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Fates of the Unicorns - Chapter 39 - Drained

If you are new to the story, this chapter is a good point to start. It introduces new characters and settings and has no spoilers. If you enjoy, I highly reccomend continuing with Chapter 1 - Arrival as the following chapters WILL contain spoilers for the plot.

Elyon walked through the woods with a confident step. She wasn't a big unicorn as they went. In fact, she was pretty small and frail, her body slim and delicate. She wore a soft, light robe and belt like most of her kind in the small village she was from.

She may be small, but she had no fear from whatever the forest had to offer. All her life conflict and danger seemed to avoid her like she were invisible to it. Wild animals that would run from others would stand by calmly while she reached out to pet them. Even when more dangerous animals like the wolves that roamed in packs would take one look at her and simply decide to go elsewhere. She knew she had magic in her. She could feel it, and sometimes control it. But mostly it just made other creatures do what she wanted. Even other unicorns could be affected. Other colts and fillies quickly learned not to mess with her. Getting close to her when she was angry made them nervous and uncomfortable, and soon it was just common knowledge that despite her size, there were better targets if one needed to play a mean joke on or otherwise have fun at their expense. When the rare party of furries would stop at the village for supplies or rest, they never leered or harassed her like they did to other mares or stallions if they got drunk. They just seemed to know better and leave her be.

She walked with no destination in mind, simply exploring. She loved to do that, to go out and just walk. Usually she would find herself in a hidden but beautiful clearing, some inner sense telling her where to find them. Other times she might feel the urge to sit by a tree, finding a precious stone the roots had pulled up over the years. She knew this was part of her magic too, but had never been able to develop it further. It would have been useful when she lost something if she could just know where it was, but she never found anything she was looking for. It was always a surprise. She would often travel for days, grazing as she went, loosing track of the time until she found what she had been looking for and returned to her small village. She rarely stayed long, preferring to get away from that large town. Why, there had to be at least fifty unicorns there. Crowded!

Today she felt that itch again, walking deeper into the southern woods than she had ever explored before. Other unicorns had been avoiding it for the past several moons, ever since a few disturbing animal remains had been found. They were piles of skeletons, but the bones looked almost melted, fused into an unrecognizable pile and covered in odd strands of some fabric that had mostly degraded by the time they were found. Elyon had no fear. Whatever was in the woulds wouldn't bother her, and it was probably nothing at all. maybe lighting hit them and turned them into the odd shapes she saw when a few bones had been brought back by a young stallion out exploring.

She walked softly now, her golden hooves silent in the moss covered dirt as she looked around. She was in a dense part of the forest now, not much light got through the thick canopy, the trees large and tall here and making it seem as if she was walking in a vast underground cave, the ceiling far above. Something was here... something interesting and different. There! Up ahead she saw the glint of something shiny and she smiled, wondering what it was. She squinted and let out a soft huh noise as she identified it as a bracelet. What was something like that doing out here. Did someone from her village drop it? Even from here she could sense it was old and was once powerful. It was empty now, but it still retained the echoes of once potent magics. Maybe there was more? Even old, used up magical artifacts were rare, and she was sure this was one. She quickened her pace, wanting to see if it might have any inscription or writings when she felt something press all around the front of her body. She recoiled but was unable to pull away. She saw it now, able to make out the nearly invisible strands of the web now that she was caught in it. She squirmed, shuddering as the sticky strands that clung and stuck to her. She wasn't afraid, but was upset... these were going to be quite a pain to get out of all her fur. She tugged hard on a leg and managed to free it. Aha!

A large creature rustled in the branches, the noise catching Elyon's attention. She looked up and gasped, seeing the most revolting animal she had ever laid eye on. It had a body the size of a horse, but with eight legs and more eyes than the unicorn could count. It's bulbous body was covered in hairs. It was clearly some sort of spider, but huge... and where she guessed it's mouth should have been was a mass of suckered tentacles, a dark opening in the center. She stopped struggling as she saw the thing. She had never heard of anything like it. She bit her lip and stayed still, just wanting it to forget her and go away like all the other dangerous animals did. But it didn't run. In fact, it started to climb down from the branches, working down a nearby tree which one side of the web was attached to. She focused, trying to will her ability to make the thing go away. But nothing happened!

The creature felt the magic flowing out from the prey at it. It was strong, but unfocused and it's questing mouth tentacles collected and absorbed the magic. More... it wanted more! It drooled thick and green as it moved eagerly. Dark food kept it fed and alive... but shining bright prey was needed to sate it's REAL hunger, and also to allow it to breed.

Elyon was still trapped in the web and unable to escape as the monster crawled onto the ground to loom over her. Now, for the first time she screamed. The grotesque thing reared up and extended it's abdomen at her, a several foot long fleshy appendage extended from the bottom of the thing. She tried to dodge or pull away but was helpless as it stabbed at her, a stinger embedded in the tip of the appendage sinking into her stomach and burning like fire! "Ahhh! Help! Help!" she screamed, and felt a hotness spreading from where it had stabbed her. She moaned, feeling her legs going weak, then her arms. "Help..." she cried out again, weakly... and then was unable to do more than make soft moaning sounds, her body unresponsive. Her head slumped as she trembled weakly from the toxins raging through her body.

The giant spider waited... instincts telling it to make sure the prey was not faking, poking at her with one of it's long limbs. Satisfied it crouched on four legs and grabbed the paralyzed unicorn in two, extending the appendage again. This time instead of stinging her it began to extrude sticky strands, spinning the unicorn mare as it wrapped her in layer upon layer of webbing.

Elyon spun around and around, dizzy and unable to tell what was going on. Her body was covered in the strands, hooves and legs pinned together, arms pressed to her sides, her small breasts squeezed in the tight silky strands. Only her head wasn't completely covered, letting her breath and still able to see. Her vision was still spinning as she felt herself yanked upward, the spider climbing up into it's nest. She managed a small whimper as she was stuck to a mass of webbing, hanging like a sack of clothes. She gulped in fear... she had to make it go away. Now!

Elyon wished the giant thing away with all her might. She put all her will into it, focusing like she never did before. With a glow like warm sunshine flowing from her horn and into her body she felt the power rise in her. Yes! She stared straight into a cluster of eyes and thought, "Go away! Now!" Power flowed through her and out at the creature. She could almost see the energy as it poured into the monster and... nothing. It just sat there, unaffected. She whimpered... she had never felt anything like that before... she was SURE she had just done something but nothing happened! Now she was truly afraid, her hooves would be shaking if they were not paralyzed and tightly bound.

The creature writhed it's feeding tentacles as another blast of magic came at it, even stronger than the first. It was so hungry, it wanted more... it wanted it ALL!

She watched the monster considering her, then in quick, alien movements it surged forward to block her view of the underside of the forest canopy. She tried to scream for help again but could only mumble and moan as the creatures head loomed in her vision. The mass of slimy tentacles was outstretched like a hand with a dozen fingers, the tips wriggling and questing in her direction. Her terror was beginning to build now, her mind racing, trying to escape. She managed to twitch a hoof, her body fighting off whatever poison the thing had injected her with. She stopped trying to scream and instead closed her mouth and tried to turn her head away as she saw the monster get closer and closer, it's intentions clear... it was going to eat her! She screamed for help, even if it was only in her own head... pleading for someone, anyone to find and rescue her! With an effort she reached out instinctively with her power, her panic increasing her power until she felt just the barest sensation of two minds and called out for help. Then she faltered, seeing the looming shape of the monster's terrible mouth right in front of her muzzle!

The circular mass of tentacles closed over the unicorns face and muzzle, wrapping around her nose and head, several curling around her horn. Putrid smelling greenish slime coated her muzzle, the tips probing and exploring. She pressed her lips tightly together as it pried at them. Elyon closed her eyes as the slimy things flowed over her face and gripped it tight, waiting for it to eat her head, expecting those large pincers to close over her skull and crush it with a loud crunch. But it didn't, instead it just held her... tentacles probing and gripping. One explored a nostril, leaving it's sticky drool smeared inside. She kicked a hoof weakly, trying not to breathe, the stench of the thing nearly unbearable. She felt the top of a tentacle slide into a large ear and shuddered at the awful sensation, her mind nearly insane with fear and terror. Then all her fear vanished, burned away as if a bolt of lightning has just struck her body, shocking her stiff and rigid. The tentacles felt like they were burning her face... and her horn! The long golden spiral ached like it was being ripped out of her skull! The feeling continued and intensified as she felt a terrible sucking sensation, as if her very mind were being pulled out of her head. Her hoof stilled, weakness flooding back into her as she dimly realized what was happening to her... the monster was feeding on her magic... draining her! She could FEEL her horn giving up it's vast, but finite store of power. She tried to struggle even more now, but her mind refused to work, her horn screaming in agony as the magic was ripped out of it by force. She cried out and howled silently, trying to stop the creature from stealing her very life, but was helpless in it's foul, disgusting grasp. The mare was still and quiet in her tight cocoon as the spider sucked on her with suction-cup lined suckers attached to her head and horn, feeding on her magic. She wailed silently, her strength failing her, and feeling her horn being emptied of it's power, and finally let out a breath and slipped into unconsciousness.

The creature had not fed like this for decades. It was used to feeding on the small goodies some prey carried with them, and occasionally found prey that had the tasty essence it so craved. But this one was full of it. Even after drinking it's fill it could sense there was a little bit left. It would make many, many eggs sacks from this prey. It got busy, preparing a proper spot in it's nest to lay them.

Elyon hung for hours, her face slack, tongue hanging out as she drooled... her mind blasted away into darkness from the rape of her horn. Eventually she made soft groaning noises and slowly woke. Her head throbbed and pounded like never before. She had bumped her head before, but this pain was far worse. Her very horn ached and it had NEVER done that. She stared dumbly at the dark forest flow below her, unable to think, her mind seeming to be full of the same webs that bound her. Webs? She shook her head a much as she could and slowly lifted her head, and let out a weak scream as she saw the spider-like creature nesting nearby. She tried to squirm, wondering why she was still paralyzed. You couldn't poison a unicorn, not for long! She should have recovered by now. She COULD wriggle about, enough to sway in her hanging prison. She licked her dry lips and then spat in disgust, tasting the creatures slime on her face. What had it done to her? She shuddered in horror as she recalled the tentacles seeming to suck her very life out of her. Her head hurt so bad, and the rest of her body ached as well.

The movement attracted the spiders attention, it's numerous eyes peering at it's prized possession. Moving! Bad! Sting. STING!

Elyon froze as the beast stirred, and made it's way to her, each of it's legs grabbing the thick strands of webbing that made up it's nest. She cried out as it once more turned it's abdomen in her direction and the scorpion like tail jabbed into her unresisting flesh. Fresh poison flowed into her and her scream lasted only seconds before even that was denied her. Her eyes moved weakly as her paralyzed body hung limply... her body only another prison inside the trap of sticky webs cocooning her. It was too much for her, the terror and poison and the aching pain of her horn and she passed out, eyes sliding closed.

Over the following days the unicorn woke again and again, only to see the spider looming over her and once more wrap her face and head in the terrible suckered tentacles, draining what little magic she had recovered and sending her to the brink of death, her mind numbed by the agony of her magic being fed on, eaten by the ravenous monster. Without her magic she couldn't heal from the wounds the spider continued to give her as it stung and poisoned her to keep her still and helpless. She was unconscious for much of the time, only waking when she saw that squid-like face looming before her, ready to wrap her head and muzzle, and horn in it's horrifying embrace. Each time it sucked on her power she felt it get a little closer to breaking her... fearing, dreading that this time her horn would simply crack in half as it finally was drained totally empty. She lost track of how many times it fed on her, and never really noticed when she stopped fearing death and began to yearn for it.

...

"We are truly in the middle of a wasteland," said Rolph. The two grey wolves rode on their horses, having left their small trading cart hidden off of what the locals here called a wagon trail. Rolph continued, "Tell me again why we left our cart, and all our goods behind to go wander into these woods?"

Oldan barked back, "We BOTH agreed we should investigate in this direction. Both of us having a hunch at the same time had to mean something. I'm sure there is some bit of lost treasure around here somewhere."

Silent again they rode on, winding their way through the trees, searching out open areas that were easier to squeeze there mounts through. They had spent much of the day traveling, and both felt they had to be close.

Oldan said, "Hold on." He pulled his mount to a halt, sliding off the gelding and tying him to a tree. His partner did the same, giving him a questioning look. Oldan motioned silently and pointed, "Look... see it? Up there."

Rolph squinted and then saw it... patches of white. Almost like a fog from the distance, but looking closely he could see it was the edge of what must be a huge nest in the trees. A web.

The two former mercenaries, now turned traders had not lost their combat edge, even if they had abandoned the mercenary life as far too dangerous and risky for their tastes. Both pulled out longbows and quivers, quietly discussing the best poison to coat the arrowheads in and the best way to approach the spiders lair.

Rolph said, "Just take it slow and steady and watch for ground level webs. These big suckers are shy... it won't come down to attack us unless it knows we are trapped in it's web. We just have to spot it and kill the bloody thing. The fangs alone will fetch a good price, more if it's a rare breed."

Slowly they stalked the ground, being careful not to blunder into any web strands. They soon found themselves under the edge of the nest, looking up info the dim canopy. Rolph, the leader of the two picked up a branch and with a snap of his arm, flung it hard in the direction of the spiders web. The branch flew through the air for some distance before suddenly getting caught on nearly invisible strands. Both wolves tilted their gaze upward, looking for any signs of movement.

The creature sensed the disturbance in it's web and unfolded it's legs to creep out of it's hanging nest to investigate whatever had pulled on it's strands. It looked down, dim intelligence noting nothing was moving. Prey struggled and vibrated and made noise. It began to turn in place, looking about when a sharp, searing pain erupted in it's side. It shrieked a horrid cry, spinning around to face it's attacker but found nothing. A second pain stabbed into it's underbelly, sending fire racing into the bulbous mass of it's body. It shrieked again, thrashing in a frenzy, slashing strands of webbing, lashing out at anything it could as it tried to find it's attacker. A dozen more poisoned arrows found their mark as it scrambled for higher ground, shredding much of it's lair and sending branches and clumps of webbing, as well as old cocoons of prey tumbling to the ground.

The two wolves lost sight of the creature as debris rained down into the clearing under the large nest. They both kept a sharp eye, but knew the poison was powerful and whatever was up there was as good as dead. Venomous animals may be immune to their own poison, but rarely were they immune to another of a different species. They couldn't see it, but could hear the thing moving about. Without warning a large dark shape came crashing down to land with a heavy thud on the ground.

Oldan swore! "What an ugly bastard... look at the SIZE of that thing," he said. He let loose another arrow into the creature, but he could see that it was finished. The fall had snapped several of it's legs and ruptured the body, sending guts and ichor in a spray across the forest floor. Already it was only twitching, and after a few minutes it was still.

Rolph stood, examining the canopy for anything sound or motion, but once the rain of garbage and branches from the nest had ceased there was nothing. "Thats no spider..." he said as he looked over the beast.

Oldan said, "Never saw one that big before! What IS it?" He shook his head at the thing... it was easily the size of one of their horses, maybe a bit smaller. Hard to tell with it being all... flattened from the fall.

Rolph said, "I'm not sure, but it sure looks like a magleech."

Oldan said, "What the hell is that? Never heard of them. Looks like a big spider with... ugh... whats wrong with its head?"

Rolph picked his way closer, careful not to get stuck in any of the sticky strands now littering the space between the trees. "Something the ancients cooked up. Seeks out magic and eats it. Pretty rare nowadays with so little magic around to feed on. I only heard about them, never seen one before." He pilled one more arrow from his quiver and pulled back on his bow, grunting with the effort after letting so many fly just moments before. He took aim and let go, the arrow flying straight into the head of the creature. Other than a slight rocking motion from the impact, it made no movement at all. Good and dead. What an ugly thing... that face and all those slimy tentacles.

Oldan poked at a large cocoon that was laying crushed on the ground. He gagged a bit at the smell, seeing bones and putrid flesh inside. "I think I'm going to be sick" he said and moved away from the various rotting bits of prey, and the smell of the big creature lying in a heap.

Rolph let out a laughing bark, "Go be sick somewhere else... I'll do the dirty work here you coward."

Oldan managed to hold onto his lunch, but just barely. He took slow, deep breaths, and then froze as he heard a noise. Spinning he brandished his sword as he looked up. Almost directly above him was another cocoon, but this one was not stained and leaking nasty fluids. It looked quite fresh, and it was moving. he felt queasy, wondering what poor animal was in there. He prepared to put it out of his misery when he caught the glint of gold near the top. It couldn't be. "Rolph! Over here!" he cried.

Rolph sprang up and rushed to his friend and partner, looking up at the hanging mass. He saw it too. "Is that a unicorn in there? And it is still alive?"

They quickly used their swords to hack away at the sticky strands, each one cut lowering the large sack lower and lower until it lay on the ground.

Elyon heard the voices as if in a dream. She had just been recently poisoned again and couldn't even twitch or open her eyes. She had not been fed on the last several times she had woken, but could feel something pressed against her body, and could feel a slow, but steady flow of her magic into it. Then there was that terrible noise, and the slow jerking falls until she finally thumped onto the ground on her side. Through her aches and pains and weakness the voices were closer and clearer, blurry shapes moving near. She tried to say something, to plead for help, but the effort was too much and she slipped back into near unconsciousness, only able to moan weakly.

Rolph leaned down to look. It was a unicorn all right, moaning softly. Only part of it's head was visible, the rest of the body tightly wrapped. The horn was wrapped in a few strands from the fall, but gleamed brightly even in the dim light. It's eyes were closed and it seemed asleep, or perhaps stunned from the fall. The cocoon was lumpy and misshape, making it hard to tell the shape underneath, but he was pretty sure from her face that it was a mare.

The two wolves looked at each other. They both knew what was a unicorn was worth on the illegal slave trade. They had been mercenaries before and were well aware of what went on, even though they had never been directly involved. One unicorn... that could set them both up for life.

Oldan looked at the horn greedily, "I think... maybe this is, the treasure we came looking for."

Once his partner had said it, any hesitation in Rolph's mind vanished. Every furry for himself you know. He said, "We can make space for her in the wagon... hide her while we make our way to the border. It will be a long ride, but just think of what it's worth!"

Oldan said, "Will the price have dropped since the dragons raided all those villages closer to the border?"

Rolph said, "Probably... but still... half a fortune is still a fortune!"

Oldan looked closer at the bound unicorn. The cocoon had a noticeable bulge over her chest and belly. Looking closer he could see there was something inside the cocoon with her. "Rolph... whats that?" he asked.

Rolph took a closer look and wrinkled his snout in disgust, "Thats an egg sack if I'm not mistaken." He stood back up and considered, "These things need magic to breed, it's why there are not many of them around. That one was pretty old judging by it's size, but clearly still young enough to be able to lay eggs." He rubbed at his muzzle, "Unicorns are dangerous... those damn horns and all, and they heal damn fast. This one doesn't look too good... the magleech probably was feeding off her magic. If she recovers she will be quite a handful. I think we better keep that egg sack right where it is. It will keep her weak and manageable."

Oldan looked her over and said, "Damn... such a fine piece of ass and she is all covered in this crap. Her mouth is free... no harm in testing the merchandise, is there?" He already had an uncomfortable erection and reached into his pants to adjust himself. "Maybe we can even cut a little hole and get at her ass..."

Rolph said, "No... we don't touch her. We will get a better price if she hasn't been raped."

Oldan said, "It's not rape if she's not even awake for it! Besides, how would they... oh right. You can't lie to the scaly bastards, they always know. Well shit. I'm going to be seriously horny if we have to spend a few moons carrying a hot little unicorn mare around and I can't fuck her!"

Rolph laughed and said, "You can BUY a dozen whores with your share every night for the rest of your life. Deal."

Oldan said, "Right. Maybe a little peek at her tits would be ok..."

...

She woke again to a steady, bumping movement. Her head was a bit clearer but she was still weak, so weak. Trees moved pass her field of view and she thought she could smell horse. Had someone found her? She tried to make a sound again, but once more faded off before she was able.

...

Elyon was more aware when she woke the third time. Her eyes opened and she looked at a pair of wolves gazing down at her. She had no fear of the grey-furred people, nobody ever hurt her. Grateful to be rescued she tried to speak, but simply stared in shock as one of the wolves took a belt and muzzled her! What? She stared at the wolf in surprise. Then she focused and thought at him... HELP ME! As she tried to draw on her power she only felt a sharp pain in her horn and skull, seeing red and blacking out.

...

The bouncing and jolting of the cart woke her the next day. It was dark and she moaned softly, hardly able to hear it herself. Confused she tried to squirm, but the tight webbing didn't give at all, and she felt more bindings of rope around her. Where was she? She was buried under piles of something, hardly enough air to breath. She remembered the wolves then, and the pain of trying to MAKE them help her. She shuddered, she was so weak... so empty. A unicorn's horn was not just the source of their magic, but of their very life. To loose it meant death, and she was very close to that. She could feel her horn at it's limits, only producing a trickle of magic now... and that was being pulled from her body by whatever was pressed against her. Memories slowly came back to her... recalling the words she had heard. Egg sack? That... thing had laid it's eggs onto the cocoon she was trapped within! Thats why it has stopped feeing on her... so it's... young could. The horror of the revelation was too much for her and she once more slipped into darkness.

...

She rarely woke for more than a few moments at a time after that, too weak to maintain consciousness. The meager magic of her horn just able to keep her alive in her prison, her mind slipping into a coma-like sleep for long periods to conserve her strength. Sometimes she was awake enough to drink some water, and fed a mush-like meal. But always she was gagged and covered back up, never strong enough to stay conscious for long.

It was a long road to the dragon borderlands, the unicorn steadily weakening as the eggs slowly grew and demanded more and more from her. There was very little for them to feed on, so they did not grow fast. She had log ago stopped struggling when she woke and instead simply tried to slip back into her dreamless slumber, letting the darkness take her.

...

Talos slid off the drake and nodded a thanks to it's Master, giving the beast a pat as he looked around curiously. He had never been this close to the furry lands before. It was all very flat and open and he didn't like the exposed feeling.

"This way, Master Talos" said a burly dragon who had come up to meet him.

The purple and silver scaled dragon nodded and began to walk with his guide. "Is it far? I am very curious to see this unicorn" he said. He was very curious indeed. He had been contacted early that morning by the Dragon Council. Apparently a slave was discovered to possess some serious magical ability, but there were complications. Talos was dispatched to investigate and provide any assistance needed. All dragons could see and feel magic, it was their nature. So when the new slave had been examined, the dragons could sense the latent power within this one, and reported it it as a matter of fact. Magic uses could be very valuable, but also vary dangerous. Talos would be prepared to deal with her if she was either, or both.

Talos entered the cave where the unicorn, and her two captors had been given quarters. The two wolves were traders and were wearing sashes indicating them to be guests of the dragon empire. Talos ignored them, moving to get a closer look at what lay on the bed, leaving a pair of dragon guards at the door. On the bed was a mass of sticky, off-white webbing containing the unicorn mare. She was bound in the sticky stuff from her hooves up to her neck, strands covering much of her face as well. Only the tops of her breasts were free, the strands visibly cut to reveal her nipples, the rest of the strands squeezing her pert mounds into attractive bulges. Clearly the wolves had a little fun at her expense. But her sticky cocoon wasn't what really caught his interest. It wasn't even her body. It was the feel, taste and sight of her magical aura. Even without touching her he could feel the magical energies in the room being drawn in her direction as if she were a hole which the air was being slowly drawn into. It was a striking sight, one that indicated she possessed quite a bit of potential. What was strange was with all the power she was drawing in, she seemed to be almost devoid of magic. He reached out to touch her horn and gave a bit of a gasp, pulling back. For just a moment he could feel something reaching out from her horn, sucking at his power like a thirsty sponge, leaving his finger tingling and making him sway on his feet before recovering his balance.

Elyon gasped and opened her eyes, feeling the flow of power into her like warm water washing away the biting cold, the endless ache of her near exhausted horn easing just a bit. She shuddered as she felt the creatures stir, their tiny fangs biting her, feeding off her blood, devouring her magic and even that small relief was again denied her as she once more was drained, her magic consumed. She slumped back and looked up at the purple face of a dragon. She had seen others, earlier when they examined her. Would this one be eating her? Thats what dragons did, wasn't it?

Talos rubbed his fingers, watching the unicorn stir and then sink back, her tongue lolling out of her open mouth. He stroked the side of her face, careful not to touch her horn and made a displeased noise as he brushed against the sticky webbing. He used his claws to get under it and pulled a mass of the stuff off her nose and face, meeting her gaze as she stared up at him, already half-unconscious. He squinted at the unicorn's horn. They simply didn't react like that. A unicorns magic was notoriously linked to their own bodies and should not be interacting with his. Looking closer at her horn he thought he could make out sickly green threads running through it. That was very wrong, it was very clear that wasn't part of her. He stood back and looked her over, seeing a similar glow of magic coming from the large bulging egg sack covering her belly and pressed up against the underside of her breasts. If he stared hard enough he could almost see her energies being... what... siphoned into it?

One of the wolves stepped forward, "Sir... I can see you are a valued, and high ranking dragon. We are offering not only this unicorn, but the eggs attached to the webbing. They are from a rare creature called a magleech. They would be quite useful in controlling unicorns and other magical creatures as you can see. These have kept this one quiet and helpless the entire trip. Let just one grow to an adult, and you could keep her weak and drained by daily sessions with the creature. What we ask is quite a fair price for the unicorn and a way to control her kind."

Elyon shuddered in horror at the thought of spending the rest of her life like this, weak and helpless, being fed on, her horn aching so terribly as the magic was endlessly torn from it. Visions of the large monster pressing it's face to hers, tentacles questing... no! Her muzzle was still closed tightly with the belt but she struggled to protest, even to beg. She could only twitch and flare her nostrils, eyes wide and pleading, using up her reserves in her desperate struggles.

Talos growled, "Magleach eggs?" He took a step back, wary now of the bundled mass, a hand lifting as wisps of power began to gather about his fingers like a faint flame. "Guards! See that lump on her? Cut it off and burn it. Immediately!"

Rolph knew better than to get in the way of a dragon on a mission, but he protested, "Sir! If you are not interested, they are still out propert...aahhhhggh!"

Talos held the wolf's throat in his free hand. He wasn't a warrior with bulging muscles, but he was a healthy dragon and part of a dragons magic was their extraordinary strength. He lifted the wolf to his toes with ease and hissed, "I could have you sentenced to slavery, or worse for bringing such a dangerous creature here. These things EAT magic. The war with the insects greatly depends on a number of artifacts we use. We take NO chances with such creatures." He tossed the wolf back several steps and said, "Get them out of here. Have them paid, and escorted OUT of here. Oh... and have someone question them on where they found these eggs. We may need to eradicate a nest of them." He made a fist, quenching the magic streaming from it and calmed himself. He had nearly lashed out at the wolf with his magic, which would have been bad for both of them.

Elyon let out a muffled whimper as the guards began cutting away the egg sack with the immature creatures within. They bit at her in anger as they were disturbed, squirming in their protective cocoon as it was slowly worked free of the unicorns warm body.

One of the guards yanked a hand back, bitten and started to let go of the mass, a few larvae like leeches escaping from the torn top and biting at the unicorns already abused breasts.

"Don't be such a hatchling!" growled Talos. "They are too small to pose a danger from just a few bites. You let any escape and I'll make sure your dick is used as bait to try and lure them out!" He watched the guards grimace as they collected the escaped leeches and finished pulling the large egg sack off her, shoving the nasty mess into a small metal can and sealing it tightly closed. He turned his attention back to the unicorn and winced. The underside of her breasts and her entire belly and chest were covered in angry welts where the immature larva had been biting her to feed and poison her. Her horn should have fought off the toxin, but now he knew why she seemed so empty... those things had been feeding off her magic, allowing little if any to work it's healing on her body and the poison coursing through her veins. She must have a considerable amount of power to have survived this long.

Elyon moaned. For the first time in what must have been years, or even centuries she felt her horn grow warmer, the freezing ache of the terrible feeding fading away... no longer feeling her body and horn invaded and consumed. Now the healing energies began to flow into her body and do their work. It was still hardly more than enough to keep her going, but it felt amazing none the less. She stared at the purple dragon in relief, not even caring that it was a dragon that took away the horrifying spawn that had terrorized and tortured her for so long. She only cared that they were gone. She trembled and slumped back, the silver-lined face of the purple dragon growing out of focus as she passed out.

Talos bent over the unconscious form of the mare and touched her horn again. With the tendrils of the leeches no longer twined throughout the horn it no longer burned at his touch, letting him take his time to examine it. He stared at the glow coming from it. It was dull and a patchwork of holes made it seem hollow and eaten away. But he could see that slowly, very slowly it was beginning to fill in and heal. She would need to be cared for until she was well. He saw the magic in the air bending and swirling like a vortex centered around her horn. Yes... she had potential all right. Without her awake and in control of her abilities he had no idea what she was capable of. It was good she was so weak. By the time she was fully recovered he would have had plenty of time to learn how to deal with her safely. Dragons had a large supply of ancient magical artifacts that could help control a mage's untamed powers. Most however required the mage to willingly accept them, for even a small amount of power could prevent them from engaging their spells. With her so weak and nearly empty of magic they should be able to get her fitted and protected with ease. He decided haste was in order. She should be brought back to the capital immediately.

"I need to be back in the capital now" he said, standing up and wiping at the web strands stuck to his fingers and claws. "Arrange transport for me, and for this mare. Get a slave in here to clean her up. Make sure there are no other surprises in that mess she is wrapped up in."

The guard nodded, "Yes sir!"

Talos considered the sleeping unicorn as she was cleaned up and made ready for transport, hoping she would be able to recover. Twice now he had been called upon to inspect a unicorn mare. It was beginning to become a habit. He smiled. One could only hope.