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Demons. Scarcely anyone out there would doubt the scourge they could be on the world. Creatures born of chaos, the embodiment of it, laying waste to the structure of society and nature, defiling it and corrupting it. While there may have been a few here and there with more benevolent inclinations, or at least not malevolent ones, most of those who came to tread upon the earth cared for nothing other than creating more chaos. They attracted a certain element to them, mortals who desired power and came to worship them as the path to what they wanted. They came in many shapes and forms, most of which were easily distinguishable - demons and those who soaked up demonic corruption rarely cared to hide their true nature.

Still, one rarely expected a plant.

The monstrous, corrupted flower that they were fighting, known as the demon rafflesia, didn't care what they expected. It didn't really care for anything - demonic or not, it was still a plant, it operated on the instinct of its heritage combined with the demonic instinct of chaos. And right now its spiky vines and toxic pollen bursts were proving a daunting threat to the group trying to do some impromptu gardening.

“I can't get to it from here!" Kuron's sixth attempt to charge in and whack the body of the demon rafflesia with his oversized axe had just been rebuffed by another cloud of pollen. “One good hit and I know I could take it out, but that damn poison!"

“Whoever brought this here knew what they were doing!" Alinia fired off another arrow, wreathed in flames helpfully provided by Phrenn, but even with the direct hit it barely seemed to register and the fire quickly sputtered. Beside her, Alekides swung his sword to try a cutting ice wave, but it too seemed to do little. “We're barely getting through at all!"

“Someone went to a lot of trouble to shore up those resistances," Phrenn remarked with a scowl. “We need that heavy blow, but if we can't drive those vines away-"

“DOWN!" Wickly's cry came just in time, and they all ducked down as a spiked vine swung over them, trying to take them out. It scattered poisonous pollen all around them, and Alinia had to quickly evoke a protective spell to keep them from falling prey. They quickly scrambled back up, and the two spellcasters tried some other elemental blasts, none of which made any impact. Things were getting dicey, the fight had been dragging on and the plant seemed immune to fatigue as well, but the party wasn't. They needed to get an opening in there for Kuron, but all efforts seemed to meet with failure…

“Heads up!" Suddenly a ruddy-orange kobold leapt onto a branch above the plant and hurled something down at it. It shattered and exploded into a thick, acidic cloud, eliciting a nasty screech from the demon rafflesia. It starting whipping at the cloud, exposing the body of the plant for the first time. Kuron didn't hesitate, and the seventh charge proved more fruitful than the last, his axe cleaving into the plant and almost bisecting it. A whipping vine knocked him back, drawing some blood as the thorns gashed him, but the damage had already been done, and the demon rafflesia soon fell limp, all vines going inert and the acid starting to eat at the foliage.

The kobold hopped from the tree branch to the ground, panting hard but standing tall as a kobold could as he drew a sigil of light in the air with his finger, which shone and accelerated the breakdown of the plant. “Gods...I'm still not used to this. That was way too scary...I'm so glad it worked, though."

“Dhavri, I could kiss you," Wickly said with a wide grin. “That was perfect!"

“Ah, that's fine, I'm good. I mean, it was Kuron's axe that really did the trick…"

“That axe wasn't getting anywhere until you pulled that out," the minotaur replied, rebuffing the deflection back to Dhavri. “Did you cook that up on the fly, or was that another 'just in case' typa thing?"

“I guess more...uh...the first?" The blushing kobold rubbed the back of his head. “I saw your spells and stuff weren't working, and thought maybe some weed killer would help…figured it was better than sitting useless in the back..."

“It was just what we needed," Alinia affirmed with a warm smile. “Thank you, Dhavri...I know it's not easy getting out in front there. But that was quick thinking at such an important time, we owe you for that."

“Oh, you know, just put it towards my many-times-over life debt to YOU guys. But, uh, is this normal for this place?"

“Not at all," Phrenn replied darkly. “A demon rafflesia this close to Senedril is most certainly cause for concern. We'll have to tell the town guard and be on the lookout for cultist activity. Especially given how hardy that plant was...it's not common to run across one that's been designed to resist magic so well."

“Maybe the experts we're going to will be able to tell us about what's going on in the city?" asked Alek.

“I certainly hope so," Alinia replied. “Let's get in and find out."

———

The city of Senedril. Built around the largest river on the continent of Rowale, it was a center of activity far beyond its own spread. You could see all kinds of people there, for better and for worse. It had faced its fair share of trouble, but had weathered it all and kept on bustling in spite of that. If you wanted a place with an extensive market, fantastic scholars, powerful guilds, and plenty of intrigue, Senedril was the place to be.

For Alinia's crew, it was quite a bit overdue. At one point it had been their next destination, following their victory over the Demon Sorcerer of Seblum Keep. They had recovered a gem that exuded a considerable power from the keep, and it had been their intention to try to find out what it was, and whether they could make use of it. But fate had had other things in store for them…

Back at that time, of course, they had been headed by Brunor. A thick-headed human man with far more brawn than brains, a self-alleged hero of destiny with a supposedly mythical blade of power, his arrogance was only matched by his crudeness, and trouble had always been quick to find him and put him, and anyone around, in more mortal peril than even their kind of adventurer normally faced. Somehow they managed, no matter how hard it was, but other factors led to a good deal more discontent. It had all come to a head shortly after their victory over the Demon Sorcerer - a drunken scheme by Brunor to get Alinia to sleep with him backfired spectacularly on him, leading to a night of passion between her and Alekides. When he tried to cast out the lizardman from the group, it backfired again, and it ended up being Brunor who split. Everyone was in agreement that the party had definitely gone through addition by subtraction, and it was safe to say that none of them were missing the buffoon - while they still faced plenty of danger, it was much more their own choosing and there wasn't an idiot to babysit to keep from getting into greater trouble.

With that change in party had come a change in destination. Concerned that Brunor might try to lie in wait for them at Senedril, they had shifted course to go meet with the Ordovic Kobolds. A reclusive clan said to be involved in heavy engineering as well as demon suppression, they had seemed a good potential resource for trying to get some insight into the increased demon activities around the continent as of late...but Brunor wouldn't hear of it. To him, the 'lizard rats' were useful only as practice for his sword, and the idea of trying to learn something from them was almost blasphemous. But he was gone now, and with Alinia in charge, it was the natural next course of action.

And it had turned out to be quite the detour. What was intended to be a short trip ended up taking almost a year in the end - from quelling a crisis at Ordovic to hunting down a sect of demon worshippers who had abducted several of the kobolds to a long underground excursion uncovering the lair of an aberration being grown by the exiled ex-chieftain of Ordovic, requiring a wide-spanning search for artifacts to help build into a machine to destroy said aberration, with dozens of side quests and ample interference along the way. It had culminated in a desperate battle against a demon-worshipping business magnate, Grothil Khur, who had orchestrated everything in an attempt to corrupt the clan, enslave them, and use them to build an unstoppable machine powered by the aberration to lay waste to everything on Rowale and ravage the land to perfection for demonic infestation. The magnate had summoned a powerful demon beast as a last effort to keep himself from facing the music, but it had turned into his own demise as the beast turned on him, allowing them to dispel both it and Grothil Khur and finish the madness.

Which had hinged on their greenest party member. Dhavri was one of the Ordovic kobolds, an alchemist, engineer, and 'chaos breaker' - their term for a fighter against demons. Though the last title was one granted well after they had met - or rather, rescued him from the ravaging beasts that had been let loose in Ordovic to cover the slavers who had taken several of them. Dhavri's sister among them, which was what led to his joining with them the first time. After freeing the kobolds and returning them, they had parted ways, but only briefly, as over the next couple months they had to rescue him no fewer than six times, whether from being food for the aberration or random beasts or a direct demon attack. Talented as he was at his skills, he was not a fighter by nature and trouble seemed to have a knack for finding him.

But where he was strong, he was invaluable. They had needed him to come along to find the parts needed for the machine to destroy the aberration - none of the party had enough knowledge of machines, and Dhavri's knowledge was incredibly extensive. Some careful cultivation of confidence had revealed a knack for improvising weaponry on the fly, and he seemed to often be able to find just what he needed in that enchanted belt of his. And over time his true heritage began to shine through - one of the lineages of the chaos breakers, with the natural magical talents for dispelling, repelling, and destroying demons. It was a discovery he had in no way been ready for, raising serious questions about his parentage for which no answers were to be found there, but he bore through it all to come through in the most crucial moments, including the banishing of the summoned demon beast back to whence it came to put the drawn-out ordeal to its ultimate conclusion.

Grothil Khur's demise, however, brought with it a new batch of mystery objects to add to their collection. The Ordovic kobolds had identified the jewel from the Demon Sorcerer, as well as a pendant found in the magnate's domain, but several other objects were found that were much less readily identified. In particular was a staff that Grothil Khur had squirreled away behind tight security, which had a design even the kobolds had never seen before. Thus, it was off to Senedril once more, in the hopes that scholars of the most cutting-edge schools of knowledge would have more luck. And Dhavri was right there with them, insistent on repaying the many rescues as well as gaining more knowledge to bring back to the Ordovic and help them maintain their edge against demons. And so far, the kobold a fraction of the size of the former 'leader' had proven a far superior asset to him.

At long last, they had reached their destination...and each of them was hoping that it would lead to a nice break. As important as all the events were, as critical as they had been to saving so many, as much as it had brought them together and given them new strength, it had been downright exhausting. With any luck, they'd have a few days to themselves, a chance to destress and decompress and not have to fight any battles for a bit. And that started at the inn, where the slightly ragged sextet sought lodging with the hopes that it would be for a while.

“If you're hoping for separate rooms, I'm afraid I've got bad news for you." The proprietor looked a touch nervous - whether because the prospective guests looked somewhat unkempt or because they looked powerful or because there was a rather not-pleasant scent from their recent clash was impossible to discern. “We're pretty well booked. We have three available."

“Doesn't sound like a problem to me," cracked Wickly. “I'd say we pair off pretty nicely."

“Says you," griped Dhavri. “I hope these earplugs I'm working on are gonna do the trick."

“Hey, you got me snoring less than before," Kuron grunted.

“Less is not none. And it reverberates when it's in an enclosed space."

“Reverbawhats?"

“We'll take the three," Alinia confirmed, with a slight smile at Alek, who returned it eagerly. She laid out some coin for the proprietor, who seemed much more relieved at the acceptance. “Are they ready now? Because we could do with some freshening up."

“They are. It's the last three rooms on the left. Thank you for your patronage."

———

Three rooms happened to work out pretty well for the gang of six, and not just because of the math. The pairings also worked out properly - Wickly and Phrenn taking one as usual, the big Kuron and tiny Dhavri fitting well in another, and Alinia and Alekides in the last. And if anyone had been looking forward to some peace as much as those two, it was hard to imagine.

“When was the last time we had some time to ourselves like this?" Alinia asked as they settled into the room.

“With or without some horrible threat looming over our heads?"

“Without I already know, so go with."

Alek chuckled. “I think we had a night two or three months ago. It has been hard to get away, hasn't it?"

“Not that I wanted to be too far in the worst of times. It's certainly not easy. But you're worth the wait."

“As are you, my princess."

“Oh, getting formal, are we?" Alinia poked Alek on the snout playfully. “And here I thought we had gotten past titles."

“Says the one calling me her prince."

“I can call you many more scurrilous things if you'd like."

“Whatever you call me is fine, as long as I'm making you cry it out in pleasure."

The two embraced and kissed, the first in too long. Whether it was necessary or not, they had agreed that it was better decorum not to be flaunting such things while in the presence of the rest of the party. That didn't mean acting like they weren't in a relationship, but getting handsy or more in front of others didn't seem terribly appropriate to either of them. Of course, it was far more often that they were out in the wild than in a more private setting, so the chances to get physical with each other were unfortunately hard to find. They managed here and there, but it was definitely their fervent hope that Senedril would offer them an extended opportunity to enjoy themselves to the fullest.

And they were getting a quick start at it. Clothing and armor were hitting the floor in record time, cast off without much thought or care. It was a somewhat freeing feeling, they didn't get to really relieve themselves of their gear entirely unless they were inside in a safe place, and they could go for weeks without being in such a situation. Such comforts were a small sacrifice for better ability to fight at a moment's notice, of course, and they'd needed to make some quick turnarounds from wake-up to battle in their times to validate that. But in a quiet place like this, they could indulge in a lot of things they couldn't normally, and that was one of the perks.

Alek was wearing less, and so got to full freedom first. He stretched out his body, his toned muscular frame on full display for Alinia, who was trying to get as much of an eyeful as she could while still finishing her own task. “GodDAMN, it's nice to feel the air on me properly. I forget sometimes what it feels like to not have all that weight on me…sometimes I wonder if Kuron has the right idea with the loincloth and belt thing."

“I could see you in a get-up like that," remarked Alinia with a thrum of approval. “Maybe we should get you outfitted that way."

“You think? I dunno if I'd actually be good in it, though…protective spells or not, I don't fancy the idea of weapons hitting my body like that."

“Well, perhaps not for combat, but maybe you'd enjoy it as casual wear. And it would give me a lot of chances to look at that handsome scaly form of yours."

“Tss. I think the locals might frown on me being so on display."

“Only because you make most men look inadequate in comparison." Now also nude, Alinia stepped up to Alek, rubbing his chest and holding herself close to him. “I could hardly fault them for their envy, you have so many gifts and you do so much good with them, it would be hard to compare favorably to you."

Alek hissed a bit as he drew Alinia to the bed, rubbing over her sides with his hands. “Speak for yourself. I'd say you'd be the first to be envied, radiantly beautiful and noble as you are."

“Yes, but it would be dreadfully more scandalous if I were to go out with only a loincloth. And I daresay I'd get much more of the wrong kind of attention."

“A pity, that. Though I think you're beautiful in whatever you wear, even modesty wouldn't downplay that."

“Charmer. To be honest, though, I rather like the idea of immodesty, even if only between us. I wouldn't be averse to indulging in some…skimpier wear for our more private times, you know? Something thin and revealing for each of us, allowing us to indulge in some fantasies together…"

“Is that so?" Alek couldn't really find anything disagreeable about that. “Maybe we'll have to find something along those lines while we're in Senedril. Later, though."

“Oh, goodness, yes, definitely later. Right now, you couldn't pull me away from you with all of Kuron's strength."

“Heh, why don't you show me what you'll do with that death grip?"

“Gladly." Alinia kissed Alek's face and then ran over it with a hand. “Why don't you lay back and let me show you exactly what I have in mind?"

Alek wasted no time with that, shifting and spreading himself out on the bed a bit, his cock already having started to evert from his slit. He had gotten more comfortable with asserting himself and taking the lead, but there was still something enjoyable about ceding that to Alinia, and she certainly enjoyed switching off as well. No matter what the position, he had but one duty - bring her to the most heavenly heights of bliss that he could. His own satisfaction came second in his eyes, though Alinia might have elevated it from her perspective - but then again, if he could make that his duty, she would have all the freedom to focus on her own priorities. And if those priorities were Alek, well, he was hardly going to complain.

He had just settled in when Alinia made her move, climbing over him and positioning herself above the sturdy reptilian body she craved, with her position inverted to his - his head under her eager nethers, her head above his growing shaft. Alek needed no prompting to know what he should be doing, and he grinned widely as he brought his hands up to her legs, maneuvering her into the perfect position. His long tongue darted out, lapping at her folds and drinking in the scent and taste of her, something that never ceased to work him up. It was even a little stronger than normal thanks to the recent excitement, which only added to his thrill.

Alinia was returning the favor, her mouth and one hand starting to work his shaft with a delicate yet insistent touch. He was a fair bit more than a mouthful for her, but she had tricks up her sleeve to help with that - such as a lightly vibrating touch that teased him oh-so-well, a warmth she could channel to spice things up, and a lot of tricky little touches that hit the spot perfectly for him, such as a naughty finger in his slit that made his loins clench. She was certainly superior to the males he'd fooled around with back in his village - they clearly didn't have the interest in the whole experience, they just wanted to get their rocks off. Well, maybe a couple of them were more thorough, but somehow they ended up in dedicated mateships rather quickly.

The more Alinia stimulated him, the more he tried to up his own game. His long tongue delved inside her, licking and slurping within her pussy and working that hot organ along her walls, lapping up her leakage with vigor. He had a few tricks of his own, too - command of the elements made for some good fun, he'd found. He could make his tongue hotter, almost blazing as he pushed it deep inside her, a stimulating fire that made her squirm. As one of his claw tips toyed with her clit, he sent a slight electric charge through it, eliciting a spasm from her that tried to trap his tongue deep inside. Her moans got louder as he kept at it, giving her his all to bring her closer to climax.

The sounds of lewdness got louder and wetter as they kept working each other to the breaking point, almost like it was a race to see who could bring the other to the finale first. It was quite the intense 'battle,' both of them at the tops of their games and slowly being worn into surrender. Alek seemed to have the edge, even though he was leaking he could feel and hear the change in Alinia that he'd learned to recognize as the prelude to her release. And he wasn't relenting at all, intent on giving her the hardest push he could…but then he felt Alinia's mouth suddenly dive down on his shaft, pushing her lips and teeth down below his spiky ring and then quickly pulling up on it, something she'd never done with him before and that he was utterly unprepared for. One thing Alek was aware of - that was a VERY good trigger for him, as close to a signal to his brain to start shooting right that second as he had, and he didn't even have time to try to hold back. A fierce hiss of ecstasy escaped him as his cock pulsed, bursts of his cream being fed right into Alinia's mouth and throat, which she was frantically trying to swallow fast enough to keep up with it, unable to pull off immediately. The sudden rush also got Alek letting his elementally-embellished tongue and claw go a little wilder, which soon brought him his second-place finish as Alinia spasmed suddenly around his tongue and started gushing all over him; he slurped up as quickly as he could, but there was plenty of her wetness escaping and coating his muzzle and neck and chest. He couldn't hear much due to how occupied Alinia's mouth and throat were, but the feeling of her body was proof enough that she was loving it, and that brought him a rush of satisfaction almost as good as the orgasm he was still under.

It took a fair bit for the two of them to settle down, leaving them both panting at a highly successful pleasure session. Alek's spikes soon softened enough for Alinia to be able to pull away, and she was heaving pretty hard, coughing slightly. “Goodness…I thought I was ready for that."

“More ready than I was…" sighed Alek placidly. “That was quite the trick, Alinia. I thought you weren't going to try something like that, it's a pretty daunting challenge."

“It's a lot, but I can go that far at least. Though your virility is quite the task to keep up with...much as I enjoy it, I'm not quite made to drink so quickly, I think."

“Hard to do, I can hardly keep up with you, too. Though all that means is that your scent lingers around my nose longer, so not really a problem as far as I'm concerned."

“At least we're on fairly even ground…I'll never get tired of that tongue, heated or not." Alinia turned around fully over Alek, setting herself in position for what was coming next. “I hope I didn't wear you out too much, though."

“As long as it's been?" snickered the lizardman. “I've built up plenty of desire to unleash, and you always bring out my best. The way you're trying to straddle me like a prize wyvern, I'm guessing you're still eager to hold the reins."

“Keep talking like that and I might be tempted to make that literal."

“Add it to the list." Alek's hands went to Alinia's legs, helping to keep her stable as she took hold of his member and lined him up with her entrance. She gave Alek a sultry wink before sinking down on him, moaning as the lizard's dick stretched her open for the first time in too long. Alek's own moan was just as loud as he felt those hot, wet depths claim his tool and massage it with its excellent muscles. “Gods, Alinia, you feel so incredible every time…"

“Likewise," Alinia replied breathlessly. “We REALLY need to do this more…" She leaned over a bit, bracing her hands on his body as she started to rise and fall on him, taking it easy to start as she got used to the stretch again. A bit of her natural magic helped ease the process of adjusting, letting herself relax and open for him in ways that her body was reluctant to do even as it craved that attention. Alek didn't try to press the issue, letting her go at her own pace and enjoying what he was getting; he was fully in agreement that they needed to have this experience more often than they got to. Hopefully Senedril would let them catch up a bit.

Faster and harder Alinia worked him, bringing herself up higher and dropping lower, pushing the limits of what she could take right off, as she always loved to. The bumpy shaft rubbed against her intimate parts with scintillating sensations, and that spiky ring dragged against her walls and lit them up with raw delight. She was breathing hard, but Alek could feel the warmth of some of her magic, ensuring that she wouldn't be running out of steam before she was good and ready. He was moving a little bit himself now, gently pushing up with his hips to match her on occasion, using his strong tail as leverage to keep from throwing himself or her off balance. His cock was slipping in and out with wet slurps, the pair leaking enough pre to soak the bed underneath them quite thoroughly.

It was when Alinia shifted position and started to really drive down on him that Alek knew they were heading for the finale. And this was when he started to really put something into it, bucking his hips up into the human and trying to drive himself in deeper, taking some of the demand off of her as they pushed to finish things. His cock was hitting inside her, wanting to go deeper but being just held out, but Alinia was working to open herself up to him, trying to accommodate the lizardman as a female of his kind would more naturally. With enough stimulation, her magic would do the trick, but in the meantime she was crying out from the raw ravaging of her snatch, the fierce thrusting amping up every feeling to new highs.

As soon as she felt it, she didn't hesitate - suddenly Alinia dropped down hard, and Alek's cock pierced her to the core, her body finally meeting those scaly hips properly. A loud cry rang out from her as she came hard, gushing all over Alek; the reptilian warrior had just enough wherewithal to complete his own trigger, taking hold of her and pulling back, just enough to catch his ring and let that burst of bliss send him over the edge. His spunk shot out in thick gushes, rapidly filling Alinia up and leaking out around him along with her fluids, adding to the saturation on the bedcovers. At this point Alinia was toppling over, and he caught her and gently brought her down on top of him, the two embracing tightly as they rode out the waves of rapture together.

It didn't last quite as long this time, both of them a little more spent than before, but it was no less glorious than the first round, and by the time the high faded away they were both well and truly satiated. The two lay there, moaning and panting, somewhat disheveled but supremely satisfied, enjoying the warmth of each other's bodies. If this was what they could look forward to during their time off, it was going to be a VERY good break for both of them.

The next day found the party at the Neumosie Academy Of Artifacts, one of Senedril's premier learning and research institutions. If anyone was going to be able to provide insights into the artifacts that they'd found, it was them. What they didn't expect was for tensions to be fairly high when they got there - a lot of the people there looked harried and nervous, like something bad had happened or was about to happen. And as it turned out, the latter was mostly true.

“I apologize for how scattered things are." An elven male bowed to them as they approached - Dunheiver Melwickie, one of the chancellors of the academy, among the best in the field and without question the mind they wanted working on answering the questions they had. “We've had troubles in Senedril recently...demonic corruption is becoming more and more frequent outside the city, and more and more we think its source is within. The protectorate is trying to find the source but keeps coming up empty...but there's rumors all around that a cult is operating in the shadows, trying to ambush Senedril and turn it into a demonic enclave. Understandably, none of us want that."

“I simply don't understand what it is about demons and their craft that draw people's admiration," sighed Alek. “Setting aside the fact that the corruption takes control away from you, real power outdoes demonic power any day. We've laid low countless demons, worshippers, and corrupted..."

Dunheiver shook his head. “Foolish cravings for power without understanding of what it does, most of the time...but do not underestimate demonic power itself. The power of chaos is a vicious force...in the right hands, it could be wielded to devastating purpose. The fact that it is chaotic is our best advantage, it's easy to undermine the warped minds of its users that lack direction and purpose...but all it would take to harness its full deadliness is a little bit of order."

“Huh? Isn't order the, uh, opposite to chaos?" asked Kuron.

“Indeed. They are diametric opposites. But unlike most elemental opposites, order and chaos both thrive best when tinged with their counterparts. A perfectly ordered attack is precise and predictable, easily parried...but that precision with paired with a bit of unpredictability is immeasurably deadly. Likewise, the wild energy of chaos has great magnitude but no direction, diluting its force as it spreads uncontrollably...control and direct that spread, and all that force gets applied at just the right spot, like your axe to an unfortunate skull."

“Oof...good thing demons have no control."

“But those who try to harness the power think they do," chimed in Dhavri. “And one of these days, one of them might. That's good reason to be worried."

“Then we'd best get some answers soon," Alinia asserted. “And that's where you come in, professor...we've found some artifacts, and given where we recovered them from, we think they might have something to do with demons. Some of them have been identified, but others...even the Ordovic didn't know what they were."

“Goodness. It's troubling when the Ordovic are in the dark when it comes to demonic items. Let's see what we have here...oh, my." Dunheiver picked up the smoky red jewel, eying it with apprehension. “This thing is swirling with chaotic energy. If I'm not mistaken, a Sinistral Ruby. Used to channel and amplify chaotic energy, powering up demons and those corrupted. I haven't seen one this large before, though..."

“We recovered it from Seblum Keep," Phrenn explained. “The Demon Sorcerer was no doubt planning something unpleasant with it. Thankfully, said plans were derailed by an arrow of light to the face."

“Best shot I ever made," Alinia declared proudly.

“It's a good bet that he was intending to use it for a very powerful spell," Dunheiver said. “I've seen my share of Sinistral Rubies lately...the protectorate keeps seizing them from black market peddlers. No doubt someone here is trying to use them, and I fear that some must be making it through…"

“The Ordovic also identified this Pendant of Mirikare." Wickly pointed to the pendant that was laid on the table. “We found this in Grothil Khur's mansion, and they're pretty sure he was using it to feed some kind of demonic aberration. Though, I'm not all sure how that works."

“Oh, yes...I see now." Dunheiver carefully lifted the pendant, examining it closely. “Of course, they were absolutely correct. That's not what most know it for...it has empathic channeling properties, the wearer absorbs a little of the emotional state of people around them and takes on an amplified feeling of their own. Mirikare is a revered goddess of feelings, so it's a fitting name. These are used sometimes by spiritual leaders, fraudsters, political figures, anyone who wants to figure out what people are really feeling...but they're also popular among demons and corrupted, because they actually feed off of emotions."

“Oh, damn!" Dhavri's eyes went wide. “That's right! I forgot about that! Demons are partial empaths, they feel emotions from others and get stronger from them! That's why you're not supposed to go fight them in anger and why you have to try to keep calm when you face them!"

“Exactly. Though, the effect from a few people is usually not substantial, according to the rare demon that actually can be talked to...it's when you affect an entire town that they really get to drink it in. Of course, a very powerful emotion might be the exception to that...but these Pendants of Mirikare draw in emotion from a wider area and concentrate it, so if one were trying to feed some kind of demon or corruption, it would be a very useful tool."

“If we'd known about that…" Alinia shook her head. “But we didn't know until after we ended the threat, so I suppose it doesn't matter much. This staff, though...Grothil Khur had it locked away in a very secure area in his mansion. It had to have been incredibly important that either he have it or that no one else did. But the Ordovic said they had never seen its like before."

“Fascinating…" Cautiously Dunheiver lifted the staff and examined it carefully. “This...I don't know for sure, I will have to dig into the archives. But I believe this might be...hm. Or I thought, but something about it…"

“That's a whole lotta words to not say anything," Kuron remarked.

“Yes, yes, my apologies. I just think I understand why the Ordovic didn't know what this was. My initial impressions were that I vaguely thought I recognized this as a Staff of Alephoil's Judgment."

“Wait, what? Isn't that something used by angelic beings?" asked Alek.

“It is. That's one reason I'm hesitant to say for sure. Very few mortals could lay their hands on one of those. But if one did, that would be quite a bit of trouble for a demon worshipper or their demons...that might be why he had it. Or it might be that he was hoping to corrupt it and use it as a weapon against angels, since they are the native enemy of demons…"

“And no friend to mortals, either," Phrenn stated icily. “Their poison is no less toxic just because it has a different flavor. The empty shell of life they call paradise would be just as disastrous as the chaotic morass the demons bring…"

“But you have to admit, they're pretty effective at coming up with stuff to take demons out," Wickly pointed out.

“And ice cools a fire, but a frozen world would be just as dead as an infernal one."

“We've not many friends in angels, either, but they leave us alone because of our history against demons," agreed Dhavri. “Our clan certainly isn't as knowledgable about them, so I don't know that we'd recognize every angelic artifact…"

“You would probably know this one - it's made to weaken and dispel demons, it's incredibly powerful and requires little time to regain its full potent charge, and can be wielded by anyone, not just angels. I would be very surprised if they hadn't encountered one before, if they never had one. But something about the design...it doesn't seem right, it doesn't match what I remember. But it has been a while, so I need to go back into the archives and see what I can find."

“You think someone would make a fake Staff of Alephoil's Judgment?" Wickly sounded skeptical. “What, were they trying to fleece Grothil Khur? But I think he'd know before he bought, he sounded like a real skinflint."

“I could hardly speculate," replied Dunheiver with a shrug. “He must have seen something in it...and I sense some kind of energy within, though I couldn't tell you what it was without deeper testing. Then the question becomes, if it's not that, what is it? And why would someone interested in demonic power be so intent on holding on to it?"

“And I hope you'll be able to answer that question," finished Alinia with a nod. “We'll leave the artifacts in your care for now...please send a message when you have information for us."

“They shall be in the safest of hands here," the elf assured her. “I'll do everything I can. It's not every day I have a real mystery on my hands."

———

With their first order of business taken care of, the party set itself to intelligence gathering. Senedril's problems were largely similar to those of any larger community of intelligent beings, with the exception of the rise of demon activity. They had no leads to speak of, so the approach was standard fare: spread out and try to find anything suspicious to follow up on.

Three days after their meeting with Dunheiver, Alek was heading back to their inn, feeling mildly frustrated. His best lead had been more or less a dud - true, he'd uncovered a smuggler of exotic animals (and dangerous ones), but there was nothing at all demonic about any of it, unless you counted the temperament of the beasts. He doubted he was alone, either, they'd found surprisingly little from their scouring - lots of people knew about the demon troubles, but that was about the extent of their knowledge. He'd gotten the sense that lots of leads had already been pursued fruitlessly...it was unusual to have this much difficulty, usually there was some rumors that panned out or someone who seemed suspicious. Having no good clues was unusual, to say the least.

As he walked along the street, he suddenly slowed passing a particular building. A tavern...definitely not his usual haunt, but maybe it was worth a look. They went to a lot fewer bars and taverns since Brunor had left in his huff, at least as a full group - Kuron and Wickly went on their own from time to time, being the ones who enjoyed imbibing. Alek had at least tried some of the stuff out, but he still wasn't fond of the taste so he wasn't going to be tempted any time soon - which suited him fine, because magic and alcohol were a poor mix. He felt more comfortable when he wasn't around it.

Really, he felt more comfortable period - Brunor's presence had made the experience sour for a long time, and it was startling to him how quickly things eased up when he had gone. Not just because of Alinia's acceptance of him, either - Wickly and Phrenn had seemed rather ambivalent towards him before then as well, but afterwards it was plain to see that they were a lot more cordial with him. He'd never asked about it, but he got the feeling that they had been cooler just to avoid making Brunor angry; the warrior had always had a chip on his shoulder about how he was treated compared to Alek and Kuron. Without that hanging over their heads...Kuron had noticed it as well, and it had been good for him, too, because as mountainous as he was, the minotaur was actually pretty shy and awkward when it came to people, so having companions he could be at ease with was a great boon.

And if Kuron could be comfortable in a group, he could stand a few minutes on his own in a tavern, right? Kuron was fond of saying that the tavern was always the place to start, and he'd rather suspected that the minotaur had examined quite a few of them by now, but perhaps not this one today. Maybe...interesting characters tended to appear in taverns, alcohol had a tendency to loosen lips, and bartenders tended to hear more rumors and chatter than most other people. He wasn't sure he'd have as much luck if he wasn't buying something, but maybe he could just pay for the information, if there was any.

Alek's first impression was that it was pretty nice for a tavern. Pretty well lit, clean, it smelled fine, and it wasn't overrun by drunks - in fact there weren't many people there at all, though maybe that was just because of the time of day. Not that the ones who were there gave him a good feeling - there was a group of five hanging out by the back corner that made the term “shady" seem like a compliment. All of them were dressed darkly, either robes or armor, and they had sinister looks about them that told Alek he wanted to steer clear. So instead he headed for the bar, where the bartender was doing some cleaning and looked a lot more upstanding.

“Not often we get lizardfolk even in a city like Senedril," remarked the bartender, whose beard and stout form made him look almost like an oversized dwarf. “You be having anything?"

“Words, if that's all right."

“Only if they're the right words."

“I'm more interested in yours than you would be in mine."

“Ah, those kinds of words. I've gathered quite a few in my time. Nothing good in life comes free, though."

Well, it seemed like a chance worth taking. Alek fished out a couple coins and dropped them on the bar, about what he figured it was likely a drink cost. That seemed to satisfy the barkeep, who picked them up and pocketed them. “Ask away, scales."

Alek lowered his voice, hoping to keep the shady group from listening in. “I'm looking for anything that has to do with Senedril's recent demon troubles. Seems like not many people know anything about them, but I know someone has to. These things don't just crop up overnight and stay silent."

“They certainly don't. Whoever's behind it has been unusually quiet about it. But a few words have leaked out here and there, whispers from the shadows…maybe more from the people hunting them than anyone else, but it's probably your best shot. Apparently, whoever it is seems to have designs on summoning a demon prince."

That was certainly news that caught Alek's attention. Demon princes were not technically royalty, but instead got their title from their level of power, which exceeded that of your typical demon elite, which themselves were quite a bit stronger than the rank-and-file demons. The Demon Sorcerer was an example of one such elite, and he had been quite the match...a demon prince would be a nightmare, especially in a population center, the death and corruption would be catastrophic. “Any word on the nature of this demon prince?"

“None that's graced my ears. But word is there's a hunt for a vessel...someone to give birth to it."

“So it couldn't be easily banished...hm. That will give me something to look for…"

“Mind your tail, scales. Whoever's doing this means business...I'm sure they won't let you off easy if they find you're tailing them."

Alek nodded. “Used to that, but I'll watch myself. Thanks for the info-"

“OY! What are YOU doing here?!"

Alek whipped around, scarcely restraining himself from drawing his sword. Not that he didn't wish he had - that voice was FAR too familiar even after so long. Sure enough, the sneering face of Brunor was glaring down at him. “You!"

“Of course it's me! Who else could be this handsome and powerful?" Brunor looked almost exactly as he had at their parting, as unkempt as ever, though he seemed surprisingly sober for being in a tavern. “Much better than you, pitiful excuse for a miserable creature! Have they abandoned you like they should have?"

“No, they haven't. We're simply trying to gather information on something, easier to do in six places versus one." Alek hoped that would be vague enough to not give the big idiot any clear ideas.

“Shame, I thought they might have come to their senses! But no matter - I have a better party anyway! They're more powerful than any of you will ever be, and they know what kind of destiny awaits me!" To Alek's shock, Brunor marched back to the gang of shady characters hanging out in the back corner. He definitely hadn't been with them before, Alek would have noticed immediately...perhaps he'd been in the toilet, letting Alek be deceived into this unpleasant encounter.

“Heh, he looks like a right beast," said one of the robed characters with a sinister snigger that sent a chill down the lizardman's spine.

“What fool would follow this animal over someone like you?" chimed in another with the most audible derision possible. “This is the one who stole your woman?"

Brunor snorted. “He is! And I'm sure that bitch rues every day making that mistake! She could have had me! Throwing it all away for some worthless beastman, just one more reason she wasn't cut out for this!"

“Shut your trap." Alek found his tongue now - he could handle insults towards himself, but going after Alinia was out of bounds. “She couldn't be happier being away from a pathetic lump of flesh that treated her like garbage and acted like she had a duty to be your personal whore. In fact, we're all happier with you out of our lives. All you did was nearly get us killed time and again."

“What rubbish! I'm the hero of destiny! I can't ever lose! And I have a right to the woman, that's a hero's honor!"

“Quite right," said another of the robed figures. “Her failure to do as you commanded is proof of her weakness. Perhaps the lesson needs to be taught more convincingly."

Alek did his best to swallow down his nerves. This sounded like a threat to him...were they going to be coming after them? He didn't give himself good odds of coming out victorious against all of them by himself, so now was the time to disengage. “You'll keep your distance if you know what's good for you. Beyond that, I couldn't care less what you do." With that he turned and made for the doorway.

“That's right!" Brunor howled after him gloatingly. “Run away like the coward animal you are! You'll all see what you gave up on soon enough!"

Alek clenched his jaw, forcing himself not to react to the taunting. There were bigger concerns now...Senedril facing a dire crisis, still few leads to track down, and Brunor in with a gang of the most suspicious characters he'd seen in ages, making a promise to come after them. He needed to warn them, and fast.

———

“I can't believe he's still here!" Wickly exclaimed in frustration. “You think he's been laying in wait for us for a year?"

“I wouldn't put it past him to be that petty," groaned Phrenn. “More concerning is that he in fact did find some more sycophants to follow him, and that puts him on much more level ground with us."

“And he still seems to think I owe him something." Alinia's voice had a sharp edge to it. “The only thing I owe him is an arrow to the balls, but I don't know if I could hit a target THAT small."

“If only he was here to hear that," Kuron chuckled, though it was a nervous chuckle.

“I'm getting the sense that this is a dude I don't want to meet," Dhavri said as he looked between the others. “Is this the same guy that was part of your party before and caused all the messes you talked about?"

“It is," Alek replied grimly. “I personally was hoping he'd get himself killed with some of his shenanigans and we'd never have to deal with him again. But now we know he's here and he knows WE'RE here. Which means we're in danger. If he wants to cause trouble for us, he can. So what do we do?"

“I think we need to leave," Alinia said. All eyes turned towards her in surprise; that wasn't what they had expected to hear. Noticing the looks she was getting, she quickly clarified. “Not for good! We're not abandoning Senedril when there's a threat waiting underneath, I swear it. But we need to throw them off our trail...if they've been lying in wait for us they may be able to ambush us at any time. And they have a lot more experience around these streets than we do. If we leave for a few days, try to scout out the greater area, and hopefully mislead them, we might be able to come back without their trouble."

“A bit of subterfuge...I like it," said Wickly thoughtfully. “But how do we go about this?"

“We need to make it seem like we're leaving in a hurry...so, well, why not leave in a hurry? Gather up what we brought, make it seem like we're rushing off towards something specific...maybe something that might get Brunor and his new company to try to pursue us."

“We'll have to retrieve our belongings from the Academy," noted Phrenn. “If we leave them behind and any of them catch whiff of it, they'll be able to use that to lure us back in. On their terms."

“Maybe we can come up with a message to spread around...some kinda combat tournament or something where the winner gets a fabulous prize?" Kuron suggested. “Since that guy always liked a show, maybe he'll be suckered in. Not sure if those guys he was with would be thinking the same thing, but if they're loyal to him…"

Alinia nodded. “This sounds like our best course of action. We'll have to make this quick, but no one goes out alone. Kuron, Dhavri, you two come up with an excuse for us to leave and...start spreading it around the taverns. If I know anything about Brunor, it's that he'd spend half his life there if he could, that's the best way to ensure that he learns about them. Wickly, Phrenn, head to the academy and get everything back from Dunheiver...tell him they'll be back soon enough, explain the story to him, I'm fairly sure Brunor won't come asking around without a reason to. Alek, you and I will check out the last lead we got, just in case it can give us something to work off of while we're out of town. Anything I'm missing?"

“I think that covers it," Phrenn agreed. “Let's get to business."

———

“I never thought he'd be hanging out in wait for us a year after we were supposed to be here...if I had known, maybe I would have considered a different destination."

“None of us knew. Honestly I always tried to think about him as little as possible, he was nothing better than a distraction even when he was here, and I would rather have not had the extra stress."

“I don't know all he said to you, but I hope it wasn't anything too cruel."

“Eh, pretty much just said things I know he was already thinking or muttering under his breath back when he was part of the party." Brunor's nastiness wasn't exactly toothless, but Alek was no stranger to denigration from humans, and it wasn't like he expected better from the prime meathead of the continent. “But if I never see him again, that will be too soon."

Alinia nodded. “Right. Low profile. I almost hesitate to do this, but we're still in the dark about so much, and this might be the only thing we have…"

“This Petunia lady thinks she's seen demon worshippers?"

“She's seen someone skulking around near her building, and they're dressed darkly...it might or might not, but if we can even get an idea, that'll put us one step ahead and hopefully help us plan our pursuit when we get back."

“You think she's a target?"

“I don't know. She says she's worried because her husband's gotten feeble and they have some expensive things...but I don't know if any of it would be of any interest to a demon worshipper."

“It would be if they were greedy as well. Demons rarely care for riches, but mortals are usually well on top of that."

“As we've seen too often. We're almost there, I think we...ah…" Alinia slowed as she spotted a figure on the walkway in front of her, a dark one that was laying on the ground, unmoving. “What's that?"

“I don't know...it looks like someone might have collapsed, but…" Alek was apprehensive, he couldn't see clearly what it was.

“If it's someone hurt, they might have seen something important...but if it's not…"

Nodding, Alek drew his weapon and they approached slowly, trying to see what it was. Both of them knew it could be a trap, didn't want to jump in and be unprepared...just as they got within range of Alek's reach with his blade, though, he heard a rustle from the side. Too late, the reptile looked up to get a faceful of a powerful spell that sent him crashing to the ground, unable to move. He heard Alinia cry out a moment later and also fall beside him, moaning in pain.

_It was an ambush...we were too focused on the thing in front of us to see the whole trap…_a dark cloaked figure stepped over him, and he got barely enough of a look before another spell sent him to slumber - it was one of the ones Brunor had been with.

They were in deep shit now.

Okay...let's try to remember...it's a tournament of champions in Staffall, trying to find the strongest warrior in all the realms. The winner will get lots of gold, the designation 'hero of the world,' and the chance to gain powerful enchanted equipment. It's rumored that several kings will be it attendance, watching for who to call for when they are in peril...jeez, it seems so over the top, I'm not sure even Brunor would be dense enough to fall for it. And if they even try to look into it a little bit it's all gonna fall apart...but I guess it's better than nothing.

Kuron stepped into the tavern, looking around. The place was almost empty, dingy, and didn't seem like a place even he'd want to be - and he was the only one of them that enjoyed a low-class joint. Maybe not the best place to start out, but on the other hand, maybe it was good to practice his spiel before they got to a place where it actually mattered.

He walked up towards the bar, where a gruff-looking human was glaring at him. “Uh, hey...how's it going?"

“I'm not interested in serving you. I already had to rebuild the damn bar from one fucking drunk behemoth, you can go mess with someone else."

“Er...hey, I-"

“Not interested."

“I'm not trying to buy anything!" Kuron snapped. “I was just tryin' to spread word about something that some of your patrons might be interested in!"

“Take that up with the patrons, not me."

The minotaur groaned. This wasn't the kind of trouble he expected to face. Dang it...what do I do now? Dammit, I knew I should have asked Dhavri to wait, we needed to get things straight before doing the whole thing, but no, I had to tell him to go on ahead. Ugh, this is going great...we don't have that much time before Wickly and Phrenn leave to get the artifacts. I don't wanna be the ones slowing us down…

“Hey, big guy. You got something interesting?"

“Uh, yeah, I-" Kuron turned his head, and then momentarily forgot what he was saying. Standing near him was a female wolfling - tall and somewhat muscular, with bright fur, shining blue eyes, and wearing a light outfit that was only marginally covering and a gleaming circlet with a sapphire embedded in the front. She had a very energetic air about her, compelling and commanding...Kuron had to fight to collect himself, she was a pretty damn attractive female to him. “Er...ah...sorry. I don't think I was...ah, expecting someone like you…"

“I'm a surprise to a lot of people," the wolfess said with a chuckle. “But I think a stud like you can handle a lot of the unexpected, eh?"

“Ah-heh...well, I...I'm more of a 'swing the heavy stick at the bad guy until they stop moving' type, really…"

“Is that so? I'm guessing you have a VERY heavy stick, then."

If she kept that up she was going to see it in person, whether Kuron was trying for that or not - already the blood rush was a competition between his face and his loins. “Y-yeah, it's...it's pretty heavy...ah, what did you say your name was?"

“I didn't. It's Milian. What's yours, handsome?"

“Kuron. Ah...l-look, miss Milian-"

“Oh, I don't need a miss. I'm more of a 'hit' kinda gal."

“R-right...y-you're a hit, all right. And I'd...love to see more of that. But I've kinda...I'm in more of a hurry than I'd really like to be at this point-"

“Oh, don't you worry…" Milian leaned up close, pulling herself up on the minotaur's mountainous body. “I think I've got something you'd be very interested in…"

For a moment, Kuron was worried about what might happen if he tried to say no - not that he WANTED to, it was really more of an obligation at that point. But when that whisper hit his ear, his tune changed - oh, he was VERY interested in what she had...

———

Alek and Alinia's return to consciousness was not a particularly pleasant one. They found themselves in a dimly lit room, in just about the most compromising positions they could be in. Alinia was chained spread-eagled on something like an altar, completely nude and exposed uncomfortably to the world. Alek was similarly nude, but he was upright, wrists chained above his head and legs manacled to the floor. The metal holding him was oddly dark in color, but he couldn't see well enough to make out any other details. More troublesome was the fact that one of the brigands who had captured him was painting some kind of elaborate set of sigils on him, marring up his chest, limbs, and rather disconcertingly, his dick. Alek could see that though the brigand's head was human, the hands were a dark reddish-brown with clawed fingers - a sign of demonic corruption. “Get away from me, demon scum," he hissed out aggressively, trying to pull against his bonds.

“Heh, you won't be caring so much in a little bit," rasped the corrupted painter. “Just a little bit more fell ink, and everything will be ready to bring our master into this world."

“Rrrgh…" Alek continued to struggle, but the bonds weren't even budging. His eyes darted around, trying to take stock of things, see if there was anything that he could take advantage of. Off to one side, he could see Brunor ogling over Alinia, almost salivating...oh, how he wished he could wipe that look off of the idiot's face. Next to him were two of the others who had been part of his 'crew,' both of which had obvious signs of demonic corruption now that they weren't hiding them under cloaks. Brunor didn't, but clearly he must have been too dense to realize he was in the thick of some cult. Up above him...Alek started a bit as he saw a staff affixed to the ceiling by several metal poles. Is that the staff that we gave to Dunheiver? How did it...no. No, it's not the same...it's almost the same, one of the wings is missing a piece. But it must be the same type of object…

“Getting antsy yet? Trying to get a good look at the host?" cackled the painter. “You'll get to do more than look soon…"

“Shut your trap," Alek replied hotly. “I don't know what you think I'm going to do, but you're going to be very disappointed."

“Heh, I doubt that. After all, it'll only sort of be you, anyway...once we channel the acolyte into you, he'll be much more in charge of things. And once he is, we will finally be able to bring our dark lord Niviok into the mortal realm."

Alek's breath caught in his throat. Fuck…please tell me I misheard and he didn't say Niviok. That was a name he knew too well...Niviok was indeed a demon prince, as he had been warned, and one of the nastier ones. But even beyond that, he was worshipped by some of the corrupted lizardman tribes - he was known as the Lizard Demon Prince. It was unexpected that humans or human-like critters (he couldn't fully tell what the others were) were worshipping him, but now he had a nasty idea why they were marring his body with demon ink - they meant to warp him to host an acolyte of Niviok, one of the demon prince's agents, which only a body of his race could take. Did they choose him because of Brunor's hatred and anger towards me? Is that why he's been here, laying in wait - because they coaxed him to?

“There...it's all ready. Heh heh heh...she should make a fantastic host for our master. Almost wish I could be the one to enjoy making it...but I will be rewarded." Alek's jaw clenched as the painter stepped away, granting him sight of Alinia...it hit him in a rush, he was to be corrupted and to rape her, implant demon-tainted seed into her...seed which would form into a host body for Niviok! With a mortal host body, it would be impossible to use the normal means of banishing a demon, they would have a tie to the mortal realm that would cause such tricks to fail - the only way would be to destroy the mortal body, but it would have all the power of a demon prince, overcoming it would be borderline impossible! He needed to escape, to not let this happen...but all his jerking around was ineffective, doing nothing but sapping his strength.

“All is ready...we must move into the next room," the painter said to the others.

“Good, good! Hahahaha, this is a perfect fate, isn't it?" Brunor spat towards Alek with a smug grin. “You'll meet your end today, beast, and I'll have what I want! Alinia! You want to be spared your doom at the hands of this animal you chose? I'll gladly rescue you...all you have to do is beg me for it, promise to serve me as a proper female should, and I'll run in to your aid and show you what you abandoned! Refuse me...well, I suppose you'll meet your end like the lizard bitch you are!"

“You...savage!" Alinia shouted. “You call yourself a hero? When you stoop to scummy acts like this? You're more of a monster than any demon!"

“You'll be singing a different tune soon enough! I await your pleading voice begging me for forgiveness!" With a roaring laugh, Brunor walked to the door behind his comrades, slamming it shut rather hard. Alek was seething, but there was nothing he could do except wish the very most torturous death on that pitiful excuse for a human…

But he didn't have much time to do even that, as an eerie dark glow overtook the staff above them. At the last moment, Alek realized that the tip of it was pointed directly at him...and then he let out a hissing cry as a sustained bolt of noxious energy struck him. For a moment there was nothing but pain...and then he felt a presence inside his head.

I'll be taking over now.

———

The bartender scowled as Dhavri rushed inside, looking rather frantic. “Good lord, not another one. Hey, kobold, take a hike, I don't want your kind in here. You're always trouble, even when you're not."

Dhavri bit back the impulse to tell the jerk how much trouble he could be if he wanted to. “I'm not looking for booze, I'm looking for buddies. Did you happen to see a big ol' minotaur in here?"

“Him? Pah. I wasn't going to sell to him, either."

Dhavri groaned. Dammit...Kuron, I meant your OTHER left! They knew they were supposed to stick together, but they thought it might be suspicious if two of them came in at the same time talking about the tournament. So they had made the decision that one would go into one and the other would go into the next, and then they'd meet back up before heading to the next pair. Kuron had lagged behind to hit the head, but Dhavri thought nothing would go wrong...apparently, though, he hadn't counted on the minotaur's lousy sense of direction. “Great. You didn't see where he went, did you? Or is he still here?"

“Does he look like he's still here? He left. Went with some wolfess. She was putting the moves on him pretty damn hard, you'd think she was a bitch in heat."

Seriously?! God dammit, Kuron! Fine time to think with your dick! And if you were going to, why couldn't it have been with me? The kobold moaned, head in his hands. “Shit...he didn't say anything? Or did you overhear anything? I gotta find him, we're supposed to be getting out of here soon!"

“What am I, his tamer? Not my problem...oh, hmph, wait. The wolf lady told me to give this to a kobold if he came around." He tossed a napkin at Dhavri. “Maybe you need to keep track of your animals better, you're not gonna be so lucky every time."

“The only thing I'm going to be keeping track of is-" Dhavri's threat was cut short as he saw the scribble on the napkin. His eyes shot wide open, and without another sound he turned and barreled out of the bar. Whatever else he cared about could wait - he had to get Wickly and Phrenn before it was too late!

———

Alinia had a front row seat to the show, one she really didn't want to be watching. But she couldn't look away, even as bad as it looked, it was like her eyes were stuck on the slow shift in Alek's body.

Slowly the lizardman was getting larger, the muscles of his body getting thicker and more prominent. Forest green scales were muddying to a red so dark it was barely distinguishable from black, but glowing with a dim red in the darkness, creeping from his chest where that bolt struck out to the rest of him. His angry, slowly deepening hiss-cries were interspersed with ragged breaths as he changed into a more violent form, sharp protrusions forming from his scales at his joints and along his back, two slightly curved ruby-red horns pushing out of his skull, claws lengthening and sharpening and turning the same ruby-red, along with his fangs which started to drip with bright fluid that hissed as it dripped on the ground. His eyes took on a furious red glow as well as the demonic presence took up residence within him. And that vicious red color also took hold of that protruding cock, as it too began to shift...the pointed head swelled wider and sharp, curled barbs pushed out of the flesh, that spiky ring broadened and started to drip a sinister black substance, the nubs swelled up and pushed out into fleshy spikes, its length and girth increased considerably, and the base of it bulged out into a bulbous knot with those same fleshy spikes dotting it. It looked almost like a weapon of war rather than a tool of pleasure...maybe that was how they liked it, Alinia didn't have intimate knowledge of demonic anatomy and certainly hadn't been seeking it, perhaps this was the norm for their kind.

As the channeled energy ceased, she realized with a spike of terror that the manacles holding him had vanished...the thing that was Alek was entirely free. No, not even that, the shackles had actually attached to him and were glowing with demon runes...they were meant to be a part of his changes, in fact they probably made him stronger! Not that his strength level mattered, Alinia had no hope of breaking the chains holding her to the table, she was utterly a victim to him…

Unless she called to Brunor.

But the thought of that repelled her. He was nothing more than a beast himself, lower than the worst demon...she would have preferred to die than summon him. But...could she allow herself to be violated and give birth to Niviok? What was at stake was more than just her, it was all of Senedril, perhaps all of the continent. If this corrupted creature was allowed to claim her, the disaster would be immeasurable...her personal pride couldn't be worth that…

The demonized lizard stepped towards her, a look of hunger on its face. It was only about a half-dozen paces away, merely feet from her prone body...but it halted after just two. Standing there, frozen, like its body was locked up. Alinia felt a brief bit of hope...was Alek still in there? Was he fighting? Could he fight all the way? Would he eventually give in? She didn't know...but she trusted him more than Brunor. She bit her tongue, trying to keep herself from giving in to panic and weakness to call for the brute. She would put her trust in Alek...but there was one thing she could still do...

———

The rush of sheer power...it was like nothing Alek had ever known. Incredibly overwhelming, making it easy for the demon within him now to establish itself. Before he knew it, the changes in his body were complete, and he felt nothing but haze as he was hijacked.

She looks delicious...she'll make a fine brood hen for Prince Niviok. Or maybe he'll let us keep her...I can sense your lust for her, you must know her already. Bet you always wished you could pump your spawn in her, that looks like about all she's good for anyway...

Perhaps in the end, it was that gloating the acolyte was doing that changed things. The anger Alek felt at how he denigrated her expanded like nothing ever had...it was like part of his own control over his emotions had been severed. He seized the reins back, however tenuously, bringing the body to a halt. I won't let you do this.

You seem to think you have a choice in this matter. This isn't your body anymore.

Like fuck it's not.

The body took another step as Alek was fought off. I'm the one in charge here, insisted the acolyte, now giving off a sense of annoyance. This body is mine to control, to use to bring my prince into this world. You are not to interfere!

This statement did not deter Alek, who channeled more of that anger - using not only the acolyte but Brunor to fuel him. Each little bit stoked him more, made the acolyte fight against him harder...another step, and his body lurched down, taking hold of the altar with large clawed hands, looming over Alinia. Her terror pushed him harder, and he surged against the demon, holding them fast. You are not going to rape her! You are not going to do this to her!

Stop resisting me! raged the demon in response. Smell her scent! The bitch wants this! She's hot for this! I'm gonna fuck her hard enough to birth ten of my master, and you're not gonna stop me!

The hell you will! Alek's mind suddenly flared as a bright flash erupted from Alinia's body, momentarily disrupting the demon's focus and allowing him to pull himself slightly back. It snapped back into the struggle again, but he fought it as hard as he could, refusing to relent to the screeching in his brain.

You are...NOT ALLOWED!

———

Alinia didn't know if her magic was going to be enough. When she saw the creature looming over her...she was ashamed to say something about it enticed her. Perhaps there was truth to the aura of temptation demons gave off. But she didn't let that deter her, in fact let that charge her up a bit to let loose a burst of untamed magic. She could only hope that would be enough for Alek to hold back, but as the struggle raged, she knew there were no guarantees…

And then things exploded into chaos.

The wall to their side suddenly blew in, accompanied by a violent bellow. The demonized lizard's head snapped towards the sudden intrusion of sunlight, just in time to see Kuron bull-rush him, their sizes almost equal now but the element of surprise giving the minotaur the advantage. Quicker than Alinia had ever seen him move, he slammed into the demonized lizard and caught him up in a powerful hold. The thing that was/had been Alek screeched angrily and tried to break out, until another figure leapt in - a wolfess Alinia had never seen before, letting out a cry and punching solidly into the chest of the reptile. Her fist burst in a powerful light that flooded the area, radiant waves that Alinia could feel pulsing out from that point...she didn't truly know the power it held, but she could tell in an instant that it was considerable.

Though, not quite enough to stop things...the lizard broke free and flung Kuron and the wolfess to different sides, sending them sprawling. He then grabbed the altar and sank towards the ground, heaving and hissing.

“Damn!" the wolfess shouted in frustration. “That wasn't enough to dispel it...there's too much energy in there!"

“Will another one do it?" grunted Kuron as he stood back up.

“Maybe another two or three...watch out!" Both combatants braced themselves as the lizard rose up again. However, he didn't come for either of them...instead, with a loud screech, he unleashed a torrential wave of force at the wall behind him, blasting it partway in. There were several shouts of anger and panic as the corrupted party behind the wall was rather suddenly revealed and assaulted with debris.

“Serro Niviok!" barked the wolfess, leaping over the altar and taking a combative stance. “Your treachery ends here!"

“Fuck! The bitch found us!" one of the acolytes shouted in anger.

“Don't let her stop this! The ritual must be completed!" roared another in an almost inhuman voice. “There's just one of her, we can take her!"

“I don't think so!" Another familiar voice gave Alinia another surge in elation as Wickly hurried in to join the fray, following be Phrenn and Dhavri. “I think you jackasses have caused enough trouble! About time we laid some on you!"

“Take them all! Don't let any of them live except the host and the deliverer!" Spells erupted from two of the corrupted to cover as the other three charged forward. Kuron and Wickly and the wolfess quickly engaged, with Phrenn warding the magic as best he could. The close quarters ensured it was going to be a chaotic fight, but none of them was shy about facing down the danger.

Dhavri quickly got to work trying to free Alinia from the altar. “Are you all right? Did they hurt you?"

“No, but they did something to Alek!"

“Shit! We came as soon as we could...that wolf girl signaled us! She's been hunting these guys for ages! They got sloppy when they got their hands on you, she was able to get Kuron over here first! I hope we weren't too late for-"

“OY! Get your hands off my woman, lizard rat!" Dhavri yelped as Brunor charged forward, sword drawn and looking furious - perhaps more furious that Alinia hadn't given in and begged for his help than anything. But before he could reach them, a large, dark body impeded him, knocking him backwards. He scrambled back to his feet, glaring at the new impediment. “What the fuck? Get out of my way, demon!"

“No."

The fighting suddenly paused, as the corrupted ones looked over at the lizardman in shock. His shape was as contorted as ever...but the red glow in his eyes had given way to clarity, the dark sclera accentuating the red iris, but as pristine a look of mortal cognition as could be. “It...no! Our demon...our acolyte!" cried out one of the men in horror.

The voice that came from the corrupted lizard man was deep, growly, and almost mildly distorted, but still with a tone that was unmistakable. “Heh...turns out your acolyte couldn't handle three on one."

“Alek!" Alinia cried out in resplendent relief and joy. “You're all right!"

“Not feeling quite myself, but that little asshole's not invading my brain anymore. But there's a whole lot of emotion running around here and it's got me keyed up...and I think I've got just the one to take it out on." Those eyes leveled on Brunor, who looked both frightened and furious.

“You...it will be my greatest pleasure to slay a demon animal like you!"

“Funny, that was gonna be my line. Come at me if you think you're able to, you big bitch."

With a yell, Brunor charged forward, swinging his sword wildly. Alek caught it against one of his manacles - and was very glad he did, as the bright flash it gave off warned him that the weapon had an edge against demons. This was confirmed shortly after as his attempt to knock the weapon away gave him a nick that drew blood even despite his radically tougher scales. Brunor wasn't defenseless, and a solid blow with that sword could mean real trouble for him.

But he was far from underequipped even without his weapons or armor. Not with that fearsome power and diabolical form...he whipped his tail around, gashing Brunor's stomach with his sharp spines, making the human stagger backwards. He then let loose a pulse that threw Brunor back, sending him sprawling. It wasn't long before he was upright and charging again, but Alek caught his sword arm before he could swing, gripping it tight and keeping him from slashing. It earned him a few punches and kicks for his trouble, surprisingly noticeable - well, Brunor WAS strong, that much was unquestionable. The temptation to tear out his throat with his claws or jaws was so strong, so enticing...but he staved it off, that was a last resort and he was far from that.

With another effort, he lifted Brunor and flung him back into one of the corrupted ones, knocking them over and distracting them long enough to let his teammates get the upper hand. Brunor didn't even bother trying to help him, nor did they seem to have any desire to have his aid; he just came at Alek again, swinging that sword wildly and not letting the lizardman get a chance to hold him back again. Alek was about ready to escalate things to a more brutal level when a flash blinded the human, making him stop attacking long enough for Alek to swing his arm and connect the manacle with the blade, knocking it clear from Brunor's grasp. He looked back to see Alinia standing next to the altar, resolutely charging up spells to assist them with no shyness whatsoever about her state of undress. Dhavri was also leaping into the fray against the corrupted, drawing several sigils in the air aimed at the disrupted fiends.

Despite losing his blade, Brunor still didn't seem to be done - his next attempt was to try to tackle Alek bodily and take him down, probably to pummel him once he was prone. It might have worked at his normal size, but the increased mass and muscle of the demon shape made Alek a match for him, if not exactly the upper hand. They grappled for a bit, shoving each other and trying to pin each other down, until Alek opened his maw wide and let loose a gush of stinging fluid into the human's face. Brunor cried out in pain and tried to break away; Alek reached out to grab and pull him back, one hand catching Brunor's arm and the other snaring his loincloth. The sharp tug ended up snapping the garment off, exposing the warrior's mediocre embarrassment, not that anyone was particularly paying attention.

Finally, the demon lizard's weight crashed down on Brunor, pinning the human forcefully under his weight. Not that Brunor didn't try to escape, struggling madly underneath Alek. “Help! Help! He's trying to rape me!"

“Shut up," Alek hissed. “I'm not doing anything of the sort. An orgasm would be wasted on you."

“Monster! I can feel you up there! I won't let you violate me!"

“I wouldn't fuck you if you were the only option to repopulate my race," spat the reptile angrily. “You're not worthy of the pleasure. Only thing I'd do to you is crush your puny twig in my hands and make sure you never sullied a woman with your hateful spawn, and I have very little desire to restrain myself so DON'T TEST ME, BITCH."

Nothing more than pitiful whimpers escaped Brunor's mouth now, which Alek considered a minor triumph. He held himself on top of the warrior while the rest of the action took place, watching with satisfaction as his allies finally ran the corrupted group out of steam. Their nefarious designs hadn't been completely ineffectual, but just like in those daring stories he'd been enraptured by all his youth, good overcame in the end.

———

Nothing left but the mess to clean up. Figuratively speaking...none of them was all that interested in repairing the destroyed walls, which had gotten a bit more destroyed in all the chaos. But making sure Serro Niviok was completely wrapped up, that they were more than happy to do. With repressing binds that stunted their auras and powers, they were trussed up and knelt in a row, glaring daggers at the ones that bested them. Brunor was the only one with a different style - still enhanced bonds to rein in his strength, but they had confirmed that he had no demonic corruption in him.

That confirmation had come courtesy of one of Alek's new favorite people, the wolfess name Milian. Oh, he owed her a LOT for weakening the demon soul that had been forced into him - her blast plus Alinia's had diminished the possessor's strength, enough that he'd been able to tamp that fucker all the way down and out, wiping its presence from him. The fact that his body still bore all the physical signs of the possession wasn't exactly thrilling him, but at least he was more or less in control of himself, and she assured him she'd help explain everything once everything was wrapped up, which he also would have to thank her for. And if that wasn't all good enough, that slight smirk she gave Brunor after glancing down as his 'exposure' rapidly put her into Alek's best graces.

“Be careful with that! Show respect to our master!" one of the corrupted hissed as they pulled down the staff from the ceiling.

“I'm showing them all the respect they're due," Milian replied rather sharply. She turned the staff over in her hands, scowling at it. “Korpuscor's Profane Channeler...a twisted mockery of the Staff of Alephoil's Judgment. It's used to induce extreme corruption, enough to allow powerful demon souls to take hold. Possession even of a corrupted being like those ones isn't possible except by weaker demons...there needs to be a lot of demonic energy in one body to host an acolyte of a demon prince. And designed to masquerade as a holy weapon so that those who saw it would think it was protecting them...until its true purpose was unleashed on an unsuspecting populace."

“That explains Grothil Khur's copy," Phrenn remarked grimly. “No doubt he planned to use it for something nasty. Good thing he will never have the opportunity. How many are there?"

“If only I knew. The number can't be great, but any are too many, and any in the hands of people like this are FAR too many."

“No kidding, that thing packs a damn kick," hissed Alek. “Wonder how grunts like these got their hands on one…"

“You will all rue the day you defied our master," another of the brigands growled icily. “Especially you, lizard, rejecting our master's gift to you!"

“The guy sitting defenseless on the floor should not provoke the corrupted creature who has very little patience for your bullshit," snapped Alek. “Count yourself lucky I'm NOT a full demon, because I don't think I'd have any trouble offing you if I was. I already had to fight to keep from disemboweling Brunor."

“Pah. Do what you want with the oaf, he's outlived his meager usefulness."

“What?!" shouted Brunor, the first words he'd spoken since being beaten by Alek. “What are you saying? I thought we were allies!"

“Allies?" snorted another of the creeps, while several of the others gave mocking laughs. “You simpleton. You are singularly useless for anything other than being a distraction. We entertained your illusion as your 'party' to make it easier to move around Senedril. Had you not served our purposes well we would have done you in long ago."

“But...but...this whole act! To help me get Alinia back!"

“HAH! Get you back your woman? You fool, you thought you'd be able to stand up to an acolyte of a demon prince? We were excited to see it slay you and devour you before breeding the host! It would have almost been as much a celebration as bringing Niviok into our realm!"

“You...you...how dare you! I gave you a chance to be part of something great and this is how you repay me?!" Brunor howled in futile fury. “You'll regret ever playing games with me! I'm a hero of destiny, I will be the one standing tall and proud in the end! Every last one of you will feel my righteous fury of payback and regret ever betraying me!"

“The only thing I regret is that I couldn't see you messily ended," rasped the painter. “Curse the host for holding her tongue…"

Brunor continued to rail against pretty much everyone in the room, for all that it amounted to. Milian gave the group a look. “He seems...dim."

“You don't know the half of it," agreed Alinia. “Though, I think perhaps you'll be given ample opportunity to hear, if you're at all interested…"

“There is one thing I will never question again...the temptation of folks to seek the power of demons." Alek was resting in his shared room with Alinia after a rather long day, laying on his front on the bed with the human rubbing his shoulders and back. “When I feel the power that my body channels in that form...it's incredible, and scary. It's small wonder people want it when they feel it...it must feel unstoppable to someone who's never known any real power."

“It certainly looks like you could do just about anything," Alinia agreed. “Especially the way you wield it...Dunheiver was right, a little order to temper the chaos makes it a devastating weapon."

Alek was getting to know this more and more. It had been about three months since he'd been turned by the Serro Niviok, and he still was counting his blessings that things hadn't gone worse. A little more weakness, a little less intervention, and the disaster would have been beyond compare, not that he would be there to see it. While they had returned some sense of normalcy to some things, though, not everything went back to the status quo...the demonic power that had been thrust upon him was ingrained so deeply that it was not being removed by any means. The combination of the powerful Korpuscor staff and the fell ink unlocking his body to deeply embedded corruption meant that every part of him was suffused with that insidious taint, rendering him one of the demon-touched - mortals who possessed demonic energy and form, beyond any reversal or removal. He had no choice but to deal with it for the rest of his life.

Fortunately, he was allied with just the women he needed to deal with it. Milian had been a godsend - the demon huntress monk was a master of control and restraint, just what Alek needed to rein in that chaotic energy and harness it. She had taught him how to suppress the demonic expression and retake his former shape; now he could shift between them at will, and was learning how to better manage the urges to release that demon side as well as channel a bit more of its power into his normal form. And whenever his mind struggled with his new reality, Alinia was of course there to bolster him and bring his mood up. She had made it clear to everyone else that the change in Alek's life was not going to result in a change in his status as part of their group, and made sure that any complaints were kept out of his ears. By this point, there seemed to be no more concern about that - Dhavri had, unsurprisingly, been the hardest to allay, but the demon-hunting kobold was starting to see the upside of having someone with an inner understanding of demons an as ally.

Alek found the experience of being demon-touched to be quite unlike anything he could have anticipated. His personality wasn't drastically different, to his surprise - he was more or less the same person in either shape. But in demon form, everything was amplified - every emotion he felt swung far more wildly, and impulse became far stronger. Acting on a whim was not only easy, it was almost rewarding just in its own right. And Dhavri had been entirely correct about the empathic nature of demons - he could feel the emotions of people around him and they fueled him, made him feel stronger and more energized. Especially powerful emotions like fear...he was starting to understand why demons were so intent on spreading terror, for them it was like an endless buffet.

And then there was just the sheer power...that wasn't just because of the type of creature, the acolyte of a demon prince was just one step below the princes themselves in threat level, and the power embedded in him to host one had certainly been substantial…he was drastically more powerful than most demons could dream of. Alek thought of himself as pretty strong before, but that power wasn't nearly what he held now. It was power that scared him, though, and he didn't want to ever get too comfortable with it...power could corrupt more readily than any demon. But learning how to use it would help him keep it in check, so he was training himself fiercely on most free days to make sure that he knew it inside and outside, back and forth.

Which was part of the reason he was so worn out. “Mmnh...I feel like I still only know a fraction of what I can do. The power is one thing, but it's so...vast, too. Feels like I could do anything I could think of, and anything I couldn't. Which is probably an overstatement, but...sometimes it feels like it WANTS to do something else, and I'm too worried about what that else is to let it. Having to fight myself in the heat of the moment takes a lot more out of me than I would have thought."

“I know this is important, but you might want to take it a little easier...give yourself a little more down time between the most grueling sessions," Alinia noted as she rubbed at his shoulders a bit harder. “Exhaustion can only hurt your control, after all."

Alek sighed. “True. I probably should relax a bit more...I guess I get a bit wound up over what could happen that it makes me nervous."

“Don't be. You're still you, and that won't change. Someone with your diligence will be able to guide that power just right."

“I appreciate your confidence in me. I really should learn how to have the same confidence in myself, I'd probably be a whole lot more easygoing."

“That's a hard thing to do," Alinia chuckled. “Anyway, I hope you left enough in the tank for me. It would be a real tragedy if you let yourself get so tired that I couldn't help you, ah, take the edge off a bit."

Alek gave a slight snorting laugh. “Even if I did push a bit too hard, I'd be in the mood...hard not to be when lust is just oozing off of those around me."

“Oh, was it that obvious out there?"

“Maybe not to random people, but to that empathic part of me? Holy hell."

Alinia giggled a bit. “I do see how Milian looks at Kuron...when he told the story of how she approached him, I thought at first it was just a coy way of making sure no one might have overheard, but no, she clearly drools over him. And then Dhavri went and confessed…"

“They were both out there, and trust me, it was on their minds." Alek was having to hold back some bigger laughs. “Poor Kuron, you can tell he's flustered by all the attention, even if he's hugely turned on. Guy never thought he'd have two people fawning over him at once…"

“To hear him say it, one wonders if he thought he'd ever have one. But I imagine he'll get used to it." Alinia planted a kiss on the back of Alek's head. “So you had a nice feast on carnal desire, that means you're barely holding it in, aren't you?"

“Eheh...it's a little more controlled than that, but it's certainly been on my mind." Alek rolled over to look up at Alinia, reveling a bit in her beauty as always. “And of course, when I know you want it, I want to be sure I do everything I can to satisfy you...that charge certainly helps."

“I'm glad you said that...because I wanted to pose something to you."

“Oh?"

“Yes...ah...Alek. I'd...like to try your demon form."

That struck Alek dumb for a moment. He certainly had NOT seen that coming...by all expectations he figured that shape of him was far too intimidating to be of any appeal to her, certainly considering that it had been very close to violating her. To hear her say that… “Wow...are...are you sure?"

“Very sure. I've...almost been on the verge of asking several times before, but I wasn't sure you were comfortable enough with it."

“Really? You...wanted that? It's...not scary to you?"

Alinia smiled warmly at him. “It could hardly be frightening when I know it's you, Alek. You always act with honor, I know you wouldn't do anything to harm me. But...even more than that, there's...there's just this aura about you when you take that shape...it feels...daring, exciting, thrilling, maybe liberating. It...I don't know, it twists the fear into desire, I suppose. I could feel it even back then on the altar...it didn't overpower my fear then, but I have so much less of that with the real you, so it comes through more strongly. I've even...had dreams about being back in that situation and you just about to have me, and me wishing you would...of course, it was you, not the demon possessing you, so it wasn't exactly the same, but..."

Alek had to process that for a moment. It did seem to jibe with something Milian had told him, about demonic auras loosening inhibitions and amplifying temptations. Hedonism was at the core of demons, part and parcel of chaos - seeking pleasure and satisfaction and elicitation of powerful emotion. It was why his tongue tended to be looser as a demon, and his actions had rather less of an emphasis on decorum. He supposed that had to be where it was coming from. But...well, he had reasonable concerns.

“Alinia...you know I want to satisfy you as completely as possible. But I'm not sure this is entirely safe. My, uh...my dick is pretty wicked in that form, you've seen all the...features it has. They look pretty uncomfortable to me. And you remember what Milian said...without that demon inside me I'm not corrupted enough to actually impregnate you, but I could still affect you, I don't know how much I might corrupt you."

“I've been reading on that, actually…and my, but do demon-touched write spicy books even when they're merely for information. And this is far from uncommon subject matter…what they say is that, since you're not a true demon, you can't spread much corruption. It's mostly absorbed in your form, it doesn't move around. Your seed might carry a little tinge on it, but not enough to do anything that could really trouble me. As for the rest of it...well, that's what spells are for, right?"

“...You're really intent on this, aren't you?" Alek went quiet for a moment, and then nodded. “All right...we'll try it. But please, let me know if it's too much or if I get...too much. I'm not sure how well I'll be able to control myself."

“You'll control yourself enough, I'm sure of it," Alinia assured him. “And besides, I won't be complaining if you go a little wilder...it'll be interesting to see that side of you."

“I hope you don't regret those words, princess." Alek rose up and stepped away from the bed, putting himself in view of Alinia as he readied himself. He was nervous, still, despite the various reassurances…this dark form he had was something he didn't fully trust yet, even though it had been some time since he'd gained it. Alinia said he couldn't corrupt to any large degree, but he didn't know what that little bit might do. His control in that form was so much frailer, he worried he might say or do something to her he didn't want to. And to say that it was likely to be a rougher ride was understating things drastically. All sorts of reasons that this might not be the best idea…but Alinia wanted to try it, and that was a reason that sort of overpowered the others. He'd just have to put his trust in her again…well, it had been a good decision every other time, why not now?

It was almost a little scary how easily he could call up that power. Even restrained, he could feel it under the surface…at least it could be that way, in the early days he wondered if he'd ever be able to be his old self again. But when he allowed it to flow through him, it felt just as natural as his normal body…that was how deeply he'd been corrupted, how thoroughly the taint had spread. Thank goodness for the compounded blasts that had banished the acolyte from him so thoroughly - his head remained untouched by it ever since that day, there was no demon spirit within him, and thanks to how he had been twisted, no other could try to jump in and hijack him - he'd been attuned so very specifically for that one acolyte that he wasn't hospitable for others. No one else to blame if he lost it, of course, but at least that meant they could know if he couldn't be trusted. As he felt it turn him, the shifting was utterly painless, might have even felt a little good.

Alinia watched in fascination as Alek changed before her eyes. It was perhaps a little less dramatic than the initial transformation, but not that much less impressive - the crawling darkness that darkened and reddened his scales, the bulking up of his muscles, the lengthening and reddening of the nails on his fingers and toes, the appearance of those curled horns through his head, and especially the blackening and reddening of his eyes, which made them look so sharp and deadly. It was those eyes that had stuck out most in her dreams, making her heart race and body shudder. There was just such a force in them, almost like they were made to impose whatever Alek wanted their target to feel. And there was a definite tinge of lust in them this time…well, maybe she was already hot for him, but she could surely get more aroused. As the transformation finished, she was looking at her lizardman lover, but a foot taller, quite a bit bulkier, and in a shape that she could only describe as more beastly - Alek stood very upright like a man in his normal form, this one had a bit of a lean to it that presented a more distinctively monstrous stature. Which, if she was being honest, was just that little bit more exciting.

And then there was what she had been seeking…that cock that was pushing out of Alek's groin, rapidly coming into play as the effect of all that absorbed lust acted on him. A sinister reflection of what Alek normally possessed, the infernal red color making it look almost inflamed, everything about it was sharper and harsher than the normal Alek's, borderline barbaric. It seemed like something that no human could possibly enjoy…Alinia was hoping she could prove that impression wrong, because goodness, but did she ever want to feel it. Seeing it in front of her like this, knowing there was no real threat to it other than not being a good time, that excitement was definitely there, much more than ever. Was she a little bit cracked? Maybe. So what?

“Hsss…I can FEEL your hunger for it…" Alek's voice sent shivers down her spine. He definitely sounded like she would expect 'demonic' to sound, but there was something so quintessentially Alek about it, too, something that reassured her that it was still him. “It's deadening any doubts I had quite well."

“Well, that's good…I was worried you might still back out of it."

“There was no chance of that after I turned. Ssss, I can feel bits of that lust that was pushed on me, the drive to try to breed you…rrr, I hope you're ready for something rowdy, because this is gonna be too much for me to keep myself that much in check." Already he was stepping forward, eyeing her with a hunger that was on par with her own for him. A look very different from the wild and mindless one from the possessed Alek, but one that nonetheless made her feel like she was back on that altar, waiting for defilement. Except now she desired it…her lust was certainly building, and probably feeding back into Alek's, creating a loop that was going to strengthen more and more. It was entirely possible things would get out of control…well, they'd manage, somehow.

As he got near, Alinia slipped to the edge of the bed. “Alek…might I…taste you, first?"

“Anything for the princess." Easy to say, not so easy to do, as that rush of lust was really pushing Alek. But he held himself in check, stopping himself at the edge of the bed and letting Alinia slide off and drop to her knees in front of his dick. The red beast loomed at her imposingly, making her shiver a bit. It seemed almost absurd that she should even consider taking it…but if Dhavri could handle Kuron, surely there was a way she could endure here. Granted, she might not have had a kobold's preternatural sexual aptitude, but the mechanics surely favored her over him.

She opened her mouth and wrapped her lips around the pointed tip, teasing it with her tongue in the way that she knew Alek enjoyed, trying to dance carefully around the barbs that studded it. She couldn't avoid them fully, but they were surprisingly not as rough as she had expected - they dragged against her palate and tongue, the tips streaking against the flesh, but not nearly as nastily as it looked like they could. And the points they touched tingled for an extended time, lasting for several seconds after the barb had lost contact. It felt odd, yet not unenjoyable, and she found herself wondering what it would feel like in a much more sensitive spot.

And Alek's deep hiss above her, tinged with that demonic darkness, made clear how much he enjoyed her attentions; the flexing of those barbs sent thrills through his cock, odd and unfamiliar feelings that were quite enjoyably intense. The size of it did offer some other opportunities, too, including when Alinia slipped her tongue inside the opening, just large enough to accommodate her and making the lizardman groan and growl in ecstasy. It was all he could do to keep from bucking forward, his claws digging into the bedcovers as he desperately called upon every inch of his ebbing restraint. And Alinia was taxing it ever further as her hands went to rubbing the rest of his shaft, her hands working over the fleshy rod and massaging it, toying with those spiked bumps that felt twice as sensitive as his normal ones.

It didn't take a lot of attention for Alinia to receive her first treat - a thick glut of precum, jetting from his shaft straight into her mouth. She was prepared for that…what she wasn't prepared for was Alek to buck forward, pushing her against the bed and leaving her no option but to take it all into her as her head was pinned against the mattress. He was too big to intrude upon her much further than he was already in her…at least, that was what she thought, though there seemed a non-negligible risk that he might attempt to anyway. But her thoughts were quickly forced towards the fluids she had to swallow, lest she be overwhelmed…it was a cascade of novelty she rushed to process, it had the familiar flavor of Alek yet stronger and tinged with something heavier than his usual, something with an unnatural depth and a hint of a strange sweetness left behind. And then there was the heat of it, and the heat it left behind in her body as it flowed down into her, and the slight tingle which seemed to spread a bit...it made her head spin a bit, there was a potency to it she hadn't anticipated. Is that the corruption? It's not like what I would have expected…

Alek pushed harder, making Alinia moan. He could feel inner urges to buck, to go deeper inside, and it was REALLY hard to hold them back. He wasn't even able to force himself to pull back at the moment, leaving him in a limbo where his cock was pressuring Alinia into the bed but not forcing its way any deeper. More pre was leaking from him, not quite as forcefully as the initial salvo but still plenty for Alinia to swallow…and she was still encouraging him, her hands a bit more active than her mouth at the moment. His clawed toes were scratching against the floor as they curled from the rush of bliss…was the pleasure stronger as a demon, or was it just his lowered inhibitions making it feel that way? He'd have to figure that out.

Alinia's arousal was picking up further, adding to the stimulating scents in the air. That thick intruder seemed to be on the borderline of taking her over…its impressive size and heat were amplifying the sense of imposition on her, she felt ill-equipped to oppose it. With Alek over her holding himself back as much as he could, she could almost feel the fight of his restraint versus his impulses, impulses she continued to feed. What would it be like if he did lose control, if he surrendered to the desires and imposed on her more?

Perhaps she was a bit crazy for thinking it, but…she wanted to find out.

And scarcely was there a more effective trigger. Alek felt that excitement, fed off of it, his body intrinsically sensing her desire and driving him to fulfill it. His claws gripped the covers tighter and he PUSHED, heedless of the disparity between them, intent on driving himself deeper into her. Alinia's eyes widened as the pressure ramped up to impossible levels…she couldn't escape, couldn't do anything except take what Alek had to give, even as it felt like there was no way she could…but on his next push, she felt the heat surge in her jaw, and suddenly more of that cock pushed into her, that spiky ring slipping past and spreading, locking him inside. The tip was pushed into her throat, pouring that liquid heat directly inside her, making her sweat and shiver as she felt it spread throughout her. Her hands left his cock, grabbing onto the side of the bed as she sought stability…she only just found it when Alek pushed again, thrusting another few inches inside her. Now she could taste those other fluids, the ones leaking from his spikes, and she could feel them as well, the sharper tingle it left against her, not like the ones from his precum, these had a starker sensation that could only be more primal, more physical. And the flavor was distinct, too, bitter and sour fading into sweetness, lacking the same viscerality of the rest of him, though it melded with the other flavors to accentuate them.

Alek was only barely aware that he had started to buck into Alinia's throat, and even when it did occur to him, the capacity to stop it seemed to have vanished from him. Had Alinia been distressed, he might have been able to pull himself out of it, but he sensed no such thing from her, in spite of the fact that more and more of his shaft was delving into her. He wasn't thinking about the how at the moment, entirely reveling in the pleasures he was feeling, and the pleasures she was feeling…those complimentary sensations were swinging back and forth, amping up his lust ever harder. He hadn't realized there would be such a potent feedback loop…the pleasure was building up so fast, there was no way he would have control over it.

Alinia had blown past the point of being overwhelmed already, with portions of that thick shaft stretching out her throat madly. She had never before taken Alek further than the ring, even his regular size seeming a bit too daunting for her…now this embellished version was imposing on her, giving her no chance to escape, the barbs and the spiky ring scratching against her overstretched throat quite fiercely, leaving sensations that had her head in a whirl. And yet…she felt nothing but excitement, no panic, no real fear, just the carnal excitement that was flooding her entire being. She couldn't rightly breathe around it, yet she wasn't feeling like she would pass out; it was too large for her, yet stretched her without breaking her; it was rough, yet every embellishment did nothing but enhance the pleasure. On a deep level, she was realizing that that tingle of corruption might have something to do with this, but in the moment, there was no way for her to dwell on that.

Neither of them was quite ready for it when it happened - a distorted screech left Alek's maw as his shaft suddenly throbbed, and thick seed gushed out into Alinia, pumping into her at a ferocious velocity. He continued to buck, almost in a frenzied way, making Alinia's eyes roll back as she was inundated with the demonic spunk, its heat gushing in deep and settling inside her. And then he held himself more still, only just rocked and ground into her, raking those barbs against her deeply as he fed her his corrupted load, spreading that tainted heat inside her more and more. It felt like an endless rush, a pleasure unfettered by anything…Alek was struggling to keep himself from losing himself entirely to it, it was just such a powerful feeling and he wanted to sink into it, let it wash over him like a good sleep.

But he held himself in check, and eventually felt that climax start to taper off. It gave him a chance to regain himself, and he realized what position he was in…with a bit of anxiousness, he pulled himself slowly out of her, trying to free her up as much as possible. But he couldn't get out all the way, his cock was still drooling with seed, and his spiky ring was doing the job of keeping him locked inside until he was totally spent. It took a minute before he could rein himself in enough to actually extract himself from Alinia, allowing her to catch her breath properly. “Goodness…Alinia, are you all right?"

“Wow…that was…VERY different…" Alinia coughed a bit, trying to settle herself. She'd only just gotten a taste of that spunk at the very end, and it was like a highly-ramped-up version of the lizardman's pre, much thicker and a much more intense taste, she was still trying to get her bearings after tasting it. “D…don't worry, Alek, I'm fine…I was…not expecting that, but…"

“I'm sorry," Alek hissed apologetically, as much as he could because it had felt SO damn good that he was having a hard time convincing himself there was anything wrong with it. “I should've had more restraint, I should've at least warned you…"

“Alek, Alek…it's fine. There was something…really fun about that, even though I wasn't ready for it." Alinia forced herself to rise up to him, caressing his face as she sat back on the bed. “I wondered what it would be like if you did let that control slip from your fingers…if that's the most that'll happen, then I don't think we have much to worry about."

“But I was…you felt…so tight around me, like it had to be really…too big for you…"

“Well…I'm not going to say that wasn't a HECK of a stretch, for sure. But, kind of surprisingly, it wasn't actually that uncomfortable…actually, it felt good despite feeling a little too big. And that heat I was feeling…I, ah, wonder if perhaps that was that little bit of corruption Milian was talking about…it might have been why it felt the way it did."

Alek blinked at her. “You…think the corruption made you…able to handle me?"

“I mean, if this is what demons are built like, they must have SOME way of making mortals be able to handle them, don't you think?" Alinia giggled a bit. “If that's the most you do to me, I don't think we have much to worry about."

“I…suppose not." It was helping settle Alek down, his slip hadn't done anything too serious at least. “Still, I'll do my best to keep myself in control this time…I want to make sure you enjoy every second of this."

“I'm certain I will." Alivia gave him a sultry look as she scooted back on the bed, rubbing her nethers enticingly. “And I don't think there's any time like the present…please, Alek, I want you so much…"

Alek drew a sharp breath inward as her desire pushed those hedonistic buttons in his mind. “Nngh…your want…is really gonna push my limits…" he muttered as he dropped over her, his frame looking so threateningly large over Alinia, his cock looking too large to fit inside her as it lined up at her entrance.

“Just like your cock is going to push mine…but I think we'll both be able to handle it in the end."

“I hope you're right." Bracing himself, Alek pushed against her entrance, the pointed tip slipping inside without too much trouble but the rapidly increasing girth proving to be a bit of a trial after that. Alinia moaned as those barbs raked against her, much less intensely than they would coming out but still quite noticeable. The stretch seemed on the border of hurting, but that tingle was spreading through her, and she was certain now she was being twisted just the slightest bit to be able to take him. Perhaps even to that last challenge…the thick knot at the base was the one part of him she hadn't really given any attention to, and it was looming quite large. Perhaps it was going to be too big an ask…but she wasn't ready to concede defeat, not without trying.

As Alek worked deeper, his restraint gradually eroded, the pleasure of Alinia's body on his and her mind on his were doubly fraying his fragile control. Alinia's moans were long and loud, her cries euphoric, as he dragged himself back and thrust in a little deeper, a little faster, working more of his bumpy shaft into her and scouring her with his barbs and spikes. It ALL felt amazing on him…the tightness around his cock, the flexing of all those embellishments, the squeezing she gave him, it was beyond anything he was ready for. Feeding those hedonistic desires felt so good…

Alinia felt it more and more the deeper Alek got into her, his leaky precum and the fluid from those spikes dosing her up with the corruption she needed to handle him. Once again, Alek was spreading her wide, but it felt like just the right amount of wide to strain her but not pain her. And those barbs! She had been right, the tingle was far more ferocious here, making her twitch and spasm with bliss around that thick shaft and pressure it even more. Every part of her felt like it was alight with pleasure, her hoarse voice singing the demontouched lizard's praises. But she could tell, he was still holding back on her account…and this time, she knew what she was doing when she internally signaled her desire, for him to let loose and show her what his demonic power could really do.

And Alek was briefly aware when he picked up on it, realizing what the trigger was just before it was pulled. And when it was, he knew there was no holding back…but if it was what Alinia wanted, he was going to give it to her. Suddenly he pulled back nearly all the way out, and then plunged with serious force all the way into her, only stopped by the thickness of his knot being refused by her tightness. The scream of ecstasy Alinia let out as she climaxed was nearly too much for Alek, he swore he felt his loins tightening up at it like they were trying to force the seed out of him already. That, at least, he managed to keep in check, though it helped that he was pausing while Alinia was riding out her first orgasm…at least, it would only be the first if he had his say.

Once the human settled down, Alek held nothing else back. His arm came down on hers, his body lowering over Alinia, his eyes staring down at her with an almost feral intensity. And Alinia merely panted, smiled back, and leaned up to peck him on the snout. She really was fearless…his grin widened as he released the last of his restraint.

From there, it was far wilder than it had ever been between the two of them. Alek thrust in and out with an uncharacteristic savagery, making lots of bestial noises tinged with that demonic tenor as his cock drove into Alinia's depths. His spiky ring was catching on her cervix every time, making her spasm around him and leaving that tingling fluid on it to make it buzz; his sharpened bumps were scratching at her inner walls with no restraint, ravaging her sensitive walls; the barbed head was raking her untouched womb, unleashing his tainted fluids upon that virgin flesh and warping it around him even further. It was wild, it was untamed, it was uncontrolled, but his corruption was ensuring she was unharmed from it…was this his own control? Was the corruption ensuring her safety of his own will? Alek was starting to wonder if that was the case…there was still plenty he didn't know, his own level of control over that effect was among those mysteries. If he had willful control over it…

Alinia, at the moment, wasn't thinking about that, or much of anything except how GOOD this all was. She had never expected that something so large, so brutal-looking, would bring such resplendent pleasure, but Alek's cock was doing all that and more. And the wildness he brought, it truly felt like she was being ravaged by a demon, and her body was responding in kind, climax after climax without making her feel any less sensitive, building up towards something even more immense. And she did what she could to encourage it, squeezing on him when her mind allowed her to think about that, calling his name in rapture, pleading in her mind for more, and ensuring her emotions were completely bared to him, that he could draw off of them freely.

And Alek was doing so…it was absurdly easy for him to do so, and they were redoubling his own pleasure, his own desire, his own need. There was no more holding back, he braced himself further, held Alinia in place, and rocked hard into her, trying to drive that knot inside her. The size was as daunting as anything, but he was dead certain, by some hellborne instinct, that she WOULD yield and she WOULD love it. All he had to do was force the issue…harder, fiercer, that bulb of flesh smacked against her, attempting to spread her defiant lips around it, to make her accept his full passion within her. He could feel her yielding slowly, each thrust bringing just a slight additional laxity to her body that would eventually be enough…

And then it came. One last push, Alek felt it, KNEW it, and thus refused to yield, pushing as little by little she gave, a scream of momentous alacrity ringing in his ears, his primordial screech adding to it as he finally embedded inside, every part of his cock wrapped in a tautness he had never imagined in his life. And their climactic rapture hit in tandem, both of them bursting out vivaciously as their bodies melded to each other, that baleful spunk gushing into those already overcrowded depths and flooding them with that corrupting essence to the point of stretching her out even further. Alinia's own nectar gushed over him as well, mingling and joining with his own seed to add to the tension inside her, the feeling of it leaving its own unnatural buzz against his cock that amplified his orgasmic high beyond anything else.

It felt like an eternity before they were released from the throes of absolute ecstasy, and even then the pleasure was only diminishing gradually, the undercurrent of bliss not retreating from them even as they regained themselves. Alek finally found the wherewithal to pick himself up slightly and pull himself onto the bed, holding Alinia against him as he laid himself down, her on top of him and leaning on his broad body. He caressed her gently, both of them breathing quite hard, trying to collect themselves but feeling a satisfaction that was as deep and thorough as they'd felt in a long while, maybe perhaps since the day they had first come together. A new defining moment for them - not just Alinia finding her trust in that demonic side validated, but Alek finally placing his own trust in it and having it pay off.

“Alek?" Alinia's breathless voice called to him from his chest.

“Yes, princess?"

“…We are DEFINITELY doing that again."

An amused hiss escaped the lizardman's snout. “You won't get any argument from me. But perhaps a bit of recovery would be in order."

“Gods, yes…certainly not now. But in the near future."

“As you wish." It was a slightly cheeky reply, but it carried with it a levity of spirit that Alek had been missing for a while. In Alinia he had found a means of freedom once again, the freedom to accept himself as she accepted him. With her, he could reach heights he never dared believe in on his own…and he would do all within his power he could to express his gratitude towards her and elevate her ever above himself as long as he lived.