The Dryad’s Dream
Chapter 7 – Seen
Taya spun around, snapping her spear in a tight arc that cut the air with enough force to whistle the blade. The whistling stopped as the weapon sliced perfectly through the neck of the orc that was charging her from behind, its head lopping off over her shoulder, even as she stepped out of the way of his crumpling body. Two more corpses lay at her feet.
“How many more, Law?”
“TWO! Both to your left!”
The tall redhead turned to face her remaining attackers. The first had a battered sword drawn, and was making feigning lunges in her direction while it snarled and hissed. The second was several meters back, and looked slightly less imposing than its larger comrade.
“Come on then…” she muttered under breath as she held her spear at the ready.
The orc made a horrific battle roar as it stepped into range and swung its weapon in a wide opening arc. The beast was big, far bigger than a human opponent, and much stronger. Taya would never risk blocking the heavy longsword with her shaft. It would cut right through as easily as chopping through her bones. She countered with a single step back, deflecting the blade with the forged metal tip of the weapon, pushing the sword downward. Even still, the force of the attack was considerable. Orcs weren’t very smart, or skilled, she decided, but they somewhat made up for the lack in their strength and ferocity. The obvious recourse was grace and tactical play.
As she pushed the sword down, she stepped out of range behind the orc and waited for him to decide which way he would turn to face her. She guessed he would try to follow her instead of spinning the other direction, which would have given him a longer, more powerful swing on his next attack. She was right. As soon as he started to lift his sword, she let her spear come up between his legs and neatly sliced the tendons behind his left knee. He crumpled to the ground even before he completed his swing. Lying on his sword arm, the beast was unable to parry her next thrust, which speared him through the eye.
“Taya! The last one is running!” Lawen called out from nearby.
Calmly, she withdrew her dagger and took aim. Three turns, and the blade was buried to the hilt in the falling orc’s back.
“Woohoo!” cried the elf, raising a fist. “You’re amazing, Taya!”
She began cleaning her blade off on the dead foe’s clothes. “Thanks. Dark magic and poisoned stickies may give me trouble, but orcs I can do. You okay?”
“Oh sure. They never got close to me. I think they forgot I was even there as soon as you cut down the first one. They never stood a chance.”
“We need to be more careful. A patrol is one thing, but they’d be much more formidable in greater numbers.” She looked around at the fallen creatures. “How did they even find us? Not by smell…”
Lawen shook her head. “No way. We were downwind the whole time.”
“They were traveling in a hunting pattern… A good one. They’re not that smart.”
“What are you getting at?”
Taya was frowning. “We’re not seeing the whole picture here. Someone, or some thing else is directing their actions. Did you notice their erections?”
“Bit hard to miss,” replied the she-elf, staring down at one of the corpses.
“The forest is affecting them. They were nearly feral with battle lust. It happens in males. They get excited during an encounter and can’t shut it off. It completely messes with their ability to fight.”
“Huh. Uh, do you ever get that? Battle lust?”
The human looked over at her, with her mouth open. “Combat always makes me horny… If you’re wondering whether or not you’ll get lucky tonight, relax. Provided we can find a safe place to camp, I’ll see to it that you’re… satisfied.”
The she-elf giggled. “Might take a bit. This damn forest has got me pretty worked up as well. What do the erections have to do with anything?”
“The orcs are dim, but they’re obviously a warrior race. They have to know this place is making them ineffective. They would never come here on their own, at least not now, in the heat of spring.”
“You think they were ordered here?”
“Maybe. Or paid to be. See that sword, it’s human made.”
“You’re kidding… Are you sure?”
She nodded. “I recognized the hilt. Baron Yimmon’s clan. I fought against his men once. Clumsy. The first one that attacked us had a shield from the Storm King. First Legion I believe. The fact that those are here shows me that these orcs were given weapons and armor. These are mercenaries.”
“Paid fighters? Paid by who?”
She sighed. “That, my sultry elven lover, is a very good question.”
They scavenged what they could, and moved on. Taya let Lawen lead, as the elf knew the dangerous plants and animals, especially the ones that had a tendency to get ‘friendly’. They did pretty well avoiding most of them, but the whole forest was put against them it seemed. There were bogs with mud that appeared right under their feet out of nowhere, and flowers that looked so bright and beautiful that you wanted to cry for joy, but would snap you with a paralysing toxin if you bent down to smell them. They were forced to kill innumerable toads, and snakes, several of the latter giving Taya a start by trying to slip up the leg holes of her pants. They were taking a break after having to struggle up a small ravine, when Lawen gasped.
“Taya… help!”
The warrior looked over and saw that her friend seemed to be dangling by her left hand from the trunk of an oak. She rushed over, setting down her spear and drawing her dagger.
“What happened?”
“I just put my hand against the tree for a second to catch my breath, and the next thing I knew it was being hoisted up over my head. I don’t think it likes me.”
Taya snickered. “Or maybe it likes you just a little too much. Hold still, it’s wound you up pretty tight.”
“I get scared when my hands are bound. I need them for my charms and such.”
“Don’t worry. I think I can just… hey! Crap…”
“Taya?”
“I think something just wrapped around my ankle…”
Lawen’s eyes got wide. “Get us out! Get us out!”
“Well, I’m working on it, if you would just hold still…”
The she-elf was frantic. “Hurry, Tay! I think this is Corgen’s Folly!”
“Corgen’s what? Look, if you keep wiggling around like that, I’m liable to…”
In a swirl of green, vines reached around Taya’s hand and pulled it up next to Lawen’s.
“Shit! Hold on…” She reached up with her free hand to take the knife, but as soon as it was close, another set of vines came around from the other side. It took only seconds, and she was helpless.
“Son of a bitch! Law, I think we’re in trouble. Can you do anything with your free hand?”
“I might have been able to if it were still free…”
“Fuck.”
Lawen moaned. “Taya, this is bad. Corgen’s Folly is nasty stuff. It’s not going to let us go easily. It slowly covers its victims in vines… Dark magic vines.”
“Uh… Yeah, I think I’m feeling that…” She mentioned as something reached around her back at her waist. A moment later it was drawing tight. A few seconds more and there were similar pressures at her shoulders and knees. They were facing each other, so Taya had a clear view of Lawen when the elf suddenly blushed and sucked in her breath.
“Law? Are you okay?… I mean, aside from our being trapped and helpless in the grip of an evil tree.”
“I… I don’t know. I feel weird. I’m scared, but having your body pressed against mine like this… It’s making me… It’s the vines. I think I might be more sensitive to their effects. I don’t think I should be feeling this aroused, Tay.”
“Aroused?” The human was only half surprised. “I suppose it is kinda sexy, but don’t you think we should work on getting free? I still have the knife in my hand. If we can just get one of us free, we might…”
“Taya?”
“Law?”
“I… think I want you to kiss me. P-please kiss me…”
Taya swallowed as she looked into the eyes of the she-elf she was pressed against, stunned at the level of lust that stared back at her.
“It’s the tree, Lawen. The vines, remember?… Making you horny.”
“Don’t you want to kiss me?” she asked, breathlessly.
“Sure I do! But not here… later tonight when we’re out of this mess and I can put my whole attention into it.”
“Ughnn… Oh goddess…” Moaned the elf. Taya felt her shifting against her; squirming. After just a few seconds of this, Taya felt her own face grow hot.
“Lawen, listen to me. If we don’t get out of this soon, it’ll be too late. We have to focus!”
“It’s already too late. We’re stuck, Taya. The vines have us now, and we’re not going to be able to get free. But at least I have you, right here, right against me…” She was moving her body, slowly undulating against the human so that her thigh pressed erotically against Taya’s sex. The woman’s mouth dropped open in sudden arousal.
“Ah! Law… no, ughmmm… s-stop that… We have to work… ughn… together.”
“Work me…” She rolled her hips.
“L-Lawen… gods… ughn, no… I… I… ughnnmm…”
“Kiss me, Tay… please…”
Taya found herself moving her face closer and closer. It didn’t help that the vines had pulled them tightly together now, and were growing tighter with every passing second. She could feel the she-elf’s hard nipples poking into her abdomen as the elf’s thigh continued to rub back and forth over her apex. Her heart pounded in her chest, and the human knew that if she gave in, even for a moment, she’d never get back her concentration.
But it was no good. She just couldn’t resist. Maybe it was some dark magic the vines were casting over them, or perhaps she finally felt the inevitability of the trap they had fallen into. Whatever the reason, she let her head come down so that their lips met, and the second they did, her world tumbled.
Hot pleasure rolled up her torso in a wave as she came in wonderful ecstasy. Although she were nearly lost to the timeless climax, she could feel Lawen shudder into bliss as well, their bodies uncontrollably trembling together in a lust that seemed to go on and on. All the while, the thin loops of plant fiber continued to encircle them as though fueled by the pair’s sexual delirium, binding them together to the old oak, and locking in their fate. But neither of them cared any longer. The dark magic had fully seeped into their minds and captured them in an entirely different kind of bondage. Several hours later, they were still slowly undulating against each other when the orc party cut them loose and carried them away in chains.
—
“Lawen…” said the human warrior as she slowly came out of a euphoric haze. “Wha… What happened? Where are we?”
She could see a camp of sorts, with a fire pit, but it didn’t look familiar. In fact, it didn’t look like any camp they had ever made.
“Law, where are you?”
<<She is nearby.>> said an odd voice in her head. <<Being prepared.>>
Suddenly terrified, Taya scanned the site with the clarity that only profound danger can bring. Whatever was speaking to her, used a voice that connected directly with her mind. It was everywhere, and nowhere; male and female. It shifted and faded, like a shadow in a fog… and it was unmistakably evil.
<<Would you like to see?>> it asked. She became aware that her arms and legs were strapped to an armature of sorts, with her limbs held out in an X. She was startled to find the whole structure lifted and turned about 90 degrees, but she was even more surprised to see her friend and lover lying naked on a mat of some kind about five meters away. Her arms were bound behind her. Three very aroused orcs, also naked, were calmly covering her whole body with a heavy oil that left her glistening in the firelight.
“LET HER GO!”
<<Such passion from one with so little power,>> replied the voice. <<You care deeply for her. Good. It will make your torment all the more sweet.>>
“Fuck you! Show yourself, coward!”
<<As you wish.>>
Suddenly, Taya was very nervous. She could sense a presence behind her, moving nearly without sound, yet she felt the bulk of the creature long before it even came within view. The monstrosity was as a huge floating ball almost three meters wide, with dark hide-like skin and a single massive eye. There were smaller eyes at the ends of nearly a dozen short tentacles protruding from the top of the horror, and it possessed the largest mouth that Taya had ever seen, nearly splitting the creature in half.
She wanted to scream, but she didn’t. She needed to be strong, if for no other reason than to somehow help Lawen.
“What have you done to my friend?!”
<<The elf is unharmed… for now. I am keeping her unconscious until it is time. You and I, however, have much to discuss.>>
“Go back to hell, demon!”
There was a deep, slow laughing in her head. <<You don’t even know what I am, do you? You, simple human from outside the vale… look around you. Do you believe these orcs stay here of their own volition? I control them. Little more than simple-minded beasts they are, bred for war and death… their minds are easily manipulated. But not you, Lieutenant Tiracle, Spear Master of the King’s Royal Guard, and niece of the King himself. No, your mind is nimble and well educated. You come from noble blood. Your will is STRONG>>
“How do you know so much about me?”
Again, there was a deep laughter as the massive eye moved even closer, pinning her under its gaze.
<< I know you, because I. SEE. YOU.>>
Taya felt a heaviness fall over her mind, as though she had just been covered with a large wet blanket. It pressed all around her awareness, pushing and prodding to find a way in. It took incredible concentration to resist the presence, an effort that left her sweating and panting when it finally relented.
<<I am a Beholder, petty human. We were ancient long before your pithy race ever existed, and we will exist still, long after you are gone.>>
“Yeah, so? What do you want with us?” The warrior was only half interested in the answer to her question. As long as her captor was still talking, it wasn’t eating her.
<<To feed of course.>>
Oops.
<<Your kind can nourish us in many ways. Your flesh, yes, but your mind as well. Humanoid females experience such wonderful energies when you are pleasured. Your ecstasy is a delicacy so rich and pure… like a sweet candy to be sucked and savored.>>
Taya didn’t like the sound of that, not at all.
<<But more than anything, we seek to feed on magic…>>
“You won’t get much of that from me,” she argued. “I’m a warrior, not a sorceress.”
<<Ignorance. You hold much magical essence, Lieutenant. All creatures have a bit, but humans carry theirs deep inside where is it difficult to reach, like the meat of a hard nut. You are highborn as well, of Fae lineage…>> The creature’s massive eye shifted momentarily to her ginger hair. <<You hold within yourself enormous power… and I intend to crack your shell and eat out every last bit before we’re done.>>
Taya pulled at her wrists, testing the leather straps that bound her to the armature. The bindings were thick and well wrapped. There would be no easy escape that way.
The monster chuckled. <<This is your end, human. Your fate is sealed. But, you can lessen your own suffering… I might consider killing you more quickly if you were to… cooperate.>>
She sighed. “What do you want?”
<<Tell me of the wizard and the girl…>>
Frowning, the woman quickly considered the creature’s words. How did it know about them? She needed more information.
“Who?”
The monstrous orb loomed close to her face. <<You play games with me?! I can see them in your recent memory… I can smell the magic on your clothes like ash from a fire. Tell me where they are and I might consider a merciful death.>>
So, it couldn’t read everything in her mind… “Not happening, bubble boy.”
<<ARRRG! Insolent child! How dare you deny me my prey!>>
“Sorry, but unless you have a better offer than a ‘quick death,’ I don’t really see the advantage in giving up my friends.”
The great eye squinted at her, and again she could feel the horrible pressure squeezing at her mind, pushing and pulling at her thoughts. There was a sickening sensation of being drained, and no matter how hard she tried not to let the creature manipulate her, keeping the memories from slipping out was like trying to hold an ever increasing quantity of sand in your hands.
<<You do not care for your own life…>> it said, simply. <<As a warrior, you are prepared to die. But you are weak… you DO care for other’s lives. The wizard, the girl, your teammates… especially this one.>> The eye turned to look at Lawen’s prone body, then back to the human. <<You have been intimate with the she-elf. She is special…>>
“Leave her alone!” she yelled.
<<No. If you will not give me what I want, then I will make you watch as I feed on her.>>
“No…” she whimpered, pulling at her bonds again.
The orcs were sitting her up, and to Taya’s surprise, the elf’s eyes were open.
“Lawen! I’m here!… Hey, Law, wake up, girl!” she called out, but the female did not respond. “What have you done to her?!”
<<The she-elf was unable to resist me. She is mine to control. I assure you, she is quite aware of her situation, and will feel everything done to her. She can hear you, but can do nothing but what I tell her to.>>
Taya watched helplessly as one of the orcs laid on his back, his massive erection pointing to the night sky. Without comment, her lover moved forward and then lifted her leg over the creature so that she was seated on his thighs. Her hands then reached out and grasped the orc’s shaft, stroking him with the oil.
“You bastard!”
<<This was your choice, human.>>
Rising up on her knees, Lawen wordlessly shifted forward, and then positioned the beast’s phallus under her, slowly lowering herself onto him, gasping softly as the slickened tip of his rod just pressed into her folds… and stopped.
<<I have given her enough control to resist, but the arousal she feels is growing. Eventually, it will break her and she will give in to her lust.>>
“Fight it, Lawen! You can beat this prick! Fight!”
<<In the end, it won’t matter. I could force her, but I want you to see her fail. I want you see how easily she is corrupted and seduced. She can not fight her own desire.>>
The she-elf was trembling, her face a mask of desperation as she looked down at the well-muscled orc she was poised above. Her breathing was deepening, and Taya saw the girl clutch her hands against the bare chest of the wide-eyed dark warrior in growing distress.
<<Every breath, every tiny motion of her body is sexual torment for your lover now. In a moment she will falter, and won’t be able to help herself anymore. She will give herself to the pleasure and I will begin to feed…>>
“Noo… Stop, please! Don’t make her do this!”
<<Tell me of the wizard and the girl…>>
Why hadn’t he simply pulled it from Lawen’s mind if he had control of her? She shook her head slowly.
“Ah… ah!… AH!” gasped the elf, as her thighs slowly gave way and lowered her trembling body, the large pulsing shaft of the dark minion gradually easing into her warm sheath. With a violent spasm, Taya knew that her friend had just come hard. She saw in that moment, the dizzy, euphoric rolling of the other’s eyes, and understood the complete overload of hedonism that was taking her.
The Beholder rumbled in contented triumph.
<<There. It has begun. There’s no turning back for her now. She will continue to drive herself to ecstasy over and over, until she is so spent that her very soul will be accessible to me. And then I shall take her magical energy as well, sucking that sweet nectar from her like squeezing an orange for it’s juice.>>
“Lawen…” she sobbed.
<<And when that too is gone, I will finally feast on her flesh, savoring the texture of her bones in my belly!>>
“Nooo, no no no…”
<<Do you still deny me my request, warrior? Do you still refuse to give me what I want?!>>
She watched Lawen’s hips helplessly take on a deep, rolling undulation as she thrust atop the beast’s member again and again and again. She could see the torment of passion in the girl’s face as she tossed her head back and forth, her mouth wide as she fought for each sharp breath. Her cries of her mounting bliss began to echo into the dark forest night.
Suddenly, Taya gasped as she felt a liquid pleasure in her middle, and had the momentary sensation of being penetrated right to her core.
<<Shall I share her revelry with you?>> asked the Beholder, its single bright eye abruptly fixed on her again. <<I can let you feel her ecstasy… let you come together in her moments of carnality…>>
“NO!” she screamed, and struggled frantically against her bonds.
She turned to Lawen and could feel the orc’s rigid flesh sliding within her own sex in perfect time with the motion of the girl’s hips. She felt the ache in her thighs, and the tight stretching of her flower around the thick member each time it thrust into her from below. It was as though she herself were sitting atop the powerful humanoid.
There was a queasy tension in her middle that was not her own, and Taya realized that the she-elf was about to come again. The warrior strained with all her strength to escape the phantom lover, but it was too late. The elf’s ecstasy washed over her in a hot rush, and Taya bucked and gasped until her thighs were reduced to quivering mush. She hung, limp and exhausted from the rack she was strapped to, shocked at the amount of pleasure her lover was being subjected to.
The shadow sensations faded away, replaced by feelings of guilt and rage.
“You fucking bastard…” she whispered.
<<Tell me about the wizard and the girl, Taya Tiracle…>>
“I’m not going to tell you anything…”
<<You will.>>
She spit at the eye.
<<Perhaps… you will be more receptive if I drain your strength as well…>>
The human felt something at her sides and looked down just as the breastplate of her armor fell to the ground at her feet. Even as she watched, the straps of her shoulder guards were unhooking themselves.
“Wha…?”
<<I have no need of hands, little human. I am not restricted by the limits of my flesh.>>
There was something touching her. All along her sides and belly, she suddenly felt soft pressures, as though unseen hands were stroking her over her clothing, squeezing and pawing her. The invisible fingers worked at her garments as well, popping the row of buttons at her chest even as the belt at her waist was undone.
“No…” she groaned, struggling helplessly again as she was progressively stripped out of her clothing. The Beholder’s unseen limbs were even able to unlace the sides of her britches from top to bottom, so that they pulled away, leaving her in only her panties and open shirt. With a quiet ripping, even those remnants were finally taken from her. With their work done, the ghostly hands returned to the exploration of her body. The Beholder’s single eye searched her face as it silently molested her, reveling in her every twitch of revulsion.
<<It must frustrate you to be so helpless and weak, yes? …Completely at the mercy of your own pleasures. As a warrior, you rely on your strength and will to overcome your enemies. But you can’t fight against your own flesh… your own desires.>>
The unseen fingers cupped her breasts, stroking her nipples into pulsing hardness. Down lower, it was very lightly brushing along the length of her womanhood, just grazing the softer hairs at her pubis. The effect was maddening, and as the creature said, very pleasurable. She could already feel the erotic pressure building deep inside her.
<<You would prefer to face me with your might and skill, as a fighter… But I’m going to take you down like a common whore. By hour’s end you’ll be screaming in ecstasy, begging for more… just like you did with him…>>
Images flashed in her mind, and Taya was suddenly filled with a deep sense of shame. How could it know?! Had it already broken her mind?
“Ahh! UGH!” she hissed, as the beholder’s touch drifted right along her cleft, causing her to wrench away. It didn’t help. The unseen digits followed her, repeating the feather-like caresses over her jewel and then slowly over her outer folds again, and again. Each time, it grew a little more bold.
<<You were so young… just of age, but even then you were hungry, and curious. You liked it when he touched you… opening you slowly like this… You wanted it… begged him for it.>>
“No… ughmm… stop… AHH!” Her body was already shaking as her excitement grew, the arousal confusing and clouding her thoughts.
<<And he gave you what you wanted… what you asked for. He made you come so hard that you left his hand drenched in your juices.>>
She could feel the tightening in her belly again as she was gradually seduced toward her moment.
“N-n-no… ughnn! Th-that’s not what… UGHN! Oh g-gods!”
<<That was but the first time. Remember how you returned to him that night, and let him take you? How you laid on your back with your thighs wide… how his tongue brought you such delight? You trembled in pleasure at the feel of his slick, soft flesh riding over your maidenhead, especially enjoying how warm it felt when it pressed inside you. Would you like me to use my tongue, Taya? I think you will find it much more… fulfilling.>>
Her heart beat even faster at the sight of the Beholder opening its massive maw. From inside the foul hole extended a flat, reddish muscle over a meter wide, and several times that long to where it tapered down to a long point. Dripping with thick saliva, Taya could feel the moist heat from the organ as she watched it reach out and move slowly between her thighs. Her ankles bound, she could do nothing as the dark mass rolled upwards and settled over her apex all at once. Between the slippery soft flesh, and the blood-warm heat pressed against her entire pelvic region, the warrior suddenly found herself pushed sharply over the edge. Her orgasm caused her to arch her back in both shock and panic, for the flowing wave of flesh continued to curl up and over her sex, sliding along her belly as it covered her entire front.
She trembled helplessly, gasping for breath until the wet heat engulfed the whole front of her torso, including her breasts. Taya had one long look into the creature’s hideous mouth before she was distracted yet again by the tip, which wiggled and undulated right up into her.
“UGHNN!! Oh, G-GOD! AHHH! AHHH!” she wailed, unable to do more than thrash and thrust her hips in erotic agony. The slippery mass seemed to fill her until it was impossibly deep, the thinner vertex finally licking at the very entrance of her womb. Her thoughts blurred into a whirling mash of past and present pleasures as her will to resist the Beholder faltered, and she could sense the creature drawing out the memories as though it were sucking the marrow from her bones.
<<Ahh. That’s it… Come for me, Taya. Let me taste you… Let me feast on your passions. You can’t fight it. Already you feel yourself cracking…>>
She did feel it. She could feel the monster’s oily mental presence peeling back her resistance, exposing her most intimate and personal moments. She felt the slow insertion of its psychic tendrils reaching into her secret self, like the gradual invasion of parasitic roots… She felt them corrupting and feeding on her soul.
<<Yes. Remember. Let your lust flow… Feel me working you, just as he worked you, over and over…>>
The tongue was easing in and out of her, pulsing and twisting as it explored every tiny crease and furrow of her depths. The same flesh stroked at her hooded jewel and languidly rolled over her belly. It cupped her breasts in its warm heat, and teased her nipples into hard points of erotic fire. She could feel the wet muscle curl around her sides, as if to swallow her completely, drawing her helpless body closer to the rows of sharp teeth just inside the Beholder’s maw.
Taya couldn’t hold back anymore. Her resistance was lost to the constant waves of orgasm that tortured her tired body. She felt herself sinking into the endless stream of carnal memories, drowned by her own animalistic lusts.