FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

The sound of the horse's hooves reverberated against the tall wooden trees. It was loud; a click and a clacker as it drew closer towards the manor ahead. Leather mounts and gnarled rope straps lashed around the animal's neck and belly creaked and strained with the weight of the wooden carriage that it pulled. With each bump and cut out of the dirt path it travelled over, the frame creaked and shook. Aside from the rasping of wooden boards, what also could be heard was the rattle of blunt steel and flat iron.

A sword or two had fallen from its rack at the back of the cart, and now jumped and slid from corner to corner at the bottom of the foot-well. It wasn't even a sword worthy of being properly sheathed. Even if it was, the dirt and grime would only dirty the inner linings that could be reserved for much better looking lumps of iron. Even now as it was sliding from side to side it dulled itself even further. Any sharper though, and it would have cut not just the wood into splinters but the bare-feet of the owner of that carriage. Of course, to him it might not have even sliced his scales.

He was not a human traveller like most passers-by might see, but instead his lineage was more reptilian. From the toes to the top of his head, he was covered in slick, yet strong scales coloured a mixture of mild green and bright white. They covered a slim frame, complete with hands featuring minor claws and horns on the leather armour he wore. They certainly weren't something to be messed around with, each one was at least a couple of inches long, and filed sharp enough to draw blood if used the right way. Behind him were two folded wings that were more for intimidation than flight, each one roughly four feet from the top to the base. These were coloured brown and green, and from a distance the draconian figure would blend and disappear with the background.

It seemed as if he was asleep with the way that he barely reacted to the jiggling and rocking of the wooden cart; even tilting from side to side didn't make him stir. The sound of the rumble of the wheels on the dirt path echoed off the trees he passed by, punctuated only by the snort and the trot of the horses. Inside the little cart that held only him, was the reason for the adventure. To all eyes it seemed to be just a little piece of jewellery, an amulet to be more precise. Even then it barely fit around his neck. From one of those abandoned castles that had trees surrounding it taller than its battlements, Rhaegar had been sent in to find it. It was strange to get something that wasn't stolen in a place so remote. Usually thieves arrived as soon as it was left open, descending like vultures on anything left alone for longer than a few minutes. While there had been a little greeting party, they hadn't exactly rummaged as deeply as first believed.

It had tingled in his hand when his scales had met its sheen surface, giving him a little bit of unease. The cold, thin chain managed to give off a little shine, even when it was thrust into a pocket or hid from shadow. It hadn't seemed too heavy to the touch, in fact the exact opposite. So it now sat in a small wooden box that was all scratched and worn down, definitely not as illustrious as the untarnished silver chain links. The old owner of such an amulet wouldn't have been so happy to see it jostle and risk shattering several times along the way. The small glass sphere that had those silver chains attached to it held a minuscule amount of a clear liquid that many would mistake as water. Even Rhaegar himself didn't think it was up to much, but of course for the maximum reward he knew that it would be better to give it back without significant damage. He was only lucky that he hadn't had to fight his way out as well as in.

---

Bandits had, in fact, managed to capture and hold this nature-overrun castle and live inside it for quite a while. Without much opposition, only about eight bandits were needed to comfortably ensure that the run-down castle, that had once held a duke and his servants, was now in the control of folks less inclined to be clean and respectful to whatever was left. Gnarled teeth and ugly sores blighted the rabble, and their inability to keep to the most basic of hygiene standards was not such an enviable trait. Bartering with these bandits was not going to be an option.

The three silent adventures snuck quietly up to the towering wall of the fading stone castle. The forest had provided enough cover for them to approach without being spotted. A lazy guard nearly napping atop the single outpost was dealt with quickly; just a single arrow shot by their archer accurately took him down. But they had to move fast, it wouldn't be more than a few minutes before someone noticed. The doors stood just before them, and a mildly rehearsed plan was put into action; Rhaegar, the rogue, would have his hand on one door and open it while a half-orc, whose name eluded him, would open the other.

The elven archer would be standing several meters back from the doors when they opened, a viciously sharp arrow cocked and ready to fly at blistering speeds to strike true at whoever managed to unfortunately stand in the way. Both could hear the creak of the bowstrings held taut while their hands grasped onto the metal rings serving as door-handles. It would be on 'three' and from there the next several minutes would hear clashing steel and roars of anger. For now it was almost silent save for the wind and the creaking of yew trees behind the trio. They hadn't noticed their missing comrade just yet.

Rhaegar turned his head to glance at the half-orc, nodding a silent countdown. The three of them would be easily able to take on whatever was inside. Warriors versus bandits was always an easy fight. Silently, Rhaegar exhaled one last time before their attack. Even though he didn't speak the words, he mouthed their sound.

"One."

"Two.

"Three!"

---

Ahead of him now lay his destination; far less impressive and gigantic in size than the last castle. Each wall stood half as tall as the trees surrounding it, and the light wooden walls barely stood out against the bark of the wood. His employer, who lived in the small, private manor decided that it was good to show-off her wealth with large banners hung out from the upper floor windows. Each one was tall and coloured a deep blue with a bright silver and pure-white markings, it was the only thing that he saw that led him towards it.

From the safety of the cart, Rhaegar proceeded to shake his head at the several banners flanking the heavy wooden doors.

"Compensating much?" He spoke, noting in his own voice the exhaustion that had been hanging over his head like a raincloud. This road was far too bumpy to get any real sleep longer than a few minutes; no doubt there would be a tavern close by to the manor where he could crash for the night. Maybe a nice, warm bed big enough for him to stretch out, perhaps with a tavern wench to keep him warm when it got cold. No worry about cost, the hand-in of this job would make sure that'd he be well off for several months, even with a bit of extravagant spending on his own behalf.

At least the horses weren't uppity and prone to darting from left to right. They managed to follow the path by themselves, even as their rider managed to barely fall asleep behind them. Perhaps to their own relief he hadn't been forced to bring out a cracking whip, and if they kept to the path he might not have to ever pull it out. Horses didn't usually have many thoughts; even two seemed to stretch them quite a bit. Any more and they'd probably just stop in the middle of the road, but then it would have been a bit embarrassing for Rhaegar to have to walk the final bit when he could already see the manor.

The horses pulled up outside the entrance to the manor, their hooves clacked on the loose stones under-hoof as they slowed to a halt. Their slow huffs and pants were the only sounds audible besides the rush of wind through the creaking trees. A second later, the lizardman hopped from his cart and landed on the ground beside the tall equines, carrying with him the sword that had been rattling around and the wooden box containing what he was tasked to bring back. The former was only there to ensure that, if anything went wrong when delivering the latter, then he could defend himself quite adequately.

One of the manor's servants had already noiselessly approached the horses, disentangled their reins and unhooked them from the cart. They were quite submissive, and followed the hand of the servant without much resistance.

"Excuse me, sir?" The servant spoke. "These horses do not belong to her ladyship."

"They're hardly mine either." Rhaegar replied, walking away and towards the entrance to the manor.

"Stolen?"

"Borrowed. From a dead man, he won't be needing it any longer."

"I see, sir. Should I keep them ready to ride?"

"Just one. Horseback is faster than a cart, and my arse is sore from that seat."

"Very well, it shall be waiting for your return." Then he left, taking both horses with him to the stables around the back. Rhaegar was left by himself close to the entrance to the manor. A dirt path led him up to the heavy wooden doors staffed by a rotund looking guardsman who obviously wasn't anticipating much of a fight at all. A sword was visibly sheathed against his thigh, but even the scabbard itself seemed rusted and out of use. If worst came to worst, he wouldn't be much of an obstacle to block his escape.

"Good evening!" Rhaegar spoke as he approached, keeping his hands to his sides and away from the sword. He didn't want to give the fat guard a reason to try pulling out a rusty sword.

"It's morning!" came the reply. "I just had breakfast." There was more than a tinge of being grumpy in his voice.

"But, the sun's nearly setting behind you."

"And? What's it to me!"

"I was greeting you."

"Why do I want to greet you?"

"Because I have business here."

"Business?"

"Yes, with the lady of this manor."

"The Bandawax Manor?"

"Yes, this manor."

"This lady?"

"Yes."

"She's not in." The guard blurbled as if it was programmed into him.

"The banners are up, that always means that the owner is home."

"What do you know about it?"

"More than you."

"State your business here, or I'll call for the guards and have you cleared off premises right this second." What an unpleasant man.

"I have something in this box here that the lady of the manor asked me to retrieve. I am handing it in and then leaving."

"You're not coming in." Another blurble as if it was a past-time of his.

"Look here, I even have the box with the thing inside." Rhaegar lifted it up to show it off.

"Looks like shite. It's a shite looking box, what do think that the lady could do with a shite looking box like that?"

"I'm not just giving her the box, it's the thing in the box that she wants."

"I don't believe you."

"Do you want me to open the box and show you the little necklace thing that I spent three days searching for? Do you want to wear it yourself?"

"I don't even care if you've got a box or not, I'm not letting you in."

"Could you go in and get her then? Or even take me to her?"

"Nuh uh, no way. My job is to stand guard at this door and not let anyone in."

"Not even if she were to walk into her own house?"

"I'm not that stupid. I've never seen you before today."

"I was here only three days ago, you saw me leave."

"No I didn't, and even if I did I don't remember it..."

Their conversation continued and continued for minute after minute, with Rhaegar unable to convince the stubborn guard to let him in. The voices would get louder and louder as their argument went on and on and on, bleeding through the walls to be heard inside the manor as well, where the owner of this manor was waiting rather impatiently for something that she was expecting the day before.

She tapped her bare feet on the carpeted ground beneath her, debating whether to storm out and lambast the stubborn guard for keeping the lizard at bay, or to leave them to bicker until one of them got bored. Patience was not one of her strong suits though, and so she did not leave two arguing for too long.

"Get them for me will you?" She spoke to the figure standing beside her, who was patiently waiting in silence. The figure stood taller than the seat next to her, staying motionless while the sound of the rabble from the other side of the door bled through. At the command given by the seated individual, the silent figure nodded once and took long, slow strides towards the doors. The floor beneath barely gave out a sound as the heavy boots sank into the carpet with each step. There was a small, feminine chuckle from the chair that sounded almost giddy.

Meanwhile, back outside the two were still having quite an argument about whether he could be let in or not.

"Are we going to have to resort to insults?"

"Insult me all you want, I'll not budge an inch. Not for you, not for the horse you rode in on, and definitely not for..." His speech was interrupted by a slow wooden creaking from behind him, followed by the percussive sound of a leather glove clapping down quite significantly on his shoulder. His face froze and he seized up as if he had been caught doing something he wasn't supposed to.

Two pairs of eyes followed the gloved hand up past the wrist towards the elbow, then past the shoulder to see who it belonged to. For a second, the person was blocked by the heavy wooden door, but the arm that had come through the gap opened it the rest of the way a moment later. The shade of the sun revealed the women standing in the frame of the door; she was slightly taller than Rhaegar, but only by a few inches, nothing an outstretched pair of wings wouldn't solve if it came to intimidation. Sharp red eyes gleamed directly at him, ignoring the fat guard between them. Her skin was rather pale, similar to that of someone who had spent a long time inside, which only highlighted the soft black lips and the strong, similarly-coloured eyebrows.

Shoulder length hair that was wilder than expected adorned the top of her head, giving her a constant wind-swept appearance. She was slim, with a tight, yet smooth jaw which led down to a dark necklace that held a palm-sized ruby. Her upper body was shrouded in a brown cloak that was heavily tattered along the bottom and the wrists. A belt and several buttons held it and a small-medium bust in place. Unremarkable trousers covered her hips, thighs and legs down to the shins, and the fabric seemed stretched to fit over the curvaceous form. The pear-shape body was completed with boots that matched the pair of gloves that she wore. They perhaps gave her an extra inch or two of height, but even without them she stood above Rhaegar and definitely above the rotund guard.

Immediately the guard began to apologise and stare at the ground, rather than make eye contact with the red orbs that might've bored through him.

"I'm sorry, I didn't know that he was requested by the Lady herself." His mouth began to spout off inane babble. "Lady Jastra, forgive me." At this point his head was bowed down enough in a grovelling apology that he could almost kiss his own knees.

"Show me." Her voice was smooth and deeper than Rhaegar was expecting, and there was no mistaking the professionalism in her voice. By implication alone, it was clear she meant the little tattered box that Rhaegar held in his hand.

"This is what you wanted me to get for you?" The draconian figure held the box up in his hand. "Cause let me tell you lady; your information about an abandoned castle wasn't so accurate..."

"Watch your tongue!" The guard hissed with his head still bowed low. But Jastra did not react to Rhaegar's words. Instead her hand reached out and took the box from his outstretched palm. With a little flick of her gloved fingers, the box opened to show the jewellery inside. Rhaegar could see her sharp eyes focus on the chain-links and the little clear sphere suspended between.

If she was angry or pleased with it, her face showed little emotion. The box snapped shut with the amulet still inside, then she handed it back to him, before turning around to head back through the door.

"So...is it to your liking, because you're not telling me much here?" He asked, mildly confused at her lack of reaction. Jastra began to slowly walk away back into the manor, seemingly ignoring him completely. His mouth opened to question her again,

"Follow me." Jastra spoke up, pausing for just a second as she interrupted him, then she disappeared into the manor with a vanish of tattered cloak. Rhaegar took a moment to pause and look at the guard to see whether he agreed if he could actually go into the manor. But the round man was still looking at his own boots, and he didn't say a word as Rhaegar stepped forward.

The inside of the manor was quite a lot more muffled than outside; without the rush of air through the trees or the distant clops of the trotting horses it felt a lot more isolated away from the rest of the world. His barefeet sank into the carpet beneath him more than he was expecting, with a sensation similar to grass, just without the dirt.

Ahead of him, Jastra was walking away quite briskly. Rhaegar was forced to jog to keep up with her long strides.

"Hey, you didn't answer my question." He half-shouted, quickly moving beneath the chandelier in the foyer of the house and past the glass cabinets of heirlooms stretching back hundreds of years.

"The question of its validity?" She did not turn her head his way, even to look at him.

"Yeah, I've spent the last three days sleeping in that uncomfortable wooden cart, avoiding the rain, the wind and other people who're after this little amulet. I'd like to know if I've wasted my time or not, and whether I'm going to be paid for it!"

"You will be rewarded if the amulet turns out to be genuine."

"And how long will that take?"

"Do you have somewhere else to be? Impatientness is not an admirable virtue."

"I'd like to be somewhere else that isn't a rock-hard bed for one night. There's a tavern nearby that I passed on my way in that I can spend a couple of days in, and hopefully I can make it before nightfall."

"If you are so worried about making time, it is possible to spend the night here and leave in the morning."

"That's a very generous offer, but I think I'd prefer a tavern bed and one of those lizard wenches to keep me warm." Rhaegar replied, not wanting to stay in a place where he had no idea which floor the bed was on.

"I assure you our beds are most comfortable. She sees to it personally that she can sleep in any bed at any time."

"She? Is that not you? Aren't you the Lady of this house with the guards literally bending over to bow in your face?"

"I am only the Lady's personal bodyguard." Jastra explained, stopping against one of the doors. "I am lucky that the guards treat me with the same respect and admiration that they show the Lady."

"You're not kidding. So do I wait for the Lady to inspect the necklace, then get my reward and then choose to stay or not?"

"Yes. If the Lady finds that the amulet is in good condition and works well, then she will grant to you the agreed upon reward. But let's not keep her waiting, patience is not her strength." Without another word, Jastra pushed forward and entered the room with gusto, trailing the lizardman behind her.

With almost apparent ease, the two wooden doors swung open at her touch, revealing a room with more extravagance than the rest of the manor put together. Relics that seemed older than the building itself hung on the walls, trussed up for decoration like mere paintings. The floor was plush with a darkened carpet, softer than what he had been walking on before, to the point that he made no sound except for the rustle of his armour.

A lighter strip guided his eyes towards the far wall of the chamber, where a tall chair stood in the centre, flanked by two stone pedestals each with an ornate lantern upon each one. Quickly scanning the room, Rhaegar saw there were no other doors, nor windows to let sunlight in. The only light came from those two lanterns, which did a surprisingly good job at lighting the entire room. Of course it was nowhere near to the light of even the setting sun, but for inside it did just fine. Each lantern forced a long shadow to appear behind both Rhaegar and Jastra, flickering wildly with the movement of the candle inside.

She led him inside, walking right towards the tall, illustrious chair and the figure seated in it.

"Lady Mirabella, you have a guest." Jastra spoke as she walked. "He is one of the mercenaries that you hired to search for that amulet."

"And does he have it?" A feminine voice spoke up from the seat. It was a higher-pitch than the lower tones of Jastra, with more of a sing-song quality to it.

"There is a small item of jewellery in his possession, but I do not know whether it is genuine or not, I cannot tell." She stopped in front of the chair and bowed once to the figure, before stepping to one side to retake her place at the figure's side. As she moved away, Rhaegar got his first look at the mysterious person who had been responsible for everything he'd been doing for the last few days.

She was humanoid, which was good for a start, though there was something a little off about her height from what he could see. For a second, he believed it was an illusion that was there to fool him; either she was sitting back further than she looked or the chair was overly big for her size. It took another second for him to realise that it was actually her that was small, and not some trick of the flickering light behind her; she was a Halfling.

Her diminutive size probably only meant she was pushing four feet tall, about two whole feet smaller than the already under-average-sized Rhaegar, who stood just below six. But everything about her seemed adult in proportion; she was quite slim for her species, quite a shock, as most Halflings tended towards large consumptions of food that would embarrass other, taller races. There was even a tale of Halgor the Meaty, who was said to have eaten more than his own weight on pork and beef in a single sitting.

For the most part, she would have passed for a small human with the right disguise. The only things that would have given her away were the two elvish ears that poked just barely out of her hair, complete with mildly sharp tips. The other oddity was the thick covering of hair that started just below her toes and continued up past her ankle and most of the way up her shin, covering the calf on the heel-side as well. With the dark colour of her hair they could be mistaken for shin greaves, affixed like a permanent piece of armour.

"What are you admiring about me now, lizard? Is it my beautiful hair as dark as the night sky? Is it my breasts? Are they modest enough for you? Maybe it's my long legs?" Mirabella collapsed into giggles.

"My lady, please restrain yourself from being too licentious." Jastra warned, looking away from the Halfling. "It is not befitting of you."

"If it'll make you stop nagging me, then sure, I'm all for it." Mirabella hand-waved it off. "Now, little dragon, stuckbutt here says you've got that amulet for me."

"Firstly, I'm not..." Rhaegar was interrupted quickly by a purposeful clearing of Jastra's throat. The two met eyes for a second,

"When greeting her ladyship, it is common courtesy to bow in respect."

Rhaegar sighed a bit louder than he should have, but did as he was implicitly told. It was just strange to him that even if he bowed as low as he could, it still wasn't as low down as she was. But he daren't mention it in case it made her angry.

"Alright, firstly I'm not a little lizard. Secondly I have the amulet you sent me out to get." Rhaegar straightened up and held out the box for her to see. But instead of her getting excited like the kid-size she was, she instead shook her head with a grin upon her face.

"Maybe you didn't hear what I said, kid. I asked for an amulet to wear, not a little box that looks worse than you."

"The amulet is inside the box." He persevered with a strain in his neck.

"Then don't show me the box idiot, just open it up." Mirabella was purposefully acting as young as she was tall. A sigh as heavy as his armour left Rhaegar's mouth, and he dutifully opened the scratched wooden box to show off the untarnished amulet sitting neatly inside.

Her sharp, ruby eyes flicked down towards it, running her vision across the silver chains and the small sphere of clear liquid. Both were still intact; the vial unbroken despite the many years. Mirabella could see no reason why it wasn't real, but she'd need to hold it first, and then test it. She could almost taste it now, a warm flavour unexperienced by practically the whole world. There was no way that she could help herself, and a tongue quickly licked its way across her lips.

For the briefest hint of a second, Rhaegar though that he saw a little flash of white where her tongue pushed up her lips enough to see the teeth. It was only a little slice of time, but he was sure that her teeth didn't fit her either. But before a decent image could be captured in his mind, she was back to normal.

"It looks about right." Mirabella held out her little hand, inviting Rhaegar to hand it over. "Let me have a closer look at it." And he did so, stepping up to the deep chair with the box in hand. As he got closer, he seemed to unwittingly tower over the Halfling sitting in that chair, and though neither Rhaegar nor Jastra seemed to notice, Mirabella's typical smiling face faltered for a moment. She didn't enjoy it when people flaunted their height at her.

But she took the box out of his larger hand without a word from either party, and quickly set about inspecting it. Well, not the box, which was discarded seconds after she figured out how to open it, but the amulet inside. Nimble hands danced over the silver chains of the necklace while her eyes were fixated upon the glass sphere. The smug look on her little face never faded as she pored over it, in fact the smile only grew.

"I think...we have our amulet." There was a smile on her face as she examined it, lifting it up and focusing on the underside. "Did you try it on? I know it might not fit, but I love how it's your style."

"It barely fit my wrist." He admitted. "And you're going to wear that around your neck?"

"Only for a bit."

"Only for a bit!" He repeated, raising his voice. "Do you know what I had to go through to get that?" Incredulousness sunk into his voice.

"Let me guess, you opened a box and brought it back?"

---

Rhaegar stood alone in the disused bedroom in that castle. In his hands sat the amulet that matched the description of what he had been sent to fetch. The silvery links clinked in his grasp, a strangely light weight against his scales. Between those chains; a clear, spherical vial, holding a small quantity of a clear liquid that would probably be less than a mouthful. It was so neatly filled that there was not even a single bubble of air at the top, only the distortion of air and the weight clued him in that there was something inside.

"The bandits have been cleared from the castle." The elven voice called out from behind him. Wisely she had stayed out of the battle as much as she could, only loosening several faster-than-sight arrows if she needed. Their ambush had worked as planned; as soon as they had opened the door, the trio had begun their attack. Two bandits were caught eating; one had scrambled for his weapon while the other was caught mid-chew.

"Did we lose the half-orc?" Rhaegar asked, not turning around just yet. He had to make sure that it was the amulet that he was looking for, but it wouldn't hurt if he had another little poke around to see if there was anything that the bandits had discarded. Anything like a little piece of gold or fancy clothes would do the trick quite well. They could fetch for high prices from tailors who would know what to do with them far better than he did.

It didn't take long for the bandits to figure out what was going on; a loud bang and several crashes pretty much spelled it out for the remaining five. They almost leaped from the ceiling in their determination to avenge their brethren, armed with rusty swords and cracking armour. From his side, Rhaegar heard a roar from the half-orc as he rushed to engage them head on. Had Rhaegar and the elf not followed him in afterwards, it was assured that he would take on all five by himself.

But there was only silence from the elf after Rhaegar asked his question, save for the opening and closing of rotten wooden drawers and the clinking of his armour. He took her silence to mean that he fell, probably when taking on more bandits than he could handle. Rhaegar let out a heavy sigh; this was meant to just be a sneaking mission, not a murderous one.

"On the bright side, this means the reward is split two ways instead of three." He moved towards a broken cupboard, briefly checking through the cracked wooden door to see if anything of merit still lay within.

"I don't see why it can't be brought down to a single share." Her soft voice called out, on the surface filled with innocence. The unmistakable sound of an arrow being drawn back filled the room.

"Wait a second, what do you mean?" He asked, though it was wholly obvious.

"You might have orders from a Miss Bandawax, but I've got some of my own. They're promising me twice as much, but only if I deliver it back to them alone." Her arrow was held at readiness, and just a slip of her fingers would let it fly. There was no doubt in her accuracy, especially at this range. She was only seconds from killing him, even faster if he went to stop her brandishing a weapon. Rhaegar had to think quickly, maybe give himself some time.

"You're going to kill me, even after last night?"

"Last night? Oh...when you and I...?" There was a little giggle in her voice.

"Yeah, last night. You sounded as if you liked it."

"You fell for that too?" Ouch. A shot right to the masculinity. "Honestly, you couldn't even please a Halfling with that kind of technique." Her grip on the arrow wavered slightly.

"That hurts more than one of your arrows."

"Though there's no reason I can't just tie you up and keep you for myself, or even use you as a trophy when I deliver that amulet."

"That'd be better than being shot, for me at least."

"But I'd prefer the amulet a little more." The arrow was cocked again. Rhaegar's little distraction had worked, and a simple plan was sort of formed in his mind.

"If you want the amulet so bad, here!"

At the last word spoke, Rhaegar turned and tossed the amulet high into the air, right towards the elf. Two pairs of eyes followed its trajectory through the air, with a smile spreading across both mouths. Time seemed to slow to a crawl as what happened next occurred in a flash. Without the amulet, there was nothing stopping her from shooting him, something he only figured out the millisecond after it left his hand. Instinct kicked in more than thought, forcing the lizardman to make for the floor to avoid the reactionary arrow.

Sure enough, he missed being shot by centimetres. There was a sharp stab in the tip of one of his horns, but adrenaline had kicked in and it no longer mattered. Meanwhile, the elf had to switch her attention from the lizardman to the falling amulet. The reward was for the little globe filled with liquid, not the chains it was attached to. Letting it fall to the ground would assuredly break the glass and then it would be useless, then everything would be for naught. She didn't even have time to sheath the bow on her back, so she simply let it go to clatter to the floor while she reached out to grab it.

A shoddy plan from Rhaegar, but it had worked; she was now sans bow, and in a close range fight like this it would be entirely his game. The lizardman had landed on his hands and knees, allowing him to instantly spring back upright, as well as get a running start. But she hadn't even noticed, and instead her eyes were focused on the amulet in her hands. In his hands though, was a small dagger, coloured the same as his scales to the point where it was invisible to the naked eye. It was kill or be killed, and he had no wish to be the latter.

Before he left the run-down castle with the amulet in one hand and a blooded dagger nestled in his belt, he turned at the entrance to see the damage that the day had brought. Several bodies lay in the foyer; mostly bandits, but laid atop them with an arrow in the back of the head was the half-orc. Elves were always tricky. A memory flickered back to last night, and he remembered what she had said to him minutes ago to emasculate him. But he would get his own back on her now;

"You were bad at blowjobs."

---

"Let me guess, you opened a box and brought it back?" Mirabella had said.

"A little more than that."

"I remember putting out the notice for more than one adventurer. I had a report that three of you went, but only one of you returned?" Jastra spoke up from the side.

"There was a scuffle and a bit of resistance. One of the three decided she wanted it all for herself."

"I see." Jastra bowed her head for a second. "Then if the Lady agrees, we will compensate you for the additional troubles, on top of the agreed upon price for the safe return of the amulet."

"Fantastic!" Rhaegar agreed without knowing exactly what it was that he had agreed to. The smile returned in full force to Mirabella's face.

"Excellent." She clapped her hands together. "Now Jastra, if you would be so nice as to restrain our young guest."

"Wait a minute!" Rhaegar stepped back as Jastra nodded in affirmation and moved towards him with those long strides. "Restrain?"

His hand dropped to the dagger at his belt, unsheathing it in a single second. But Jastra showed no fear and calmly walked almost right up to him in several steps.

"Watch out kid! She's got a killer grapple!" Mirabella laughed innocently from her seat, toying with the amulet in her hands. Jastra was fast as well, with a well-timed swipe that moved faster than he thought possible, the dagger was knocked clean from his hands to land on the soft carpet nearby. Rhaegar barely had any time to react to the attempted grab of his upper body, choosing to duck beneath the outstretched arms and shift around to her left side.

Lizardmen like Rhaegar had an extra limb behind them at the base of their spine, a long serpentine tail that was mildly dexterous and only boosted his agility stat. Rumours though his people told of a certain lizard-race that had ultimate control over their own tails, but for Rhaegar there was no real strength he could muster into his own. That said, a little strength into something that weighs quite a bit was still useful, and in this case he chose to trip Jastra right off of her feet.

She spilled onto her back, landing comfortably on the soft carpet. Though she was down, Jastra was not out. A weak kick aimed itself at the back of Rhaegar's knees, aiming to use his weight and balance against him. It connected right where she wanted it to, and his legs became unable to support the weight of him and the armour he wore that should have defended against still. With a cry he toppled to the ground, also landing on his back right next to Jastra.

"Get him! Haha! Finish him off!" The Halfling was only too happy to sit on the side-lines and shout words of encouragement at her bodyguard's method of winning. Both figures were scrambling to get back to their feet and continue the fight. Rhaegar's armour prevented him from doing so too easily, and so Jastra was able to get onto her knees first. Gloved hands grasped his wrists, right hand on left and left hand on right, and pulled his arms open. Her grasp was strong, enough that he couldn't fight back. Rhaegar gritted his teeth as Jastra's face appeared above his own with a neutral expression on her features, not even a smile or a frown.

Jastra started to crawl down his body, her head passed over his face, then down to his neck and on from there. Their hand-to-hand combat had turned mildly erotic, well at least to him. It had been a few days since a woman climbed over his body like this, and even longer with one of this strength. His struggles against her waned slightly as her bust hovered for a second over his features. While typically unimpressive, the tight-fitting nature of her clothing and the position he was in meant that her bust seemed more than enough. It was not to last though, and Jastra passed over him further and further.

He gulped audibly, much to Mirabella's amusement, when Jastra's pear-shaped body thickened out from her midriff into some truly thick hips. Dark, leather pants seemed to squeeze the body beneath into a very pleasing, full shape. A quick guess put those hips just a little less than twice his shoulder-width apart. And now those voluptuous hips were positioned above his face, with his inability to move highlighted with his pinned wrists. But they weren't pinned for long; Jastra picked his wrists up and righted herself.

The hips only moved closer towards him, no further than an inch away, and the movement of his wrists moved his arms to sit neatly between her calves and the thick thighs. Without another word, she let go of his wrists and descended the last inch, smoothing the lizardman's face deep into her hips. Just before he was immersed in darkness, part of him adored what was happening and part of him feared what was to come. Jastra ensured she had a good grasp on him before speaking,

"The guest has been restrained as you ordered." She spoke calmly, adjusting near constantly in minute movements to keep him down. Another giggle came from Mirabella, who was having a little more fun that she should have at him being like this.

"Excellent work, though I would have preferred a little more to the fight."

"He was in no condition to lengthen it. But we should act quickly before he runs out of air."

"Always have to be efficient don't you? Can't ever enjoy something."

"You made me unable to reject an order. I was not ordered to enjoy restraining him."

"Oh right, the whole 'revival' thing, I forgot how cold you revenants can be." Mirabella finally got off of her chair and slowly walked towards the restrained, still struggling lizardman. "Ah, he can't hear us." She sighed. "Lift him from the ground, but keep him held like this." Jastra nodded to the order.

Her gloved hands reached back out and grasped around his wrists. There was little resistance from him as her fingers ensured their grip. Then her strong legs began to push upwards, first rocking back slightly onto the tips of her feet, before hoisting herself and Rhaegar off the ground. The second the back of his head left the ground, Jastra pulled his arms forward, forcing the upper half of his body to remain almost attached to her hips. Rhaegar's body was dragged along the floor until he was in a seating position, only with his face forced neatly into darkness.

When Jastra was stood upright, holding the lizardman in place, Mirabella leaned in to whisper into his ear.

"I suppose I should let you in on a little secret, now that you're all hapless it won't matter. Y'see, you wouldn't have gone to get that amulet if you had known why I needed it. When I put out the call for a lizardman there was a reason why. I don't think anyone has managed to slurp any bit of of your juice just yet. Don't worry, I'll only take a bit." Mirabella smiled her typical smile, this time with a difference; two sharp fangs in place of the canines had formed, protruding from the lips just enough to be cute.

With one hand, she popped the catch off of the spherical globe from the necklace, and with the other, she began to prepare the little bit of his neck by slowly stroking the surface to excite the blood. While for him the glass sphere disguised as a necklace wouldn't have had enough fluid to fill his mouth, but for Mirabella it was almost more than she could swallow at once. The taste was quick, but bitter, and lasted for a moment on her tongue but a while in her throat. A shiver ran down his spine as the potion went to work.

"Are you enjoying yourself? Your struggles don't seem to be too active anymore." There was a little squirm at those words, either a request for air or as a natural resistance if he understood her intentions. There was almost sheen on those fangs as Mirabella drew nearer and nearer to his neck. He couldn't see or hear her as she approached; only the hands that lightly grasped his shoulders were felt, besides the ass in his face of course.

Then she bit. Both fangs quickly sunk in less than a quarter of an inch, before pulling away and letting the mouth cover up the two holes. It was a short, stab of pain to him, and even the distraction of the significant waist in his face wasn't enough to nullify it completely. It did help absorb his little struggles though, much to his internal chagrin. The little vampire on his neck, meanwhile, was sucking little droplets from the miniscule wound she had created. Those little droplets eventually turned into larger droplets, but before long she was almost draining him. Such a taste hadn't been sampled before, to her knowledge at least, so being allowed to satisfy her curiosity was almost as delicious as the savoury fluid in her mouth.

But, alas, she was only small, and so her appetite luckily cut short before he ran out. Mirabella disconnected her lips from Rhaegar's neck, leaving a little red lipstick imprint on his scales. A cute little burp followed, then a smacking of her lips while she decided on the taste like a sommelier.

"You can let him go now; I doubt he'll be going anywhere else tonight." Mirabella smirked as she stepped back to the chair. Of course, at the undeniable order, Jastra slowly loosened her grip around the lizardman's wrists. His face was freed from the curvaceous hips first, allowing him to take a quick, deep breath, filling his lungs again with sweet air. Seconds later his hands were released and he crumpled neatly on the soft carpet beneath, gasping for air.

"He has been released. What shall I do next?" Jastra spoke. The Halfling took a few seconds to respond, as she was playing with a droplet of blood on her tongue. When she did speak, it was to Rhaegar,

"Oops. Did I not tell you about the fangs? I guess I should have put that in the note. What you actually retrieved for me was not just a simple ol' amulet, as you can probably guess. Now, I've been a vampire for a good many years, and I've been lucky enough to taste a sample or two of blood from pretty much everything that walks on two, four or six legs. No spiders though, ech. So I was thinking one day, why haven't I tried a lizardman yet? Could it be that I can't penetrate their scales with my teeth? Could it be that they taste icky, and I forgot that I've had a few?"

"Lady Mirabella, the commissioner's word-count is getting quite close to being totally exhausted; I encourage you to hurry it along before you over-write it as usual."

"Oh, how insufferable, and we still have the whole sex-scene to cover. Alright then, long story short, the liquid in the vial is a neat little potion conducted to circumnavigate the fact you have pretty damn poisonous blood. I wouldn't be alive now if I hadn't taken that little potion, and let me tell you, it was all worth it. You're like a barrel of vintage wine in there."

All of this washed over Rhaegar, he was quite tired before he had even stepped into the room, and now with a bit of blood missing and mild asphyxiation from the wide ass that had smothered his features. He was in less of a state to walk now, let alone respond to her.

"Well, time is a'wasting, so we better move on to that reward of yours, the one that you really deserve." Her attention flicked over to Jastra. "If he won't walk, bring him here. Strip him first."

"Of course." Jastra bowed her head and bent over the stirring lizardman. His armour was easier to remove than he thought, just a buckle, a belt and a strap and the leggings at least came free. Her strength that had beaten him in a pretty one-sided fight tugged the leather pants clean off, and they landed in a heap on the carpet nearby.

"Going commando?" Mirabella chuckled, seeing the lack of underwear and pants beneath that revealed the lizardman in all his half-nude glory. "You're lucky your blood is so tasty, or I'd have you thrown out of the manor for being so risqué in front of me. Next; his torso, strip him naked."

Rhaegar was only starting to regain movement, albeit slowly, and possibly due to a lack of weight on his legs. Still, his arms refused to work as the simple restraints on his upper body were almost torn through with surprising speed. As each of the buckles was undone, his chest could expand just a little bit more, allowing a fragment more breathe back into his body. Then, with a pop, the armour came free, opening like a door from which his chest was pulled through. Like the leg armour, it was disposed of on the floor several feet from him. Rhaegar was laid bare before the two ladies, groaning lightly in his position.

"The mere act of siphoning some of that blood must made him excited. His phallus appears to be growing and hardening." Jastra, as usual, had a cold, clear mind-set.

"A boner? I thought I drained enough blood to stop one of those." Mirabella smirked. "Bring him here, slot his feet beneath my chair."

"Yes, my lady." Jastra nodded. The tail that Rhaegar had used to swipe her legs out from underneath her now became an excellent rope that she could pull him forward with. The smooth scales on his legs and back slid over the carpet as he was tugged towards the chair, making him feel a lot lighter than he really was.

Rhaegar's breathing was slowly returning to normal, and, though he felt fully conscious, his body seemed so sluggish at responding to how his mind wanted to move that he could not have resisted Jastra. Though he could not move of his own volition, his thoughts were racing. Betrayed? Ignorance? Foolishness? Which one applied to him best? Horny, probably; the Halfling herself seemed content and more than willing to pleasure him herself, though as tastes go the...bodyguard seemed more up his alley. What was she? Definitely no human had that sort of strength, at least not in that kind of body. There!

His eyes caught a small glimpse of an ear next to her head that usually was covered by her hair. It was just the tip of one, but a pointed tip rather than rounded. She must be elven then! But he had no time to react, as Jastra gracefully slid both his legs between the legs of the chair in which the Halfling sat. Rhaegar was slid under enough that his thighs were just at the right point for Mirabella to rest her feet upon.

"Ah, it feels good to take your feet off of the floor for once." She smiled, lightly pressing down with each foot on his navel, alternating pressure between the two. "And look, you're so happy to see me, you're waving." As the left foot would go down, it would pull his shaft lightly to one side, and the same for the right as well, not allowing him to 'relax'. Secretly to him, during the bite on his neck that still lightly stung, Mirabella had injected just a little fluid that made him all the more receptive to her attentions. "Make him watch."

At her command, Jastra knelt down behind Rhaegar's head, moving it onto her lap so that it was proper up, and his view was of his lower body and Mirabella, rather than the roof.

"After I've bitten them, no man has been able to stand this for too long." She boasted while one of her feet lifted up to tease the very tip. It fit nicely between her toes, where a tight grip latched on. Warmth met warmth, urging a lazy groan from Rhaegar. Mirabella toyed with him by slowly moving her foot back and forth, from side to side to make him feel the most minor of movements. A solitary fang popped out between her lips as the smallest of sensations would derive successively greater moans.

But the toes could not keep their grip forever, and minutes of this 'joystick-style' teasing ended, though it felt like an hour to the lizardman. She was nowhere near finished with him just yet. The ball of the foot that teased his tip then slowly slid down the outer curve of his shaft, exposing him to the soft underside that had stepped on nothing but plush carpets all her lift. They could all hear his breathing quicken as the warm sole slid down to the base, where luckily he was a bit less sensitive. The reduced sensation didn't last for too long, as the foot slowly rose back up the second that it touched his navel, this time slowly shifting from side to side to make him feel every last inch of her petite soles.

Jastra held him down with hands on his chest, ready to quell any uprising that he dared to have. And he dared to have quite a few, though in his state they weren't exactly strong enough to throw her off, nor even to get her to loosen her grip, though it didn't stop him from trying to evade the pleasure he was being given.

"Lady Mirabella, he is being quite rambunctious. Do I have your permission to restrain him once more?"

"Of course, but this time have a bit of fun with him."

"Your will." Jastra nods. Her thick thighs open to let Rhaegar's head slip between them as she leans forward to rest upright on her knees. Flexibility allows her to reach behind her and undo the tall boots without even looking. Like with his armour, it's just a buckle and a strap, and each one comes loose to land on the floor beside his body. Rhaegar's a little pre-occupied with the sight he can see; right up into the rounded, thick ass inside those tight pants. Each little ripple of her movement was shown in those skin-hugging clothes. He didn't even notice as clawed feet emerged from the confines of the boots, complete with highly dexterous toes.

Rhaegar was more excited when the hands returned and played around with the belt holding those pants of hers to her body. Occasionally he would give a jerk and a squirm as the unrelenting toes of the Halfling spurred on another jolt of pleasure. At this point it's necessary to mention that Halflings can get quite jealous, especially if attention they demanded is taken away from them. Mirabella was one of those Halflings.

"Lizardboy, eyes up front." She commanded, pausing for a moment. But it looked unlikely that he would look her way without something to make him. An insidious plan formed in her mind, something that would get him to never take his eyes off of her again.

The one foot that had been docile up to now slid across his navel and positioned itself between his shaft and his stomach, showing off the soft fur-like hair on the top of her foot. Then, her heel pressed lightly against the base of his squirming shaft, keeping a grip at the tip with her toes, exposing his whole manhood to the softness and warmth of her sole.

"Ignore this." She mocked as she pushed down with the ball of her foot. He didn't have far to go, but where he was heading was absolute heaven. His shaft was pressed firmly down onto the top of her foot, while the soft sole sandwiching his shaft lightly squirmed from side to side. A sheer gasp left his throat as the thick hair was blissfully soft and warm, similar to the carpet at least in plushness. It succeeded in diverting his sight away from the underside of the elf astride his face, to the point that he even propped himself up to look at it.

All would have been fine for him, had the petite foot with large power not lightly swivelled to effective grind his shaft between the two softest surfaces. Perhaps it was the absolute crux of pleasure, perhaps it was also slightly to do with the little venom she had injected into him during the bite, but the exhausted Rhaegar could not stand her blissful torment. With a loud cry out, his body spasmed lightly beneath Mirabella's feet. The focus of his pleasure was, without a doubt, his groin, specifically his cock trapped between soft soles and smooth fur. His weak state could not resist or hold back the pleasure, and he weakly spurted several days of built-up excitement out over her feet. The all-encompassing grip ensured that not even a single droplet spilled onto his own body.

"What did I say, haha I knew you wouldn't be able to stand up to my talents." Obviously she was very proud of herself, continuing to squeeze and relax with her toes to torment him in after-orgasm pleasure.

Meanwhile, up at his head, Jastra was slowly pulling down her pants, revealing that she, like Rhaegar, had nothing underneath. In his haze of pleasure, his eyes had rolled back in his head, and so he could not focus on the illustrious hips being slowly presented. Rhaegar's leaning forward had allowed her to remove her pants down to her knees, and so when his head tilted back it rested on the taut fabric, mildly propping up his head. With the thick thighs locking his head in place, and all other movement restrained by Mirabella or his own fatigue, he was trapped, and subject to their whims.

"I have been instructed to take pleasure in this, so do please provide the pleasure." Jastra would have blushed if she had any blood in her revenant body. But she descended slowly all the same, slowly blotting out his world with her wide hips until all Rhaegar could see would be darkness. He was not allowed to move, especially as her curvaceous, pear-shaped body smothered his features. Her skin was smooth and cool to the touch, rather than the warmth he was expecting. Rhaegar's ears were muffled with her thighs as earmuffs, but he faintly heard her speak.

"If you could be so kind as to warm me while you are down there, I will be most grateful." It was lucky that he had taken a deep breath moments before she sat down, as there was no chance for air now. She would only move once the Halfling had said so, and she was satisfied. Oh, but he was dreary and exhausted, he had barely any strength left. Dutifully though, he proceeded to pleasure her, using a long, thick and dexterous tongue. Immediately Jastra gave out a yelp, and couldn't help but tense her thighs around his head.

"Oi!" Mirabella cried out. "You can't have him all to yourself." She says this as she finishes toying with him, placing her feet back on the carpet. Jealousy, jealousy. Mirabella's fingers move to her waist, dipping underneath her little dress to hook under the rim of her panties. In a flash, she pulls hard and snaps the fabric, leaving them to have no hold on her body anymore. The panties drop to the floor, exposing Mirabella's nethers to the warm air.

Her hands move to pick up the dress from either side, as she doesn't want to dirty it in these lewd times. The dress is wide enough to blot out Rhaegar's hips, covering from the bottom of his ribs to his knees underneath its frills. But she's centred on his groin instead, and then like a proper lady, she slowly drops down, setting down her dress as if she were curtseying. Rhaegar felt the soft fabric and the warm of her ankles on the outside of his hips, but didn't realise her plan until the hot, wet nether lips met the tip of his shaft.

"Aha, can't squirm or struggle now, can you?" Mirabella chuckled as she watched his body try to right itself, only to be stopped by a weighty set of hips holding him down. There was a momentary idea in his mind to whether a Halfling would even be able to take him all in. Luckily, she solved this seconds later with her impatientness and enthusiasm. After a singular inch had disappeared inside the vampire Halfling, her legs refused to hold her up much more, and she dropped, clapping hips against hips.

Dear Gods, she was tight! Her petite body ensured that the grip was insane and constant. Only the cum that she had forced to spill from him allowed him to dip deeply into her; down to the hilt in a single move. Of course, it made her tighten as well; the full sensation inside her that had been absent for so long returned like a long-lost friend. Mirabella let out a most unlady-like yelp, squirming and gyrating her hips to ensure that he was buried as deep inside her as he could be.

Rhaegar was not faring as well as he hoped; he was weakened after that first orgasm, and now he was running quite low on air from Jastra's hips, as well as the intense tightness and heat from the Halfling that pulled him closer to a second burst. But if he didn't pleasure the elf, then there was no way that she would get off of him. He had to do it, if for naught but his lungs.

Jastra, on the other hand, was enjoying herself quite a lot. As she had politely asked, his face was pleasantly warming her nethers, and his fantastically long tongue was dutifully lathering itself around her wet lips. On the occasion it would dip between her lips and sink deep inside her, squirm for a second or two before retracting its warmth back. It became a race between her pleasure and his lungs. For now, he was losing.

The pleasure down at his hips was becoming too great for him to withstand. Every second added a mountain more as the energetic Halfling found new ways to squeeze and please him. Delirious as he was, the little injection during his feeding kept him from losing all focus; Mirabella needed him to feel the pleasure. If only he could have watched what was happening to him, he might enjoy that as well. Mirabella's keep eyes noticed the tremble in his fingers and the flexing of his toes before the lizardman even knew what was happening. He was going to break under their combined pleasure before either of them had a chance to really enjoy it.

And, it was inevitable. Underneath the now-hot and heavy hips of Jastra and the small, but wild movements of Mirabella, Rhaegar had had his end. His second orgasm was less impressive than the first in terms of output, though still enough to spurt out the miniscule gaps it could find between his cock and her inner walls. It was, however, far more fun to see him squirm and struggle beneath the two bodies atop him, fruitlessly wrestling for air and to speak.

"Hear me roar." Mirabella chuckled as she caught wind of Rhaegar's last sound before he fainted, muffled behind Jastra's hips. The lizardman's body went limp, signifying his defeat. "But it couldn't be helped, I guess. We were more than a match for him."

"I should have allowed him to breathe, my Lady." Jastra apologised once she had settled down a bit.

"No worries Jastra, he hasn't received his whole reward yet!" The Halfling stood upright again, letting his deflating cock fall back onto his navel. "There's still when he wakes up, and when he wakes up again, and again, and again! I've got that taste in my mouth of his blood, and I'm not letting that go."

"Shall I store him in one of the bedchambers then?"

"Of course. Treat him nicely, he's an honoured guest here now, so don't tie the ropes too tight."

"Yes, my Lady."Jastra's powerful legs lifted her off of the ground, exposing the lizardman's face to the air. Neither of them could ignore the sheen on his face that wasn't there when they started.

"Did he manage to pleasure you all the way?"

"No, my Lady. I believe he was unconscious before he could finish."

"Well, that simply won't do. I'll give you permission to make him finish you off next time he wakes up.

"Thank you, my Lady."

"If he doesn't, talk to me. I'll give him the ol' woozy eyes and make it his task for the day to do it twice!"

"You are too kind." Jastra bowed, looking around for her pants to put back on first. She wouldn't allow herself to be seen by the guards without them. It would take her a while to do so with trembling legs, so Mirabella took the time to speak to their unconscious guest.

"Listen here lizard. You're a tasty flask that I'd love to have for dinner every night. What say you stay here instead and become my personal oak barrel, how's that sound?" Of course, her questions did not get through to him, so she took his silence as affirmation.

"Which bedroom would be appropriate for him, my Lady?"

"Wine barrels go in the cellar." Mirabella smirked. "Oh, Jastra, watch this he might squirm." She leaned in close to Rhaegar's ear and whispered a faux threat that would have her giggling all night. "If you don't please us next time how we want it, I might just have to nibble something off." Mirabella couldn't stop herself from giggling like a little girl as his body seemingly reacted with a little squirm and a soundless 'No'.

"I will take him from here, my Lady."