Varista Ch.2
#2 of Varista
Well, here it is - the new entry to my beginning story. I hope you guys like it.
To those of you who enjoyed the first story, and gave me feedback, I say thank you. It is with your support that I decided to tackle writing this new entry so soon after the first chapter.
I hope to have more people read this one, but if I get all of the ones who read the first one to read this and be happy with it, then I will consider this a grand success!
Thank you, all of you. I did this for you.
(Ok, maybe a bit for myself, too. After all, how can you expect to arouse your readers if your writing don't arouse yourself?)
"Turn back, all who enter. Nothing lies here for you but certain death. This is your first, and final, warning..."
An echoing cry pierces the silence of an age as a man rouses from unconsciousness, bolting up right into a sitting position as the echoes of a warning fade from his mind. He shakes his head, seeing nothing but darkness. Fumbling his hands near his belt, he extricates a small, luminous crystal, attached to a loop of chain. The sudden brilliance causes his eyes to squint and water, but finally allows him to study himself and his surroundings.
Looking down at himself, he notices that he is in some type of odd garb: A flowing white shirt of a silken material, while his pants are a dark gray of the same. His shoes are reminiscent of boots; they feel softer than worn leather, yet he feels no chill from the floor or any of the stones underfoot. Studying the belt that he had pulled the crystal from, he sees that it is of similar make, but reinforced with a cloth-like metal.
Keldric appears to be in a small room, covered in soft moss, dripping moisture along the walls. Standing on shaky legs and turning in a slow circle, it becomes apparent to the man that the only way out is through a door comprised of vertical metal bars. Walking up to said door and taking two bars into his hands, it quickly becomes obvious that the door is locked.
"Damn..." He looks about the room, hopeful - but not really expecting - to find a key laying upon the floor. Imagine his surprise when he sees something shining on the floor, near where he was laying a few minutes prior. Striding over to the spot and bending to one knee, he reaches forward to grab the metal object.
"W-What the?" Resting upon the young man's palm is a ring comprised of a surprisingly hefty metal, in the form of a fox chasing its own tail. The real shocker is when the ring suddenly melts, forming a puddle before it moves to his middle finger, solidifying about it. Taking hold of the ring does nothing, the ring refusing to budge even a hair. Letting out a sigh, he stops trying to remove the ring - and lets out a cry of alarm as he sees another ring on his index finger. Yet this one is covered in dust and moisture, like the rest of his body, leading him to believe that this one has been on for some time, now.
Dispelling the thoughts of the rings from his mind, he looks about the room once more, desperate to find something to use to unlock the door. That is when he hears a weird sound coming from the walls. Stepping closer, it appears to be coming from the grate near the back wall.
"Oh, fuck this - I'm not sticking around to deal with any more weird shit." With a scowl upon his pale features, the man strides purposefully towards the door - right before he furiously kicks at the door's lower hinge. Amazingly, he feels only a small twinge in his toes, thanks to the odd boots he has equipped. Although, his kick had done nothing to the metal hinge. It seems to be impervious to rust, giving it the full integrity of the day it was made.
"Wish I had a pair of daggers of this material..." He whispers to himself, before the noise at the grate grabs his attention again. It sounds as if water were lapping at the walls. Not wishing to remain long enough to find out what it is, Kel pats over his clothing, hoping that there might be something on him to help him. Reaching into his pocket, he retrieves an odd metal cube. Pressing upon the metal, he finds that it molds to his touch. A sudden idea comes to him, and he shapes it into a long, thin rod. He presses it against the wall, pushing hard. It doesn't even bend. "Damn, metal that can be freely shaped by the hand? Seems to me some blacksmiths are going to lose their jobs..."
Grinning mischievously, he pinches the middle area of the metal, pulling it in two. He forms a lock pick with one, while creating a tension tool with the other. He inserts the two into the lock, working at a quick pace to find the spot to push.
An audible click comes soon afterward, the door swinging on silent hinges to open before him. "Hmm, wonderful metal technology, yet simple lock mechanics. Must have been one of those neighborhoods." He snickers at his own joke, closing the door back once he is out. He scratches his lower belly before dashing down the hall, passing similar rooms as the one he was in. He stops at one such room, his eyes widening. Inside lies a skeleton, wearing the same clothing as him.
He sighs, but moves forward to unlock the door. Pulling the unlocked gate open, he strides in to rifle through the pockets of the poor soul that did not make it out. He pulls a similar metal cube out, molding it into a long, thin blade. He blunts the edges before sliding it into his pocket, so it does not cut through the fabric. Upon standing, he places his palm over his heart. "Fare thee well in the Ethereal Plains, Brother. May the Gods be merciful."
Leaving the room, Kel continues his walking, looking for some type of exit. A wooden door at the next left turn proves as promising as he is going to get, so he approaches it, turning the handle to unlatch the door, pulling it open.
Almost as soon as the door is open, a white blur can be seen before Keldric is roughly sprawled on his back. Thinking it is the fox again, he rolls over, pinning the struggling creature beneath him. Looking up at him is not the fanged maw of a fox, but a face even paler than his own. The face belongs to a young man, looking half out of his mind with his disheveled white hair and in the same garb as Keldric. Kel gets off of him, backing up into the room the scared man just left.
"Who are you?" asked Keldric, a hand in his pocket, wary of any sudden movements from this man. "I-I am called V-Varlan... Who are you?" responded the shaking man, still sitting upon the floor. "Ah, my name is Keldric. Keldric Usugi, to be exact. It is odd that you have that name. Varista's last king was named Varlan, too." Varlan looks up at Kel, his shaking subsiding as it becomes clear that he means no harm to the man. He moves to get up, but Kel moves forward to grip his arm and help him up. "Th-Thank you... Keldric," Varlan stammers out, straightening his rumpled clothing.
Now that Kel has a moment to look at him, Varlan seems to be about his own age of 18 years - but that white hair does throw things off a bit. He is a lithe man, with long fingers that look as if a wand and paint brush were the only tools he had ever held. Looking over his chest, the impression of a wealthy man's son intensifies, as Varlan has little muscle definition. Just enough to hint that he does work out, but not enough to develop obvious muscles. Peering higher, Kel shivers as he sees Varlan's eyes. His eyes are as white as pure snow, flecked with silver around his pupil. Straying downwards, Kel notices a rather nice bulge in the man's pants. He assumes he is flaccid, since that level of nervousness couldn't give rise to any type of arousal.
Keldric is hit with a sudden itch to his lower belly again, scratching it absently while he brings his eyes from the other man's clothed crotch. "So, Varlan, why were you in here? It doesn't look that comfy in here." That is putting it mildly. Looking about, it is clear that this room was used to torture captives. The walls are lined with chains, hooks, and an assortment of wicked blades and tools. Picking one up, Kel checks the heft on a curved dagger, ending in a nasty hook. Smirking, he decides to keep it.
Varlan, on the other hand, is as far away from the wall of horrors as possible, looking on the blades with distaste. "I actually came in here to hide. Since you are alive, I assume you did not meet the monster that slips in through the grate? It is a horrible creature, comprised of a liquid body. I only ever saw the tentacle it slides in through the grate, but that was enough. I shot a Frost spell at it and froze it, so that I could break the door down. I do not think I harmed it in any way, so I sought refuge in this room."
Kel nods, eyeing the man once more. He scratches his hip as he strides back towards the door. "So, do you know where the exit is to this place? All I saw so far were other holding cells." Varlan grimaces, nodding. "Yeah... There is an exit. Sadly, it is across a bridge, above where the monster is kept."
"Well then, I guess we'll just have to be careful. I'm Keldric, Treasure Hunter extraordinaire - I don't fail. I haven't been stopped by a cave in, a werewolf/manticore with a big - err, claws - or by a bastard ghost fox with boundary issues. I'm not going to let some water monster stop me." Kel grins at Varlan, doing his best to soothe the man.
"Well... There is also something else. I know a lot about magic, and this level of magic requires an enchanted spell book to be close to the monster at all times, lest the magic wear off and the summoned beast returned to the Dark Ether Planes. If we are able to destroy the book, we can rid ourselves of it."
"Right, so where is this book kept?" Keldric's question causes Varlan to visibly deflate. He sighs, looking out in the hallway. "In the water with the monster... Our best bet is to just run for the Ether Gauge." This new term makes Keldric tilt his head slightly. Varlan looks back just in time to see it. "Oh, right, you probably have never heard of those. They were these lock mechanisms used a long time ago, before the Ethereal Collapse. Before the Gods gave the gift of Ether to all, only a few chosen were able to harness the Ether, allowing them to use it to power their magic. Since this was true, they decided to create Ether Gauges. A Magician would have to fill this Gauge with their energy to release the lock mechanism. Depending on the power of the mage and the limit of the lock, it would either take half an hour or five minutes. Using a Seeing spell, I was able to see that this gauge requires a vast amount of energy. Luckily, I am a powerful mage, so it should only take about five minutes. I will need you to protect my back while I charge the lock, for if I stop at any point, I will have to start over. Can you do that?" Varlan looks at Keldric, his frozen eyes filled with a silent plea.
"Why, of course! Don't worry, Var - I'll protect you. Once we get past that gate, we can go and look for the treasure of Varista! I'll gladly share it with you, if you get us out of this mess. Right, what are we waiting for? Let's go." Keldric wraps his arm about Varlan's shoulders, leading him down the hall. All the while he scratches at his lower thigh, chatting with his snow haired friend.
"So, Var, what made you come here? Looking for the treasure as well?" Kel asks of his companion. Var look into Kel's eyes, chilling him somewhat with that icy stare. "Actually, I have come here seeking the knowledge left behind by the people of Varista. I wish to know the enchantments they used, and how they have managed to create such lasting structures. Just think of how much knowledge was lost after the Ethereal Collapse. How many secrets do you think this place holds? I came here with a team from Artomix College... but they were slain by the creatures that protect this place..."
Keldric pulls Varlan into a hug, rubbing his back gently. He ignores the urge to scratch again, but pulls away after a few seconds, attacking the itch. "Sorry to hear that, Var - And sorry about all the itching. These guys made stuff to last, but their clothing is as comfortable as hay." Kel grins, infecting Varlan with it.
A few minutes later, the two adventurers finally come to a wooden door, which Keldric pushes open. The sight that greets them is a shocking one indeed. It is a large, circular room, with a high, vaulted ceiling. A single stone bridge spans the distance to the other side, where a large gate blocks the exit. The room is full of black water, as calm as glass. Keldric could almost consider it to be obsidian. In the middle of the bridge lies a pedestal, where a glass ball rests atop a three pronged stand.
"There, that is the Ether Gauge. I will need to fill it, and when it shines with energy, the gate will rise. We will only have a minute or so to reach the gate before it closes again. Are you ready, Keldric? I will need you to protect me."
Kel smiles, hugging Varlan again. "I got your back, Var, don't worry. That monster won't lay a tentacle on you."
With that said, the two begin to slowly and silently walk across the long length of bridge. The two keep a constant eye on the water, vigilant for a single ripple to disturb the glass surface. A tense minute passes as such before Keldric and Varlan make their way to the glass orb in the middle of the room. Varlan lets out a sigh of breath. "Okay - That was a bit too easy. Okay, guard up, I'm going to begin charging the Gauge."
Varlan rests both of his pale palm against the cool, smooth surface of the glass, closing both eyes as he begins releasing energy into the sphere. White vapor courses along his arms, dancing along the surface of the glass before it slowly sinks into it. Keldric looks at the orb, nothing changing in its appearance yet. "So, how do you kn-"
His question is cut short as a sudden explosion of water splashes over the central bridge. Wiping the excess water from his face, Kel looks up to see four tentacles surrounding the two. Keldric readies his hooked dagger, pulling out the moldable dirk to sharpen the edges. He has barely finished doing so before two of the tentacles reach for him, shooting down at a swift speed. Kel dashes to the side, narrowly avoiding being grabbed, and slices at the two near opaque tentacles, cutting right through them. The cut ends fall to the bridge, where they promptly turn into nothing but murky water upon the stone. The other two tentacles are slowly writhing about in the air, as if reeling from the pain inflicted by the cutting. Keldric smirks, raising his two blades.
"That's right, you stagnant bastard - you mess with me, and you get cut." His smirk is suddenly wiped from him as a fifth tentacle comes from behind him, wrapping about his throat. He twists, putting the tentacle in front of him, and slashes at it. This one follows the fate of the others. The two behind him suddenly lunge forward - Aiming for Varlan.
Keldric darts forward, slashing through the tentacles with ease. "Hah - I thought this was going to be hard. You worried for nothing, Var. This thing is a right push over!" Kel chuckles, wiping some of the black water from his face. Right then, a tentacle smacks him in the side of the head, knocking him onto his side. It pushes against his face, making it an easy target for his blade. It manages to push into his mouth before his blade fully slices it off, leaving him to cough and choke as some of the black water goes down his throat. "Oh... G-Gods - I swallowed some! Ugh, it tastes horrible!"
A small blush forms on Kel's face, for the water didn't taste too bad... 'What the hell?! This is stagnant water, most likely septic! How the hell can I think it tastes alright?' Now that he thinks about it, the scent of the room isn't even that bad. It reminds him of the musky scent the black were-creature had. That thing didn't taste too bad, either...
Kel forces those thoughts from his mind as another set of tentacles make straight for Varlan. He throws his hooked blade, slicing through both tentacles. Now, armed with only one blade, he goes into a more defensive position, crouched behind Varlan.
"How are we doing, Var? Any luck?" His question is answered by a sudden light flashing behind him. He turns just in time to see Varlan grab his wrist, pulling him along towards the now open gate. Even as the two rush towards it, Kel can see that it is closing at an alarming rate.
The tentacles really come out now, forcing the two to duck, dodge, and jump over black lengths as thick as their forearms. One shoots up out of the water, aiming to swipe at Varlan's leg. Kel intercepts it, kicking it with all of his might. His boot splashes right through it, his momentum causing his leg to go further than he intended. His boot lands on a patch of the black water, and slips on the deceptively slick substance. He lands hard on his back, the tentacles wasting no time in wrapping about his legs and dragging towards the edge of the bridge. He hacks at them, but there are too many replacing the ones he cuts.
Varlan stops, looking back at Keldric with fear in his eyes. He chants slightly under his breath, weaving a spell already. Kel waves at him with his blade. "Don't worry about me - I told you that no damn tentacle would touch you. Go and find those secrets, Var!" Kel gets tugged on roughly, now only hanging on by his arms. "At the risk of sounding cliché... Run, you fool!" That grin of his is still on his face as he gets pulled down form the bridge and into the opaque depths.
Varlan dashes towards the gate, sliding under it right before it clangs noisily against the ground. He looks back towards the water, watching the ripples slowly fade away to nothing. "Keldric Usugi... Your name will be known for ages, for good or ill...
Meanwhile, under the water, Keldric is busy hacking and slashing at the tentacles trying to pull him ever deeper. Once all of the tentacles are hacked off, he looks up to begin swimming upwards - but a blue light stops him and causes him to look towards where the middle of the bridge would be. There, sitting on another one of those pedestals, rests a glowing blue book, bound in cyan leather with a strip of white silk keeping it bound.
Keldric makes to swim towards the book, but another tentacle warps around his torso. He hacks at the unwanted visitor, continuing his dash for the book. Coming close enough to see the arcane writing upon the cover, Kel reaches up to stab his blade down at the cover... but can't do it. Instead, he slices the silk binding the book, opening it up to peer at the amazingly well preserved pages.
They mean nothing at first, but soon information begins pouring into his head, all on the attributes of water and water magic. All of a sudden, the book loses its luminance, and a splitting pain hits him in the head, right above his left eye.
His pain becomes a secondary worry as more tentacles suddenly come from the depths. He moves to slash at them again, but one has already grasped his wrist, squeezing it hard enough to force his hand open, letting his last weapon sink to the bottom, out of sight in the black depths.
Keldric tries to relax as best he can, knowing he is about to die, but the pain in his head refuses him that luxury. To add insult to injury, the tentacles begin writhing their way into his clothes, shredding them as they go. One even presses against his lips, trying to force an entry. By this point, his lungs are near bursting... He tries to keep his mouth shut, but the hammering of his heart and the need of his lungs win out, forcing Keldric to open his mouth to try and suck in anything to alleviate the pressure in his chest. That is when the tentacle forces its way inside, bulging out his throat slightly as its thicker end begins to enter. He can feel it wriggling around inside his throat... and the odd thing is that he can actually breathe, with this thing inside. He can feel the ooze from the tentacle inside of his chest, acting like oxygen inside of his lungs.
This new discovery is put to the absolute back of his mind as an especially curious tentacle begins prodding at his backside, his clothing now being completely torn apart, floating away in the water. The sudden disappearance of his clothing allows for the two necklaces upon his neck to be bared, the white and blue light mixing to illuminate the immediate area around him.
His head pain doesn't disappear, but it seems lessened as he now receives pain from his tight ass as the large tentacle slides into him, covering his insides with that odd, slick, numbing fluid. Another tentacle slides up between his legs, rubbing at his balls and shaft, circling around them to tease at his tip. Its tip elongates and thins, until it is able to slide down his urethra, even filling that hole with the black semen-like fluid.
His moans are lost to the water as the stimulation overcomes him, washing away his self control. The limb in his mouth begins sliding in and out, Keldric sliding his tongue over the surprisingly appealing and solid length. It covers his tongue in that same curious fluid that he tasted before, but this time, it tastes quite a bit more potent. He can almost smell the musk, the taste is so strong.
'Oh... What am I doing? Am I really enjoying this...? How can I possibly find this appealing...? I should be struggling more! ...Ah, what's the point? I'm going to die, so why not let go and enjoy this? This is so wrong... but it feels so good.' Keldric submits to the will of the tentacles, relaxing his ass around its intruder and sucking hungrily on the one in his mouth. The more of that wonderful black ooze he receives, the more he wants.
Another tentacle begins prodding at his hole, a few more coming up to slide and rub over his flesh, spreading the aphrodisiac all over his skin as he gets the second tentacle to slip into him, stretching his ass out so wonderfully around the fat lengths. The two push deep in him, allowing him to feel his guts filling slowly with their sperm. The pleasure keeps him from worrying about this overly.
The two fat tentacles stuffing his ass rub against one another as they assault his sensitive anal passage. The slippery fluid they excrete serves to numb the pain of stretching, while also increasing the receptiveness of pleasure, leaving him to writhe a bit in the firm hold of his rapist.
He is left to gasp and moan on each deep thrust given to him, the tentacles depositing even more spunk up his ass, while the one down his throat shoots a steady stream of it down his ravenous gullet. Heat suffuses his body from the sensations he is made to endure, as well as the warm fluids being injected.
The thin tentacle inside of his cock finally reaches his prostate as the two in his ass rub against it so deliciously. He can feel it rubbing around inside of him, expanding and contracting in time with the thrusting motions of his anal violators.
It all becomes too much for him, and with a groan and bite down on the tentacle in his mouth, his balls release their load of spunk. The tentacle in his urethra hollows out, allowing for the sperm to travel through it, down the length, and all the way to whatever at the bottom of the room controls the gelatinous tentacles currently invading Keldric's body.
Keldric's mind stops completely at the mind shattering sensation of having his orgasm while being stuffed full of such potent, pleasurable fluids. He goes limp, now completely full of the water monster's seminal fluid. While he is relaxed and complacent, the tentacles begin dragging him down, so that the monster may now feed on the properly filled human. A tentacle wraps about his neck, its firm grip slowly tightening on the half conscious male.
The ever present nagging of the pain in his head suddenly flares up, snapping Keldric back into reality. He screams out muffled cries of pain, it feeling as though a brand were put against his head. Sudden brilliance comes from the necklace about his neck - and now the spot above his left eye. The water about him swirls in a furious bubble, slashing whatever is within three feet of him. This cuts the tentacles holding him, leaving the fluid to gush from all of his holes as they turn into standard water.
Keldric coughs and hacks, trying to evacuate the water from his lungs - but after a few seconds, he finds that he can actually breathe the water again. "Wait... But the tentacle... how the hell am I breathing? Wait - What the f- I'm even speaking underwater?!" Kel reaches up to where the cyan light had come from his head, but had now faded to a soft glow. The area up there feels as it should, but when he puts his hand close to his forehead, but not touching it, he finds the luminous outline of a cyan character. It looks as if someone bent the lower bit of a capital L up 45 degrees, then flipped it upside down. "Wow... I have a glowing tattoo, now? Interesting..."
The tentacles, which had been regenerating their lost parts and too cautious to do anything up to now, begin to encroach. Keldric sees this just in time to try and swim upwards. He is surprised to see himself swim much farther than he ordinarily could. He uses this new ability to quickly reach the surface, looking up at the bridge. It is too high for him to reach ordinarily.
"Well then, guess I'll have to use something besides brawn for this one." Keldric smirks, happy at his gained knowledge of water magic. He chants under his breath, willing the water to rise in a pillar, allowing him to hop over onto the smooth stone of the bridge.
Unfortunately, the tentacles follow him, coming up to surround him once more. "Oh, come off it! I escaped fair and square!" Keldric uses a Water Scythe spell, causing water to spin in a near supersonic circle about him, severing the tentacles. Keldric falls to the ground, remaining on one knee. He seems to have overdone that spell, taking too much energy from him. He looks at the walls, seeing a perfect line cut into them. "Oh, fuck!" Keldric exclaims, wide eyed at the damage he caused with a relatively simple spell.
The tentacles, due to their regenerative nature, are only down for a short duration. They come back up, seeming as if nothing happened. "Okay, cutting you won't work...So maybe I should focus on destroying the book... where the hell is it?" Kel looks at the water, but is constantly forced to dodge tentacles, making it nigh impossible to see anything more than a foot under the water. "Fine - You want it that way? You got it, Touchy!"
Kel chants under his breath, weaving a large spell - but making sure not to over-do it, this time. He casts a Boil spell, rising the temperature of the water drastically. It hisses and steams, beginning to evaporate nearly instantaneously. Kel shields his face from the steam, casting another spell to create a bubble of water about him.
When he looks over the bridge, he is shocked to see absolutely nothing down there but the dry stone floor below. "Oh... I guess I still overdid it..." he sighs out, falling to his rump to the warm stone of the bridge. "Now, I just have to find Var, and more - Ahh!" Looking down at his crotch and thighs, Kel is mortified to see white fur there, with it getting a silver color on the outside of his thighs. His cock, which had been a respectable six inches, had lengthened to about eight, with his skin growing to cover his head. His flesh itself becomes a pinkish red, beginning to taper off at the end.
"Oh, Gods... I didn't get bit by that were-creature, so I shouldn't be turning into anything of his sort!" Keldric puts a hand on the fur - his fur - and strokes it softly. It feels so weird, yet it feels so soft and warm on his body. Moving his hand around his thigh, he reaches back - and lets out another cry of shock. On his rump, he can feel a small tail beginning to grow, covered in bushy fur. Grabbing it, he can see that it is primarily silver, with a touch of black at the tip, and green where the black meets the silver. He releases the - his tail, breathing fast.
"Your luck is astounding, Keldric." Keldric jumps up, turning about on the spot, looking for who spoke. At the Ether Gauge stands that bastard of a ghost fox, grinning like a demon, showing off all of its white fangs. "To survive one Dark Guardian by sheer luck is itself lucky, but to survive two... Maybe there is more to you than just an ego. You, who would come into the cursed ruins of Varista for monetary gain... Maybe you will be the first to actually succeed, where countless others have failed. Although, the last I knew, there were still three Dark Guardians left protecting the treasures of Varista... I have given you a warning already, so let me give you some advice, instead. Do not trust those whom you meet in this place, for they will ultimately betray you."
The white fox grins again, slowly swishing its long, flowing tail behind it. Without warning, it charges at Keldric. Keldric chants a Water Barrier spell under his breath, putting it in the path of the fox - only for him to dash straight through it. The fox leaps once more, but this time does not bare his teeth. Instead, he lands smack in the middle of Kel's chest, knocking him flat on his back.
This fact alone is enough to send him reeling, for he can feel the fox atop him, feel his claws digging into his skin, can smell his masculine musk, and even feel his hot breath against his face. "H-How...?" The fox leans down, dragging its tongue over his neck sensually, nipping at Keldric's skin. "How can I touch you and you smell me? We are connected, now, my dear Keldric. Those rings you have upon your fingers? They are two of a set of five... Haven't you wondered why your body is going through these changes? The rings are changing you - molding you - into a being like me."
The fox lays atop Keldric's chest, his fuzzy sheath and balls resting against Kel's own. "Call it narcissism if you wish, but I highly prefer you in this form. You smell so much better... Taste so much better... You will be worthy of me, once your transformation is complete. Until then, all I can do is watch... waiting for my mate to save me."
Keldric has no chance to ask what he means, for at that exact moment, the fox's white eyes burrow deep into Keldric's, and everything begins to fade into black."
"...All I can do is watch... and wait for my mate to save me..."