The town of Lythim was a massive one near the western end of the continent and held a grand guild where people from all over would travel. The guild offered great wealth and protection for its citizens as those who traveled in often came with the purpose of working for the guild as an adventurer. These adventurers were plentiful in the world, but there was never a lack of need for them. They traveled the world, working on their own or in groups to aid in defending and slaying the many things that threatened humanity. This world was full of beauty, but it was also full of many who brought it danger, from monsters to demons to the very gods themselves. This constant danger kept the demand for adventurers high and often set them up with a life of thrill to travel the many corners of the world and see what many could only dream of. And, if one were to really hone their talents well enough and perform enough good deeds, then they could even rise to the status of a hero. Being labeled as such was to become a legend, though few ever attained such a level as this was a career where many died young. Even so, the potential that came with being an adventurer inspired millions, and Arthur was no exception. He had aspired all his life to become one, though it became rather obvious that he was a little lackluster when it came to his abilities. He had made attempts to train in the ways of magic and combat like the many knights and mages that came from and traveled throughout Lythim, but seemed incapable of keeping up with any of them. It normally took someone just a year or two to at the very least become worthy of low level assignments. Even his closest friend had seemed to breeze past the ranks and wasn’t even in town anymore. At the pace he was going, he believed it would take decades to match what those of his age were already starting to accomplish and that wasn’t something he’d be willing to do. He wanted to see the outside world and he wanted to do it while still in his youth. The main problem with this was that he didn’t have the means to defend himself and without the title of adventurer, he’d be far less welcomed in foreign lands.

The only redeeming quality that he could self proclaim was his looks. Though fully human, he was pale and slender like an elf, only on the shorter side as he was just under six feet in height. His eyes were as blue as the sky, full of hopeful optimism and his lack of combat experience left his skin looking soft and smooth throughout like cloth that had yet to be used. On top of it all, he had shoulder length locks of wavy blond hair that he tied into a short ponytail in an effort to appear more organized. Needless to say, looking good didn’t really make up for his lack of skill and only resulted in the occasional offer as a gigolo. As such, he was left with only one option; to become a bagger. To be a bagger was rather simple, all things considered. It essentially consisted of being a pack mule who could be used by any and all adventurers to help in carrying their things. It wasn’t much and certainly meant no action or glory, but the only requirement was to know how to wear a backpack, meaning he could increase his chances in seeing what the world had to offer. He had already been a part of several parties, but all were involved in very mundane tasks from escort missions to killing bandit groups of goblins. Neither required far travel outside the town and no party seemed all that keen on keeping Arthur around as a permanent member. This new one however was up to something entirely different. Consisting of a knight, mage, and priestess, this party was set on locating and slaying a dragon that was rumored to live far off within a mountain, some hundred or so kilometers away. To slay a beast of that caliber, even if done by a group, was an accomplishment that would grant the party praise. Even a bagger like himself had a chance to garner some recognition.

It took a whole three days to make it to the base of the mountain and reaching it filled Arthur with awe as Its peak rose high past the clouds. It was an imposing sight to be sure, though they were lucky in the sense that their target wasn’t up there. As far as the mage had been told, this particular dragon hid itself below. With this in mind, it didn’t take long for the group to find an entrance to a cave. Larger than any they had seen before, there was no doubt in their minds that a dragon could fit their way inside. There seemed to be a brief moment of hesitation and silence amongst the party as they looked upon one another, as if they hadn’t expected to get this far. The knight was first to step through, soon followed by the mage, priestess, and finally Arthur. Soon into entering, they were met with a behemoth sized gate of similar proportions to the mouth of the cave. It had to have been well over thirty meters high with a similar width and seemed to be made of some kind of metal. Its size, as well as the fact that someone had to have closed it, gave Arthur goosebumps, pondering if he had maybe bitten off more than he could chew with this particular adventure. He’d regain a bit of confidence though as all three party members gathered themselves and marched toward the door. The staves of both the mage and priestess began to glow. Auras of green and blue surged out and coated the knight who slammed his palms into the gate and began to push. To Arthur, this looked to be an impossible task, but the auras casted seemed to enhance the knight and after a few seconds, the gate began to move. He grunted with each step, evidently going through great strain to force the gate to open. As soon as they were granted enough space to move on, the auras faded and the knight fell to a knee. He remained there for a minute to catch his breath, no doubt sweating underneath all that armor.

“Bagger, water.” The knight abruptly stood up and turned to Arthur who took a moment to understand the request. Upon realizing, he stumbled his way out of the straps of the backpack and began his search for their water. “Come on, runt. It’s a simple demand. Pass me the damn water already.” Impatient, the knight stomped his way toward Arthur, hand winding back as he readied to knock the bagger down. Just before he could lay his hands on Arthur, he was stopped by the mage. She stepped between the two and brought her hands toward the knight's arm, bringing it down as she stared into his eyes. “Hey, don’t be so harsh. He’s carrying our stuff after all. It’s not like he has anything else he can do for us, so relax.” Following her own words, the mage then turned toward Arthur and stuck a hand out expectantly. He swiftly went back into the backpack and pulled out a canteen that he then handed to the mage. He watched as she handed it to the knight and then continued to walk through the now somewhat opened gate. Her interference was as comforting as it was insulting, though he reluctantly had to admit that she spoke some truth. The knight simply huffed as he took a swig of water and tossed the now empty canteen to Arthur’s feet. Arthur reluctantly kneeled down to pick the canteen up and was about to put it into the backpack when a delicate hand was placed upon his shoulder. He turned and looked up to see the priestess. From flowing waves of velvet hair to enchanting green eyes, her face brought great warmth to him. He watched her plush, red lips as they moved and allowed for her angelic voice to flow out. “Don’t listen to them, Arthur. Your worth is greater than they’ll ever know. Come now, we must continue.” As her hand left his shoulder, Arthur couldn’t help but smile as he watched the graceful woman walk onward and disappear through the gate with the others. The priestess had been the only one to bestow any sort of kindness or respect toward him and it was just enough to keep his chin up. Renewly motivated, he quickly got the backpack situated and hustled to catch up with the group.

As they passed the gate, all four were met with a giant staircase leading down. One look over the edge showed what appeared to be a grand castle, half collapsed upon itself and buried in a grand horde of treasure that formed a sort of hill. From currencies to armors to weapons, it was enough to fill the space of a small town and could set someone’s bloodline up for life. The sheer volume of it had the room illuminated in a faint golden glow, and the party could see grand columns and towers reaching to the very ceiling of the cave and Arthur even noticed a few more doorways of grand size in the distance. This was a sight in itself to bask in, but the adventurers had a mission. Arthur watched as the three began their way down the staircase and he cautiously followed, the reality of the situation setting in and making him break into a sweat. Aside from this place being more than large enough to house a dragon, the massive horde of wealth further confirmed that such a creature lived here. After what must’ve been nearly five hundred steps downward, the group touched down upon the base of the actual cave and took a moment to look between one another and the horde of treasure before them. The knight stepped forth and crouched down to get ahold of a golden chalice, encrusted in several blue jewels. With a chuckle, he tossed it to Arthur who clumsily caught it. “Look at all of this. If we can just kill the dragon, then all of this will be ours. Bagger, get a head start with filling that pack with some of this loot while we figure out where it’s hiding.” Though he’d normally be a bit bothered with the pushy commands, actually seeing and feeling the chalice within his hands sparked a smile from Arthur. Gathering was something that he could get behind, especially if it meant he could avoid any actual confrontation with the dragon. With their various supplies, it didn’t take long to fill the remaining space of the backpack with gold and so Arthur began his trek up the stairs, planning to empty the pack up top before coming back down for a refill.

He’d only get about a fourth way up however before the added weight to the pack had him sweating and stopping to turn around and sit upon one of the steps. He didn’t think it would be as exhausting of a trip up, but it didn’t really deter him much. With no dragon in sight so far, he figured he had more than enough time to rest and take his time. With this half assed excuse in mind, he simply leaned against the backpack and watched as the three below slowly walked along the edge of the horde, their eyes darting in all directions to locate this horde’s owner. Five minutes into his wait had him both rested and bored enough to keep going though, so Arthur stood up and got ready to handle the next hunk of stairs; that was until even he heard the oh so loud voice of the knight shouting from down below for his peers to stop moving. Arthur looked back just in time to see some light movement coming from within the heep of treasure, resulting in a handful of coins sliding down. Assuming the worst, he reached for the backpack to prepare for an escape, but all four were left frozen in place as they watched something start to rise from the horde. Bits of gold fell off and further exposed a long, girthy appendage, coated in smooth black scales. It seemed grand enough in size that it had to be the dragon. Though this was the general conclusion for all four, it came with some confusion. What they assumed to be the creature’s neck ended in a headless tip. It swayed slowly from side to side like some sort of viper fixating to strike. Aside from the occasional clinks of falling gold, a low, bassy sound could be heard from the beast, no doubt its growls from having its slumber disturbed. The knight took point, sword and shield drawn while the mage kept to his back left and the priestess at his back right, both ready to support him. None seemed particularly eager to strike first which comforted Arthur in knowing he wasn’t the only one taken back by this, though he worried what that meant for their chances. After an unsettling moment of tense nothingness, a loud, thunderous spray of gas spewed out from beneath the strange appendage with enough force to send gold coins flying. The knight took up his shield to protect himself and the others from the golden projectiles, but could do nothing about the kick up of dust that, combined with the gas, formed a swirling haze around them. After several seconds of bracing themselves, the monstrous wind quieted and the dust began to settle. Arthur watched confused as all three of his party members fell into a coughing fit. Had they been poisoned? Was this some toxic variant of dragon? Either way, he had no intent in getting closer to find out and remained content with his higher elevation.

From up on the stairs, Arthur was able to see what they could not. Opposite to their position was more movement within the gold, and what appeared to be two large black horns popped out along with what seemed to be a head of red hair. Arthur was beyond confused, worrying that there were possibly multiple creatures in here; but then he saw it. A bright red glow of an eye that he could just barely make out past all the loose locks of hair. Then, in an abrupt whip-like motion, the appendage that the three had been staring at darted outward and swung sideways. The mage and priestess were far enough to avoid it, but the knight’s choice to stand firm left him in range. He quickly propped up his shield, but it did nothing to stop the tail as it smacked right into him and launched him across the room. His body skipped and tumbled across the ground before coming to a twisted stop a good two dozen meters away. The mage called out to him, but the knight showed no signs of responding and remained motionless. She and the priestess then shifted their attention back to the horde which shook about as something far larger began to emerge. It soon became very apparent that what they had thought to have been the dragon was nothing more than its tail. Shoulders, hips and a head were soon exposed, though the mage and priestess were somewhat distracted and sickened with the realization of what they had been blasted with earlier. The dragon didn’t even seem to notice what it had done, let alone who was actually in the cave. Arthur watched from afar as it shifted onto its side and began to stretch, nearly launching a leg right out of the gold and into the mage who narrowly managed to leap out of the way. A shower of gold fell as the dragon shifted up on two legs and soon stood fully emerged atop the horde. Arthur understood that his experience with dragons overall was non-existent, but this was pushing it past anything he had ever heard of when it came to how one would look. 

It was far larger and far less animalistic than they had expected with a more humanoid body. Even more apparent was that this was undoubtedly a female. From the top, the dragoness sported two massive horns, each of which shaped to aim their sharpened tips forward like that of a bull. The base of these horns got lost in a messy bed of crimson red hair that hung wild and covered a great deal of her face. That face, as well as most of her, simply looked like a very plump human woman if Arthur was being honest. Her skin was pale like one who hadn’t seen the sun in ages with the occasional red and black scale scattered across like freckles. Her palms and likely the bottoms of her feet were coated in smooth, gray scales; meanwhile the dorsal half of both had a slightly thicker layer of black scales with each finger and toe ending in a sharp claw. Aside from these areas, she had minimal scales across the remainder of her body. Admittedly, there were grander things to take his focus off the danger before them as well. An unfathomably large pair of breasts, each larger than a house, hung freely on her chest, wobbling at the slightest of movements. They led down to a pudgy gut that told them that this beast wasn’t shy in the slightest when it came to gorging herself. Then came her thighs that were densely packed with an absurd amount of fat and muscle. Her hips were wide enough that it led Arthur to make a double take on whether or not it was even possible for the dragon to fit through the grand gate above. If this “dragon” had hips and tits like this, Arthur’s intrusive thoughts couldn’t help but wonder what was going on in the back. Before he could further investigate this line of questioning, the dragoness leapt off the gold and landed upon her hands and feet. Her back was now arched with her rear and tail stuck up into the air as she looked between the two magic casters. Arthur was left stiff with fear at how quickly the dragon had managed to move, though found his face going red as he couldn’t help but notice the sheer heft that came with the massive creature’s backside. It wobbled in sync with the sway of her tail as she peered at her options. He tried to shake his head and focus on the fact that this was a really dire situation.

The dragon now stood between the remaining party members and by sheer chance chose to focus its attention upon the mage. Panicked, she ignited her staff and launched out four bolts of lightning right at the dragon’s face. Each bolt had the dragon flinching, though it seemed more so out of mild discomfort rather than actual pain. The mage backed up and tried to conjure up another attack, but was staggered as the dragon allowed itself to fall and crash down with her chest slamming down just a few meters in front of the mage. The dragon leaned her head down until her chin rested upon the ground, curious to watch the mage stumble on their feet. The mage watched with eyes wide as the massive beast stared her down. Its sheer lack of fear sent her trembling and her heart went into overdrive as the dragon began to intake a great deal of air. Like a vortex, the mage started to feel her feet slide against the ground as she was actually being pulled closer toward the dragon’s face. Her robe fluttered wildly in the air, nearly slipping off the mage who struggled to keep herself from being exposed and tumbling over with the inverse wind. Everything then went still and the beast’s lips then pursed as if to give the mage a kiss. She was thrown off at first until she could see a spark of deep orange light coming from within. The mage rushed to conjure up a force field, but it was futile. A surge of fire flew out from the dragon’s mouth and engulfed the field, creating a blazing sphere around the mage. The force of the blast as well as the heat was overwhelming and it only took a few seconds before the mage’s energy was drained. As soon as the force field went away, so too did her flesh as it went from burning to melting with bits of skin and flesh flying back and evaporating into ash. A deathly scream came from the ball of fire, only to be drowned out and silenced by the inferno that engulfed it. After thirty seconds, the dragon stopped and both her and Arthur were left to see the charred skeleton of what used to be the mage, broken and scattered across the ground. Arthur watched as the dragon’s eyes then trailed across the room, narrowly missing him as he pulled the backpack in front of him to use as makeshift cover. She didn’t know of him, but was aware that there was at least one more human lurking about.

The knight had taken quite the hit. He was lying unconscious on his back with both arms and a leg cracked and twisted in a manner that had the priestess gasping with a hand to her mouth. She didn’t even want to see what he’d look like if she took off the armor. Nonetheless, she knew that it was possible to reverse this damage and brought her hands together. A surge of white light formed between her hands and she pressed them upon the knight to begin the healing process. She’d only get around ten seconds however as she felt something grip the back of her robe and she was then hoisted up into the air. She flailed about and turned to see a pair of claws, each far larger than herself, pinching together and taking her up until she was at eye level with the dragon. With the priestess caught in her fingers, the dragon plopped her butt onto the ground, completely oblivious to the knight that was lying there. If he had any sliver of being alive, it had just been squashed as he became a plastered jam of armor and blood beneath her cheek. The priestess’ face went cold as she noticed where the dragon had landed. She thought it best not to think about whether or not her comrade was conscious and just hoped that it was quick enough. For now, she had to figure out how to deal with the monster she dangled before. It had become clear enough that she stood about no chance in a direct fight, so she’d have to find something else; and her time was running low as she was raised high and left to watch as the dragoness tilted her head back and opened her maw, revealing a mass set of sharpened white teeth. A large pink mass that was the dragon’s tongue stuck out and pressed against the priestess, instantly dousing her in a layer of warm saliva before retracting back. The priestess went into desperation, wiping spit off her face as she darted her head all over, trying to find anything that could save her. She then locked eyes toward the stairs and spotted Arthur. “Hey! Wait, Please! This is all a misunderstanding! I don’t know what you think we’re doing here, but none of us wanted to come here! The only reason we’re here is because of him!” The priestess pointed toward the bagger and the dragon paused for a moment to see Arthur jumping up from his position on the stairs, clinging onto the backpack for emotional support. “See? He’s over there watching like a coward. He brought us here with the promise of treasure. If we knew that it was part of a dragon’s horde, we would’ve stayed clear of the area!” The dragon seemed curious, pondering the words of the priestess for a few moments before shrugging and releasing her grip on the little woman. Arthur watched as the priestess dropped and screamed before falling silent as the dragon closed her mouth and gulped. Seeing the slight bulge go down her throat sent shivers down Arthur’s back and his heart sank as the dragon turned to face him with a devious smirk. Everything was going so poorly and everyone who had any chance in even harming the dragon was dead. 

At this rate, he had to cut his losses and get out. He didn’t even bother with the backpack and just bolted to make it to the top of the steps. Unfortunately, he wouldn’t get very far as it only took the dragon a few steps to make it to the base of the staircase. She then unceremoniously dropped down and crash landed upon the bottom of the stairs. The impact had all the steps shake with such force that it sent Arthur flailing up in the air for several seconds before coming to a surprisingly soft landing. The poor lad needed a minute to grasp that he had survived the fall, and upon opening his eyes, Arthur realized that had landed squarely atop the dragon’s nose and could not get himself to move a muscle as he fearfully clung to its bridge. He could feel the red irises of the dragon staring down at him and he expected to be eaten or crushed at any moment, but was instead thrown off when he heard laughter? The deep, yet feminine voice of the dragoness echoed throughout the cave until coming to a stop. “Aren’t you a cutie~” She tilted her head down which caused Art to slip and bounce off one of her tits before landing in the palm of one of her scale coated hands. He stumbled up to his hands and knees just to fall onto his back at the sight of the dragon looking down upon him. “So, you’re the little thief who’s trying to steal from me? I hope you can then understand why I feel the need to do this.” She began to inhale with great force, similar to what she had done when facing the mage. Arthur quickly flipped onto his knees and trembled, too scared to even plead for mercy. He simply listened as she took in air and then went silent. Several seconds later and a warm gust blew into him. The bagger thrashed and screamed in a panic as he tried to fight what he assumed to be flames; though he soon came to understand that the dragon had done little more than breathe on him. Far from the burning sensation he had anticipated, Arthur now lay tense on his back, confused as he took in some of the dragon’s humid morning breath. It was rank enough to sting his eyes and make him regret having a nose, but it was a much better alternative. “Haha, relax. I know that she was desperate to tell me anything. You don’t really look like the type to have planned any of this if I am to be honest. That being said, I still think you owe me for trespassing. And luckily for you, I’m feeling ever so mildly generous and so you get the honor of living here for a while until you can pay your dues. Do you understand?”

Arthur was still trying to understand the fact that he was still alive, the dragon’s words taking a while to fully settle in. She was thankfully patient toward him and happily awaited for him to finally fully process and face her with the most nervous yet adorable look she had seen from him so far. “Y-yes…”

“So glad to hear. Anyway, since you’ll be serving me for a while, I only find it fair for the two of us to know how to address one another. My name is Aithne, though I wouldn’t mind if you felt like throwing in the occasional mistress or master. What may I call you, aside from cute?”

“Uh… Arthur…”

“Oooh, I like that name. Hopefully you last long enough for me to feel like using it.” The dragoness then gave the lad a wink before bringing her hand to the ground and tilting it to the side. Arthur slid off and managed to somewhat catch himself upon the floor of the cave, hesitant to look back as Aithne’s looming size was enough to have him sweating. “You ready to get started, little one?”

Arthur stared up at her, perplexed at the question. “...What do you want me to do?”

He then watched as she dropped down onto all fours and leaned in close, her lips hovering just a few feet in front of him. Then, in a soft tone, she spoke. “Run~” Arthur’s eyes went wide as he stepped back and met the gaze of Aithne who looked down at him with newfound hunger. She ever so slowly brought a hand forward, hovering it over Arthur’s position for a while. Knowing that his fear of her was making him a bit slow to react, she waited just long enough to see him running out of the way. As soon as he was in the clear, she slammed her hand down and dug her claws into the earth, ‘missing’ him by just a few feet. With the message made clear, Arthur began to sprint away and Aithne could hardly keep herself contained as her body shifted from side to side in anticipation. After two minutes of watching him scurry toward and then around her horde, she began the chase. Each hand and foot was slammed with great emphasis as she was intent on reminding Arthur of the impending danger that followed him. It undoubtedly kept him going as fast as he could and sent his brain into a spiral of thoughts, from how he was going to evade her to what would happen if she caught him was enough to nearly induce a panic attack, yet he persisted. The more he ran, the more he cursed at himself for failing to really check the backpack for anything that could’ve helped him and though he passed by a great deal of armor and weapons, it was pretty well received by now that they’d manage to do absolutely nothing for him. His only option was to run and so he did. He’d soon find himself running toward what appeared to be a half fallen over guard tower of the semi-buried castle. Knowing that he’d never outrun Aithne, let alone keep up this pace, he ran for it and dove into a broken doorway leading into the tower. He quickly got back to his feet and looked around at the cobblestone cylinder that now worked as his shelter. It wasn’t that he assumed this place would hold off a dragon, but it would grant him a chance to catch his breath and he was optimistic that this tower may lead to deeper areas of the castle and even a way out. Unfortunately, the stairway down seemed to have far since caved in, only leaving him with the option to go further up. He hoped to have had more time to consider something else, but Aithne wasn’t keen on waiting for him and nudged her hip against the tower, causing bits of it to break and lean to the side. Arthur turned to make his way back out, but this simple act of hers had caused the stone above the doorway to crumble and cover up that exit. Without choice, he started his way up the spiral of stairs, stumbling every now and then as Aithne continued to test the tower's limits by leaning her tail against its side. Such a heavy appendage could take down the entire tower in one swing if she so wished, but held back to urge in hopes that this new little servant of hers would continue to prove interesting.

The tower was on the verge of collapse, not built for sustaining such a weight, but Arthur could finally see an opening. The uppermost section of the tower was uncovered with stone railing along the edges. This railing had gaps throughout as this would have been a platform of sorts where guards of the past would watch over and shoot upon invaders. If only he had the time to stand around and admire it, but the beast he faced picked up on his presence and turned to face him. She was a good deal taller than the tower, so she rested upon her knees and leaned down until her nose was level with that of the platform that Arthur was on. The poor bagger felt paralyzed as her eyes met with his once again, but found the strength to bring his arms up and hold them in front of his eyes. If he could just ignore the idea of the dragon, he could focus a little better. With his arms up, he more or less blocked out everything other than what was on the floor right in front of him and that was the safe feeling he required. He began to walk and look across the platform for anything that could help him and soon enough came upon a corpse. If he didn’t know of the creature that he was currently trapped with, he would’ve jumped and screamed at the sight. The corpse had long since decomposed with only armor and a skeleton remaining. It was a bit unsettling to wonder how long it had been here and if he’d wind up in a similar state, but then Arthur’s eyes trailed down to the skeleton’s hands. Within was a bow and quiver of arrows. Leaning down, he looked into the quiver and noticed a variety of arrows, trying to deny the idea that his only options were to fight here or plead. He hoped that somehow, this quiver would hold a way out of here; and sure enough, he came across one that had a great length of rope tied to it. It was a grapple arrow. He thanked the gods for this alternative and snatched it and the bow before turning away from Aithne to run toward the opposite edge of the tower.

The idea was to fire an arrow at the column and swing with enough momentum to leap up into the stairs and run away. It was a bit of a long shot, but he was running on adrenaline and prayers that this was why he had been led to this part of the dragon’s lair. Aithne’s head tilted curiously. She had expected him to make a desperate move at some point, as many had in the past, but it normally resulted in them aiming a weapon towards her. Whatever he had planned was different and she looked eager to find out what sort of crafty strategy he had cooked up. Now at the tower’s edge, Arthur looked up toward one of the columns and aimed the bow high. With the pressure of Aithne creeping near, he didn’t have time to think and so he fired the arrow. It flew through the air with rope dangling behind and to his surprise, struck and dug its way into the column. It was just about the exact thing Arthur expected not to happen, but he wasn’t about to complain. With a firm grip on the end of the rope, he jumped off the edge of the tower and swung down and through the air. It was difficult for him to believe that he was actually doing this, and to swing with such speed was so exhilarating. His luck seemed to be turning around, up until he realized that he was swinging in the direction that he had fired the arrow, leading him to very quickly slam right into the side of the column. Even Aithne winced as she watched his body slide down and then fall. He managed to keep a decent hold of the rope to at least slow it down, but he was too dazed to stay firm with it. As such, both his palms were given a nasty rope burn and he wound up letting go and falling onto his back upon a bed of gold coins. He wailed out a slur of curses as he felt the widespread pain of metal jabbing into half his body, all the while looking to sooth his hands that were beating red from the rope. Then came the pain in his head from hitting the column in the first place. If only he had the time to just fetal up and cry this over, but he’d have to find time to regret his choices later. Though strenuous, he managed to sit up and scoot back until he was up against the column. His breathing grew slower and heavier as he looked up to see Aithne circle around the guard tower. His little display had proven most amusing to her and she could hardly keep herself from grinning ear to ear as she drew close. With her prey having somewhat defeated himself, Aithne officially claimed this as her victory in their little game; and as such, brought her face down and parted her lips to show off her teeth. Since he had proven to be such an entertaining little thing, she’d go light and just pretend to bite him, or so that was the plan. Arthur trembled against the column as Aithne stuck her tongue out and licked his legs and waist up into her mouth. His head, arms, and torso were still sticking out and now hanging out from between her lips, yet he could not bring himself to do anything. His breathing just got quicker as he stared into the dragon’s lips, expecting the worst. Aithne stifled a giggle as she had expected a bit more of a struggle, but was just as pleased to know just how terrified he must’ve been. Wishing to scare him just a bit more, she positioned her teeth along Arthur’s legs. There were four in total with two jabbing into the top of his shins and two pressing into the back of his thighs. Content with the positioning, he put on a little pressure, smiling as she felt him start to thrash around; but then she heard multiple snaps, followed by shrieking. She immediately let go and dropped Arthur onto his back. She looked to see him twitching in agony as both his legs were cracked and twisted with blood oozing out of them. She had evidently fucked up in gauging her strength and needed to put him out of his misery. She slowly leaned back in, placing a shadow over the panicked man. Arthur saw as she approached and his screams got more broken as he struggled to find the air to maintain them. This looked to be the end and the last thing he saw were Aithne’s lips coming down upon him before he ultimately went into shock and blacked out.

Hours would pass with Aithne finding comfort in how the day went, so much so that she wound up passing out atop her golden horde as though nothing had even happened. She was on her back, snoring like a boar with legs, tail, and an arm spread outward. One hand rested comfortably upon her soft belly and between its index finger and thumb lie the body of Arthur who’s eyes sprung open at the sounds of Aithne’s slumber. He could feel himself moving up and down as she breathed, the calm nature of it being enough to nearly send him sleeping again. As the memories of the day flooded back into his mind however, he got himself to sit up and went to grab his head, only to feel something slimy coating it. As a matter of fact, there was some sort of warm slime covering much of his body. It wasn’t bounding him by any means, but it felt gross and came with a foul odor. Arthur was puzzled to say the least as to what had happened. The last thing he remembered was being in such pain… and his legs! He looked over and to his confusion, his legs looked untouched aside from some tears in his clothing. He could even move them and stretched them out just to check where he thought there would’ve been multiple gashes and holes; but to be honest, they felt rather good. As confusing as this was, he figured it would make sense to get answers later. He looked between the dragon’s claws to see what he figured to be her breasts lying heavily across her chest and turned away with cheeks red as he looked down toward the rest of her stomach, legs, and tail. It would be a risky move, but if he followed that half, it would lead him to the stairs and he could try and get out. He stood up and was about to get moving until he heard some sort of muffled noise coming from a lower part of Aithne’s body. Intrigued as to what it could be, Arthur slowly got up onto his feet and slipped between the dragon’s digits. He walked slowly across the dragon’s belly until he came across something that seemed to be pushing up from within and then he saw what almost looked to be a face sticking out. A feminine voice came from it and screamed “Help!”

He had to wait for her to scream again, but was then certain that this had to be the priestess! She was desperate and trying her best to press her hands and face through the skin of the dragon’s stomach. He supposed that it made sense. The priestess was essentially the healer of the group and had access to an assortment of resistance and healing spells. Even so, to think she lasted so many hours. Arthur leaned in until he was just a few inches off from the protrusions caused by the priestess “Y-you’re alive?” He initially received silence and wondered if she was unable to hear him until-

“Arthur?!”

It took him a few seconds to respond as he still struggled to believe that this was real. “Yes?” His reply was followed by silence, and for a moment, he wondered if he had just imagined her. “Uh, hello?”

He then watched something jam itself against the belly and he could see what kind of looked like a face protruding itself through flesh and skin, and then a voice. “What in the hell are you doing?!”

Though her words were a bit on the harsh side, just hearing that she was alive was such a relief to Arthur’s mind. The priestess had always been the wisest of this party and her aid would greatly improve their chances of getting out of here. He wasn’t really sure how he’d be able to help right now, but was more than ready to follow her lead as he was beyond confident that she’d have something up her sleeve. It then occurred to him that he hadn’t responded to her yet and he stammered to explain himself. “Oh, uh… I guess-”

“You complete and utter moron. You’ve been alive and well this whole time and you haven’t even tried to do anything. The others are dead and here you are fucking around.”

Somehow, up until now, Arthur had completely forgotten about how the priestess had switched up on him at the time of being swallowed. She may have been scared for her life, but she had essentially lied and tried to pit the dragon against him. It was far from the woman he thought he had been traveling with and yet he wasn’t even angry with her betrayal. He was sad. It wasn’t that he was new to feeling helpless or unused to hearing comments from other party members, but this was different. She had been the only ray of support that made him feel like he had any form of potential, so to think that she would be the one to finally have him fighting back tears was a very unsettling surprise. He could not bring himself to even respond to her and just stopped to lie on his back and stare into the ceiling of the cave.

“Are you listening to me?! Get your ass moving and find something to help. You can’t be so stupid as to not realize that this monster is asleep. I don’t know how much more I can last in here and you’ve been wasting enough time doing nothing. Go find the backpack, pick up a weapon, and show me that you aren’t just some cripple minded bagger. Or no, maybe I’m foolish for thinking that I can trust you to kill something that isn’t even awake. For the love of the gods, I can’t believe that I’d end up here after all I’ve done to heal all of you. That damned knight and mage, so useless… To think I even bothered to learn your name. What a waste of my time and memory.” Every sentence cut like a knife and had Arthur sinking further into his own mind. He wished that he’d never woken up. He just wanted her to stop talking and let him begin to try and repress what she had said. Even Aithne waking up would’ve been a blessing right now if it could distract him from this. Then, things got quiet and the priestess’ shouting was replaced with a large gurgling from below that vibrated Arthur’s body and sparked panic from the priestess who pushed against Aithne’s belly. “OH GODS, SOMETHING IS PULLING ME DEEPER. ARTHUR, GET ME OUT OF HERE. YOU DAMNED BAGGER, AAAAAAHH-” Her voice was muffled out by the dragon’s rumbles and then both settled down into silence. Arthur was left with his body still and his eyes opened wide as he tried to ignore what he assumed had happened. He waited patiently, hoping to hear something that would assure him otherwise, but he got nothing more than a few more internal noises from deeper within. If he had any will to try and escape, it was gone. The best he could do for himself was try to rest and maybe if he was fortunate enough, he’d wake up and forget this day.

He awoke the following morning to Aithne stumbling onto her hands and feet which sent Arthur tumbling off and onto her horde. His discomfort was quickly overshadowed by the dragon’s groans as she stepped and pushed through mounds of gold. She seemed to be in great pain and even had to use one of the columns for support before continuing her path through one of the giant cavern openings. Though this may have been an ideal time to try and escape, something kept him from going for it. For one, he’d likely never make it out fast enough and for two, he couldn’t help but wonder what could possibly cause such discomfort to one so large and powerful. Against any form of survival instinct, Arthur followed Aithne, curious to see where she was headed.

As soon as he made it to the doorway, he was assaulted by a stench unlike any he had ever experienced. It clearly radiated from this room and he nearly threw up right then and there. He put both hands to his face, trying to filter some of the stink as he hesitantly made his way in; and he was just in time to see Aithne squatting over a ledge, her body dripping in sweat as she strained. Before he could even begin questioning, a broad load of shit started to force its way out from her asshole. Arthur watched as the dense log slithered out from the colossal ass and then dropped. He dared not to watch, but heard it slam onto the ground with a crashing splat. “Oh, fuck~” Aithne cooed then grunted as several more turds slid out and plopped atop one another, forming a decently sized heep of waste that had Arthur struggling to breathe. Against his better judgment, he gave the dump a glance and though it gave off a wave of heat, he felt cold at the sight of a partially cracked skull that was halfway covered within the pile of crap. Bits of black char marks were all over it and what was once a person got smothered further as the semi-solid shit sludged over and buried any evidence that they were even there.

“By the gods, my asshole is burning. That human must’ve really not wanted to wind up as shit. Too bad for her.” Aithne’s head then perked up as she heard the presence of Arthur who couldn’t keep himself from audibly gagging as he stumbled back against a wall. “Oh, perfect timing! Arthur, was it? You think you could do me a favor and help clean me up? I typically would myself, but it’s kind of a hassle to deal with and you can probably get a better view to make sure that there’s no wrinkle missed.” Arthur didn’t even look at Aithne, still too shaken at the reminder and confirmation of what had happened to the priestess. “I think it’s the least you could do to show me how thankful you are that I’ve kept you alive, right?” Before he could even respond, she turned and squatted over him. This led him to break away from his crap trance and look up as the dragon’s cheeks spread and he was granted the view of her puckered hole hovering above. Given what he had just witnessed come from it, he was more than eager to move, but a claw tipped finger prevented him from going anywhere and instead hooked into the back of his shirt and hoisted him up until he hung just a few inches beneath the oily, shit stained anus of Aithne. Tears instantly filled his eyes as his nose was burned with the foul smell of dragon waste. Even without the vomit inducing smell, Aithne’s anus was a presence that made Arthur weak. Its width was that of his arm span and it gave off enough heat to have him sweating. To think that she could actually be serious about this request was unreal, though she showed no signs of actually lowering him. Through watery eyes, he looked up to see the dragon’s asshole flex and pucker outward as though it was reaching out for an embrace. Hesitant, Arthur stuck an arm out, fighting between not wanting to get any closer and fearing what could happen to him if he didn’t. Part of him thought he’d be fairly safe given how long he’d lasted thus far, but the remains of the once graceful priestess made him doubtful enough to press his hand against Aithne’s anus. It was warm to the touch and slick in a mix of oils and waste, the sensation being enough to have Arthur shudder in disgust. He pleaded with the gods that this may be some sort of joke or dream, but was only answered with the sight of something solid sticking out from between two wrinkle folds. He reached out and snatched the object out, only to drop it immediately as it turned out to be a rib bone.

Plucking that out led to a very audible coo from above as Aithne’s anus twitched in delight. Thrilled with his progress, her finger lifted him further until his nose was practically touching the slick surface of her asshole. As much as Arthur dreaded every bit of this, he did not wish to linger. The sooner he could be rid of this task, the better. Inspired by the prospect of getting as far as possible from this dragon’s butt hole, Arthur pressed both of his hands into the wrinkled ring, hoping to get started on scooping and scraping off what filth had gathered. To his soon to be dismay however, he had pressed just enough to stimulate the strong yet sensitive orifice which caused the imposing asshole to pucker out and flex in response. In less than a second, the upper half of Arthur’s body was pressed against the hot rubber of Aithne’s anus. He screamed at the top of his lungs as the oiled up surface of skin smothered his face and clogged both his mouth and nose in the rancid stench and taste of Aithne’s unwashed hole. His arms would start to flail wildly in an effort to pry the ring off, but this only led her anus to clench and he was quickly brought in as it retracted. To his relief, he wasn’t actually inside of her sphincter, but his face had wound up lodged within two slimy folds that carried enough natural weight and strength to them to squeeze his cheeks and force his lips out as though he were giving her trying to give the pucker a smooch. His entire body was now also coated in a blended mix of sweaty anal oils and fecal matter that smeared against his skin. To feel it seeping into his clothes and pores was enough to make him want to die, but he’d not be given such a swift end. With his lips rubbing up against her pucker, the warm brew of anal filth trickled into his mouth. As soon as it made contact with his tongue, he went into a thrashing fit, though his upper half was practically being held and adhered to her hole with no intent on releasing him. In fact, the vibrations from his shouting and the swift feel of his arms rubbing across her asshole had only stimulated it further and the very pucker he wished to flee from pushed further out, giving him a brief tease of nearly dropping him, just to pull him back in once more for a sloppy embrace. This sent Aithne onto her knees as she moaned and plopped face down onto the ground with her ass sticking up into the air. She didn’t even have to keep her finger back there with him. Her anus was more than enough to make sure he didn’t go anywhere. This was something that Arthur grew more and more concerned over and was honestly quite humiliated and disgusted at the fact that someone’s shit hole could overpower him so easily. His new position made things far more dire as well as gravity was now working against him. One wrong slip and he could wind up lost in the depths of this creature’s bowels and by the sounds of it, Aithne had no interest in freeing him anytime soon. As repulsed as he was by this entire situation, he couldn’t help but wonder how it could’ve all been avoided if he just fled sooner or even stayed back Lythim. Then maybe, he wouldn’t have wound up in the shitty position of being the servant of some dirty dragon, fighting for his life as her sphincter threatened to both drown and consume him within its greasy anal walls.