[b][u][center]Special Positions, Special Perks Part 18 For a-lycotonum By Draconicon[/center][/u][/b] Cazna was having something akin to a magical hangover, except that instead of being from drinking too much, it was from indulging in too much hedonism. The drow groaned, leaning her head over the side of the bed, staring through bleary eyes at the floor. “Ugh…” [i]Finally.[/i] The sound of her demon lord in her head didn’t make the ‘hangover’ any better, nor did the feeling of feathers along her arms and gracing the small of her back. There were multiple fluffy spots across her body now, she realized, and none of them were supposed to be there. She tried to roll over, only to feel everything on her chest drag her back down to laying on her belly. [i]…How much did I change this time?[/i] A lot, apparently. She could feel the heaviness of her breasts in a way that she had never felt before, and they were dragging on her shoulders and back in a whole new way. She groaned as she tried to lift herself up, wanting to see the damage for herself, but the heaviness of it, her position, and possibly other changes in her body made that completely impossible. Grumbling under her breath, she started to stretch her legs out, only to freeze as she felt other feathers along her rump. She slowly turned her head, looking over her shoulder. [i]Tail feathers. Well…that’s not good…[/i] She had talons, tail feathers, and the majority of her wings, now. That meant that the harpy curse was definitely spreading further than she thought, and the fact that her breasts were feeling so heavy…Yeah, that meant that there was a good chance that she was more than halfway to the bimbo body that a harpy would have. Her skin would probably start bleaching next, and her hair… She reached up to her locks, pulling it forward. They were still mostly white, but there were streaks of blonde through it now, platinum colors amidst the pure white. The drow grumbled under her breath, slowly pushing her hands down under her. Her head was spinning, and her pussy was burning, and her asshole was clenching. Her nipples felt hard against the sheets, and she knew from experience – from a thankfully one-time experience – that it meant that Hashila was starting to take control. Her body had been burning with arousal for a long time, but it had surged to a new level of need, a new level of heat. Squelch. Something inside of her, cum, she imagined, squelched out of her as she moved, as her ass cheeks pressed together again. Grumbling to herself, she kept pushing herself upright, gradually forcing herself into a plank position. From there, she was able to roll to the side, and then on her back – “MMMPH!” Her new, bigger breasts flopped over and hit her in the face, almost smothering her in her own sweaty flesh. The musky smell of boob sweat combined with a few lines of cum on her chest made it all the worse, and she groaned to herself as she realized that she had grown a lot more than she had initially expected. The sight of her breasts was…well, not encouraging. They were each bigger than her head, reaching a size that was utterly impossible for someone to manage without magical assistance. She glared at them as if they had tried to attack and smother her intentionally, shaking her head as she put her hands at her sides, slowly levering herself upwards. Her breasts shifted, pushing down instead of up – “GAH!” And they yanked her right out of bed. The normally well-collected elf woman groaned and grumbled, hissing curse words under her breasts as her body continued to make her life far more difficult than it had to be. [i]I’m going to kill someone. I swear, I am going to kill someone.[/i] [i]Or fuck someone,[/i] Hashila said. [i]I have suggestions.[/i] [i]Mmmph. Not the time.[/i] [i]Hmmph. You’re not wrong…[/i] At least the demon lord wasn’t entirely stupid. For all that the harpy had been insistent on trying to claim Vitus, there was still the whole point of Cazna being sent up here in the first place. The whole plan was based on stopping Brundir, and that meant that she couldn’t be fucking around too much right now. [i]I don’t suppose you can retract some of the curse…[/i] [i]And let you think that you were more than a mere member of the flock?[/i] Cazna had guessed that would be the case, though it didn’t make her any happier to hear it. She had to do another push-up to get to her feet, and even then, she wobbled. Her hips were far wider than they had been, turning her into one hell of a busty, big-assed bimbo of a harpy. The only thing missing was the pale skin, the blonde hair, and the puffy lips. She was not going to get puffy lips. She swore that much. She was [i]not[/i] getting puffy lips. Taking a deep breath, she settled herself on her talons, looking out the window of her small chamber. The sun had come up, which meant that it was a brand new day. She remembered vaguely that Vitus had gotten something from the human commander last night, something that would allow them to summon the city watch when it was time. Other than that… There were flashes. Flashes of being the instigator, pushing the hellhound to rut the were-rat, to make him use her, to make him use herself, too. She remembered some paw stuff, remembered that her feet and talons had been licked so much that she had cum from that alone. She remembered there being – “Fuck…” The ache in her asshole told her what else had been done, and she grumbled under her breath as she realized just how debauched the previous night had gotten. No wonder she was feeling sore. No wonder she was feeling like she’d been in the middle of an orgy. But at least it meant that they had their allies. And if she could just make sure that this didn’t go badly, now… There was still a chance for the breaking of Brundir to lead to her mistress getting what she wanted. Taking down Brundir would open up a place for Vitus to go, and if he didn’t have a master distracting him, then he would be easy prey for the wiles of the harpy. The demon lord Hashila could claim him…if they struck at the right time. Otherwise…she might be claimed by him. [i]You best not fail, Cazna. I will not see a member of the flock under Melchiresa.[/i] A shiver ran down her spine at the thought of that. The idea of being caught by a hound was humiliating enough, but the idea of having her demon lord angry at her was worse. If that power was retracted from her, she’d be left soulless, empty of her sense of self, and empty of power. She’d be a harpy without the demonic energy that powered the others, and that…that would mean death in this world. She shivered. If she was kicked out, all she could hope for was that Vitus would take her in, that he would be able to convince Melchiresa to allow her to be part of the pack, to have a hint of demon energy again. That would be the only thing that would save her at that point. And if she didn’t get that… Cazna slapped herself on the tit, sending it wobbling…and sending her to the floor. At least it made Hashila shut up. # Vitus heard the thump in the other room, but didn’t bother getting out of bed. After the long night that he’d gone through, he didn’t know if he wanted to. It wasn’t just the sex, though that had been part of it. It wasn’t just the way that he had felt afterwards, either, though that, too, had been part of it. Sorting through the feelings of possessiveness that he’d felt for both Cazna and Robin had been difficult, to say the least, and he honestly wasn’t sure what to do with that. But no, neither of those were the cause of the long night. Instead, it had been a dream. Or…well, he rather hoped that it was a dream. It had been filled with neither sights nor sounds, but rather smells, smells of the sort that hellhounds would track as they went from place to place. He smelled the deep, sulfurous depths of the lower levels of Hell, and he smelled the scents of rutting women and men. He’d smelled the familiar scents of the hounds, the packs, and among them, he had smelled something that he hadn’t scented since his time in the Arcanamirium. His old professor. Professor Orlov. In his dream, he had been walking at her side, and there had been the great demon behind the both of them. Words had been whispered, little things exchanged, but he had never been able to hear it. It was as if the words were muttered by someone else, as if he had been a passenger in the dream. Even now, he didn’t know what had been said, as if someone was still blocking it off from him. But he remembered the feeling of her at his side, and he remembered the comfort that it had offered him. It was strange, off-putting, demonic in the worst of ways, and it should have been evil. Yet, for all that, he had felt…safe. Comforted. At home. He didn’t know what else had happened during the dream, but his legs and arms felt like he had been traveling through the night, as if he had been on all fours and…and loping along like some sort of feral wolf rather than as himself. Vitus didn’t know what to make of it, but he felt like something had changed in the world, and in himself. Not necessarily for the better, either. The hellhound felt stronger again, and that hound…that hound was fighting two different leashes at the same time. He could feel one pulling him towards Master Brundir, while the other one pulled him off towards the darkness, towards the paths of the forest where the hunt was always running. It dragged him towards studding, towards burying his cock in wet holes and leaving them swollen and filled with the new litters that Melchiresa wanted. He could feel it dragging him towards the debauched lack of thought that only a beast could have, and he shivered as he felt his cock throbbing upwards in eager morning wood at the mere thought of such a thing. Vitus rolled over onto his side, looking at the door to his bedroom. It was morning. Yes. Morning. And that meant that the creatures of the night weren’t going to be around for long. The once-human groaned as he kicked one paw out of bed, then the other, setting them on the floor as he sat up. “…Fuck you…” He glared at his cock, the dog dick standing up tall and proud, begging for the attention that it probably knew that it was going to get. Despite getting used all night long, there was still a hefty amount of weight to the furred sac just below it, and he groaned at the idea of having it milked again. The hellhound wanted it, badly. It wanted to keep studding, to expand the harem that it had built for itself with Cazna and Robin. Despite the fact that Robin honestly belonged to someone else, the hellhound could not help but see her as belonging to it. And after last night, Vitus had a hard time arguing, particularly after seeing Piers not even try to put up a fight. He rubbed the back of his head as he got to his feet, stretching upwards, then downwards, then upwards again. His body was sore, but not that sore. A little tired, but not that tired. Almost like he had gotten a good bit of exercise before he had flopped out, and not just the sexual sort. [i]What happened last night?[/i] Because something had. He couldn’t get that part out of his head. Something had happened between when he woke up and when he had laid down. He didn’t know what it was, but… Maybe the dream was more real than he thought. [i]Impossible. No way I left the grounds and traveled that far. Melchiresa doesn’t even have that sort of power…[/i] At the same time, there was no other explanation available. And what if she did? She had been the only demon lord to invade the Arcanamirium with that sort of altar, to spread her power the way that she had and keep people corrupted. He had thought that he’d been stripped of her influence, but no. It was obviously still there, and… “Ugh.” “Bad morning?” Cazna. He looked up at the doorway, saw her peering around it. He nodded, rubbing his eyes. “Not great. You?” “Horrible.” She opened the door the rest of the way, and he had an immediate throb down below as he saw what had happened to her. She had been turned into something that was as contrary to the warrior woman that he had met all those days ago as one could imagine. She was as busty as the most well-endowed whore, with more hips than the curviest mother. She had an ass that could sway for days, and she looked more like a toy than she did anything else. Her talons were constantly clenching and releasing, and she whimpered as his eyes flicked up and down her body. “Stop it. I’m barely keeping it in check as it is.” “What is ‘it’?” “What do you think, hmm?” “Ah…” He nodded in understanding. They were both dealing with something that was beyond their control, both of them being influenced by the demon lords that were vying for supremacy. He wondered if they’d ever be able to ditch that. He wondered if Cazna even wanted to, considering how far along her transformation she was. Before he could ask anything else, though, there was a knock at the door to their little out-building. They shared a glance, and Vitus stepped around her. There was no need to summon a robe; on the grounds, there was only the Master’s power, and that power protected the both of them from being noticed. He opened it, and there was the Master. The aasimar smiled at him, eyes glowing softly. “It’s time.” “…Now?” Vitus asked, his eyes wide. “Yes, indeed. The elementals have done their job. The spell is prepared. It is time to change the world. Come along.” “I…Yes, Master.” There was a harsh tug just behind his rib cage, and he knew that even that was a gentle thing that his master was doing, something small and soft that would get far worse if he decided to try and fight the summons. He groaned under his breath, following on the path behind the hoofed mage, hearing Cazna do the same. He could hear her grunting, grimacing, and that meant that she was probably being pulled along by her soul contract, too. And that meant that they were not going to be allowed freedom. Not allowed to do things without his say-so. [i]No time. Gotta call them…call them now…[/i] Vitus bit down on the bit of gold ooze in his teeth, and hoped that the spell would be felt wherever the Watch was. # They were placed on the circles in the middle of the spell-form in the room deep in the bowels of Brundir’s mansion. They were naked, and so were the other demon-touched folk that Brundir had summoned for the spell. Vitus didn’t know any of them, but he could see how they’d been changed. There were half-humans, most of them, with some elves, one a little halfling. All of them, however, had been twisted more towards the bestial. He saw one that had been transformed partway to a minotaur, the once-elven woman having gained great size in her breasts and shoulders, but with a horse-like cock that hung between her legs, with balls too big to be contained in any sort of cloth. She stood on her circle like she was in a trance, her eyes hazy, colored white, her cock dripping like mad into the symbol she stood on. Elsewhere, he saw a man whose skin had been replaced with scales, whose mouth had been pulled forward in a sharp, hooked snout, and who had wings that were slowly growing out of his back. His cock stood out as much as the minotaur’s did, though his shape was different, more brutal. There were ridges along the side and a thick layer of barbs near the tip, brutal and meant to dominate. More and more, he took in the different species around him, realizing that Master Brundir had quite possibly treated them as much as lovers as resources. He wondered how many had been used by the aasimar when he had been too busy to be summoned to the Master’s side. Even he felt the pressure and pleasure of the spell around him, his cock rising and throbbing eagerly to the pulsing magic that was starting to build around them. His cheeks burned as he felt his shaft rising up, his cock twitching, the tapered tip getting slippery and slimy with his hellish juices. And inside, inside, the hellhound screamed for freedom, growling and lashing out against the collar that held it pinned in his mind. [i]Calm down, calm down![/i] Vitus shouted in the back of his head, trying to break through to the beast that wanted to break out. It lashed out at him, too, but the claws did not strike him through the barrier in his mind. He stared down at the beast in his head, even as he remained as still as possible in the real world. He felt Master Brundir watching them, the aasimar’s gaze circling the room. The mage stood in the exact middle of the spiraling circles, turning on his heels bit by bit, taking in his collection. Vitus did his best to keep his expression neutral, but every time, he wondered if he had exposed himself, if he had given something away. Whenever he wasn’t being stared at by Master Brundir, he felt Cazna looking his way. She was the only other person in the room that was fighting against the spell, that had some conscious thought left to her, but he didn’t know what she could do. He had to be the one…he had to be the one to do something. Vitus reached out into the back of his mind, trying to get his hellhound side to listen. He pressed down, bringing his thoughts to bear. [i]You can’t get out. Not without my help.[/i] [i]I am strong![/i] [i]He is stronger. Listen. We can break this. He has the spell here, the forms.[/i] [i]RRRRRRGH![/i] [i]Listen![/i] Vitus fought back a grimace as the howled in his ears. [i]Listen. We can get out. But you have to listen.[/i] [i]…Get me…out…[/i] [i]I will, soon. But listen. The circle. The symbols. You can push, yes? You can move?[/i] [i]…a little…[/i] [i]Use your strength. My thoughts. This one. The triangle with a spike. Change that; make it rounded at the corners.[/i] As soon as Master Brundir turned away, the hound did as he was told, extending one paw to the symbols, altering them as Vitus pointed out the ones that were most dangerous to the pair of them. One by one, they went down the circle, changing them, altering the signs that would bind their new soul to the aasimar to one that would leave them split from him. Free. Every time that the Master turned to look at them, fear settled on his heart, and so did more guilt than he could have borne alone. The Master wanted him, needed him, cared for him in his own way. The hoofed mage wanted to keep him, to use him, to love him and train him. He could learn… He could be used… He could be… [i]Object…dominated. Wrong![/i] The hound kept him back, the leash that infuriated the hound being the same leash that tempted Vitus. They were of one mind on this, at least. If they were to stay – and the hound definitely didn’t want to, but if they did – they had to be free. No compulsion. Not here. They changed the markings as they went, and out of the corner of their eyes, the hellhound and the sorcerer noticed that Cazna was taking their lead, doing the same changes. Bit by bit, they were unleashing themselves. With the final symbol changed, something shifted around them. Not in the spellform, but in the manor. The devil, he realized. It had noticed something, was trying to hide something. Shifting to – [i]He’s trying to stop the Watch,[/i] Vitus realized. [i]He’s not down here. He’s guarding this whole thing.[/i] And perhaps, that might have worked…if the devil wasn’t as bound to law as everything else that was going on. THUMP! Master Brundir sped up his casting, moving through the spellforms faster, further. The aasimar was starting to sweat, Vitus realized, and he smiled. It seemed that even the great adventurer hadn’t planned for something like this. The race between completing the spell and being caught out was finished in short order, with the Watch reaching the bottom of the stairs just before the purple-skinned mage could finish the spell. Piers and Robin, along with two dozen guards, watched as Master Brundir threw his arms in the air, casting out the spell through the circle at his feet and through the silver-marked room. The sudden explosion of energy nearly knocked Vitus off his feet, and he screamed as he felt the sudden burst of power that jolted through his paws. He arched his back, throwing his head back with a howling scream, and he struggled to keep from falling over right then and there. “AAAAAAAAAAAAAGH!” The screams were echoed by the other men and women in the circle, the various demon-touched losing what was left of their humanity, their elven selves, the little halfling going from flesh to shadow as she was completely consumed. All of them screamed as their mortal soul was lost in that moment. In that moment, the change rippled through him, the hellhound gaining its full form. A true muzzle broke through the half-muzzle that he’d restrained for days. His tail grew longer, and he grew taller, becoming more long and lanky, his entire body straining with the physical strength of a proper hellhound. He knew that if he so chose, he could will it and change to a feral form, becoming a dog bigger than the direst of wolves, with jaws that could crush stone. Heat burned in the back of his throat, hellfire that he could breathe upon his enemies, and his claws sharpened like the greatest blade. His magic surged forward, two, three, four times stronger than it had been, and he howled again as he felt it coursing through him, rippling through muscle and fur, flesh and fire. The howl echoed through the chamber as his connection to Hell deepened, the dark urges of the depths filling his crotch, making him throb… But unlike so many of the others…he was not soulless. He was not leashed. He felt something come to him. Not his mortal soul, but [i]a[/i] soul, nonetheless. He was…he was… Himself. Hound, Vitus. Demon, mortal. Beast, sorcerer. They were not one, but they were in agreement. They were not to stay here. He slumped forward, not in weakness, but in defiance. Vitus pressed against the barrier of his personal circle, and his power shredded the barrier against him. Brundir – not master, not now – turned to him, eyes wide. “You – Oh, I see…very clever…” The aasimar turned to Cazna, and then to the Watch. “Oh, very, very clever. What loophole did I leave, I wonder?” Brundir asked. “Binding people with devil magic is against the law of Absalom,” Piers said, tucking his helmet under his arm. “And as such, we were obliged to investigate the source of the magic. Now that we’ve caught you in the middle of a truly terrible spell…I have to admit, the investigation will be long…but thorough. You will be brought to justice for whatever crimes you have committed.” “…Will I?” Gralon Brundir asked. “You have played by the rule of law so far. I imagine that there is a reason for that; if you do not submit to the rule of law now –” WHOOSH! The lights in the room went out, and something – something dark, something powerful – moved across the floor. Vitus cursed under his breath, but by the time that he thought to breathe fire and light the room once more, the damage was done. As his fire burst from his mouth, the silver had been removed from the floor. The spellforms were gone, the lines and circles, spirals and symbols destroyed. There was nothing left, nothing but the empty earth to show that there might have ever been a purpose to this room besides mere gatherings. And in the center, still, stood Brundir…Brundir and his many servants, the bestial creatures standing behind him like a force all their own. Vitus flinched, knowing that any and all of them would be a match for the entire force of the Watch assembled at the base of the staircase. All of them together would be enough to wipe the floor with them and ensure that nobody returned to the world above. Brundir shook his head, reaching into his robes and pulling forth several scrolls. “Now, let me see…Yes, here is one. A license from the enchanting department of the Arcanamirium to summon forth outsiders, to be named by me, and to pay said outsiders for their service and contract with the silver used to summon and bind them in the first place. And here. A contract to allow for privacy in my spellcasting, with limited binding spells to enforce secrecy in the case of unexpected witnesses…” “You…who would have signed those?” Piers demanded. “Why, the heads of the guilds, of course. I do ensure that my plans are backed up as well as possible.” Once more, Vitus cursed under his breath. The plan of arresting the master of the manor had just gone down the tubes. He didn’t even know if the aasimar still had to operate within the bounds of law, but here he was, doing it anyway. Sealed bargains, legal bindings to ensure that the privacy that he paid for would go inviolate. Even if Piers and Robin were able to bring the charges to the city courts, were able to charge the aasimar, they would be bound to never bring the evidence forward of what they’d seen. And now, there was no physical evidence, either. And the victims would not charge their abuser, either. [i]Fuck…[/i] There was no getting out of this with a win. There was only the chance of getting out of there with their skin. Cazna looked at him, a wordless offer on her hips. A feather in her hand, an offer to join the flock. He could, he realized. There was more than one demon lord, more than one way out, and the feather would give him the wings to flee if they could break a hole through the ceiling. It would be the only way out that limited those that could pursue them… But if he gave himself again… Another rumble shook the entire manor, one that threatened to knock more than just the Watch off their feet. Several figures, including the shadow at Brundir’s side, fell to their knees, and even the dragon nearly lost his balance. “What was that?” Brundir asked as calmly as one could imagine. “Did you bring reinforcements, then? I have deals for them, as –” CRACK! The ceiling above them shattered, and another spell, a greater one than the devil magic that he had been feeling up until that point, followed. It shattered the air like a thunderclap, and the aasimar’s devil fell through the crack, slamming into the earth with broken arms and broken legs. For the first time, Vitus saw Brundir’s face fall. Not completely, but the confidence changed. Lessened. Everyone looked up at the crack, but only Vitus smiled. “Well?” Professor Orlov, short, squat, older Professor Orlov, called down. “Are we running or not?” # It was a hard-fought escape. The Watch died nearly to a man, and even Robin and Piers were marked with the scars of battle. Fire and ice, darkness and cursed hands had grasped for them, and their armor was seared almost to the bone. Robin had been forced to were-out, relying on the rat’s regeneration to keep from being killed, while Piers… Vitus looked at the back of the boat they fled in, looking at the near-dead human. Despite his steel armor, he had been battered, one arm lopped off, the wound cauterized. Yet, still, he had fought to cover their retreat, his enchanted longsword the only thing that had done much damage to all of the various demon-touched that had pursued them from the city. The hellhound grunted, his hands scarred from the ice that had pierced them, one eye half-blinded by the dragon’s acid breath. Cazna… Cazna had fled, flying from the grounds as soon as she could take flight. It had been him, Orlov, Piers, and Robin that had fled through the city to the boat, pursued by the demon-touched that Brundir sent after them. It had been frantic, horrifying, and even now, he wasn’t entirely sure that they were safe. The city loomed in the distance, lit by the noon sun as if lying about its fall to the forces of a devil and its minion, or vice-versa. There was no divine retribution, no magical battle going on. Absalom stood as if nothing had changed, except everything had. “He’ll be a while turning the entire city to his will,” Professor Orlov muttered from the bow of the little boat. “A year, maybe two; owning the authorities only gives him the power over laws, not over souls. Not yet.” Vitus shook his head. Slowly, he turned from the slowly-changing were-rat and her husband to his old teacher, meeting her eyes. They were golden, now, bestial, like his had become in the transformation. “Melchiresa wants something,” he muttered. “…Yes.” “And she sent you to get it.” “Yes.” “…Why did you go back?” “Because…I had to. I had my reasons.” “Hmmph.” “You’re alive because of me, and because of her.” “Some life.” “It’s your only chance to change things. You might want to think about that. And what you can offer.” “Why would I offer her anything?” “It’s the only way to deal with a demon. Offer it something before it just decides to take it, instead. Sometimes, you can make it settle for something less, and even get something of your own out of the bargain.” “…” “You’ve run out of other choices, Vitus. Either you make a deal, or she takes it all. It’s your choice.” As they sailed away from the city, their little boat rocking in the rising waves of deeper waters, he wondered if that was so, and if it were, what Melchiresa could actually want from him to go through the trouble of saving him in the first place. [b][u][center]The End[/center][/u][/b]