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“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?”

Chapter End Notes:
Meeting some new characters to help our protagonist through this arc, hope you guys like them. Part 3 coming soon!
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