to make targets want to attack her."

  Mark smiled again, thanked Ahnix with his eyes and rubbed her soft leg under the table. He needed to learn more. More about everything.

  He looked over at Dreya and smiled, and she did the same. He looked over at Donovan who was watching Ahnix eat. Mark realized the older man was more than smitten with her. Oh well, he could look, but Ahnix would easily remove his fingers if he touched.

  They had done so much for him and his girls, he was suddenly taken by an emotional rush of gratitude. Mark grasped the mug of wine in front of him and stood up.

  "Everyone!" he yelled to get their attention. The conversations died down, and most everyone was looking at him.

  "I would like to propose a toast to Dreya and Donovan. Your leaders believed in me and took us in when we needed rest. They believed in me when I said I could heal the tear in the world and bring the pure, life-giving waters of the Vull back to your lands. I have rarely felt such open kindness such as theirs. Now... believe in them. To Dreya and Donovan, and the future of Auxuma Village!"

  Mark held his cup high, and everyone one around him did the same and let out a great cheer. He drank a large gulp and sat back down, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand.

  The feast continued, and Ahnix was the first to wave away plates. She was tiny and hit her limit the soonest. Vale eagerly devoured every last morsel placed before her, and Mark wondered if feeding her was going to become an issue at some point.

  The feast came to an end, and Donovan thanked Mark for the kind words. The older man then asked if he would come down to the central fire pit where people were already gathering and sitting on the ground around its blazing light. The village leader asked if Mark would indulge one last request and tell everyone the tale of how he brought The Vull back to their lands. He pointed to two older men nearby, with parchment, ink pots and quills and told Mark they were to record this historic telling of the miracle he performed.

  Mark told the old village leader he would, and standing before the great blaze and the rapt faces of the villagers, he recounted the events that transpired in the slug kingdom. He didn't really embellish too much, it was quite the adventure on its own, but he did leave out some of the specific details regarding Vale's predicament.

  He tried to explain as best he could how he is able to will the tears in the world closed, but it was still a mystery to him, so he couldn't go into much detail. They didn't seem to care; it was magic beyond anything they knew so everyone was on the same page.

  When it was over, he expected cheering, but everyone was more awestruck than anything. Most of the villagers came up to him and his Enthralled to thank them personally for bringing back the Vull.

  Later in the evening when most everyone had gone to bed, Mark and his girls were left to have one last drink with Donovan. He asked Mark where he was headed next?

  "I don't really know," Mark said. "I was hoping you could tell me where the next biggest tear in the world was."

  Donovan leaned back and searched his memory.

  "It's only rumor, but there are tales of a great water temple to the west and north, in the ocean. Supposedly it was completely engulfed by a great tear during the cataclysm. I have never actually been to see it myself."

  "It's in the ocean?" Mark asked.

  "Yes, but I think it's located close to the shore. Just follow the current of the Vull until you hit the Amethyst Deep, a vast ocean that goes on for eternity. Then follow the coast north, and you should eventually come upon it."

  "Well, it's all we got. You ready to go save the world, ladies?" they both nodded an affirmative.

  "You won't sleep the night here?" Donovan asked, looking a little crestfallen.

  "Thank you, but no. We slept all day and the open road calls. Thank you again for everything."

  "It was my pleasure, Collector. You are welcome here anytime."

  Mark, Ahnix, and Vale collected their belongings, including a satchel stuffed with cured meats from the village and headed down to the riverbank. Their boat was still drifting in the middle of the river, and Mark was thankful for the short rope. He never bothered to force the rudder into a fixed position again, and the boat was drifting slowly, side to side, with the current.

  He looked over at Ahnix with his eyebrows raised. "Think you can get us over there or do we have to get wet?"

  She put her hand on one of her firm, leather-clad hips. "All three of us and the gear might be a problem, Mark."

  He simply held up his ring and focused on pleasuring her teleport ability. The glowing loops appeared, and she shuddered with ecstasy.

  "How about now?" he asked with a half smile. The cat-girl rolled her large eyes and held out her arms.

  "Get close, you two."r />
  The three of them pressed together in a group hug that everyone found rather pleasant, that is until they all turned inside out for a moment.

  Then they were on the deck of the boat again, gear and all.

  Mark was happy. New armor for his girls, new magic crossbow for him (which he would be trying out shortly) and even a fitting weapon for Vale.

  He watched the naga slide over to the rope with the anchor and place her hand on it.

  "Shall I pull up the anchor, Master?"

  "Aye-aye, skipper," he replied, not sure if she would understand what he was saying. She seemed to get the gist and pulled the anchor onto the boat with one strong arm.

  The boat quietly rejoined the movement of the current and pushed them forward toward the shores of the Amethyst Deep.

  - 10 -

  Mark and his Enthralled spent the next three days traveling west on the current of the mighty Vull. They filled the time with napping, snuggling, and lounging on the deck. Mark took equal turns with his girls alone in the hull of the ship while the other controlled the rudder. He also learned more about Myriad, his magic crossbow.

  It didn't need any ammo to fire; it shot bolts of pure magic that vanished moments after striking something. The trigger had its own cooldown though and locked up for roughly seven seconds before it would move again. The bolts left a psychedelic, color-shifting trail behind as they zipped through the air. He shot a few up into the night sky, like fireworks, and both Vale and Ahnix seemed to enjoy the show.

  He wasn't very good at hitting the dry shrubs and boulders along the riverbank, but he wasn’t too surprised by that. He figured he could only get better with practice.

  Plus, it was still better than nothing. At least, he hoped it was. He was itching to test it in combat to see if the colorful bolts actually did any damage. For all he knew, Myriad was just pretty flare gun.

  Mark was manning the rudder in the early morning, and the two beast-women were sleeping below deck when he spotted the mouth of the Vull as it spilled out into the vast ocean that stretched to the horizon.

  He intended to get out into the ocean, make a hard right, and let the final push of the current take them as far along the coast as it could. They didn't have a sail or any way to move the ship other than the newly unleashed river's current. The boat didn't even have a mast to attach a sail, even if they had one.

  Mark wondered who designed this boat and what its original purpose was before it was captured and used for industrial fishing storage by the slug kingdom.

  Just before the riverboat reached the expansive ocean, their forward motion slowly halted, and a low scraping sound reverberated from the hull. The river had spread out so wide by this point that their faithful vessel ran aground in the muddy river delta, slid to a stop and lazily leaned to one side.

  Mark looked over the edge and saw the shallow river water flow around the sides of the wooden hull. He shrugged. End of the line, he supposed and went down to wake his sleeping girls.

  Mark opened the door to the small cabin, and Ahnix was already coming up the stairs, her keen, pointed ears having alerted her to the ship scrapping the bottom of the river.

  "Did you fall asleep at the wheel?" she asked, as she walked right past him to look over the edge.

  "No, we just ran out of river." He stared at her pert, furry, little ass cheeks peeking out under her tight shorts while she leaned over the railing. "I guess we'll just have to walk from here," he said.

  Distracted by Ahnix's firm bottom bits, Mark didn't see Vale emerge from the hull below. She stopped in the doorway and lowered her mouth by his head.

  "Lateral undulation," she whispered right in his ear.

  Mark jumped. He was constantly surprised how quiet she could be.

  "What?" he asked, his eyebrows furrowed.

  Vale moved out past him and onto the deck, weaving her hips back and forth. She turned around, faced Mark and lifted up the leather flap that covered her front side, exposing her humongous vagina to him. She bent over slightly and tapped two fingers below her meaty lips, indicating the pairs of larger scales that ran down and under her snake bottom-half.

  "I don't walk, Master. I use lateral undulation to push my thick, subcaudal scales against the ground."

  Mark nodded, raised his eyebrows and gave her an impressed frown. "Good to know. Thanks for the naga anatomy lesson, Vale. I want to get to know you- inside and out."

  She lowered the leather flap and smiled cheerfully at him.

  All three of them moved to the front of the boat and looked out at the unending blue waters spread across the horizon. The air was still, but the salty smell of the ocean was unmistakable.

  "Well," Mark said, "Donovan told me we should head north from here so let's get undulating, shall we?

  They gathered their things and left the boat marooned in the shallow waters. Vale did an impressive maneuver where she lowered her tail down first, used her strong arms to hang off the side of the riverboat, and then used her muscular lower-half, coiled in a circle, to gently bring her down the rest of the way.

  Ahnix teleported to dry land, and Mark jumped, landing with an ungraceful splash.

  They gathered at the riverbank and started to head north along a wide beach.

  Mark hated walking through sand and didn't think he would have to again so soon. Ahnix's padded feet didn't seem to have an issue, almost like she was made for walking in sand. And Vale just slithered along like it was nothing, leaving a wavy trench behind her.

  After traveling down the beach for a few hours, they started to see a light mist rolling in off the water. The temperature dropped as they continued forward, and they were gradually engulfed in a fog so thick that they lost sight of the ocean altogether.

  The sun was probably sitting directly above them, but it was like they were walking through a still, gray void. Mark thought it would be easier to keep a straight path, but they kept veering towards the ocean or the dry grasslands to their right. At this rate, they would have no idea if they passed this water temple, a giant ball of white-noise or anything, actually.

  They had no reason to turn back so pressing on through the mist was what they did.

  Ahnix was the first to spot something odd and pointed to the faint, looming structure up on a hill overlooking the ocean. They agreed that they should check it out and stayed close as they crept up the grassy slope under the tall, ominous shadow.

  They came upon a building that was attached to what must have been a towering lighthouse. They made their way around to the other side and found a wooden door and a smooth, wet stone path that led away from the building and deeper into the still, gray mists. Mark cast his gaze up, trying to see the top of the cylindrical stone tower, but the top vanished into the dense fog.

  Vale broke the pressing silence. "We should get to the top and maybe see over all this mess. Get a better view of the surrounding area."

  Mark looked up at her stunning face and reevaluated his assumptions about her intelligence. He was beginning to realize he might have misjudged her.

  Mark nodded and caught both their attention with his eyes, one after the other.

  Something about this place just put him on edge. He told them to get ready for anything by quietly pulling his crossbow from the loop on his belt. Vale reached over her shoulder and retrieved the massive shield from her back and pulled her whip from a hook on her leather apron. Ahnix just bent her knees a little- her claws were always at the ready.

  Mark reached out and rapped his knuckles on the wooden door. It made a hollow booming noise that was much louder than he had intended.

  Mark held his breath, straining his ears trying to pick up anything. But he heard only silence.

  He turned to his cat-girl. "Did you hear any movement in there."

  Ahnix tilted her head trying to perceive anything unusual. Mark realized for the first time that her ears didn't move around at all. They were always poking straight up and slightly forward.

  After a
final check, her large pupils focused on him again, and she shook her head, telling him that she did not.

  Mark pulled open the door by a rusty, iron handle bolted into its weathered wooden planks.

  It opened easily, and he stepped into the silent residence attached to the lighthouse.

  Weak, gray light was spilling through the curtains into the large single room. On his left was a kitchen with a hearth, and to the right was the door that led into the lighthouse tower. The structure seemed like it was built as an afterthought to the lighthouse itself. A large, brown rug took up most of the floor with a wooden table and an upholstered couch crowded together on top of it.

  Ahnix entered behind Mark, and Vale ducked her head in after her. They looked around the room, but there was clearly no one here.

  Mark opened the door to the tower and yelled, "Anyone home?" The tower stairwell was dark and full of echoes.

  "Mark," Ahnix called out and pulled his attention away from the unsettling stairwell.

  She was standing by the couch looking down at something on the floor behind the table. Mark closed the door that led into the lighthouse, and walked over to her. Vale was poking around in the kitchen area and also slid over to see what Ahnix found.

  The cat-girl bent over and picked up a small, ornate wooden chest and put it on the table. It had elaborate, silver filigree covering every side with black lacquered wood underneath.

  Ahnix pointed a finger at something and Mark followed it to a yellowed piece of paper on the floor where she found the chest.

  It was a note. Mark picked it up and read it aloud.

  "Heard there was a shipment of precious Moondusk treasures coming to port. Snuffed out the light, shirked my duty and planned to be rich by morning. Ship smashed up on the reef, and everything washed ashore. Spent all night searching. Wood and bodies everywhere. Found the box, brought it here before the early fisherman noticed. But damn, sturdy box was locked. Villagers buried the crew in the cemetery and the key with them. Waited for night. Went to dig up graves to find the key and made Captain's spirit furious, cursing us all. His corpse rose and the crew with him. Undead crew murdered everyone living. Running. Leaving this box to anyone willing to take the key from the Captain and his crew. I am a coward. Signed, Blackfoot."