Tag: angel goldeneyes

#Lore24 – Entry #330 – Fantasy Month IV #25 – A Cult Most Perverse

From the journal of Angeliqua “Goldeneyes” Cartacustos

It took us just over a day and a half before we encountered any gnolls as we drove across the grassland plains towards the swamps.  For a wonder, they were not immediately hostile to us, unlike our previous encounters with the other monstrous humanoids of the region, and simply watched us from a distance at first, though I confess to feeling a certain hunger in their stares.  They kept their distance, perhaps judging our intentions as we crossed their territory.  As we came within sight of the swamps late on the third day, the gnolls finally approached us with a casual loping gait, barking and cackling in their own tongue as they approached.

Wary, though certainly curious of their behavior, we paused our advance, myself taking the lead in our greeting to them.  I knew not their language, but they knew something of the common tongue, however crude and broken it was when they spoke it.  This close, I noticed too that they seemed sickly, their fur marred by boils leaking a yellowish-green pus that, when the wind shifted, smelled quite disgusting.  Their spokesman pointed at Gresilda, crudely naming Erisaya and indicating the holy symbol upon her neck and saying “healer” in a questioning tone.  They motioned to the curious affliction I had noticed and then back in the direction they had come, the gist of their plight being that a terrible sickness had overtaken their tribe, many had died, and more were sick like them. 

Though Risai and Shassk were against the idea of aiding the gnolls, Gresilda’s goodly nature demanded that she at least examine them and see if she could determine the nature of the affliction.  Wary of spreading the sickness amongst ourselves, she took proper precautions to protect herself during her examination of the hunters, asking questions as to when it started, any strange occurrences and the like.  Through our discourse, we learned that the gnolls had first encountered it in the animals they had hunted, a few at first, then more, and through deduction, we determined that it seemed to have come from the swamps based on their descriptions of the animals and nature of its spread.  The gnolls likewise stated that they had not seen much of the lizardfolk in many days either.  Gresilda then asked about any strange travelers besides ourselves, though the gnolls were not aware of any, though one made mention that another hunter had mentioned strange chanting coming from the swamp on the last full moon, and greenish lights from deep within. 

Gresilda told the gnolls various herbs to gather, describing their appearance when the gnolls were not familiar with our names for them, told them several times how to prepare them and even made them repeat it back to her several more times.  She also told them that it would only slow the sickness and alleviate the worst of the pain, that the true source of it would need to be dealt with in the swamps, and that, Erisaya willing, we would do just that.  With that done, the gnolls sped off, barking to their companions who had stayed back, the lot of them then loping off into the plains.

It was only then that Gresilda informed us of her suspicions, that this was not a natural plague, rather a magical one, created by followers of the dark god Malvaxor.  She had dealt with such sicknesses before she had journeyed into the Wildlands, as an apprentice, and curing the malady meant dealing with the cult that created it.  Villages on the outskirts of the Empire were the most often targeted by these cults, but some outbreaks had been known to spread to the larger cities, even the capital on occasion.  Her reasoning seemed sound to me, given my historical studies that had mentioned such things. 

Though I had no proof at that time, I surmised that perhaps the standing stones we sought hidden in the depths of the swamp, may also be related to the sickness that had afflicted the gnolls.  Even as we neared the swamp, there seemed to be a growing sickness in the land itself; the animals had already become scarce, the plants pale and drooping, if not already dying.  I cannot say exactly where my inspiration came from, perhaps a combination of my long hours of study or a divinely gifted spark perhaps, but the idea suddenly formed within my brain that the centralized location of the stones, the connected nature of the various sites, and the wealth of primal energies beneath us could make for an incredibly potent and dangerous way to spread a magical disease over an exceptionally wide area quite rapidly. 

With this idea voiced, our venture into the swamp suddenly took on an entirely new purpose.  I could only hope I was wrong, and that it was simply me overthinking matters.  Regardless, Gresilda blessed us with protections against disease, and we ventured into the dank, diseased morass, hoping and praying that I was wrong.

#Lore24 – Entry #329 – Fantasy Month IV #24 – The Kerryn Village, and The Fifth Ritual

From the journal of Angeliqua “Goldeneyes” Cartacustos

For the sake of our saviors and their families, I will not reveal any further details about their number nor location, suffice to say that they have a village in which they live, though I fear some enterprising individual with ill intent may be able to discern their location through what I’ve stated in my previous entry.  My party has likewise made a vow to keep the location of the village a secret, for we owe our kerryn saviors our lives, and do not wish to bring the eyes of the Emperor upon them, though I fear that may only be a matter of time, given their will to expand into the region.  Yet, we are many days travel from Vindinium, and there is yet much land in between that must be tamed first, so hope remains that these kerryn will remain free of the fate their cousins face within the Empire.

Though our saviors were worried about our coming, understandably so, they were quite friendly with us, and allowed us a few days to rest and recover amongst them, the orcs sufficiently dissuaded from further pursuit after they ventured so far our of their own territory whilst chasing us.  I possess more knowledge of them, of course, but will not reveal it here; this is recorded in my most private notes and shall not be revealed for some time yet, likely until after my death when all of my documents shall be given over to the Great Library.  Regardless, I will say that they had already known of the soldiers reclaiming the fort, having scouted that far to the east after hearing rumors of it from the handful of people they trust to trade with beyond the Wildlands.  They are resolute to remain where they are, though will be taking steps to further their security. 

The kerryn knew of the standing stones we sought, and with some guidance before we parted ways quite peacefully, we continued our journey, and within a day had located the site, nestled in a much nicer hilly region and not the taller mountains further on.  Upon completion of the ritual, gaining our fifth mark, making one on the forehead, one on either bicep, and one on either thigh, we had but one more left to attain.  Taking some time to get our bearings, I again worked to make an accurate plotting of a course that would lead us to the final standing stones.  By my reckoning, it could only be in the center of the Sherstone Morass, likely hinting at the nature of the name of the swampy region.  By my best estimate, the final standing stones were at the convergence of lines drawn from the previous sites, placing it firmly within this region, known to be inhabited primarily by carnivorous lizardmen and flora and fauna that were less than agreeable to most.

We considered returning to Vindinium to resupply, but finally decided against it, deciding instead to push forward to the Sherstone Morass through the grassy lowlands to the southeast of our position at the fifth ritual site, then continue on to Vindinium once we had completed the ritual, if needed, or to head directly to the vault.  It meant crossing gnoll territory, but seeing as we’d already angered the kobolds and orcs during our travels, and would be stepping into the domain of the lizardmen for our next stop, it would seem rather remiss of us to exclude the gnolls now, wouldn’t it?  Such is the life of an adventurer, I suppose.

And so, we set out the following morning, and I for one felt great anticipation as we neared the completion of this series of rituals, though I would be careful to temper myself and remain firmly grounded in my expectations, lest I get distracted more than I already am by these accursed devices secured to me by Lady Armenia.  I can only imagine how much worse my situation would be had the chastity devices not been enchanted to clean themselves and can only hope they’ll remain as vigilant once we enter the swamps.

#Lore24 – Entry #328 – Fantasy Month IV #23 – Hunted and Hounded

From the journal of Angeliqua “Goldeneyes” Cartacustos

The problem with orcs is that, while not especially intelligent, outside of those of the Badaxe clan, they tend to breed quite quickly, and thus their numbers are exceptionally high.  Furthermore, their night vision is superior to those of a human, and even to elves, being able to see in darkness with relatively high acuity.  This, combined with a peculiar ferocity and territorial nature, makes them quite a threat to a small party of adventurers.

We were already hunted by the orcs by the time we had completed our ritual and continued to be so as we made our descent from the mountains, bearing roughly north-northwest as best we could manage.  They would rarely allow us any respite, constantly on our trail and trying to ambush us from the terrain they knew so very well.  Our magical reserves were consistently low, and Ellisar’s fireball wand was exhausted by the third day.  We were physically exhausted, as were our horses, and each step we took threatened to be our last, either from an orcish spear or arrow or axe, or one of our horses slipping on the rocky trails and sending us tumbling to our deaths.

I don’t think I’ve ever prayed to the gods quite so much as I did during that flight from the mountains; perhaps all of us did, though I can only be certain of Gresilda, for she made no attempts to hide most of her prayers when we were not trying to be quiet. 

As the days grew more strenuous, we thankfully found a route leading down out of the mountains that marked a return to the wide avenue we had followed between ritual sites to ease our travels, though this likewise meant our pursuers, riding their horse-sized wolves, could chase us more easily. 

I daresay we were on our last dregs of strength and would likely have fallen to our pursuers, wounded and exhausted, had we not ridden into a forested region near the base of the mountains and came upon a hunting party of a dozen men, who had already spotted our coming and set up an ambush for the orcs following us, pelting them from high in the trees with arrows as we rode through their ranks, even toppling some trees upon them. 

Though one would have thought our saviors to be elves, they were in fact, kerryn.

#Lore24 – Entry #327 – Fantasy Month IV #22 – Into the Mountains, and The Fourth Ritual

From the journal of Angeliqua “Goldeneyes” Cartacustos

Following our reunion with the men of our party and our push toward the western mountainous region, we were suitably chastised for our admittedly stupid decision to perform our little relaxation ritual without making sure we were in fact alone, but in our defense, what were the chances we would find ourselves so close to a bandit camp, and they just happened to be scouting that particular area at that specific time?  Honestly, very good, given what I know of the nature of blessings from a goddess like Yurisaya; many accounts have I read of her blessings being quite mixed between fortune and misfortune in a most erotic way.

Still, we continued on our original course, and within a few days found ourselves ascending into the mountains.  Along the route, we encountered signs more orcs in the area, some smaller scouting parties from different tribes, which we tried to avoid, only engaging if there was no other choice, along with some wildlife which was more hostile than normal, namely some rather large wolves and even a few bears.  We found out why they were agitated soon enough when we were accosted by another drake, this one of the green-scaled variety, breathing a highly corrosive acid as it attacked us.

As we ascended and the trees became sparser, signs of the ancient draconic city were much clearer, though in a much worse condition than in other areas, being little more than piles of rubble for the most part.  Judging by the nature of the damage and local geography, I could make a rather safe assumption that there was a period of great geological upheaval in this area at some time, likely during the Great Cataclysm that reshaped much of the world.  It is honestly rather amazing that we have seen so little of its effects on the rest of the region we have explored thus far.  We found ourselves navigating through multiple narrow ravines and valleys, having to backtrack several times as paths suddenly ended or were otherwise impassable, and this likewise led us into more orcs, who were not willing to speak with us at all, insisting on a fight as we were quite obviously invaders into their territory.

By the time we had managed to find the area of the standing stones, clued in by the subtle shift in the very air around us and the activation of the accessories worn by myself and Risai, we were haggard and near exhaustion from several encounters with orcs, poor Korvalis and Shassk even more so due to their constant work to hide our trails and dissuade the orcs from following us.  The entirety of the radius of the standing stones had been raised as one, it seemed, and they still stood, unaffected by the geologic upheaval that had created the mountains long ago.  Gresilda used what magic she had left to ease the worst of our fatigue, and we hastily pushed through with the next ritual, earning our first mark upon our thighs.  As we waited anxiously for morning, hiding ourselves as best we could amongst the stones, we rested as best we could manage before setting off, hoping to evade further orc pursuit.

It was not to be.

#Lore24 – Entry #326 – Fantasy Month IV #21 – Bandits and Brigands, To Plunder a Dungeon

From the journal of Angeliqua “Goldeneyes” Cartacustos

Our captors transported us quickly through the woods, no doubt having become quite familiar with them during their time hiding amongst them.  I could hear when we cleared them and approached their camp, for there were shouts alerting the others that they had “prizes aplenty, ripe and pretty”.  Though I was blindfolded, I could hear quite a few people coming out around us as we were brought to what I assume was the center of the camp and dropped none-to-gently upon the ground.  Risai was certainly vocal in her protests, however garbled by her gag they were.

The excitement around us died down quickly once a commanding voice called out from nearby, sounding very much Imperial in its way of speaking, and quite angry that we’d been brought to the camp.  Our captors made no secret of what it was they sought from us, saying they’d have to work to “crack that one’s shell if we want the sweet meats inside” in reference to me.  I heard the name Garri mentioned, who I figured was their leader, chastising our captors again for stupidly bringing us here.  When he asked about whether they’d dealt with the rest of our party, there was some nervous silence, then one of the orcs, I think, blurted out something about not even checking.  Garri, the leader, ordered us taken to the “cellar”, and the guard to be doubled, on the lookout for any other adventurers who may be lurking around looking for their missing women.

With the camp in an uproar, we were roughly picked up again and taken elsewhere, somewhere nearby and underground, for the sounds changed again, and the air grew cooler, and we were deposited upon cold stone, a door shutting behind our captors, the sound of wooden bar being thrown into place outside. 

We wasted no time in escaping from our bonds.  Though my hands were growing rather numb by this point, the moment we were left alone, we struggled and scooted our way together, somehow managing to coordinate our efforts to free one another, with Gresilda being the first to wiggle her hands free, making short work of the bonds upon Risai and I once she had done so.  It was dark here, only a sliver of light coming from the floor at the base of the door, so I called up a small orb of arcane light so that we could see our surroundings.

It seemed we were indeed in something of a cellar, though the architecture was decidedly draconic in nature, leaving no question that this was once part of the ancient city that once sprawled across this area.  The door was new, and relatively stout, likely from a carpenter amongst the bandits, for Risai couldn’t budge it when she tried to break it down, and only succeeded in earning more bruises.  There were barrels and boxes within the room, some broken, many empty, others with flour, wheat, and the other foodstuffs that would keep for a while.  As Gresilda calmed Risai from her insistence upon busting down the door, I studied the ancient carvings upon the walls.  As I came to a particular carving, I noticed a particular seam in the worked stone that seemed out of place behind some of the boxes containing some woodworking tools.  Upon closer inspection, I determined it to be a well-concealed doorway, and with a few more minutes of study, found the release mechanism.  The ancient door swung inward with barley a rumble, still smooth upon its ancient hinges, revealing a narrow set of stairs leading further down into darkness.

We debated for a few moments about whether to stay or go, and of course, being the bold adventuring types we are, decided to take the stairs, though we would do so cautiously.  We first made sure we could reopen the door from the opposite side, then proceeded carefully along, Risai having taken up a stout, cut board as a makeshift weapon to lead the way, with me following close behind with our light.  I had not mentioned the lack of signs of rats in the food containers in our makeshift prison, meaning that either the bandits were keeping them at bay, or perhaps more likely, something else was.

The passages below were on the cramped side, leading me to think that this area was perhaps once primarily used by the drakonae.  The damage was relatively light compared to other places, though there were signs that the roots of the trees above were inevitably working their way through the stonework.  We avoided any additional stairs, instead looking for another way to reach the surface, hopefully perhaps outside the area of the bandit camp.  After perhaps an hour of searching, we came upon a larger chamber, some of the ancient stone benches still intact around the periphery, along with scraps of wood and cloth of other furniture that had mostly rotted away.  More curious, though, were the weapon racks built into the walls between the benches.  Most were empty, though four remained that still held some metal weapons that looked, aside from dust and cobwebs, to be in usable condition.  As I looked more intently upon them, Risai approached one and reached out for the double-edged sword that stood there. 

I realized a moment too late that she was in danger. 

It clicked in my brain that two of the weapon racks were identical, down to the pattern of the cobwebs and their contents, even the broken nub that remained of a larger peg.  As I called out for her to stop, the rack she approached seemed to rapidly melt like candlewax, shifting into a mass of slimy tentacles and teeth.  Risai cried out in surprise, but was already too close, the tentacles striking out to seize her, wrapping tightly around her limbs and body.  Even Gresilda screamed in startlement, having not expected the mimic. 

Already suspecting such a thing, I was the first to respond, quickly chanting a spell to call forth slicing blades of fire upon the monster.  Careful to avoid Risai, I targeted the central mass and largest tentacles, getting a satisfying screech from the creature as it panicked and released Risai for the moment, the large warrior stumbling backward as fast as possible.  With the creature’s ire upon me, the flames quickly dying upon its singed flesh, I danced around its flailing tentacles as Gresilda chanted a prayer to Erisaya.  A moment later, holy fire spewed downward from the heavens upon the mimic, making it scream as its flesh boiled and melted, though it still had fight in it.  Risai snatched the blade from the real weapon rack and snarled a battle cry as she hurtled back into the mass, slicing smoking tentacles easily with the ancient blade, her strikes leaving burning cuts across the creature, before driving its tip deeply into the creature’s central mass, again and again until the mimic stopped moving.

Taking a few moments to recover, Gresilda healing the scrapes Risai had from her close encounter with the tentacles, I threw weaker fire upon the other weapon racks and stone benches, but thankfully found no other mimics hiding within.  That one was either young or perhaps sickly from a lack of food, for it seemed to have died rather easily in comparison to what I’ve read of them.  Of course, those stories could have simply made the encounters seem much more deadly than they really were.  Regardless, now that we had a few moments, I examined the weapons we had collected, and soon determined they were dragon-blown steel, attuned to the element of fire.  The other weapons we retrieved were of similar make and would prove quite useful, if not extremely valuable, upon our return to the party.

The rest of the “dungeon” was not nearly as exciting, for we found the remnants of the mimic’s past victims, a handful of humanoids, but mostly animals, in the next chambers, and found another pathway that led upward.  Soon enough, we had located a partially collapsed exit from the ancient draconic structure, but we were able to shift the fallen rock around enough for us to squeeze through.  The night was deep by now, morning approaching, though we had little trouble seeing due to the fires in the nearby bandit camp.  It didn’t take us long to hear panicked screams departing into the woods, and soon enough we were reunited with the rest of our party, who had managed a most deadly attack upon the bandits whilst we made our way through the dungeons.

There was a bounty on them, but we were days away from Vindinium, so did not immediately collect.  Shassk handled the grim business of collecting the heads, which he stored in a sack dedicated to just such a purpose, its enchantment making the load lighter while also preserving them.  With dawn approaching, we collected our missing gear and stowed the dragon-blown weapons that we weren’t immediately using, redressed ourselves, and headed off back toward the course we had originally been upon. 

#Lore24 – Entry #325 – Fantasy Month IV #20 – Back to the Trail, and the Third Ritual

From the journal of Angeliqua “Goldeneyes” Cartacustos

I could get little out of Lady Armenia once we had managed to extricate ourselves from her bed, and Risai was just as uncertain of what we had gone through as I was, her memories having gotten hazy even before mine.  I noticed that the magical rune upon her seemed to glow more brilliantly now, and she confirmed she was every bit as horny as I was.  Fortunately, we had plenty to keep us busy that day, and Lady Armenia did not summon us that evening, leaving us some time to recount our experiences in the quiet of the inn in Vindinium.  I once again shared Risai’s bed as together we tried, quite unsuccessfully, to relieve that horniness that consumed us, her rune proving every bit as capable as my cock cage and “armor”, which Lady Armenia had insisted I don before she allowed me to leave that morning.  It seems that Risai had found herself in a situation not unlike my own, though she at least still had her anatomy intact.  I daresay she was much happier with said situation than I was.

We set out from the village at daybreak the following morning, bearing south-southeast, looking for telltale signs of an ancient roadway like the others we had encountered to the north.  The forested nature of the area made this more difficult, but we continued onward, and were perhaps gifted with a blessing from Yurisaya (given what Risai and I had experienced the previous night, I daresay we had earned such a boon!), for on our second day out from Vindinium, Risai spotted remnants of an ancient draconic structure, mostly consumed by the landscape.  From this point, Shassk was able to climb a tree and get a good look around us, and was able to determine a path that followed our planned route that seemed to fit the nature of the ones to the north, and by midday on the third day, we had located the third set of standing stones, and, thankfully, without encountering any hostile forces.

We completed our ritual that evening, earning our third mark upon our opposite arm this time.  I somehow managing to keep myself on task in spite of the incessant buzzing of my accessories once again within the region of the standing stones, though I noted that Risai too seemed more worked up than last time as her rune was likely affected in a similar way as my gear.  From here, in the depression around the stones, we spotted a route to the west that we hoped would lead to our next destination and would be following it on the morrow.  If my calculations were accurate, I figured it would take us a week, maybe as much as two, depending on terrain, to reach the next site, for this represented the largest gap between the sites based on their pentagonal alignment.

Perhaps the effects of the draconic ritual had been amplified somewhat by our recent experience with Lady Armenia’s dedication ritual to Yurisaya, for Risai and I were feeling far hornier than we had previously once we had left the region of the stones, and throughout the next day as well, constantly fidgeting about and trying to (perhaps not so subtly) find relief for our needs.  Gresilda inquired about our distress, having sensed something going on with us, already having a very good idea of what had occurred with Lady Armenia that night.  Once we had camped that evening, we slipped off as we women tended to do, and we explained to our experience with the ritual, and of the nature of our current plight.

She was sympathetic, but was hesitant to delve too deeply, given the nature of her own faith in Erisaya.  Though the goddesses are sisters, if she did too much to relieve our frustration, she could very well step on the toes of Yurisaya and Lady Armenia and earn a punishment of her own in retaliation.  She did offer us some relief, though, enough to at least ensure that we would sleep soundly that night, perhaps long enough for the additional horniness from our own ritual to fade to a bearable level.  At that point, we were willing to try anything, so agreed.

It was not to be, however.  As Gresilda guided us through a relaxation technique used by the Erisayan faith, more like a calming massage, really, the three of us were caught unawares and were set upon by a group of well-concealed bandits led by orcish scouts.  So absorbed were we in trying to remedy our situation were we that they were amongst us before we could even make a grab for our weapons, the orcs seemingly well-practiced in the art of quickly binding and silencing their captives.  Before we knew it, even Risai had joined Gresilda and I (though it took three orcs to subdue her, and not without one getting a dislocated jaw and the other taking a kick to his groin), stripped naked (aside from my “armor”, unfortunately) and mercilessly hogtied with painfully tight leather thongs, our mouths filled with a mixture of our travel- and frustration-stained socks and underwear.  Try as they would, they could not dislodge my magically sealed chastity gear, and after some frustrated groping and rather rough handling, they gave up, instead deciding that they should haul us back to their camp.  We were then blindfolded and picked up by the orcs, who, I think rather enjoyed groping Risai and Gresilda from what I could hear, hauled none too gently through the woods, though I knew not where at the time.

#Lore24 – Entry #324 – Fantasy Month IV #19 – A Night Most Humiliating

From the journal of Angeliqua “Goldeneyes” Cartacustos

The following day, I conferred with the adventurers about our plans for finding the next ritual site, and proposed the general bearings I had determined based on our previous travels and the maps we had.  We had little knowledge of the regions we would need to travel, but made the wise assumption that they were just as dangerous as the areas we’d already visited.  We would pack more supplies this time, and Gresilda, Ellisar, and I would spend some time the next couple of days brewing potions to augment our own abilities.

Risai had arrived late to our discussions, and I noticed that she was having trouble concentrating on our topics, for she kept fidgeting and casting glances toward the redoubt.  She likewise kept brushing her hands over her breasts when she would move her arms, not really doing much to hide the obvious erection of her nipples beneath her shirt.  I quite correctly surmised that this was not simply a lingering effect of the maidenbane vines, as she tried to dismissively inform us.  I would find out that evening the nature of her arrangement with Lady Armenia when I too would be drawn into the affair.

I suppose I should not linger too long in my description of our preparations, for they were fairly mundane.  We did confirm that the magical marks upon us, one of the runes on our foreheads, the other on our left biceps, were still quite visible to those who concentrated upon us when using arcane sight; I did wonder how long they would linger if we were not in pursuit of the standing stones, or if they would vanish entirely were we to leave the region. 

That evening, once the sun had set and we had finished our dinner in the tavern, Risai and I returned to the redoubt.  She told the others she was simply escorting me there, but I knew better, and said not a word of it.  The others suspected, I’m sure, especially Gresilda, but as I’ve said before, Risai is her own woman.  I said nothing, but could sense her frustration, which had only grown following her evening bath, which she had returned from looking quite disappointed and anxious, for I knew it quite well.  I saw Aishi following Commander Asselin along the fort’s walls, catching her knowing gaze and that smugness of her expression once more.

Lady Armenia awaited Risai and I at the commander’s quarters, her expression amused and expectant.  Risai perked up in spite of her apparent lack of fulfilment and constant arousal since her visit last night, looking as if she anticipated something amazing to happen.  Without a word, Lady Armenia bid us to follow her, and so we did, perhaps my own curiosity overriding my common sense.  Or perhaps it was my intense arousal that drove me forward, for the cock cage had been acutely tight and bothersome today, the vibrations there and in my nipple rings likewise seeming to be at their worst.

I had suspected we would go to Lady Armenia’s chambers, but instead she led us away from the commander’s quarters and toward another section of the redoubt, once I had not spent much time in at all.  She led us toward the barracks, then below, not into one of the storage areas, but toward the dungeons.  I daresay that Risai was nearly salivating as we descended, and I resolved that perhaps I should inquire as to the exact nature of her fantasies at some point during our travels, assuming I did not find out all about them this night.  As we descended into the darkness, Lady Armenia summoned a ball of light to guide us, and as we continued deeper, through an underground that was much larger than I had assumed, we came to a heavy, ancient door, recently cleaned and tended to.  I spotted two of her drakonae warriors skulking at the edges of the light, keeping watch over the room, and wondered where the others had been hiding as we passed through the dark corridors.  She removed the new lock upon it and led us inside, and with a snap of her fingers, candles ignited all around us.  As I took in the scene, the door was closed behind us.

It was undeniably a torture chamber, though all of the ancient tools and devices had been cleaned and repaired, the room itself brought back to an immaculate state, complete with a shrine to the Dark Lady, Yurisaya, a large image of her black half-mask entwined with thorn-covered vines displayed prominently at the front of the chamber.  This place had become her temple within the Wildlands, and we were to be the first “sacrifices” to anoint this place in her name.  Lady Armenia had indeed been quite busy during our days of travel through the wilderness.

Silently cursing my curiosity about the nature of Yurisayan rituals, I nonetheless obeyed Lady Armenia’s command when she big Risai and I to strip, for she left no room for protest with the dominance she projected.  I noticed that Risai sported a pair of nipple rings like my own when she and I finally stood together in our nude state, and bore a curious magical glyph, glowing a deep purple color, upon her body, above her pubic mound, which I assumed was a more temporary form of the enchantments upon my cock cage that prevented me from finding release to my frustrations, judging by the moisture upon her thighs and the strong scent of her arousal that filled my nose as we stood beside one another.

Though some of the events of that night remain blurry in my memory, I will recount those that I can remember most clearly here.  In short order, Risai and I were secured with heavy manacles between two pillars, our limbs spread painfully wide, facing each other with perhaps ten feet between us, our mouths fitted with large, leather-wrapped bit gags secured by harnesses about our heads.  Thusly secured, our devices began to hum, seemingly with anticipation, as Lady Armenia began her ritual to dedicate the new temple, offering her prayers to Yurisaya over the table of implements she would use upon us that night.

With the metal shackles biting my flesh, but my anticipation and arousal constantly rising, I watched with rapt attention as Lady Armenia took up the wide leather strap and turned first to me.  She stepped behind me, my only warning before the strap struck my backside being the whooshing sound before the blow landed.  I screamed, jerked in my bonds, as pain flared throughout flesh, my ass stinging immediately from the blow, though it was only the first of many.  Lady Armenia would concentrate upon my hips and thighs, making me rise upon my toes as I fought in vain to dance away from the strap.  Once I was in sufficient agony, though I cannot deny the intensity of the arousal I felt during this, for my cock strained hard against its cage, dripping constantly upon the stones of the floor, she turned her attentions to the anxiously awaiting Risai, performing the same procedure upon her, fueling what must have been a deeply masochistic desire within the large woman.

Next, Lady Armenia secured hooks to our nipple rings, guiding the attached strings upward, through a pulley between us, adjusting it so that our rings were constantly being pulled upward and away from us, forcing us to lean forward against our chains.  This was but the first torment to our breasts, though, for she shortly returned with a wicked-looking flogger, its many tassels set with beads upon the ends of its leather thongs.  When she went to Risai first, and struck the first blow against the woman’s back, causing a surprisingly loud cry of pain from her, I was immediately worried, and felt the woman jerk through the painful tug upon my nipple rings.  I was already in agony by the time the warrior’s body had been thoroughly flogged, leaving her a quivering, moaning mass of flesh.  Once it was turned upon me, I know I did not black out, yet my memory of the event is fuzzy, filled with pain, yet a strange sense of pleasure like I had never before experienced.

My energy did not wane during this ordeal, however, and I felt an unusual vigor fill me as we continued to the next phase.  Risai was fitted with a heavy steel collar and released from her standing spreadeagle, commanded to  hands and knees by Lady Armenia, who choked her with a tug on the chain leash as she whipped Risai’s backside with a riding crop while grinding her tall heel into the much larger woman’s back.  She paraded Risai around me, striking her frequently, making her squeal, then guided her toward a stout wooden pillory that stood before the symbol of Yurisaya.  The large warrior was secured into the heavy wooden device, bent over at her waist, her legs once again spread wide, her dripping crotch receiving several swats with the crop. 

Then it was my turn for Lady Armenia’s attention.  Her zeal had only grown, a veritable fire in her eyes as she approached me and secured a leash to my collar, giving me a few very painful swats with the crop.  Before she released me, however, she retrieved another device, which she secured around my hips and between my legs.  It was what I considered to be a very large dildo, secured to a leather harness that settled perfectly around me, placing the phallus right above my caged anatomy.  Feeling a surge of magic as it was settled onto me, Lady Armenia then undid my restraints and secured my arms behind me with a pair of stout leather straps, then guided me forward with the crop, directly toward Risai.  Once I was positioned behind the warrior, Lady Armenia gave the dildo a quick swat with her crop, making me squeal and dance as if my own anatomy had been struck.  Sensing her lascivious smile more than I saw it, I was guided into position behind the waiting Risai, the head of the dildo guided toward her waiting womanhood.  I could feel the heat of her body, the wetness of her juices as the head of the device pressed against her swollen lower lips.  A swat from the crop moved me forward, sinking the dildo deeper into Risai, making us both moan with pleasure.  Lady Armenia’s hands upon my hips guided me ever forward, until the dildo was, I believe the term is “hilted” within Risai, then she took my leash and secured it to the top of the pillory, assuring that I couldn’t move further than a good thrusting distance.

Feeling the pleasure swirling throughout me, I needed little further encouragement to thrust my hips, moving backward to the limit my leash would allow, then pushing forward eagerly, feeling the strange mix of pain in my magically formed, caged cock as it mingled with the pleasure coming from the magically charged dildo, only to mix further with the pain filling my body.  It was a nigh maddening, yet highly intoxicating experience.

I can recall Lady Armenia resecuring the hooks to my nipple rings as I became absorbed into my task, somehow feeding the attached strings upward to a pulley.  I think Risai’s own rings were similarly hooked, her cords ran through a ring on the floor and then upward and secured to my own, for I recall that shortly after this, I would feel constant jerking pains in my breasts.  Though I could not see Lady Armenia at the time, I felt her come up behind me again, now naked, for her body radiated an intense warmth, perhaps fueled by a combination of her hot mazoku blood and the power of Yurisaya.  I then felt a hot, fleshy pressure against my anus, and realized suddenly that she was sliding her own dripping cock into my ass.  How long she had possessed this, I do not know, perhaps all along?  Or perhaps it was simply another dildo harness?  The pleasure and pain that went through me as we stood together, she fucking me, and me fucking the pilloried Risai, before the visage of Yurisaya, the eye of the half-mask having taken on a peculiar glow, must have been overwhelming for my mortal mind.

I have vague flashes of what followed, for I think I finally experienced orgasm in spite of the caged nature of my anatomy, perhaps several of them that night.  The pain-pleasure haze had fully consumed me as we fucked in that debaucherous state.  I can recall that perhaps there were others who came into the room following this, some of the soldiers from the fort above, perhaps, for I remember sucking several cocks, perhaps Lady Armenia’s own, then feeling them inside my ass at the same time, seeing Risai in a similar state, every hole filled by a vague figure, her hands working hard on two more men.  I remember the feel of their fluids upon my body, in my ass, in my mouth, the hot, salty taste.  Then I remember licking it from Risai’s pussy as she in turn licked it from my ass.

I feel like it may have gone on much longer, but beyond that, the night’s events were a blur.  I awoke late the following morning, somehow feeling refreshed, if remaining groggy far longer than I normally would have.  Risai and I were both in Lady Armenia’s bed, nestled against the priestess on either side, bearing no signs of our ordeal aside from the collar that remained around Risai’s neck, now looking more like my own than it had previously.  Perhaps I simply dreamed it all? 

No, it was far too vivid to be but a dream…

And yet…yet I remain as aroused and horny as I was before, in spite of all that may have occurred.  It is a maddening state I find myself in as we make our final preparations to return to our quest.

#Lore24 – Entry #323 – Fantasy Month IV #18 – Recovery in Vindinium

From the journal of Angeliqua “Goldeneyes” Cartacustos

Glad to be back in civilization, and thankful that the tavern keeper was willing to fix us a warm meal after our arrival, I began to consider just how weary I was of all the travel we had done, to say nothing of the ordeal which we had just endured, barely making it through the meal before my fatigue overtook me.  Though Lady Armenia was no doubt anxious to hear of what I had learned thus far, and would no doubt ask for all of the intricate details of the lewdest aspects of my adventure thus far, it would have to wait until the following day.  I don’t recall falling asleep at the table, nor being carried to bed, but the following morning I awoke in a room at the inn next to Risai, who had apparently mistaken me for a pillow, not unlike how Lady Armenia had cuddled with me when I had shared her bed.

Once Risai had finally awakened and I could extract myself from her remarkably strong arms, even while she slept, we would have a laugh over the whole situation and have some breakfast and get ourselves cleaned up.  Everyone arose late this morning, and after some discussion of what we would do, I ventured to the redoubt to find Lady Armenia and Commander Asselin to report on our discoveries thus far.  I encountered Aishi before I could reach the commander’s quarters, her smugly superior smirk and sensitive nose picking up on much of what I had hoped to remain hidden.  She asked if I was ready to take her up on her offer, and for a very brief moment, I considered it.  My aroused state, and lack of fulfillment, especially after the encounter with the maidenbane vines, had left me quite frustrated.  I politely declined, still unsettled in her presence.  She seemed to think it was only a matter of time before I would come begging to her, and perhaps it would be.  She walked with me to my meeting and stood behind Commander Asselin as I recounted the events of the last few weeks, showing my notes on the draconic ruins.

It was well into the afternoon by the time I had finished my exhaustive report, omitting exactly how the druids had been dealt with for now, lest I stir up some suspicions about Korvalis that would prove harmful to a man I’ve trusted my life to on several occasions.  In the days since our departure, a handful of other adventurers had come and gone, but had given us some little detail about lands further to the southwest of us, though nothing that would prove terribly useful in determining our course to the next standing stones, though we became aware of at least two additional bandit groups, at least one allied with another tribe of orcs. 

Commander Asselin was of the mind to set up a defensive position at the vault entrance, but given their lack of manpower, that could prove more dangerous to the village and fort should the various forces stirring around them get wind of it and decide to attack the split force.  For now only the party I had joined with and those in the room were aware of the location of the site, though no doubt whispers had spread through the garrison of some kind of big treasure we were hunting, the village as well.  Plus, I had no doubts that the Emperor himself was aware of the find, for Aishi was no doubt sending everything she learned back to him through that curious link the Stellae Illustris shared with him.

Though I wished to return to the party to coordinate our plans and work on determining our next course of action, Lady Armenia insisted I spend some more time recovering from my ordeal under her care before I worried with that.  Somehow I knew that her definition of “recovery” would not match mine, and this proved to be quite accurate when I found myself securely restrained once again in her chamber, my “armor” removed but for the cock cage, which she proceeded to tease and torment as only she can do, coaxing every detail of what I’d left out of the official record from me.  She seemed rather impressed that I had managed to resist my sexual desires so well (not that I could really do anything for them, of course), though I fear that I may have inadvertently turned her eyes toward Risai, given the barbarian’s curious reaction to my situation and her apparent enjoyment of the situation with the vines. 

By evening, after I had been mercilessly teased into a dripping mess by Lady Armenia and found some semblance of rest once she had had her fill, with the plug securely in my ass once more, I was back in my small room, allowed out of the “armor” for a time, working on my notes and attempting to make some form of hybrid map, between what we knew of the region versus what I had found upon the vault door of the ancient city layout, using our path of travel and rough travel times to roughly estimate where the other standing stones could be.  The central stones were likely somewhere in the swamplands that covered the central region; the next closest of the sites should be a few days from Vindinium, to the south, somewhere in the forested hills.  The two sites furthest from us were harder to determine as our knowledge of the geography of the region that far out was limited, but there were higher mountains in the southwesterly direction, and a region that contained some grasslands as the valley flattened to the west and northwest, and each of these were as likely as anything else as possibilities. 

As I began to think of possible magical means of tracking these locations, for there was no question that there as a flow of primal power between the sites and the central vault that could perhaps be followed, my thoughts were interrupted by Aishi as she barged in, smirking down at me in that oh-so-dangerous way she had.  She made it a point to express just how overpowering the scent of my frustration was, before informing me that Risai had been summoned by Lady Armenia and was now enjoying a private audience with the Yurisayan priestess.  When this proclamation failed to illicit the response she wanted, for Risai was her own woman, and what she chose to do with Lady Armenia was between them, Aishi became quite forward with me, snatched my collar and forced me up from my chair and against the wall, her knee rising between my legs to apply pressure to my caged cock and my swollen testes.  The plug inside me decided to activate at that moment, making me squirm, much to her amusement.  She leaned in close, a low, predatory growl rumbling from her as she stared into my eyes.  Bouncing her knee against my magically-induced anatomy, she again offered to relieve my frustrations as only she could.  Her free hand had found my breasts by this point, her fingers squeezing my flesh and tugging at my nipple rings, eliciting an intense rush of desire within me, an overwhelming lust trapped by the tightness of the cage surrounding my dripping anatomy.

All I had to do was beg her for it, beg her to give me what I craved.  Why should I be denied while Lady Armenia and Risai enjoyed themselves, after all?

I very nearly accepted Aishi’s offer then, feeling a wave of desperation surge through me as my arousal peaked once more, driven by her touch and the vibrations of my gear.  Yet somehow, I resisted her, resisted the temptation to sate my own desires.  Somehow, I felt it would be a betrayal to Lady Armenia to submit myself to Aishi, though given that I Lady Armenia had given me little choice in my current situation, there was no good reason I couldn’t have submitted to the kerryn right then and there, aside from my own stubbornness and perhaps a lingering fear of what exactly that could mean.

Aishi grabbed my caged cock, smirking at me as she squeezed the swelling testes and licked my cheek.  She said she would await my inevitable change of mind when I would come crawling to her to find my relief, giving my nipples one last firm twist before she made her exit, leaving me quivering and panting.  For a time I played with myself as I stood against the wall, my thoughts dancing between my own predicament and wondering what exactly it was that Lady Armenia was doing with Risai in the moment, but all I found was my continued frustration as I stood upon an edge of a most pleasurable experience that I simply could not reach.

It was with utmost frustration that I finally slept that night, fitful and restless, rethinking my decision to rebuff Aishi then, but only briefly before I finally managed to rest.  This would pale in comparison to the frustration I would feel the following night, however.

#Lore24 – Entry #322 – Fantasy Month IV #17 – A Messy Situation

From the journal of Angeliqua “Goldeneyes” Cartacustos

For those readers who may not be aware of the exact timing, these journal entries are indeed written well after the events described within them; I can’t very well catalogue my thoughts when I’m being assailed by ravenous vines covered with lust-inducing venom, now can I?  As an example, this and the last entry were both written once the party safely returned to Vindinium.  As to how that happened, do read on.

I am uncertain how long the druids allowed the vines to enjoy our bodies, for it is all a pleasure-shrouded haze of frustration in my case, though perhaps Risai and Korvalis may indeed have a different opinion on the matter.  I would daresay Risai may have enjoyed the predicament for a time, and perhaps Korvalis as well, though the wrath he would bring upon the druids following our eventual escape may indeed indicate the opposite. 

We were taken into a well-hidden camp deep within the Thistlewood, nestled among some of the ruins of the ancient draconic city, the vines shaped and controlled by the druids to keep us restrained and at their mercy.  I can recall Risai fighting against the binding vines, to little effect other than the vines seemingly redoubling their efforts to feed upon her essence.  As my memories of the hours or days that we spent in captivity are hazy at best, I will skip to the parts I remember, the night we were to be sacrificed.

I believe their ritual was intended to correspond to the peak of the full moon, for the druidic cult had dedicated themselves to preparations during our captivity and grew ever more excited for what was to come, to the best of my recollection.  I am thankful that our companions who had not been captured remained vigilant, for on the day of the ritual, the druids rested later and more deeply than normal as they prepared themselves, leaving only a handful to keep watch over us.  Ellisar saw to cloaking our party members with his magic, while Shassk saw to dealing with our guards in a silent, if most gruesome, manner, aided by magical silence from Ellisar.  Once the druids controlling them were dealt with, the maidenbane vines lost interest in us, thoroughly gorged as they were upon our vital essence.  Gresilda thankfully had prepared several spells to remove the lingering effects of their poison upon us, giving us a proper chance to carry ourselves out of the hidden enclave, cloaked by more of Ellisar’s invisibility.

I was content to make a hasty retreat to Vindinium, but Korvalis would have none of it, insisting that he had to pay the druids back for their actions.  This was the first real conflict amongst our party, and I could understand wanting revenge, certainly, but our best interest lay in retreat to fight another day.  Still, Korvalis, once he had regained his equipment, set off on his own, followed soon by Shassk, while the rest of us rode ahead toward the river crossing a few miles away.  We would wait until sunset for them, and if they didn’t return, then we were to assume they had been captured or killed.  Nobody liked it, but Risai and I were nearly exhausted, and Ellisar and Gresilda had little left in the way of magic.  I still don’t know exactly where Korvalis found the energy to do what he did.

It was just an hour or so before sunset that our two wayward party members returned, the smell of blood heavy upon them, remarkably light of injury. I didn’t get all the details, but Korvalis seemed sated in his bloodlust, and all Shassk would tell me was that even he was now rather unsettled by the deadly efficiency with which Korvalis dealt with the druids. “I have never seen so silent a death befall so many…” was all he told me. There would be no further need to worry from that particular cult.

With that dark mood firmly established, we pushed onward to the village, arriving a couple hours after sunset, where we could finally take time to recover from our long excursion.

#Lore24 – Entry #321 – Fantasy Month IV #16 – Detours and Detainments

From the journal of Angeliqua “Goldeneyes” Cartacustos

Upon leaving the standing stones, the greatest source of my frustration finally stopped their incessant buzzing, returning to their more normal routine of random stimulation that only left me mildly frustrated in comparison.  The southeasterly course we had picked was not as easy to navigate as our previous route and thus took us several more days to traverse, but didn’t seem to pass through any kobold territory, so at least we were unmolested in that regard.  There were dangers aplenty, though, for with game being plentiful, it meant we also encountered more predators that were none too pleased to have intruders into their territory.  Though mostly your more mundane cougars, wolves, and the like, we did have to deal with another flame-drake that came at us from above.  I must say that for once I was quite pleased to see Ellisar’s Staff of Many Bindings be used, for it made short work of the creature once its ability to fly had been taken from it.

Our luck would not hold, however.  As we neared the region where we were likely to find the next set of standing stones, we began to see signs of humanoid habitation in the form of painted markings upon the rocks, old campfires, bones of harvested game.  The rock paintings indicated orcs, likely one of the many tribes of them that the Heroes had been facing on a semi-regular basis since they had begun their work in the region.  Soon enough we would begin to see cooking fires in the distance indicating a very large population of them.  Thus far, only a scant few tribes have proven themselves the least bit civilized, the Empire’s loyal Badaxe Clan foremost among them, so it was unlikely that these tribes would be willing to entertain outsiders in their lands, especially when said outsiders are likely responsible or killing a great many of their kin.

Thus, we were forced to move with extreme caution, detouring off our planned route for several days, following Shassk and Korvalis as they navigated a route that would avoid the worst of the orcish population.  At least we would gather some useful information about their location and numbers for future use.  Once we had come out of orcish territory, we had to swing back to the northwest, circling the rim of the valley that housed the standing stones for another day before we finally found a passable route down into it.  Thankfully the orcs had not claimed the area for their own, and like the previous stones, the primal energy that lay heavy upon the site had kept them away. 

We completed our next ritual without incident and made haste to clear the area, driving swiftly to the southeast once more in the direction of Vindinium.  Our good fortune would run out as we neared the Thistlewood and Lake Thistlelonica, on the far side from the village.  As we ventured along the upper shore of the lake in search of the river that fed it, and a crossing that would get us to the village, we found ourselves facing a sudden ambush that even our guides had failed to notice, for it was not at all what we had come to expect.

In our haste to return to the village, we had failed to notice the curious nature of the overgrowth in this region, the thick canopy of leafy vines that spread like a green sea over the hills, wood, and shore.  We skirted the mass, not wanting to go through blindly, but the mass of vegetation came alive, swelling and rising up like great leafy serpents.  Our horses were spooked, rearing and dancing wildly at the sudden movement, and Risai, Korvalis, and I were unable to control their wild behavior and were thrown.  As we tried to recover from our misfortune, bruised and dazed from our falls, I heard shouting and chanting in a language that I would later come to recognize as the secret tongue of the Druids.  Walls of thorns sprang up between us and the rest of our party, and the very trees began to come alive against us.  The vines closed in around us as spells filled the air, and try as I might, I could not keep the vines away from me or the others.  Risai’s heavy mace was mostly useless against the vegetation, as were Korvalis’s daggers. 

In my case, the vines swarmed around me in a fury, and as they latched onto me and their secretions began to tingle upon my skin, I realized that they were a form of maidenbane vines, for I grew somehow hornier and lethargic in their grasp, dropping my scimitar as they coiled about me and ripped my clothing away.  I suppose I was the lucky one here, for I was at least somewhat protected from their most erotic probing by Lady Armenia’s chastity gear, though they still found their way to my rear and into my mouth.  Fight as they would, Risai and Korvalis were likewise subdued by the combined strength of the vines themselves and the potency of their poison, leaving them helplessly wrapped in their invasive clutches.

The sounds of battle would fade as the others were forced into a hasty retreat, and through our pleasure-addled daze, we would see the fur- and foliage-covered druids we had not noticed approach us, watching with satisfaction as their vines continued to hold us helpless before them.  Using their magic, they urged the binding maidenbane vines to move, and we were brought deeper into the cover of the Thistlewood, for what purpose I could not imagine in that moment, for I was lost in the pleasure haze, even if the accursed chastity gear prevented me from climaxing, even with the poison coursing through my veins.