7 comments/ 13193 views/ 8 favorites Fingering the Idol By: Cruel2BKind *Normally I get the idea for one of my stories from a show, a movie, a book, or a game. The Bottom Tier series was influenced by 'The Windup Girl', Alone at the End of the World was influenced by 'The Walking Dead'. Slave Boy=Skyrim, Eyes Like Winona=Twist, etc. This is the first time however, that I got a story idea from a session of D&D. This is a one-shot story, there will be no other chapters to it. I got the idea when a friend of mine was trying to appraise an item with an NPC and my friend rolled a one. My DM told him that he pricked his finger, and I made a joke about the NPC seducing him. This is a story that will be hilarious and full of hidden jokes, for about half a dozen people. But I hope that any other D&D players will be able to see the outline of our session through this, and get a laugh or two out of it. All characters are 18+* * It was getting more and more dangerous to sail the archipelago. The Acid Rain pirates had attacked and burned four more ships to the waterline. There were rumors of entire elven villages being destroyed, with nearly half of the population dead and the other half missing. The king's war to the south was getting bloodier every month. Deserters fled north, west, further south. Captain was getting more and more worried. Which might have been why he let THOSE three on board. I was up in the rigging when he let them on board. I was supposed to be binding up the mainsail, but I stopped to watch. Barrett mostly hired humans, but none of these three looked human. I dropped down a little, getting lower. I pretended to be double-checking the knotted rope rigging, and I spied on them. First there was this bossy little half-elf. Tiny thing. She was in this holy robe with a sigul of one-or-another god on her chest. She had a crossbow slung over her back. She seemed to be doing most of the talking. Then there was this tall skinny gruesome thing. I couldn't tell much about it at all. Couldn't tell what race it was, couldn't even tell if it was a man or a woman. It had a long braid slung over the right shoulder, but the chest was flat as a wall. Not to mention, it was wearing a soft black face scarf that covered everything but scowly eyes. It towered over the other two, and it was bristling with weapons. Barrett was intimidated by those two, I could tell. The third fellow was the most interesting one. Barrett glanced up at me, so I scurried like a monkey to the upper reaches of the ship, but not before I got a good look at the other one. He was purple. Pale purple. His face looked scaly. I had never seen a purple man before. He wore an open-throated shirt that he hadn't bothered to lace up. A handful of colorful scarves adorned his clothes. Round his waist, round his head, round his neck. He chose them more for the color than anything. Bright silk and jingly charms. The effect was tawdry, and somewhat charming. I already made up my mind to get a closer look at the purple man. It would be up to him to decide just how close. --- Barrett was a hard but fair man. Down in mess, he told the ten of us that the new three were mercenaries. They wanted passage in exchange for protection. I gobbled my hardtack and salt pork while wondering idly if the purple man was warm like a man, or cold like a lizard. "The half-elf is Ana, the purple one is Lex..." Barrett made a grimace. "And the tall one calls herself Rat. If I find any of you trying to get into the half-elf's quarters, you'll be whipped. If any of you try to sneak into Rat's quarters, I think she'll kill you before I get the chance. I just want to get to Genofrey in one piece, so try to leave those three alone." I grinned. He said nothing at all about trying to sneak into Lex's quarters. "Honestly, James?" I jumped a little. Francis was giving me side-eye. "Fella seemed a little more interested in cozying up to that liddle elf-mutt. You may have a cock, but you're still the biggest whore I've ever seen." I scowled. "Yeah? And what would you know about it old-timer? You know that there are folks who like oysters AND snails." A man could dream. He chuckled. "You ever try to tug on my snail and I'll dunk you in the ocean." The burly old sailor got up and went back to the deck. I went back to wondering if the purple fella had scales all over. --- By the time I got on deck, we were sailing full-tilt away from the Isle of Pearls. I joined three other lunkheads at the quarterdeck in repairing the mainsail. A run-in with pirates had left it full of arrow-holes. Thankfully, we had been faster. But we wouldn't be for long unless we sewed up all the holes. I sat on a barrel, pushing a steel needle as long as my hand through the tough canvas. That half-elf lady was reading a book that looked about as big and heavy as a paving stone. Bernard kept giving her these hungry looks. I rolled my eyes. Fucking amateur. He was probably gonna get a bolt through him if he tried to chase that pussy. Meanwhile, Lex appeared to be doing... nothing. Man had his legs crossed and was staring glass-eyed at the setting sun. Hadn't moved in almost half an hour. Was he even blinking? That just made me curious. I grinned when I saw Francis deep in conversation with that gawky titless wonder. Talk about oysters and snails. This bitch probably had both. I glared at the setting sun. Two more hours before eight bells, when my shift was over. I at least got something interesting to watch. Francis and Rat got up. She opened up her pack and got some pieces of cloth to wrap around those big fancy knives stuck in the sides of her belt. Each one was curved and about a foot long. Francis picked up a quarterstaff. They started sparring. First slow, just going through the motions, then faster. Soon her padded knives and his staff were clacking against each other in a blur. She had big purple welts on her arms and Francis looked awful smug. I rolled my eyes. The big idiot would have a much harder time fighting her if she used that wicked-looking trident instead of those little knives. Lex was standing up, and hey-hey, if he wasn't walking this way. A few of the scales on his face were iridescent. The shinier scales formed natural patterns on his face, lines up from the bridge of his nose, zig-zagging 'cross his high brow. He also had lines of these scales on his cheekbones and a triangle of them on his chin. They glimmered in the sunlight. It was like jewelry. The sun was glimmering off of his face-scales and the charms on his silk scarves. His thick black hair was pulled into a tight knot at the back of his head and he had big pointy ears like an elf. Musta had a dozen rings in each. Man was like a magpie. He hesitated near the mast, and I laughed out loud when I realized what he was doing. Mast had cracked a month ago. Rather than spend money on getting an expensive new one built at a shipyard, Barrett had paid a smith to put bands of steel around it. The bands were shiny because we wiped them with potion to keep them from rusting away. The purple elf-man was looking at his reflection in the steel hoops. Vain little thing. I mused. I wondered if that was a sign or not. -- I slept after eighth bell because I found out that I had to do a first-bell shift. Roughly midnight to sunrise. We wouldn't get to Genofrey for another two days if the wind held. I felt like I was running out of time. And I was certainly running out of luck. I barely had time to appreciate the sunrise when we saw an interceptor. Barrett had a spyglass and I saw him go white when he looked through it. "It isn't the Acid Rain pirates, is it?" I heard Bernard asking. Barrett shook his head. But he still yelled at everybody to get ready. We were a small ship, loaded up with pearls, live oysters, and furs. We were an easy target. I looked into the barrel of weapons. All of them were cheap cast-offs. Weapons were expensive. And Barrett's cheapness didn't do him any good here. I picked up a chipped bastard sword, grimaced, and dropped it back in. I picked up an ugly-looking mace instead. Nothing complicated about bashing somebody in the head. Also that sword looked like one good swing would crack it. I picked up a home-made shield. It was two wide boards cut into a rough square and nailed together by two cross-hatches. I stuck my fingers through a worn leather strap. It was better than anything. It looked like it could persuade an arrow to at least slow down. Maybe. If I was lucky. I rushed back on deck, and a blast of light streaked the distance between the two ships. It knocked one of the would-be pirates flat to the deck, twitching feebly. It was the purple elf who did it. He was already gathering another. His hands were glowing softly. His brow furrowed. With his shiny scales, he looked like a picture in my home-town's shrine. Some avenging sea-god. For festivals, we dressed up as him by putting fish scales on our cheeks. I yelped as an arrow flew by my cheek, and I ducked behind my shield. My guts felt like they would liquify at any moment, and I was fucking terrified.
 The pirate ship was small like ours. It had a much bigger sail. I could count ten in their raiding party. (The one Lex knocked over was shakily getting up, blood spurting from his nose and mouth.) "Come and get some." I looked to my left and then yelped again. Rat had taken off her scarf. The lower half of her face was twisted with scar tissue. She must have mouthed off to the wrong person, because they had carved a smile onto her thin face. She twirled the pick in her right hand. She had a big knife in the other. It was hard not to feel a little bit safer with a handful of freaks on our side. Ana and two of the sailors were trying to pick them off with arrows. The sailors were abysmal shots, but the half-elf and Lex together managed to drop three. But by then it was too late. We managed to wheel our ship, The Antelope, so the other vessel didn't break us with the sharp ram at the bow, but the ships crashed sides and the raiding party leapt on board, armed to the teeth. Rat let out a sound something like a roar and waded right into them. Bulling two of them into the crevice between the ships with sheer strength. I will never forget what a pick wielded by an angry bitch can do to a man's skull. Yeesh. The remaining pirates on the other ship quickly wheeled away. The two pirates in the drink tried to swim for the boat, but went under without a trace. The Antelope's crew in the meantime, was sort of just able to back up. The remaining three pirates were fighting for their lives. The biggest one, a huge bald motherfucker, leapt for Lex, leaving the purple elf to try and leap out of the way. His hands were glowing, and he even hit the giant, but he was still coming, holding a short ax high over his head. Lex on his back on the deck Ana's crossbow was useless in close quarters. Rat looked busy trying to paint the deck red. So I darted in from behind and swung my mace at the back of his knee, darting away just as quick as I could. The bald motherfucker roared and forced his axe down. Lex rolled, but the axe still came down. "Fucking pipsqueak." Oh gods and demons now he was coming for me. I tried stepping backwards without turning my back, but I stumbled over the handle of that fucking pick, still stuck in the skull of a pirate. I held up my wooden shield, ready to greet my ancestors. Or my maker. Accounts vary. Instead of an axe, the whole beast fell on top of me. I grunted once. He was huge. I just took a moment to gasp for air and squeeze my eyes shut and wiggle my toes and fingers, just to make sure they were all there. I pushed at my shield, but my arms were weak with fear, and seriously, this pirate was the size of a whale. Blood was oozing from his nose and mouth, and soon it would leak through my shield. The weight came off. Lex was pushing him off me. He was breathing like a carthorse, and I could see blood trickling down his face. He smiled crookedly and helped me up. He had big yellow eyes, like a lizard, but his hand was warm. He had a shallow cut on his scalp. His dark hair was matted with blood, but otherwise he looked unhurt. "Thanks, James... was it?" He almost definitely wasn't trying to be charming, it just sort of came off that way. Then he looked past me and grimaced. "Really, Rat? Are we scalping them now?" I looked back and kinda wished I hadn't. "Very useful to keep around. Not easy on the eyes... Or a very good conversationalist for that matter. And try to keep her away from locked doors." "Fuck you, Lex." She grunted. Lex grinned, winced. I saw that his head-scarf, a maroon silk wrap with no charms, had been sliced and bloodied and was still on the deck. I picked it up, put a clean corner in my mouth and used it to start dabbing at the blood on Lex's face. It was a chance to see him up close. He sat down on a rain barrel and let me tend to it. It looked like Barrett had gotten hit with a club and Ana was healing his broken arm. Rat was waiting in line. Not all of the blood on her came from others. "Just most of it." I muttered, as I carefully moved Lex's hair out of the wound. "This will scar. Unless you get the half-elf to look at it." Lex chuckled. "I don't bother her unless it's serious. Rat is half-way decent with a needle and thread. And ladies like a man with a scar." He frowned a little. "Maybe not Rat, but if she's a lady, we need to change the description." "I think the blood loss is making you delirious. She'd probably give you up as a lost cause and get another scalp for her collection. Want me to sew it?" Blood didn't bother me, not when it wasn't mine, anyway. He shrugged. "You already saved my ass once, can't hurt to do it again. You have any whiskey?" "You stay up here in the light, I have it, but you are not getting any." I chuckled. "Not unless you say please." --- I set up on the quarterdeck. He sat on a barrel, clenched his teeth on a wooden peg wrapped with leather, and I sewed his scalp closed with a curved needle and silk thread I had boiled in wine. "I thoh oo seh oo ha whi-ky." He grunted through the peg. "Shut up. I have five more stitches. Drunk men have thin blood, so no whiskey 'til this is dry." He kept grunting. Ana was praying near the front of the deck. Rat was up in the crow's nest for some reason. Probably counting her scalps. I washed the wound again with the boiled wine. "There we go... Keep cleaning that. Try to clean it with wine or stronger liquor. Or boil the water at least. That'll keep it clean and dry. Make it easier to take the silk out." He gingerly reached up but I slapped his hand. He didn't have scales on the palms of his hands. Or his lips. "No touching for a while." I tugged a jangly green scarf off of his waist and wrapped it around his head in a clumsy scarf like before. He grinned up at me. "I'm pretty grateful. I usually only trust magicians with healing. The physical healers, they like to tell you to go bleed yourself, or make a poultice of dung and holy water." His canines came to slightly sharper points than mine did. I ran my tongue over my teeth. "Thanks for getting that fucker for me, I thought I was about to die." "You were about to die. And don't mention it, James." He stood up and stretched. Shit. I was losing him. "I hope you don't mind me asking... But..." "Spellscale." "Wha--?" I wondered if I had misheard him. I had no idea what that was. "I'm pretty far from home, but what I am, it's called a spellscale. I'm a descendent of dragons and elves and men." He grinned when he saw the look on my face. "The dragon was a while back." "James!" Barrett barked. "Get over here!" "Thanks again." He started walking away. I wanted to keep talking, but I was mesmerized watching his buns ticking back and forth in those too-tight leather breeches. Hated him to leave, but it was so fun to watch him go. --- Those three were off the ship as soon as we landed on Roova. We weren't going to stop, but Barrett had wanted to check the ship for damage. "I hope they come back." Francis grunted as we walked down the gangplank. "They can do some damage. I don't even think we have to worry about any of the lads disbanding this time." He offered me a salute and went off to the smaller and dingier of the town's two taverns. Barrett was making small deals with local merchants. I was free to go. After checking both bars and the brothel, asking around a little, I found out that they set off inland. I eyed the dark edge of the jungle. Then I could hear the shivery yowl of a very large something, and turned right back around. --- The bars and brothels only had women. I kept an eye out for the various signs and signals, but it was hard to stay invested after the initial disappointment. The island was volcanic, so most of the villagers were farmers, using the fertile soil. A handful of boaters and fishers near the docks. It was a small village, and their clothes were mostly uniform shades of brown and black, bar a souvenir from Genofrey, the largest city for leagues in any direction. The one exception was a splash of indigo. Lots of the villagers and locals I saw were wearing splashes of the unusual deep blue dye. A hat, a pair of gloves, a shirt, a skirt. After a little hunting, a little following my nose, I found a small dyer's hut. An old woman with milky eyes was stirring a pot of foul-smelling liquid with a big wooden paddle. The wooden paddle was dull ugly green where it was touching the liquid, but when the woman lifted a skein of cotton fibers, they were this deep gorgeous indigo. "I can hear you breathing, sonny. You here to buy?" "Depends." I mused. "Do you have anything already dyed?" --- Other than the bundle under my vest, I only bothered to buy a small keg of famous Roova beer and a bar of soap. I ended up getting back to the ship before anybody else. Barrett was exasperated (as he generally was) because his sailors had scattered to the brothel. Now that I was back, he had somebody to boss around. I looked at the stack of barrels he had bought from the brewer. I sighed. The plan had been to wait until the sailors came back in the morning with wet dicks and hangovers, but Barrett was offering a few extra coins if I started loading the barrels myself. So that's what I did. Rolling barrels the size of fat children up the gangplank as the sun slowly tracked from the east to the west. It wasn't until I had already started roping the barrels down that I realized the faster we loaded the cargo, the quicker we would leave. That's why Barrett offered the extra coin. Old cheapskate was probably afraid they would charge him. I went slower than I needed to. --- Funnily enough, the three of them came back before the rest of the sailors did. They all had grim faces so I kept my distance. Lex looked like he had found a new trinket. I could just tell that Rat was grim under the face scarf. Call it a hunch. Ana ignored me, stomping past to open up her pavestone-book in the dying light of the sun. Rat and Lex disappeared under the deck. I wanted to try and follow when Barrett put a hand on my shoulder. "Go to the town and get my crew back here, we can save some time." I raised my eyebrow. He still told me to go. Now I had to go find nine half-drunk sailors and tell them that they had to finish pumping their sluts and guzzling cheap grog to come back. Goodie. --- One black eye and a faceful of grog later, I started an eight-bells shift. From sunset to sunrise. I was rubbing my eyes and swearing sleepily at a black-bruised thumbnail when the lucky trio dragged their well-rested asses up on board. Fingering the Idol "What happened to you?" Lex asked, his brow furrowed a little. It looked like he had been scratching his stitches, I could see a little blood on the very small scales near his hairline. He had an ugly little statue in his hands. It looked like a beetle or an armadillo, not that I was looking at the statue. He had ridges of slightly larger scales on the bony part of his cheekbones, on the tip of his chin and the corners of his jaw. Around his eyes and mouth, the scales were finer and more neutral colored. Except for those iridescent scales, scattered like a mix between war paint and freckles. I sighed sleepily. "Captain had me go get the sailors from the girls and the drinks. Bernard was so drunk he thought I was trying to fight him for the wench." Lex laughed out loud. "I wouldn't have minded if we had stayed a night... They had some lovely girls, I noticed. I couldn't stop while the others were with me. But maybe I would've been left behind." That was discouraging. But I wouldn't give up. I just wanted to see what he looked like naked. I'd seen humans, elves, half-elves, and even an old half-orc named Nils. (Gigantic, now that you ask. Nice fella, though.) Never seen a spellscale naked before. I could barely keep my eyes open. Much as I wanted to. I went below deck to take a few hours in my hammock before I made my move. --- Bright-eyed and horny, I got on deck. The wind was going fiercely, and in the right direction for once. We were going in a quick straight line, and I couldn't see anything on the horizon except a line of uninhabited islands and coral, like beads on a string. The sun was slowly lowering down to that string of islands, like a gigantic blood-orange. On a day like this when our patchy sail was hard and pregnant with air, almost no one had work. Barrett had four men working to scour the place down so we didn't get lazy, but they went lackadaisically about it. Francis and Rat were sparring, this time with the trident. They both had a roughly equal amount of painful welts on their forearms. Ana was flirting with Bernard. I sniffed. I wondered if she'd still be hanging on his meaty arm if she had seen how much vomit he got on the bar-wench last night. Lex was stretched out on deck like a lizard, soaking up the sun and fiddling with that beetle statue. "How's your head?" I asked him, dropping down to the deck to be at his level. He grimaced cheerfully. "Well enough... What about your eye?" I shrugged. "Just means I can wink more easily. Strikes fear into the hearts of my enemies, so on." He got this funny wry little smile on his face. It reminded me of the smile old biddies get on their faces when young girls talk about boys. Maybe I was a virgin when it came to having enemies. "What's with the statue? Do you think it might be valuable?" He shrugged. "It's definitely mysterious. We found it inside a small ribcage. We think it's from a little girl that died a year ago on the island." He sighed. "I just got to see her family and tell them I found their kid's skeleton. They... didn't take it well." Huh. So not your average mercenaries, then. Any random thug would have gone searching for the little black idol, but not many would have gone to find the family. Half baked plans of how to get him to one of the half-dozen hideaways on this ship evaporated (Well, I saved them for later, anyhow.) I rested a hand on his shoulder. "You did the right thing. At least now they know." I could feel his slick scales under the linen cloth of his shirt, chosen for it's bright red color. He had little beads of bright tin at the tips of the laces. I could see bright stones in many of his earrings. In a visible effort to move on from that rut in the conversation, Lex held up the idol. Looking at it more closely, I realized it wasn't a beetle, but a sort of funny hump-backed turtle-thing. With teeth. "We also met an... Interesting... young man who was calling me 'Fig Tree'. He called Rat 'Willow' and Ana 'Laburnum'. He went insane exactly a year ago." He moved his hand in a lazy gesture, connecting imaginary points. "The same time the girl went missing." He made another grimace. "If you don't already have enough reasons, don't sneak up behind Rat. I thought she had killed the poor boy. Only knocked him out, but we almost got in a lot of trouble. "So... Are you going to sell it?" "Maybe. Gonna try and find somebody who knows what it is and what it can do, because it definitely isn't just an inert statue. There's something special about it..." He started digging at it, trying to squeeze his index finger under the turtle's belly. "There's some kind of loose piece under here, but I can't reach it, can't get it out, and can't figure out what it is. Can you try?" Maybe now was the time to tell Lex that I was a massive coward. "Um, sure?" The thing wasn't really that much like a turtle, other than the shell. I really didn't like it much. Especially after the lovely little history Lex had filled me in on. Especially-especially after he told me he was absolutely sure it wasn't a harmless inert idol. "If this chops off my finger, you owe me a big favor." I grumbled. That way, if it did eat my finger, I would get laid. Nobody could ever accuse me of not planning ahead. The turtle-beast was carved from an oily black stone, and resting on a pedestal of the same material. I gingerly tried to squeeze my finger under the turtle belly. I think that my fingers were actually bigger than Lex's. Guy had small hands. I did feel the loose piece he mentioned though. Just barely. When I pushed my fingertip in and out I could feel it rattling around. But when I shook the statue near my ear, I couldn't hear anything. I shrugged. "I can feel it, but, look at our hands." HA! Clever excuse to hold hands. I held my hand with the fingers outstretched and placed his hand palm-to-palm with mine. He didn't have any scales on the palms of his hands, the skin was soft, like human skin. His fingertips only came up to the first joint of my fingers. His fingernails were all tinted deep rosy purple. He didn't seem to take the hint. Or even notice how feely I was trying to be. Airhead. "Yeah, I wonder if Ana has small hands..." He idly went back to sticking his fingers under the idol. "Ouch!" I flinched, and whirled back around, horrified and ready to bind up a missing finger. But Lex was frowning down at his finger, which had a big red drop of blood welling at the tip. I relaxed. "Did it bite you?" I teased, taking his hand to get a closer look. He was so innocent to my intentions... I decided to kick it up a notch. "Your poor finger..." I cooed, and then I looked right into his eyes as I gently sucked the tip of his finger into my mouth. "Oh... oh... OH." It was fun watching his cheeks turn a brighter, more robust purple. His eyes widen with shock. I felt myself smiling around his fingertip. I swirled the tip of my tongue around the tip one more time before I let go. "You... um. You thought that I was... um." The statue was completely forgotten, and Lex was stammering. It was pretty cute, and it made me relax a bit. Not every man was as forgiving when it came to this. He mostly just seemed confused, a little nervous, and he was straining not to be impolite. Good signs, overall. "Lex, Lex... listen to me." I laughed. "I know which one you prefer. I'm not a dark highwayman who's gonna bash you over the head and take your coins. I'm not some predator in a tavern, ready to spike your beer with hemp oil and leave you waking up drunk and alone, wondering why your asshole is the size of a dinner plate." His eyes went about as wide as dinner plates. Maybe I had a little too much fun teasing him. Maybe. "Well... What are you then?" He murmured. He looked apprehensive. But I wasn't hearing a no. "A friend." I said lightly. "Just a friend." Had to go careful, tease him in. Like a fish on a line. I was losing him, I could feel it. He was just too flustered and nervous, he was going to say no. I put up my hands in a calming gesture. "Think about it. Just think about it." I got up. "You know the main hold?" I asked him off-hand, before I walked away. He still looked a little lost, but he nodded. "Behind all the crates of furs, barrels of beer and oysters, there's a little spot you can't see from the hatch." I tried to put on my most winning smile. "If you want to try the other side of the sheets for once, meet me there at ten bells. I'll make it worth your while." I couldn't help getting in one last jab. "Might do you good to finger someone else for a change." He looked down at the idol and flushed magenta as I strutted away. --- By the time I was in my hiding place, I was half-sure he would come. I tried to set it up extra-special. Thankfully, the corner was near the fur-crates, and not the undeniably ripe-smelling oysters. I cracked open a crate and strewed the furs until they made a soft pad about four feet wide and maybe six inches deep. The pelts were soft and luxurious. Barrett would kill me if he saw me doing this, but Barrett was immensely predictable. He fell asleep at eight bells, and woke up at four bells every day. Only a storm or pirates could drag him out once he was asleep. I did this all by the light of a candle stub. When I heard some creaking, I quickly puffed it out, sitting perfectly still in my fur nest. I could tell by the noise that it wasn't Lex. Spend enough time working with anybody and you could tell who they are without looking. I could recognize Webb's heavy mouth-breathing and half-drunk shuffle even in the dark. Once he left, it got really quiet. I could hear the Antelope creaking and gently shifting. The wind was weakening, but we were still moving in the right direction. I couldn't hear much talking or moving around. Most people were sleeping. On deck, Francis rang ten bells. I had hopefully scoured myself clean in anticipation. But as the seconds ticked by, I started to think it had been a waste of hot water. I lay back on the soft furs in the inky darkness. I sighed. I was surrounded by ten other men on the daily basis. One or two of them were even okay to look at. But damn it if it didn't start to feel lonely after a while. I pushed down my breeches and wiggled my ass against the fur. Two reasons. It felt nice, and it was funny trying to imagine Barrett's face while I did it. I lazily imagined Lex's soft scale-less lips around my cock. Imagined what kind of noise he would make riding me. I started to breathe a little faster, and tug at my prick. 'Course, I was never expecting anything like that to happen. First-timers were greedy, in a helpless sort of way. Most of the time you had to twist their arms just so they'd give you a reach-around. Reciprocation? Might as well ask for the moon. I knew I was just being bitter. I shouldn't have gotten my hopes up. I had a shift from midnight to midday, so I knew I should've just stowed the furs and gone up to my hammock to get some rest. I stayed in the hold mostly out of a desire to masturbate in peace. I spat in my hand and thought back to pleasant memories of the last time I got laid. Seemed like forever ago. That elf had been so flexible... I froze as the hatch creaked open. Barrett kept saying he would oil the hatch, but he never quite got around to it. I heard a soft thud and an exhale as somebody jumped down the hatch, ignoring the stepladder. I listened very carefully. It was somebody small, with quiet breathing. I peeked over the ledge of fur crates. I could just barely see an outline standing under the dim grey square of the open hatch. The outline reached up and closed the hatch behind him, and then it was completely dark. "... James?" He whispered. His voice was drifting a little closer. I could hear him moving slowly, brushing his hands over the edges of the crates and barrels to squeeze in between. "Hello? Are you here?" "Hey, stranger." I whispered back. I tried to quash the delight in my voice. Didn't want to sound too desperate. "Um. Where are you? I don't have a light spell... Or a candle." He sounded sheepish. I bet he was blushing. "Feel the crates... Do you feel the wall against your right hand?" "Um... no... wait... yes." "Follow the dulcet tones of my voice." I giggled. "And watch out for the--" He crashed to the ground. I was actually worried for a moment, but then he let out an exaggerated groan and I knew he was okay. "--The ribs... There are bare boards here." I reached in the darkness, and I felt his hand resting on the edges of my furs. His hand clasped gently and I held it, pulling him back to me. "Nice to have you." I whispered. I traced his wrist with my free hand, spidering my hand up his arm. He had a loose shirt on, I loved the texture of his thin linen shirt over his dry smooth scales. I touched his shoulder, cupped the back of his neck. I was on my knees, and he was, too. Now that he had crawled back onto the fur pad with me. He wasn't saying anything, and I couldn't see his face. "You here with me, Lex? Or did you sleepwalk?" I whispered. My hand was on his neck, I could feel him shake his head. "Didn't sleepwalk. Just... I've never done this before." He was so close I could feel his breath feathering on my lips and chin. He smelled like mint, he must have chewed some leaves before he came down. That was endearing. You didn't chew mint unless you cared, at least a little. Maybe I had low standards. "Nothing you don't want..." I caressed up the back of his neck, sliding my palm so I was cupping his cheek. "Has anyone ever told you how handsome you are? Purple and all?" He shrugged. "Two or three." I chuckled. "Slut." I leaned forward. I carefully bumped the tips of our noses together so he knew I was coming. And damn it if the hot little spellscale didn't lean into it. I could feel his hands tentatively resting on my legs. He knew how to kiss. Hell, probably could have given me a pointer or two. But he was used to being the one in charge, the one pushing for more. His breath tasted hot and divine. I could touch his sharpened canines with the tip of my tongue. I reached for his laces, but the saucy little thing never kept them tied. Instead, I slipped a hand down the wide v-gap of his unlaced shirt to feel at his chest. He didn't seem to have nipples. Just a ridge of scales. But when I caressed under that ridge I could feel him shiver a little. I smiled against his mouth and sucked his tongue between my teeth. I felt his hands rising, at my hips, digging deftly under the hem of my shirt. I let him tug it off. I leaned into him as he touched me with his hands. I sidled up closer, and hey-hey, I could feel something coming up. "You sure you haven't done this before?" I whispered into his pointed ear, husky and soft. I cupped the front of his breeches. The soft well-worn leather was distended, and pretty big for such a little guy. I gently squeezed, to hear his little gasp against my neck. He kissed my neck. The suave sonofabitch, I was sensitive there. "I've done this plenty of times." He whispered indignantly. "Just... Just never on another man." "Lucky me." I purred. I let out a happy little moan when he made a seal against my neck with his mouth. He traced the tip of his tongue against my skin and sucked a rosy hickey onto the side of my neck. I untied the laces at the front of his breeches, and pulled out his loincloth with a deft yank. He slipped out of his shirt. I ran my hands down the smooth large scales that went down his spine, the soft small scales under his arms, down his sides. His body heat was tremendous, through the yielding scales. It was like stroking the sides of a dragon. "You keep... petting me. Like I'm a cat or something." He whispered. "Do you want me to stop?" I teased the waistband of his breeches down. I cupped the underside of his cock, gently pushing the tip of it against his scaly belly. He was making these soft breathy sounds as I closed my fingers around it. "It feels nice." He whispered. I could feel where the scales stopped around his groin, the skin on his cock and testes was soft and scale-less. "Lay back, Lex." I murmured. "I'll make you feel really good." I wanted to taste him. I wanted to see what his come tasted like. It was a little different with every race. I guess you could call me bit of a connoisseur. Elves had a bitter aftertaste. Humans were saltier. The half-orc had come with an oily texture and a sour taste. That didn't make it sound too appetizing, but I was curious, believe you-me. He rested down against the furs, I tickled my fingertips down his inner thighs, teasing his legs apart. I kissed his stomach to feel it flinch under the gentle touch of my lips. I started lapping at the underside of his cock, tasting him. "Oh... Oh you are good at that." He gasped. "Thank you," I whispered, gently sucking one of his stones into my mouth. I let it slide out with a lewd pop while he squirmed. "After, you'll have to tell me how I compare." His cock was nice and thick, with a defined tube on the underside. It tapered up to a narrower point. I wondered if the shape was just him, or if it was a racial trait. I knew it would feel good, to have that thin tip poke in, and have it get thicker and thicker at the base. I swirled my tongue around the tip of his cock to sense the shape. His precome tasted almost sweet. He didn't have even a strand of hair or a whisper of stubble around his groin. It was different to feel the smooth tender skin. In a good way. I moved down on his cock so I could thrust his head past the resistance in the back of my throat over and over. I held back on my gag reflex (hey, I had a lot of practice) and listened to him gasp at the sensation. He twined one hand in my short hair and moaned. I could wrap him around my little finger when he was like this. I stroked his smooth scaly inner thighs and carefully started working my fingers back. I was curious. He twitched when my fingertip first brushed his puckered anus. His heavy breathing stuttered a little and I could feel his hand tighten a little, twined in my hair. I carefully massaged the area with my fingertip. "I can't." He whispered. He reached between his legs to try and move my hand away, but I had already moved it back. I took a quick break from his throbbing cock to breathe, and to reassure him. "Lex... I was just checking. Even the ladies-men sometimes like a little stimulation back there. I wont do it again." "Oh... Um. Thank you, James. I'm sorry." I grinned in the dark and gave his plump cock a few strokes. "Don't worry about it. You sweet thing, you." I was about to gobble him down, but to my immense surprise, he stopped me. It was a strange thing, his seduction. He had a lot of experience with it, but he was almost timid when it came to using his wiles on me. He was pulling me up while he leaned back so I was crawling on top of him. He lay back in the fur, his fingertips traced my skin, tweaking gently at my nipples and stroking down my back. When I was on top of him I didn't lean forward. I made him do a little of the work. And he did. He wrapped his legs around my waist and leaned up to kiss me. Even right after I sucked his cock. I decided then that I liked Lex quite a bit. Not just as a hot little piece of ass. He wasn't afraid to try new things. And as a new thing, I found that endearing. On top of him like this, I really wanted to fuck him, but that was a no-no. The little guy didn't even like my fingertip, so I wasn't gonna subject him to anything else. And besides, I could feel him shifting his weight, rolling so he was on top of me instead. This was interesting. Fingering the Idol He sat up so his hands were resting on my chest. I stroked his saliva-wetted cock with my right hand, and touched his flat ridged stomach with my left. He wasn't saying anything, but I had an inkling of what he was thinking about. "Whatever you want, Lex." I whispered. "Don't make yourself do anything you don't wanna." Please do it please, come on! I added, mentally. He started shuffling down my body a little and I was glad that the darkness hid the grin on my face. I was hard as a rock. I shimmied my hips a little to push my breeches down. He kissed my chest first. He played with my nipples a little, but I had never been very sensitive there. I let him know what was working. I moaned a little when he started trailing his kisses and fingertips down my stomach. He pushed my breeches the rest of the way down, pulling them off of my feet. He hesitantly unwrapped my loincloth, kissing my hip. If he changed his mind now, I was gonna cry. "I... I'm..." He was struggling to find something to say. As he did though, he gently touched my cock with his palm. The smooth skin felt good. It felt even better when his fingers gingerly closed around me. Cradling my cock, he slowly moved his hand up and down. Touching, feeling me out. He gently massaged the skin of my groin. My soft trimmed pubic hair. Curiously cupping my stones. He stroked his hand up and down. Trying to get the nerve. "Watch your teeth, please." I whispered in a breathless voice. "I mean, that's instinct, but you're teeth have little points on them. You said ladies like a scar, but..." I gasped and shut the hell up as he touched the head of my cock with his soft lips. "There... There you go." I murmured, closing my eyes and resting my head back on the soft fur. I stretched out as he started to suck, moaning a little. The fur felt good and luxurious under me. And I had a gorgeous purple man sucking my cock. It was a good feeling. He was careful about his teeth. I never felt them once. His tongue was a little rougher than I was used to. Not barbed like a cat, but just rough and warm and wet. I liked the sensation. He seemed anxious to do a good job, so he kept trying different techniques. First being sloppy and wet, focusing on the head. Then running his rough tongue up and down the underside of my shaft, then using both of his hands and his tongue at the same time. I made sure to groan louder when he used a method I liked. I knew how sore his jaw must be, sucking cock isn't a picnic, so I didn't try to hold back. "Lex?" I panted. "Getting close... Getting real close... You-- You can use your h-hand if... if you wa-ant." He was doing something pretty incredible with his fingertips, stroking and prodding at my taint and asshole while he tried to push past his gag reflex. He didn't seem to mind my announcement. The wonderful little slut. I spread my legs wider and gripped the furs in my fists, clenching my muscles and arching my back. It was everything I could do not to hump his mouth, but I didn't want to mess up his rhythm. I thought I heard a big muffled thump against the wall, probably a funny wave slapping against the hull, but then I didn't know or care what it was. I hissed air in through my clenched teeth and sighed his name back out. "Lex... Oh Lex, that felt incredible." I felt him sucking gently, and I squirmed against the fur. He crawled to the edge of the fur pad and I heard him spit. He made a little disgusted noise in his throat, but I could forgive him for that. I felt for him with my fingertips, trying to sense him. He was kneeling, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. I could feel his big tapered cock 'tween his legs, still perky and stiff. "I didn't expect you to do that." I whispered into his ear, squeezing his cock for emphasis. "How do you want me to finish you off?" "Hm?" What a dope. "It's been a few weeks since I've gotten fucked, Lex." I whispered, to dispel any confusion. "You... You want me to?" I laughed softly and nipped at his ear. "I invited you here for a reason, pretty boy. The question is, do you want to." I squeezed the base of his cock with my forefinger and thumb, giving him a little shake. I wanted him to say yes. I was hungry for it. He hadn't said anything yet. I dug in the deep pocket of my discarded breeches and handed him my box. I had gotten the box in a little town. It was made with wood, cleverly carved so it had a fitted lid. He opened it, and felt the inside. It was filled with rosewater-smelling jelly. The stuff was expensive, but worth it. Trying to lubricate with rancid bacon grease was an experience I never wanted to repeat. "I... I've always wanted to do this with a girl." He whispered. "Good luck finding one that will say yes." Was I pouting? Maybe a little. He didn't want it. Oh well. I kissed his shoulder and ducked my head down so I could take the tip of his cock into my mouth. I had barely given him three sucks when he put the palm of his hand on the crown of my head. Gently pushing me off. Afterglow or not, I was getting confused and annoyed. "I didn't say no." He whispered. Annoyance went away. I grinned and kissed him flush on the mouth, cradling his head in my hands. "You're a sweetheart." I whispered. "A slutty sweetheart." He bit my lower lip. I could feel his sharp canines, but they didn't dig in sharp enough to do more than sting. I could feel his thumb tracing down my spine. When it reached the top of my ass crack, he touched his fingertips to my asshole, slick with the rose-jelly. I groaned and ground my cock against his. I was already half-hard again. I could feel the tip of his cock digging under my navel. He was fumbling a little, but I stiffened, cried out a little when both of his fingers slipped in. I could've sworn I heard something abovedecks. But it slipped my mind when Lex started babbling. "Shit... I'm sorry. I didn't hurt you did I?" I shook my head and kissed him again. "Put those fingers back, Lex, it felt good." It had just been a surprise. I turned around to give him better access. I could feel his smooth scaly knuckles against the small of my back. His palm pushing my cheeks apart to give his fingers better access. The fur felt good under my knees and hands. Soft. "Make sure to put more of it on your cock." I whispered. I had to wait a moment before getting my second thought out. I was too distracted by the wonderful things that he could do with his fingers. "Makes it feel nicer for the both of us." "You ready?" He whispered. He had leaned forward. I could feel his warm smooth body against my back. "Whatcha waiting for, handsome?" I smiled in the dark, gritting my teeth. I could feel his hands guiding his cock toward me. Making sure he was pressing in the right spot. He was all slicked up with the rose jelly. I bore down and pushed back against him. I groaned into the furs, and I could feel him hesitating. It felt like he was splitting me in half but he couldn't stop now! Not before we got to the fun bit... He braced his hands on my hips and started to gently hump at me, panting like he was running a race. It burned, it really did. But this wasn't my first time. Not by a long shot. I knew how to relax my muscles. How to let him in. And soon, the discomfort was replaced with warmth. I felt the low heat with each stroke. Filling me up and pushing me down on the furs. My naked chest rubbed back and forth on the soft furs while Lex pressed his hands down on my shoulders. The soft gasping noises from my mouth weren't the least bit hard to interpret, so he had stopped hesitating. He knew that I liked it. He knew that I liked him pushing me down with each stroke. Points for effort, but Lex was starting to pant unevenly, gripping my shoulders tightly as he got closer and closer. I heard a long drawn-out shout from abovedecks. I was confused, I could hear thumping and metal clashing, but we were too deeply into it. He couldn't stop. "Oh... Oh gods." He swore. I could feel him finishing up, and I wanted to do nothing more than lie down and recover for a minute, but the noises from the deck were just getting dire. I pulled away and fumbled frantically for my clothes, feeling Lex's come leak out of me. Then the thudding and fighting above us went silent. Lex was still panting like he had run a race. "Get your clothes on, Lex, something is happening up there..." Footsteps were thundering down towards us. I could hear them coming to a halt in the cabin that Lex shared with the two women, and then I could hear her. "WHERE THE HELL IS HE?" Rat bellowed. Lex grabbed my arm. "Where are my pants?" He whispered. "She's gonna kill me." All and all, very romantic. --- I hid in the furs for a few minutes after he left. I could hear the confrontation 'tween him and Rat, and I was torn between wincing for my friend and fits of uncontrollable giggling. Apparently we had been fucking through an attack on the ship. No one had died, and Ana had healed the few that had been injured, but that didn't stop Rat from chewing Lex up and spitting him out for 'sleeping' through it. I thought I had waited long enough. I had put back all the furs, my clothes were back on, and I knew I needed to report to captain Barrett before he started looking for me. I squirmed out of the hold and raced up to the deck to see the damage. The rest of the crew had already started throwing the beasts overboard. I caught a glimpse of one. A gigantic muscular man with a grotesque rounded bullet-head and sleek black-and-white patched skin. After he went over, the only evidence of the attack was smears of blood on the deck and a small pile of assorted loot from the bodies, made of coral and pearls and sealbone. I gingerly picked up a saw-edged knife from the pile. It was made of a gigantic tooth, and it had designs scratched into both sides. Runes and small inlaid chevrons of mother-of-pearl. "Are those, hickeys?" I jumped and dropped the knife. Francis yawned and squatted down on his hams next to me, grinning. "That's why the dragonelf wasn't helping out with his spells. He was too busy making an honest woman out of ya." I pushed Francis over while he chortled over his own joke. Flushed and secretly pleased. Also relieved. Since these three strangers had come, we could joke about how dangerous it was to sail these waters. --- I needed to talk to him alone, but I was having a hard time snatching him away. We were kept busy with repairs, and with new watches. Even for the archipelago, our lives were getting a bit too interesting. By afternoon we could see the island city of Genofrey. Where our guests were planning on leaving. I was pretty high up in the rigging, so I didn't have a very good look at what was happening. I could see Lex pacing, agitated, on the side of the deck with Barrett. I could hear his voice, though not what he was saying, as he argued. Ran his fingers through his hair. Then he went belowdecks. Most of the crew was up and around the ship. Rat and Francis were sparring, Ana was still reading that gigantic book. Now was my chance. --- He was holding that little ugly turtle-idol when I slipped into his cabin. His thin shoulders were slumped under his shirt. I tapped on the door. "Lex?" He looked up. I had been a little nervous about seeing him again, worried that he wouldn't want to talk to me again, or see me again. Especially after Rat raked him over the coals. So I was relieved, when he saw me and a genuine sweet smile was his first reaction. "Just wanted to talk to you once, before you left, I mean." I plopped down next to him, holding a small package I had wrapped in rough brown butcher's paper. "I saw this, when we were at the last port, and it reminded me of you." He seemed a little startled that I had gotten him a gift. When his eyes widened like that, it made the pattern of iridescent scales around his eyes wink and sparkle. He looked damn pretty when he was surprised. For once, he seemed speechless, so he just untied the twine around his package and opened it. A long scarf of thin indigo fabric unfolded in his hands, flowing and soft. It had small charms of white cowrie beads at the ends that clicked quietly as he ran the cloth through his fingers. "You ruined the last one, when you had the bad sense to get hit with an axe." I joked. "But... But I don't have anything for you..." Was he blushing? He looked a more vibrant shade of purple, certainly. I scooted closer to him on the edge of his bunk, and I kissed him on his smooth scaly cheek. "You gave it to me already." I teased. I certainly wasn't going to tell him how much the scarf cost. He wrapped it around his waist and got up, I had to admit it looked amazing on him. "I'm glad you came." He murmured, sitting next to me. "You know how to make me feel better." I was going to ask him what was wrong, but the bell started ringing like crazy, drawing us from the bowels of the Antelope to see what was happening. My heart sank when I saw just how close we were to the island. This was going to be goodbye. It was just a one-night thing, I was sure. But he had been perfect. I got roped into roping the ship to the dock. I was barely able to say goodbye. Rat was the first one down the gangplank. Brusquely pushing past me so hard I nearly fell overboard. Then it was Lex. He smiled at me, twirled the end of his new indigo scarf. But instead of saying goodbye, he said. "See you soon." I was so surprised that I had nothing to say as he walked down the gangplank. "Did you think we wouldn't be back?" I jumped. The bossy pretty half-elf was leaning against the rail, grinning like the cat that got the cream. She gestured to her own neck, and I tucked my chin sullenly, hiding my hickeys. "We'll be back." She chirped. "Lex just wanted to stop off here because he's been getting visions of a bloodthirsty demon who's been trying to kill him since he was a baby. Y'know, his mom. We're going to find a wizard who will see if he's been cursed by that idol or not." I stared at her. She waggled her fingers at me. "Be back soon. Tell us if you start getting any frightening visions. They seem to have spread to Rat, she's been getting them as well." Then she cheerfully skipped off the deck. Leaving me to wonder what the hell had I gotten myself into. THE END * *Update of other works Maybe as a punishment for that wonderful burst of productivity I had back in May, I've been making almost zero progress on all of my stories since then. Just lately I've been making some moderate advances on Onus, and my two other projects. One will be titled 'Not Good People' and the other will be 'Blue, Like the Shell of the World'. Onus is my lesson. I am not as fast or reliable of an author as I once was, so from now on, stories that I upload will be much more 'complete' before I upload them. I WILL NOT leave that story unfinished, but it's been a lot harder than I thought it would be from the outset. Never shop hungry, and never upload an unfinished story just because you've been making good progress. As an apology for Onus, when my two projects are finished, I will upload them one chapter per week. 'Fingering the Idol' was just a fun little side project that I did for a few of my friends, it did not take time or effort away from Onus. I hope that you enjoyed it. Kisses and Spanks, --Cruel*