“Over here!” Phoebe called, waving her arms over her head at
the passing ship. Her efforts were rewarded with a small lifeboat being slipped
down into the water, bobbing slightly in the waves as the crew rowed towards
them.
The southern shore of the Lamia swamp was a desolate place,
the fetid bogs grew thicker and the alligators more numerous, and although the
sandy beaches were beautiful Gareth knew the area was known for powerful storms
as well. This mean that, although ships often sailed north through these
waters, few were inclined to stop on shore.
Gareth walked to her side, returned to his full height,
while the pixy rode lazily on his shoulder. He stretched and rested a hand on
the pommel of his saber, eying the ship in the distance and trying to see if he
could make out the flags. He saw the familiar waning moon sigil popular in
elven nations, but it wasn’t the purple and white of the dark skinned elves
that lived beyond the swamp’s borders.
“Oh hells no!” A female voice called angrily as the rowboat
ground into the sand. A tanned woman in a blue coat leapt into the sand, her
red hair flowing past a pair of pointed elf ears. Like Gareth she had a curved
sword at her belt, and even a pistol, though it looked scaled down to fit her
diminutive stature.
“Is there a problem?” Gareth asked uncertainly, “I
understand you’ve been chartered to take us to-“
“The problem!” the woman spat angrily, marching up to them,
“is YOU human!” As she got closer he noticed she barely came up to his chest,
and the rest of her crew seemed to be of similar stature.
She pointed angrily at him again, “Which one of you booked
this job!?” The crew was quiet and she scowled and turned to him, “well it’s
off, and no refunds!”
“Excuse me?” He protested angrily, “are you the captain of
this ship?”
“I certainly am,” she said proudly, “Captain Hanna of the Blackfish!
And I’ll brook no humans on my ship! When I heard we were ferrying a
gods-damned snake that was bad enough, but I’ll take one of them over you any
day!”
“You’re sailing to the Imperial City,” Gareth said angrily,
“you can’t have that much of a problem with humans!”
“Dumping some stuff off on their docks is a whole other day
in the rigging than having one stomping around on your decks,” the captain
said, eyeing Gareth angrily.
“This is ridiculous,” Gareth said, “the Elves and the Empire
are allies!”
The captain snorted, “those tree climbing moon worshippers
can ally whoever they want, but real elves live on the seas, and we cast our
nets and our cannons as we like!”
“Sea elves,” Sky explained, “they don’t really get along
with the other ones, or humans, or… well anyone really.”
“Did that fly just buzz something about me?” The captain
remarked, “I don’t get along with Pixies!”
“See?” Sky whispered.
“Excuse me!” Phoebe said urgently, “Miss Hanna-“
“CAPTAIN Hanna!” the redheaded elf snapped.
“Captain,” Phoebe corrected, “Since the Lamia Queen has
already paid you to take us, I must insist you either return Queen Lessie’s
gold, or let us board your ship.”
“We already spent that gold,” The elf said dismissively, “so
I guess you’re all just out of luck.”
Phoebe’s eyes narrowed, “We’re the first Lamia
civilization,” she said in a low voice, “so I’m kind of new to this, but I feel
like this might be one of those things that starts a war?”
“OOOH” The Captain mocked, “a war!” the other elves in the
boat laughed, “go ahead and tell your scaly cunt of a queen that I ran off with
her money! You stupid snakes don’t have a single ship to your name and-“
Phoebe hissed angrily, slithering across the sand faster
than the eye could follow… well most eyes, Gareth found himself unusually
perceptive of late. He gulped, a little afraid of how the world seemed to slow,
just what HAD Severa done to him? He’d been unable to keep track after the
first few spells...
He’d always been a capable soldier and hunter, and he was
familiar with the adrenaline rush of a fight… but this? Even Phoebe seemed to
be moving underwater, and he took a moment to study her angry face even as his
hand darted down for his pistol.
He blinked, watching the pixy on his shoulder take flight,
her wings beating like a slow drum as he aimed at the Elven captain. He paused,
realizing just how much slower those elves were moving… he angled his pistol
away from the captain’s torso, the spot he’d always been taught to aim for, and
lower, towards her sword. Her hand wasn’t even there yet, but he steadied his
aim and, after a disturbingly long period of thought, pulled the trigger.
The world seemed to return to full speed, there was a spark
and a light kick as his pistol fired, then a clang as the bullet hit the elven
captain’s sword. Gareth watched with satisfaction as it snapped away from her
belt and flew through air into the sand, landing with a thud that paused even
Phoebe’s charge.
“Damn,” the Elven captain said weakly, “I’d heard there were
human gunslingers who could do stuff like that but…” She gulped nervously,
looking over to Gareth who held the still smoking pistol in his hand. “Hey,”
she said in a friendly tone, “I was just kidding about all that running off
with your money stuff!”
“Kidding,” Gareth repeated, holstering his pistol as he
walked by Phoebe, “why don’t we cut back on the jokes from here on out?” He
stepped into the boat, causing the small elves to shift away from him. Phoebe
hesitated, then followed him in, her bulk taking up the rest of the room
easily. She hissed at one of the elves that looked at her funny as they began
rowing their way back to the ship.
…
As the voyage was underway Gareth was very aware of the
elves whispering about him behind his back. The captain wasn’t alone in her
distaste for humans it seemed. He’d thrown his rucksack in the Captain’s own
cabin, without asking her, and had curtly informed her that he, Phoebe, and Sky
would be using it for the duration of their time on the ship. Normally he liked
to think he was a polite person, but their hostesses behavior on the beach had
convinced him that maybe being forceful was the right move.
For her part the captain seemed almost apologetic now, so
maybe he’d been right. Still, she didn’t seem to want him or his companions on
her ship.
“It’s supper time,” The captain called, and her crew of
elven ladies hooted and hollered excitedly as they lined up to go below decks.
Phoebe slithered towards the wooden portal and frowned; it was clearly too
small for her to enter. “Oh what rotten luck,” the captain said, “I’ll have the
cook bring you up something, Phoebe was it?”
“Yes,” she hissed, crossing her arms.
“You’ll dine with me human,” Hanna said, grabbing his arm and
giving Phoebe an almost smug look.
“Great,” Sky said, buzzing over and landing on Gareth’s
shoulder, “what are we having?”
“The big people are having roast pork,” the elven captain
replied, adjusting her hat and looking up at the tiny pixy, “I suppose the
flies can pick at the bones.”
“She’ll share mine,” he said, hoping to avoid a fight. “Lead
on, captain.”
The ship’s mess hall was one long table, and he sat next to
the Captain at the end as plates were passed down. He doubted that the crew ate
this well all the time, the complaints he’d heard from human sailors seemed to
suggest a hearty meal of meat like this was a rarity. A scoop of what looked
like potatoes was piled next to it, and immediately he began dividing his
plate, separating some of the food out as Sky fluttered down to it.
“It’s bad luck to have a human aboard,” one of the girl’s
called from the end of the table, “keep him away from the side, or he’ll jump
over and try to fuck a mermaid!” another howled, causing them to erupt with
laughter.
“Now ladies,” The captain smirked, “we’ve passed enough
human ships to know they can’t ALL be jumping overboard at the first sign of
mermaids… and I think Gareth here prefers snakes to fish anyways.” They shared
a chuckle as he simply cut a piece of the meat.
“So human,” one of them called, “what do you think is going
on in your capital? I hear all the pretty young boys like you are getting
snatched right up!”
“So they say,” he replied noncommittally.
“I hear a harpy’s doing it!” one shouted.
“Even the biggest harpy wouldn’t be able to grab a dozen of
them every night,” another woman called, “I say it’s orcs!”
Gareth sighed and put his fork down, “orcs?” he asked
incredulously, “in the middle of the Empire, doing all of this without being
seen?”
“The human’s right,” the captain said with a smile, “orcs
would never be able to keep quiet about anything they’re doing…” she took a sip
from her cup, “what is the point of kidnapping human males though? The world
has plenty of ugly rocks and stumps to look at instead, and the gods know they
probably don’t have the stamina to please ladies like us.”
That got a round of laughter and several obscene gestures
Gareth’s way, he was about to say something when Sky landed on his shoulder
again, laughing.
“You people have NO idea what kinds of crazy stuff this guy
gets up to,” Sky said, “trust me he’s done wilder things than anyone on this
ship has ever seen.”
Gareth frowned as he realized that his clothes were slightly
looser, “Sky,” he began, “did you-“
“Wasn’t me!” she said, suddenly realizing that he’d dropped
in height, the tiny pixy had looked down at the Captain from her perch on his
shoulder before, but now she was eye level with her.
“Oh sorry,” the captain laughed, the crew joining her, “it
seems we forgot to take the pixy dust off of yours, how clumsy of our cook.”
From the roaring guffaws he could tell that the seasoning of his meat was quite
intentional. With a defiant sigh he took the final bite of his meat, letting
the captain see him drift lower until their previous heights were reversed.
“Not so tough now, are you human?” The captain laughed,
“looking up at me like this I’ll bet you’re utterly terrif-“
Gareth just rolled his eyes, shrinking didn’t really phase
him anymore, especially just down to the elf’s shoulder, “Why captain, at this
size those things on your chest might actually fill a person’s hand.” The crew
roared with laughter and the captain’s face burned red. Gareth didn’t like to
say such things about women, or anyone really, but he’d had enough of her.
He stood up, ignoring how loose his shirt was, and reaching
down to cinch his belt tighter the now shorter Gareth walked away from the
table, Sky trailing after him.
Phoebe was up on deck, finishing her own meal as the two of
them approached, “Did you get dusted?” she asked him, looking at Sky
suspiciously.
“They put pixy dust in my food,” Gareth said in an annoyed
tone. He smirked, hoping to allay her worried look, “for what it’s worth
Phoebe, you’re right, it does have a good flavor.”
“I should slither over there and have a talk with them,”
Phoebe said angrily, “shrinking my husband without asking… it’s so rude!”
“Just forget it Phoebe,” he said, “I’m no worse for the
wear, I have a few antidotes in my pack and Severa actually taught me how to
make them, so-“
“He told the captain she had small tits!” Sky cackled.
Phoebe’s mouth opened in shock, “Gareth!” she laughed,
“that’s so mean!”
“Whatever,” he muttered, “come on, let’s go relax in OUR
cabin.”
…
Gareth hadn’t bothered to use one of his antidotes, deciding
that since he was smaller anyways, he might let Sky and Phoebe play with him
before correcting it. From the look the pixy gave him she had similar thoughts,
and she buzzed about the cabin as he relaxed on the captain’s bed, enjoying the
rolling of the ship.
Phoebe on the other hand was examining the captain’s
bookshelf, “It’s so strange,” she said aloud, “I always thought Lessie had
books on just about everything there was, but I’m starting to realize she
doesn’t even have that big of a collection.”
“In the capital you can find books on just about anything,”
Gareth said, looking at the moon out the porthole, “in my grandfather’s time
only the rich had books, but with those dwarven printing machines even peasants
have them now.” He grinned, “maybe we’ll go by the Imperial library?”
“I’d love that!” Phoebe said eagerly, reaching for one of
the captain’s books. There was a click, and then all three of them stared in
shock as a secret compartment opened on the side.
“Oh!” Sky said, “it’s a smuggler’s cabinet! Awesome! See if
the captain’s got anything fun in there.”
“It looks like more books,” Phoebe said curiously reaching
inside. She pulled one out and stared at the cover a moment, “Yeah, Lessie
definitely didn’t have any books like this.” She idly opened it and started
flipping through the pages, “a lot of pictures in this one too!”
Gareth frowned, “why would she hide picture books? Let me
see that-“ he moved around the Lamia who easily towered over him now and pulled
another one of the books out. They weren’t well bound he realized, and some of
the “books” were little more than pamphlets hastily stapled together. He heard
Phoebe and Sky giggling over his shoulder, the pixy was up on Phoebe’s head,
looking down at the contents of the book they’d found.
“Oh yeah,” Sky laughed, “Romla had this one I think…”
Gareth raised an eyebrow and looked at the book in his hand,
“The lone human gets lost?” he read, he hadn’t heard of it. Idly he thumbed it
open, and his eyes bulged. The book was full of illustrations accompanied by
some scant text, and every drawing showed blushing human men being pushed
around and ravished by an elf wearing some kind of black outfit. “No my perfect
and wonderful elf mistress,” he read aloud incredulously, “my brutish human
mind is no match for your beauty?” He blinked, “Clearly the dialogue isn’t the
strong suit for this genre,” he muttered.
“Wow, there’s so many of these!” Phoebe said, pulling more
of the books out of the hidden compartment, “the pathetic human that got
kidnapped by trolls,” she said, reading the titles, “the evil pixy that shrank
our village…”
“Oh, let me see that one!” Sky said excitedly. Numbly Gareth
placed it on a nearby desk, and Sky flew down to it and immediately hefted it
open. “Pfft,” she said after a moment, “like you could really shrink THAT many
humans in one day… Although that’s kind of neat, what she’s doing to that one…”
“The shrunken human that got kidnapped by a Lamia!” Phoebe
said excitedly, she opened it, “look Gareth he looks just like you and-“ Her
face went pale as the next page showed the titular Lamia swallowing her human
captive. She slammed the book shut hurriedly, “I don’t like that one,” she said
firmly.
“The captain definitely has particular tastes,” Gareth said,
looking over the impressive collection of pornography. About half of it seemed
to be about elves dominating humans, who always seemed to be getting themselves
into situations that ranged from slightly absurd, to outright insulting. The
one in his hand now had a human being tricked into kissing an elf’s boot after
she claimed it would cure diseases. The rest involved human men being romanced
and ravaged by every manner of creature imaginable, from ogres to harpies to
holstaurs.
The door to the cabin burst open with a slam, and the three
of them turned in unison to see the Captain, a bottle of rum in one hand, and
her sword in the other. Her hat was discarded, letting her red hair flow freely
across her flushed pale skin.
“Alright human,” She snarled, “We’re going to have a talk
about respect and-“
She blinked, realizing what they were all holding. Her face
was slightly flushed from the alcohol, but now a crimson shade spread across
it’s entirety, not stopping until it reached the tips of her pointed ears. Her
sword clattered to the floor, the only sound in the dead silence of the cabin.
“T-Those are… novelties,” the captain croaked finally, “a-a
joke the crew got me for my birthday!”
“It’s perfectly fine to be into humans,” Phoebe said
casually, “all of the Lamia I know love them!”
…
The captain was on her bed, shaking slightly as Gareth
poured her some water, “Y-You don’t understand,” Hanna protested, “seriously,
those are just a sort of… gag! I’m not seriously into…” she shot Gareth a look
and gulped.
“Careful, she’s going to try to ravage you!” the pixy
laughed.
“I am not!” the captain protested, “I wouldn’t ever… that is
to say-“
Gareth was suddenly very aware of Phoebe beginning to coil
herself around him. She gave the captain a gleeful look, then tightened ever so
slowly, until Gareth’s arms were pinned against his sides. Her hand came down
and she ran her fingers through his hair, her forked tongue dancing over her
fangs excitedly.
“Look, this pathetic human got himself shrunk, now he’s too
small to get away from me,” she shot a look at the elf on the bed, “he’s
probably too small and weak to fight off an elf at this size…”
The captain audibly gulped, the flushed look returning to
her face. Gareth rolled his eyes and fought down a laugh. The dialogue in all
of the captain’s material portrayed the human men as horny idiots, he decided
he’d play the part.
“Oh no!” he moaned, “I shrank so much none of my clothes
fit!” As if in response Phoebe pulled his shirt off over his head, uncoiling
slightly and letting the elf get a look at his muscled chest, the pair of fresh
circular tattoos vibrant against his skin.
“W-What are you doing?” The elf rasped, “Do you want me to
leave or-“
“What do you think?” he asked Phoebe. The Lamia just giggled
in response, uncoiling from him so rapidly that he spun slightly. His pants
fell around his ankles as she did so, leaving him naked and aroused before the
waiting elf.
“Gods,” Hanna gasped, looking him over. Nervously she slid
her way down to the end of the bed, standing up and walking towards him, her
boots clicking against the wood as she loomed over him like an amazon.
“Oh no,” Gareth said mockingly, “an elven bandit has me
cornered.”
The captain breathed out slowly, unbuttoning her own shirt.
After a few minutes the redheaded elf was naked too, those pert breasts he’d
mocked before standing at attention as she gently ran a hand over the shorter
human’s own torso.
“Pixy!” she said excitedly, “can you make him a little…
smaller?”
Gareth didn’t even have time to question it or protest
before the gold dust rained down on him, the giggling pixy flying by on her way
to perch once more oh Phoebe’s head.
He looked up at the elf, he was now eye level with her
breasts, and from her eager grin that was where she wanted him. He grunted in
surprise as the, to him, giant elf picked him up under his arms, swinging him
in a wide arc and then pinning him on the bed.
With a giggle she began drawing herself up on him, “Gods
this is it!” she cackled, “my very own human to play with!”
“Borrowed,” Phoebe called, having coiled on the far side of
the room to watch, “your very own borrowed human.”
“Good enough,” the elf growled. Keeping him pinned she
sidled up his body, her knees going on either side of his head as she lowered
her dripping pussy down onto his face. He began servicing her immediately,
licking the sweet juices of the elf as she moaned happily overhead, enjoying
the occasional struggle as the human, once so big and strong, was now pinned
underneath her.
“That’s it human!” She screamed, savoring the feel of his
tongue against her most sensitive regions, “show your submission to the elves!”
She grinned down at him, “if you don’t get me off in the next MINUTE I’m having
the pixy make you even smaller!”
Gareth wasn’t really afraid, but he picked up his pace
anyways, causing the elf to squeal as those pale thighs closed tightly around
him. A hand the size of his head snaked around him, pulling him against the
tuft of slick red hair.
He gasped as he felt something coil around his own erection,
a thin and snakelike tongue he was well familiar with. It seemed Phoebe wasn’t
content to just watch, and he bucked his hips as the enormous Lamia’s tongue
toyed with him, coiling around his manhood and sliding up and down in a tightly
controlled fashion.
He gasped as Phoebe brought him to orgasm at the same time
as he finished the elven captain off, fighting to breath as she squeezed him
harder than she ever had before. Finally, she gasped one last time, and then
fell limp, collapsing next to him in the bed.
“Yum,” Phoebe said with a smile, slurping up his cum as she
slithered around to the side of the bed, “now don’t you feel better about
things captain?” she asked sweetly.
“Y-Yes,” she breathed, “that was… that was great.” She
cleared her throat, “could I perhaps… stay in my cabin? With you all I mean?”
“Won’t your crew be a little suspicious about that?” Sky
teased, fluttering down to the bed.
“To the depths with the crew,” Hanna muttered, “half of them
were probably listening outside the door anyway.” As if on cue there was a
suddenly grunt and the shuffling of a few dozen feet on the other side of the
cabin’s door. Hanna just rolled her eyes.
Turning over the amazon sized elf looked down at Gareth
again with a grin, “Pixy, could you please make him a little… smaller?”
…
The next few days were far more pleasant, although the crew
would occasionally make wolf whistles and lewd gestures at Gareth as he walked
along the deck. Hanna had spent every night in the cabin with them, apparently
eager to run through every single scenario in those dirty books of hers before
their trip was through. Today he was down around the chest height of most of
the elves, and as he watched the ocean fall and rise alongside the ship, he
spared a glance at the enchanted jewelry Severa had given him.
Gareth held the gold necklace in his hand, not sure how to
make it work, “Severa?” he asked.
A moment later the arachne’s face seemed to appear in the
jewel, a smile lit up her features, “Gareth!” she said eagerly, “what a nice
surprise! How goes the voyage?”
“We had a rough start, but we’re doing better now,” he said,
“I was actually wondering… for those pixy dust reversal potions, is there an
easy substitute for red moss?”
“I’m afraid not,” Severa said, crossing her more human
limbs, “don’t worry though, it grows almost everywhere so once you reach shore
you should be able to buy some-“
“I’m actually out of potions now,” he said in an embarrassed
tone.
Severa’s eyes, all of them, lit up, “I packed you a decent
amount,” she said, a sly grin coming over her face, “what on earth has you
changing your size so much?”
The elven captain giggled as she walked by, leaning into him
and resting her head on top of his, “What’s this human?” she asked, looking down
at the necklace. He winced as she pinched his bottom.
“Suddenly I think I understand,” Severa chuckled, “have we
made a friend?”
“Who is this woman Gareth?” the captain asked, squinting
into the gemstone, “how does this thing work?”
“I’m afraid you’re going to be stuck like that until you
reach shore and can get the proper ingredient,” Severa said with a smirk,
ignoring the elf, “just don’t let them make you any smaller until then.” She
laughed one final time, “Lessie is going to LOVE hearing about this, now if
you’ll excuse me Gareth I have several potions of my own brewing.” She
disappeared from the stone, and with a sigh Gareth slipped it back into his
pocket.
“So if I understand,” the captain said with a grin, pulling
the diminutive human closer to herself, “there won’t be any getting bigger… my
my, what could an evil elf do with that information?”
Gareth gulped nervously, the voyage would only be another
few days, right? How bad could it be?”
…
“It’s okay,” Phoebe said soothingly, holding the tiny Gareth
in the palm of her hand, “the voyage is only another few days!” The Lamia shot
an angry look at the elf and the pixy, who were grinning sheepishly. “You two!”
she snapped, “you knew Gareth was out of regrowth potions!”
“Oh well,” the captain chuckled, “I guess I’ll have to keep
him in my boot for safekeeping until we reach shore, come here!”
Phoebe’s eyes snapped open and she made eye contact with the
elf, “Stop,” she said, her voice dripping with the Lamia’s hypnotic energy,
“you’ve been a bad elf, and you want to serve humans and make them happy!”
The captain’s eyes glazed over, and she fell to her knees in
front of the tiny Gareth, “Please master, let this pathetic wretch of an elf
serve you!”
“Phoebe that’s not necessary,” he laughed.
“Just enjoy it,” Phoebe said with a smirk, “it’ll only last
for a few minutes anyways…”
“For what it’s worth I had no idea you were out of your
anti-shrinking juice,” Sky said, fluttering to land next to him in Phoebe’s
palm, “I just thought she wanted to shrink you to play like normal.”
“Humans are truly the best in the world,” the captain said
excitedly, “I would trade everything I own just to have my head patted by one
and called a good elf! I-“ she blinked as the hypnosis wore off, and she realized
what she’d been saying. She scowled, “that’s not funny snake!”
“I thought it was funny,” Phoebe said, lowering Gareth down
to her.
He walked to the edge of the lamia’s hand, and quickly
darted his hand out to do the best he could to pat the elf on the head, “good
elf!” he laughed. She snarled and reached for him so quickly that Phoebe, still
laughing had to cuddle him against her cheek to keep him out of reach.
…
Although the seas were calm the sky was an ominous grey when
the Elven ship docked at the wharf of the Imperial City. Gareth peeked out from
between Phoebe’s breasts, he’d fashioned himself a tunic out of one of the
captain’s silk handkerchiefs, but he still preferred to let the giant Lamia
keep him close at this size.
He shivered as the wind blew across the sea, Phoebe shivered
too, crossing her arms and temporarily sealing him away from the world between
her breasts. Lamia weren’t truly cold blooded, but he was also pretty sure they
couldn’t hold their body heat as easily as humans could, at least he’d never
heard of any in colder climates.
“Okay here we are,” Hanna said, watching as the ship was
tied to the dock. She turned to look up at the Lamia, and the human between her
breasts, “I’m sorry again that I got… carried away.” She smiled weakly, “it
wasn’t THAT bad of a voyage, was it?”
Gareth stared at a her a moment, then sighed, “It wasn’t too
terrible, take care of yourself Hanna.”
“Right,” the elven captain sighed, “we should be in port a
few days, though I’ll understand if you wish to charter a different ship for
your return journey…”
…
Camford, or simply The Imperial City, was the cosmopolitan
hub of a human empire that was now the largest of the race’s kingdoms in known
history. The city walls, formerly meant to keep invaders away, now simply
separated the older sections of the city from the newer, with the gothic stone
of the Imperial Palace looming over them all against the overcast sky.
In spite of the rapid growth, the Imperial City was nothing
if not orderly. With the streets in a grid shape and an orderly rubbish pickup
system it was the only city Gareth had ever been to that he felt could be
called “clean,” and normally the citizens reflected this pride in their
demeanor.
Now though… he noticed that there were very few young men
like him on the streets. For the first time in his life, it seemed the crowd
was mostly women, and missing posters with young men’s faces drawn on them blew
aimlessly across the street, nobody bothering to post them back up. The only
other men he saw were either elderly, or there on some obvious business,
peddlers at their shops and stands, and the occasional nervous pair of city
guards, gripping their flintlock weapons and sword pommels uncharacteristically
tightly.
Phoebe found the moss he needed at the first stand they
approached right off the docks, and within the hour Gareth was back at his six-foot
self, dressed and ready to lead his companions through the city. He’d been here
often enough throughout his life that he knew his way around, and although
Phoebe drew some odd looks nonhumans weren’t too rare in the capital, so they
didn’t have any trouble.
“Wow!” Phoebe said excitedly, “this is amazing! And humans
built all of these with stones they dug up?”
“Yep,” Gareth said, looking at the rising wood and stone
buildings around them, “Lessie wants us to build some things similar to these,
but I’m not sure it will work in the climate back home.”
“So where are we headed?” Sky asked eagerly, buzzing by his
ear.
“We should probably see if we can stay at the palace,”
Gareth said, looking at the looming fortress. It was built onto the city’s
tallest hill, and had a number of private gardens and outlying buildings. “If
all of these nobles and diplomats are coming to see the emperor in spite of the
disappearances… well, it’ll have plenty of security at least.”
As they continued through the streets and the situation
became more apparent Gareth frowned. Why had the emperor insisted on this ball?
This was clearly a city in crisis, and while the Emperor was known to enjoy a
party and a strong glass, he’d never been anything but dutiful towards his
subjects.
With a start he realized he would be able to ask the man
himself, nobility or not Gareth had never imagined he’d be in a position to
speak directly to the Emperor…
He smirked, “Prince consort,” he muttered.
“That’s you!” Phoebe said with a smile.
“Ugh,” Sky said, sliding her way down to Gareth’s pocket,
“this might be the most dour and depressing place I’ve ever been…” she glanced
up at Gareth, “I thought you said this was a lively city?”
“It usually is,” Gareth said, “but… I’m guessing that none
of the men are wanting to go out right now, if whatever is out here hasn’t
gotten them already.”
…
“Gareth Von Berger,” he said to the palace guard, who looked
at him, Phoebe, and Sky skeptically. “Prince consort of the Lamia Queen,
honorary brother of the emperor,” he continued, “guardian of the Elven
forests-“
“Don’t forget Swamp Knight!” Phoebe said eagerly.
“Swamp Knight?” The guard asked, raising an eyebrow.
“Listen, son,” the guard began, “I’m sure out in the sticks or in this Lamia
Queendom these are impressive titles, but this is the Imperial Palace, and
almost every noble in the kingdom has an invitation, same as you, hells half
the neighboring kingdoms have people coming here.”
“So what are you saying?” Gareth asked uncomfortably, “That
no disrespect is meant,” the guard continued, “but I can’t give you and your
entourage a room in the palace.”
“That’s ridiculous!” Gareth protested, “I was invited by the
Emperor himself!”
“You and everyone else,” the guard said tiredly, “and
because of the… troubles, they’re all bringing very large security retinues.”
“Where are we to stay then?” He asked angrily.
The guard looked at the Lamia and the Pixy, “I’m going to
take a guess a fellow like you doesn’t have a problem with non-humans?” he
asked.
“No,” Gareth sighed.
“There are a few inns over in the beastfolk quarter that are
empty yet, and I’m sure they’ll have a room that can accommodate…” he looked
over Phoebe again, “whatever she is. Simply bill it to the Emperor, I’ll see to
it that your expenses are paid.”
“Thank you,” Gareth said, fighting to keep annoyance out of
his voice, he’d really wanted to stay in the palace… Still, another part of him
had been looking for an excuse to break that promise to Lessie about being
careful. Maybe an inn would give him a better idea of what was going on?
“Another thing,” the guard said, “avoid dark places, and
don’t stay out late… we don’t send guards on patrol anymore.”
“What!?” Gareth asked, shocked, “who keeps the streets safe?
What about the criminals!”
“Lad,” the guard said, his face long, “trust me, there
aren’t any criminals left… not ones operating at night anyway.”
…
“Welcome to Cassies!” a cheery holstaur woman said, as the
three of them entered the inn. It was warm and inviting, a fire raged in one
corner and the eager young woman behind the counter quickly walked around the
bar to greet them, her tail swishing behind her. Gareth had to do a double
take, her breasts were… well there was no other way to describe them but
enormous. He forced himself to make eye contact with her, slightly pleased to
notice that Sky and Phoebe had also briefly focused on her ample assets.
“A room for a human, a Lamia, and a pixy,” he said, “billed
to the Imperial account.”
“Oh goody!” She said happily, “I’ve never met a Lamia
before… and a pixy?” she leaned in to look at Sky, sitting on Gareth’s
shoulder, “oh she’s so cute! We don’t get hardly any smallfolk around here,
this is a real treat!” She looked around the empty tavern room sadly, “I’m so
glad to have anyone really, business has been so hard…”
“What?” Sky asked, “seems like a nice enough place, do
humans just not like you cow-people?”
Cassie’s eyes went wide, “Oh no, of course not! The humans
are so nice to me! but my customer base is mostly young men and… well, not a
lot of them want to come out anymore.”
“Have you heard anything about what might be causing this?” Gareth
asked.
“No,” Cassie said, “nobody ever sees it, sometimes people
hear shouts…” she swallowed nervously, “sometimes women who had someone taken
go out and look for it, but none of them see anything… some of the braver girls
started walking the boys home, but then…” her voice became a whisper, “I think
whatever it is, it mostly wants men, but if they get in the way, or see it… it
seems like it will take women too, and it mostly likes humans but… it’s not
picky if you get in it’s way. There was a lizard woman who showed up to try to
find it, and she and her human boyfriend went missing just the same as everyone
else.”
They were quiet a moment, then Cassie gave them an
apologetic smile, “just stay indoors at night, okay? If you want anything have
the Lamia or me go out and get it for you, it’s no trouble, I promise!” With
that she grabbed their bags off the floor, easily hefting them as she walked up
the stairs to their rooms.
“So,” he said quietly, “I think I’d like to take a stroll
tonight, would you two ladies care to join me?”
“Let me string my bow,” Phoebe said with a hiss.
“Count me out,” Sky said, buzzing down to a table and eyeing
the drinks excitedly, “didn’t you hear her? It’ll go after women too if we try
to get in the way!”
“So you were fine hunting down a mysterious monster when you
thought it just wanted to eat me?” Gareth asked with a chuckle.
“Well yeah,” Sky said.
“Too bad,” Phoebe said, “you’re coming with us even if I’ve
got to stick you in a jar and carry you along.”
“So what makes you think you can handle this thing if all
those other guys couldn’t?” Sky asked, fluttering with some annoyance back up
to Gareth’s shoulder.
Gareth laughed, “I don’t like to brag, but I think I know my
way around a monster.”
“Sure do!” Phoebe giggled, leaning down to hug him.
…
The plan seemed simple enough, Gareth would walk through the
empty streets while Phoebe shadowed him. Lamia were excellent hunters and had
better night vision than most creatures, if something was on top of him she’d
probably see it. As a backup the pixy would be hidden in his pocket, and if
there was something they truly couldn’t handle it would be a simple matter to
shrink him down and fly to safety.
He felt an odd sense of unease as his footsteps echoed down
the cobblestone streets though. He forced himself to whistle an upbeat tune,
both to calm his nerves, and hopefully draw something out.
…
Ghorza Skullcrusher slammed her drink down on the bar
angrily, “So I tell you humie,” she said to the barkeep, who quickly refilled
the mug with mead, “I come all the way here to this humie capital, they say
these ones have conquered all the other ones, so they’ve got to be strong
right?”
“That’s what the Imperial Army says, yes,” the barkeep said
warily. He was divided on whether he was more afraid of being alone in his tavern
at night, or if the seven foot plus orc woman was the greater peril.
“So I figure I could come here, have some fun with the local
humies, maybe bring one back home with me!” She took another long swig, “but
they say all your menfolks are gone? And everyone’s too afraid to come
outside!” She wiped her mouth, her two lower tusklike fangs protruding from the
gesture.
She eyed him with a sudden smile, “you say you’re already
married?”
“Uh, yes, happily,” he said quickly.
“Too bad,” she grunted, eyeing her drink again, “you’re the
best looking pinkskin I’ve seen so far. And your wife, she wouldn’t want to
maybe-“
“Probably not,” the man gulped nervously, his hand shaking
as he refilled the cup. He tried to steady his nerves, there was no way she’d
be able to tell he wasn’t really married, he promised himself.
Ghorza noticed his fear and smiled, those large bottom teeth
shining in the firelight, “Relax, Ghorza’s here! I don’t know what’s grabbing
all the boys around here up, but if it comes through that door I’ll kick it’s
ass and crush it’s skull!” She stood up, clearly drunk, and flexed her arms for
the barkeep, “maybe the fists? Or maybe I give them a taste of this!” She
leaned down and hefted her steel war axe over her shoulder.
The barkeep had to admit the green skinned woman was an
imposing figure, aside from her Amazonian stature the tight brown travel garb
she wore betrayed a muscular physique and large breasts, and judging from the
smell of sweat and dirt that coated her she was well used to living on the
road. He supposed she did make him feel safer… against the unknown anyway, he
still wasn’t sure about her…
…
Gareth stopped at an intersection of two streets, attempting
to peer into the darkness ahead. There were no lights on in the windows here,
he wondered if the people inside the shops and homes had simply gone to bed, or
if something more sinister had befallen them.
“Excuse me,” a young woman’s voice called. He whipped around
to see a black cloaked figure, peering out of an alleyway. “You’re out very
late,” the figure said, only the bottom half of her face visible, “haven’t you
heard it’s unsafe?”
The hair on the back of his neck stood on end, this was
triggering every internal alarm he had, but he forced a smile even as he walked
towards the girl.
“I was just out for a quiet stroll,” he said, “yourself?”
“Just looking for dinner,” the girl said, and as she pulled
back the hood and made eye contact he felt the familiar warm feeling of
entrancement. “Would you follow me please?” He did so, eagerly keeping eye
contact with her as she led him further into the dark alley.
Gareth was, by this point in his life, very used to
entrancement, and this didn’t seem at all different from Phoebe and Lessie’s.
Like always the rational part of his mind seemed to be pushed to the back,
watching his body do things he didn’t want it to while his thoughts somehow
tried to convince him it was okay. He’d gotten very good at recognizing and
resisting it, although he rarely did, preferring to let the two Lamia play whatever
game they wished. Now though, he summoned his willpower, retaking control even
as he continued to follow instructions, the girl didn’t seem to notice anything
was wrong.
“I’m the most beautiful girl in the world,” she said, her
eyes going yellow.
“Truly you are,” Gareth said excitedly.
“You want nothing more than to feed me, to serve me,” the
girl continued, drawing him close.
He mentally cursed and wondered where Phoebe was, Sky was
still in his pocket, not wanting to give herself away. While he was able to
throw off the mental yoke he didn’t want to get any closer to this woman, but
he also didn’t want to scare her off or strike at the wrong moment.
There was a flash of movement and the girl’s mouth was
opened unnaturally wide, a pair of fangs protruded from the top of her mouth.
His eyes went wide as her ears seemed to elongate, the illusion gone. The
vampire cradled him like a lover, pulling him close.
“D-Don’t!” he warned.
“It’s too late my darling,” she cooed, and he felt a sharp
pain as the fangs sank into the side of his neck.
The vampire’s eyes went wide, and her calm demeanor vanished
as she cried out in pain, staggering back even as Gareth’s blood dripped from
her mouth. The mix of Lamia and Arachne venom took effect quickly, and the
woman looked at him in confusion as her limbs began to quake.
“I warned you,” he muttered, drawing his sword.
“It seems this one is unpalatable,” a voice hissed overhead.
He looked up and his eyes went wide with fright as he saw dozens of figures
dropping down into the alley from the rooftops. Like the first woman they all
had red eyes, and as they smiled fangs glittered in the moonlight. “We’ll
simply have to dispose of him,” the speaker said.
“Let him go!” Phoebe shouted, her serpentine form blocking
the alley as she nocked an arrow on her bow.
The group of vampires hissed in response, their fangs
flashing as claws seemed to sprout from their fingertips. Phoebe’s slitted eyes
narrowed, and she leaned up on her tail and returned their hiss, her massive
fangs protruding and dripping venom in a move that caused even the gathered
undead to step back.
Sky fluttered out then, gulping nervously as she hugged
herself to Gareth’s still bleeding neck, “A-And I’ve got magic powers! Stay
back!”
“You lie bug!” one of the vampires spat.
“Does pixy dust work on vampires?” Gareth asked nervously.
“Maybe?” Sky said in a panic, “I mean, they’re human
underneath all that, right?”
He cursed, even if it DID work Sky would be able to miniaturize
four or five of the bloodsuckers at best, and somehow, he doubted they’d sit
still and let her do it. He didn’t want to miniaturize himself either, that
would leave Phoebe to fight a dozen vampires by herself… His mind raced as the
vampires began closing around him.
…
The barkeep rubbed the orc’s massive feet, his nose wincing
at the pungent sweaty smell while the green skinned woman relaxed in a chair
and sipped her mead. How had it come to this? She’d just casually started
saying her feet were sore, then somehow, he’d been talked into rubbing them?
“Oh yeah,” Ghorza said with a satisfied sigh, “humans are so
great at this, you’ve got those small fingers.” She idly grabbed the barkeep’s
nose with her toes, causing him to cough slightly.
Suddenly the two of them heard a woman’s scream outside,
then shouting? A gunshot rang out next. Ghorza stopped tormenting the barkeep,
standing up and grabbing for her axe.
“That was one of those humie thundersticks,” she muttered.
She shot one last look at the barkeep and sighed, “I guess we’ll have to meet
up some other time. Bar the door after I’m gone, okay?”
“O-Of course,” the man nodded.
With that the orc warrior hefted her axe and, picking up a
shield she’d leaned against the wall, strode confidently out into the night. As
she’d instructed the barkeep shut and barred the door as soon as she was gone,
heaving from the excitement and exertion. Even as the smell of her sweaty feet
clung to him a part of him… missed her?
He blinked and decided he’d turn in for the night.
…
Gareth swore as he ran his sword through one of the hissing
women, which seemed to do nothing but make her laugh as she continued to try to
claw at him. His pistols lay on the ground, discarded after his lead shot
hadn’t done more than toss one of the attacker’s back for a few minutes.
“The heart stupid!” Sky shouted, “you have to hit them in
the heart!” She screamed and flew higher as one of the vampires made a grab at
her. The pixy stuck her tongue out defiantly, but that defiance soon became
terror as the vampire disappeared into a puff of smoke, leaving a large black
bat that immediately took off into the sky after her.
“GARETH!” she squealed, diving for his pocket even as Phoebe
brought the bat out of the air with a well-placed arrow.
For the Lamia’s part her size and strength were serving her
well, but she bled from a dozen small cuts up her shimmering green tail, and
the vampires were grouping around her now too.
Gareth felt one of the creatures leap onto his back,
cackling madly as she raised a clawed hand to rip his throat out. Suddenly he
heard the familiar sound of steel slicing flesh, he looked up to see the
creature that had leapt on him had been cut bloodlessly in two, giving him one
last hateful look before it seemingly melted into an inky black smoke that
disappeared into the night air.
A massive orc woman had waded into the brawl, shouting as
she swung her axe at the attacking undead, bludgeoning any who came at her with
a heavy iron shield emblazoned with crisscrossed orcish clan emblems. Gareth
found himself stunned, watching the juggernaut of muscle drive the vampires
back through pure brute force. One thing was for sure, even if the orc was
missing their hearts, they were certainly feeling every blow.
“Away from my new human bloodsuckers!” She growled.
Phoebe paused, her forked tongue flickering in confusion,
“Your new human? No way! This one’s taken!”
“We can discuss it snake!” The orc said cheerfully, bringing
her shield around as a vampire leapt at her.
Gareth tried to cut in, but more vampires seemed to be
coming out of the shadows, and soon he found himself separated from Phoebe and
the Orc, even as the two titanesses fought to reach him.
“Sky!” he shouted, “We need to go, now!”
“They’ll just turn into bats and chase me!” she wailed.
“I’ve got something that will distract them,” he shouted,
reaching for the grenade on his belt.
The Empire’s flirtation with grenades was based on dwarven
designs, though less sophisticated it didn’t take a genius to pack a porcelain
ball with gunpowder and lead. Gareth had taken one with him, not knowing what
to expect, but even as he lit the fuse he wondered if he’d made the right
decision. There wasn’t time to second guess it, he decided, dropping it at his
feet.
He closed his eyes and felt the warm itch of Sky’s pixy dust
wash over him, his clothes billowing around him as he rapidly shrank. He was
standing in front of a hissing grenade the size of a horse carriage when Sky
swooped in, cradling him as she climbed higher.
As she’d feared the creatures began turning into bats,
taking flight after them, but a moment later there was booming flash, followed
by squeals of pain. Gareth didn’t have time to celebrate, the force of the
blast rocketed into him and Sky, causing his tiny form to fly out of her arms.
He never got a chance to see what he hit before he was knocked out.
…
He grumbled as he turned over, quickly realizing that he
wasn’t in a bed. No, he knew before he even opened his eyes that it was a giant
pair of breasts, and they were too big to be Sky’s at least.
“Phoebe,” he mumbled happily.
“Nope,” a gruff woman’s voice said.
His eyes shot open, revealing a pair of massive green
breasts on either side of him, slick with sweat. He looked up at the amused
face of the giant orc, her dark green hair hanging down around him as she
regarded the human trapped in her bosom.
“I’m Ghorza, Ghorza Skullcrusher,” she said with a smile,
“now what’s the name of the cutest little human I’ve ever seen?”
“Gareth von Berger,” he said, trying to get his bearings.
“T-Thanks for helping us back there, do you know where my friends are?”
The orc shrugged, “the snake grabbed the little pink one and
then we got separated.” She reached down and grabbed him by his leg, lifting
him up out of her breasts and holding him upside down while she looked over his
naked form.
She licked her lips and gave him a lustful grin, “I guess we
know what happened to all the other humie boys… but at least the best one is
still around.” A green finger came up and traced up his chest, “What are you, a
hero of some kind?”
“Diplomat actually,” he said, trying to regain control of
the situation, “Listen, Ghorza, my friends have an antidote to this shrinking,
so if we could find them-“
“In the morning,” she said with a smile, “we won’t do anyone
any good stumbling around out there in the dark while those bloodsuckers are
still on the streets.” She gestured around at the dark room, lit only by a
candle, “I broke into this place, luckily nobody was home.”
He let himself calm down, if Phoebe had Sky… they would
probably be fine, Lamia could move very fast. Faster than a bat could fly? Who
could say, but he suspected the vampires wouldn’t keep up their pursuit long,
even if the city watch had seemingly abandoned the streets surely there were
still soldiers about somewhere?
“Tell me humie,” she said, righting him as she curled her
fingers around him, “what’s with you and the snake? I didn’t think Lamia liked
cities… or people.”
“She’s one of my wives,” he said, seeing the now familiar
shock on the orc’s face as it registered,
“Wives?” the orc grinned, “ONE of?”
“There’s another Lamia, their queen actually, and the pixy,
and an Arachne,” he said with a sigh, “it was an arrangement I sort of fell
into on a diplomatic endeavor.”
“Damn,” the orc breathed, “An Arachne too? One of the big
ones?” He nodded and she laughed loudly, “you are something else human! We need
to have some fun one of these nights, if you can handle that lot, you might
just have what it takes to lay with Ghorza Skullcrusher and live to tell the
tale!”
“Uh, thanks?” He said.
She laughed and brought him close to her face, looking over
every miniscule inch of him, “You’re a real peach of a humie too, with that
straw hair and smooth skin…” she growled, “I could think of a few fun things to
do with you, even at that little size…”
“You wouldn’t be the first,” he said, resigning himself to
this.
She laughed again, “I knew it! I just knew it! You’re
perfect for me!” She rubbed her chin, “Something tells me that I should try to
get your wives permission first though, last thing I need is another feud…”
“Uh, yes!” Gareth said eagerly, “that would probably be for
the best, I don’t suppose you’d be willing to help us with this vampire
problem? I suspect that they’re after the Emperor and-“
“Relax humie,” she said with a smile, “you just had to ask!
Besides there are probably lots of cuties like you that need rescuing! And I
can’t say no to that!” She blew him a playful kiss.
“That’s good to hear,” Gareth breathed with a sigh, whoever
this woman was she could certainly fight from what he’d seen, and they’d need
every able hand they could get.
She regarded him again, her eyes flickering in the soft light,
“I know I said we’d hold off on having any real fun until I spoke with the
snake,” she whispered, “but… here’s a little preview.”
Slowly she lowered him to her shirt, where her massive
breasts waited for him, almost hungrily he could swear. She relished the
feeling of pushing him in using just a single finger, letting him be swallowed
up by the giant sweaty green cleavage with so little effort.
Ghorza gave a soft laugh as the human’s feeble struggles
just coated him in the sweat and grime she’d built up on her journey to the
city. Humans were always such a delight to play with, orcs had a certain innate
desire to dominate others, but with other orcs that always amounted to clubbing
each other over the head until one came out on top. With humans you could exert
control over them in subtler ways, ways that Ghorza found more fun, and a human
who found himself at a few inches tall? That was the gods sending you a sign to
play with him!
…
Countess Carmilla Bathory lounged lazily on the balcony of
the Imperial Palace, a cup of thick red blood in her hand. She was draped over the
enraptured human emperor, a glazed look on his face as he looked up at her with
a smile.
“Oh Sarmatian,” she said to him, forgoing titles, “I can’t wait
to fully turn you… I hope you don’t do anything foolish like go mad or walk
into the sun.”
A flutter of bat wings caught her attention, and she turned
away from the mortal ruler to see one of her minions transform and kneel before
her.
“Countess,” she said, her eyes on the floor, “W-We
encountered a human male who escaped us!”
“Escaped?” The countess asked with a frown, her red dress
trailing behind her as she walked to the cloaked vampire, “and how did this
occur?”
“His blood was unpalatable my lady, our sister who tried to
feed from him did not survive, he had others with him, an orc, a pixy, a Lamia…”
“A Lamia?” The countess asked curiously, “that must be that
whelp who married the jumped-up snakes…” She ran a hand through the enthralled
emperor’s hair, “you have such interesting subjects!” she giggled.
“What do we do my lady?” the vampire asked, “our sisters
grow impatient, you’ve had us collect thousands of young human men, but you’ve
forbidden us from turning them, and this failure has set them on edge-“
“My dear,” the countess said, interrupting her, “it doesn’t
matter, it’s all too far gone! Even if this country lordling tries to warn people,
we’ll have turned the entire nobility of this realm and, and a fair number of
others. The Empire of Mankind will give way to the Empire of Night.” She sighed
happily; it was all coming to fruition. “We’ll just kill the snake lover the
next time he surfaces, if we can’t drink him we can gut him just the same.”
“Yes my lady,” the other vampire said, “and what of the
other prisoners? The men you’ve been having us collect?” She licked her lips, “might
we have just-“
“Absolutely not,” the countess snapped, “I have plans for
them! Now go! Relay my orders!”
The junior vampire gulped nervously and nodded, assuming her
bat form and fluttering off into the night.
The countess chuckled and draped herself over the emperor
once more, her eyes making contact with his as she solidified the trance again,
“tell me again my emperor, who is the most beautiful woman in the world?”