[b][u][center]Perks of Desperation Part 9 for a-lycotonum by Draconicon[/center][/u][/b] Though it took the power of his raw strength and Katya's knowledge of various spell-runes, they were able to restrain Neena for the night. Vitus didn't like the way that she was kept bound on her knees, looking more like a slave that was restrained for the use of someone far more perverted, but his mentor assured him that it was required for the spell-forms that they were using, that the positioning mattered as much as the runes did. He felt that she had to be lying, but when he saw the various demon-reds that the runes took, he put the questions aside. There was enough perversion among the demons that he allowed it to pass as a possibility, if nothing else. By morning, their means of leaving Westcrown and heading inland had been readied. He watched as Katya and Robin loaded their captive into the magical wagon while Pollius, sludgy and sluggy as ever, half-walked and half-slithered around the thing. "You will find it quite well-supplied for your journey, of course," the mage said, chuckling. "I believe that all the amenities that you could desire are already stashed away." "I'm more concerned about what will happen to her in there. There's not a lot of room, and there are five people on this trip," Vitus said. "Oh, you don't have to worry about that. The wagon is [i]quite[/i] well-enchanted." That was the thing that he actually did worry about. Even from here, on the other side of the stable at the back of the manor, he could feel the magic pulsing through the wagon. There was so much magic on it that he'd be amazed if the entire order of the Hellknights didn't notice on their way out of Westcrown. If they weren't stopped and interrogated about the sheer amount of magical energy in the air, he'd fall to his knees and praise every god and demon in existence. But at the same time, he knew that they'd need every asset that they could get. That much magic, at worst, could be drained from the wagon itself and empower the spells that he and Katya cast, and considering that Cheliax was the land of devil worshipers and contractors, they'd need that. As Katya restrained their prisoner once more, Vitus blushed. Neena had been stripped overnight, and now, she was placed in the wagon with her legs spread and an enchanted stone pressed between them, vibrating away. He looked away, his cheeks burning as he saw her oozing and dripping already. "This is going to be a long trip." "Pleasurable one, however. If you're into females." "I am," Vitus muttered. "I would have thought that cock was your preference. You slobbered over mine and my husband's eagerly enough." "It's...a recent thing." "Oh, is it? Well, perhaps -" "This is absurd." They were interrupted by Piers's complaint, and for once, Vitus was happy to have the former commander being a jerk. At least it got his mind off of sex before his cock could join the conversation. They both turned to the one-armed man as he walked around the wagon, shaking his head before spitting on the ground. "Not only is this an utter abomination of how one should treat their prisoners, but there is no way that we'll be able to disguise it from those that enforce the law. They will spot us - or hear her - the moment that we leave the grounds. We'll be arrested - and rightfully so - before we get even a quarter of the way to the city gates." "Only if you insist on making us put you in the shackles, too, Mr. Cripple," Pollius said, chuckling. "Oh, there are many ways that you could be made more desirable with sufficient chains. Perhaps someone could find you interesting enough to fuck again." "You - you should take care what you say, abomination," Piers said, his fist clenching. "I would have you take that back." "Oh, dear, dear. Did you think that was an insult?" The strange amalgamation of flesh, magic, and pseudo-solids slimed its way across the stable, picking up hay and more as it moved. There was a sense of menace in the air, something that was different from the power and aura of capability that Katya had put out in the past. Even Vitus held his breath at the languid motions of the mage, watching as Pollius slowly loomed higher and higher the closer he got to the once-Watchman. "Do you think that I wouldn't find you appealing, little human? Do you think that I would not take you beneath my wings and show you things that nobody has ever seen before? Tempt you with sensations that none could match? Oh, you look at me like I was nothing but a slug beneath your boot, but let me tell you, little human. There are things to be found in slime and filth that you cannot even conceive of. "I could show you bliss and carnal delights the likes of which would leave you wordless and thoughtless for the rest of your meager existence, pleasures that would leave you so fulfilled that life would never again spark joy. I could take you into my bed, and when you left it, you would find the world so empty and dull, so dreary and lacking that you would beg me to take you back. All it would take, little human, is a snap of my fingers, and you would understand the appeal of me..." The more that Pollius spoke, the more that the air seemed to thicken. The already-warm weather of Cheliax heated further, the stable a humid mess, the air so thick with wet heat that it felt like one could cut it with a blade. Vitus felt like he was sweating through his robes, his breath coming in gulps rather than simple gasps, and he wheezed as the mage stopped before Piers. He seemed to have grown three times as tall as he had been, reaching the ceiling and staring down at the one-armed man with a menace that defied demon or devil powers. There was something else there, something that was as powerful and yet so detached from the both of them. "I am what I am, and I am proud of it. Are you, human?" "..." "Mock me not, or I will take some offense at it...and offense must be paid." Pollius chuckled, and the moment passed. The air loosened, becoming more like what they were used to breathing, and everyone - even Katya - let out a soft gasp as they managed to get their breath back. The mage turned from the cripple, who shook slightly as he climbed into the back of the wagon. "That should keep him quiet. Quite the nuisance, that one. I don't understand why you travel with him if you're not into the war-torn look; he wouldn't fetch more than a few silvers at market." "I...he does have a point, though," Vitus said. "You...we need to be able to get out of town in that thing, and it's all but bleeding magic." "Oh, that? Hmmph. If you aren't skilled enough to hide that magical signature, then perhaps you aren't entirely worthy of the Leontina name." "..." "It is a simple matter to disguise a magical aura. Perhaps that...woman...will teach you how to do it. There are many methods, from eating it to sitting on it." "I - you - what?" "Come now. You're a sorcerer, are you not? Magic is down to [i]feel[/i], to [i]essence.[/i] Are you truly so lacking in education?" He sputtered as he tried to come up with an answer. After attending the Arcanimirium, he had thought that he'd be respected to some degree, but whether it was an employer using him for sexual relief or some mage that looked down on him for not knowing everything and embracing more, he was still bringing up the rear of the pack. He didn't know the technical stuff that Katya did, and he obviously hadn't embraced and used as much power as Pollius did. What the hell was he supposed to do to catch up to the pair of them. "Regardless, do try and bring everything back. We're letting you borrow quite a few of our toys for the journey." "I - you - what?" "There's an inventory list in the back of the wagon," Pollius said, waving his hand dismissively. "I will be checking for it when you get back. Be well, darlings." Before Vitus could get more of an answer than that, the slimy magus left the stables, and left them to their devices. He stared after their strange host, shaking his head before turning to the wagon. [i]Might as well get this...oh...god...[/i] He'd finally stepped up to the rear of the wagon, and as soon as he looked in properly, the bleeding aura of the wagon made sense. The flaps inside stretched out into the distance, and what had seemed a space no more than ten feet by eight turned into something at least as large as a small house, perhaps as large as the mansion's first floor. He stared, mouth agape as he saw Neena restrained to one wall with curtains around her, and the rest of the wagon fairly open-plan, consisting of bedrolls on one side, storage on another, and so much more. No wonder it felt so magical. It was a traveling mansion spell. Katya slid out through the front, sitting on the driver's seat. He joined her, taking the reins of the animals at the front. He did his best to ignore the slight hell-sheen of red around them as he got comfortable, clearing his throat. "So, um...are you going to hide the aura, or -" "On the way out, yes. Once we reach the city limits and are outside the walls, you'll be taking over." "...You are going to teach me how, right?" "Of course. Our survival depends on remaining undiscovered; if you fail, we are all exposed, so I must ensure that you succeed." Breathing a sigh of relief, he looked over his shoulder again. It was hard not to stare at Neena's silhouette, particularly as she was starting to buck her hips against the vibrating stone between her legs, and he was bright red as he finally dragged his eyes away from the shadowy shape. He adjusted his cock in his pants, shaking his head as he flicked the reins. "Is there...is there a point to that?" "I want her to be too distracted to manage a sending spell," Katya said, shaking her head. "There are too many ways that she might get in touch with her master. He may have safeguards in place besides her spirit, and there may be other agents in town. the last thing we need is for her to pass on any information on where we are and what we're doing." "And...sex is the way to stop that?" "Until she is turned, it is one of the most effective distractions, and the hardest to think through. Unless we were to begin torture." The way that she said it made it clear that it was a viable option as far as she was concerned, and he didn't know if she was holding back for his sake or because this was a genuinely better option in her mind. Vitus shivered, taking the reminder that his teacher was devoted to a Demon Lord and putting it in the back of his mind. Much as she had helped him - as much as she had rescued Robin and Piers from death as well as himself - there was no denying that she had her own agenda. They left the manor behind, and Katya began muttering her spells. He hoped that it would be enough. # Perhaps Westcrown was more magical than it looked, because Vitus was sure that there was some protection or other that they'd left behind as soon as they passed through the northern gates for the city. The heat had been bad in the crowded streets, but standing outside of the walls left them absolutely scorched. Vitus panted, unable to hold back the dog-like reaction, and even Katya was sweating more than she had been. Piers's complaints in the rear of the wagon quieted down - out of exhaustion, he imagined - and Robin said nothing. The only sounds that could be heard were the ghost-sounds of the stifled moans coming from Neena's section of the wagon, and that was more an awareness of a sound that should be there rather than an actual noise. They were alone on the road, the only ones crazy enough to head out of the city during the day rather than taking the night routes, and Vitus groaned as he leaned back on the driver's chair. His mentor smiled slightly. "Well, it seems time enough for you to start practicing." "I hate this." "You will hate it more if you don't practice." "I hate you." "You're allowed." "I hate all of this." "You can hate as much as you want. Feelings don't matter when you're still practicing. As long as the job gets done, you can hate or love it as much as you want." "Can you just let me hate?" "I think I'm doing exactly that." "It's not so satisfying without a reaction." "I know." The smugness didn't help, but it did make him feel like he had become a whining little bitch, and if there was one thing that the Hellhound in him didn't want to be, it was a bitch. He sat up a little straighter, took a deep breath, and failed to notice Katya's other spell until it was too late. The transformation hit him like an avalanche, his clothes disappearing and the illusion that hid his transformation fading all at once. The deep red of his fur with the black stripes through it popped into view almost immediately, but so did the strange bit of comfort that came from being himself. Even as he started to settle into the 'proper' form of the Hellhound and tried not to be too comfortable at the same time, the heat of the day seemed to fade into the back of his mind. There was something...something almost familiar about the stifling heat of Cheliax, and he put it down to the Hellhound remembering what it was like down in Hell. He imagined that the two were far more similar than he wanted to think about. But it wasn't just him changing, he realized. A deep moan followed from within the wagon, and he whipped his head around to see Robin stripped to the skin, skin that was rapidly becoming furred rather than hairless. He turned back to Katya, his eyebrows going up even as his muzzle started growing out. "Explanation. Now." "You both need to learn how to control yourselves." "I can -" "Without staying human all the time." "..." "You will have to control your human form, staying in something more...acceptable to the devil-worshipers, yes. But she? She is a were-rat, now, and the more that she tries to hold the rat back, the more that it will overwhelm her when she is in her bestial form. She needs to learn how to handle the instincts and the needs, and learn how to avoid the shame of it all the time." "..." "And you need to learn how to deal with your pack, Vitus. You are Melchiresa’s chosen hunter, the leader of her pack. You need to see them for what they are. They are not human any longer." "They aren't beasts, either." "But they are [i]not[/i] human. And the more that you insist that they must be, the more that you put down what they have become. Someone demon-touched, or a lycanthrope, or a spirit-possessed being is not less than a human, or an elf, or any of the other creatures that you so delusionally call 'civilized.' Those species do not have a monopoly on being ‘people.’ Your pack doesn’t need to be [i]human[/i] to be [i]people.[/i] And every moment you spend pretending that they still should be, trying to force them to be what they once were, devalues what they’ve become. "It’s important that you understand this, Vitus. If you continue holding them back, if you insist on burying what they – and you – have become, then you will be too weak to handle the challenges ahead. If you fall, what are the rest of us to do?" "Rely on you, maybe?" he muttered. "Or the damn demon." "They are not sufficient on their own. If they were, they would not need you." Katya shook her head. "And it is time that you started practicing. Here. Look." As Katya waved her hand, summoning sigils of fire, Vitus only half-attended her lecture. The rest of his attention was on the smell rising from the back of the wagon. Not just the rat-smell of Robin's other form or the sweat-smell of the other people, but rather the wet-heat-smell of both Robin and Neena. There was a sense of...of lust from them, lust and rutting need that could not be entirely hidden from a dog's nose, and he had something even stronger than that. He rubbed his nose as the sun beamed down on his rising cock, trying to ignore that need. Katya didn't let him. Even as she gestured with one hand to create the runes that he needed to learn, she reached down with the other to squeeze the base of his cock. He grunted, thrusting his hips forward as the canine shape started taking over down there, too, fur running down his balls, his legs, his toes, his ankles rising up and cracking as they assumed the shape of paws. "Stop thinking of what you were. Start understanding what you are, or you'll never get this. Now...draw this rune." "Are you - mmmph - are you going - ah - to be giving me a handjob the whole way there?" "Only if you can't learn your lesson." "..." "Now, draw the rune." # Robin wasn't sure what had caused the sudden shift to her rat form, but she got used to the bottom-heavy shape fast enough. The fact that she was naked in front of her husband and the prisoner was a little...off-putting (and more than she expected it to be) but there was something comforting about it at the same time. It felt like there was a dismissal of pretention by casting off the clothes and her human shape, and the fact that Piers actually looked at her with something resembling want for the first time in days didn't hurt, either. They even had a moment of touching each other. It didn't last, and she didn't finish, but they were able to find some affection for each other despite her rat shape. Piers even got off in her hand, cumming despite the touch of her 'beast' side. It was progress, and significant progress, considering the fact that he wouldn't even allow her to touch him in the past. That said, there was an odd sort of guilt from him afterward, and he refused to talk to her as the wagon continued its journey down the road. Considering that Vitus was too busy with his teacher to talk to her, she decided to check on the prisoner. She slid under the curtain to see how the bound woman was doing. It was her first time getting a good look at the other woman. The fiery red hair had been hard to miss previously, as had the softness to her features, but now that she was naked, it was hard not to see just how...exotic she looked. She remembered the dark elf that had been part of their group before. While Neena didn't have skin so black as that, she was a deep brown, dark enough to look sweet to the touch, and with the heat leaving her so wet and shiny, the sweat added to the exotic nature that she presented. Her body was smooth, hairless below the neck, almost as if something was keeping it from growing. There, between her legs, rather than hair, she sprouted a few yellow-green scales, and they swept like a dusting of something completely different around her clit and the sides of her sex. [i]Some spirit's in her...[/i] As Neena rolled her hips, the other woman kept in a squat rather than a proper kneeling stance, the other woman finally opened her eyes. Robin and the Aasimar's agent met each other's gaze, and both blushed, looking away almost immediately after. "Nnngh...you...you will...ah...you will be...taken back." "I don't think so." "Master...master will come for me." "You really think that he cares about you?" Robin asked. "He's an asshole. He wants to take over, nothing more and nothing less." "He has...he has plans...plans for us all." "That's what I'm worried about." Robin shook her head as she looked at their prisoner. Urges for things that she had never felt before were rising up in her. She was ready for something more sensual, that much she expected. Being a rat, embracing the bestial side of herself, had always brought up some really weird things. The fantasies that she'd had on the boat trip from Absalom to Cheliax had given her the chance to get used to the feeling of wanting things that would have been unacceptable as a human. Even the session with Katya had been half-expected, even though she hadn't been very interested in women before. Being a were-rat took a lot of shame out of having sex, almost like the dirty little species had that sort of expectation for itself. But this... She had thoughts of dragging things out of the other woman. Guardsmen and Guardswomen were taught how to interrogate others, yes, but she'd never been taught how to take that from questioning to torture. Yet, in her mind's eye, she saw herself taking up the whips and other tools in the wagon and - [i]It would be easy. She doesn't expect it.[/i] And it would be so...practical. And helpful. The sexual stuff was just keeping the other woman primed for sexy thoughts, keeping her from thinking of how to save herself, how to do anything [i]but[/i] enjoy the treatment she was getting. There was no need to think of anything but pleasure, at least not now. But if she took it further... Robin kept waiting for her morals to catch up, to tell her that whipping the bitch until she came from the pain and begged for more was unacceptable, but pragmatism kept telling her that it wasn't a bad idea. Her libido told her that it was a really good one. And that lack of reaction was enough to stop her. She stepped away, sliding to the rear of the wagon. For now, she'd need to figure that out...and deal with the frustration still burning in her loins. # Three hours and one transformation later, they reached a village on the road north. It was a recently-built one that had sprung up beside a half-dry riverbed running south, and it bore the banners of House Thrune - the ruling house of Cheliax - all over the place. Every building had a banner hanging from it, proudly declaring the town's loyalty with the symbol of a four-spoked spiked wheel. "Welcome to Bloodrun," Vitus read off the sign at the south side of the town. "Well, that's charming." "It looks recent," Katya admitted, tilting her head one way and then the other. "Probably built in the last ten years or so. At least, that would be my guess." "The name's not exactly welcoming, is it?" "That, I would imagine, is down to the way that they're running it. Can't you smell it?" "I'm trying not to..." The air was thick with the smell of clotted blood, thick and metallic and just a little stomach-churning. He imagined the only reason that it wasn't enough to make him vomit right then and there was the fact that the Hellhound liked the gory stuff more than he did, and that was sufficient to keep his stomach where it belonged. He almost wished he could vomit, at that. Shaking his head, he guided the wagon into town. The spells of disguise were coming from him now, and that meant that it was a little more draining. The sigils had to be kept in his mind, running in rapid succession of one shape after another. It wasn't impossible, but it did mean that multi-tasking was a great deal harder than it had been when all he had to do was draw the shapes by hand and devote power to them. Despite the upside being that he didn't need to invest as much energy at once to the spell, he almost would have preferred to just draw them out and deal with being exhausted rather than having to keep them on his mind all the time. Of course, the fact that this sort of spellcasting kept the magic from being as obvious meant that he didn't have much choice. From what Katya said, having the magic spell in the mind rather than on a subject did more than just hide the runes. It also kept the magical aura from spilling out and revealing itself. It was, annoyingly, worth the headache that the effort required. But just because he was thinking of magic didn't mean that he didn't notice the town itself, and Bloodrun was...something. They passed no less than four auction sites, each one consisting of a rough wooden stage that had been slapped together with sticks and ropes, covered with rough wooden panels that had clearly been leftover from the construction phase of the town, and filled with dozens of half-naked to completely naked slaves. They were dragged forward only to be shoved to their knees as auctioneers listed off a very limited life story, as unemotional as one could get, before calling out bids. Slaves that reached certain threshholds were branded and handed off to owners that would keep them for longer than the day, while those that got lower bids were bought just for the rising and falling of the sun. Those that weren't bought, on the other hand, were yanked off the stage and tossed into other wagons. Vitus watched as the wagons departed for the river-side of the town as soon as they were filled, and he shivered as he heard the cries coming from the carts. "What are they doing?" he muttered. "There's a reason they call the town 'Bloodrun,' I imagine," Katya said. "You can't be serious." "Devils are obsessed with value. Demons may do things on a whim, or for a deal, but devils will only follow through on a pact so long as they are still getting what they want. Considering the way that Cheliax runs on Diabolism, and the fact that the entire country is running on a perpetual shortage..." "They run the country on a slavery system, and then they get rid of the ones that aren't valuable anymore?" "Not valuable up here, at least. There is always a value in souls..." Fighting the urge to vomit, Vitus almost managed to keep his stomach from flipping out when he made the mistake of looking towards the river. They had reached a gap in the buildings to allow a greater road to the riverside, and he stared at the ritual taking place out there. Slaves were held in shackles, their arms over their head as they were dangled from an iron bar. Beneath them, fire surged, and from it, great horns and pitchforks raised up from a realm so far below that it screamed with heat that rivaled the sun. The slave that dangled from it screamed as he was branded with an iron of hellish sigils, ripping the right to his own soul from him before the pitchforks stabbed from below, impaling the mortal and killing him. Not slowly, either. As the after-image of a reddened soul was ripped from the dangling body, Vitus leaned over the side and started throwing up. His stomach refused to stay put after seeing something like that. # From inside the wagon, Piers had the same view, and his eyes went wide as he witnessed the brutal execution. Somehow, despite his expectations of what slave-holders must have been like, the utter horror of the killing still struck him to his core. "This...they..." Words failed him as he slumped back against the edge of the wagon. Visions of his tiefling lover came back to him, and so did her words. An execution here, a death there, it was all meant to bring the villains of the world back in line and remind them of the consequences of their actions. Brutality begat fear, and fear of what could happen was supposed to draw the criminals back from the edge and set them back to the proper order, to the proper way to behave in society. He'd even agreed with her...but this? How was this... [i]I would never...ever commit a crime that would lead me to that...[/i] Piers stared at the execution platform, watching as another slave was brought up to the iron bar. They were hung from their wrists, and even before the branding could occur, the devils from below were screaming, their words all but incomprehensible to him from this distance, but they still echoed with a savagery barely covered with the veneer of civility. They did not offer gold, nor power, but time. Time of authority, months of life, seasons of plenty for those above. Officials wrote down the offers, eventually nodding when this devil or that won a bid and gesturing to a specific brand. The screams that followed were evidence enough of the suffering of the soul sent to Hell. [i]They...they earned this...they made too many mistakes...and now, they pay for it...[/i] They had to have paid for it. There was no other way that this could work. Slaves that were just taken for no good reason, sacrificed because nobody would buy them and take a chance on them...they had to be the worst of the worst. There was no other reason that he could accept for this sort of exchange, and...and at least they were contributing to the rest of those on the surface, this way. At least, by their sacrifice, for their punishment, the devils were giving something [i]good[/i] to those that were still living in the desert. It wasn't ideal. But it was better than nothing. And it had to be working to dissuade some from crime, or it wouldn't be the way that everything operated, right? Piers slumped down, covering his face as he tried to make it make sense. He had a horrible feeling that it never would. # They reached a tavern and pulled the horses to a stop. After three hours in the desert at the height of the day's heat, they needed a break and to get some food and drink. Katya dismounted the wagon to tie up the horses while Vitus looked in the wagon. "Anything you need?" he muttered. "Anything that doesn't get us drunk to drink, and something meaty for food," Robin said. "Will do. Anything else?" "If we get the chance, you." "Me?" "I need something to distract me from that whimpering, whining, needy thing in the corner..." Vitus groaned. He should have guessed that there'd be a hunger for something like that, too. They hadn't had the chance to do much since they'd arrived, particularly with him making good with the Cinnas and then being required to attend various magical lessons. And...he'd admit that he'd missed the feeling of that slippery pussy around his cock, and the Hellhound in him desperately wanted to take her while being watched. That one time...and the other times... [i]Stop.[/i] [i]It was good. We declared dominance. You enjoyed it as much as I did.[/i] Talking to himself probably wasn't a good thing, either. He shook his head, sliding away from the center of the driver's seat and hopping down. The illusion was still running strong, and he could feel that the clothes were holding in heat again, which meant that they were real enough for his sake. A cloud of dust kicked up as he hit the ground, and he waved it off with one hand. Before he could enter the clay building, however, someone stepped out of an alley just to the side. He turned his head to see what it was, and his eyes widened. It was a slave, he assumed, but not the sort of slave that he had ever expected to see. She stood with her head half-bowed, obviously fighting to meet his eyes, and her half-tanned, half-burned flesh looked like it was barely keeping itself together. A dozen or more brands stood out against sunburned skin, marking her as used or owned more times than he could count. Here and there, scales stood out against once-fair flesh, sandy brown and pebbly, and she had fangs that pushed past her lips that bespoke of a more bestial nature herself. But it was the pointed ears that told him that he was looking at an elf. An elf, all the way out here in Cheliax, and so altered that it was hard to see the elf traits any longer. She forced herself to stand up straight, a meager stub of a tail sticking out past her bare ass, and she pulled her hands down to her sides to keep her breasts pushed forward and on display. Skull charms hung from silver bars jabbed through her nipples, and she clearly winced from them. "I am...Shereeza...slave and whore. Please let me serve you. Please...please let me serve you before they find me..." [b][u][center]The End[/center][/u][/b] Summary: Vitus and the others leave Westcrown for the isolated Leontina mansion, and learn a few things on the way. Tags: F/solo, M/F, Nudity, Sex Toy, Bondage, Masturbation, Elf, Human, Were-Rat, Were Rat, Wererat, Hellhound, Wet, Needy, Sweat, Series, Magic, Prostitution, Slavery, Death, Fantasy,