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[i]The gods have a plan for Stella.

With a vision of a temple in her head, she heads east to find it. The travel is long and the road is full of danger but each day she and her companions make a little progress and there's nothing her trusted warriors cannot overcome.

Or so they think so...[/i]

Maybe it was the cushioning on that carriage's seats, but Stella's ass was adjusting to spending days riding wagons across the countryside. She still got antsy sitting in the cabin for so long but at least the physical downsides of traveling for a long time had softened even if the psychological ones hadn't.

The girl looked down at her bag. At the top of her items was the science fiction novel she had brought with her. She had finished it earlier that day. Stella had to admit to herself, despite her apprehension for "science fiction", the novel turned out to be very interesting. Spaceships, though-- what a weird idea!

If she had the chance she would pick up the next novel in that series. She picked it up and flipped through some pages, spotting the names of characters and bits of dialogue. The two leads didn't even get together by the end, but maybe that was something for a sequel.

Stella put the book down and watched the countryside pass her by. Trees, houses, fences... They drifted past like they were the dreams of stranger, not meant for her to touch or know. What was it like in that house with the pond in the front yard? Stella would never know.

"Where are we coming up to again?" asked Sarlo. The hobgoblin lady sat with a boot on the seat and looked out the window.

"Cyrodil," said Lorf, the orc's plate armor silent with him being so still.

Halmesh's eyes went bright and he smiled, letting his incisor out for everyone to see. "Ahhh, [i]Cyrodil![/i] The great library burg of Cyrodil!"

Sarlo tilted herself towards Halmesh. "Oh. [i]That[/i] place."

Halmesh was annoyed by Sarlo's lack of respect. "[i]That[/i] place houses many of the Royal Army's tomes! A house of great items lay there too! Many commonplace magics come from books now stored in its archive."

"I didn't need a history lesson, Ham," said Sarlo.

"It is a nice town to spend time in," said Lorf, leaning up and stretching out his spine. The orc swordsman had spent a few nights in Cyrodil over the years even if the library was not a place he visited. "We should call it a night when we get to."

Stella had to look past Lorf and Sarlo to see out the window on the other side of the cabin. The highway curved around Cyrodil atop a plateau but it wasn't high enough to see over the trees and hills at the city. Stella watched as the carriage went down the road and the trees passed by.

She looked out her window, in the direction away from Cyrodil. Outside there was an old temple to one of the minor gods. Which one, she couldn't tell. She didn't recognize the symbol atop its roof and didn't want to bug the others for any trivia. It got her wondering, though. Did she have a connection to the gods? Could she speak to them directly? If it was important that she did their bidding, surely they would allow her to speak to them.

Her mind wandered and she pondered what it would be like to hear the voice of a god-- any god. Would it be a humanoid voice or something strange and inhuman? She went into the stores in her brain to remember any stories of people hearing the voices of gods, but couldn't recall any specifics. The only one she knew was an incident in a town near Drecker where some lady who thought she was hearing the voice of a god was actually being tricked by a wizard using a few spells to put words in her head.

As her mind drifted, suddenly there was a smell. It was... smoke. She looked around and saw Sarlo leaning up attentively and Lorf sniffing with concern. It wasn't just Stella that smelled it then.

"Is that smoke?" asked Stella.

"Yes," said Lorf, his voice stern as an anvil. "And it's not a fireplace."

Lorf would know that smell. That was the smell of a razing, he knew. He leaned over to check the windows and see if Cyrodil was in view. Was something going on?

The warriors waited tentatively-- Sarlo thumbing down the hilts of her blades and Lorf breathing heavily-- as the carriage rode along the road and went up a hill, taking their perspective higher until they could see gray pillars of smoke rising from the horizon. As the carriage hit the top of the road, they saw Cyrodil and its great library poking out of its skyline, smoke rising from buildings of all kinds.

"Is it an attack?" asked Halmesh.

"I'd bet on it," said Sarlo, taking out her daggers.

Stella broke out in a cold sweat. Who would attack a town? She wasn't informed on politics-- being from a small town-- but she didn't know that the empire was at war!

Lorf looked through the middle window and tapped it with a mighty orc knuckle. "Driver! Pick it up!"

Without a word, there was the snap of the reins and there was a couple horse neighs. The clopping speed picked up and Stella was tossed back a moment before gripping her seat.

Sarlo looked over at the human girl. "What should we do with [i]her[/i]?"

"She can stay in the carriage," said Lorf.

Stella was feeling pathetic. After a couple incidents over the last week where she was captured or caught up in trouble and needed her companions to save her, she felt like she needed to prove herself to those who rescued her. She gazed at the library and saw the pillars of smoke rise from it though, and she didn't have the courage to take this an opportunity to affirm her heroing ability.

The choir of cries and screams echoed over the trees, getting louder and distinct as the carriage went down hill towards the city. The cart was going so fast Stella felt weightless for a moment as the vessel raced down the slope. With the entry archway in sight, the party looked inside the city to see what was going on, but the streets were empty.

"Stay sharp!" said Lorf.

Halmesh got out a wand, a kind of wand that Stella didn't know which type. Lorf took out his big sword-- the large weapon nearly hitting the cabin's ceiling-- and Sarlo drummed her fingers on her blades.

Stella's heart raced. The screams she heard-- those were real people. She was riding into a city under some kind of threat. Would she see a battle first hand? Would she see deaths of innocent people?

The cart took the road, passing through a district of what looked like houses and family shops. No other carts or horses were walking the streets nor was anyone strolling the sidepaths. Doors were closed and windows were shut.

The driver was a tall, lanky human man with glasses. "Want me to stop here?"

Lorf looked up and down the road. Nothing was seen. Whatever was happening, the library was probably the center of it, but Lorf couldn't know for sure.

"Head to the library," said Lorf.

"Head to the library?" said the driver. "Are... are you sure?"

Lorf sighed and took a hand to his head, stroking his hair back. "Actually... pull over."

There was a snap and the horses slowed. The warriors didn't wait for the cart to come to a still to open the doors and hop out. Stella stayed inside, unsure what to do. Sarlo got a whiff of the wartorn air and coughed.

Lorf looked around. There was danger and he didn't know if Stella would have been safe by herself. He gave Stella a look with deep eyes and offered a hand to help her out. "Come with us."

"We do not want her along to wherever we're going!" said Sarlo.

"We're not taking her into the fight with us," said Lorf, annoyed.

Halmesh took an arm around Stella and smiled. "We'll find a place to stash you until we're done."

Lorf addressed the driver. "Leave this town. Wait for us outside the walls and get out of there if any suspicious characters come by."

The driver nodded and whipped the horses. They turned around and the carriage took off the direction it entered.

"Let's go," said Lorf.

The four of them walked down the street under Lorf's lead. Stella was worried but knew that they would find a place for her to hide until the attack was over. Or so she believed.

Everyone's eyes were sharp, looking around. No one could be sure who was attacking or what they looked like. Lorf wondered about the tribes to the north: they couldn't made their way so far south. At least, that's what he believed.

The party had their hands were on their weapons, ready to introduce themselves to whatever threat was at hand. Stella had her knife at her side, and kept a palm on it.

Heading to the library was the easy part. It stuck out above the other buildings in Cyrodil. It had a foreign look to its architecture. It's walls were a warm charcoal look and had a hearty red on its panels. The banners hanging from it were a deep purple, although the fire way turning them to black.

Using the library's towering construction to guide them, they followed that pointer as their direction. They turned a corner and saw a man-- human, with brown hair-- standing on the sidewalk, looking scared and anxious.

"You there!" said Lorf.

The man turned to the orc, too scared to speak. But as the man looked, he noticed that the orc's armor was blazened with the sign of the Royal Army. Without a second thought, he dashed towards Lorf.

"Please!" said the man, "You must help us!"

"What's going on?" asked Lorf.

"An army is attacking!" said the man, "They are sieging the library! We do not know who they are!"

Sarlo crunched her lips. "That's not very helpful."

Lorf eyed Stella. He turned to the man. "Is there a place for our friend here to lay low?"

The man took a breath and let his nerves settle before he answered. "There's the bar." He pointed down the road. "Go down this street and turn and you should find the bar down that road a few blocks."

Lorf nodded. "A bar? That'll have to do."

The man didn't spare a goodbye. He took off running the direction the warriors came, believing that it was a safe direction if such formidable warriors just passed through the place.

Lorf and the others walked to the intersection. The road-- the one where the bar was-- was long but if that was a place for Stella to be safe then that's what was needed. Lorf pointed. "Stella, head to the bars then." He turned to look at the library. Screaming was heard and some of the curtains hanging off the side of the building were catching flame. "We must fight."

Stella looked down the road. It was empty, but in a way that felt ominous. She knew Lorf didn't have time to argue or deal with her cowardice, so she gave them a nod and got walking down the sidewalk while the others went towards the library.

The girl kept her eyes on them as much as she could before they went past the corner and left her view. When they were out of sight, Stella's shoulders tensed up and her heart sank. Her hands were shaking and her breath was fast. The screams echoed over the roofs of Cyrodil and the smell of smoke was thick in the air, paining her throat.

She had never been in the middle of a warzone. She didn't know what to think or what to look out for, but she concentrated on her goal: the bar. If it was safe then it was safe.

She looked around the streets. The way the buildings loomed over the road made it like man-made valley. The sky above was gray.

There was an apartment with its lights on. A few silhouettes gazed at Stella from a darkened window. She turned her eyes forward and tried to spot a bar. There was a block up ahead with a bunch of signs hanging off the sides of the buildings-- that must have been the tavern street.

Stella turned her head head back to the library. She didn't know much about the library but the image of such a brilliant building being caught in flames made her heart shrink.

She whimpered. The terror was getting to her.

Something was ahead. She turned her gaze back forward and saw a group of soldiers marching around the corner. She froze and her eyes got lost in their dark armor and weapons.

"Oh [i]gods[/i]!" said Stella.

A few turned their eyes at her and Stella's blood turned to ice. It didn't matter if they were thirty feet away; when they walked in Stella's direction, Stella squeaked! She looked back, gasping and stammering, hoping to see Lorf and the others running to her aide but they were gone.

She took off running away from the soldiers-- back towards where she saw her friends. She ran back down the road towards where she parted ways with Lorf and the others and didn't look back.

She turned the corner and saw them in the distance-- Lorf, the orc in plate armor; Sarlo, the hobgoblin dressed in dark leather armor; and Halmesh, tall ears and dressed in brilliant robes. Stella raced towards them.

"Guys! Guys!" she screamed as she sprinted along the ground. "Wait up!"

They looked back. Sarlo narrowed her eyes thinking [i]this bitch again[/i]?

"What is it?" asked Lorf.

"I couldn't--" Stella choked on her own breath. "I couldn't go down that road. There were soldiers."

Lorf groaned, but he knew Stella played it safe by running away. Soldiers, though. Was it an army invading?

"What did they look like?" asked Lorf.

"Black armor," said Stella. She shook her head. "No... no. Dark gray."

The companions rolled the idea around in their head. Lorf knew it was the armor of the barbarian tribes of the north, and Sarlo and Halmesh had the right guess about it. The madmen had moved their fronts down into the main land.

Lorf looked back down the road where Stella came. Should they have routed the enemy around town before taking on the library? No, the goods inside the library were too valuable. "We must protect the library," said Lorf. He looked down at Stella, small and shaken. "Come with us. We'll find you a place to hide."

Stella nodded. She looked at the towering walls of the library. The place was intimidating even without the threat of an invading army, but she trusted Lorf and her companions to protect her and followed them as they continued their march towards the library's doors.

The library's door was open. Its gate was raised but no one was around. It was eerie how few people Stella had seen since entering that down. Just the man that the group came across and then the group of soldiers she fled from. The silence was nightmarish.

The torches inside the library were lit, but books and papers were scattered around the floor. Halmesh looked over the spill of papers to see if there were any scrolls that could have been useful, but they all looked like regular inscriptions.

A table was flipped with a leg broken off and a cloud of smoke clung to the ceiling above. As they walked into a hall and got a look around the room, they saw some people on the floor, in pools of blood. Halmesh went over to check for pulses and confirmed they were dead with a somber nod to his companions.

Lorf walked up to a dead soldier and looked at his rusty silver armor with deep red banners. Surely the soldier was security for the library.

There was a shouting. The companions looked around and saw a squad of four soldiers coming through a door. They were in the black armor that Stella saw earlier.

"Who goes there?" asked Lorf.

The soldiers saw Lorf in his armor and knew the group of people were goons for the Royal Army, although they assumed in Stella's case. The soldiers drew their weapons and pointed at them. "Get them!"

Stella ducked towards a wall while Lorf gripped his mighty sword with both hands, Sarlo curved around the soldiers and Halmesh brought out his wand.

Am I safe with these guys? asked Stella.

When two of the soldiers approached Lorf, he let one of them cleave at him with the invader's broadsword but Lorf then kicked one of the hostiles into the other. Before either had a chance to recover from their stumble, Lorf smashed his sword down upon then, cutting through the armor of one of the foes and letting the light drain out of his eyes.

"Aaah!" the other soldier screamed.

Sarlo had her eyes on the remaining two adversaries but eyed over at the soldier being toppled by Lorf's attack. She took a dagger and jumped at the stunned soldier, spiking the blade down into his neck. Another one: gone.

The remaining two soldiers took the opportunity to strike at Sarlo, one of them charge at the hobgoblin with a spear, but Halmesh raised his wand. Out came an arc of lightning, stunning one of the soldiers and causing him to fall to the ground.

As the other raised his longsword at Sarlo, Lorf thrust his massive blade at the soldier, striking his shoulder and cutting the man deep. Lorf took a heavy fist and slammed it against the soldiers head, knocking him out and probably leaving him to bleed out.

The soldier that Halmesh zapped was writhing on the ground. Getting clocked on the nose was a mercy from Lorf, but maybe later the orc would want to question some of these soldiers on where they are from and what their goals on. He'd leave them for now.

"What's the plan?" asked Sarlo.

"The library is house to a number of valuable magic artifacts," said Halmesh. "[i]Dangerous[/i] tools." He shifted his stance. "We should secure the inner archives. Where the most treasured artifacts are."

"Right idea," said Lorf.

"Do you know the way?" asked Sarlo.

Halmesh thought to himself. He had only been to the library once before, and that was years ago. He didn't recognize the place, and not just because it had been ransacked and defiled by carnage.

He tried to imagine how a library like that one would work and looked through a large doorway into a tall chamber. He pointed a clawed finger. "That way."

The four of them took off. Lorf looked over at Stella. He would have to find a safe spot for her but time was urgent too. He could protect her if he needed too.

The chamber was a hub of sorts, with several doors around to other parts of the library and a mezzenine around the top had several doors as well. Voices echoed from all directions but nobody was seen. The voices either frightened and harrowing or deep and demonic.

Lorf looked around to see where they were coming from and saw a dark hallway. Its torches were dim. He walked towards it without Halmesh's direction and the three others followed his lead. It was as good as any direction, perhaps.

When they heard clacking of steel, they slowed. Lorf held his weapon close. Sarlo had her eyes all around-- including the ceiling above for any traps.

"Who are these guys?" asked Stella, her voice a shaken whisper.

"They are the barbarian army," said Lorf. "We've had to deal with them on the northern front although we don't know much about them."

"How could they have gotten all the way down here without being found out?" asked Sarlo, angry.

Lorf sighed and shook his head. "I have no idea." He looked around the hall. There were a few dead soldiers on the ground and paintings were torn. Busts were pushed over and shattered on the ground. Halmesh and Lorf had to watch their feet walking through there.

Up ahead was a light. They walked through another doorway to large chamber, taller and more elaborate than the last. The room had towering shelves full of books and a dark pit splitting the room down the middle. Across a catwalk, there was a pillar in the middle of the floor. The pillar was radiant, the crystal shining a blue light behind tempered glass reinforced with a silver frame.

"What is that?" asked Stella.

"It's a magic resistor," said Halmesh. "It is a useful engine in creating many magic tools."

"Do you think they're after it?" asked Sarlo.

A voice boomed all over the room. "[b]We are indeed.[/b]"

The four of them shook. Where was that voice coming from? From the back room where the pillar stood, a tall figure emerged: [i]Xarkof[/i]. He could have been eight feet tall and wore dark gray armor like the other soldiers-- although his with some green touches on details. His helmet was so large that it covered his face in shadow.

Lorf was so startled that he dropped his sword, having to take half of a second to pick it up and grip it in his hand. Sarlo went into a stance but kept shifting her feet, unsure what position to put herself in. What was she supposed to do against a guy that big? Halmesh stared, looking concerned but not sure of what he was seeing. Stella stood still, terrified at what would happen next.

As Xarkof approached, other knights appeared-- just as tall as he. They came from behind him and through other doors in the hall. One came in through the passageway that Stella and the others entered from. Soon, the party was surrounded by nearly a dozen of the giant warriors.

Lorf and Sarlo backed off as Xarkof approached. As he got close though, Stella and her companions could see that Xarkof's face was darkness except for two glowing eyes. The other knights, they were the same-- they were all shadow knights. In all the times that Lorf had dealt with the barbarian army, he had never seen anyone as big as an ogre and never anyone with a face of shadow.

The shadow knights surrounded the group of travelers. Stella's heart raced and she broke out into a sweat.

Xarkof let out a deep laugh. "[b]My name is Xarkof. I am a general of Drammus' army.[/b]"

Drammus-- it was as Lorf expected. Drammus was the mad emperor of the north but with how hard it was to come by information on the barbarian army, the Royal Army couldn't confirm that Drammus was the leader of the army. Its soldiers wouldn't say.

Xarkof pulled out a sword, over four feet long and as wide as a guillotine blade. "[b]We have come here to destroy the Royal Army's precious artifacts. I must say, Royal Army soldiers and library security alike did not put up much of a fight.[/b]"

One of the soldiers looked down at Stella and Stella looked back up like a deer caught in light beam. The shadowy soldier walked up to Stella, his iron boots shaking the ground, and leaned down to bring his shadow face to Stella's. "[b]Boo.[/b]"

Stella let out a scream that sounded like a baby cry!

The darkened soldiers had a good laugh. Lorf and the others watched in sympathy as the girl broke down into sobs. Stella stood still, terrified.

Xarkof let out a hearty laugh. "[b]Yes. Fear us. Does anyone else need to squeal in horror?[/b]"

"Don't count on it," said Sarlo. Her stance lacked confidence and her arms were shaking but her tone was as strong as one could be.

Sarlo gripped her blades tighter and looked around for a place to escape. There was no way for them to take on the soldiers, regardless if it was looking like one of her trusted companions had lost his nerve.

Lorf looked around. Was this how he was going to die? He wasn't one to try to escape, and escape didn't look like an option anyway. All the battles he had fought, or the victories won... it was going to end in the chamber of a magic library.

From a door in the corner, there was a snarling. In walked two other of the shadow soldiers, each with a chain leash in their hand. At the other end of the leashes? Demons. Stella recognized the creatures anywhere. They were the demon mutants of the netherlilies!

Oh god, thought Stella. What are they going to do with us?

Stella noticed the clothes on the demons, or what was left of them. The pants were tattered, but she took a look at the armor, the armor warped around the demon's massive and muscular body. It was a shining silver armor... like the same armor on the dead security officers Stella saw earlier.

The demons were security staff transformed.

One of the demons walked by Halmesh and the shadow knight had to restrain the monster's leash when the beast tried to attack the lapid. Halmesh yelped and stepped back.

"[b]Yesss...[/b]" said Xarkof. "[b]Have you heard of this? People are transforming into these demonic creatures." Xarkof rubbed his thumb on his chestplate. "I couldn't complain. Look how powerful they are.[/b]"

Lorf looked at the demon. It wasn't often the knight had seen creatures so fierce.

Another shadow knight stepped forward, holding a glass jar. From within the jar there was a flower-- it was the netherlily! Stella recognized it instantly and even if the others didn't know what a netherlily looked like, they knew it had everything to do with the security officers being mutated into demons.

"[b]This flower will make you too demons of mine,[/b]" said Xarkof.

Stella's heart sunk and her vision began to blur. She was going to get transformed again? She hyperventilated.

Everyone else was worried too. Lorf had a trembling lip and Sarlo's eyes darted around, her brow shimmering with sweat.

The shadow knight opened the jar. Xarkof pointed at the orc. "[b]Him.[/b]"

Lorf froze. Two shadow knights approached him and he stared at them, his sword falling out of his hands and landing on the ground, chipping the tile with its size and sharpness. Each knight took one of Lorf's shoulders and shoved him closer to the glass jar.

Lorf grimaced, and pulled his head back as the knight holding the jar lifted it to his face. His trembling lip became a sob and he whimpered.

The knight put the jar under Lorf's nose. The orc tried to pull away but a burning sensation went up his nostrils and he growled and groaned. His skin color changed to an orange and his eyes went bright red. A cleaving frown came over his brow and he barked.

Sarlo, Halmesh, and Stella stared in horror as Lorf went into a frenzy. He fell out of the knight's grip and collapsed to the ground, holding his arms. His form shook and his legs grew in size, growing out of his plated leggings. His feet grew digitigrade and its claws lengthened. His mouth stretched outward and his claws grew long.

"Oh my gods..." said Stella, clamping a hand on her mouth.

"What..." said Sarlo. "What are you doing to [i]him[/i]?"

There was a squeal as Lorf's body became too big for his plate armor. The armor bent and snapped as his torso grew outward. Not only was the mass pushing out and expanding the armor, his torso was lengthening, letting his belly out. His ears got sharper and his mouth grew out into a snout with a set of sharp teeth.

A knight brought out a chain and wrapped it around Lorf's neck but for a guy that size, two knights were needed to restrain him as the demonized orc growled and snarled, splashing drool everywhere. All intelligence of his eyes was replaced with raw fury.

Xarkof did not fear the beast. He walked up to the orc demon and reached out to stroke the beast's cheek. Lorf allowed the shadow general to stroke him but didn't look to feel any pleasure from it. Lorf saw one of the other demons, and tried wandered over to see them, but the two knights tugged on the chain.

"You fuckers!" said Sarlo, staring at Lorf in disbelief.

Xarkof stared at Sarlo for a second, with quiet contempt. He then turned to the knight with the jar. "[b]Her next.[/b]"

Two arms took Sarlo's. She couldn't move or swing her blades. The knight had her in their grasp and Sarlo struggled but could not escape. She glared at the knight with the jar, eying that netherlily like it was a cup of poisoned tea.

Stella turned away. She couldn't watch. Halmesh stared in horror.

"Please!" said Sarlo as she was forced to approach the flower. "[i]Please![/i]" She dropped her blades on the ground.

"[b]Don't worry...[/b]" said Xarkof. "[b]It'll be over soon...[/b]"

Sarlo held her head back and turned her nose away but the knight got that jar in her face and pollen shook off the netherlily. It floated through the air and entered Sarlo's nose. She tried huffing it out but her nostrils burned and the pollen took its effect.

Her body quaked and she clutched it in pain. It felt like a furnace was going in her belly and that her bones were screaming. Halmesh and Stella watched as the hobgoblin lady, her teeth clenched, writhed on the floor.

Stella watched Sarlo's body transform. The hobgoblin's ears elongenated and her arms became thing, filling out in her leather armor. They puffed out into the mass of her body split the armor at is seems. It tore and broke off her body.

Her belly exposed as her torso lengthened. A snout was growing off of her face, teeth sharpening. Her eyes were closed but even if nobody could see her pupils, they would know that there was a fury within him. Her voice got deeper as her groans turned to those of an abyssal creature.

There was another tear. Her boots broke open as big toes punctured through the front. Her feet became massive, reptilian, and digitigrade and cut through her boots like they were tubes to be wore on her ankles. Her legs filled out her pants and stretched the leather garments as far as they could, tearing the seams but not so much that they fell off.

Her armor fell away to show that her breasts had grown very huge in her demonic transfiguration, pushing out on her undershirt and stretching out a window of massive cleavage of two orange breasts. Her mouth had jutted out almost three inches, her maw full of sharp teeth, and the creature drooled on the floor.

She blinked. She was no longer the Sarlo that her companions knew. The creature got up, boots hanging off her digitigrade feet like accessories. She looked around and sniffed at the air before one of the shadow knights took a chain over her head and tightened, capturing her. She fought against the restraint but Xarkof grabbed the chain and held tight.

"[b]Very nice,[/b]" said Xarkof, rubbing a hand down her back. "[b]A nice one to add to the collection.[/b]"

Halmesh trembled at what he saw, and some tears escaped his eyes. Stella looked over and saw Sarlo, now a huge demon beast, thrashing around. The human girl whimpered.

Xarkof had four demons with him, and nearly half of his men were occupied holding onto all of them. Xarkof had enough of fun and it was time to deal with the rest of them. Xarkof knew, however, that he could have gotten some information out of the wise-looking lapid. The human... he didn't care.

Halmesh looked over at Stella. If he could have done anything in that situation, it would have been saving Stella. His two companions were lost but Stella... she deserved to live. Not because of her being chosen by the gods, but for her being innocent. But how? He had a scroll of escape at his fingers but giving it to Stella and her using it would have not been an option. It surely would have been snatched from them before Stella could do anything.

"[b]I must say,[/b]" said Xarkof, "[b]this siege has been a roaring success![/b]"

"[b]What do we do with these two?[/b]" asked one of the knights.

Xarkof stared at Stella and Stella tripped back before catching herself. She stared in horror and stillness as Xarkof approached. He leaned down and patted Stella's hair. "[/b]You may leave, little girl. Tell everyone of the horrors you saw here today.[/b]"

Stella looked over at Halmesh. What were they going to do with him? But then Stella looked at the knights. Whatever they were going to do with him, Stella couldn't have done anything. She turned away and ran towards the door.

The booming voices of the shadow knights echoed behind her as she took to the dark halls the party entered from. Stella's vision blurred. The voices of Lorf and Sarlo echoed in her ears like their ghosts already took to haunting the poor girl. She panted and raced down the halls, back into the large chamber they passed through earlier and back to the lobby where they fought those soldiers. Stella wasn't too distraught to check to see if those soldiers were still around.

Back outside, she dashed down the road, heading in a direction towards the exit, trying her best to prevent any crying lest she attraction the attention of any soldiers.

Xarkof wasn't sure how to torture Halmesh. Would magic thought extraction do? It was clean and quick but there was little suffering in it and Halmesh looked like the type that could resist. Would pulling whiskers work? The rabbit was a pants-wetting coward but if he was a soldier in the Royal Army, he had his whiskers pulled before.

The general sighed, unsure what to do. He paced around the floor, occasionally glanced at Halmesh to give him a startle.

This got snickers out of his men.

The demons were still on their chains, but got up to some funny business anyway. The two security officers were trying to mount each other, confused why they couldn't stick their dicks into each other when they had their legs wrapped up in pairs of pants. Both of them had huge tents and whacked those tents against each other.

Lorf was getting the need to let himself out too. The orcen demon sat on the ground and took his mighty hands at his codpiece, trying to tear it off. He ripped it off, curving metal harnesses in the process. The demon dropped the codpiece and clawed at his underwear, tearing them off like paper from a book.

His cock was out. Lorf had a big one back in his orc form but there, now demonized, he had a [i]huge[/i] one. Even curled down, it was a foot in length and rested on balls the size of oranges.

Lorf looked over at Sarlo. The demoness tugged her leather sleeves off and dropped them to the ground. She gripped at her collar and tore downward, tearing her leather armor, her shirt, and her brazier and letting her big breasts out into the room. They were the size of cannonballs and even taking a single step made them jiggle and the knights couldn't help but stare.

On hands and feet, Lorf crawled over to Sarlo, cock dangling out of his armor but growing harder by the second. His tongue hung out and he stared at the hobgoblin demoness passionately. He smiled, drooling hanging off his maw.

Xarkof eyed Halmesh and then over at Lorf and Sarlo. "[b]Let's let the lapid enjoy his companions mating like beasts, then we kill him.[/b]"

A shadow knight took behind Halmesh, taking a large hand on the lapid's shoulder. Halmesh stared at his former friends as the two demons rubbed into each other, moaning and growling. He turned away for a moment but the guard at his side took a gauntlet to his mouth and turned it to the fornicating demons. "[b]Watch it.[/b]"

Lorf leaned up to show off his massive cock. It must have been sixteen inches, with a nice bar of thickness. One of the shadow knights clapped in approval! Sarlo approved as well, taking a hand down to the orc's shaft and petting down the form. The orcen demon moaned.

Sarlo heaved and looked down at her pants. She took her hands on them, gripped the leather tight, and then tugged. There was some tearing and then the articles were off her body! She tossed the leather pants to the ground.

Her panties were still there. From the demoness' hand, they came off like a veil at a wedding. With her vagina out, moist with aroused, the demoness got on the floor and fanned out her legs, the shreds of her shirt and armor hanging off the sides of her body so that her big boobs could be seen.

Lorf grunted and got down on the demoness. To the orc demon, she was a mate. When the two stared at each other, so remnant of Lorf or Sarlo remained. There was no friendship between the newborn demons.

The orc demon stuck his cock into the demoness' vagina, pushed the sides of her vulva off and bundling up the flesh. The demoness squirmed as the hefty cock rubbed the insides of her vagina. Sure, while the cock was just puncturing the opening of her sex cave, it was pleasurable but not overwhelming. The deeper the cock got, the more the demoness' body began to worry about the cock's size. The demoness' nerves quaked as the orc's cock poked into the back walls of her sex and Sarlo groaned.

The crowd cheered as Lorf, on his knees, took the demoness in his hands and got thrusting. Sarlo's legs snapped even wider than before and she leaned back in arousal. Lorf drooled and gritted his teeth as the demon drilled into the female on the floor.

Halmesh looked around. The show was proving to be entertaining. Even the knight with his hand on Halmesh's shoulder was too busy watching Sarlo and Lorf to keep an eye on the lapid. Stella was gone so Halmesh only had to worry about himself. Could he escape?

The lapid looked into his bag. There was a scroll. He pushed the scroll with a finger to get a better look on the ink of the paper. Those blue markings were not those of a scroll of escape. He had to keep looking.

The security officers, turned demons, were in the middle of fucking too. It took tearing their pants but their cocks got out and one of them found a way into the other's ass. They grunted as one demon drilled into the other. Both of them had their jaws clenched and had big dumb smiles on their faces.

Lorf and Sarlo were the stars of the show though. With Sarlo cranking her legs out like she was a dock open for an army of ships to come aboard, the sexual passion was unbeatable. Her breasts waved up and down as Lorf rocked into her, cock so deep up her vagina that the tip was tickling her lungs. Sarlo bit her tongue and drooled on the floor.

"[b]Yes,[/b]" said Xarkof, "[b]mate with your former friend. Treat each other like pieces of meat![/b]"

With his eyes on his friends, Halmesh felt around his bag... slowly. He felt another scroll and slid it up to the surface of his sack. Taking his eyes away for a moment, he looked at the scroll and saw that there was a golden trim on the edges of the paper. It [i]was[/i] a scroll of escape!

Lorf growled and dipped his head down. A furnace was about to blow. He gripped Sarlo's body and craned his body down in a powerful arc. His speed picked up and he huffed out his nose.

A groaned stirred out of his throat and the demon took his head back to howl into the air. As he thrust like a steam machine, white jism flung from where his shaft and Sarlo's sex met. He howled and roared with delight as his cock drained its fluids into Sarlo's wanting flesh dungeon.

Sarlo barked and chirped until the orgasm flared up in her. She pushed herself off the ground, clenching her jaw, and moaned so hard the sound could have shattered her teeth. Her vagina spilled liquid and the love honey dripped on the floor.

The knights cheered as the two demons came to a climax. The knight holding Halmesh let out a whistle-- the tone deep and abyssal to come from such a hulking creature.

Halmesh reached down and fiddled with the ribbon around the scroll until it snapped off. He only needed a half second to use it but would it be enough?

Just as Xarkof turned his head back to Halmesh, ready to execute the Royal Army pest, the lapid mage pulled out the scroll, rolled it out and screamed: "[i]Escape![/i]"

Light came over Halmesh as fast as light should, and then he was gone. The knight holding him stumbled as the rabbit was sudden not there under his hand.

"[b]Damn it![/b]" said Xarkof. He walked up to the knight and knocked on his chest. "[b]Didn't you see that mage fiddling with his items?[/b]"

The knight was embarrassed. "[b]Sorry, general. I... I didn't see him doing anything...[/b]"

Xarkof glared at his subordinate for a second, and then relaxed. "[b]No matter. Let the pants-pissing rodent run and tell everyone who he met today. Xarkof, general of Drammus' army![/b]"

The knights watched as Sarlo and Lorf unhinged from each other. The demons relaxed, but time was free so Xarkof could wait for the demons to get their horny back and the knights could enjoy another show.

Xarkof looked out to the magic pillar, and let out a chortle. It had been a worthy siege.

Halmesh blinked and looked where he was. He was outside. The smell was still heavy in the air although there were fewer screams and shouts. He looked behind him and up the walls to see that the library was there. Those knights... that army could have still been around, so once he got his bearings and looked to the horizon to see which was was out of town, he got running.

He took a few turns and found himself on a stone road that looked familiar. He looked down both ways and realized it was the road that Lorf and the party entered from. Halmesh knew which way to the carriage, and took off running again. He passed by an intersection and got a glance at a few soldiers down the road. He was too quick to be stopped, even if they were part of Drammus' army.

The road inclined up and Halmesh turned the corner to see where the party last saw the carriage. It was gone. He ran over to where the carriage was and looked around. There was the gateway out of town. Did the driver bring his wagon out?

Almost out of Cyrodil, thought Halmesh. For a moment, the terror gripped him. He had lost two friends and a treasured Royal Army archive was under the hands of some villainous soldiers. What could be done? It was almost too hard to believe.

As he got close to the archway leading out to the highway, he saw a wagon and after peeking its red cabin, realized it was the one they rode into town upon. When he saw the driver walking around-- that human with the glasses-- Halmesh dashed up.

Stella was there. When she saw the lapid turn the corner, she gasped. "Halmesh!"

Halmesh was caught off guard by her relief to see him. She ran up and put her arms around Halmesh, sobbing. "I thought you were dead!"

"I escaped," said Halmesh. "Couldn't do anything about Lorf or Sarlo, though."

The driver came around the corner. Yes, Halmesh looked distraught but the driver could smell the smoke, hear the screams, heard Stella's tales and knew whatever loss of composure the Royal Army mage had suffered came for a good reason.

Halmesh ended the hug and turned to the other. "Driver: I need you to lead me back towards Reynolph."

"What?" said Stella. "What about following me on my quest?"

Halmesh turned to Stella, and dropped his shoulders in defeat. His ears curved. "I'm sorry, but... something very terrible has happened and I'm guessing it's only the beginning. I'm needed where the Royal Army needs me and I can't entertain some quest."

"But I was chosen by the gods!" said Stella.

"Perhaps," said Halmesh, "but the gods and their biddings are abstract and what has happened here--" He looked over at Cyrodil, smoke still rising from the buildings-- "is urgent. I need to go."

Stella looked over at the driver. The driver shrugged. "I'm being paid by the Royal Army--" The driver looked at the Royal Army insignia on Halmesh's shoulder-- "so if the lapid wants to head back towards Reynolph, that's where I'm going."

"But what about me?" asked Stella.

The driver saw Halmesh was ready to leave and went to the front of the carriage and hopped on board. Halmesh opened a door. "You'll have to manage. More important things are going on right now. Did you want to come?"

Stella scowled. "[i]No![/i]"

The lapid sighed then went inside and closed the door. There was a snap of a whip and the horses took off trotting before speeding up to a gallop. The carriage went up the hill and out of sight.

Stella was left in a cloud of dust left behind by the carriage. She looked back at the library, the flames settled but the smoke still bellowing from its windows. Stella fell on her knees and cried.

--