FSE

Furry search engine

formerly SoFurry search engine

The Dragoon Costume

A russet brown furred amalgamation of wolf and bear is suspended naked from the ceiling by chains that hold him securely as a grotesquely tauric creature combining the torso of a naked, obese older human female with the slimy foot of a slug that is more than large enough to support her ponderous weight. The chained male does his best to recoil from the creature who looks at him with utter and disgusting lust as she extends a slime encrusted hand to grope his package. His utter disgust and loathing at being treated in this manner by something as repugnant as her utterly amuses her as she lifts his scrotum to suckle on his balls and shoves a phallic looking rod up his tail hole.

An eight-foot-tall hag of a woman with blue skin and black hair as well as nails that vaguely smell of unforged iron comes up behind the slug woman and shakes her head. She wears a tattered brown robe that barely covers her oversized and muscular frame that seems to be much older than the one molesting the hybrid. She glares at the hybrid with unbridled hatred bordering on pure rage as she lashes out with a whip of ebony chords studded with shards of obsidian that create lines of crimson on his back.

Following close behind the blue skinned hag is a woman of middle age all of seven feet tall with deep crimson skin, four arms and a sari of azure so pure a clear blue sky would turn green with envy. In each hand she carries a kris dagger as she gazes at the anthropomorphic amphicyon hungrily. She traces lines with her weapons as if contemplating how she might want to butcher him alive as she winks to the other hags.

The final member of the coven is a green skinned human woman barely past her late teens with purple hair and orange eyes wearing only what could be considered a Halloween themed bondage harness with Jack-O-Lantern pauldrons but otherwise leaving her breasts and cunny exposed as she approaches the wolf-bear with a measure of lustful trance. Agnes Schattenherz crosses her arms and shakes her head in disapproval which just draws a dark grin from Kali Sanguine and a lustful chuckle from Jenny Sluggard as the three hags look upon their mutant human protégé with different emotions. For her part, Cassandra Hex is merely doing as her coven elders are directing her with the hopes that her compliance will allow her greater access to the eldritch power within her that they have promised to unlock in exchange for her services.

Of the three hags it's Jenny that is the most behind this act of debauchery as Agnes is hungry and if she had her way they'd be roasting the beast folk for dinner, but then again she would have eaten Cassandra a long time ago if not for the intervention of her sisters in this coven of Schattendorn Forrest. Here in their secret hideaway cave among the rolling hills that serve as the banks of the Schattenwasser River which flows in the Schattenwasser Swamp where Jenny hails rom, they are secluded from prying eyes to plot and scheme and connect with other adherents of the Shadow Court Unseelie and try their best to undermine the Open Court of the Seelie. Wolfbear O'Connor was only doing a preliminary examination as a favor to the Day Queen of the Seelie court as payment for information on one the rare Dragoon costumes he so desperately wanted for himself.

What neither Wolfbear nor the Day Queen know is this coven has a Dragoon costume hidden within their secret treasure vault that they keep hidden and where they have also stored the weapons, they took from him when they captured him as trophies of their latest triumph. The vault itself is a museum of sorts where the possessions of fallen heroes are kept as a reminder to the hags of how they are doing their best to advance the Night Queen and her sinister agenda to oppose and ultimately destroy her twin sister. For now the druid-ranger is doing his best to keep alive and learn what he can so that if he can extricate himself from these chains he can make a full report to the Day Queen and collect his reward.

Cassandra is nervous as she approaches the monster her mentors have captured and are now dangling like some sort of dark display for their own amusement. She always knew she was different, with her parents being a wizard and a witch and other combinations where some grandparent being involved with some kind of magic for as long as anyone could remember but when she started to be able to manipulate magic effortlessly, she knew she needed training. Jenny Sluggard has been accommodating enough as a mentor, sheltering her from the darker influences of her sisters in the coven but she is also the most repulsive of the three although Kali has been teaching her some things such as how to make males bend to your will through physical interaction aa well as explore the intricacies of sex and sexuality; although that one trick of hers to spontaneously grow a male=s phallus has been one she finds most disturbing.

Jenny actively encourages Cassie to get the bowleraf kymera hard by suckling on his balls and rubbing his sheath with Kali also expressing words of encouragement to the most junior member of their little coven. Wolfbear is still getting vague feelings of being violated but the fact that the one doing it is now a strange but young human girl is mitigating some of those feelings that were intensified when it was a decerped hag doing the molestation of his person. Kali moves behind him and threads his wolfish tail through her snatch before reaching around and scrapping her daggers against his chest in a dangerous display of sexual dominance that alarms him but he chooses to not respond with the hopes she will get bored and move on as his store of knowledge on the fey advises him on how to react in such a manner as to not anger the female fey fiend which will no doubt lead to her using those daggers in a method that is most certainly detrimental to his over all health. His lack of a reaction, the red hag takes as a challenge and wills her body to morph slightly as a penis and scrotum of her very own manifests and then gets erect by her sheer will alone.

Wolfbear finds that his body is more than willing to accommodate the debauchery his captors wish to inflict upon him even if his mind is more than a little reluctant to play along. Cassandra mounts Wolfbear and impales herself along his length bouncing up and down and moans in pleasure as she enjoys riding the monster as Kali keeps fucking him and moans in her own throws of ecstasy. Agnes frowns and shakes her head as Jenny watches with abject lust as a sexless humanoid in a voluminous hooded robe of sheer darkness golden filigree in the style of Egyptian script with the sleeves coming together seemingly seamlessly and a red mask inside the hood that is devoid of expression as a mist of pure obsidian vapors flows out and around where the feet of the entity might be witnessed but instead completely obscuring any sort of observation from making anything discernable.

“Beahelzaytaan?" Agnes inquires in an alarmed tone of voice as if she is scared half to death by the being's presence. “What brings you to visit our humble abode, your eminence?"

“Calm yourselves, ladies," the message seems to emulate from the figure but in a thoroughly psychic manner that resonates in the minds of all present like some sort of telepathic broadcast to nobody in particular. It turns to Cassandra and psychically projects: “You especially need not cease your activity; I find it amusing."

“Yes; sir?" Cassandra states with some trepidation.

“That title will suffice." Beahelzaytaan emanates in a thoroughly amused mental voice. “But I must warn you, you are playing with fire with that one." It makes a nod to Wolfbear. “He is a hunter and a successful one at that."

“I told you we should kill him!" Agnes growls angrily to her sisters. “Hunters make for good eating."

“That would be a good way to dispose of the body." Beahelzaytaan agrees with a nod of its head. “But, that said, you seem to have things well in hand. Just make sure that when the dawn rises on the surface rises it bleaches his bones."

“By the will of Rathus!" A voice in the darkness calls out harshly. “They serve the outer ones! They must die! Slaughter them my servants!"

Obsidian mist fills the chamber obscuring everyone and everything as the sound of thousands of tiny feat flood the chamber. Wolfbear chants: “Sacred eye of Father Sky; Open up and turn to here your gaze; See the peril threatening I; And aid me as I endeavor to enforce your ways!" A miniature sun suddenly bathes the chamber in an abundance of light and the unwavering radiation that comes from an intense burst of the sun's golden rays dissipating the mist and revealing the sudden departure of Beahelzaytaan and an invasion of goblins and their kin as the chains holding Wolfbear dissolve into nothingness like shadows before the noonday sun.

Unwilling to ensure his own demise at the hands of the horde of the hobgoblin empire, Wolfbear makes good his retreat before anyone can recover as he recedes deeper into the darkness and lets the hags defend themselves if they can against this force of goblins, spriggans, orcs hobgoblins and bugbears. His knot had already formed inside Cassandra so she was left with two choices: hang on for dear life as the male she was attached to sprinted away in retreat or drop off and defend her mentors from the goblins. Scared and confused, Cassandra decides to hang on and be the monster's prisoner, willing to offer herself up as his slave if it means preserving her own life.

Wolfbear enters a random door and bars it behind him to prevent pursuit and finds himself in the vault and museum where the possessions of fallen heroes are kept. While noting that his equipment is here unmolested his gaze inevitably is drawn to a mannequin on which a series of garments is outfitted that brings a smile to his muzzle as he moves to clothe himself in the attire present. A pair of black trousers goes on first, baggy enough to encompass his bulk with a light gray long shirt on top of that with a charcoal gray surcoat to follow and a steel gray balaclava to complete the uniform.

Once the uniform is fully donned he next dons a wide black belt of sinuous leather that girds his waist and seems to tighten itself to hold the uniform in place while he dons a harnessed set of black leather boots and fighting gloves to match. On his right hip he attaches an oversized quiver which causes a large satchel like belt pouch to materialize on his left hip. The final garment is voluminous black hooded cloak with bands of black leather that almost make a kind of collar around his throat as he chuckles in satisfaction and goes to empty the contents of his pack into the satchel and retrieve his weapons.

A triangular bladed dagger perfectly designed to be thrown of back metal and a wicked sickle to match, both with scarlet wrappings upon their hilts are the first things he picks up and stuffs into the satchel along with a wooden club that looks as though it is designed to be utilized as a walking stick is also grabbed with glee as Wolfbear recognizes the least of his arsenal quite happily. Next comes his main standby tools of extermination of the servants of darkness, the reinforced composite long bow with its weaponized stabilizers perfect for stabbing enemies that manage to get too close not to mention the arms which he will use to smack someone like he is wielding a quarterstaff if that seems to be the better option as well as the hand and a half sword with its extended handle that allows him to get both hands comfortably to bear upon the blade with perpetually green glowing jewel in its pommel and the sinister looking winged octopus face whose eyes also glow green that encompasses the whole of the guard and whose tentacles spill out onto the forte. Satisfied he has procured what he came for, Wolfbear is about to leave when an axe catches his eye and when he goes to inspect it is thoroughly surprised to find it of Dwarven make and of excellent quality even if it is crafted in the queerest of shapes as the eye where the wood slides through is barrel shaped to allow for a double bitted twin striking edges to flow out from the center like wings, a starfish crown that looks for all the world like the head of an elder thing and with the tendril feet of the creature rendered of fallen star iron to dig into the wood itself and in the mind of Wolfbear calls into question the very sanity of the smith responsible for the weapon's creation.

The vault itself is festooned with colored lights that are the prisons of numerous pixies chained and blinded as they glow with their own inner light trying to free themselves but ultimately to no avail as they are trapped by the hags too completely for that to be possible. Among the most tragic of those caged in eldritch stained glass are those that managed to get the power to grow and evolve into fluttergnome status which is to say they are miniature elves with butterfly wings larger than they are to allow them graceful but clumsy flight even as their bodies are the size of children with full breasts and porcelain hued skin but vibrant colored hair. Each cage has a sign written in the language of the fey describing a failing of the interred that ultimately doomed them to this fate.

Far below them is a underground river with dark clad humanoids that cause Cassandra to recoil in fear as she attempts to hide behind Wolfbear. Intrigued, Wolfbear takes out a spyglass and growls at what he sees as a krakenskiff, a lesser sea monster that is basically a cuttlefish the size of a yacht onto which an iron howdah has been built as a dark worker, a beardless dwarf whose heart is tainted and twisted by the shadow zone, an emanation of utter darkness that warps the mind of those that dwell within to serve that which should not be named whose ultimate servants are the loathsome dagonites and the thing that they have named their god. In the name of their profane god they work within the shadows to promote its worship and servitude wherever possible and build on the surface the shadow zone generators that will extend their realm into the brighter realms above so as to shun the light of the sun and live within a world or perpetual gloom.

None of this sits well with Wolfbear for while his own religious leanings tends to view the gods and their followers with great pity for no mere mortal, no atter how exalted and that is all the gods are: exalted mortals, are ever worthy of worship, not like the sheer power and majesty of nature itself for whom the personification of which borders on blasphemy in his mind with the nebulous exception of the concept of Mother Earth and Father Sky who have no true form but are just generic names to pacify the deluded fools that simply must have names for things to worship and it is only when he uses nature's raw power does he call out such names as the prayers of power were taught to him. He knows many such spells and how to call upon the sheer power of nature's raw eldritch wellsprings to provide him the effects he needs to perform his duties in service the greater cause of nature's perseverance despite the ravages of what civilized folk dare to label as progress. Although as loathe as he is to admit it at times there are somethings, he does appreciate such as running water.

Kneeling on the floor of the krakenskiff is a wood elf woman naked and in chains that Wolfbear recognizes as a fellow druid but of a different order as himself and then he sees a smashed Jack O' Lantern that would have been the head of a wooden mannequin about the size if a small child. The smashed plant thing is her familiar as her order grants such assistants to its members which angers Wolfbear as he knows that Peter would never allow his mistress to be captured and stripped like this unless it was destroyed like it is right now. Taking up his war bow Wolfbear advances intent on rescuing Ashley from her fate at the hands of the dark folk.

“The dark folk practically rule the unterwelt, Wolfbear," Cassandra states as she inquires: “What are you intending to do?"

“That wood elf is a friend of mine," Wolfbear says in way of an explanation, “I'll be damned if I let those dark folk bastards turn her into a dark magician." Then he realizes that she is still following him and has a counter inquiry. “Why are you still behind me? You can make your way back to your mentors."

“We just escaped a full strike force from the Horde," Cassandra says matter-of-factly. “I know they have power aplenty working together, but we just got ambushed and they had firearms, I'm not betting on their survival. And if I'm going to wind up as somebody's fuck toy, I'll take my chances with you."

“Alright," Wolfbear says with a shrug of his shoulders. “How much I can trust a hag blooded sorceress I have no idea but life is a gamble and fortune favors the bold."

Wolfbear makes a running dive into the river and swims over to the krakenskiff devising a strategy on his own as he does so. The hood of his cloak stiffens as he does so as a bubble of breathable air forms around his head. Inwardly, the warrior druid smirks to himself as these advantages are exactly why he sought out the costume to begin with.

Cassandra drinks a potion before diving after him, unwilling to stay in the vault alone lest the goblins barge in and find her. The hags keep special potions in places like the vault for just such emergencies which Cassandra knows as she was tasked with carrying replacements to the various areas once they were used, usually more for recreation than actual need but also because as long as they last, potions do eventually lose their potency if left undrunk for a significant enough length of time. She follows Wolfbear as he approaches the krakenskiff although she is reluctant in her own approach as the last thing she wants to deal with is a hungry and/or randy oversized cephalopod as kraken can be wont to be especially dressed as she is.

Above the waves a caged palanquin is carried out from beyond a wrought iron door with images of Cthulhu carved on the front and back with a dome on top that looks like the head of an octopus carried by a small army of dark creepers. The dark worker, who is smoking a pipe that gives off a noxious odor whatever he is smoking, momentarily frees Ashley and shoves her into the cage as a dark magician, a male elf corrupted by the same method that turned the dwarf into a dark worker, salutes his compatriot who then turns his mount around and leaves the scene, his task having been completed. Wolfbear stealthily emerges from the water and uses another of the costumes powers to turn himself invisible before activating his vine whip to help him ascend the walls inside the sanctum and situation himself on a pillar, one of many in the chamber along with many stalactites for him to swing around on.

Hordes of dark creepers and dark thinkers chant praises to Dagon below as the dark magician leads the bearers to an island dominated by a profane altar and surrounded by water as black as pitch. Ashley has managed to pull down her blindfold and is frightened by what she sees around her. Wolfbear glares at the situation as he has a friends with benefits relationship with Ashley and he racks his brain as to what he can do to rescue her and then realizes he still has two summoning stones that Ashely herself had made for him.

Smirking to himself and drops both stones on either side of him and both of them activate upon hitting the ground. One of the stones sinks into the ground and rises as a statuesque amazon pugilist made entirely of stone while the other draws fire from the torches on the pillars and becomes a titanic draconic humanoid made entirely of flame. Ashley sees both elementals arise and smiles as they are special friends she made as part of her internships that she endured in the years before she lived before climbing to her current level of experience.

The dark folk see the elementals and begin to panic as Wolfbear draws his bow and takes careful aim at the dark magician who is the only one capable of banishing the elementals and performing the ritual to transform Ashley into one of his kind. His aim is true and the dark magician falls from a single shot to the head as the dark thinkers, gnomes corrupted by the same process that turns elves into dark magicians, halflings into dark creepers and humans into dark stalkers, throw acid on the elementals trying to destroy them as a dark stalker emerges to try and calm the chaos that has erupted. Wolfbear swears incoherently to himself and targets the dark stalker with another arrow rather than take the chance that he can actually do something about the situation.

Wolfbear drops down and takes out the antenna from a rust monster and uses it to destroy the lock on the cage that was bringing Ashley Oakley to the altar as he mumbles some arcane words to a spell he half remembers. Both antenna and lock crumble into a plie of rust as Ashley eagerly makes her way out of the cage and into Wolfbear's arms. They leave the carnage behind them as they vacate the chamber and rejoin Cassandra outside who is given one inquiring glance from Ashley before her presence is questioned.

“Wolf," Ashley asks. “what's with the hag spawn? I thought you tried to avoid being like her?"

“I do, Ash," Wolfbear admits. “But for right now, I'm stuck with her. I got captured by a Black Agnes and this one." Thumbing in Cassandra's direction. “Was the junior member of her coven that included a red and a swamp hag."

“And you managed to escape them?" Ashley asks incredulously. “And where did you get the Dragoon costume?"

“Their coven was blindsided by the Horde after they got a visit from Beahelzaytaan," Wolfbear explains and gets a smirk from Ashley, “And due to something they had Cassandra do before the attack after I let loose a sunburst I was able to flee and found a treasure vault where they hid my tools and I found a costume among the other trophies."

“You lucky son of a bitch!" Ashley swears. “But you've been looking for one of those costumes for months now so, that's good news for you."

“Yup," Wolfbear states. “But now I want to get both of you to safety before the dark folk come after us. Your friends can't keep them busy forever."

“You shot the dark magician and the dark stalker," Ashley says with a giggle. “They don't have anyone that can banish either one of them."

“With as much the dark folk truck with the dark powers," Wolfbear begins to state as they move along to try and find their way back up to the surface. “I would not be surprised if one of them turned out to be a summoner at some point."

“The Schattendorn gets too many visits from summoners as is," Ashley grouses as she she shakes her head ruefully. “What is it this area anyway? What do we have that other places do not?"

“I think it's how close we are to the drachenzahn mountains and the eldritch gem mines within." Wolfbear speculates. “they aren't the only ones that seek them of course but their special friends provide them with a kind of advantage in finding the veins to mine."

“Don't the dark folk seek them out themselves for some odd reason?" Ashley asks.

“They do," Cassandra confirms. “the dark thinkers use them to create shadow zone generators with the help of the dark workers and dark magi."

“Why am I not surprised?" Wolfbear with a rueful shake of his head then draws the string of his bow. “I think I see spy eyes up ahead, the last thing I want is to be spotted by the dark folk."

A squadron of moth winged eyeballs fly around a stone carved pagoda tower going from the floor to the ceiling and possibly beyond. The gate to the tower is a golden demon face guarded by two bugbears in samurai armor armed with flintlock muskets who stand at attention but let a mixed group of dark magicians and dark workers pass by them into the tower itself unmolested and beyond nods of understanding between them no interaction between them takes place at all. Emerging from the tower is a gray skinned humanoid in an armored robe with four arms, an impressive rack and a head that looks like that of an octopus with eye stalks like a crab.

Wolfbear has to restrain himself as the dagonite makes itself visible as his greatest hatred is reserved for aberrations like the thing in front of him. The bugbears fearfully salute the dagonite as it is soon flanked by a pair of human sized creatures that resemble crabs with the faces of cuttlefish and cobras rising from their backsides like scorpion tails. Ashley and Wolfbear exchange worried glances as cro-blingoes, and advanced form of the smaller blingo monster, are not known to associate with dagonites in any way shape or form but these two appear to be servants and bodyguards of the dagonite, one of the smaller commoner dagonites by the look of it; plus there is the fact that the bugbears, who are more than likely card carrying members of the Horde of the Hobgoblin Empire, seem actually afraid of the dagonite and its minions.

Unbeknownst to the druids, the Horde has learned a hard lesson when it comes to dealing with the dagonites directly and that is defying them is a bad idea. The dark folk work for the dagonites willingly, following the aberrations as god heads in a bizarre kind of cult and even volunteer themselves to their dagonite masters whenever prompted by them for various reasons and it was from them that the dark thinkers got the inspiration for the shadow zone generators which ultimately positively affects the dagonites and their own sinister society. However the once defiant horde were crafted into the blingoes from the common blingoes made from goblins up to the bugaboos crafted from bugbears with the cro-blingoes made from orcs and the boh-blingoes made from hobgoblins; a fact that makes every member of the horde extremely nervous whenever they are around especially when backing up their dagonite masters as it is a poignant reminder that no matter how powerful an individual horde member might think they are, they are mere cockroaches to be ground underfoot in comparison to the dagonites who are the true rulers on the unterwelt and they do so from the shadows, coming out in the open like this when it suits them and when they do, members of the horde better show their respects if they know what's good for them.

The cro-blingoes flare the hoods of their snake tails as the heads give the bugbears a mockingly sinister smile and nod in acknowledgement of them doing their proper due diligence. Ashley, Cassandra and Wolfbear do their best to hide as four of the six spy eyes go with the dagonite as it goes deeper into the unterwelt flying above them as they walk along a road through a gateway carved to resemble giant skeletons. As much as he despises the things, they are not in a position to win in this situation and Wolfbear knows it as he chooses discretion as the better part of valor and waits until the entourage has passed until he makes his move.

Four quick shots is all it takes to dispatch the spy eyes and bugbears, although Wolfbear uses the axe to finish off the bugbears just to make sure they can't report what they have seen, as the three of them enter the tower in hopes of making their escape. Inside the tower there is a long corridor lit by glowing crystals on the walls and ceiling that leads to a chamber where most of the floor is a pool of lava with a single bridge to an island in the middle that has a teleportation circle permanently etched onto it. All three of them join hands and chant to activate the circle and transition to the surface after Cassandra is able to translate the writing on the stone pillars at the corners of the stone square that rise and provide the anchors of a stained-glass canopy above them depicting a scene in which Cthulhu rises to conquer the world.

Upon reaching the surface level Ashley and Wolfbear are astonished in that they recognize the site as it is well known to them as one of the caves in the drachenzahn jokingly referred to as a drooler as it is an area where melted water from higher up collects and flows out into Drachenspucke Loch a well-known resort in Schattendorn wood. The dark folk are already here constructing a shadow zone generator in river rushing out the mouth of the cave into the loch below. A dark stalker, two dark magicians, three dark thinkers, five dark workers and ten dark creepers in total are working here and despite the odds, Wolfbear and Ashley both know they must fight and destroy the generator before its completion so that the lake remains uncorrupted.

“The time for battle has begun! No place to hide; nowhere to run!" Cassandra chants. “Protection from harm is my only wish; so I shall don the armor eldritch."

“Battle unavoidable hath begun; and on my honor I shall not run," Ashley intones, “The power of nature that I have, I'm glad; as I take on the skin of a dryad!"

“There is no time for levity," Wolfbear intones, “I ask Mother Earth to lend my weapons her gravity."

After each of them cast as spell of battle the three move as one to challenge the dark folk with Wolfbear taking up his new axe and the other two hanging back to cast spells. All ten dark creepers draw daggers and charge towards as the dark workers take up pickaxes, the dark thinkers start mixing volatile chemicals together as the dark magicians draw crossbows and the dark stalker draws a falchion whose blade is pure shadow given deadly form and purpose. As if to counter the dark magicians, Ashley causes electricity to arc painfully between them as Cassandra conjures up a small swarm of mosquitoes made of pure eldritch energy that kamikaze their way into one of the two dark magicians killing him instantly.

Wolfbear has an easy time with the dark creepers, wiping them out with a few swipes of his mighty axe that seems to grow when it strikes a foe and then goes to normal once the foe is downed. The dark thinkers throw their bombs at Wolfbear who backflips out of the way as the remaining creepers try to stab him as one as fail to hit as the firebombs all hit the spot where he was and catch their fellow dark folk in the resulting blast as they all catch fire and burn. The dark workers raise their pickaxes and rush out as one as the dark stalker mockingly salutes his opponents as he casually strides towards them and the dark magicians fire their crossbows as one at the ladies.

“The din of battle rings more and more dire!" Ashley intones in a sing song tone as she does a kind of interpretive dance. “The Heavens roar with Hell's desire. Goodness gracious it's a great ball of fire!"

Ashley launches a miniature comet that lands and explodes where the dark folk are gathering to attack Wolfbear. The dark creepers, what remains of them, are killed outright with a couple of them turned to mere cinders by the explosion and severely wounding the dark workers as Cassandra spends some time erecting shields of pure force to float before her and her two companions as a defensive measure. This proves fortuitous as the dark magicians launch daggers of pure shadow at Cassandra and Ashley that plow harmlessly into the eldritch shields and do not harm their intended targets.

“Your time to die has come today," Wolfbear declares pointing at the dark workers. “For I am the hunter and YOU are my prey!"

The dark workers are seemingly unphased by this declaration as they call for Wolfbear to die before their blades but the druid-ranger just smirks and gets into a bit of spinning maneuver with his axe raised at the ready to make a sweeping strike on all three of them. The eyes of the sculpted elder thing on the war axe alight as he makes his swing and some outside power seems to guide his swing as the axe blade makes the perfect arc to decapitate all three dark workers in a single swipe. The dark stalker's eyes go wide at this act as Wolfbear points at him and growls “You're next!" at full volume.

Positioning his sword in front of him like a spear the dark stalker charges and tries to impale Wolfbear on the point of his blade. Wolfbear stands firm with his axe positioned by his side as he just waits for his opponent to come to him with a prayer to the power of the storm spoken beneath his breath which causes the blade of the axe to crackle with electricity. At the last possible moment Wolfbear sidesteps the attack and sideswipes his opponent with the axe blade biting deep into the other's spine as a burst of electricity surges into his backside causing him to be paralyzed from the waist down as his momentum forcing him to drop prone and lay still as Wolfbear lands a follow up chop of his axe that decisively sever his head from his neck and ending his life.

Seeing the dark stalker perish at the hands of the beast folk, the dark magicians teleport away to somewhere else and abandon their project to the heroes, or at least that is what they are going to tell their superiors to whom they will have to report the incident to. Wolfbear wastes no time turning his club into a shillelagh and using it to wreck the machinery and rendering it utterly useless and inoperable. Ashley is initially confused as to what exactly is going on until Cassandra informs her of just what Wolfbear is trashing and what it is used for as the hags she was working for would help the dark folk construct them when they felt like it or were commanded to by the Night King.

Once the Shadow Zone Generator is destroyed by Wolfbear a woman made of pure stone like a carved statue come to life rises from the floor and approaches the group. Cassandra recoils but both Ashley and Wolfbear recognize the rock nymph as Petra who is one of the local nature elders of power in the region and to the druids she is a friend and an ally. Petra is an independent fey not aligned with the Seelie or Unseelie courts but is more sympathetic to those friendly to the Seelie Court than the Unseelie as druids like Ashley and Wolfbear try to exemplify their lifepath and preserve nature and help it to grow rather than corrupt it like those more aligned to the Unseelie court.

“Thank you, Wolfbear," Petra says with a smile on her face. “I could feel the corruption but did not know what could be done to stop them. “ She then looks over at Cassandra and shakes her head but gives her a curious glance. “Interesting, I can feel a few bloodlines in you, girl. I know the hag blood is what is being expressed now but you have a better bloodline inside of you." She then gazes intently at the floor as well as the remains of the eldritch machine Wolfbear just destroyed causing pieces of it to reform into an isolation pod that Cassie could easily step into. “There we go, much better." Then she looks over at Cassandra game. “Enter the chrysalis and change your bloodline it will go better for you in the long run."

“What?" Cassandra asks as she comes out from behind to gaze at the what the rock nymph created and is surprised when vine like tendrils erupt from inside and grab her to drag her inside. “master! Help! Please!"

“Oh, Ash, I have something for you as well." Petra takes a set of stone lamellar armor out of the water and presents it to Ashley. “That expedition from the Dragonlands that came through here informed me of this type of armor that I made for you as a thank you for helping out with those goblinoids last year."

“Wolfbear helped too," Ashley says before looking at him with a guilty grin on his face. “What?"

Wolfbear and Petra give each other a nod before she says. “I kind of already gave him a reward then and there. Not everything about us rock nymphs are as hard as stone."

“Yeah, that was quite the interesting encounter to say the least." Wolfbear admits sheepishly as he sees the gem portions of the chrysalis get uncomfortably opaque. “Is she going to be alright? I took her away from the hags to try and maybe rehabilitate her."

“Your heart is good and pure, Wolfbear," Petra says warmly. “You may perform evil acts but you do them to try and serve the greater good." Petra closes her eyes and then opens them in surprise. “She's drawing other material as well. She going to become a kymera like you."

“Really?" Wolfbear and Ashley ask as one before Wolfbear follows up with. “I'm a bowleraf, what is she turning into?"

“What kymera subtype merges fox and skunk with human?" Petra asks.

“Skufknox," Wolfbear answers honestly. “That's going to be interesting to say the least. That should make things interesting to say the least."

“Damn them!" Petra curses. “Jenny Sluggard is persistent I'll give her that. Surprising forward thinking as well. She dug her eldritch hooks deep into this one?"

“What's happening?" Ashley asks with genuine worry in her voice as while she is jealous at just how much the human had made herself into a virtual sex slave to Wolfbear, which meant that she would have fewer opportunities to have sex with him herself as she sometimes gets the urge to merge with him in such a way, after all she is of the leaf and he is of the storm and besides the damage a storm can cause they always bring the rain that feeds the plants, she still wishes no true evil on the woman. “Is she going to be alright?"

“Physically there will be little and much that will change." Petra promises. “The problem is mentally. Like Wolfbear she will be dual classed combining the powers and mysticism of a bard and a sorceress instead of just being a sorceress as she is now. She is also successfully changing her power source from hags like she is now to the nymph blood I sensed in her. But this will come with quite the price tag. Jenny Sluggard placed a dark seed in her mind that is blooming now."

“I swear to both of you, I'll kill that damn swamp hag if I can." Wolfbear growls with true rancor in his voice. “What did she do to her?"

“She will offer herself to the first male she sees." Petra predicts. “You must accept her as your slave or she will commit suicide."

“And we're at the perfect height for her to do that." Wolfbear swears as he shakes his head. “I'm an equal opportunity enjoyer, Ashley knows that for sure."

“Yes, yes I do." Ashley says confidently with a lusty smirk on her face. “I have no wish to rescind our friends with benefits relationship, Wolfy."

“Neither do I, Ash, neither do I." Wolfbear says as he gives Ashley a lustful wink. “Although I think I may draw the line at hags, that felt entirely too awkward for my liking."

“How much longer till she is fully converted?" Ashley asks with something definitely in mind as she gives Wolfbear a lustful look in return. “You still have that enchanted tent pole right?"

“Yeah, the satchel needed configuration but all I really needed to do was tap the pole on the bag and it made loops on the underside to contain it securely."

“Oh! You got that dragoon costume you always wanted didn't you, Wolfy?" Petra asks to which Wolfbear just nods. “Good for you! If anyone deserves a set of those things it is you. I hope it serves you well."

Wolfbear sets the pole in the ground and slices himself with his dagger to draw blood from his palm and smear it onto the pole which causes the wrought iron stick to shoot its spiked tip straight up about ten feet in the air before eight spokes shoot out from the main shaft and canvas colored red and black magically forms between the spokes and drapes down to the ground and securing itself like a circus tent with sleeping bags and a fire pit within. Ashley runs in naked, carrying the armor that Petra gave her and beckons Wolfbear to come follow which he does full knowing what Ashley has in mind and begins stripping himself as he follows her into the tent. Petra makes a chair appear and starts making popcorn over an open fire she magically creates as she keeps an eye on what is going on inside the tent and inside the chrysalis to make sure Cassandra doesn't accidently kill herself.

Ashley helps Wolfbear strip off the rest of his costume before getting him to lay down in the largest of the sleeping bags which was usually reserved for him anyway as his huge frame demands it but Ashley has other plans other than sleeping to be sure. She licks and suckles on his balls while rubbing his sheath to entice his phallus to come out and play. Wolfbear moans as she gets him out and hard with her eager usage of her mouth on his most sensitive of bodily areas but she know exactly what she is doing as she impales herself along his length once she gets him to the firmness she needs him to be to ride him to their mutual ecstasy.

She rides him to climax and then collapses on top of him as she waits for his knot to deflate but she is at his mercy and she knows it as he lifts her body up so that his muzzle can sample her tits. Ashley moans and bites her own hand as Wolfbear knows just how to lick and suckle at her breast to drive her into another orgasm just from how his tongue plays with her nipples while a given breast is gently held within his muzzle. His knot may deflate but doing this keeps him just randy enough that he could go another round if need be and she knows it but instead he uses his hand to stroke her inner walls and get her going yet again as she is helpless with desire when she lets him play with her body in this manner.

The sound of cracking glass gets both of their attentions as Wolfbear emerges from the tent to see that the chrysalis is cracking up of its own volition which is an indication that process of what went on inside is almost finished as he casually walks over to greet the newly reformed Cassandra. Cassandra is ejected from the chrysalis as Wolfbear watches to make sure he catches her when she comes down. His aim is perfect but Cassandra slides down his front to take his member in her own muzzle.

Cassandra's new body is an interesting one to look at with much of her general form remaining as is but with the head of a vixen and the tail of a skunk with her fur being orange like a fox where a skunk is normally white but retaining the usual black fur over much of her body save that she again has orange fur giving her the trademark gloves and socks of a fox albeit with a swap in palette for color. She retains her hairstyle from when she was a human including the vibrant purple hued it was previously with vivid green eyes. She looks up at him her expression non-verbally begging for his approval which he reluctantly gives as he realizes what Petra said since she is now a bard-sorceress and while her bloodline buggers off the nymph giving her access to the same primal magic that he and Ashley call upon but in a different form her bardic muse is the swamp hag's curse in that she has the mindset of a slave and by latching on to him as her master she finds salvation and fulfillment much to his heart's lament as he would not mind courting her as a human or in the her new skufknox form.

Knowing what he needs to do and while he is still against what he knows he needs to do, he also knows that refusing to do it will cost Cassandra her life; hoping in his heart this the greater good he takes her into the tent and lays her down wherein she spreads herself and waits for him to take her. Ashley kneels on another sleeping bag knowing full well that doing this is killing part of him but he has vowed to preserve life where he can even as he takes the lives of those that despoil nature with no thought but their own greed or worse are deliberately trying to destroy the wilds for the sheer pleasure of seeing nature die by their hands. Cassandra is a state of ecstasy as Wolfbear exerts his dominance over her; her mind was reduced to that of a slave a long time ago, Jenny Sluggard made Cassie her personal servant when she went looking for a teacher for her mystical power as a mutant human, the only difference is that Wolfbear will be kinder to her than the hags ever were as they would whip and beat her for even the slightest of infractions or worse yet for transgression that never actually were committed but were invented for the sole reason than to give one of the hags an excuse to beat the human within and inch of her life.

Eager to please, Cassandra is on her knees licking and suckling at his scrotum and sheath until his member is enticed out and she can start giving that part of Wolfbear's body her proper attention. Wolfbear reluctantly moans in pleasure as he enjoys what Cassandra is doing to him even if the circumstances are not exactly what he would have wanted in terms of how this interaction came to pass. He only stops her when she gets him hard enough to penetrate her folds, positioning her so the he can easy take her, to which she is only too accommodating as in her mind this level of assertiveness is only proper as part of the relationship that Jenny Sluggard demands that they have since the druid-ranger has, at least in the dark mindset of the hag herself, stolen the bard-sorceress from her service, which in some ways to be fair is accurate from her point of view but not so much his as he abhors slavery and thus regardless of whether she still lives or not, Jenny Sluggard has inflicted a grievous mental wound upon the psyche of the warrior priest of nature.

Beahelzaytaan emerges from the shadows with a mass of shadowy tentacles emerging from the bottom of its robe to provide locomotion. The red mask in its hood retains its hue but now looks like the classic tragedy mask of Greek drama as it approaches the tent with its arms by its sides with twin masses of inky black tentacles like those providing it with locomotion emerging from the terminus of each sleeve. Its gaze is fixed upon the occupants of the tent as it gets ever closer slowly but surely.

“All hail the conquering heroes," it intones in a mocking monotone, “Your primal magic almost disrupted my own efforts to extricate myself form the situation but whether you realized it or not, that was all you had to do to free yourself from the chains Jenny erected to restrain you. Quite the hero, aren't you, Wolfbear?" It raises an arm so the tentacle fingers of the one hand can caress the mask in its hood and slowly but surely turn it around where it changes from tragedy to comedy. “How much the hero are you? Perhaps I can use you to my advantage. After all, what is the adversary of my adversaries? Mayhap I can turn you into an unwitting ally after all. The game is certainly afoot, of that I most certainly must admit, but to what end? What moves are to be made? What forces are to be involved? Whether you realize or not, Wolfbear your actions have set things in motion. The costume you procured for yourself of your own deluded desire has consequences in being worn even if you are unaware of the ramifications as you bear your stolen garments with a conqueror's pride. But then again, just by existence you pose a challenge to me." The mask flips again from comedy to tragedy. “I despise heroes. They can be quite annoying as they disrupt my long-term plans with their antics." Tragedy turns to Comedy. “Although to be fair, your efforts are, more often than not, entertaining to observe. What amusement shall I avail myself now?" The tentacle hands converge on the lower torso of the robe. “You need a challenge, hero, but of what type?" Beahelzaytaan grows in stature so that its form spans from floor to ceiling. “Life it would seem for you has been a piece of cake. Well, then, have another slice, I insist, let's see how you like this recipe." It opens its robes to reveal the blackness within as a quartet of winged creatures with twirling horned heads the feature not a single discernable portion of normal face like a black egg perched upon a torso of shadow, winnow like arms and legs whose terminus is a wicked clawed set of hands and feet but as if this arsenal was not sufficient enough its sexless body also sprouts a long opossum like tail terminating in something not unlike the stinger of a scorpion; two more nightgaunts fly out before it closes the folds of its robes and returns to its monologue: “This shouldn't prove to be more than a minor inconvenience for you, heroes, but despite everything else, I am interested in seeing you go through your paces none the less."

“Wolf?" Ashley asks of her friend and sometimes adventuring party companion who has been listening to the monologue spoken by whatever manner of being Beahelzaytaan is with abject fear and alarm. “As much as I hate to cut this short, I think we are about to have a far more pressing problem to deal with."

“What's wrong, Ash?" Wolfbear asks as Cassandra reluctantly gets off of him and looks over at Ashley fearfully as she knows the kind of tone she said her words all too well and it usually indicates trouble.

“A dark one is or was here and I think it summoned something we need to deal with."

“Could you see what it looked like?" Wolfbear asks as he starts to get dressed in his Dragoon costume, donning the uniform and belt first and foremost with the gloves, boots and cloak donned after to complete matters. After Ashley shakes her head he looks out of the tent and growls: “Nightgaunts! Dark servitors of the ancient ones. This is not good. I have weapons but you two do not."

“Leave that to me!" Petra says as she rises from the floor with a small arsenal in hand. “I made these from the parts of the machinery Wolfbear smashed. First for Cassandra I have a word-staff, a dagger and a crossbow." She hands them over to Cassandra, the sword-staff being a simple polearm consisting of a sword blade mounted on a staff like an extended spear blade. “Ashley, did you skip weapon training growing up?"

“Absolutely not!" Ashley says firmly when her hands on her hips for emphasis. “I wasn't going to enter the fighter's academy but I figured learning how to handle sword and bow would help me survive."

“Good!" Petra exclaims and hands the elven druidess a war bow with quiver and a long-bladed sword. “I hoped that was the case, these are for you. The quiver is exactly the same as the one Wolfy picked up. I had a visit from the Wylde Huntsman last night who came to see who got one of his quivers. He saw that it was someone he likes using them and then noticed Ash so made another one just for you."

“Awesome!" Ashley says with genuine glee.

“I know, right?" Petra says and then turns to Cassandra. “Your quiver functions like theirs, Cassie. The Huntsman knows you serve Wolfbear and understands your situation. So he made that for you. He bids you all good hunting."

All three are now armed and ready for battle but Cassandra still remains behind Wolfbear for her own safety to which neither he nor Ashely mind as they know they are more suited to fighting and taking damage from the monsters advancing towards them she is and thus they need to be a shield for her in order for them to pool their resources and wind the day. As one they take aim with their ranged attacks and as one they fire. Ashley's arrow catches one of the flyers in the shoulder with Wolfbear's arrow striking the other shoulder and Cassandra's bolt finding a home in its head and between the three of them the nightgaunt drops into the river and over the falls harmlessly.

The three share a chuckle as Beahelzaytaan observing in the back shakes its head ruefully but laughing mask of comedy remains within the folds of its hood. Wolfbear and Ashley reload their weapons much more quickly that Cassandra can but they take the time to carefully coordinate and take careful aim at their next target and confer with Cassandra to shoot for the other flyer to which she just nods and intends to do as she is bidden. Upon the next release of ordinance Wolfbear has the best result as his shot would pierced the things heart if it had on and stapled it to a lung where as Ashley just gets a lung shot and Cassandra pinpricks its stomach.

Wolfbear and Ashley have enough time to make one more shot before the other four nightgaunts get too close shoot again but as one they lunge and uses the stabilizers of their bows like the blades of rapiers and make deep stab wounds in the monsters they shot and ending their threat easily. But the remaining nightgaunts enact a terrible revenge as they wickedly slash with their claws the archers that ended the lives of their fellow monsters. Both druids put both their hands on the bow and swing them with dark determination at their opponents and connect with the heads of their attacks which causes them to stagger back enough to be shot once again and when that proves insufficient as the things stumble towards with claws raised and ready to attack all it takes is another thrust to finally end them.

“Well done, Heroes!" Comes a voice in mocking monotone as the sound of satirical applause fills the cavern and the normal form of Beahelzaytaan makes itself known to the three as they raise their ranged weapons to the interloper in shock and alarm.

“Beahelzaytaan," Wolfbear growls. “I might have guessed. So what manner of maliciousness bring you here to bother us?"

“Such impetuousness!" Beahelzaytaan barks but the face in the hood remains that of comedy. “You heroes are amusing in your own predictable manner. You stole something that wasn't yours, Wolfbear, but after surviving your ordeal I suppose you could claim it as spoils of war. They aren't dead you know. It took a bit out of them but they managed to slaughter the war party sent against them. “

“You are a consummate liar, Beahelzaytaan," Ashley spits as they keep their weapons trained. “Your words are worthless."

“I am prone to deception," Beahelzaytaan admits with a shrug of its shoulders while still displaying the laughing mask as a way to mock those it stands before. “It is part of my nature after all. But as far as I am concerned you have earned your costume and the right to wear with all the privileges and perils that doing so entails. I don't even begrudge you the girl although I'm sure Jenny will be jealous of you once I tell her what's become of her little plaything. Speaking of which;" it momentary disappears only to reappear behind Cassandra and the dark tendrils emanating from the bottom of its robe encapsulate the feet and ankles of her new body. “The hags have disappointed me with their antics, Jenny especially. And that warrants retribution. They have disrupted my long-term machination so it's only fair I do likewise. Let's see how long you can keep her affections, Wolfbear."

“I may not have the slave compulsion anymore," Cassandra retorts. “But I'm still better off as his ally, friend or even lover than going it alone. I know that all too well." She turns to Wolfbear. “I'm sorry for any anguish I may have caused you."

“How sweet," Beahelzaytaan says in mocking monotone. “Ah, well, I can cause no more chaos now. But be well advised, Wolfbear, I will be watching. Please do amuse me." With that he dissipates into nothingness as Wolfbear gives Cassandra a hug from behind.

“A consummate trickster that one," Wolfbear says with a rueful sigh. “Those of the Dragonlands have a rather unique curse: May you live in interesting times. Looks like that curse has just been invoked."

“We shall see, Wolfy," Ashley intones as she shakes her head and starts for the stone stairway leading down the mountain to the forest below. “But I don't know about you, but I've have enough of nightmares for a while."

“So am I, Ash," Wolfbear says as he takes down the tent and stores it in his satchel. “So am I." Then he turns to Cassandra. “So what are your plans for now?"

“I'm not entirely sure," Cassandra answers honestly. “I'd like to see how well I do as a professional adventurer now. Although I do need a few things."

“Such as?" Ashley asks as they join her on the stairway down.

Cassandra taps her muzzle in thought before replying. “Some armor would be nice for the first thing. And Beahelzaytaan changed my muse, I now have this image in my head of darkness, a void of meaning and substance and a writhing mass of something like a bundle of tentacles or worms with no discernable beginning nor end. What the heck is that?"

“Nothing good, I can sort of tell that." Ashley states. “But as long as you aren't driving people insane and try to be entertaining you should be fine."

“I'll make you a det of armor," Wolfbear promises. “Nothing you can't handle but it'll be protective enough. I hope at least to have a similar relationship with you that I do with Ashley."

“I take you two are friends that at least occasionally play bedroom games with each other?"

“Yup," Ashley confirms. “I keep my options open and Wolfbear does the same. But I do like sleeping with him more often than not."

“I want something similar and maybe more to be sure." Cassandra admits openly with a smile. “I also need to learn more about kymera culture, since I kind of am one now. At least enough that I don't ostracize myself."

“Not much to learn," Wolfbear admits. “But your new body is one of us to be sure. You're a skufknox now, I am a bowleraf. I'll help you through things."

“Good," Cassandra says simply as they make their way down the mountain. “Well, here's to a new life."