Quail
#1 of Into the Gray
This one's a bit low on the smut front, mostly just a lot of medieval, magical world building. I do have plenty of ideas for followups, so I hope everyone enjoys it. Of course, this one may be mild, but most of those ideas are a bit darker than usual, so be prepared and all that. I hope you enjoy, and same as with the others, I'm hoping I caught all the typos and errors but writing 3 stories at once broke me.
Standard boiler plate: This is fantasy, not real. Simple rule of thumb, do not do things to people without their consent in real life. That is bad. No more to say there than that.
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"Long, long ago, there was a powerful darkness that grew from the heart of our world. The four great nations, Bruill in the north, empire of the wolves, Kraage in the west, republic of the goats, Aresh in the south, the holy empire of the lizards, and Guisse in the east, our home, kingdom of the tigers, each shared a quarter of our continent. A peaceable existence was not enough for some, leading to frequent clashes between small militias all along their borders. Their greed and cruelty was left to fester, and from that decay arose Kshalle, the great and terrible empire of dragons. No one knows what dread beast spawned them, but once given form they spread like a plague, constantly conquering, constantly growing. It began at the center of the continent where the borders of the nations met and spread until claiming much of the world under a cruel new banner. A new banner that gave no indication it would stop until it claimed the world."
As the elderly, hunched tiger spoke aloud his story in a deep baritone, a short, squat figure in a long robe silently entered the brightly lit tavern. Shying away from the light, he promptly headed to a table in a darker area near the back. A long hood obscured his face, though no one paid him any attention anyway, instead focusing on the tiger's tale. With a flick of his wrist he called a servant over to fill his order.
"While the dragons plotted and schemed, advancing their skills in magic to further their goals of total domination, the other nations attempted to broker for peace, hoping that would satisfy the dragons, but they had no such luck. With them marching ever onward, the nations, now sharing a common enemy, managed to forge an alliance for the first time in history."
A sudden coughing fit from the tiger telling the story gave him a momentary pause. Aside from the sounds of his hacking the tavern was utterly silent. The area around the storyteller was filled with youths and adults alike, mostly some sort of feline, watching the tale with rapt attention. A rabbit servant retrieved a mug of ale for the robed figure, who handed over several coins as payment. After an attendant gave the tiger a cup of water, he managed to compose himself before shooing his helper away with his thanks.
"The nations put aside their differences and sent their armies to borders surrounding Kshalle as allies, marching together as one. The dragons, while comparatively small in number, had become incredibly powerful in the ways of magic. Powerful in ways that have been long since lost to time. Our armies lost an uncountable number of brave soldiers to the wicked spells cast by the dragons, but over time their power faded and they began to lose ground."
The tiger, while leaning on his staff, motioned with his hands to illustrate his tale. In the back, the hooded figure cradled his mug and took a long sip while listening with a smirk. The light from the nearest torch flickered, briefly illuminated face, showing his long toothy muzzle in a flash.
"Without their magic, the dragons were vulnerable. They never bothered to learn the tenets of honorable warfare and quickly fell to the swords and arrows of our warriors. The walls of their city breached and their empire lost, the dragons did the unthinkable. Their king and last remaining great mage, a soulless beast remembered only as Arundo, unleashed a weapon they had been conspiring to use to dominate the world, choosing to see their lands obliterated rather than claimed by the righteous."
A small handful of powder was thrown into a small brazier causing a burst of light and earning gasps from the cubs in the audience. The hooded figure simply rolled his eyes.
"No one knows what the weapon was, and thankfully that detail has been lost to time. What we do know is that aside from obliterating every life within their borders, dragon or not, it irrevocably scarred the center of the continent. From that point on, the four nations found themselves surrounding a cursed plain, now spoken of only in hushed whispers as the Gray. A place where no one who entered would ever be heard from again."
A cap was lowered onto the brazier, snuffing out the flame.
"With no common enemy left to fight, the alliance soon fractured and the nations found themselves at war once again. However, with the Gray acting as a natural no-man's-land, no single nation would ever be able to deliver a decisive blow against another, and border skirmishes and raids became the new normal. So it has been for the past 500 years. While rare, some dragons, descendants of the scant few survivors of the fallen empire who were lucky enough to be away for the final battle, can still be seen traveling or trading in cities. It is said that many more live in remote hidden parts of our lands, hoarding magical items or gold and plotting their revenge. An adventurer could make his fortune finding one of those hoards. If he survives its guardian, of course."
At the completion of his tale, the tiger received a standing ovation from the assembled crowd. He gave a faint smile while leaning heavily on his staff, pleased that everyone enjoyed his tale. Everyone, except that shrouded fellow in the back who finished his drink with a long gulp, slammed the mug down, and headed his way. Without revealing his face, he growled out, "It was a nice story you wove, old man. Even if every detail was wrong," and paid the tiger no further mind as he passed by toward the door.
The tiger watched him move, startled by the harsh criticism, but was soon distracted by another coughing fit. By the time he recovered, there was nothing left but a swinging door. With a shrug, he sat down at a table to get some dinner of his own.
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Outside the town's prison, a pair of lithe chain mail armored cheetahs stood silently at the gates as they kept watch. The prison was a smallish stone main building surrounded by large gray stone walls and placed next to the much larger town hall. Nothing any bigger was needed as the town was next to the borders of both Bruill and the Gray, and as such was not heavily populated. Most preferred to live as far as possible from the supposedly haunted lands. The courtyard inside the area was well lit, lined by a series of magically powered torches that burned without needing physical fuel.
Both guards stood at attention and crossed their spears as a short, rotund, shrouded figure approached from the darkness.
"Identify yourself!" shouted one guard as the other watched on.
The intruder sighed and lowered his hood, revealing an obviously scaly, draconic visage. He had a pair of long ram's horns curled around his long pointed ears. A strip of brown fur ran from the tip of his pointed snout to his forehead where it spread out into a full head of short, ruffled, brown hair. The rest of his face was covered in dark green scales with a lighter green appearing on his chin. A pair of bright red feline eyes stared back at the cheetahs, looking none to pleased at being stopped.
The guard that spoke balked being stared at by the intimidating, even if small, dragon. "Ah, uh, Master Quail, I'm sorry, I didn't recognize you with the cloak up."
"Yes, I decided to take in some local color while waiting for you to get prepared and thought it best to not stand out. I trust the prisoners are ready?"
"Of course, sir. I'll take you right to them." The other guard remained behind as they headed inside. As they walked, the cheetah added, "This is just a standard job, interrogate then break the both of them and-"
"Both? I was told this was a solo job."
"Uh, no sir, we caught two intruders from Bruill trying to sneak in along the border to the Gray... That should have been communicated to you..."
"Well, it wasn't. I only prepared for one, so I guess you'll have to keep the other as is. And I'll be expecting the full sum for handling both."
"Yes... Of course, sir. Here we are." The cheetah unlocked a cell door and allowed the dragon inside before locking it behind him.
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Inside the dank dungeon cell lit by a single dim torch sat the two prisoners, a gray wolf and a black jackal tied to a pair of rough wooden chairs. Both wore the simple tattered clothes gifted them by the prison, which did little to protect against the chilly air. The skinny jackal openly shivered while waiting, just as much out of fear as a reaction to the cold. Next to him, the tall, muscular, proud gray wolf sat completely still, stoically refusing to show their captors any kind of weakness. The sound of the door being unlocked got their attention, their ears standing up and swiveling toward the sound.
The wolf lowered his voice and growled to the jackal, "Remember your oath, boy. Speak one word to these bastards and when we get out of this I'll kill you myself." The jackal gulped and nodded while shivering even harder than before. As the dragon entered the room the wolf looked confused, as if he was trying to remember something. "You... you're Quail the Breaker, aren't you?"
Quail cocked his head to the side, surprised that the wolf seemed to know him. "Yes, I go by that sometimes... I'm sorry, have we met?"
"No, but I've heard the stories about you from other officers. You're working for the cats now? Damned traitor!"
To the jackal's surprise, the dragon merely scoffed at the insult, not seeming to mind at all. "Traitor? That's cute, I'm afraid you must be confused. I'm a mercenary, I care for your nation only so much as I'm paid to. I've never been loyal to anyone but myself and my own, at least not for some time. If your people thought anything else about our dealings, well, that's your own fault. That said, I was surprised to see a wolf of your station like this, I didn't know that they had been reduced to sending members of noble families on scouting missions. You did mention your family name was Graff, yes? They got much was correct?"
The wolf held his tongue, not wanting to give the bastard any more information than needed. If the legends about the diminutive dragon were true he was not to be taken lightly. He appeared fairly recently, offering his skills as an interrogator in exchange for various luxuries. No one knew exactly what he did, as he didn't allow observers, but he always got results and had a reputation for leaving his victims... changed. Changed in a way that made him especially popular among slave masters. The wolf knew that if he wanted to get through this, he had to be strong and keep from breaking. If anyone could beat the dragon it was him. His wimp of a partner, however, was going to be a liability.
Quail pulled a chair from the corner and sat down in front of the prisoners, keeping his eyes on them the whole time, sizing them up. He could only completely break one, so, between Mr. Confidence and the shaking runt next to him, it was an easy choice.
"Okay, I don't like being away from home any longer than I need to be, so let's get started. I'll give you both the same deal I offer everyone before we get to that though. Tell the cats what you know and I'll tell them you cooperated and ask to have you released." The jackal looked like he was about to speak up, but the wolf staring daggers silenced him immediately. "No one ever takes me up on that. Oh well."
In a lightning fast motion, the rotund dragon grabbed the wolf's chin with a green scaled hand, went snout to snout with him, and locked eyes. The jackal didn't have a good perspective from where he was sitting, but dragon's pupils appeared to fade away while the rest of his eyes flashed a rapid rainbow of colors. The wolf initially struggled, but after a couple minutes all emotion and resistance fell from his face, slowly replaced by a wide drooling smile. By the time the dragon released his muzzle the jackal no longer recognized his partner, he was... he was gone.
Wordlessly, the dragon cut the ropes holding the wolf to his chair and looked over to the jackal. "I'll get to you in a bit. It's been a while, and there's something else I'd like to take care of. He walked over to a pile of straw next the wall, clearly meant to act as a bed, and plopped onto his rear. To the jackal's surprise, he opened the front of his pants and patted his crotch. The changed wolf happily ran over at the signal, wasting no time as he lapped at the large scaly balls and furred sheath.
"Wh-what did you do to him?... Did you... did you erase his mind somehow?" asked the jackal, clearly trembling.
"No, I didn't erase his mind so much as I hid it and replaced it with a preferable one. He's still in there somewhere watching himself do this, and he'll be in there watching himself do it for a good long time once he's sold to a brothel, or whatever the cats have planned."
Aghast at the unexpected turn of events, the jackal couldn't tear his eyes away as his superior knelt before this fat dragon and gleefully serviced him. A pointed pink cock was pushing its way out of the plump sheath as the wolf worked, quickly reaching its full foot long length. The massive tapered and ridged shaft looked completely out of place on such a small creature, dragon or not. As soon as it was fully erect the wolf placed his mouth on the tip and began working it down into his throat. Over in his chair, the jackal was startled by a sudden stirring in his own loins.
"Y-y-you mean you hypnotized him? How?" asked the jackal, flat out terrified at the effortless show of dominance and power he saw before him. Without even a snap of the dragon's fingers, his partner had been reduced to a cock-frenzied breeding slut.
"That's a crude way to describe it. simply put, I'm a mage, and my specialty is mind control. I entered his mind, shattered what I found, swept it under the rug, and replaced it with something more..." Quail pat the wolf's head as his lips made contact with the base of his cock, loving the feeling and appreciating the bulge showing through the tight throat "...useful."
"That was magic? But... but you didn't cast anything! You didn't say anything or use any reagents! You just looked at him and he broke, how's that possible? How could you rewrite a person so easily?"
The wolf eagerly forcing his cock down his gullet almost made Quail miss the question. He simply gave the jackal an unsettling toothy grin and answered, "I've been at this a long time, and skill comes with experience. I suppose I've gotten rather powerful over the years." He looked down at the wolf who was still gagging on his huge shaft. "That's good enough, other side now."
At his new command the wolf released the shaft with a loud squelch and scrambled to his feet. The tattered rags that passed as his pants hit the floor exposing his own erect cock. The wolf turned to face away from the dragon and squatted over his hips. He carefully aimed the dragon's hard saliva-coated meat into his tailhole as he lowered himself, whimpering quietly as he was slowly but surely spread open. The jackal turned his head to the side, ashamed of how turned on he was getting seeing his bastard of a partner brought so low.
"So, anyway, back to business. Your friend here has me in a pretty good mood, so I'll do you a kindness and make the same offer from before. Tell them what they want, and I'll tell them to let you go. I could go spelunking in his mind for the info, of course, but I'd rather avoid the hassle if possible." He grunted as the wolf began to hit some resistance about halfway down. The wolf kept going, using gravity to drive himself further onto the throbbing dick. "I recommend you take the deal, you probably won't want my cock in your mouth after where it's been, even if it won't really be you doing it."
Tears filled the jackal's eyes as he processed his choices, either to betray his homeland, or be made into a whore like the wolf. He never wanted any of this... He wasn't a fighter, but was conscripted into the wolven army simply because he had a talent for stealth and speed. Figuring the dragon was going to get what he wanted either way, he made the only decision that could possibly benefit him at all.
"Alright... alright... I'll tell you everything I know, troop positions, ambush plans, everything. I don't know much but it... it's yours."
"Excellent!" Quail snapped his fingers and the ropes holding the jackal flared into ash. He tossed a piece of graphite and a parchment roll on the ground at the jackal's feet. "Write up what you know while I finish with your friend here."
"H-how are you able to keep talking AND using magic while he's doing... that?"
Quail snickered and responded, "Experience again, I suppose. With enough practice and training you eventually learn it's easy to compartmentalize things. Now get to work, I don't have all night." The jackal did as commanded, grabbing the graphite and giving away all of the secrets he knew.
Happy that his little trick worked, Quail focused on the wolf working his way down his shaft. The muscular rump was no more than an inch from the base of his cock, the tailhole spread wider than it had ever been before. The wolf's tongue was hanging out the side of his mouth, drenching one knee in drool as he leaned forward, his own hard prick slapping against his belly. With one final push shoved the last inch inside himself, resting a moment while sitting directly on the scaly pelvis underneath. He shifted slightly, dropping to his hands and knees and began pounding his backside up and down as quickly as possible.
The squelching sounds from their fucking and the twin moans were a tremendous distraction to the jackal. He focused instead on writing out the information,briefly glancing over to see the dragon relaxing back on his elbows, eyes closed and a wide grin across his serpentine face. One thought jumped out at him while writing, that once he hands this information over, he can't go home. He'll be killed on sight as a traitor, and rightly so, but what else could he do? Better that than life as a thrall of the cats.
As he wrapped finished writing, he looked over to see the wolf still furiously pounding his ass down onto the dragon's cock, suddenly leaning back and shooting a stream of cum arcing onto the floor. The dragon had obviously finished inside him at some point, leaving a gooey white puddle on the ground below where his balls were dangling out of his pants. The wolf dismounted and knelt down, immediately lapping the pooled cum off the floor and wagging his tail.
Sighing softly, the dragon cleaned his shaft with the wolf's discarded pants before asking the jackal, "Finished?" The jackal frantically nodded, wanting to leave the place as soon as possible. Quail grabbed the paper and looked it over before approving its content with a slight nod. "Alright then, I'll pass this along. Now, I have a bit of bad news..." A familiar feeling of dread hit the jackal, not liking where this was going. "See, I'm going to tell the cats to let you go as promised, but they almost certainly will decline. You'll be headed to the slave pens same as your friend, and that brings me to the second point. I bluffed a bit with being able to break you and all that. Doing a complete mental rewrite takes a lot of power, and thanks to their stupidity I only prepared for one, so you'll be going in there fully aware and unbroken. I don't envy the road you have ahead of you. Good luck, anyway." He walked to the door about to knock for the guard to let him out.
So much for his plans, thought the jackal as he rushed to think of an out, some possible way that he could escape and not be killed or made into a sex slave. Some ending that didn't feature either his head on a pike or his mouth around some wealthy cat's cock, but he was coming up short. Without thinking he blurted out the only option the had a remote possibility of a happy ending.
"PLEASE TAKE ME WITH YOU!"
Quail stopped in his tracks just short of summoning the guard. He looked at the jackal with an expression of utter confusion. It seemed the world still held some surprises after all. "I'm afraid I don't think I heard you right..."
The jackal fell to his knees at the dragon's feet, begging with his hands clasped together. "I can't go into one of the cat's slave camps, I've heard what they do in there, I'd sooner die. And I can't go home even if that was possible, I'm dead for telling you everything. Please let me go with you, I can make myself useful. I had some basic magic classes too, I can learn, maybe I could be your apprentice! I'll do anything, just... just please help me..."
"You don't know anything about me, boy. You don't know following me would be any better than being a slave for the cats."
"I'm willing to take that risk, sir."
Quail let out a heavy sigh. "I'll admit you have me at something of a disadvantage here. I've never had an apprentice before, and no one's ever asked. You sure that's what you'd really want?"
"I think it's the only real choice I have, sir."
Quail had to admit he read nothing but sincerity coming from the jackal, that was different unto itself. Usually he got simple brutish warrior types trying to threaten or bribe him like the cumsucking wolf surely would have. Once faced with the reality of their situation even the most stoic sort was quick to grovel and beg, but this jackal just seemed... different. He was cowardly, sure, but given the situation he was in, it was certainly understandable, and just because he was like that now didn't mean it couldn't be overcome. Perhaps he deserved a shot, if nothing else, it might be fun to find out what an apprentice could do. Besides, it shouldn't be hard to get the cats to let him keep the jackal if he gave them a discount.
"Alright. I'll take you along as my apprentice, but understand that there will be no failure, no washing out. I own you from this point on, if you try to escape I'll sell you right back to the highest bidder, understood?"
Despite the warning, a feeling of relief washed over the jackal, he couldn't believe his gambit worked. He was headed for an uncertain future, but that was far preferable to his other options.
"Well, come along then, boy. Let's get going." Quail knocked on the door to summon a guard and rested against the wall while waiting. The guard returned shortly, opening the door for the dragon who handed him the jackal's parchment and walked out. He then stopped the jackal as he tried to follow and tried to shut the door before the dragon held it open with one hand..
"The boy's coming with me, son, I've decided to keep him," said Quail with a small amount of irritation.
"Uh... no, you can't take the prisoner. He's already been promised to one of the princes who had an immediate interest in him." The jackal shuddered at the thought he had already been reserved as a slave. The dragon visibly twitched before grabbing a leather strap on the cheetah's armor and pulling him to his knees with a startling show of strength. He went directly face to face with the surprised cat and smacked his spear aside.
"I can't, can I? Do you think you can stop me?" The cheetah went limp in the dragon's grip, openly terrified of his wrath despite dwarfing his assailant.
"N-n-no, but I can't let you-" The dragon effortlessly tossed him aside against a wall where he fell to the ground out cold. He headed briskly to the entrance, the nervous jackal following closely behind. As they exited the prison's main building they were stopped by the other guard.
"Sir? You can't bring the prisoner out here! Where's-"
"He tried to stop me from bringing my new apprentice with me. If you aren't so foolish, I recommend you see to him and let us be on our way."
The guard wordlessly dropped his spear and ran inside, leaving the two to make their way to the prison's outer gate.
As they made their way through the rest of the town, Quail broke the silence by grimly saying, "You better be worth my while, boy. If the prince he mentioned is the one I'm thinking of, I just burned a major bridge."
"I'll do my best, sir."
The remained quiet the rest of the way out. The jackal stayed close to Quail, not wanting to attract any more attention than necessary, though the dragon didn't seem to be bothered either way. It was late enough that no one else was on the streets to pester them, or perhaps his new master's presence was enough to ward them away. In either case, it wasn't long until they made it to the dragon's cart, surprisingly driven by magical force instead of horses, and were on their way into the countryside.
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The journey was a quiet one, mostly since the stress from the past few days put the jackal completely under. By the time he awoke he was shocked to see a dead, barren expanse stretching out in every direction. At some point they had entered the Gray! How could the dragon have been so careless? He sat up in the cart grabbing the dragon's arm and shouted "We have to get out of here! Do you know where we are?"
"Of course, we're on the way to my home."
"We're in the middle of the Gray! No one who enters here ever leaves!"
"Yes, I am well aware."
"You aren't afraid of being killed?"
"It wouldn't do me much good to kill myself, now would it?" The dragon softly chuckled, not taking his eyes off the road.
"I don't... what do you mean?"
"Who do you think's responsible for the disappearances? These are my lands, my birthright, as such, anyone who trespasses is mine. And to answer your next question the land is full of magical snares, someone triggers one, they'll be staying put until I can retrieve them. And no, I don't eat people, surprisingly the legends about dragons are mostly lies."
"So what happens to the ones you capture?"
"You'll see." Quail punctuated his statement with an unsettling smile making the jackal sit quietly for the rest of the journey.
Before long the ruins of a great city appeared in the distance, clearly having been destroyed several centuries ago. The cart made its way along a winding road to a shattered tower and slowed to a stop outside.
"This is your home?"
"My home, my world, my seat of power, whatever you want to call it. Come along now, boy."
They passed under a broken archway, neither tall enough to need to duck, and continued down a winding staircase into darkness.
"I'm twenty, you know. I'm an adult, not a child."
"Everything's relative. Actually, on that note, what was your family name? You were only listed as Vandor."
"I'm a jackal, the wolves don't allow lesser races to have family names... it's just Vandor."
"Right, the damned wolves again. You'd think I wouldn't forget how the ruling classes like to treat 'lesser species', as they say. Well, if you like, since you're now my apprentice you can take on my last name."
"Vandor Quail? I... don't know. Maybe I'll get used to it...." A loud laugh from the dragon startled him, almost making him stumble down the unending stairs.
"Quail isn't my real name, of course. It was an insult the first person that saw me used that I adopted for use in the outside world." They reached the bottom of the staircase and emerged into a dark, empty room.
"What's your real name then?" After asking his question the jackal was hit by a wave of energy like walking through a lightning strike, making him dizzy and sick to his stomach. After reorienting himself he looked around to see that they were no longer in that dark tower, but instead in a verdant field at the foot of a massive golden city. To his side he noticed that Quail had become engulfed in flames from whatever hit them. In a panic he tore his shirt off, desperately trying to help put out the fire. The shirt instantly burned to ash, but the flames soon fell away on their own revealing a proud, hulking, muscular dragon in the place of his short, chubby master. The face was a dead giveaway that it somehow was still Quail staring back at him. He saw the same telltale serpentine grin as the changed dragon stood fully up to his full 7 foot height.
"My real name is Velliek. Arundo Velliek. And welcome to my home."