Harpies & Heroes

by OliviaLynx

Summary:

A story about Lin, the DnD nerd's slow descent into being her table's healslut.

It's a slow burn with a focus on in-game lewdness of her character slowly but surely changing the dynamic between her and her friends.

Chapter 1

Session Zero:

“‘Do you have any last words?  Any kin to whom I might return your severed head?’ the mercenary captain asks as he raises his sword.  You can still faintly make out the faded black and green insignia on the weapon’s hilt.”

 

Mark’s voice was tired and sad.  Even his body posture changed when he got into character like this.

 

‘Do….do you know…’ Shaun began, overdramatically grabbing his chest, ‘...do you know Jo?’

 

“The captain frowns for a moment and then asks,  ‘Josephine? Why do you speak her na-’”

 

 Oh no, he’s about to walk into this one…

 

‘Joe Mama!’ Shaun interrupts, a proud grin on his face even as most of the table groaned.  

 

“Ahh, c’moon!  We’ve been trying to find this guy all campaign, he killed your brother!  Is that really all you wanna say to him?!”  I complained to Shaun.  Tim got a weird look in his eye and started looking through his character sheet again.

 

My complaints didn’t do much to sour Shaun’s mood but Mark’s reaction hit closer to home.  Our GM just looked down and rolled a few dice before declaring, “The joke doesn’t translate well into Parcivian and he doesn’t understand.  He gives you a pitying look as he assumes by your clothes you’re one of the barbarians from the north whose minds are ravaged by the intoxicating substances they use to enter into frenzies before battles.”

 

Shaun grumbled back to me, “Yeah, I guess that wasn’t as funny a reaction as I was hoping it’d be…”

 

Before Mark can continue with the description of the captain beheading Shaun’s character Tim  spoke up, “Hold on!  If someone’s distracted moving through caltrops they have disadvantage on dex saves right?”  

 

Mark nodded, “Sure, that's in the rules.”

 

Tim continued, “And back when Lin’s character was going through that guilt arc you had her roll at disadvantage for wisdom saves right?  Since her mind was still wrestling with all that emotional stuff right?”

 

Mark knew better than to try and rush Tim to his real  question, so he nodded again, “It was a reasonable extension of the rules.”

 

Tim licked his lips, “So if the captain guy’s having to try and make sense of all that, and I cast a spell right then, he’d roll at disadvantage on Int saves right?”

 

Mark paused to consider for a moment before nodding again, “Alright, yeah.  That’s reasonable.  What spell do you want to cast?”

 

Tim turned his character sheet over and pointed at one spell in particular, “Feral Frenzy.  It’ll make him choose his targets randomly from-”

 

Now that he saw all the pieces Mark finally took the chance to interrupt, raising a hand and then pointing at something on the sheet.  “You broke your focus overcharging your spell in the first fight, remember?  Now you need somatic components but your hands are bound.”

 

Tim considered for a moment before collapsing back into his seat, “Shit.”

 

Mark turned to me, “Is there anything Willow would want to do?”

 

Shaun turned in his chair and said, “Oo!  Yeah, yeah!  Go steal the crown we need while they’re not looking.  You can just get us rezzed back in town with the cash.”

 

I considered and then shook my head, “Everyone agreed to the duel.  Willow wouldn’t try to cheat them when they could’ve just killed us when they found us.”

 

I looked down, “Sorry guys, I think this is it.  I really messed up the negotiations…”

 

Tim rifled through the pages of notes attached to his character sheet, not wanting to go down just yet.  

 

Shaun just shrugged, “Eh, it’s whatever.  My build was kinda boring anyway.  We had a good run.  Heh.  Hey, remember the goat cave?”

 

He put his hands on his head to look like horns and dropped into a British accent, ‘Son, all I wanna know is where’s the dang cat gone?!’

 

The memory sent a wave of giggles through the table.  Even Mark broke character to snicker behind his GM screen.

 

When we all finally calmed down Mark slipped back into character and described how the captain executed Shaun’s barbarian.  Tim’s wizard tried to slip into the phylactery he was making but, since it wasn’t complete, his soul would be stuck in the pendant, haunting it for years to come.

 

As for Willow, my elven fencer…

 

“...since you didn’t try to renege on the deal the captain tells his men not to harm you.  However, you know too much for them to let you go.  So Willow is essentially enslaved, forced to cook dishes, clean the camp, tend to the animals and the like in order to earn her keep.”

 

I shift in my seat for a moment, thinking of Willow.  She was an elven noblewoman who was raised in the capital.  I even bought the magical tent because she hated the idea of dirt and grime.

 

She’d probably prefer…

 

“Uhm…” I interrupted.

 

Mark paused to glance at me.

 

“We found this camp from a rumor we heard at one of the brothels right?  Henrietta told us that the soldier types were some of their best customers,” I began.

 

Mark nodded.  Tim and Shaun looked like they saw where this was going and were actively trying not to look too excited about it.

 

“What if…I mean instead of doing manual labor I think Willow would prefer earning her keep by…”

 

I stuttered on my words.  My breath was getting a bit too fast.  Just under the table and out of sight my thighs were rubbing needily together.  I imagined Willow offering herself to the mercenary camp.  I imagined the men pawing at her while they drank and celebrated another victory…dressing her up like an elven slave…letting out their frustrations by bending her over after a long march…

 

She wouldn’t even have a tent of her own since every day the captain would reward another one of his soldiers by letting them take me, uhm, her for the night.  

 

I shook my head.  That wasn’t right for Willow either.  She’d only let herself get used by commoners if they forced themselves on her.  Even if these mercs were more noble than most, that was just because…

 

“Ah!” I said excitedly, making the table flinch away from me, “The Captain used to be Parcivian nobility right?  Can Willow try to seduce him so that he’ll take her on as a concubine instead of a camp slave?”

 

I started imagining the ways she could appeal to him.  “He obviously had a problem with the nobility trying to impose rules on him so I’d have to show him I could be submissive and follow his lead.  Maybe…”

 

Mark shook his head before I could get into any of the fun details.   I didn’t notice at the time but Tim and Shaun were more disappointed about that than their own character’s bad ends.  

 

“Sorry, just won’t work.  I like the idea and I’d give you roleplay credit for remembering Henrietta but Willow has the Frigid Nobility drawback, remember?  You can’t initiate seduction attempts, even with other nobility, unless you’re properly courted first.”

 

I joined the guys in grumbling about my character choices.   Mark continued describing the epilogue.  He took us through the places we’d visited and how they’d change because of our choices, the people who would mourn us, the stories that would survive…

 

Even Tim and Shaun were totally sucked in by the end and when we all clicked glasses together to toast the end of another campaign everyone had grins on their faces as we talked about our favorite moments.  

 

Still, I couldn’t help but look forward to Mark’s next campaign and everything I’d do differently.  

 

I want my next character to be more…flexible.  

 

The guys go around seducing barmaids all the time so it wouldn’t be weird if I lived a little more vicariously this time.  They wouldn’t mind, right?

 

When the campaign did roll around I would be right that the guys wouldn’t mind my character being a lot more sensual than Willow was.  But I wouldn’t be living out my fantasies vicariously by the time the campaign ended.

Chapter 2: A New Module

Chapter 1:

 

“Wait, please don’t leave me!” I begged as Tim slid his token up and out of the Keep.  Mark did the honor of shifting the plastic token to signify the dragon’s growing rage.

 

“Sorry Lin,” Tim said, a happy grin on his face as he started counting up his loot, “I mean you still might make it out~”

 

I glanced down at my cards. 

 

 If I lived one more round maybe...just maybe…

 

“Clang, clang, clang goes the trolley~” Shaun started to sing out as he dropped his hand of cards down on the table.  He was still balls deep in the dragon’s keep but he didn’t seem to mind as he gleefully counted out colored cubes and tossed them into the dragon’s bag.

 

“Fwoosh, fwoosh, fwoosh go the flames!” he continued as he ended his turn and tossed the bag over to Mark who gave it a fair shake before letting five cubes tumble back out.

 

C’moon, c’moon, I’ve still got plenty of health I just need…

 

Nothing but colored cubes tumbled back out, one of them Shaun’s and four of them mine.

 

“Daaamit!” I groaned as I glumly dropped my health down to zero.

 

It was enough to finish off Shaun too but he was in higher spirits, “I think back to the day that I lost you~”

 

Tim, gleefully looking at his massive horde joined in for the last verse, “The day that my baby was slain~”

 

“Fuuuuck yooouuuu,” I complained, sticking my tongue out at them so they knew I didn’t really mean it, even if I was a bit salty.  Mark just chuckled as he watched as wrap up the game.  He’d opted to just sit on the sidelines again, poring over the book he wouldn’t tell us about.  It’d been like this the last few game nights but tonight he finally put it down with a satisfied grin.

 

“So,” he said, “you guys ready for a new campaign?”

 

“Seriously?! You’re already good to go?!  What’s the setting!?” I said, the sting of defeat immediately buried in my mind as I quickly sorted my cards back into the box.

 

“‘Bout time, I’ve got an awesome new character idea,” Shaun replied, picking up the little relics and potions from the board.

 

Tim folded up the board and asked excitedly, “You said we could use non-core books this time right?”

 

Our GM grinned, “Well, you might all want to take a look at this first.”

Mark turned over the book he’d been reading all this time, finally letting us see the cover.  It read Harpies and Heroes, Player’s Handbook. 

 

We stared at it in disbelief for almost a full minute.  The only sound was him proudly pulling out book after book labeled monster fieldbook, deep sea gods, miriam’s magecraft, it was a complete and spotless collection.  The only one he didn’t bring out, that I could see poking out of his bag, was the Game Master’s Guide.  

 

“H-how, how did you get your hands on this?  It’s not supposed to be for like a year at least,” I finally blurted out, tentatively touching the stack of books, wanting to feel that they were real.  I let out a little squeal when my fingers brushed against the binding.

 

If it was Shaun I would’ve expected these to be one of his pranks but Mark…Mark isn’t the type to….

 

Tim was the first to pick one up, the book on spells, and start greedily leafing through, “Dude…DUDE…are we playing with this?  We’re playing with this right!?”

 

Shaun was turning over all the books, a goofy grin on his face as he soaked in all of the cover art.  

 

Mark was a master at staying quiet and soaking in the moment but finally he spoke up again, “There was a raffle at Realm Con to playtest the new system before the full launch next year.  Turns out we won~”

 

He pulled out a trio of folders for each of us, a pristine new character sheet for the system was the only thing in each of them for now.  

 

He slid our character folders out to each of us and said, “Well, if you guys want to play, I was thinking of setting the campaign in the same world we left behind.”

 

It wasn’t really a question but we all fervently nodded as we took our seats and motioned for him to continue,   “Except now decades have passed and since you guys never managed to find the Obelisk, the Malorite’s ritual was completed.  The world your characters are a part of has had to cope with the fallout of that, including massive changes in their understanding of the universe and what’s possible in it.”  

 

He tapped the new rulebooks for emphasis.

 

“As always I’m not giving you a content warning or telling you what kind’ve campaign we’ll have.  The world will be full of fun adventure and somber mystery, people who want to help you and people who will take advantage of you.  It’s up to you what parts of the world you engage with and I’ll just make sure that the world reacts to whatever you choose to do.”

 

His usual spiel over which he leans forward excitedly, “So…wanna build some characters?”

 

Chapter 2:

 

We spent the rest of the night leafing through the treasure trove of guidebooks.  Tim excitedly asked Mark about how he’d rule some corner case rules.  

 

Shaun idly flipped through to whatever caught his eye.  He even managed to ride the good mood to a few jokes that made us wait out giggling fits before we could keep going.

 

I started and scrapped a few character ideas as I looked through the guidebook of gods and myths for the world.  Every now and then I’d pester Mark about how this or that backstory would fit in with the world at large.

 

It was like the start of every campaign except that we’d gone way easier on the dusty or greasy junk food.  These books were still too new, too beautifully perfect to risk mucking up already.

 

By the end…

 

Tim was the first to finish, despite his folder now containing a decent five or six pages of printouts and hand made notes about the rules.  

 

He had a wide, manic smile as he declared, “Alright.  You guys just leave the big bad bosses to me and my new baby.  He’s a Psionic Warlock.  Screw components or anything else all he’s gotta do is have enough time to look at something and it’s getting fried.”

 

I scrunched my nose at that.  Mark wouldn’t let something that easy slip by him but I had to ask,  “Wait, are you sure that works?  Doesn’t being a Psion negate spellcasting?”

 

Mark let Tim be the one to explain.  He looked too giddy, “Mmmhm~  I can’t cast a single spell.”

He confirmed, looking at me expectantly.  I half considered just changing the subject and blue balling him, but instead I asked, “Ooookay, so what’s the tech?”

 

“I’m glad you asked!”  He said earnestly, “Ritual Magic baby!  It’s not technically part of the spellcasting class feature and there’s INSANE ways to stack it in H n’ H.  Sure, the ritual time is a pain in the ass but that’s what you guys are for.  You keep them distracted and I’ll finish it off.”

 

Mark nodded, “So, what’s his name?”

 

Tim blinked for a moment.  “Oh uhmm..Crai-...no…Crow…uhm...Crosell?  Yeah that sounds cool, Crosell,” he said, bending over to quickly write it down at the top of his sheet.

 

 Shaun went next, bowing dramatically, “I shall be joining the party as master rogue, quick and nimble in battle and with a heart even he does not fully understand; he's as hard to pin down as his alignment.”

 

“Chaotic Neutral,” everyone at the table guessed immediately and correctly.

 

He continued with his theatrical introduction, “What is this noble rapscallion’s name you ask?  Well, he is a son of the noble yet scattered family of Sehnny.  It is his dearest wish to fill his home with the treasures the cruel world had stolen from him, and to of course ensure that his lineage is not extinct.”

 

Huh, wait, the Sehnny house is actually a thing from the local flavor guide books.  I mean it still boils down to being a horny, thieving rogue but…he actually brushed up on the lore to have a cool reason to do all that.  

 

“His first name is Lars.” He added on as a quick addendum with a sly grin.

 

“Wait.  Lars?” I asked, dread overcoming me as I slowly sounded out his name,  “Lars Sehn- oh god damn it.”

 

I smacked him with my character folder but couldn’t stifle a snorting laugh in time.  

 

Mark interrupted my smacking and Shaun’s laughter to ask me about my character, “So Lin, what did you settle on?”

 

I plopped down my folder and cleared my throat, “I’m playing as Elanora, no family name since she comes from a communal, nomadic people that don’t believe in drawing boundaries between people.  A child is birthed by their mother but raised by the world.   When they come of age they temporarily leave their people to go on a self-selected quest.”

 

Mark nods along, “Okay, I can work with that.  What’s your quest then?”

 

I lick my lips, I’d given introductions before but this time I had a special reason to feel nervous.

 

“Well, she developed a talent for witchcraft after receiving a vision from one of the deep sea spirits so she wants to go out in the world and master her use of charms and healing magic.  The deep sea spirit, that’s to say her uhm, Patron,  is Ellya.”

 

The last bit came out as almost a mumbled whisper.

 

“Cool,” said Shaun, “I totally missed having a healer last campaign~”

 

“Ellya huh?” Tim asked, not noticing the quick breath of anticipation I sucked in before he continued, “Good choice I saw some super broken stuff on her patron spell list.”

 

Mark glanced at me meaningfully, “Is that the Patron you want for your witch?  You’ve read up on Ellya and her quirks as a Patron?” he calmly asked with the same non-judgmental tone he used when he wanted to confirm we wanted to touch a particular chest or insult a particular character.

“Y-yeah I…uhm…thought it’d be fun to roleplay…” I said, wondering if anyone else felt as hot as I did right now.

 

Geez it’s not that big a deal.  It’s just roleplay.  What’s with me…

 

Mark nodded and addressed the group, “Okay, so it sounds like we’re good.  I’ll do some touch ups to the world based on your characters and get some plot-hooks that’d make sense for you all.  Next time we get together I’ll give you guys some options about where the campaign can start for all of your characters to meet up.”

 

Okay.  So I’m going to be Ella for the rest of the campaign…

Chapter 3: Wish Upon A Scar Part 1

Chapter 1:

“Where your story goes, where it ends, and what it all means to you is something you’ll have to decide for yourselves,” Mark began.  His voice shifted to a warm rumble.  He jumped from one syllable to hang on another, giving it all a sing-song effect.  

 

Shaun stopped gorging himself on crunchy chips.  Tim stopped thumbing through his print-outs to listen.  We all leaned in as Mark carefully set our characters down into his world.

 

“But as for where it begins?” he continued, “Well, it begins in a dark little scar in the world that bleeds red light into the island forest that contains it.  In a network of caves where the wind echoing through the stone drives men to shivering madness.  In the daily reality of those who are forced to brave the twisting tunnels in search of the crimson crystals within.”

 

He clapped his hands together, “It begins in the Cicatriz Caverns.  Here the Oceanic Empire uses slaves and convicts to recover the crystals that grow in these caves.  The three of you have been assigned to the same team of gem hunters.  You divide the quota required for food and shelter between the three of you.  Should one of you die they won’t be replaced and the quota won’t shrink so you’re encouraged to look out for each other's safety.”

 

“Glowing red crystals…wait…holy shit is this a Vermilyte mine?” Tim asked, his eyes growing wide with greed.

 

Mark gave a characteristic shrug.  He’d told us what we’d know in character.  The rest was for us to discover.

 

He instead dropped down a question of his own, “So then.  The gem hunters here are made up of slaves or those convicted to what’s effectively a death sentence.  For one reason or another the Empire considers your lives disposable.  So you tell me, why were each of you sent here?”

 

Shaun was the first to speak up, “Lars is too good to be caught.  He broke into this place to get some loot!  He let himself get caught by the guards so he can plan his next move.”

 

Mark nods, “Alright.  It makes sense there’d be some people who try to swipe the gems and trespassing here would naturally have a sentence of being forced on a gem hunt team.  Does Lars have an exit plan?”

 

Shaun shrugged, “Fuck no.  We’ll figure something out though.”

 

Tim was having trouble as usual so I chimed in next, “I think it’d make sense for Elanora to be a slave that got sold here.  Maybe her previous master fell into money troubles and was forced to get desperate.”

 

Mark scratched his chin at that, “That’d mostly fit but the rates for slaves sold here are a lot lower than, say, a brothel.  Especially for someone of Ella’s talents.”

 

“Well…” I said, “Ah!  What if Elanora knows something important and this is a way to quietly get her killed and make it look like normal business.”

 

Mark grinned, “I like that.  We’ll talk about the details later.”

 

He jotted some notes behind his GM screen.  That knife was definitely going to get plunged into my character sometime later.  I couldn’t wait~

 

Tim finally spoke up, “Uhm….I guess…is there some kind’ve illegal magic or something that I could be researching?  People found out and I got shipped here?”

 

Mark gave him a supportive nod, “That’s good!  How about summoning magic?  Does that sound like something Crosell would be interested in?”

 

Tim shrugged, “I mean yeah sure, that sounds cool.”

 

Mark jotted down a few last notes and then clapped his hands together.  “Alright, so you’re all currently in one of the…”

Chapter 2:

 

We spent the first few sessions getting to know the camp and the guards. Lars brought back random things he swiped out of guards’ pockets like a magpie.  Crosell occasionally claimed random bits, preparing for some grand plan.  Meanwhile I was having fun getting to know the other people in the camp in between cooking and cleaning like a servant should be used to.  

 

The trips down the cave were pretty simple too.  No one even got seriously hurt.  At least until the crystals on the first floor started running dry a few sessions in.  

 

We’d pushed into new territory when Crosell, Mark’s mage, failed a skill check and fell down an unmarked hole.

 

“2d6 damage,” Mark declared.

 

“Ah, that’s not too bad, even with max rolls Crosell won’t be knocked out,” Tim said a bit prematurely.

 

“and a Wound,”  Mark finished.  “Let’s see, mm, says here your leg is twisted.  Half speed movement, quarter speed climbing.” 

 

Tim groaned.  If we didn’t hurry and get out of here our characters would end up mad and trapped after a few more bad rolls.

 

He looked over at Shaun, “Can Lars carry me?”

 

“Sure.  Carry you and climb?  No way in hell.” 

 

“Uhm,” I chimed in, drawing their attention to me.

 

I cleared my throat and spoke in the sultry accent of my character, “Crosell.  If you’d permit me, I believe I might be able to alleviate your pain.”

 

He scrunched up his face, “Wait, do you mean hitpoints or can you actually get this debuff off me?”

 

I scowled slightly at his out of character tone.  He gave an apologetic shrug.

 

“Elanora gets access to special healing options as part of her prestige class.  But you have to agree to let me, uhm, Bond with you.” I started to explain.

 

“Sweet, yeah go for it.  Crosell agrees to whatever she says.” he went on, already excited about taking an eraser to the injuries he just marked down.

 

Well, let’s see if you’re interested in the details after this…

 

My heart was hammering in my chest.  I couldn’t stop wriggling in my seat.  It felt like my first time feeling out the possibilities of role playing again.

 

“Okay…” I began, “So after you agree, Elanora lays you against the wall and strips you out of your pants.”

 

Shaun was about to make an off-color joke, assuming that I was just trying to roleplay making the injury visible.

 

Before he had a chance I continued, “Then, gently, she frees your cock and starts stroking you up and down.”

 

I mimed out the motion on empty air, my gaze focused on our little figures on the map.  I could feel their shocked eyes on me but I couldn’t bring myself to look back at them, not yet.

 

“W-wha” Tim began to stutter out.

 

“N-noticing, your surprise,” I continued, “Elanora puts a finger to your lips and shushes you.”

“Be still Crosell, let me take away your pain.  With this act I bind myself to you.  Take this, my gift of flesh and pleasure.  Through it may the warmth of the Veiled Goddess cleanse you of strife and pain.”

 

I licked my lips and kept going, relying on momentum and adrenaline to keep my mouth moving.

 

“She presses herself up against your body, cuddling up to you while she keeps stroking you off.”

 

Then, a moment of doubt creeped into my thoughts.

 

“Are you...I mean, is Crosell okay with her doing that?”

 

I said, putting some distance between us and our characters.  Then I finally glanced up at him.  He was staring right at me and sitting a little weirdly in his chair.

 

“Y-yeah,” he said, “Uhm I’m- ah, Crosell’s really hard.  It feels good, he wants you, wants Ella, to keep going.”

 

I chanced another glance over at Mark who gave me a nod.  

 

I mean, of course he did.  It’s not like they didn’t talk about getting it on with half the tavern wenches before.  This is basically the same thing.

 

I felt Shaun watching me too but he didn’t cut in with a joke this time so I let my gaze fall back on the figures.

 

“She takes Crosell’s hand and pulls it towards her chest, slipping it under the rags of her top,” I continued, again sub-conciously miming the action by running my hand over the top of my t-shirt.

 

“Let your inhibitions fall away.  Use me.  Take me.  Indulge in me.  Confess your desires to the goddess, at the temple of my body.”

 

“I’ll start groping her and uhm…I’ll pull on her tits a little.   If she likes that,” Tim interjected. 

 

I nod, “She lets you grab her as much as you want while she keeps stroking you off.  As she finishes her, uhm, prayer I guess she starts speeding up to try and make you cum.”

 

I consider how Ella would feel about being treated a little roughly. 

 

 The creed invites people to ‘use’ her.  It’d make sense that she…

 

“When you pull on her breasts she…uhm…”

 

I bit my lip and shut my eyes, trying to put myself completely in the moment.

 

“Ah, Mmm~”  I let out a short, wavering moan.

 

When I open my eyes again, still glued to the table, I unnecessarily add, “she uhm, moans.”

 

“Fuck,” Shaun muttered under his breath.  

 

“So, did you cum?” I asked.

 

“N-no!” Tim started to stutter out before I cut in and clarified.

 

“I mean your character.  Uhm, would Crosell cum by now?”

  

I forced my gaze up to see his blushing cheeks and the nod that was his response.

 

I took a breath and closed my eyes again, miming the motions of my Ella’s hand slowly moving up and down as she gently teased Crosell’s cock through his orgasm.  I pictured her letting his cum soak into her skin where it would remain for a moment before magically being absorbed to fuel her magic.

 

“Thank you Crosell.  Through this Bond my body, my magic, is open to you,” I spoke in Ella’s sultry tone.

 

Then, in my own voice I added, “So you can go ahead and heal to full.  Your wound and exhaustion is reset too.”  

 

I looked over to Mark for confirmation that I followed the rules and he gave me a silent nod.

 

Despite his horniness Tim’s inner munchkin managed to grab a hold of his tongue,  “Just like that?  What spell is that?”  

 

I shook my head, “It’s not technically a spell.  Just a, uhm, class ability I can use when we take a Short Rest.”

 

“Fuck, that’s busted,” he laughed as he erased the wound from his character sheet.

 

Chapter 3:

We continued through the maze of tunnels.  Our packs were crammed full of enough raw Vermilyte to buy a castle out in the world or a few weeks of food from the slave masters on this island.  

 

We’d been talking about escaping this island from the start but now that we had this fortune the talk got serious.  It was time to make a move.  

 

Crosell’s knowledge of this terrain told us these tunnels changed so often there must be a path to an unguarded exit.  Lars’ sharp instincts led us through at a brisk pace.  Ellanora did her best to keep their minds off the whispering that grew louder and more insistent the longer we stayed down here.  

 

Mark always rewarded a bit of roleplay with bonuses on our rolls.  I’d describe how Ellanora would press her chest against Lars’ arm when she pulled them away from the hallucinations he saw.  I described how she promised to wrap her lips around Crosell’s cock if he would walk away from the whispers that drove him to his knees.  Mark would let me grant a bigger bonus with my Help actions that way but the guys started to get really quiet when I was roleplaying.  

 

I was wondering if I was bothering them when Shaun spoke up at our latest rest site, “So, you said that Ella is ‘Bonded’ to Crosell right?  Is there a limit to how many you can be Bonded to?”

 

I nodded, “Outside of the minor ones that go away in a few minutes, I can have Bonded equal to my charisma mod.  So five right now.”

 

“And I mean your class stuff is probably based on that right?  It’d be optimal if the whole Party was linked up.”

 

“Well, I mean, yeah I guess it would…” I said, wondering if he was leading up to some kind’ve pun.  He always left party optimization to the rest of us.

 

Instead of a pun Shaun nodded and declared, “Okay. So Lars calls Ella over.  When she’s close he’ll give her ass a pinch and ask, ‘So, how about you take care of me like you did for Crossie?’”

 

I looked at him with surprise when I realized he was in the rare mood to seriously roleplay, then I glanced back down at the table when I realized what kind of roleplay he wanted.  

 

Not that I didn’t enjoy it.  It was why I built Ella like I did after all.  But it still felt awkward looking at them while I did it.  Shaun didn’t seem to share that feeling though since I could feel his gaze on me.

 

“Of course, sir Sehnny,” I replied in Ella’s voice, “it is my lot to protect and to please those the goddess has placed in my path.”

 

Two taps on the table from Mark brought me out of the moment for a bit.  He didn’t like to interrupt in the middle of roleplay but that sign was enough to make me think and realize that there was still one more restriction for me to make a Bond.

 

I bit my lip and added, “Ah, though in that regard you do not seem to require the Bond I granted Crosell.  Your flesh remains whole.”

 

Mm, I could probably say something about satisfying the ‘cravings’ of his flesh instead.  How should I word that though…

 

I decided that Ella would be willing to offer sex even if there was no mechanical benefit.  But Shaun apparently took that to mean that it was a dealbreaker and she was refusing.

 

“I take out my knife and pull her a little closer,” he said, interrupting my thoughts.  I froze.

 

Wait, is he going to try and force himself on me?  That’s…

 

“Woah, what are-” Tim began, a nervous fumbling in his voice.

 

…that’s…

 

Mark listened closely, quietly letting us play out the scene for now.

 

…that’s…hot?

 

“...and stab it into my leg.  He flashes her a smile and says, ‘Mm, doesn’t look that way to me.’” Shaun finished.  Tim settled back into his seat and I was left with a fog of thoughts I had to suddenly shake off.

 

“Oh, I -uhm,” I shook my head as I got my thoughts back in order.  Shaun was giggling into his hand.

 

Dick.  He totally meant to do that didn’t he?  At least he’s not breaking character as much…

 

“Ah, you’re right of course,” I finally say in Ella’s voice, “how stupid of me.  Please, accept my Bond and my service.  Take of the goddess’ endless warmth through me.”

 

I shut my eyes and pictured the scene.  I pictured the dangerous rogue looming over me Ella and demanding her body.  

 

“She reaches down and tugs at your knife hand.  She doesn’t seem bothered by the blood.  Then she pulls at your pants revealing the wound and your, uhm, cock,” I say.

 

Shaun cuts in, “Hey, does this Bond thing have to happen a certain way or can he *ahem* ‘Can I choose how to partake in this warmth you offer’?”

 

I hear him lean forward in his seat and plop his elbows on the table.  I shrug, “My body is yours to use as you will.”

 

I imagined he’d just describe how hard he fucked me.  Maybe ask to make a constitution roll to last a long time.  It’s how he usually hand waved his characters visiting brothels during downtime.  

 

“Okay.  Lars grabs her by the tits and brings her down towards his dick.  ‘Well, your hands are nice but I want to feel the warmth of your breasts.’”

 

There was a hungry edge to his tone that felt new.  At the time I just assumed he was finally getting into using an accent for his roleplay.  At the time I still couldn’t bring myself to look up and see the way he was staring at me from across the table.

 

 “She takes your, uhm, Lars’ dick between her breasts and starts to lovingly stroke it up and down.  She bounces her butt on her heels to keep a nice rhythm while she looks up at you.  The uhm, wound should start closing up by now as she starts to whisper, ‘Through my body the goddess will free your flesh of pain and craving both.’”  

 

As I pictured the scene I subconsciously rocked back and forth in my seat, imagining Ella’s rhythm as she pressed herself against the rogue.  

 

“So…” Shaun said, his voice steady and slow like he was trying to avoid waking a sleeping cat up, “...Lars keeps his hands on his hips and looks pretty happy as he watches Ella Bond to him.  He wants her to handle keeping his, you know, ‘dagger’ between her breasts.”

 

I took in the information and repainted the scene I was losing myself in.  Otherwise I might’ve noticed the hopeful glance Shaun gave Mark and Tim when he gave me that nudge.  I imagined Ella working to pleasure Lars as he left all the motion to her.  

 

She’d probably…

 

“She grabs her own breasts and presses Lars’ dick between them so he can feel the soft, warm pressure of being sandwiched between them.  The more excited he gets the faster she starts to bounce,” I continued.  

 

And again, my body tried to mimic the scene I painted in my head.  While Ella did her best to titfuck the rogue in her party my hands rose up to grab my chest through the fabric of my t-shirt.  

 

The guys watched as I sunk my fingers into my breasts and slowly pushed them together.  My breath was still a little heavier than usual.  My cheeks had a permanent heat in them as I imagined Ella trying to please her party.

 

“Fuck,” Tim whispered under his breath.  Shaun fought back the urge to slip out his phone and start recording.  I didn’t notice at all.

 

“So…do you cum?”  I ask.

 

Shaun gave Tim and Mark another meaningful glance, not that it meant much.  Tim’s eyes are focused on me and Mark still doesn’t show a crack in his GM mask.

 

“Yeah,” Shaun replied.  There was no background chatter during this scene.  Everyone at the table was focused, “he starts to groan as Ella brings him to the edge.  Then he tells her, ‘I want to finish on your face.  Can you stick your tongue out for me?’”

 

I nod, lost in the trance of the scene.

 

“Of course.  I will gladly accept you whebvev-” I started to slur my words.  It was harder to talk than I expected with my tongue hanging out of my mouth.  

 

Wait.  *My* mouth?

 

The realization suddenly ripped me out of the scene.  Suddenly I was back in Mark’s living room, my hands squeezing my tits and my tongue hanging out of my mouth.  I caught a glimpse of the guys’ faces before I threw my gaze back to the table.  I quickly shut my mouth and moved my hands away.

 

My heart was pounding like crazy.  My cheeks felt like they’d deal a d6 of fire damage if I touched them.  

 

C’mon I’m being dumb right?  This is all just roleplay. What's there to be embarrassed about?  

 

For a long while there was a hot tension in the room.  I didn’t know what was going on in the guys’ heads.  I was barely able to figure out what was going on in mine.  Before I could think about why I wanted to play Ellanora to begin with or wonder if I’d made a mistake with this kind’ve character, Mark broke the spell.

 

He cleared his throat like he always did when we were stalling at a fork in the road or spinning in circles for too long trying to solve a puzzle.

 

“So.  You’ve successfully finished Bonding and Lars is now a valid target for any class abilities that need it.  With that I think you’ve run out of time in your short rest.  You can stay here for another timeslot if you want but then I’ll need new Will saves from all of you.” he said, laying out options without letting a drop of judgment into his voice to push us one way or the other.
 

Tim was the next to speak up, “We should get moving then.  We’re all topped up and we’re probably close by now.  I don’t want to find out what happens if we try to camp out and sleep in this place.”

 

And with that we got back to the adventure.  The tension dripped away.  I was still squirming a bit under the table, my dampened panties proof of the effect roleplaying Ella was having on me.  

 

But it didn’t matter if I felt…particularly…about how I was playing my character.  It wasn’t getting in the way of anything.  The guys didn’t seem to mind.  It was just another part of the game and now we’re moving onto the adventure again.

 

Right.  This is fine…

Chapter 4: Wish Upon a Scar 2/3

Chapter 0:

 

Dice clattered down the table.  

 

No one was sitting down anymore, we’d all started looming over the battle-map, as though the bird’s eye view would reveal some trick that would get us out of this.  As though we could intimidate the dice into falling how we wanted them to.

 

We’d ventured deep into the caves.  So deep that we stopped seeing discarded torches.  So deep that the bats and critters we came across screeched and ran from our light.  So deep that we should have been the first people stupid and capable enough to endure the madness and see these tunnels.

 

So whose skeletons were reassembling themselves in front of us?  Whose rusted weapons were being raised up in their bony hands?  

 

Mark never uses monsters ‘just because’.  If they’re here there has to be a reason.  They couldn’t have just wandered down here and died…

 

Chapter 1:

 

“Wait, I can help this time!” I shouted out as I snatched up the red and gold d20 I saved for my attack rolls.  

 

Mark raised an eyebrow at me.  I smiled back at him.

 

“You said they’re undead, right?  Oath of Pacifism just calls out living creatures.”

 

Our GM considered for a moment then nodded, “Huh.  Fair point.”

 

I tossed my die onto the center of the table and declared, “Ella sends a bolt of golden fire at the skeleton by Crosell.  ‘Return to your rest!’ she cries out.  And the ones within ten feet owe me a Wisdom save or it has to target me now.”

Mark snatched up the Skeleton figure as he described its skull erupting outwards.  Then three of the figures next to it scuttled closer to mine on the board as Mark described the way their bones clicked and clacked against the stone.  

 

Okay.  That’s just one on Tim now.  He can tank that for a bit…

 

We’d managed to hold the majority of the horde off at a tight tunnel but even the few that had slipped in were draining my healing dry.  

“Hey.  That’s great but I’m bloodied over here, and we’re going to wipe if I go down here” Shaun complained, pointing at the horde he was trying to keep forced into a bottleneck.  

 

I grimaced and went to tick down the hit dice on my sheet,  “It’s your turn right?  Just spank me or something.”

 

There was a pause at the table.  Shaun quietly took a step back, eyeing my ass as I was bent over the table to reach my sheet.  Thankfully I realized my mistake before…

 

Before what?  I mean.  He wouldn’t actually….he’d probably just make a lewd joke about what I said or something…

 

“I-, fuck I mean, spank Ella.  If you grope or touch her as a Bonus Action, I can spend my hit dice to heal you.  Or you can get advantage on your next roll but you have to pick one,” I clarified, shaking my head and slapping my cheeks to clear the fog in my head and focus.  That also helped hide the blush that was starting to creep up on my face.

 

The guys laughed and moved on but, if I’d been paying more attention, I would’ve noticed their eyes lingering on my hips for  a bit longer.

 

“Alright,” Shaun said as he took his turn and threw his dice onto the mat, “Lars’ll toss the cutlass-”

 

“Longsword, these skeletons had standard military gear,” Mark corrected.

 

“Sure, longsword,” Shaun said with an annoyed wave of his hand, “he’ll stick it in the same mound behind them and smack Ella on the ass while he’s spinning back around to face off against the boney-boys,”  he emphasized the sound by clapping his hands together.  It made me jump a little.  

Mark nodded as he described, “…the skeletons press forward in a click-clacking mass of bones.  As the ones in front find themselves disarmed they scratch and pummel at you…”

 

He rolls some dice behind the screen,

 

“...but most can’t get a hold on you, only two damage gets through.  There are more skeletons in the back with weapons at the ready but these undead aren’t intelligent enough to move efficiently on their own.  You hold for another round, their turn ends.” 

 

Shaun raised a pair of hands to Tim and I. I didn’t leave him hanging but something gnawed at me.  The guys looked like they thought we had this in the bag but the way Mark said his piece had me on edge.

 

Not on their own.  Wait…if they’re all gathered here…is there a necromancer who was hoarding these minions?  If they were here…

 

“Tim,” Shaun asked, “you ready to do something now or what man?”  

 

Tim checked off something on his sheet and grinned.

 

“Hell yeah.  I’m fully charged so I’ll cast-”

 

Mark gave him a look.  Tim coughed into his hand and pulled out some pre-prepared notecards.  Shaun muttered that this better be worth the six turns of doing nothing.

 

“Crosell raises his hands towards the horde behind you.  He chants,” Tim began to read off, “Rage beyond rage, heat beyond heat, I beseech thee”

 

“Catch upon this feral soul, its fury roused by an unjust world,”

 

As he went on he started to get into it.  He laid the notecard down on the table so he could stretch his hands forward.  I could see a little doodle on the edge of the card of a red eyepatch with a white cross on it.

 

“Surge o flame!  Cleanse the world in calamity!”

 

“ERUPTION!”

 

I gave him a little clap.  He grinned and looked over at Mark who nodded in approval.

 

“Okay.  That works, roll your dice.”

 

After the dice fell Mark took over describing the aftermath, “The torrent of flame writhes out of your hands like a flood of starving serpents.”

 

He leaned forward with a stack of tiles to show damaged terrain.

 

“You barely manage to direct its flow.  Lars feels the raw heat on his skin and a few stray sparks but the skeletons, bunched together in the room, feel the brunt of it.”

 

One by one he picked up skeleton minis and shuffled them over to the side, replacing many of them with one of the tiles he’d picked up.  

 

The minis are still in easy reach so- ah, no that’s meta-gaming, Ellanora wouldn’t know that.

 

“A few, on higher ground, manage to survive the *ahem* Eruption but most of them are either blown apart through the sheer violence of the initial casting or are consumed by the heat.  The sound of superheated bones snapping echoes through the cavern.”

 

“Fuck yeah!” Shaun screamed out. 

 

I let myself get caught up in the energy, tucking away my little misgivings.

 

“Wahaha, Psi-locke baby!  You guys get me the time and I’ll finish it!” Tim declared, puffing out his chest.

 

Chapter 2:

 

“Before I move in I’ll give Ella’s ass another squeeze and heal up to full, then I’ll ready and pass” Shaun declared as we eyed the small scattering of skeletons. 

Geeze, he’s not even asking for my permission anymore..

 

I bit my lip as I scratched off another healing die from my character sheet.  “She’ll lean into your touch and…one hit die’s enough to cap you off right?”

 

He nodded with a grin on his face before Tim moved his figure over to mine and said, “I’ll, ah, Crosell will reach over and grab her boobs if she’ll let him.”

 

I moved to cross off another healing die before I realized, “Wait, aren’t you full health?”

 

He shrugged, “I mean, yeah but it’s not like I’m gonna walk into the next room first…I figured he’d you know…join in to kill some time…”

 

Shaun laughed and made a grabbing motion with his hands, “At least no matter how much you dump CON you’re still not the squishiest in the party, huh?”

 

Tim groaned at the bad joke.  Mark pinched the bridge of his nose and held back the urge to have a rock fall on him.  

 

I laughed and said, “So you’re saying it’s just what your character would do, right Tim?  Alright so in that case Ella’ll smile back at Crosell, leaning forward so he can slip his hand under her top for a better feel if he wants.”

 

Out in the real world I bent forward just a bit myself.  There wasn’t any cleavage to see with the t-shirt I was wearing but the way I subconsciously arched my back made the fabric hug my chest a little tighter than normal.  I didn’t realize it at the time but Tim and the guys enjoyed the view I was presenting.

 

A moment of warm silence followed but Mark, as always, was quick to move us along.  The Skeletons had been skipping turns for a round or two after the Eruption but now he moved a few of the skeletons forward and told us, “The handful that remain begin to fall into position, moving towards you in a wall of rattling bones.”

 

Eh?  They’re taking a formation now?  

 

Shaun slid his character forward, abandoning the powerful chokepoint we had now that there were only a handful of enemies.  “I’ll roll to disarm this guy and hit his buddy with the weapon to get my Sneak Attack damage…oh, hey, if these are skeletons can I like literally disarm him instead of going for the weapon?”

 

“Mm, sure disadvantage on the roll though.  And don’t take this as precedent; these skeletons are likely less ‘put together’ after that Eruption.”  

 

Shaun happily rolled his dice, popping a skeletal arm out of a shoulder to slam it against another.  He was surrounded now but he probably figured I could keep him healed up through it.

 

Tim glanced over at my chest but then shook his head and said, “Now that combat’s up again I’ll use battle trance to get some psi-points back.  You guys can clean up right?”

 

Why isn’t Mark just calling the fight at this point?  And the skeletons are acting differently now like…n-no, that’s not enough for Ella to notice anything’s wrong…

 

“Of course, you’ve already done more than your part Crosell.  Sir Sehnny, allow me to assist you,” I said in Ella’s flowing tones.

 

I moved my piece forward, trying to ignore Mark’s intense gaze as he watched exactly where I placed my mini down.

 

“I cast Pyreflame Bolt again at the big skeleton by Lars,” I say as I roll my sparkling die down the table, letting out a giddy yip when it lands with the 20 facing up, “Hah, that’s a crit!”

 

I went to pick up my damage dice but before I could Mark stopped me, “Roll again. Disadvantage.”

 

“What?  Can I tell why?” I asked, looking for a stray enemy token or something near me.

 

“You feel a distracting aura near you.”  He continued with a question,  “The Oath you picked when you leveled up last session.  It applies to Magical Beasts as well right?”

 

I gulped.  I was pretty sure he knew the answer to that question.  Which meant he was trying to subtly offer a hint.  Which meant whatever was about to happen to us even he felt the need to throw us a bone.

 

“Y-yeah…it does…” I rolled my d20 again, this time the die rested on an ominous 1.

 

“I uh…I miss…”

 

Tim and Shaun watched the exchange with confused looks.  Mark reached down to the box of monster figurines beside him as the enemy turn began.

 

Shit.

Chapter 3:

 

“A creature rips itself free from the darkness of the cavern, shadow still sticking to its frame like fur.  It prowls towards you on powerful paws, its jaw dripping with a strange drool that sizzles when it hits the floor,” Mark said as he dropped a hand painted figure of a massive wolf onto the corner of the mat.  Everyone leaned in close to try and make out whatever tiny details we could.

Flecks of red…is it wounded?  Wait, no, that looks like gems hidden under the folds of its fur.  

 

I remembered the fact that I was rolling at a disadvantage when this wolf got close.  

 

I wonder if…

 

I subtly glanced at the underside of the miniature’s belly.  It was smooth.  Obviously.

 

R-right…even Mark wouldn’t be crazy enough to get that detailed…

 

“As it drags its gaze across you all you feel the whispers and madness of the caves that you’d suppressed up until now slam into you again with a renewed force,” Mark continued.  We all rolled our saving throws and, even at Disadvantage, I managed to pass along with them.  Luck was, for a bit longer, on our side.

 

“You manage to keep your wits about you all but the pounding on your head doesn’t dissipate.  The shadows at the corners of your vision don’t disappear just because you’ve ignored them this time.  You’ll need to actively spend a bonus action each turn to save against it.  Assuming you don’t run.”

 

We all glanced at each other.  Everyone was pretty healthy after spending a good while groping me during the lull in the fight but our resources were running thin.  

 

Unprompted, Tim rolled a die.  “Uhm, that’s 17 Nature, 15 Arcana.  Is that enough to find out hit dice or specials?” 

 

Mark clicked his tongue but answered anyway, ”Not quite.  You don’t recognize this creature from any of your prior studies.  It must be a unique or at least incredibly rare beast.”

 

Shit…if we can’t even find out hit dice with that it must be something tough…

 

“So,” Mark began again before any of us could get indecisive, “how are you gonna play this?  Shaun, Lars is up first.”

 

He bit his lip as he glanced between his sheet and the strange, monstrous wolf. He raised his hand, ready to pick between moving his figure back or rolling the dice and trying to approach.

 

Agh…I don’t want us to have to run again.  But he’s probably worried about this ending like last campaign…

 

“Sir Sehnny,” I said, trying my best to wrap the words in Elanora’s sweet accent.  

 

“Whatever you choose I will aid you.  My loyalty, my magic, my body…are Ellya’s gifts to those who brave the mists of the world.”

 

Shaun paused with his hand half-way to his figure.  “Hey, Tim-”

 

I looked at him with a pout.  He rolled his eyes and spoke in character, “Oi, fire-starter!  Can you cast up another storm?”

 

Tim scoffed, “I’ve basically got infinite reserves.  I just need time to ritual-cast.”

 

“Grand.  Well then, we’ll give you that time,” he said with an overly dramatic snap of his fingers as he picked up a pair of dice, ready to roll his save against the beast’s madness.  Then he glanced over at me.

 

“I just have to spank you to get advantage on the saving throw right?” he asked.  I excitedly nodded, the fact that he broke character not registering as important at the time.

 

He smirked and brought his hand down on my actual ass with a loud smack that rang through the room.  

 

“W-woah!” I yelped as he spanked me.  My eyes hadn’t even finished going wide before he tossed his dice.

 

Mark was carefully watching my reaction.  Tim scowled.  Shaun was grinning wider than I’d ever seen.

 

I would have chewed him out for that.  Tim would have backed me up.  Shaun would have apologized and Mark would have gotten us all back on track.  That might have been the end of it.  But I never did get around to it.  

 

Instead my first reaction was for the pair of dice that finally settled on the table, a bright red ‘20’ on each of them facing up.  

 

“Holy shit!” I shouted out, drawing the table’s attention to the lucky rolls.  Technically with advantage it didn’t matter but ever since our first campaign it was a good omen that never failed to hype us up.

 

 “Haha,” Shaun laughed, “I guess your ass really is magic.”

 

“I fucking guess!”  I agreed, the excitement pushing the context of that comment to the back of my mind.  And with that Mark stopped staring at my face.  He saw my reaction and didn’t feel the need to intervene.  Tim looked away, a little embarrassed but quickly gave into the good mood.  If I was okay with it, he figured it wasn’t as big a deal as he thought.

 

The moment passed.  Everyone assumed I was okay with it.

 

Am I okay with it?  Well…I guess it’s not a big deal…sports people spank each other for good luck all the time right?  

 

While I was lost in thought Lars’ hot luck continued.  A powerful hit just barely managed to cut through the Beast’s magical hide, drawing the attention of the Beast and the undead that served it.  

 

The monsters tried to surround and overwhelm him but the dice were on his side.  He avoided the worst of it and led them away, step by step, after every missed swing.  It wasn’t the chokehold we had before but the situation was looking better than it did a turn ago.  If we could just hold on we might be able to do this.

 

Tim took a breath and picked up his die,  “I’ll, well, Crosell will grab a quick feel of Ella’s butt.”

 

“Mm…” without really thinking I let out a soft moan, barely audible at the excited table.  Judging by the pink on Tim’s cheeks only he heard.  

 

I don’t know why I decided to tease him then.  Maybe I was just caught up in my character.  But the reaction made me feel proud.

 

A little more loudly I said, “Alright, you’ve got Advantage!  Go for it!”

 

“Let’s gooo!  We win this, we'll probably level on the spot!” Shaun cheered.  

 

He tossed his dice one at a time, hastily lobbing the first at the table.  He let out a deflated groan when it settled with a tiny 3 facing up.

 

“What uh, what happens exactly if I fail this save?”  he asked as he nervously picked it up to roll again.  

 

 Mark shook his head, “You don’t know for sure.  All your character knows is that they feel a noxious presence outside their mind, like acrid smoke, waiting for a moment of weakness to seep in.”

 

He put the die back down, fumbling through his bag for a luckier one.  

 

Shaun piped up, “C’mon we need another big spell!  My weapon barely did anything. He's got some kind’ve damage resistance to non-magic stuff I’m betting.”

 

Then turning to me he added, “Lin, c’mon, get your magic butt over here!”

 

Again the table turned to look at me.  Shaun was expectant.  Mark barely reacted, not treating this any different than our half-dozen other dice rituals.  And Tim had trouble looking directly at me.  He nervously rolled his die between his fingers, the pressure of the moment getting to him.  

 

I sighed and put my hands on the table.  Then, slowly, I bent over it.  My shirt hiked up, riding up along my hips until a slice of my lower back peeked out.  I didn’t think my jeans were particularly tight but in the moment it felt like they were practically hugging my ass.  The ass I was bending over to present to my friends.  

 

F-fuck…this feels kind’ve.  Maybe I shouldn’t…

 

Mark got a clear view of my blushing face, and the fact that I was breathing so heavily that I was basically panting like-

 

“C’mon, hurry up!” I said, not quite realizing how my nervous fidgeting looked from the perspective of the guys that saw me wriggling my hips in their direction.

 

Mark always felt like he was looking right through me.  The way he’d read our intentions is what made him the best GM I’d ever played with.  But right now the calm way he watched my face made me feel like I was burning up.   He didn’t even get to see anything particularly lewd.

 

W-wait!  No, this isn’t…this isn’t lewd!  It’s just another stupid good luck thing, right? Damn it I should-

 

Before I could change my mind and spring back up, maybe treating all this like a joke, Tim’s hand finally came down on my ass.  He didn’t spank me as hard as Shaun did but he didn’t pull his hand back as quickly either.  It was barely even for half a second but I felt his hand linger.

 

The moment he was done I shot back up and the game kept going.  I laughed along with Shaun like everything was normal.  Tim’s nervous smile melted back into a regular happy grin when he rolled his die and he blasted through the saving throw.  

 

Only Mark saw the way my eyes clouded over just a bit when I’d been spanked.  Or heard the excited little exhale I made.  

 

...I kinda like this…

Chapter 5: Wish Upon a Scar 3/3

Chapter 1:

One die fell onto the table, proudly landing on a 17.  The other tumbled by it with a measly 4.  

 

“Come oonnn,” I groaned, still unable to use the buff spell I’d been saving all day.  I hadn’t had a single functional turn since this encounter started.

 

As if my tone didn’t make it obvious enough Mark still glanced at the dice to confirm before saying, “The Beast’s presence continues to warp your mind.  The whispers grow louder though your mind comes no closer to understanding the words that echo through your head.  The shadows of the cave reach out, tearing at your clothes, your flesh, though no matter how you turn your head you come no closer to getting a direct look.”

 

He gestured at Tim and Shaun, “The two of you just see her kneeling in a puddle of water in the cavern.  Her eyes have practically fogged over entirely at this point.  The Beast’s focus remains on the one stabbing at him.  Speaking of, Shaun.  Lars is up next.”

 

“That’s turn , I guess.  Sorry guys,” I mumbled.  I’d’ve slumped down in my chair if my butt wasn’t sore.

 

“Eh, it’s all good.  We’ve got this,” Shaun said with a cocky grin and gestured for me to lean over the table again as he picked up his dice.

 

I shook my head, “I’m all out of hit dice, even the bonus ones from that feat I took.  I can’t give you advantage any more.”

 

He shrugged, “I mean…all the more reason I need some luck than right?”

 

I blushed and considered it.  I had been useless for most of this fight, even though it’s my fault we picked it.  

 

At least this way I’m kind’ve contributing…

 

I sighed and leaned over the table again.  “Okay, but be g-”

 

‘Okay’ had barely passed my lips before his hand came down.  

 

“Eep,” I yelped, the sharp sting lighting my brain on fire.

 

“Sorry, were you about to say something?”  Shaun asked as he rolled his single die.  It settled on a 15, easily crushing the check.  

 

Ow…it’s like I can still feel his hand on my ass….

 

“Nothing, don’t worry about it,” I said.  

 

He smiled back, looking particularly pleased with himself as he continued his turn.

 

“Alright, so I grab the broken spear that skelly had and go for a trip attack…”

 

If I can’t cast soon he can’t keep this up long enough.  There’s gotta be something more I can do to help even if I fail my save…

 

While I was thinking, Tim's turn rolled around.  I felt him get up from his seat to move closer.

 

He glanced down at my butt and then mumbled something.  I couldn't make out what he said but I could guess.  I turned to the side, offering my ass up to him.  

 

I couldn’t reasonably call what he did spanking me for luck anymore.  He grabbed a firm handful of my ass and squeezed.  Just for a second and so gently I might not’ve even noticed if I was distracted.  

 

“Ah…” I let out a gasp at his touch.  Even if he wasn’t comfortable being rough my butt was still sensitive after the treatment it’d been through this whole combat.

 

“Thanks,” he muttered before turning away.  He looked more embarrassed than I did but he had a smile almost as bright as Shaun’s when he went to roll his save and start his turn.  A thirteen on the die.  Just barely good enough with his stats.

 

Tch, I wish I could get some of that luck.  I mean it’s my butt after all…

Chapter 2:

“That’s another two damage,” Mark began.

 

“Oh, really?  Nice, that’s not so-” Shau started to interrupt.

 

“And a stack of bleed.” Mark finished.

 

“Fuuuuck” he groaned as he scratched the note onto his character sheet.

Tim nervously eyed the skeletons that were starting to grab at his ankles.

 

“I mean, bleed’s not that bad.  You lose all your stacks with any magical healing,” he idly offered.

 

“Yeah,” Shaun replied bitterly as he glanced at me, “and how likely is that to happen any time soon?”  Venom dripped off of every word.

 

At the same time I was rolling my save and…

 

I failed.  Again.

 

“S-sorry…” I mumbled.  It’d been another four rounds and I still hadn’t passed my save.  

 

It’s the damn disadvantadge!  Why’d I take this stupid oath!?

 

Tim laughed awkwardly, “I mean sometimes the dice just hate you.”

 

Mark stayed out of it for now, just quietly watching how we’d handle things.

 

Shaun’s glare burned into me for another few seconds.  

 

Should I…

 

For a moment I felt the sudden urge to bend forward again.  I felt like I deserved an extra rough swat on my ass.  

 

I shook off the thought.  This wasn’t that serious.  It was just a game, I needed to get out of my head.  

 

Shaun sighed, “No, you’re fine.  Sorry, I had a quarterstaff up my ass there.   I don’t usually take this stuff so fucking seriously.”

 

I shrugged and offered up a slight smile, “It’s all good.  I kinda like how into it you’ve been this campaign.  You’ve been roleplaying Lars really well.”

 

“So,” I clapped my hands together, “let’s not give up yet!  I don’t want the story to end yet!  You guys feel the same way, right?!”

 

Tim looked over at the stack of spell cards he made with all the little magical speeches he’d prepared but hadn’t gotten to use yet.  “Yeah.  Yeah!”  

 

He rifled through his notes with renewed vigor, “I might be able to cast a partial spell.  It won’t be as big as Eruption but I’ve charged enough to do a couple of maximized scorching rays.  We can blow past the skeletons to make a new chokehold…”

 

Shaun nodded, cogs in his head starting to turn.  “Heh.  Yeah.  Still a chance to steal a win.  Yo, Tim-ah.  *ahem*”

 

With a widening grin Shaun turned,  “Crosell!  I can’t hold this thing back any more.  But I’ve got an idea.  I need one small blast.  Hot as you can make it.”

 

Tim looked nervous.  This was another one of Shaun’s plans after all.  He looked over at me.  

 

Everything’s gone to shit already.  We just have to trust each other now.

 

I nodded.

 

“Yeah,” Tim said, hsi character accent blending in and out of his real voice, “such an act would be trivial to a being such as I.  But would such a paltry…uhm…focused mote of magic be enough to change our fate?  There’s a ton, I mean, the skeletal hordes are multitude!”

 

Shaun gaze swept over to Mark instead.  Mark looked back calmly.  “Dunno,” Shaun said, “that’ll be up to the gods.  Should work though.”

 

“So I-” Shaun began to take his turn but I interrupted.

 

“Oh uhm, actually I’m going to ready an action first.”

 

Everyone at the table looked at me curiously.

 

“Uh…I just realized there is something I can do even if I fail the save.  Probably.  If you want to veto it when it comes up that’s fine Mark.  Trigger’s, uhm, if the Beast succeeds on a d20 roll?”

 

Mark mulled it over for a moment, readied actions were always a pain to litigate.  But in the end part of the game always comes down to trust.  Mark nodded, “Alright, noted.  But it has to be a d20 roll you’d be able to discern in character.  Shaun?”

 

Shaun clapped his hands together and shook out his shoulders.

 

“Alright.  So first I pull the biggest chunk of Vermilyte I’ve got in my pack out.  I’ll shout at Crosell, ‘Get Ready!  Blow this sucker sky high!’  then I want to use my Thieving Flourish Feat.  You know, the one that lets me replace something that I steal with something else?”

 

Mark nods, his brow a bit furrowed as he tried to make sense of this, “Fine.  But what are you stealing?”

 

Shaun shrugged, “Nothing technically, but remember when I failed to pickpocket that guard back in like our second session?  Even if I failed the steal check I was still able to toss something into his hands and make him hold it.”

 

I let out a reflexive snort at the memory.  

 

“And sure,” Shaun continued, “the Beast doesn’t have hands but it’s basically a shadow wolf kind’ve deal right?  They can totally hold things in their mouths.”

 

Mark shrugged, “Fair enough.  Let’s see where this goes.”

 

Shaun grinned and snapped his fingers.  He reached for his die and I started to bend over the table, it was becoming a reflex at this point.  But he was excited enough about his plan that he didn’t think to get any ‘luck’ from me, he just rolled his die and I awkwardly shuffled in place and hoped no one noticed that tiny look of  disappointment embarrassment on my face.

 

“24 total on sleight of hand?” Shaun asked, an expectant grin on his face.

 

Mark nodded, “Alright.  You lure the beast in with a feigned misstep but as he lunges forward you twist out of the way, slamming the skull-sized crystal into the creature’s mouth.  You see cracks form in the crystal as the beast’s fangs get stuck into it but he’ll likely spit it out on his turn.”

 

Shaun turned triumphantly to Tim, “Alright, I’ll use my bonus action to disengage instead of making the save this turn.  Crossy, roast this puppy!”

 

Shaun’s plan clicked together in Tim’s head and by the smirk threatening to form on Mark’s face I had a feeling he suspected for a while.

 

This is fucking suicidal…but I mean…it might work…

 

Tim hastily pulled out his notecards and declared, “I let loose the mana I’ve built up, aiming at the crystal in the Beast’s mouth!”

 

Mark was taking notes on something as he idly replied, “alright.  As Lars passes you by you start to see the same symptoms that have plagued Ellanora since the start of this fight.  His eyes begin to dart around manically as he’s beset by the visions of the depths.  If this doesn’t work, I’m going to call the fight.”

Tim gulped and read from his notecards, 

 

“I am the tinder of my flame.  Fury is my body and ash is my due.  Limited Burst Works, Inferno Lance!”

 

He looked to Mark for the nod of approval for his incantation and once he got it he declared, “I’ll burn an arcana point as a bonus action.  Since I’m targeting an inanimate object it should auto-hit.”

 

Then Mark said the five words guaranteed to send shivers down any player’s spine.

 

“Are you sure about this?”

 

He started bundling up piles of dice, “Crosell knows in character how volatile Vermilyte crystals are at this point.”

 

Tim looked down at his character sheet, “I mean, I’m probably getting knocked out but I don’t think it’ll be enough to do massive damage and kill.  I’m basically full.”

 

He glanced over at both of us.  I waved it off, “I maxed out Ellanora’s CON and Ellyan’s are basically made to take a lot of abuse.  Worst case scenario I’ll be awake in a round or two and I can heal you guys up.”

 

Shaun grinned, “I mean someone’s gotta be able to protect you guys from any stragglers.  I’ve got evasion and advantage on Dex Saves, I’m golden.”

 

With all that Tim nodded, “Yeah, alright, let’s do it!”

Chapter 3:

 

“Heat, unseen but certainly not unfelt erupts from the palms of your hands and arcs towards the crystal in the Beast’s mouth,” Mark began.

 

As he spoke he finished gathering up a massive pool of dice.  Silently we all started moving books and snacks away to clear room for the glorious dicefall.

 

“Lars feels it singing the hairs on his neck as he tries to move to a better position.  Ellanore feels the pulse of magic in the air.  Crosell feels it ripping through his veins like a strand of thorns.”

 

But before the explosion he picks up a single die, a black and gold d20.  “And the Beast feels it swelling in the crystal.  For a split second he has an opportunity to realize and react with a Dex Save.  He needs an 8 on the die or he’ll throw the crystal to the side before it explodes and both he and some of the skeletons on the edge of the radius will probably live.”

 

This is it.  Whatever happens there’s no fudging the dice now.

He tossed the d20.  We held our breath as it bounced across the table before spinning out and landing….

 

Come on, come on….

 

With an 11 facing up.

 

Tim and Shaun groaned.  Mark shrugged and began to reach for the die.  I spoke up.

 

“Wait.”

 

There eyes turned to look at me.  I shifted my gaze away from meeting there’s.

 

“I want to use my readied action.  I can’t cast spells, attack or move out of my square since I failed my save but…I can still talk right?  I want to try and distract the Beast so it rolls with disadvantage.”

 

Shaun and Tim looked over at Mark hopefully.  He hummed in thought for a moment before asking, “How do you plan to do that?  And what language are you using?”

 

The wolf seems smart.  It might speak Common.  But I don’t know that for sure.  The only thing I do know about it…

 

“I uhm, I don’t really say anything in particular.  Instead I shout out to get him to glance over and then I start showing off my body, I guess?”

 

Subconsciously I mimed waving my hands in the air to get the Beast’s attention.

 

“He’s not the same species as you are…” Mark began to say, but it was in a lingering tone that showed he was looking to be convinced.

 

“But in his case we already know he’s aroused, otherwise I wouldn’t be rolling at disadvantage this whole time right?” I countered.

 

Mark nodded.  That seemed to satisfy him.  But the next counter didn’t come from him.

 

Shaun chimed in, “I’m having trouble picturing this.  There’s not a whole lot of time right?  How exactly is she showing off?”

 

I shot him a venomous look.  What the hell?!  You of all people!?

 

“Ella doesn’t need to strip down completely and her clothes are made to be easy to strip off!  She could at least flip her top up and show off her chest!”

 

Subconsciously I mimed the action, my hands scraping along the top of my shirt but not actually lifting it up.

 

He nodded, “Sure.  Okay, I’m starting to get it.  I don’t know, I guess I can’t quite put myself in his shoes.  Err, paws I guess.  Like would that really be all that distracting…”

 

This time a smirk broke through his serious ‘concerned’ face before he could snuff it out.

 

  He, he’s not suggesting I actually just flash the table is he?!  That’s, I-

 

I lifted up my hand and tossed a d6 that bounced harmlessly off Shaun’s chest as he broke into a laugh, “You dick!”

 

“Hahah, wh-whaat?” he complained with none of the fake sincerity he had a second ago, “I just want to make sure we’re being realistic.  You know, like that time you insisted my darts strategy wouldn’t work?”

 

I groaned but collapsed back into my seat.  My butt stung a bit but it’d calmed down enough that I could sit.  Having to admit he had a point hurt worse.

 

“I mean that’s…I said I was sorry about doubting you.”

 

“No you didn’t.” Shaun immediately replied.

“I mean, that wasn’t exactly what you said…” Tim begrudgingly agreed.

 

Mark simply said, “If you’re going to insist on another test we’re not doing it at my place again.”

 

Shaun smugly added, “But fair’s fair, I get it.  So let’s go ahead and test your distractiont theory and-OW!”

 

Tim smacked him upside the head.  

 

“Kiiidding, fine!”  Shaun finally relented.  The grin on his face made it all seem like an obvious joke to get back at me.  

 

But the way he looked at me….wait, what am I thinking he wouldn’t actually think I’d do something like that.

 

“So, if there aren’t any actual objections, Lin go ahead and give me a Charisma check and we’ll go from there.” Mark said, moving things along.

 

I leaned forward to roll my die, the shift in position reminding me of the teensy bit of leftover soreness on my butt.

 

I wouldn’t do something like that.  Right?

 

The die bounced along the table, settling on a 14.  “With mods that’s 19, 21 if my proficiency applies.”

 

The table looked at Mark expectantly.  He re-rolled the black and gold die.

 

It spun out and landed on a 7 this time.

 

Mark, almost drowned out at first by the cheers and high fives around the table, said, “As he’s about to toss aside the crystal he’s met with the inviting sight of Ellanore stripping down.  His focus is momentarily held by her as she exposes more and more of her body with every motion of her hands.  Ellanore sees a hunger in its eyes, along with a brief and warm sensation that she can’t quite place before-”

He scoops up the pool of dice he’d been collecting.

 

“The explosion goes off.  Give me Dex Saves for the rest of you.”

Chapter 4:

 

I stood up to roll first.  My dice had been cursed this whole encounter.

 

Come on….just make the save this one time…

 

Before I could think it over I reached behind myself and slapped my hands down on my own ass, giving them a firm squeeze, “C’mon, just give me a teensy bit of that luck for myself.”

 

I rolled my dice, still at a disadvantage since I wasn’t making a seduction check. 

 

“Yeah!” I shouted out as the dice both landed over a 15.  

 

Holy shit I really am magic!

 

I caught Shaun glancing over at me but after his joke earlier he chose not to push his luck and just roll his dice.  Maybe he was feeling confident since he was a dex character rolling with advantage.  He didn’t even do them one at a time for the drama.  He shot one dice after the other, bouncing them off eachother like he was shooting pool.

 

The dice clacked off each other and scattered to opposite ends of the table where they finally settled.  

 

“Ah, fuck me,” he grumbled.  Neither of them landed over a five.

 

I snickered into my hand.  “Hehe, all that rogue training’s nothing compared to Ellyan luck!”

 

“Eep!”  I shouted out as he swatted my ass.  

 

“Fine, I guess I’ll take some luck for my death saving throws then. It’s up to you two than to clean up.  Just don’t forget to pick me up before I actually die.”

 

Before I could shoot back at him Tim rolled his die.  By the look on Mark’s face he didn’t make his save either but he didn’t seem bothered.  

 

‘Ah, c’mon don’t you both go down!  You should’ve smacked my butt first!’ I almost shouted out to him.  I kept that to myself though.

 

Tim picked up on my anxiety of being the only one up and grinned.  “I’ll probably be fine either way.  I’ve got resistance.”  he explained.

---

 

“Well, fuck I’m just barely not dead-dead,” Tim said, the blood draining out of his face.

 

Mark had let the mounds of dice he’d collected crash down onto the table.  We piled together a little makeshift box for them out of rulebooks so they wouldn’t spill everywhere.  

 

“That’s…that’s a lot of sixes…” I said as I looked over the ridiculously high damage roll.

 

I looked over at Shaun, “Are you sure you’re not dead?”

 

  He waved me off, “I’ve got a real hit-die and I don’t dump Con.  I’m still…well I mean I’m breathing.  It wasn’t enough to trigger Massive Damage rules.”

 

I looked back at my character sheet, glad that we still kept some house rules from back when we played Dawnfinder.  I was brought down to exactly 0 hit points.  I was on the verge of being knocked out but I could take one more action before that happened, not counting social actions like talking.

 

The tension at the table was high.  We were battered and broken but with a bit of time we could dust ourselves off and call this a win.  The only question was: what happened to the Beast and his minions?  They shouldn’t have survived something like that but we still didn’t even know the Beast’s creature type.

 

All of us turned to Mark as he finished scratching numbers into the notecards he used to keep track of the monsters.

 

He cleared his throat, slipping into one of his dramatic accents.

 

“The explosion swallows all of you up in a chaotic burst of light and awe.  Lars manages to nimbly run behind a curtain of stalagmites but the blast of energy reduces them to nothing more than another layer in the cloud of shrapnel it sends outwards.

 

Crosell, exhausted from the casting, barely manages to take a few defensive steps.  It’s only thanks to his role in birthing this explosion that he can keep the loosed magic from reducing his body to ash.

 

As for Ellanore, fate seems to smile on her.  The worst of the shrapnel passes her over.  The waves of force knock her through the air but she maneuvers to avoid slamming her back into the walls.  

 

In all cases, flames rip through your meager armor like molten lances, cauterizing wounds as they fly past.  The same flames rip through the Beast’s body.  Shockwaves make your ears ring out in pain and make your teeth rattle in your skull, the same shockwaves that snap the bones of the skeletal creatures.  Annihilation rings out and echoes in this cave until finally, blessedly, it falls to silence.”

 

He dramatically swept away the skeletal minis.

 

“Ash and dust replace the skeletal horde.”

 

He tipped over Tim and Shaun’s minis.

 

“The pain and shock overwhelms your bodies, leaving you with faint impressions of your surroundings before your consciousness slips away.  Except for Ellanore who manages to just barely keep herself from fading to black.”

 

He placed his hand over the large wolf-like mini as we all collectively sucked in a breath.  With a bit of real world sleight of hand he palms the piece, dropping a handful of sparkly red costume jewelry in its place.

 

“And when the Beast’s howls of pain subside all Ellanore sees at first is a clutch of gems and a pool of shadow where the Beast once was.”

 

“Let’s gooooo!” Shaun shouted out before he and Tim began hooting in unison.  

 

I found myself letting out a relieved breath as I collapsed onto the table.

 

Mark smiled as he watched us celebrate.

 

Shaun and Tim started to turn to me to drag me into the celebrations.  All I had to do was heal everyone up and we were golden, ready to escape the caves and start our adventure.  With these crystals as loot and probably a level-worth of XP everything had gone perfectly.

 

Wait…hold on…Mark usually lets us know when we level…hold on…

 

“Uh, Mark?  What do you mean…at first?”

 

His smile grew wider, his lips parting to show off his sparkly white canines.  

 

“Good catch,” he said, turning his hand over to reveal that he’d replaced the mini in his hand at some point.  This wolf-mini didn’t have the bits of red showing off the crystal on its back but its fangs were bared.  Its fur was splattered with a gooey layer of black paint that hung off it in strands.  

 

Cheers choked in the guys’ throats as Mark placed the mini down.  

 

“Since you caught on I won’t have there be a surprise round.  Ellanore sees the shadows slowly reforming.  She sees the Beast begin to re-emerge.  It’s panting and clearly in pain.  The crystals that were once embedded in it begin to clatter on the stone floor as they slowly start crawling towards it.

 

He looks over at me, “It’s Ellanore’s turn.  What does she do?”

 

Chapter 5:

 

Shaun slammed his palms down onto the table, rattling it under the force.  

 

“Seriously!?  It took that point blank and it’s still going?!”  

 

He was straining not to look at Mark, keeping his glare focused at the bit of table between his own palms instead.

 

Mark just calmly gestured behind his screen, “Do you want me to prove it?”

 

Tim chimed in, “It’s probably some kind’ve resurrect ability.  Like a revenant or something.  If I’d made that knowledge roll we’dve known…”

 

I grabbed Shaun’s shoulder, “C’mon you know Mark doesn’t fudge anything right?”

 

He let out a sigh, “Yeah, I know.  I’m not saying that it’s just…damn it you know?”

 

The last few words came out with more of a tinge of sadness than his usual heat.  

 

I nodded sympathetically, “Hey, you’re not giving up yet right?”

 

I thumped my chest, “Lars and Croseel are my Bonded and I’m still breathing.  That means I’ll do whatever it takes to keep you fighting as long as you fight for me.”

 

He stood upright again and slapped his own cheeks, leaving them a bit redder than they were before.  

 

“Okay.  I’m good.  Take us home Lin, you got this.”

 

I raised up my hand to high five him when his hand swatted my ass instead.

 

“Ah, hey!  You’re not the one who needs luck right now!” I blurted out.

 

Wait, is that really what I should be complaining about?

 

“I mean, those death saves are extra important now.  But alright,” He gave me a puppy-dog innocent look as he bent over the table, “go ahead, fair’s fair~”

 

I rolled my eyes and punched his butt, “Jerk.  Your butt isn’t magic.”

 

The mood at the table melted back down to carefree laughs as I picked up my die.

 

Alright.  Whatever it takes. 

“Okay.  Well, first off, do I still have disadvantage on the save?”

 

Mark waffled his hand, “Yes and no. Especially after your, ah, distraction attempt earlier you're still affected by that Oath..”

 

Leave it to Mark to find a polite way of saying this wolf has a hard-on…

 

“...but while the whispers are still vaguely present the intensity is reduced to the point that it won't mechanically affect you.  You still can’t make any sense out of them though, it may as well be a different language,” he finished.

 

 Is it because the Beast can’t concentrate on its aura any more?  Or…

 

My eyes moved over to the bits of fake red jewelry Mark laid out on the map.  It was a cute way of showing us our loot, true, but maybe the gems were important for another reason.  We assumed the wolf was the source of the madness but…

 

“Can I roll a sense motive on the Beast?” I asked, tossing my die after Mark gave me a nod.

 

“18 total?” I offered.

 

“He’s wildly disoriented.  Partially from the explosion but with an 18 I’ll tell you that the dazed way he paws at the ground goes beyond that.  His posture is defensive but he’s veering more towards the fight response the longer this goes on.”

 

We were just in combat.  Why would it be evaluating us as threats unless…

 

Then, offhandedly he added, “Ah, and Ellanore especially would be able to tell that he’s sexually pent up.  But…mm…okay, I’ll tell you that even that isn’t a purely natural response.  I won’t spell out the source, but I’ll tell you that it’s a recent distraction for him.”

 

As I tried to take that all in he pulled out a small plastic sand clock and flipped it over.  “In any case, Ellanore effectively has a surprise round right now.  Let me know what you do or we’ll go to regular initiative order.”

 

“Think you can finish it off?” Shaun asked.

 

I waved that off dismissively, “It feels too alive, I’d break my pacifism Oath.  Besides, I'm not sure I could do enough in one shot.  I’m hanging by a thread.”

“Got a group heal?  Or maybe a big heal on yourself so you don’t go back down?” Tim suggested.

 

“Mm…I could…” I muttered in response.

 

But then what?  My group heal’s not bad but then whoever gets targeted gets brought back down quick.  A focus heal would get one person in a good spot but who?

 

Ugh, we’re in no shape to let Tim cast again.  I could heal Shaun but he’d still be prone by the time that Monster goes.  If I heal myself maybe I could be this thing’s chew toy long enough to get another big heal off but they wouldn’t get this thing off me before I go down.

 

Mark calmly waited.  Sand continued to pool into a neat little pile.

 

Tch. If I wasn’t useless that fight this wouldn’t be an issue.  Why’d I even take that stupid Oa-  wait…

  

I went through all my options in my head again.  I half-listened to Shaun and Tim’s random suggestions for anything I could act on.  By the time I convinced myself I only had one play to make the flow of sand had nearly come to a stop.

 

“I’m going to, uhm, Ellanore will start her turn by undoing the clasps on her robes.  You know so that she’s more uhm, available,” I said, slowly enough to buy myself a little more time.

 

Tim blinked in surprise, “Uhm, why are-”

 

 But Shaun almost caught on to my plan when he interjected, “She’s probably activating one of her special Ellyan things.”

 

He then turned to me and said with his best offended impression, “Though it’s pretty dirty.  Having your way with us while we’re unconscious?”

 

“You uh, don’t have to worry about that…” I said as I focused on my miniature and pushing myself into the scene.  I licked my lips and continued, giving words to the picture in my head.

 

“She’ll shuffle onto her knees before bending forward and turning her back on the Beast. Then uh…”

 

I was brought out of the illusion for just a moment as I realized how similar that mental image was to what I actually did not that long ago.  I shook off the stupid thought.  

 

The context was totally different.  It wasn’t like I was inviting them to…

 

I forced myself back into seeing the world from Ellanore’s eyes.  This was make or break, I needed to focus, “...then I let my robes fall to the side so he can get a clear view.”

 

I focused on the miniatures in front of me then closed my eyes.  I expected to hear Shaun or Tim question my choices some more but either I was too focused to hear them or they chose to stay quiet and trust me.  

 

“Roll me a seduction roll,” Mark said followed by the words I was hoping to hear, “you can take advantage.” 

 

I blindly reached out and tossed my dice while keeping my eyes closed.  It was only after I was waiting to hear Mark’s reaction that I noticed I had reached up with my other hand to squeeze my chest while I did so.  

 

I would’ve chastised myself for it but apparently my subconscious self was onto something.  I wasn’t just my butt, groping myself really was a lucky charm.

 

Shaun, or maybe it was Tim, broke the silence with a low whistle.  Mark gave a surprised ‘Huh,’ followed by, “I’m not even going to ask you for your modifiers.  He’ll start pawing towards you to accept the invitation on his turn.  I’m guessing you want to heal yourself so you don’t collapse with your regular action?”

 

I let myself have a relieved sigh.  That should be the hard part.  Everything else should be guaranteed.  It all depended on how Mark ruled on a few things and if my hunch about this creature was right.

 

“Actually…so as my regular action I’m not gonna cast a spell.”

 

I opened up my eyes so I could try and read Mark’s reaction as I declared, “Assuming that or what’s about to happen counts as an intimate act I’m going to make the Beast into one of my Bondmates.”

Chapter 6:

 

Mark paused to consider the implications of that.  I never knew when I’d actually managed to catch him off guard and when he was just putting on a show for the table’s sake.

 

Actually, there’s a lot I’m not sure about when it comes to Mark…

 

Finally he started to speak again. “Regardless of what will happen, after you reach out to draw the Beast into your Bond your body finally gives out.  The last thing you see as you fade into the world between is the Beast pawing towards you.  The dazed look in its stark white eyes replaced with an intense focus.”

 

He then looked over at Shaun and Tim, “I’m going to need your full set of death saves.  Let’s see if you stabilize.”

 

Ah.  Shit, right I forgot about that.  Well, they’ll probably stabilize…

 

The pair slowly moved to pick up their dice before tossing a look in my direction.  

 

…but I’d feel really bad if they got unlucky and died…

I sighed and bent over the table, giving them both a clear view.  The image of Ellanora bending over and stripping down shoved itself to the front of my mind before I shook it away.  “You know my butt’s not actually magic right?” I said in a  weak complaint.  “And you’ve already tapped it twice for this!”

 

Shaun brought his hand down hard as usual, though I’d gotten used enough to it that I barely jumped this time.  Only Mark, with my upper half bent towards him, saw the short breath I sucked in or the way my eyes unfocused for just a second.

 

“Well, this is a whole set of rolls, better to just get the luck now.  And, I mean, we haven’t lost a roll after tapping it yet,” he argued.  I couldn’t really deny that for now but it was just what I needed to hear to get out of this without it being awkward.

 

Tim’s hand froze a foot away from my backside.  “I mean, if you don’t want-” he began, taking my grumbling from before more seriously than I meant it.

 

I shook my hips invitingly in his direction, “It’s fine, seriously!  It’s weirder if you make a big deal about it…”

 

Besides, once you guys inevitably get a bad roll we can just move onto some other stupid ritual like we always do.

 

That bad roll wasn’t going to happen tonight though.  A quick squeeze on my ass later both Tim and Shaun rolled their death saves and stabilized in a heartbeat.  I’d expected Tim to at least fail once given his low con but he’d nearly gotten lucky enough to wake up on his own.

 

With that settled Mark turned his attention back to me, “Alright.  So while they’re stabilizing a minute finishes passing and as an Ellyan you heal back to consciousness, right?”

 

I nodded.  He was right of course.

 

“You awake to find a powerful weight resting on your back,” he continued.  His neutral GM voice gave way to a low, rumbling accent that made me think of teeth grinding together.  

 

I listened intently as he described the rest of the scene, “It seems that when you collapsed your face slumped into the rough stone with your rump in the air.  The Beast’s front paws rest on either side of your head.  You feel every growl that escapes its throat reverberating down your spine, starting from the back of your neck where its head now rests.  And, as you start to come to, your body instinctively pushes against the weight of its flesh on top of you.  Even if you did have the strength to push against the cage of flesh and fur, the intensity of his growling makes it clear he wants you to remain still.”

 

I closed my eyes and focused on his words, letting the world fall away as I put myself into the scene, into my role in it.

 

“Can I sense him with my Bond?” I ask.

 

There was a silent pause.  Mark must have answered by shaking his head before glancing at my face and seeing my closed eyes.  “Not quite.  You feel a faint connection, like your Bond was nearly formed but collapsed before you could finalize it.”

 

“I push backwards against him, just moving my hips.  Do I feel his, uhm, you know?  He’s not already in me right?”

 

“He is not, though not for lack of trying.  You feel a hot, swollen member against your ass and since you asked you notice that he seems to have been having trouble inserting himself while you were unconscious.”

 

I licked my lips, feeling confident that everything was still going to plan.  Maybe even a little better.  Tim mumbled something under his breath I couldn’t hear.

 

“Okay.  So I start moving my hips in a tight circle, pressing against him hard enough that he can feel it but I don’t want to hurt him.”

 

“The Beast growls.  You hear his claws scrape against the stone as his hind legs find better purchase.  You feel him alternating between pressing back against you and shifting back to try and angle his member so he can properly mount you.”

 

I fidgeted in my seat, subconsciously moving my hips in the same tight motions I imagined Ellanore making.  Obviously I wasn’t grinding against anything but the sting on my ass from the rough groping I’d been getting all night stood in for the hot length I imagined Ellanore felt pressing against her.

 

“Okay.  Assuming that’s intimate enough I’ll try to Bond him properly now.  ”

 

There.  Now after he’s charmed I’ll wake up the others and heal up.

 

“You reach out and pull the Beast into your Bond.  The pleasure, the heat, the connection from offering yourself up then grinding against him intensifies until the Bond snaps into place.  The Beast lets out another growl that rumbles through your body, and this time you find yourself understanding it.  The growl is both one of pleasure and one of, well, setting a claim.  The usual telepathy when you Bond with a human isn’t there, but you can still understand intentions and emotions on an instinctual level.”

 

I snapped my fingers and opened my eyes with a grin, “Okay so now that we’re bonded he’s affected by Charm Monster.  I’ll start pushing him off me and use my Bond to tell him-”

 

  I was interrupted by a roar that shook me to my core.   By a roar that I knew, like my ancestors were whispering warnings into my ear, couldn’t be human. 

 

Shaun and Tim reacted as well, their half-dazed expressions turning to shock as they looked towards the source of the sound.  As they looked towards Mark.

 

Mark grinned and held up a sleek black box that he’d been hiding behind his GM screen.  

 

What the fuck kind’ve eldritch soundboard is that!? 

 

Words died in my throat as I got over the surprise.  Tim and Shaun let out shaky laughs as the adrenaline in their body mixed with relief.

 

Mark took advantage and continued, not breaking his feral tone, “The Beast growls.  Even without your Bond you would have gotten the gist, with it you can’t deny the weight of his command. He does not want you to move.”

 

Part of me would have tried to argue semantics about Charm Monster.  Instead, rattled as I was, I just let my eyes flutter closed again and trusted that Mark knew the rules better than I did here.

 

He continued, “You can attempt to deny him if you want and take control of the situation.  Due to the Charm effect you’ll have advantage and I’ll adjust the DC.  But he’s laid out his challenge.  How do you respond?”

 

I heard the click of plastic on wood as he flipped over his sand clock.

 

“I…”

 

I drummed my fingertips on the table as I considered.

 

Sand tumbled down.

 

I mean, Ellanore half-expected to wake up to the Beast completing the Bond on its own.  

 

Before the decision was out of my hands I continued, dipping into Ellanore’s warm tones, “I relax and settle down.  Gently I tell him, ‘Mm, alright.  We hurt each other a lot huh?    But that’s over now, right?  You want to see how much fun we can have together now, right?  Go on, it’s okay~’”  

 

“The power of your Bond hums through your words,” Marks tone was still low and deep but his inflection shifted ever so subtly to give that feral accent more of a playful feel, “in response you first feel the Beast’s tongue running up from the top of your spine to the base of your neck…”

 

I let out a small giggle.  I imagined Ellanor to be the ticklish type.

 

“...and then you feel him slamming into you from behind.  His claws scrape and dig into the stone as he positions himself.  Thanks to your Bond he has no trouble lining himself up to your entrance anymore.”

 

I let out a shaky, warm gasp as I just listened and took in the scene.  All campaigns, eventually, led to moments like this.  Moments that had too much momentum to stop, even if we wanted to.  Moments where all we had to do was sit back and listen.  Moments that all the choices we made led up to.

 

“You feel a low, vibrating hum through your body as the Beast lets out a pleased growl.  He thrusts himself into you again, and again.  Each thrust burying his length into you.  Each thrust pressing your body up against the stone.  Thanks to your Bond his pent up lust has been let loose.  Thanks to your Bond he knows you can take it.”

 

My hands gripped the sides of my chair, instinctively trying to steady myself from the pounding I imagined Ellanore was taking.  I could see her, tongue dangling out of her mouth, her arms shaking as she tried to push herself slightly off the stone ground.  Partially so it wouldn’t grind into her face.  Partially as she tried desperately to give the Beast a better angle.

 

Yeah…I think it’d make sense for Ellanore to be a people-pleaser.  Ah, maybe that’s part of why she became an Ellyan.  What if she…

 

“His jaws snap shut, clamping around your hair,” I set aside the burst of inspiration I had for Ellanor’s backstory as Mark’s words pulled me back into the scene, “the Beast yanks backwards with more dexterity than you’d expect from an animal, like he’s pulling back hard on a leash.  Thanks to your Bond he has the vigor to keep up this unrelenting pace but you feel him reaching his peak.  Even without your Bond you’d be able to tell from how his length swells and twitches inside of you, from the way you can feel his heart hammering even through his fur.”

 

I found myself pressing my legs together, my thighs needily rubbing together underneath the table where no one should have noticed.  

 

“But…your Bond does make one other thing clear to you.  There’s a prideful, selfish want beneath all that.  As he pulls back on your hair, there’s a particular reaction he wants from you.  For him to hear.  For every other beast within earshot to hear…”

 

Ah…he probably means…

 

“Ell-” I began, my voice sounding strange to my own ears.  When did I become so out of breath?  

 

‘Ellanore moans as loud as she can’.  That’s all I had to say.  As much as I liked role playing things out screams and shouts like that made more sense to just describe.

 

…

 

Just before the moment passed and Mark was about to move along with the scene, I opened my mouth again, “Ah….Mmmm~  Y-yes…PLEASE!  T-take me~”

 

I moaned out, a bit louder than I intended to.  It was the best impression I’d done of Ellanore’s voice so far.  The voice that played in my mind, that is.  But, at that moment, I couldn’t shake the feeling that I could do better.  Like when I started swinging around a toy sword whenever I quipped with my swashbuckler character a few years back.  Maybe if I’d-

 

////////

 

I shook off the strange, stupid thought before it could even form.  

 

Fuck.  Is something wrong with me?  Maybe I should-

“Pushed along by your words and screams the Beast shudders and finishes.  The Bond is complete and, for now, you no longer roll at Disadvantadge around the Beast since he’s perfectly satisfied.  He even affectionately nuzzles against your cheek.”

 

A loud, resounding sound of skin on skin snapped me out of my thoughts like a hypnotist snapping their fingers.  Mark had clapped his hands together and gone back to his usual voice, “Alright, thanks for coming out to the session everyone!  I’ll be honest I was surprised you actually made it out through this route.  Most of the loot is torched but on top of the leftover crystals in your pack you get these.”

 

He handed out the little bits of costume jewelry he’d put on the mat earlier.  A cool feeling of relief flooded over me and I suddenly felt weird about how I was sweating.  

 

Shaun cleared his throat, “So, do we…”

 

“Yep,” Mark answered, “you all definitely level up.  Everyone make sure to get that done by the next session.  Shaun, I’ll get you the terrain detail you wanted.  Tim, I’ll get you details on the spell components you found.  And Lin, I’ll take over him during plot moments but I’ll give you a character sheet for the Beast you can use in combat.”

 

Mark was calmly putting away minis and folding up his notes, a slight hum on his lips like he always had after a particularly tense session.  My hands were still trembling from wanting to shove them down adrenaline.  Gods I was so worked up a second ago, but the dream popped and everything was back to normal again.

 

We did it.  We survived.  We get to keep going….

 

Tim, Shaun and I looked at each other. And then collectively we all leaped up into a  flurry of cheers and high fives and excited clamoring about our next level up.

Heh.  I don’t know what I was so worked up about.  Yeah, roleplaying Ellanore is pretty lewd but it’s just roleplay.  It doesn’t change anything else.

Chapter 6: Face of the Party

Chapter 0:

I heard voices on the other side as I knocked on Mark’s door.  Shaun and Tim must’ve gotten here before me.  

 

I guess that’s a good thing but why do I feel like I’m losing when they’re earlier than me…

 

Shaun opened it up, a can of coke in his offhand.  The smell of dirt, timber and flowers spilled out from the house.  “Hey!  Took you long en-”

 

He stopped mid-greeting as his eyes wandered down to my legs and his lips curled into an appreciative, “...oh.  That’s new~”

 

I playfully shoved him on my way past him and rolled my eyes.  Mark and Tim both turned from setting up the table to catch a glance at what caught Shaun’s attention.  

 

Tim opened and closed his mouth a few times, “Hey!  I like the uhm, I mean…”

 

I huffed and grabbed the edges of my skirt, “I was in the mood to mix things up so I just thought I’d try it out.  What, does it look weird?”

 

The thigh highs were probably too much.  Ugh.  I should’ve just gone with the jeans again.

 

Shaun shut the door behind me, his eyes glued on my ass.  He was probably imagining what kind’ve view he’d get when I bent over to let them slap my butt for luck.  Thankfully I planned ahead and put on some bike shorts.

 

I felt proud about being so forward thinking for a moment before a thought occurred to me.

 

Shit, I’m actually planning ahead for that now?  Ugh, that’s not gonna stop being a thing until the campaign’s over is it…

 

Tim picked up on my blush and the way I started fidgeting all of a sudden.  He hurriedly tried to find a good answer to my question.

 

“What?  Oh, no that’s not why I was-” Tim started to fumble before Mark mercifully cut through the noise.

 

“You look good.  I like the pattern, it took me a while to tell it’s a custom job.  I’m guessing it’s practice for your cosplay right?”

 

I brightened up at that, my mind eager to be dragged along towards that thought  “Yeah!  It’s just an iron-on print but I saw this thing online about how to make it look more…”

Chapter 1:

 

I think he’d make a great interior decorator if he wanted to be.

 

Mark had experimented with incense and oils to set the ambience before but his latest obsession had been with actual plants.  Our playspace had a cute cottage-core look with potted plants cluttered all around.

 

“Okay,” he said as he straightened his GM screen, “we left off in the early morning on a forest hill on Star Sea island.  The Beast continues to be docile, content with wrapping its furry body protectively over Ellanore rather than eating you all during the night.”

 

In fairness I’m not even sure that it needs to eat.

 

 “Down below you see a small outpost with wooden palisades marking their borders against the wild and tiny fishing boats pushing just past the shore.   You’ve managed to evade your former Oceanic masters for now and your bags are full of powerful and incredibly valuable crystal, stolen from the mines of Cicatriz Caverns.”

 

We leaned forward to listen to him talk.  As his voice changed into his GM tone it felt like the world around us changed to match.

 

“However,” he continued, “you’ve yet to find a way off this island.  With every passing day your supplies dwindle.  With every night comes the chance that a patrol finds you and drags you back to slavery or worse.”

 

With that he leaned back, letting his voice trail off and giving the stage over to us.

 

Hmm, what would Ellanore do in this situation?  She’s only ever known life as a servant and she’s magically bound to them so…

  

 I began, “I wake up as early as I can and lazily scratch the Beast behind the ears.  Ellanore would want to look through what we have and try to get breakfast going.”

 

Mark nodded and waved his hand, letting me know I didn’t need to roll at this point.  Tim quietly scratched out the units of food we were using, keeping track of party inventory was always best left in his hands.

 

Tim sighed and stretched as he tried to get into character.  His voice was still a little stilted but he was getting better,  “Another day of scrounging at life.  At least waking up to the warm smell of food is the best way to be woken up.”

 

 “Mm,” Shaun half-heartedly agreed as he stuffed chips into his mouth before glancing in my direction and adding, “Yeah, food’s great.  But I don’t know if that’s the best way I can think of.”

 

What does he-  oh!  Well…I mean, Ella wouldn’t mind...

 

He shot me a grin as I just replied in Ellanore’s soft voice, “Well if there’s anything I can do to further please, I am at your disposal Sir Sehnny.  You need simply ask.”

 

I guess he’ll ask me to add sucking him off to my morning routine.  

 

His grin widened but he didn’t press the issue, instead just acknowledging it with another “Mm.”

 

Ah, shit that means he’s planning something.  Maybe something stupid like-

 

Before I could make any real guesses Tim spoke up again, frowning at the paper with our inventory on it, “Mm, we might have to try hitting up this fort or village or whatever it is.  We can feed, like, two mouths tomorrow and that’s if we don’t travel out of this hex and have to use more food today.”

 

I wonder if I could convince Mark that sucking someone off should count as a meal for- I shook off the thought.

 

“So let’s just go buy some,” Shaun said with a wave of his hand, “There’s got to be some black market or whatever we can use to sell like one or two crystals.  Then we stock up, hit the tavern, maybe do some quests and bam we’re on a boat back to the mainland.”

 

“Sure,” Tim huffed, “let’s just march in, get reported and get a whole platoon up our ass.  Can’t you sneak in at night and just steal us some stuff?  They won’t raise a fuss over a little food.  Then we grind a level or two and I’ll magic us out of here.”

 

They stared across the table at each other for a moment.  Mark leaned back and quietly listened in.  Finally the two of them turned to me as I mimed scratching my new pet behind the ears.

 

“Lin, you’ve got tons of charisma right?  You could totally bluff some guards if it came to it,” Shaun said, trying to get me on his side.  

 

“Your goddess is an ocean deity right?  Between the two of us we could totally get across the ocean in a few levels and just skip the boat full of people who want us dead,” Tim argued in his normal tone of voice.

 

I thought they were both overlooking some things but, “Ellanore scratches the Beast behind the ears as she waits for the men to make a decision.  She would offer her advice if asked in character but is otherwise trained to stay out of the way.”

 

Technically that wasn’t entirely true, there’d already been a few cases she needed to be more aggressive but if they wanted me to break this stalemate they could start having it in character.

 

“Fine,” Shaun cleared his throat and said with a dramatic sweep of his arm, “Lars walks up behind Ella and grabs a handful of her tits before saying, ‘Come along doll.  I need your help persuading our magically inclined friend to not worry so much.’”

 

I expected that and his smug grin.  I didn’t expect the low growl from across the table that choked my reply in my throat.  The sound triggered some ancestral memory deep in my brain from when we huddled in caves for fear of the wild.

 

How the fuck does he do that?!

 

Mark leaned forward and muttered from his side of the table, “The Beast moves between the two of you as you start to drag Ellanora away.  His teeth are bared and his claws dig into the dirt.”

 

Shaun recovered first as he snatched his dice, “I’m a level up and a full rest in.  I’ll give him a rematch if he really wants.  Lars stares the Beast down and starts slipping his hand under Ella's top.”

 

I was going to roll my eyes as Shaun picked yet another fight but then something sent a chill up my back.  My mind flickered back to a particular bit of backstory I made with Mark and one particular secret I never thought would come up at the time.  After all, we’d put a hard ban on actual pvp.

 

Wait.  Wait, wait, wait, the Beast is fully Bonded to me now too.  If they fought…fuck, fuck, fuck.

Before Mark could ask for an intimidate or worse an initiative roll I stood up and dramatically crossed my arms, “Hold it. Arguments are one thing but Ella won’t accept a fight between her bonded.  She lets Lars keep groping her, even letting the straps of her top fall to give him better access but as she does she kneels down to nuzzle the Beast.  She doesn’t say anything but through her Bond both Lars and the Beast can feel her desire to let them take their stress out on her rather than each other.”

 

I slap my fist into my open palm, “Plus a sensation that that’s one of the few things that’ll make her sever her Bond.”

 

Mark nodded and leaned back again.  “The Beast whines for a moment but is mostly pacified.  He likely won’t interrupt again.  Lin, Ella gets the sensation that you might be feeling the effects of disadvantage soon however.”

 

Bastard.  He’s trying to goad Shaun intentionally so that Ella has to step in without letting her secrets slip.  That’s…that’s…so cool.~

 

Shaun was still being stubborn about not backing down from a fight though.  We’ve had more than our fair share of swift exits from towns because of it.  He mulled it over while rolling his die between his fingers.

 

Shit.  He’s actually going to call my bluff.  

 

Fuck, and I can’t tell him why it’d be bad if they fought.

 

Tim laughed, “Dude-” 

 

I whipped my head over in his direction.  Ah!  Tim!

 

He coughed under the sudden attention and started again with a more dramatic flair.

 

“Lars, surely you’re not about to have a duel with a dog.  I can’t say I understand that noble pride of yours but if you want to forfeit your Bond I…uhm…I certainly don’t mind having all of an Ellyan’s attention for myself!”

 

That’s it!  That’d work!

 

Shaun was about to make a joke about how Crosell would still be sharing with that same dog.  I could see it in the way his eyes lit up and his shoulders shook as he held back a giggle at his own joke.  But then I stood up and sat myself down on Tim’s lap.  

 

Tim froze up, his hands both hovering at his sides.

 

I looked over at Shaun’s jealous expression as I crossed my legs, “Are you sure you want our Bond to end so soon Sir Sehnny?  A man’s pride is certainly important but…is my value so wanting to compare?  Have I not brought you happiness and luck so far?”

 

It was kind’ve metagaming to put so much emphasis on ‘luck’ there but in universe Ellanora was stripping down and willing to get groped on demand.  This was just a tiny little approximation of that.

 

He was really itching to fight but despite that he stopped fiddling with his die as eyes ran up my bare legs.  He hadn’t even gotten a chance to try slapping my butt in this skirt yet.  

 

He sighed, “What happened to ‘staying out of the way while the men figured things out?’”

 

“That’s that and this is this,” I said with a slight bounce as I crossed my arms.  Tim bit his tongue.

 

“Fine,” he said as dropped his die and shrugged, “I suppose you’re both right, drawing blades here would be foolish. I don't know what came over me.  I suppose there is a bestial nature to us all.  But I shall concede to your request to peace lady Ellanora.  Your fiery spirit in these tense moments has allowed me to see you in a new light.”

 

He’s up to something.

 

“Truly.  You have that dog in you.”

 

The room was filled with various groans and jeers as Shaun cackled madly but they were over a little sooner than usual.  I bounced in place again in quiet celebration of not failing my secret quest which made Tim suddenly go quiet.  I found out why a moment later as I started shuffling off his lap and I felt him poking against my butt.

 

O-oh.  

 

I decided not to bring it up.  It was my fault after all for jumping on him like a prop.

 

He didn’t say anything either and soon enough Mark brought us back on track with a reminder of where our conversation left off.  Shaun started pitching his idea to head into the town again while Tim tried to subtly adjust his pants.

 

It was then, after having felt the effect I had on Tim that I fully realized what I’d just done to get Shaun on my side.  I couldn’t say that spanking me for luck was just a random little ritual now.  Letting them get their hands on my butt was a reward I was dangling in front of them.

 

While I mulled the thought the guys kept talking around me.  Everything was normal.

 

People talk loud to show how scary their barbarian is.  It makes sense for me to get a little…like that…to show how Ella convinces people.  If everyone’s okay with it there’s no big deal.

Chapter 2:

 

My skirt hiked up, revealing the edge of my bike shorts as I bent over the table.  Tim barely made a sound with how light his slap was, but I almost let out a squeak myself when he gave me a light squeeze.  

 

Woah…it’s really a lot more noticeable when his hand is under my skirt…

 

“Thanks,” he muttered.  His dice clattered along the table a moment after while I sat back down.  Over in the game Ellanora was seated between the two of them, their hands roaming over her body for inspiration as we all brainstormed.

 

Mark looked at the die with a satisfied nod, “Okay, that’s good enough.  You know that while any settlements have the blessing of the Oceanic Empire there’s variety in military presence.  This one was likely established by a private company or group of settlers that joined military convoys on the sea.  The settlers get first dibs at new world land and access to the military.  Meanwhile the military gets cheap and easy access to the food and resources these outposts produce.”

 

Tim nods, “I’ll tell this all to the party.”

 

Shaun excitedly started up, “See?  It can work!  You magic up our clothes until I can steal us real ones.  Then we go down and pretend to be from the Durian noble family-”

“Ah, perhaps you meant the DeRien noble family Sir Sehnny?” I interjected.

 

“What?  Oh, uh yeah it’s just a nickname the Sehnnys had for the little upstarts~” he lied naturally before pointing at himself  “But I could be the noble lordling here on a research project.”

 

He pointed at Tim next, “Your knowledge of magic stuff’ll let you be my Sherpa upon this mountain of knowledge as my tutor.”

 

I…don’t think Sherpa are a thing in this world…

 

Then he wrapped his arm around my shoulder, squeezing me against him, “And you dear Ellanore, well, you just have to be yourself.  No one would think that a sexy Ellyan like you would get sent off to be wasted in the mines!”

 

Huh, he actually remembered my backstory.  Wait, would he know that in character?  

 

He held me for a little longer than necessary, his leg brushing against mine as I pondered that.

 

Mark’s not saying anything so I guess it’d be common knowledge for a noble that I wouldn’t normally be sent somewhere like this.  It’s not like he said anything about-ah!

 

“Wait,” I said as he finally backed away again, “but the fact of the matter Sir Sehnny is that I was sold to the mines.  There is a…ah…particularly powerful man who would have a vested interest in ensuring I never leave this place.  He and his agents may be more danger to us than the guards who only see us as lost labor.”

 

He waved it off with a dramatic pose that made me giggle, “No worries.  Your new master is a Sehnny, the noble lineage that shall retake the world!”

 

“Plus,” Tim chimed in, “once I’ve broken all the seals upon my soul my magic will make me the most powerful man in the world.”

 

He’s roleplaying way more out of combat now~

 

His cheeks were bright red at delivering the line in his character’s voice.  I smiled and clapped my hands together to cheer him on.

 

I expected him to suggest playing this cautious again but Shauns’ grandstanding must have won him over.  I pumped my fists and declared, “Very well, I shall leave my worries in your hands as I hope you leave your wounds and desires to mine.  Sir Sehnny, Sir Crossell, I shall trust and serve you both in my lady’s name.”

 

I pressed an open hand over my heart and started to give a half-bow before I suddenly remembered, “Ah and of course I have not forgotten my newly Bonded!  I kneel down and stroke the Beast’s fur.”

 

Shaun frowned, “You know we really have to name that thing.”

 

“Mm,” I groaned as I ran my hand idly through the air, miming the motion of petting the wolf-like creature.  

 

“Wolf…” Tim began,” wolfie?”

 

Mark let out another oddly realistic growl.

 

Tim pouted, “Tch, I’m no good at naming stuff.”

 

“Aw, your magic items usually have really cool names~” I said, subconsciously intensifying my petting as I imagined the Beast needing to be calmed down after that growl.  For a brief moment my hand wandered downwards, ready to stroke where the beast’s cock would be before I came to my senses.

 

“Oh, uh really?  Well, thanks…” Tim said with a wide grin.

 

“He did that weird stuff with the darkness.  He’s jet black.  Always following you around.  How about…” Shaun began and I braced myself, “Shadow?”

 

My mind searched it for a pun first but nothing came up.  “That’s..mm a well reasoned name Sir Sehnny.  Base and primordial.  Sometimes the classics can be-”

I stopped when I realized Shaun was humming a tune.  Mark was pointedly looking away.  Tim groaned and hid a smirk by planting his face in his palm.  I was lost.

 

“What…” I looked between the three of them.  The tune felt familiar but I couldn’t place it.  Finally Mark muttered to Shaun’s tune, “I am all, I am all I am…”

 

Suddenly it all clicked and I fully broke character, “No, nuh-uh, no!  We’re not naming him that!”

 

“I don’t know,” Shaun began, “Ellanore seems to like it and in character she wouldn’t have any reason not to-”

 

“Dude,” I said slamming my palms into the table, “I don’t want the mental image of getting fucked by Shadow the god damn Hedgehog whenever I, tch, Ella needs to you know…take care of its needs!”

 

“Huh,” Shaun shot me a knowing look, “Sooo the mental image of getting fucked by a wolf is-”

 

I slapped him on the head with my character folder while the guys broke out into giggles, “Sh-shut up!  It’s, I-, shut up!”

 

Mark clapped his hands together, fully aware we weren’t going to be productive for a while “Alright let’s eat, stretch and hit the bathroom.”  

 

Chapter 3:

 

Mark let out a long, exasperated sigh as he pinched the bridge of his nose.  

 

From the moment he started roleplaying the innkeeper it was like he’d suddenly aged a few decades, “Look.  This ain’t the mainland.  Practically every room we got is a room we need.  You want an overflow room for you and that mangy beast outside you pay today.”

 

He slapped his hand on the table after each sentence for emphasis, “Not after your big break.  Not after your family sends you your next allowance.  Today.”

 

I looked across the table at him with the best doe eyes I could manage.  He sighed and softened ever so slightly, “Look.  Find some schmuck to buy a few baubles off you and maybe I can give you some camping supplies.  You can pitch a tent can’t ya?”

 

He looked over to me with a crass grin and a bob of his head, “Certainly got more than enough inspiration for it.”

 

A few well wishes through gritted teeth later we retreated to an isolated corner of the tavern that made up this inn’s first floor.  Thankfully we weren’t alone among the people without drinks or food, there was always a small flow of people coming in to use this as a meeting place.

 

I made sure to let Mark know that Ellanore would pick a spot to wait where she could see Pharus, a name that was decidedly not Shadow, through the window.

 

As our characters waited Mark would idly throw dice every now and then.  I wondered what the odds were that we’d run into an overseer from the mines or some agent that knew to keep an eye out for an Ellyan.  

 

Mark apparently has some number in mind.

 

“Forget this place,” Tim complained, “we’re already getting our full rest bonus out there.  We should just blend in, steal some supplies and go.”

 

Exploring the island’s been fun but there’s been no NPCs other than the patrols we have to avoid.

 

Shaun shook his head, “It’s not about the rest bonus.  I need to have a safehouse established here or I can’t use my Network feature.  C’mon, we picked up some loot on the way out.  Let’s just sell it, get the room and then we make bank at the black market in a few days.”

 

If we just need to get a room…

 

In the real world Tim tapped the sheet he’d been using to track our inventory, “Most of it’s standard military gear.  You want to come up with a story about how we got our hands on it?”

 

Before Shaun could argue back I spoke up, “Perhaps, then, it would be best to attempt bartering with the man?”

 

Tim sighed and looked over his sheets again, “I don’t think we have anything we could spare that he’d want.”

 

Shaun caught on quicker.  There was a hint of possessive jealousy in his tone when he said, “Noo, I’m pretty sure we have something he wants.  Question is how much exactly are you going to give him.  The mutt was one thing, it was literally our ass or yours.  Sharing with this guy…can’t you just flirt with him a bit?”

 

I cast my gaze downwards as I imagined Ella meekly staring between her feet, “I can attempt to but I don’t believe I’m guaranteed success at the moment.  I apologize for my failings.”

 

Tim asked, “Would he become one of your uh, Bonded?  Like Pharus?  It’d be kind’ve awkward adding an innkeep to the party…”

 

I shook my head, “Use of my body is the conduit for a Bond but not the mark of the Bond in itself.”

 

As I explained I idly ran my left hand down my body, I imagined Ella going a step further and leaning forward to expose her cleavage as she talked.

 

“In the case of Pharus he was special as you two were and I believe my Lady of Veils wished to elevate and free him through me.”

 

Plus spending a Bond slot to get a free animal companion is great~

 

I looked up when Tim didn’t respond.  He quickly moved his eyes away from me and said, “Oh, uhm, well I don’t see the harm then.  It would, uh, verily be in keeping with our cover and I’m certain you could be very persuasive.”

 

Shaun sighed as he stood up and started heading for the kitchen, “Fine.  Ugh, I just know he’s gonna be smug about it…Lars’ll take a walk and case the area for a while.”

 

He called over his shoulder, “I’m gonna grab one of the beers, you guys want one too?”

 

Mark shook his head while Tim raised his hand and, after a moment’s thought, I did too.

 

Chapter 4:

Once we were all settled in again Mark rubbed his hands together and asked, “Alright.  So how do you want to play this?”

 

I set down my beer bottle, closed my eyes and sighed as I slipped back into character.  I imagined myself in that tavern, ready to help my party with all the talents Ellanora had to call from.

 

“Okay.  So first Ella will wait until things have quieted down at the front and the innkeep is alone.  She doesn’t want him to be distracted by anyone else or have an excuse to turn away from her.”

 

A few more dice idly rolled behind the screen as he simulated time going by.  “Alright, there’s no issue with that.  After a bit you get your chance.  The rush calms down and he’s idly scratching figures into his ledger.”

 

“I sway up towards him, letting my cloak fall open a bit as I do.  Not enough to be dramatic, but just enough that he can better appreciate what I have to offer.”

 

In the real world my hand idly ran down the neck of my shirt, pulling it down to reveal just a hint of the skin beneath.

 

“Excuse me,” I continued, my voice softening to better match Ella’s sweet tones, “is it alright if I speak to you...” my voice hung for a moment as I searched for his name in my memory, “...Orvel?”

 

“Mmf,” Mark grunted, his voice rough and irritated, “I suppose.  Unless you found a platinum piece between your tits though I don’t think it’ll help.”

 

I giggled sweetly at that and fidgeted in my chair as I imagined Ella leaning over the bar.  

 

“Well, not exactly.  I understand that it’s a big risk for you to wait for us to get the money.  But, what if you had some collateral to make you feel better?”

 

Mark’s fingers drummed along the table as Orvel’s thunked on the counter of his bar.

 

“What exactly are you offering?”

 

“Me.  Give us three days to find your coin.  After that, if we can’t pay, for every night we owe I’ll be yours for two.  All yours to do with and use as you please.”

 

I bit my lip and though my eyes fluttered open and looked towards Mark my mind was still on that tavern carved out of a ship’s hull.

 

“I could sweep your floors…cook meals…serve tables or…if you prefer…I could just serve you.”

 

Mark let out a dramatic breath before ‘collecting’ himself.  It was strange to hear such a convincing performance of a man struggling with self control while he still had his usual stoic look. 

 

“Hmph.  You know there’s a rule about whores in this outpost.  I’m a law-abiding citizen…” his tone was guarded and suspicious.  

 

He’s worried this is a set-up…

 

“Ah…then you must be so pent up, huh? And I don’t think we’re breaking any rules, a whore would ask for payment.  I’m just promising that I’d do whatever it takes to make it up to you if things don’t go well.”

 

…granted I’m not sure that’d really be a defense.

 

Mark considered but since he was on the fence about if the argument would work he gestured for a persuasion check. 

 

I scooped up a pair of dice with one hand then I groped my own chest for luck and rolled.  The best of the two was a dirty 19, Mark knew my bonuses well enough I didn’t need to tell him.

 

He let out a sigh as Orvel’s resolve cracked, “Well…yeah I guess that’d be alright.  But uh…look I took loans to make it out here,” he admitted, “I drop business for some pleasure and I-”

“Aww~” I interrupted, “but what was the point of coming out here to make it big?  Isn’t the whole point of making this kind’ve money so you can enjoy the best things life has to offer?”

 

I rolled again, just one die this time.  I only had so many hit-die and I thought it’d be an easy roll.  With my bonuses it came up to an 11.  Not bad but I could see Mark’s nose scrunching up.

 

Tim chimed in hopefully, “any bonuses for her roleplaying it out?” 

 

Mark paused and offered, “Ella can tell that he’s on the ropes.  The last thing he needs to be convinced of is that she’s worth the potential loss.  Ella’s beautiful but plenty of women come through here.  How does she convince him that she’s a rare opportunity?  I’ll give you a re-roll at a bonus based on what she does.”

 

Well what’re the odds he’d get a chance to sleep with an Ellyan for less than….

 

My first thought was to flaunt what Ella was.  It’d definitely work, hell he might even skip the roll.  I opened my mouth to roleplay the obvious answer before I stopped.  I noticed some of his percentile dice peeking out from beside his GM screen.

 

Ah.  Shit but then the odds that word gets out…

 

I instead offered, “You know this is probably really stressful for you.  Why don’t you let me alleviate a little of that stress?”

 

I dropped my voice into a sultry purr and licked my lips before he could offer a rebuttal.  I imagined Ella practically spilling over the counter top to shamelessly seal the deal.

 

“If you still don’t think it’d be worth it after I’ll just thank you for the drink and I’ll be on my way~”

 

“Dri-..uh, ah!  You mean…well…” he said with a fluster in his voice that’d sound perfectly real if he wasn’t silently gesturing for me to roll.

 

I got up and shook the die in my hand.  At this point even if I rolled a three I felt confident I’d handle this through sheer modifiers and circumstance bonuses, but if he was asking me to roll there meant that I still had a chance to fail. 

 

C’mon you’ve got like 90% odds at worst!  You’ve got this!

 

I must have been worriedly tumbling the die between my hands for too long since before I could throw it I felt a sharp swat on my ass.

 

“Good luck~” Shaun said slyly as the die fell out of my hands.

 

“Eep!” I shouted out as my hands flew to rub my abused backside.  I was about to turn and grumble lightly at him when I noticed the die landed on a natural 17.  

 

G-geeze, every time he pushes it like that someone rolls great…

 

I didn’t get giddy this time, it wasn’t like it was a clutch roll or anything.  I just decided not to even acknowledge it at all.

 

“Fine,” Mark said, the rough voice he used trembling with anticipation. 

 

He cleared his throat and projected a little more loudly,  “Why don’t we go…see the room?  Make sure you actually want it after all.”

 

I imagined the gruff tavernkeep nervously glancing at the other patrons to see if they were suspicious as he grabbed a key from the wall behind me and gestured me forward.  

 

Shaun let out a sigh of relief, “Well, at least knowing Ella this is a done deal~”

 

Tim shot me a thumbs up that I imagined Crosell mimicking from across the room as Ella followed Orvel.

 

Chapter 5:

“Fuck.  You really want that room, don’t you?” Mark groaned.  His voice was strained and panting which was an odd clash to the calm way he fussed with the dice and notes behind his screen.

 

I closed my eyes and replied, “Shh~  Don’t worry about that right now.  Just enjoy.  Clear your mind and give all your stress, all your anxiousness to me…”

 

I imagined Ella grinding against his body as she pushed him back onto the bed.  She’d nuzzle her cheek against his shoulder, letting her Ellyan magic spill into him.  Then she’d reach down, freeing his twitching cock and stroking him.

 

Subconsciously my own body moved, first making idle stroking motions in the air but then, after my hand brushed against my beer bottle, I pumped my hand up and down the glass instead.

 

“Mnf…” he groaned, “You’re going to spill your drink if you keep that up…”

 

Pleading mixed with aggression in his voice.  As the veiled goddess taught, tending to lust wasn’t like sating a hunger, it was like feeding a fire. 

 

I could feel his hand in my  see his hand in Ella’s hair, pushing her down off his lap and onto her knees.

 

My lips parted invitingly open, the tip of my tongue sticking out as I described how, “She gives him what he wants.  She settles in between his knees and takes his cock into her mouth, running her tongue around his tip while she squeezes and pumps his shaft.”

 

My tongue twitched as I imagined the movements.  My breathing got heavier.  My heart beat faster to match Ella’s.  The bottle rattled a bit on the table as my hand stroked the base a little too eagerly, lifting it off the table just a bit.  The rattle pulled me an inch out of the vision in my head and I lifted my heavy eyelids.  The nearly full bottle developed just a bit of foamy head from the vibrations.

 

“Oceans abound, I needed this.  I’ve never so…hah…” he growled like a newly made addict.  Wood creaked as Mark idly reached behind himself to squeeze the backing of his rickety chair.  The Orvel in my mind was grabbing onto my my head and forcing me deeper down.

 

Subconsciously I leaned forward, letting my head get shoved down.  But my eyes were still halfway open.  The scene in my head layered with Mark’s unreadable poker face but also with Shaun and Tim, both of them staring at me with rapt attention.  Their cheeks were flushed.  Their chests shook with rough breaths.  A teensy part of me felt giddy that I could hold their attention so completely.

 

Heh…I bet this is what Ella feels like when she latches her Bond onto someone…

 

All this happened as I was still leaning forward.  My lips brushed against glass, reminding me of the bottle I was stroking off.

 

Oh.  I guess I’ve been treating this like…

 

Hesitantly, consciously, I stuck my tongue out further, licking the bottle from its neck to its tip.  “Elwa run hwer twongue up hith length,” I said, my words slurred by the motion.  By the time I finished the lick I’d shut my eyes again, immersing almost completely back in the scene.  I could still feel the way their breath caught.

 

“Don’t hold back, just focus on feeling good until you just…” I kissed the side of the bottle, “can’t,” I kissed the curved neck of it, “hold back,” and finally I lunged forward.  As Ella invited his cock deeper into her mouth she’d slide her tongue underneath his length to let him deeper and deeper in.  I gagged uncomfortably before I get far at all on the thin bottle, my lips not even passing the neck.

 

Sh-shit that’s harder than it looks…

 

The discomfort was enough to shake my concentration and make me feel self conscious.  I almost pulled off completely but then I heard a soft “fuck…”

 

I didn’t know who said it.  If it was Mark it wasn’t quite in character, the rough and aged voice he used for Orvel wasn’t there.  But the heat was the same.  It was the same heat that’d make Ella want to work harder.  The same heat that made her feel connected to her goddess.  

 

…

 

I moved back down.  I wasn’t suddenly able to stop my gag reflex but I sucked, licked and kissed the top of the bottle as well as I could.  With every time I pushed it right to the edge of discomfort, with every time my tongue lapped around it I fell back into the scene.  My motions became a strange new mix of subconscious and simply conscious.  

 

I didn’t do it for long, maybe thirty seconds or so, but it felt longer at the time.  Mark’s voice rode the line between snapping me out of my trance and pushing me deeper into it as he declared in his own voice, “He doesn’t last much longer under your expert care.  I won’t ask for a check, this is something Ella would easily be able to manage.  His body shudders and tenses for a moment before he cums.   The tension releases from his body along with his guarded nature.”

 

I pulled myself off the bottle with a wet pop as he added in Orvel’s panting voice, “W…wow…alright that’s…gods damn.  You’ve proven your point.  You can have the room…bloody hell you’ve got me half hoping you lot actually do stiff me on the payment now.”

 

Ella I let out a proud giggle at the compliment.  Shaun and Tim were panting just as hard.  It felt like there was something boiling in my core.

 

Mark clapped his hands together and I felt like I’d just been ripped out of a dream by the morning sun.

 

“Okay”, he said cheerily, “you guys have managed to scout the outpost and you’ve secured a base of operations.  I’ll end it a little early so I can get some of the deeper details straightened out.  Shaun, we’ll be in touch about how your Network class feature will work.”

 

Shaun and Tim jolted in their seats like they were desperately trying to change computer tabs.

 

“Oh, yeah sure I’ll shoot you a message about the stuff I need to find out.”

 

“N-nice, I guess we’re all set after all.  Good job  Lin!”

 

The head on my bottle of beer was bubbling upwards and threatening to spill over the tip.  The image of Ella gulping down the flood of Orvel’s ‘release’ popped into my head.

 

Hm.  I wonder if I’d be able to…

 

I shook off the thought as I brought the beer bottle up to my lips and took a sip before it spilled onto Mark’s table.  “I mean I’m the party face, I need to be able to handle these kinds of things right?”

Notes:

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