FSE

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"So when we see him, I'm going to punch him in the face."

The party looked up at their stalwart companion. The big, half naked orc was fed up with the journey, and frankly, so was everyone else. Room after room of corpses, all various types of monsters, sure, but it was still unsettling. It wasn't until they turned the corner and found themselves at the edge of what appeared to be an underground lake that the conversation continued.

"Sure," Ramone suggested, "But is that the best plan?"

"We've been over this a million times," El Gallo responded, "We play to our strengths, and punching things is mine. Unless you think I should suplex him instead?"

Ramone rolled his eyes, "Your macho man antics are certainly charming, but I'd prefer it if we had a plan more than just random acts of violence. He's gifted with the powers of the literal God of Death. In a pinch, I'm sure he could out-violence you."

El Gallo paused, "Okay, sure. But, I still want to do it, and if I get the chance, his face will be punched."

Maria noticed a bit of movement on the lake and raised a wing. Everyone stopped, suddenly alert, heads turning to see what was up. False alarm, it was just another corpse floating by. It was one of the fish people from before.

As everyone relaxed, Caradoc commented, "I get that he's a big bad death cultist, but I don't understand why he's just going around killing these people."

"Monsters," Maria corrected, "Not people."

"That's kind of harsh," Caradoc got suddenly very nervous, "They're just fish people, like how you're a bird person, or I'm a dragon person, or El Gallo's a..."

"Don't finish that," Ramone warned.

El Gallo laughed, "No seriously, what kind of animal person is an Orc?"

Ramone glared at his partner before pressing a finger into his piggy nose. The pair of them giggled like school children.

"What is wrong with you?" Maria snapped, "You are all acting like this is some sort of vacation. At any moment one of these..." she glared at Caradoc letting raw vitriol drip from the word, "...people..." she spat to get the taste out of her mouth, "...could jump out and try to kill us."

The adventurers all recoiled from this, none offering any sort of rebuttal. Eventually Caradoc tried, "Maria, I know what that guy did to you, but you can't judge..."

"Look at the writing on the walls," Maria got in the bard's face, "He was going to kill me to appease this jaguar 'person' they seem to worship. These images don't just show one guy doing the sacrifices, they're a cult. All of them. And this cult kills people. Probably their own 'people' if they can't find anyone else."

"Maria," Ramone stepped in, "We don't know..."

"They're monsters," Maria gave him a look that caused the man to take several steps back, "and even if Kane's a bigger monster, that doesn't make them worth our pity."

The adventurers stood in silence, each trading cautious looks, eventually Ramone being the silently agreed upon speaker for them.

"I'm sorry," Ramone took a second to pull his robe back over a bared shoulder, "But if we can keep things from getting violent, we will. Even if this violence would be directed towards a monster."

Maria stared daggers at him, "And what about Kane?"

Ramone made a gesture at his Orcish friend, "I'm sure Kane is going to be on the receiving end of a beating..."

"Ass kicking," El Gallo corrected.

"Sure," Ramone sighed but didn't break eye contact with Maria, "And while I doubt we'll be able to find a peaceful solution to our conflict, it is always worthwhile to try."

Their staring contest continued for several minutes before eventually El Gallo cleared his throat. Ramone sighed, allowing Maria the victory. Maria continued to stare up at him for another minute before returning her eyes to the room around them.

The room appeared to be an open cavern, with the only noticeable features being the body of water and the stalagtites above. The walls lacked the carvings that the more decorated rooms before did, featuring rough, natural walls instead. Upon closer inspection, the lake seemed to continue under the far wall, and there seemed to be some sort of little huts underwater. Maybe this was a living area for the fish creatures. Maria briefly contemplated where they might find food, but quickly dropped the idea.

"Back to the plan," Ramone spoke into the silence, "What are you planning to do about his Death Blade? When you go to punch him, what's stopping him from skewering you with death god power?"

El Gallo scratched his forehead through his mask, "Haven't gotten that far."

"Doesn't your mask protect you from that?" Caradoc asked.

El Gallo's eyes widened, "How did you know?" then he shook his head, "No, the Black Masks only work against psychic attacks and mind altering magic. Kane's Death Blade seems to do real physical damage by the looks of these remains." The orc pointed to a corpse that clearly had a slash through it's chest that was cauterized but still lethal.

"Oh, okay," Caradoc considered, "Do either of you know Dispel Magic?"

Ramone piped up, "I have it prepared. Once."

"Oh yeah," the kobold sighed, "I forgot it worked that way for you guys. Wait... do you think he's got it memorized multiple times?"

"Domain spell," Ramone suggested, "He can convert his other spells into it."

"Well that's confusing," Caradoc complained, "What about Antimagic Field?"

El Gallo brightened up, "There's an idea!"

Ramone sighed, "Except that you'd have to be the one to cast it. It's near impossible to cast such a thing on someone else, and even if it wasn't it takes mastery of magic that is frankly beyond what any of us are capable of."

"Why don't you just shoot him?" Maria suggested to Caradoc.

"Armor," the trio responded in unison.

"Okay, sure," Maria pointed out, "But here's the deal: He's been fighting wave after wave of monsters in this dungeon, probably expending spells the whole way, and doing it fast enough that we still haven't caught up with him. He's likely wounded, exhausted, and running low on magic. On top of that, there's four of us, and only two of them. Why are you acting like this is the end of the world?"

El Gallo's brow raised, "She has a point."

"Okay," Ramone conceded, "We'll try the Dispel Magic plan. I'll get rid of his Death Blade. Then you," he points at El Gallo, "grab him so he can't cast any further spells. Then you," Caradoc this time, "Use your magic to disable his accomplice."

Everyone seemed satisfied with this plan except Maria, "What do I do?"

Ramone thought for a second, "Check for traps and ambushes."

"I know that," she waved her wings in frustration, "But once the fight starts?"

Ramone stared at her for a minute then snapped his fingers, "This whole quest hinges on us finding the Sword of Kings. If he's already got the artifact, then grab it and run."

"Okay," not as attractive an idea as stabbing him, but that just left, "And what if he doesn't have it?"

Ramone raised a finger in response before realizing that he had no actual response to give.

"Watch for wandering monsters," El Gallo suggested.

Maria stared up at the Orc, but didn't object. Not out loud at least. She decided that if she got the chance, she'd stab the murderous asshole. If that wasn't according to plan, then so be it. Adventurers know how to improvise, right?

It wasn't long before the party found themselves in the final chamber. The room was huge, a stadium capable of sitting countless attendants centered around a grand stage. The walls were decorated with more images of the jaguar they seemed to worship. The images though, they depicted great storms, terrible earthquakes, for some reason long fields of corn, and also countless acts of sexual prowess.

It took Maria a long moment to take her eyes away from one image displaying the jaguar brutally strangling a woman as he fucked her, the unmistakable pleasure unnerving her, but when she finally did she noticed the pair of human atop the stage. Kane was here, and his accomplice had already noticed their approach.

"Uh, hey," the cloaked man shouted, "Death bro, we've got company."

Kane sighed, "I told you not to call me that."

The Inquistor cut off a spell he was focusing on and turned to face the party. His face was completely obscured by his helm, but Maria could feel the sneer behind it even at such a distance. He stood taller than his accomplice by a head, his aura filling the air around him with a dark, almost visible energy. Extending from his hand was a glowing green energy blade that seemed to warp reality around it.

As the party approached, Mr. Anonymous started to panic, glancing back occasionally at what appeared to be a golden hilted sword stabbed into a stone slab similar to the one Maria nearly just died upon. The soft glow of the blade drew Maria's attention. She didn't have much of a magical talent, but the quiet hum of power was so overt that there was no mistaking it. This must have been what they were looking for.

"A little late," Kane spoke, his voice in a near monotone, "Were you still expecting payment?"

"You know why we're here," El Gallo suggested.

"Do I?" Kane taunted without inflection, "Have I offended your morals?"

"How many of these deaths could have been avoided?" Ramone asked, "You struck down everyone in your path without even giving them a chance to back down."

"Not true," the sidekick pointed out, "Some of them escaped."

Kane turned his head to his companion for a moment, causing the cloaked man to recoil in fear, then the Inquisitor returned his gaze to Ramone, "Monsters. All of them."

"You bastard!" Maria shouted, she took a couple steps forward before Ramone caught her, "You killed Mother Marigold!"

Kane was unimpressed, "You cared for that abomination? Why? Did it trick you into thinking it had feelings? That it was a person?"

Maria began shouting again, but it was anyone's guess at what she was trying to say. Eventually the tears got to her, and she quieted, deciding that it would be better to draw the blade she nicked from her rapist.

"So it's a fight?" Kane asked, his voice still lacking any noticable emotion.

Ramone sighed, "We don't have to do this."

"We do," Maria growled.

"We do?" Kane finally broke into a laugh. A cold heartless laugh that gave Maria second thoughts.

El Gallo then stepped up, "Yeah, we do." He took one step onto the staircase leading to the stage, "You might think you're all that, but I've got news for you," he extended his muscular arm out to point at Kane, "Old news, that is. Cause that's all you are." As everyone grew confused, the Orc struck a pose flexing his arms, "Your path of destruction has reached its destination. That destination is Smackdown City, Population: you." It suddenly became clear to Maria that El Gallo was covering his approach with these words, "Cause you're going down." He waggled a finger on his next step, "And I'm not just talking 'to the mat', no, I'm taking you all the way down." He finally made it to the stage, "I'm talking six feet under. I'm talking dead and buried. I'm talking gone and forgotten." At this point he was within arm's reach of the confused Inquisitor, "And I just have one question..."

After a bit of silence no one dared speak into, Mr. Anonymous finally asked, "What's that?"

El Gallo gave the accomplice an approving nod before returning his serious glare at Kane, "Do you think you can handle El Gallo Masivo?"

Kane didn't respond with words, instead raising his glowing energy blade in order to strike El Gallo down. Before he could do that however, Ramone shouted, a Holy icon in one hand, and suddenly the blade vanished. Kane responded immediately by reaching for a spare sword at his hip, but before he could draw it, he had a half naked Orc's arms around him.

Mr. Anonymous stepped up, flourishing a blade of his own, but cursed as he suddenly found a crossbow bolt sticking out of his arm. Maria decided to take the chance to rush up, blade still drawn, but her short legs combined with the staircases steep angle made it a tough climb. Behind her, she could hear both Ramone and Caradoc begin chanting spells, but her attention was on the struggle above.

Kane managed to leverage a knee into El Gallo's groin, but the Orc was unfazed, lifting the fully armored man off his feet and over his head. The maneuver continued into a full suplex with Kane's helm colliding with the stone floor with a loud clang. They both quickly returned to their feet, only for El Gallo to make true on his promise to punch the man in the face. Suddenly Kane's helm went flying off, revealing a scarred and scared face hiding within a coif. The Inquisitor tried to regan his footing and cast a spell, but was hit with a blast of fire lobbed by Ramone, followed by two more of the like. Again he tried for a spell, but El Gallo lunged at him, tackling him to the ground, before pummeling him.

Mr. Anonymous stepped in to stab the Orc, but before he could, Maria made it to the top, and slashed at the cloaked man's leg. She didn't quite hit her mark, but the accomplice was still startled enough to step back and bump into the stone slab. Suddenly a spell leaped forth from Caradoc, filling the air with ghostly golden energy, and sweeping over the fight in an arc to land on Mr. Anonymous. It apparently slid right off the guy however, but again his lack of nerve got the better of him and he swept himself behind the stone slab, eye to eye with the sword.

Maria briefly considered taking her blade to Kane, but it seemed El Gallo still had him handled, so she resolved herself into the plan. She dashed for the sword, but the coward in a cloak got there first. He drew the blade, and as soon as he did, a blinding flash of light flooded the room. Everyone froze in place for a second, turning to look at the sword, but when nothing happened, everyone relaxed and Kane managed to land a return blow on the Orc. Suddenly, holding a magic sword, Mr. Anonymous got his nerve back and bounded over the slab to raise the blade.

"Wait, don't-" Kane shouted, but it was too late.

The blade twisted out of the accomplice's hand, as the nondescript man writhed in sudden pain. The sound of the blade clattering against the stone floor was deafening, but it was nothing compared to what followed. From seemingly nowhere yet also everywhere rang an ear shattering cackle. Vile and cruel in nature, yet all encompassing in scope.

The already poorly lit room grew darker. It was already cold, but suddenly it was freezing. The tension from battle was nothing compared to that caused by the growing fear. Something was growing in the room, something that could only be described as... wrong.

There was no smoke or flash of light to mask his arrival. Like a blink of the eye, suddenly there was a man standing atop the stone slab. He was tall and muscular, but not in the way El Gallo was, it was a runner's build, well defined despite being covered in a coat of fur. He had a long tail that flicked about, and his mostly exposed yellow fur was covered in brown spots. He had unnaturally long fangs to go with his twisted grin, and this tall headdress immediately made Maria look back at the murals. Sure enough, every depiction of the jaguar man was wearing one.

"Gnathiz?" Ramone whispered into the stunned room.

The jaguar man began laughing once more, this time causing inky black tendrils of pure dark magic to slither out of the stone floor. Before anyone could respond, the strange magic had wrapped itself around each one of the being's onlookers. The jaguar man stepped over Mr. Anonymous, who suddenly convulsed and gurgled as soon as the beings shadow past over him. Maria took that as a hint to get away, but the tendrils kept her locked down. She struggled with all her might, but made no progress.

The being touched her on the shoulder with a single open hand, and her whole world collapsed.

Maria awoke an instant later. She found herself in a boat sized for two people. Calm, perfectly still water stretched out as far as she could see, meeting a purple orange sky at the horizon. When she turned the other way, she could see an approaching black thunderstorm, but before that the Jaguar man was standing, his toes perfectly balanced, on the water like it was a marble floor twenty meters away. He was stark naked, and staring at her, a devious grin on his face.

No. Not again.

Having never been on a boat, Maria scrambled for what to do. It seemed to be a rowboat, but there were no oars. There was nothing, but the seat she was sitting on. Further, she no longer had her knife, in fact the borrowed clothes she had been wearing were completely missing as well.

She looked back up at the man, and found he was standing inches from the boat, the thunderstorm growing dangerously close. In shock, Maria fell back to the opposite side of her wooden vessel, but even as it rocked about, she noticed the water never gave a ripple. She panicked and tested the water by reaching a hand down to see if it was in fact solid ground. Her hand dipped in, but slowly like it was a thick nectar. She drew back her hand to find it was coated in the stuff, slowly oozing down her wing. And though it felt and looked like nectar, it didn't smell sweet, instead reminding her of the way humans do on hot days.

Without much hope, Maria turned back to the man. To her surprise, he remained standing over her, still on the water, just watching. His smile no longer showed teeth, save for the massive fangs that couldn't be hidden, instead he seemed thoughtful. His head tilted to one side for a moment, his arms crossed, his chest puffed out, his tail flicking about, and his... she just caught herself staring at his balls and sheath.

"What do you want with me?" Maria asked, surprised to find no fear in her own voice.

The jaguar laughed, but this time it sounded hearty, irreverent, and somehow attractive. She watched the muscles of his stomach ripple through the laugh, before looking back up to meet his eyes.

"I think you know, little one," the jaguar spoke with a hint of excitement in his voice.

Maria glanced past the man towards the thunderstorm, not sure if it was still growing near, then back at her... kidnapper? She had a certain idea of what he had in mind, but...

"Why?" She asked.

The jaguar's brow raised, "Why what?"

"Why me? Why here? Why..." she tried to come up with the right word, "Why would you even want this?"

Suddenly the jaguar was confused. He didn't seem to know how to answer at first, but slowly worked out an answer in his head.

"We are still in my shine," he pointed out, "Though I am currently leaving up the staircase, while you and your friends are convulsing on the floor. When I touched you, I got a glimpse of your..."

Maria's eyes grew wide.

The jaguar laughed suddenly, "...your emotions, little one. Not your memories, or even your thoughts. Don't be afraid, I didn't learn anything you wouldn't reveal through earnest prayer."

Something clicked in Maria's head, "You're a god..." she scrambled for the name, "Ramone called you Gnathiz."

"That is my name," the man confirmed, "I have been trapped, sealed within a magic blade for several centuries now, unable to see what was happening in the world, unable to grant my followers power, unable to even," his devious grin returned, "enjoy myself."

Maria felt herself swallow, "So you plan to have your way with me?"

Gnathiz blinked.

Maria continued, "That's why I'm here in your realm, right?"

The god bellowed a great laugh, one single "Ha!" before sighing, "No, little one. This is not my realm, this is yours. I am here because you wanted this."

"No," Maria carefully enunciated, "I don't want this."

"Oh?" The jaguar was genuinely alarmed, "Then I must have misread you."

For a brief moment, the two stared at each other in silence. Maria found herself feeling suddenly far less vulnerable, and to her surprise, she found the vulnerability she shed taken up by this strange being.

Eventually, the jaguar asked, "Do you mind if I join you?"

"Do you have to ask?" Maria returned.

"I am a guest in your mind," Gnathiz smiled warmly, "I strive to behave like one."

Maria realized that this whole time she had been still cowering down, so she straightened herself and found a seat, "Sure, I guess."

"Thank you," Gnathiz responded, stepping into the boat, his toes still miraculously dry, before taking a seat across from Maria. It seemed that the boat rocked only when Maria moved, as it remained steady when her 'guest' stepped in. "You have no idea how humbling it is to finally have a woman turn me down."

Maria was immediately reminded of the fact that she had slept with Caradoc less than an hour after learning his name. She decided not to let this 'god' know that, "I'm sorry, I've just not really had a good time with the whole sex thing."

Gnathiz laughed, "Is that what you meant by 'have your way with me'?" He shook his head, "No, I came in here to do something much grander..." his eyes then trailed down her body, "Though admittedly, I wouldn't turn you down if offered."

"Grander?" Maria shook her head, "Are you looking for more flunkies to perform blood rituals for you?"

Again Gnathiz blinked.

Maria found herself standing up, "Do you think I'm stupid? Do you think I don't know your some sort of Greater Evil? Do you think I'm so desperate for power that I'd kneel to some monster like you?"

Gnathiz waited for her to finish paitently and then a while longer, after Maria had calmed down a bit, he simply responded with, "No."

Maria huffed, "Then what do you think?"

"I think you need me."

"What?" Maria asked.

Gnathiz smiled, "Your friends are waking up, but they are not alone. There have been some... complications."

"What?" Maria asked again, "Send me back!"

Gnathiz laughed, "It's not that simple, but if you wish, however..."

The jaguar raised a hand to draw her attention to an image arriving from the peaceful distance. As it drew near, she could see several different figures... six of them. At first she didn't recognize any of them, but as she observed they slowly grew into focus. One was of her, though she looked much smaller than she really was. Then were the Flames, though they were shrouded in literal Flames. Kane appeared to be lifeless, like a corpse. Mr. Anonymous looked like a crude children's drawing. Caradoc was much larger than the others, literally towering over everyone. Finally the last figure was a twisted amalgamation of features from seemingly dozens people with their faces covering them head to toe, but they were spiraling out of a... it was the sword.

"I don't get it," Maria admitted.

Gnathiz sighed, "You are looking at their souls. I can't show you an actual image since your eyes were closed."

Maria was tempted to ask all sorts of new questions, but suddenly lost that urge when the corpse Kane managed to draw a weapon. The burning Orc stepped in to attack, but was cut down. Kane dashed for the sword, but Ramone drove him back with a volley of magic. Caradoc rushed in under this cover as Kane returned fire at Ramone striking him down with a spell of his own. This left Kane and Caradoc at pace with one another, and thankfully the suddenly giant kobold managed to grab the blade first.

Maria glanced up at Gnathiz who sighed, "We are still in the past. Keep watching."

Maria turned back to notice that she was no longer lying there, apparently the crudely drawn man had dragged her off, holding her as though he had an invisible dagger to her throat. No one else had noticed yet, as Kane was apparently trying to talk down to Caradoc, though no words were audible. Caradoc swung the soul filled sword at the corpse man who jumped back in shock. Apparently he was so startled by this that he decided to cut and run.

"Wait, what?" Maria asked.

"Interesting," Gnathiz thumbed over a fang, "Maybe there's more to this Kobold than he's led you to believe."

"What do you mean?" Maria demanded.

"Keep watching," Gnathiz ignored her question.

Suddenly Caradoc noticed the hostage situation. There was a lot of yelling, which apparently distorts the shape of the soul, but the drawing managed to hold his ground. The giant kobold stepped back, standing over El Gallo who's flames were staring to dim. The situation didn't change for a while until Caradoc reluctantly dropped the sword. The drawing wasn't satisfied, shaking the miniature Maria around like an abused rag doll. So Caradoc kicked the blade, sliding it over to the accomplice who cautiously, but quickly, stashed it behind his back. He then returned to holding the invisible weapon up to Maria's neck and slowly carried her away.

"They won?" Maria stared in disbelief.

"Not yet," Gnathiz grinned, "This cowardly man still has one more obstacle: You."

Maria looked up at the naked jaguar, "What can I do?"

"What can you do?" He parroted.

Maria sighed, taking the hint, "This is the part where you offer me power."

"Indeed."

The little black bird felt as small as her soul apparently was, she looked back at the images, then said, "I can handle this."

"Can you?"

Could she? When she came back to the real world, what was stopping Mr. Anonymous from killing her? And even if he decided not to, could she stop him from doing whatever else he wanted? If she survived, Mother Marigold was no longer around to protect her, so then what about José? Would she even get that far? What if there were more creatures lurking in the dungeon?

What about Kane? Could she live with herself knowing he got away?

"What's the price?" Maria finally asked.

"Devotion," Gnathiz smiled, "If you can follow my creeds and walk my path, then I will grant you my power."

"Alright, so..." she sighed, "What are these rules?"

"First, the mindset," Gnathiz stated, "Always face hardships head on. Never accept defeat. Never surrender. Stray from these values and your powers will weaken."

Maria narrowed her eyes, "That's a little vague."

"Second, the rules," Gnathiz continued, "Never cook your food..."

"Wait," Maria interrupted, "Does fermentation count?"

Gnathiz gave an exaggerated sigh, "Yes, now don't interrupt. Never cook your food. Never sleep in a structure you didn't help build. Never wear shoes. Fail to follow these rules and you'll lose your powers outright."

Maria scratched her head, "These rules seem pretty arbitrary."

"Finally, the ritual," Gnathiz ignored her comment, "In order for your power to grow, you must show your devotion. I hold domains over storms, hardship, blood, and lust. To gain power you must display your ability to master these domains yourself."

Maria suddenly realized where this was going.

"Each ritual is simple," the jaguar began, "Immerse yourself in the storm, be it rain, snow, or dust. Face trouble, pain, or especially injury without backing down. Engorge yourself on fresh blood. And of course indulge yourself with acts of lust whenever possible."

Maria's eyes fell wide, as she listened. The repercussions of these behaviors could haunt her, but... did she have a choice? Could she survive her current situation without accepting this power? Even if she survived, would she be able to live with herself if she didn't? She was weak, but did she have to be?

"Okay," Maria felt herself say, "As long as I don't have to kill anyone." Other than Kane.

***

Gnathiz smiled. He shifted his weight in the seat, spreading his legs a little. Maria's eyes immediately fell upon his exposed godhood, peaking out slightly from its sheath. Her eyes quickly returned to his, realizing he didn't fully approve of her.

"Prove your worth," the jaguar commanded.

The little bird hesitated, not sure exactly where to begin. Less than a week prior, she had been a virgin, and since then every male had taken the lead. What exactly was she supposed to do?

"I will not be left waiting," he stated.

Maria stepped over to his end of the boat, and again hesitated. He was handsome sure, but this situation was so awkward. With a sigh, she placed her hands on his chest to balance herself and reached up to kiss him.

"No," Gnathiz put a hand on her beak, forcing her back down, "I am not a god of love, we are not equals, and I will not debase myself with mortal sentiment."

She stared up at him blankly.

"Do I need to spell this out for you?" He threw his hands up in frustration, "Would you rather I leave you to your fate?"

Maria sighed, looking back down at his crotch, she reached a hand down and cautiously grasped his balls. She glanced back up to see he wasn't impressed, so remembering her one good sexual memory, she leaned in and... why was she doing this... she kissed the tip of his barely visible cock.

It moved a little, startling Maria, but she couldn't back down. She closed her eyes and stuck out her tongue, letting herself lick up the little bit of length peaking out of his sheath. The taste hit her system like a brick, it was awful. Feeling that she had to do something, she ran her free hand over the exposed shaft, slowly, feeling the much more pleasant texture on her fingers.

He responded more positively to this it seemed, growing a little more to her tactile exploration. She thumbed over the little spines on his member, shivering at the thought of them inside her. With a bit of sudden determination, she grasped his cock more tightly and worked her hand up and down it.

"Little one," Gnathiz spoke slowly as if she were very young, "If I wanted that, I could do it myself."

She looked up at him unsure of herself. He didn't move, still staring down at her, unimpressed. Maria took a deep breath and closed her eyes, she could do this. She might gag, but she could definitely do this.

Maria slid her beak down and around the prickly, pink prick. As soon as it was in her mouth, she regretted it, the horrible, musky taste assaulting her senses, but she pressed on. She let her tongue play with the spines, forcing him to twich inside her. Then she trailed her beak up and down the shaft slowly, testing his reaction.

Except he didn't really react much. She tried her best to endure the situation, but lost hope when she heard him yawn loudly. She looked up to notice he was stretching and was tossed back as he stood.

"I did misread you," Gnathiz declared, "Enjoy your fate."

Maria's eyes widened remembering the danger she was still in, "Wait, please. Give me another chance."

Gnathiz laughed, "Why should I? My only stake in this is enjoyment. I can find other, more willing, more capable champions. The outcome of our encounter only matters to you and your captor."

Searching for some sort of leverage, Maria spoke without considering the consequences, "What if I offer something better?"

"Better than devotion and servitude?" Gnathiz scoffed, then leaned down to get eye level with the little bird, "If you can't handle a basic task like this, what could you possibly offer me?"

Still working out the details in her head, Maria stumbled upon, "What if I build you a new temple? Gather you new followers? Spread your name in good faith like the other gods?"

The jaguar god seemed unimpressed, returning to stand above her disapprovingly. Maria looked about, the endless sea was still perfectly still, the storm was still approaching in the distance, and his thorny cock was still hard...

Maria swallowed, "What if I bare your child?" She immediately regretted those words, but if she had to...

Gnathiz laughed, "Oh really? You think I, the God of Lust, would be impressed by that offer?"

"What if..." Maria began.

"But you have a point," Gnathiz was suddenly introspective, "My children rarely live to see adulthood. That damned Phunee always outdid me there, but their children are many and never have true power. I could have an heir..."

"Uh..." Maria started to think of the ramifications beyond her own safety.

"And should I ever be imprisoned again, he could take my place," he shook his head, "or even fight to free me. I could grant him power greater than any divine champion and he could bring in a new era."

"Wait..." Maria tried, noticing that Gnathiz's erection was suddenly growing again.

"And then I would never be lost and forgotten again," Gnathiz looked down at her, "You may be unsuitable as a Bringer, but I will grant you power. As long as you carry my heir, you will have all the power you could want and more."

"Will this even work, since we're basically in a dream?" Maria tried desperately to get out of this situation.

"I am a god!" Gnathiz declared, "Fuck all these pretenses and pretend niceties. You want my child? Then I will show you your place, mortal."

"Am I even talking to the same person anymore?" Maria tried reasoning with him, "I'm not sure I can..."

Gnathiz grabbed her by the beak, forcing her to stop talking. He grinned, showing rows of sharp teeth behind his massive fangs, "Don't deny that you'll enjoy this."

Maria tried to object, but with the way he was holding her, she could speak or even adequately shake her head. She couldn't let this happen again. Why did this keep happening? What did she do to deserve this?

Gnathiz pushed her down, the boat rocking with her attempt to return to her feet. With a casual motion of his foot, the god pressed her down, her chest mashed against the seat. She struggled for a second, only causing another laugh. He continued to put more and more pressure on her, until eventually she stopped struggling.

Removing his foot, Gnathiz reached down to pull Maria up by her tail feathers, forcing her to her feet, letting her brace her hands on the seat. Maria closed her eyes tight, hoping that if she could will herself awake she'd be rid of the being. Her attempts to do so did little but allow her to ignore the movement behind her.

Soon she felt something wet touch her at her most tender region. The hot sensation caused her to look back in time to see his face hiding behind her black feathers. The rough texture of his tongue, ground into her, causing her to gasp out in... discomfort? Pleasure? Something.

Her knees buckled down as his first long pass trailed upward, but he pulled her up again by her tail. He went by for another pass, taking his time more than before, each second passing by like an hour, her body squirming, her heart racing, her mind struggling to rationalize how she was feeling. His tongue slipped in, and she no longer cared, electricity shooting through her system, a moan escaping her beak.

He withdrew without much fanfare, causing Maria to curse herself. It was just getting good. Damn it, she couldn't enjoy this. She shook her head, causing the god to laugh again.

"Stop lying to yourself," Gnathiz taunted, "Enjoy it. Give in."

She opened her beak to respond, but was cut off by the feeling of something else hot against her. She braced herself, it would all be over soon. The hot godhood prodded her toyingly, her hole aching for him to do more. He slid up and down her passage, never entering, causing her to writhe with anticipation. She could feel her feathers starting to get wet from their mixed liquids, but he continued to taunt her.

"Just do it already!" Maria found herself demanding.

Gnathiz stopped, "Are you giving a command to me?"

"Uh..." Maria considered her words carefully, "I..."

He thrust in in one single swift motion. The feeling of being suddenly filled was nothing like her previous experiences. There was pain, sure, but this time her vision exploded with color and her whole body twisted with sudden, unmistakable pleasure. What was different? She wasn't sure if she cared.

She felt a pair of claws grip hold of her sides, a bit more pain, but it didn't ruin the feeling of having him... he pressed in further. Maria's eyes grew wide with panic, as far as she knew she was already full, but apparently the god of lust begged to differ. She felt herself stretch around him, cauaing tears to well in her eyes, but her body seemed too ripe for molding, too ready to accept this wonderful torture. She couldn't tell if she was screaming in agony or in bliss as he plundered deeper and deeper still, until eventually his hips met her raised ass.

"Now," Gnathiz taunted, "Do you know your place?"

Maria tried not to answer him, to just silently let him win this one. The tightness in her loins was so immense she had difficulty trying to formulate words anyways.

"Answer me, Mortal," he demanded.

"Please," she whispered, "I mean, yes."

This seemed to be enough as he pulled back, his spines tickling her entrance. Thrusting back in hurt her, but she didn't care, as each time their hips met her body sang. Was this even real? Could it really feel so good? Did it matter?

She cried out his name, again and again, lost in the moment, wanting it to never end. But it didn't last long before her sense of time gave way in the wrong direction. Her senses collapsed into a single essence as she felt herself tighten even further around him, everything seemed to explode and she blacked out.

When Maria opened her eyes, she was being held tight, not quite strangled, with a knife not quite at her neck. She was back in the dungeon, and the Mysterious Stranger was carrying her through the room with the stone slab.

He didn't seem to notice that she had woken, but that wouldn't help her for long. She needed a method to get out of this situation. She glanced about with just her eyes, but aside from the corpse of her rapist, nothing caught her attention.

A feeling of dread filled her, but when she tried to fight past it, she noticed another feeling. Not an emotion per se, but definitely a feeling of some sort. Whatever it was, it was new and it was growing. It was growing hot. Her whole body felt like it was burning, but as she focused on it, she could feel it swirl about. She tried to make sense of it, and it became clear that it responded to her thoughts. She wasn't sure how, but she could will it to parts of her body. Was this Gnathiz's power?

She focused this energy to her hands and reached up to grab Mr. Anonymous by the wrist. A visible current of electricity ran up her wings from the elbow to his arm and through his body.

"Fuck!" Mr. Anonymous cursed, jumping back and dropping Maria to the floor.

She landed on her feet somehow, and turned to see the startled burglar. They stared at each other in silence for a moment, neither really sure what to do. The hooded man made the first move, thrusting his blade at her. Maria focused the energy again, but this time it manifested as a blast of wind, throwing her attacker into the nearby stone wall.

Not missing a beat, the man decided to cut his losses and run, which was caused a certain rush of victory in Maria until she noticed the golden hilt sticking out of his backpack.

Maria called forth her energy into another blast, this time trying desperately to make it stop him in his tracks. To her surprise, it worked. The power released as a burst of cold air that froze the floor in a line chasing after the guy. When it hit him, it created a layer of ice around his legs that traveled up him until it contained everything below his waist.

The accomplice struggled relentlessly, cursing and chiping at the ice with his knife. Deciding it would be too dangerous to get close, Maria called forth one more burst of energy, this time trying to think very passive thoughts, hoping it would put him to sleep or something. Instead, she got lightning again. Mr. Anonymous jerked suddenly but made no sound, then he fell limp, only held up by the ice containing his legs.

Maria looked down at her hands, suddenly very pleased with herself. She approached the frozen man carefully, but when he didn't respond, she did a little jig. Asshole deserved it.

She had a bit of difficulty reaching it, but she eventually managed to pull the sword out of his backpack. The golden hilt feeling quite nice to the touch, she considered running the guy through with it, just to make sure. Before she could though, she remembered what happened when he tried to wield it, and decided she'd be better off not doing that.

Footsteps behind her drew her attention shortly before the adventurers piled into the room. All three faces were in shock to see her holding the blade, then they each fell into relief and heavy breathing at different rates.

"What happened?" Ramone was the first to ask.

Maria glanced back at her handiwork and grinned, "I got him."

Ramone approached cautiously, El Gallo coming up just behind. They made a circuit around Mr. Anonymous before looking at each other and nodding. Then Ramone checked the asshole's wrist.

"Alive," Ramone declared, "What do we do with him?"

"Leave him," Caradoc suggested, "He's not worth it."

The Flames agreed, both turning their attention back to Maria.

"That's curious," Ramone stated, "You didn't have an aura a few minutes ago."

Maria felt herself heat up, not sure what to say.

"Powerful too," El Gallo added, "Very powerful."

"It matches," Ramone looked at his companion.

"Does," El Gallo confirmed.

Caradoc finally approached, "What are you talking about?"

Ramone pulled his garment back up over his shoulder as he carefully weighed his words, "It's been a few hundred years, but I think we've finally found a new Bringer of Gnathiz."

"No," Maria stated.

"No?" Ramone looked confused.

"No," Maria decided not to explain further.