Lair of the Famine Beasts

Morgana, the wandering sorceress ventures her way down the canyon skillfully. She did not looked concerned, but she was however cautious on her trek down; she was anxious to meet the so called 'dragons of old' and could hardly contain herself to create a pact with one of these fabled beasts, if not all of them. "Soon...I shall know." she says to herself with a mischievous giggle before continuing on through a cave.

Little did Morgana know that she was already being watched by these "Dragon's of Old." Several of them. They weren't creatures to be messed with, and this she knew, being the incredible sorceress she was. However, the dragons could only hope, for her sake, that she came prepared. They were powerful creatures, beyond the sorcery of human beings, and they didn't make pacts with just anyone. The pacts were a sign of respect for a race lower than them, and if one came to the beasts seeking to make a pact and did not meet their requirements, well...that was simply an insult.

So it went one of two ways. You went in and came back out with a pact that very few in the world had ever made. Or. You went in and didn't come back out.

A loud shuttering sound bellows out from the caves and intertwined coves at the base of the valley. As the stench of the cave exited, so did an incredibly large shockwave. The rocks began to peel away from the surface of the rocky outcropping and the large red skinned creature began to claw its way out into the starry afternoon light. The creature was large, about 25' in length in standing height, but coupled with his snaking tail it was possibly 30 or 35' in length. Soon the creature began to stretch his long limbs and swung his tail out, letting a decades worth of stony dust fling off his red scaly body. "Unnn... so nice to feel movement again!" He exclaimed, his bones creaking and snapping after years of inactivity. He violently shook his body, removing the dust and rock which had accumulated upon him all this time, and fully revealing his shiny deep red scales. "Ahh.... this new body feels even more powerful than my last... must be something with the perverse air these days. Hmmm.... I wonder if the women taste as splendid as they had in the past." he licks his lips and chuckles. "Oh, I shall find out shortly." he says with a deep chuckle, ascending the cliffside.

Megalos blinks his eyes, waking up in the cavern of the famine beasts. He looks about and begins pushing his nearly 20 foot tall being from the cave mouth, his large belly swaying and his scales glittering in the sunlight. "Ughh..." he groaned, cracking his short neck and stepped out of the cave fully. Large explosions and the scent of destruction caused him to stir, and was thankful that Lord Sein had once again given his ultimate charity to him, and allowed his soul to resserect in this most legendary of caves. There had still been no sign or scale of his Lordship, but he was sure he was busy anyhow. One thing for sure, what caused that wracket wasn't him. "Hmm... something new. I'll look into it later when I'm less hungry." he utters, yawning and scratching his plump belly scales before heading away from the cave.

Gil stretched and loosened his shoulders, having traveled a few miles already that day in order to reach his destination. There was an open bounty for the heads of predators attacking the countryside, and he intended to collect in order to procure better equipment. "This sword is fine and all, but a wooden shield won't last long on Galiavan..." His tendency to talk to himself was newly developed, both as a way to contend with his self imposed isolation and to drown out the clanking of his armor.

It was heavy plate and clanked with every step so stealth was not an option. But the protection it provided was indisputable so removing it was simply not an option. Besides, the green fabric embroidered with silver lining and the fur collar set an intimidating figure, something that worked his favor. People in the last town he traveled through tended to avoid him which was very much to his preference. It had also saved his life once already by stopping a nasty predator's bony implement from piercing his heart. This oughta be a good place to set up a bonfire though...

Gil quickly scouted the immediate area to ensure it was clear before removing the coiled sword from his pack. He handled the artifact with absolute care, not allowing its faded metal to touch the ground. Its gnarled handle was warped as if scorched by flame and its cross guard fanned out in four directions. The blade itself coiled to a blunt tip that blazed red, forever heated by its own power. He set the blade on a nearby log still swaddled safety in its carrying blanket. Gil then set to work scattering the bones of his last foe in a carefully designed circle.



A final application of ash laid out the base for his bonfire, requiring only the final touch. And so he brandished the coiled sword in full and pierced the ash with its hot red edge. The blade sank halfway into the ash, seemingly ignoring the solid ground beneath it. Orange flame danced up the blade before encompassing the whole of the artifact, linking Veran to this location should he perish. His darksign, a brand of flame, burned after establishing the bonfire. It marked the ritual as a success and eased his mind.

With that done, he untied the dull flask strapped to his waist and hold it aloft the bonfire. He focused the power of his brand on the flask and in an instant it glowed a golden orange, filled to the brim with life restoring Estus. Now Gil was fully prepared to face the predators with sword and shield in hand. But first he should find dinner, his stomach growled fiercely in revolt. He hadn't eaten since that morning and it was well past midday. "Well, I suppose slaying can wait. Dinner calls first." He chuckled before setting out to hunt for a meal, leaving his shield behind while arming himself with a shortbow and long sword.

"Keep up Rosette. One should not tarry in the region of the Famine Beasts for any longer than necessary." Regan Blackthorne chastised her assistant, Rosette Firelily. Both were ample, shapely women, but Regan was a witch of Gailden, of a disbanded coven; her research assistant she had been half-heatedly teaching was from Fenira, where everything was red...





Both had long hair, but Regan's was black and ankle length, Rosette's was just past her thighs and reddish brown. Rose had both her eyes, Regan had one hidden by a triangular silk patch, received in this dangerous location to be exact! Rosette wasn't her first choice of 'assistant' but she came highly recommended for the price, and on top of it all, reminded her of her former comrade, Ciara.

"Why are we here then, Madam Blackthorne? If such a hard to reach place is so deadly to linger in...?" Her assistant whined.

Regan sighed, and climbed a boulder, using her staff to provide herself some balance as she half turned to the Feniran. "I've went over this before... My contemporary and former sister in the dark arts defiled these lands, the beasts she released still linger, undying as a result of her folly. For her hubris, my friend was devoured by the defiled God she tried to invoke for power. A doorway was open, releasing these famine beasts as a result. However, with that sacrifice an abundant flow of mana was released upon these lands. A near limitless flow of potential magical energy which can be pulled from the very air we breathe, and stored into our magical glass and compasses, even our clothes; our attire was made specifically to draw in the mana around us after all. Its not just for show or to entice some poor sod into a more easily manipulative state. And the deeper we traverse, the more volatile the energy we can gather and collect. Have you been sleeping during my lectures again?" She chastised once more, before offering a hand to her assistant to help pull her up.

Rosette wore an annoyed look, but rolled her eyes and sighed before taking her master's hand. Both were now getting closer to a cavern, a dried riverbed set between it and the woodland they were still traversing. "So is the gate still open?" Rose asked, to which Regan shook her head. "No... the last three survivors of the Blackmire Coven closed it up. Ciara, and myself account for two of them, but I don't like to speak of the third, Merrigan..." she began, and lead her assistant away from the cavern. "Even so, we do not venture near the cave... it is where the foul beasts rest, as well as a foul dragon the last time I ventured here. Best to stay close to this side of the dead river..." She ominously warned her now gulping, dutiful assistant.

As they got towards the thicker woodland, she pointed out a couple of mushrooms growing out of the sides of dead trees. "Look. These kinds of fungi are in abundance due to the manaflow. They grow oversized, and plump. Should you venture yourself into eating one, bite one from the tree, do not pluck it, and only have one bite. Some of the monsters here eat them, and aren't opposed to eating whomever is still dining upon the flesh of the tree..." She warned.

"Why no pluck them and eat as we move?" Rosette asked genuinely.

Regan paused, then turned to her with a smirk. "Try it. Plucking one." She says. To this, Rosette hesitantly obliges. When she tries, the mushroom reacted, and barbs shoot out and sting the poor girl! "OW!" She screamed, yanking her bleeding hand back as the mushroom grew in size, growing a face-!

SLICE! Regan's short sword severed the shroom's neck from the tree, the 'face' receding as the reddish shroom shriveled to a small, blackened pebble. "They don't like it when you tug on them. Its rude. You ask them first before you take, or else the result will be a small poisonous substance and they'll try to 'make you one' with them." She says, as she lifted the poisonous remains with the tip of her blade, showing it off to her hurt, wide eyed assistant.

Regan stowed away the poisonous remains in a flask, then pulled out a cloth to wrap her assistant's hand. "We will be collecting some of these mushrooms for our study. Do not eat the ones they give willingly either... they do something to your mind. I've seen people lose their way out here eating too many of these... I sometimes wonder if its where the 'new' Famine Beasts come from..." she says, thinking of that blind man who lived out here back when Ciara helped her gather the aether and shrooms...

She tied the bandage and patted the girls head out of reflex, despite being shorter than her said assistant. "Now that you are well aware of what we face, try not to eat too many of them?" She purred, yanking up her sword stabbed in the earth, sheathing the blade and walked with her staff in hand ahead of her student and assistant to begin gathering the herbs and shrooms found around here. "We'll take care of that hand as soon as you got me a sack of black and a sack of red, Rosette. And be mindful of your surroundings..." She continued to warn even as she got farther away...!

Regan Blackthorne wrote:"Keep up Rosette. One should not tarry in the region of the Famine Beasts for any longer than necessary." Regan Blackthorne chastised her assistant, Rosette Firelily. Both were ample, shapely women, but Regan was a witch of Gailden, of a disbanded coven; her research assistant she had been half-heatedly teaching was from Fenira, where everything was red...





Both had long hair, but Regan's was black and ankle length, Rosette's was just past her thighs and reddish brown. Rose had both her eyes, Regan had one hidden by a triangular silk patch, received in this dangerous location to be exact! Rosette wasn't her first choice of 'assistant' but she came highly recommended for the price, and on top of it all, reminded her of her former comrade, Ciara.

"Why are we here then, Madam Blackthorne? If such a hard to reach place is so deadly to linger in...?" Her assistant whined.

Regan sighed, and climbed a boulder, using her staff to provide herself some balance as she half turned to the Feniran. "I've went over this before... My contemporary and former sister in the dark arts defiled these lands, the beasts she released still linger, undying as a result of her folly. For her hubris, my friend was devoured by the defiled God she tried to invoke for power. A doorway was open, releasing these famine beasts as a result. However, with that sacrifice an abundant flow of mana was released upon these lands. A near limitless flow of potential magical energy which can be pulled from the very air we breathe, and stored into our magical glass and compasses, even our clothes; our attire was made specifically to draw in the mana around us after all. Its not just for show or to entice some poor sod into a more easily manipulative state. And the deeper we traverse, the more volatile the energy we can gather and collect. Have you been sleeping during my lectures again?" She chastised once more, before offering a hand to her assistant to help pull her up.  

Rosette wore an annoyed look, but rolled her eyes and sighed before taking her master's hand. Both were now getting closer to a cavern, a dried riverbed set between it and the woodland they were still traversing. "So is the gate still open?" Rose asked, to which Regan shook her head. "No... the last three survivors of the Blackmire Coven closed it up. Ciara, and myself account for two of them, but I don't like to speak of the third, Merrigan..." she began, and lead her assistant away from the cavern. "Even so, we do not venture near the cave... it is where the foul beasts rest, as well as a foul dragon the last time I ventured here. Best to stay close to this side of the dead river..." She ominously warned her now gulping, dutiful assistant.

As they got towards the thicker woodland, she pointed out a couple of mushrooms growing out of the sides of dead trees. "Look. These kinds of fungi are in abundance due to the manaflow. They grow oversized, and plump. Should you venture yourself into eating one, bite one from the tree, do not pluck it, and only have one bite. Some of the monsters here eat them, and aren't opposed to eating whomever is still dining upon the flesh of the tree..." She warned.

"Why no pluck them and eat as we move?" Rosette asked genuinely.

Regan paused, then turned to her with a smirk. "Try it. Plucking one." She says. To this, Rosette hesitantly obliges. When she tries, the mushroom reacted, and barbs shoot out and sting the poor girl! "OW!" She screamed, yanking her bleeding hand back as the mushroom grew in size, growing a face-!

SLICE! Regan's short sword severed the shroom's neck from the tree, the 'face' receding as the reddish shroom shriveled to a small, blackened pebble. "They don't like it when you tug on them. Its rude. You ask them first before you take, or else the result will be a small poisonous substance and they'll try to 'make you one' with them." She says, as she lifted the poisonous remains with the tip of her blade, showing it off to her hurt, wide eyed assistant.

Regan stowed away the poisonous remains in a flask, then pulled out a cloth to wrap her assistant's hand. "We will be collecting some of these mushrooms for our study. Do not eat the ones they give willingly either... they do something to your mind. I've seen people lose their way out here eating too many of these... I sometimes wonder if its where the 'new' Famine Beasts come from..." she says, thinking of that blind man who lived out here back when Ciara helped her gather the aether and shrooms...

She tied the bandage and patted the girls head out of reflex, despite being shorter than her said assistant. "Now that you are well aware of what we face, try not to eat too many of them?" She purred, yanking up her sword stabbed in the earth, sheathing the blade and walked with her staff in hand ahead of her student and assistant to begin gathering the herbs and shrooms found around here. "We'll take care of that hand as soon as you got me a sack of black and a sack of red, Rosette. And be mindful of your surroundings..." She continued to warn even as she got farther away...!

Gil wasn't sure if he had failed to notice before, but there were mushrooms growing on the trees at this point in the woods. "Am I crazy or were these not on the trees before?" He wondered aloud and only inspected the fungi from afar. Mysterious vegetation was never a good sign and approaching it without prior knowledge was just asking for trouble. "Damn is there even going to be any small game to hunt here?" His stomach growled more fierce than before, demanding nutrition.

As if the land were responding to his thoughts, a small lizard skittered across his armored foot and into open ground. A quick nock of an arrow and a well placed shot pinned the scaly reptile to the ground. "And that takes care of that." Gil smirked beneath his helmet and licked his lips, already thinking about how the lizard was going to taste. He quickly snatched it up and placed it into a pack at his waist. Little did he know the blood that dripped from the lizard awakened the very ground beneath him.

Thick blades of grass snaked up both of his boots and ensnared his ankles, suddenly trapping the warrior in place. "The fuck is this now?" He tried to lift his legs only to find them immobile. More than that, the grass around him seemed to be growing taller. "I just want some fucking dinner!" He wasted no time in arming himself and cleaved a wide swath through the grass ocean before him. Another set of strikes aimed expertly at his feet cut the fibers holding him in place.

If the grass he tread on was hungry for battle, then so be it. Gil conjured forth the power of pyromancy in his left hand and unleashed a stream of flame in a wide arc, setting the grass aflame before it could even reach him. The green tsunami retreated rather than be consumed by the all encompassing blaze, returning to a dormant state until the flames petered out into a patch of dirt. Gil silently sheathed his sword as his left hand returned to normal, the flame fading to small cinders and eventually nothing in his palm.

The small scuffle surely alerted anyone else in the area as Gil prepared to return to his bonfire...

It wasn't too long in their gathering of the local herbs and shrooms when both women felt the sensation of magic being released intensely. Both stopped what they were doing- Rosette removing her mouth from a shroom hanging on the tree in front of her, and Regan from her crouched state over an herb that pulled itself back into the ground as she poked at it looking over her shoulder; and had almost immediately came to the same conclusion: fire magic.

They could feel the subtle temperature change, given their high elevation, it was a warm almost summer like breeze. Both women met up with one another soon after, and without saying a word, stared over to the rising plume of smoke in the air.

It was a few minutes of idle study, before Rosette spoke up: "That was some powerful pyromancy, I could feel that from back here! ...should we check it out, Madam Blackthorne?"

Regan blinked, and turned her solitary red eye to Rosette. "Could be a Famine Beast... may be unwise." She offered.

"Well, how am I supposed to know what one looks like? And if it isn't, it could be some dullard who isn't aware of the dangers here!" Rosette explained.

Regan shrugged. "Well, famine beasts are almost all unique with only a few similarities, and one that can use pyromancy like that in such a reckless display should be avoided... but I suppose, if it is some 'dullard' like you suggest, it would be of good mind to at least make them aware of being such in these parts..." she says with a sigh, and placed her hands on her hips. Rosette smirked and nodded.

Drawn to the smoke like moths drawn to the flame, both witches make their way deeper into the woodland, crossing the side of the river closer to the cave... and they weren't the only creatures drawn to the smoke. As it was, there was a couple creatures who could smell the blood of Rosette's hand, and the fresh lizard kill...

Regan realized they were on the other side of the river now, and warned her assistant to beware of opportunistic beasts in the meanwhile, as they drew closer to the source of the smoke.

The hairs on the back of Gil's neck stood up, telling him he wasn't alone. He proceeded along without breaking pace, turning to the right so he seemed to be heading into the brush. Gil left his back completely exposed in a gambit to bait out whatever was watching him.

A break in the trees behind him confirmed his suspicions. Gil was prepared for an attack though, pivoting on his heels and drawing his sword at the same time. A swift slash beheaded a large snake that had lunged at him, fangs dripping with venom. The head was at least as large as his bicep and the venom's smell alone seemed sufficient to knock someone out. "And that's why it pays to take a gamble....sometimes." Gil kicked the head into a large patch of green to satisfy the killer grass, but he also took the time to cut up a portion of the body to take back to the bonfire.

"Might as well enjoy a bigger dinner, ya know?" He said to the torso of dead snake hoisted over his shoulder. Gil's continuously growling stomach dulled his senses a bit lest he would have noticed something else approaching from behind...

BastionCon wrote:The hairs on the back of Gil's neck stood up, telling him he wasn't alone. He proceeded along without breaking pace, turning to the right so he seemed to be heading into the brush. Gil left his back completely exposed in a gambit to bait out whatever was watching him.

A break in the trees behind him confirmed his suspicions. Gil was prepared for an attack though, pivoting on his heels and drawing his sword at the same time. A swift slash beheaded a large snake that had lunged at him, fangs dripping with venom. The head was at least as large as his bicep and the venom's smell alone seemed sufficient to knock someone out. "And that's why it pays to take a gamble....sometimes." Gil kicked the head into a large patch of green to satisfy the killer grass, but he also took the time to cut up a portion of the body to take back to the bonfire.

"Might as well enjoy a bigger dinner, ya know?" He said to the torso of dead snake hoisted over his shoulder. Gil's continuously growling stomach dulled his senses a bit lest he would have noticed something else approaching from behind...

Rosette managed to pull herself ahead of her mistress, almost stumbling before the man clad in armor from head to toe:



She used her powers to halt her movement immediately before smacking into the man given her oversized undulations, her said proportions smacking the back of his armor despite having frozen herself! "W-woah!" She bashfully called out without any tact or sense of stealth.

Just in case the man clad in armor was potentially hostile, Regina 'Regan' Blackthorne reached out for her student. The woman glowed around the edges and was visibly dragged back to the darker haired witch, who was perhaps all of 5'4 at the tallest? Was hard to gauge from the way the unsettling fog swept through from the canyon's recent connection to Blackmoth Ocean...



"Forgive my apprentice, she's yet to master sitting still..." replied the one eyed witch, her garnet gaze affixed to the resplendent armor of the man:



Where... did I see that armor before? Regan thought to herself, flashes of imagery in tomes owned by Tsuki before she went off to her slimy doom... She didn't try to remember, instead she used her staff to drag her assistant aside, leaving a trail in the collected leaves on the forest floor, the eyeball on her staff 'blinking' as she did. Rosette blinked and went 'Huh? Woooah!' as she was dragged aside. "You've entered the Lair of the Fammine Beasts, wanderer. Tis not a safe place to make fire and bed. As the name implies, countless beasts claim this land as their home, from this side of the river, all the more dangerous and hungry they can be..." she explained, which could also explain to their armored friend the reason why the snake he killed unbeknownst to them was so bold to attack- competing with the other wildlife. "I suggest you make camp elsewhere, or better yet go home. But, I cannot stop you nor will I stop you from venturing this cursed, deadly place..." Regan cooed.

Regan Blackthorne wrote:

BastionCon wrote:The hairs on the back of Gil's neck stood up, telling him he wasn't alone. He proceeded along without breaking pace, turning to the right so he seemed to be heading into the brush. Gil left his back completely exposed in a gambit to bait out whatever was watching him.

A break in the trees behind him confirmed his suspicions. Gil was prepared for an attack though, pivoting on his heels and drawing his sword at the same time. A swift slash beheaded a large snake that had lunged at him, fangs dripping with venom. The head was at least as large as his bicep and the venom's smell alone seemed sufficient to knock someone out. "And that's why it pays to take a gamble....sometimes." Gil kicked the head into a large patch of green to satisfy the killer grass, but he also took the time to cut up a portion of the body to take back to the bonfire.

"Might as well enjoy a bigger dinner, ya know?" He said to the torso of dead snake hoisted over his shoulder. Gil's continuously growling stomach dulled his senses a bit lest he would have noticed something else approaching from behind...

Rosette managed to pull herself ahead of her mistress, almost stumbling before the man clad in armor from head to toe:



She used her powers to halt her movement immediately before smacking into the man given her oversized undulations, her said proportions smacking the back of his armor despite having frozen herself! "W-woah!" She bashfully called out without any tact or sense of stealth.

Just in case the man clad in armor was potentially hostile, Regina 'Regan' Blackthorne reached out for her student. The woman glowed around the edges and was visibly dragged back to the darker haired witch, who was perhaps all of 5'4 at the tallest? Was hard to gauge from the way the unsettling fog swept through from the canyon's recent connection to Blackmoth Ocean...



"Forgive my apprentice, she's yet to master sitting still..." replied the one eyed witch, her garnet gaze affixed to the resplendent armor of the man:



Where... did I see that armor before? Regan thought to herself, flashes of imagery in tomes owned by Tsuki before she went off to her slimy doom... She didn't try to remember, instead she used her staff to drag her assistant aside, leaving a trail in the collected leaves on the forest floor, the eyeball on her staff 'blinking' as she did. Rosette blinked and went 'Huh? Woooah!' as she was dragged aside. "You've entered the Lair of the Fammine Beasts, wanderer. Tis not a safe place to make fire and bed. As the name implies, countless beasts claim this land as their home, from this side of the river, all the more dangerous and hungry they can be..." she explained, which could also explain to their armored friend the reason why the snake he killed unbeknownst to them was so bold to attack- competing with the other wildlife. "I suggest you make camp elsewhere, or better yet go home. But, I cannot stop you nor will I stop you from venturing this cursed, deadly place..." Regan cooed.

Gil was taken aback by the sudden emergence of the two incredibly gorgeous women. He turned his head in time to see the massively gifted Rose bump into his back before being spirited backward by her mistress. "It's quite alright, no harm was done." He replied jovially to the dark haired witch. Her posture remained defensive, but her following statement was more cautious than hostile. Gil rotated his arms to remain limber while still holding the snake section above his left shoulder.

"The beasts are actually why I'm here. I'm looking to collect on a bounty for the increasing numbers in the area. It's about why I expected this scaly thing was so nasty in the first place." He patted the snake's midsection while continuing to look the pair over. His helmet protected any glimpse of his visage, but Gil kept his posture and body language loose and comforting. "If I might ask, what are two striking women such as yourselves doing in such a dangerous area? My camp isn't far. It might not seem like much, but it will keep the beasts away for the night." Gil offered the use of his campsite, genuinely wishing for the safety of the two women.

He also may have other alternatives as he unabashedly enjoyed the view of the two even from afar. He wouldn't mind being so close to such lovely bodies for the night. But alas, a warm night by the fire may not be what fate has in store. Moments after offering the use of his campsite, the tree behind Gil bowed slightly at the weight of a predator bounding off of it.

This entire time he had watched by a new form of life, capable of adapting its hide to the color of its surroundings. The optical camouflage of its hide was nearly undetectable as long as the creature remained motionless, hunting by smell and sound. The blood of Gil's kill and his clanking armor made him a glowing beacon for the thing, and his distracted conversation presented the perfect opportunity to strike. Before the human warrior could even react, the beast landed on all fours behind him, lotus maw slobbering ravenously.



The skin on its back was of a leathery sort, blue in color but taut with muscle just beneath the surface. Its underbelly seemed softer and was gray in color, even slightly pudgy in its stature. Its mouth opened with four flaps at downward angles, a thin membrane running along the top of its maw. Hooked claws that appeared functional for combat and maneuvering sat at the end of three fingers on each of its four limbs, a tail for balancing running out of the base of its spine. Three protrusions at the top of its back most likely served to protect against attack at that location.

Upon landing, it reared back on two legs and engulfed Gil's head, helmet and all. The warrior was wrenched back as his neck let out a nauseating crack. The Sprawler's neck possessed incredibly dense and powerful muscles that permitted it to rip his head off in one foul stroke. Gil's headless body slumped over in a tangle of limbs and equipment before his head was spat out, aimed directly at Rose's cleavage. The ornate helmet bounced off her lovely breasts, glancing upward at a surely shocked face before Gil's head and body transformed into ash......

Rose was kinda curious about the man as he made his offer. "I think that would sound lovely, it would let us get the chance to see what you'd look like under all that armor, mister~" Rosette purred salaciously with a lewd lick of her lips. "Tis... the best way to restore mana, correct Madam Blackthorne?" Rose cooed, turning to her teacher. The eye on her staff glanced at the red head, whilst Regan maintained her attention on the man in armor.

Regan flustered somewhat. "My apprentice does speak true... and given you were tasked with such a fools errand I would permit the use of our bodies at camp should you... require the need, sir knight." Cooed the shorter woman, undulating her generous pair as she did so. Hmm... I can see his shape already without the need of removing his armor. Lean but muscular. I wouldn't mind to see how he fairs with his lance~ She smiled, and giggled, anxious to hear his answer.

The flirtations and offers of unconditional sex were, however, dashed- as the beast appeared behind him! Regan stepped forwards to interfere when something painful bit her right ankle! She hissed, glaring down at the obstruction, and instantly felt woozy. She saw it for but a moment, the severed head of a snake- a flash of memory of the snake Gil held flew back to her mind, and she winced as she kicked the thing off before falling to her knees!

Rosette gasped at her master's reaction! "Mistress!" She called, and then heard the wet crack of the man's neck! She glanced up, just in time to be struck in the chest by the slimy steel helmet! "Oof!" She grunted, back hitting a tree, her eyes glanced downward and the blood ran out of her face - the severed head wedged between her soft, jiggling mountains glared up at her with a slimy, glistening sheen of saliva! "BY THE TWELVE!!" Rose screamed, as the head gently 'bounced' off the frightened 20 something year old witch and rolled across the forest floor- turning into ash before her eyes!

Regan had seen the bleeding, headless corpse of the armored man fall limp and tumble like a sack of rocks- the body falling apart and into ashes before she could do a thing about it! Damn it! Now I'm inflicted with hypnos venom! Damn it, I've never put myself in such a compromising position before! She thought as she lost grip of her staff! The eyeball on it twitched about, glancing at the creature as it faded from nothingness into reality!

Rosette, screaming, made a dash for the trees overwhelmed by fear! Regan did not blame her, she would have done the same thing in her shoes no doubt, as a fledgling witch can become a powerful sorceress so long as she still breathes! As she fled, Regan tried to take stock of the situation. This was an enemy she hadn't seen before, much different than the typical Famine Beast- though she did say they were 'unique' they had a certain... similar trait to them, that you could sense... practically a 'smell'. This creature faintly had that 'scent' to it, but it also had the scent of something more... manufactured. It was alien to this land, but even so, adapted to the terrain rather easily!

Regan lifted her arm, to try and slow the beast with a barrier, but the resulting sphere she could muster was like plastic wrap! "Shit...!" She hissed under her breath!

With Gil slain and Regina weakened, nothing was left to impede the Sprawler's feeding. Regan's pitiful barrier did nothing to slow down the beast's charge, bouncing dismally off its lowered head. The blind predator set its elongated neck low for a charge, bounding across the thick grass to impact Regan directly in the head!

It knocked her hat aside and struck a blow on the side of her head, just hard enough to knock her off balance without throwing her to the ground. The voluptuous witch's body staggered to the left, wonderous chest bouncing left and right in time with her body. A heart wrenching scream of fear just barely escaped the full lips of the witch before the lotus maw clamped down on her head.

The Sprawler preferred to eat and digest its female meals alive, a trait borne of its artificial origins. It forced Regan down to her knees before lifting her up and repeating the motion several times, wearing her out while humiliating the gorgeous witch further. Its front legs brushed against her nipples and breasts all the while, leathery skin rustling with each touch.

Saliva ran down Regan's neck, soaking her cleavage before sliding down the front of her dress. Her muffled cries and struggles only intensified its hunger, still yet to swallow her further. Its neck tensed and straightened before jerking backward, maw slightly ajar and exposing the weakened witch to open air once again.

This utterly brief exposure was only to expand its mouth flaps to engulf the top of Regan's torso, beginning the mammoth task of swallowing her massive tracts of land. Regan was forced to knees once again as it bared down on her, mouth slowly but persistently expanding over her breasts.....

_____

Little did Rose know there was another Sprawler in the area, hunting alongside its brethren. Her screams and frightened fleeing were as the brightest of signal flares, drawing the swift predator immediately to her location.

She barely made it more than twenty feet through the trees before an errant claw swipe knocked off her hat, heightening her fear even further. The witch's apprentice possessed a figure to rival her teacher though she was a fair bit taller. Regrettably for Rose, this worked against her by allowing the Sprawler to snap up her head from above.

Rose's repeated chants of panicking NOOOOOOs did nothing to deter the beast as it lifted her off the ground, letting her body hang suspended for several seconds. She began to choke while her body lashed left and right, the rhythm rocking her buxom chest up as her body went down.

It didn't execute her though, holding her upright while lowered itself to the ground with two legs. Its arms remained affixed to the thick branch, resembling a herbivore feeding on the leaves above if not for the beautiful morsel hanging out of its mouth. The branch snapped soon after from their combined weight, but the Sprawler remained upright for a split second to ease itself down.

Rose could only manage a soft whimper while her head remained trapped and the rest of her body free. Her strength was utterly gone by this point, resulting in her being laid down on the ground and the predator taking its time to devour her. Its head began to undulate forward and backward, drawing in Rose's body inch by inch by inch.

The witch would scream in abject terror if she could, but quiet weeping was all she could manage. Tears mixed with the saliva that covered her pretty face, hair matted back as she felt the painful compressing of her massive breasts into the Sprawler's mouth. Surely it seemed ironic she had just met a strapping stranger only to be see him executed and herself devoured mere moments later. Was she going to be rescued? Would she be digested alive?

These questions raced through the redhead's mind as she groaned further, chest now tucked completely under her chin into a humiliating position. Her clothes began to tear due to the sheer compression of being forced down the Sprawler's throat, eventually shredding to nothing and leaving her completely naked.

The Sprawler possessed a prehensile tongue that prodded Rose's body, licking and looping around her breasts to squeeze them until they were too far down its throat to reach. It also poked at her exposed ass cheeks and even flicked near her vagina, threatening to enter further while it continued devouring her. But even her lower body disappeared eventually, becoming nothing more than a shapely bulge that was swallowed all at once.

Rose's muffled screams continued all the way into the bloated stomach, pleading for a miracle or a savior that might not come....

BastionCon wrote:With Gil slain and Regina weakened, nothing was left to impede the Sprawler's feeding. Regan's pitiful barrier did nothing to slow down the beast's charge, bouncing dismally off its lowered head. The blind predator set its elongated neck low for a charge, bounding across the thick grass to impact Regan directly in the head!

It knocked her hat aside and struck a blow on the side of her head, just hard enough to knock her off balance without throwing her to the ground. The voluptuous witch's body staggered to the left, wonderous chest bouncing left and right in time with her body. A heart wrenching scream of fear just barely escaped the full lips of the witch before the lotus maw clamped down on her head.

The Sprawler preferred to eat and digest its female meals alive, a trait borne of its artificial origins. It forced Regan down to her knees before lifting her up and repeating the motion several times, wearing her out while humiliating the gorgeous witch further. Its front legs brushed against her nipples and breasts all the while, leathery skin rustling with each touch.

Saliva ran down Regan's neck, soaking her cleavage before sliding down the front of her dress. Her muffled cries and struggles only intensified its hunger, still yet to swallow her further. Its neck tensed and straightened before jerking backward, maw slightly ajar and exposing the weakened witch to open air once again.

This utterly brief exposure was only to expand its mouth flaps to engulf the top of Regan's torso, beginning the mammoth task of swallowing her massive tracts of land. Regan was forced to knees once again as it bared down on her, mouth slowly but persistently expanding over her breasts.....

The creature before Regan was perhaps a little over 7 feet in length, and she would have certainly stood over it had she been standing when it began crawling towards her! "I...won't lose...!" gasped the ravenhaired witch, as she stood up, only to be knocked to the side! "Kyaah!" She screamed upon being struck by the hungry beast! Her hat falling off, showing off her lovely long, raven hair that fell past her knees! She was used to ranged combat, but had some martial training in hand to hand. Though her exposed eye was closed, she 'watched' from the ground via her staff as the beast continued through her flimsy barrier and tried to strike her! Gotta dodge! However, her movements were knumb and stiff thanks to the powerful dose of Hypnovenom, and what would have been a swift dodge and counter with her blade drawn from her hip became a stiff, sliding step and a weak pull of the short sword which barely left the scabbard before the beast struck her! "Phwaah!" She groaned, before her heavily lidded eye glanced up, noticing the lotus shaped jaws 'bloom' with spikes and saliva running off each 'pedal'! The crimson orb shrank white with fear!

"Oh gyaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaah-----mmmph!!" Regina's blood chilling scream was stifled by the closing of the monster's jaw flaps firmly latching around her head! Her voluptuous body swayed side to side, her hands losing grip of her blade, the weapon unsheathing and sliding out of its scabbard blade driving into the earth below her, narrowly avoiding her armored heels! The woman struggled with the beast's, foul scented breath and vigorous behavior! Squirming lethargically as she also fought off drowsiness from the Hypnovenom, her squishy, 5'4 body unable to keep up the fight from the larger, stronger adversary! Oh shit, this isn't good! If only I didn't try to step in, I saw the teeth digging into the helmet, the twisting motion! Bugger! I should've just let the smoke go!! She thought as fear crept into her bones. She recalled when the monster whom devoured Tsuki, that tentacled thing she had called her 'God' take her Coven sister into its slimy core, she was helpless, yanking desperately on the girl's legs! the tentacle creature swiping her face Tsuki's heel driving into her right eye- popping it out of her socket just about!

She was helpless then as she was now... weakened by an unforseen entity before consumed by an unearthly one like that of Tsuki's 'God'. "Let... me... go--oahhh!" She gasped, bashful as she felt the trio of claws digging into her lacy corset! Her wonderous breasts becoming teased by the sharp claws, her legs weakly trying to kick it away from its 'manhandling' of her soft, plush, bosom! The creature got stronger as she tried to resist, forcing her to her knees and grasping her tighter! "Kyaaah!" she groaned, wincing as she 'saw' with her eye on her staff outside, the creature pull down her lacy blouse!



The gigantic pair bounced vigorously from their cloth confines, her silk, somewhat see through tabbard dress swayed between Regan's thick and shapely thighs as well! She could see her nipples, felt its leathery skin rubbing against her soft, supple flesh. She saw her fingers twitching as its knees now rubbed against her breasts, felt the clawed 'hands' grope the undersides of her armpits, lifting her into the maw! She tried to push it away, only for her shoulders to become engulfed by the gaping lotus maw!

She reopened her left eye and could see the undulating tunnel of flesh ahead- rippling and slimy, widening to make room for her oversized breasts! "No, no not... not like this...!" She weakly coughed, feeling her body teased by the predator, warm, gooey saliva running down her neck and between her soft cleavage... She felt the hard roofing of the neck's interior, before the neck tensed and then straightened! Before she was able to react, she felt the massive flaps of its maw encircle the upper half of her breasts! She screamed, her unintelligible scream barely able to heard before the jaws slid around her upper arms, and the claws slid to her elbows, pinning them to her sides! She wiggled, her ass shifting side to side as it got too dark to see in the tunnel of flesh, her other 'eye' allowing her to see what was occurring outside!

She saw the beast continued to glomp down on her jiggling assets, the hardened pink nipples of her massive tracts of land visible to the naked air! She could see and feel her knees dragging across the forest floor, the claws dragging down her elbows to her wrists as the towering creature slid further downward, 'yawning' those massive flaps across her behemoth of a chest! She could see her feminine shape embossing its stretching, widening long neck! She was cringed inside, feeling the tightness of the jaws and throat, unsure if it'll be even able to devour her jaw breaker chest! Even with its elastic leathery flesh! She hoped it would choke on her, before suddenly, the creature smartened up... the claws leaving her wrists and now groped the undersides of her tits! She let out a muffled scream of disgust and frustration, which became pain and fear as soon as the groping claws PUSHED up the large, gelatinous orbs up and into its swelling jaws! She felt air rush into the throat, and for a moment the Witch could not breathe- then she felt the massive orbs of flesh push up against her chin, and could see from her 'staff eye' that her feminine shape now had an ovular shape below the sphere of her head! So... tight....! Regan moaned, unable to voice her words, her vision fading as she found the poison and the lack of air putting her in a near slumbering state! The humid air around her got more intense as the slimy breasts slid into the throat with her shoulders and stomach, her wrists pinned to her hips, her curvy ass jutting from the flapping maw of the beast! Its claws dug into her thighs now, two fingers gripping her fleshy rear, her ass undulating side to side as she managed to wiggle her butt- but that was all she could do. The creature took a few steps forward, gripping her thick thighs hard enough that they nearly vanished into her pale and deep, squishy skin!

Like a mortal with a hamburger, it lifted her 'patties' up! Her waist vanishing into the maw as it leaned back on its haunches, 'munching' down on her hips! With her legs lifted off the ground, she could kick a little harder, her dress draped between her legs caused the sheer fabric to 'wedge' between her asscheeks like a thong! She felt the claws grab her by the knees, pushing both wiggling, sweaty thighs together, her calves still 'fluttering' as the beast shoved her hips, ass and kicking thighs into the hole of its flower like mouth! The neck of the creature became thicker with her thighs, her feminine hourglass shape and massive orbs embossing the leathery blue flesh! Her screams were still muffled, the creature leaned its head back, and soon her head vanished between its shoulders...

Inside, Regina winced, her lashes fluttering rapidly as the intense heat of the creature's stomach greeted her! The stomach bellowed open, widening eagerly for fresh meat, and Regan could do nothing to stop the beast from having its meal! "Damn... it...!" she cursed weakly, her dark hair clinging to her face, her garnet gaze obscured by damp bangs! She let out a tremendous, shrill scream as she felt her chest pierce the barrier of the belly's sphincter...

Outside, Regan's fluttering high heel boots went vertical as the creature lets go of her knees. With her 'other eye' Regan watched her legs flutter kick down its open gullet, closing around her ankles a couple times, her legs bulging out its long neck now as its stomach filled with her torso and began to curl up! She watched with horror, could even hear her shrill scream exiting the maw as it straightened its neck, and 'lunged' up from its sitting position in order to 'swallow' the last bit of her! With closing flaps, the creature jerked its neck in a serpentine fashion, and Regan could feel the flush of its powerful throat around her! She watched her shapely legs and ankles quickly vanish down the barely wide enough tube of flesh of its leathery throat, watched the thickness of her thighs become devoured, followed by the slopes of her shapely legs. Her dress's fabric, which had hung between cracks of its lotus-like maw, slipped between with a saliva heavy slurp.

The creature's tummy bounced, then widened... enlarged, as all of Regan spilled into the stomach with a hearty swing and bobble! The creature then fell forwards, landing on its forelegs again, and 'gasped' slime trailing off its flapping jaws! Her screams vanishing instantly...



Inside, Regan wiggled uncomfortably in a space not built for her- or so she believed, but the creature was built to devour mortals of all shapes- but it had its flaws, being very... selective of its targets. She didn't know this, however, and was now bunched together like a meatball in its slimy insides! She squirmed and fought as fluids sloshed around her voluptuous, palid body! "Let... me... goo....!" She whined, finding it hard to stay awake, being assaulted at all sides in the slimy, dark depths. She felt bad for that man. Herself. For her assistant who was probably going to run into something else hungry, if this guy didn't have 'friends'. She could only hope her death would be swift as she began to lose consciousness. "I...m.... sorry..." she gasped...

Outside the belly continued to sway and move with Regan's movements, who, unconsciously, still tried to 'fight' through the stomach's reactions and her dwindling consciousness...

_____

BastionCon wrote:Little did Rose know there was another Sprawler in the area, hunting alongside its brethren. Her screams and frightened fleeing were as the brightest of signal flares, drawing the swift predator immediately to her location.

She barely made it more than twenty feet through the trees before an errant claw swipe knocked off her hat, heightening her fear even further. The witch's apprentice possessed a figure to rival her teacher though she was a fair bit taller. Regrettably for Rose, this worked against her by allowing the Sprawler to snap up her head from above.

Rose's repeated chants of panicking NOOOOOOs did nothing to deter the beast as it lifted her off the ground, letting her body hang suspended for several seconds. She began to choke while her body lashed left and right, the rhythm rocking her buxom chest up as her body went down.

It didn't execute her though, holding her upright while lowered itself to the ground with two legs. Its arms remained affixed to the thick branch, resembling a herbivore feeding on the leaves above if not for the beautiful morsel hanging out of its mouth. The branch snapped soon after from their combined weight, but the Sprawler remained upright for a split second to ease itself down.

Rose could only manage a soft whimper while her head remained trapped and the rest of her body free. Her strength was utterly gone by this point, resulting in her being laid down on the ground and the predator taking its time to devour her. Its head began to undulate forward and backward, drawing in Rose's body inch by inch by inch.

The witch would scream in abject terror if she could, but quiet weeping was all she could manage. Tears mixed with the saliva that covered her pretty face, hair matted back as she felt the painful compressing of her massive breasts into the Sprawler's mouth. Surely it seemed ironic she had just met a strapping stranger only to be see him executed and herself devoured mere moments later. Was she going to be rescued? Would she be digested alive?

These questions raced through the redhead's mind as she groaned further, chest now tucked completely under her chin into a humiliating position. Her clothes began to tear due to the sheer compression of being forced down the Sprawler's throat, eventually shredding to nothing and leaving her completely naked.

The Sprawler possessed a prehensile tongue that prodded Rose's body, licking and looping around her breasts to squeeze them until they were too far down its throat to reach. It also poked at her exposed ass cheeks and even flicked near her vagina, threatening to enter further while it continued devouring her. But even her lower body disappeared eventually, becoming nothing more than a shapely bulge that was swallowed all at once.

Rose's muffled screams continued all the way into the bloated stomach, pleading for a miracle or a savior that might not come....

Unfortunately for Rose...



A similar fate had already transpired...

Rose had only gotten away so far from her fallen mistress, the Feniran mage, even more cramped given her larger bosom, was now naked and being tortured by digestive acids raining inside the tight, slimy chamber! "Gayaaah!!" The red head cried, her naked, curvy body sloshing about the acidic bath. "I... I can't.. ughh...!" She moaned and whimpered, crying as she felt her body sinking in the fluids! All she wanted to do was have a little fun with that guy in the armor with Madame Blackthorne! It would have been so much fun....! But now, instead of having a kinky threesome, the witch in training was something's plaything which was soon discarded after plummeting its tongue down her pussy. She held herself and struggled, screaming and whimpering till the pool got deep, and rushed past her head...

Outside, the stomach bulge swung violently! One could see the mage pounding, her magic making shadow puppets through the veil of flesh, her feminine shape slowly becoming more gaunt before... the flashes stopped and the oddly shaped stomach shrank and became more sphere like in nature with a low, gurgling groan... The stomach swayed and sloshed about with a nutrient rich nectar; Rosettes's skeleton falling apart with her scarlet hair still attached to her 'yawning' skull which bubbled up to the surface of the greenish nutrient slurry. Anything else, like earrings and accessories not removed by her killer, fell to the bottom of the drink with her hair clad skull...

The creature lumbered off into the woods, and likely within the next 7 hours or so would deposit what little would remain of the lovely Rosette in some, undisclosed dung heap deep in the Lair of the Famine Beast's caverns, swamps, or woodlands...  

Gurgle...

---

Regan all the while began to fade into a deep slumber herself as the creature mulled about... and one would have to ask if the remaining witch would become like her apprentice- another snack for this crafty, bold, predator?

Darkness formed all around Gil save for the beacon of flame below. The bonfire called to him across time and space, anchoring his soul to this earthly plane. It seemed as if he were hurtling back to Galiavan, about to crash into the grassy soil. Yet when Gil blinked his eyes, he sat kneeling in front of the bonfire, left leg propped over his right leg as it lay on its side. His left armed rested on his left knee while his right hand lay spread out on the ground. "Damn it, dead again?! How in the hell was I so careless. Fucking thing was just watching the entire time. I have to be perceptive, but what about those two!"

Gil launched to his feet already clad in his equipment. The bonfire revived him as was just before death, longsword at his side and shortbow strung across his back. He swiftly discarded the longbow and gathered his shield to combat the deceptively large predator that had slain him. The sun had already set, signaling the passing of hours before his revival. "Gods damn it, hold on!" He called out to the two witches before preparing to rush off into the dark of night.

This time he would be ready though. With spellbook in hand, Gil performed a brief chant to perform a Spook spell, silencing his armor in the first step. Next he flipped a few pages to the Hidden Body spell, making himself transparent with an ancient tongue. He was still visible upon close inspection, but combined with the darkness, he was effectively invisible for the time being. Though he had used his limited castings of the spells for now, Gil was confident they would last long enough to track down the predators.

His footfalls made no sound as the warrior sprinted through the woods, dodging any low hanging branches and expertly weaving around the loose twigs in the brush. He refused to make a sound until just the right moment, aiming for a one stroke kill if at all possible. Luckily his body was rejuvenated upon revival as well, hunger no longer availing him and dulling his senses.

Gil arrived at the previous clearing in short order only to find Regan's opulent hat. "Covered in grime and flattened. This thing has been here for hours already. And there's no sign of the redhead. Thankfully...." Gil had planned for such a contingency. He next retrieved the faded coin from his pack, a lucky memento to channel his faith. With a single versed prayer, he performed Seek Guidance with Regan's hat in hand. A golden, glimmering trail of magical essence snaked across the ground to lead him to her location.

Gil raced after the trail, following it for a solid ten minutes on foot. Eventually, it led him to the mouth of a small cave where he spotted the Sprawler slumbering heavily within. Its belly was still bloated thankfully, seemingly holding Regan's body. Gil could only pray she was still alive....

---

(from here)

Meanwhile...

The TIRS sedan could only take her so far down the dwindling 'path'. "Road my ass..." she scowled, her high beams practically her only source of light. She was driving the entire stretch of the path since noontime, and now it had to be a little after 8 pm, and it was dark as a demons arsehole out here. She was just glad it wasn't raining...

Rie Simpleswallow didn't think she was going to find what she was looking for, but she did. Her headlights picking up the break in the guard rail, the deep tire tracks going over the cliff to her right. She pressed hard on the breaks, forcing the black sedan to a stop before pulling herself out with the lights still on. "Well... about damn time." She says to herself, slamming the door.

The curvy woman ambles over to the sight of the accident, pulling out a small flashlight from her belt, she shined it down into the abyss over the cliff.. and could see the mess of broken trees and soon the shape of a muddy vehicle. "A Lisa Valentine was driving this truck... If I recall..." she says, still holding the papers in case she bit the dust and one of her fellow agents came looking for her, but cared not to look at it to reconfirm such info. "Pretty long fall... gonna have to grab great grandma's heirloom." She says, and makes her way to the rear of the vehicle.

She knew what waited her below... for now, she was safe... but she was going to take the shotgun from the back as well just in case. It was the Lair of the Famine Beasts after all, and it was a deadly place spoken of in the Occult world...

Rie Fujime-Simpleswallow wrote:

---

(from here)

Meanwhile...

The TIRS sedan could only take her so far down the dwindling 'path'. "Road my ass..." she scowled, her high beams practically her only source of light. She was driving the entire stretch of the path since noontime, and now it had to be a little after 8 pm, and it was dark as a demons arsehole out here. She was just glad it wasn't raining...

Rie Simpleswallow didn't think she was going to find what she was looking for, but she did. Her headlights picking up the break in the guard rail, the deep tire tracks going over the cliff to her right. She pressed hard on the breaks, forcing the black sedan to a stop before pulling herself out with the lights still on. "Well... about damn time." She says to herself, slamming the door.

The curvy woman ambles over to the sight of the accident, pulling out a small flashlight from her belt, she shined it down into the abyss over the cliff.. and could see the mess of broken trees and soon the shape of a muddy vehicle. "A Lisa Valentine was driving this truck... If I recall..." she says, still holding the papers in case she bit the dust and one of her fellow agents came looking for her, but cared not to look at it to reconfirm such info. "Pretty long fall... gonna have to grab great grandma's heirloom." She says, and makes her way to the rear of the vehicle.

She knew what waited her below... for now, she was safe... but she was going to take the shotgun from the back as well just in case. It was the Lair of the Famine Beasts after all, and it was a deadly place spoken of in the Occult world...

This particular Sprawler had ventured further from the marked territory of its ilk, relying its camouflage abilities and general hardiness to survive. It traveled through the trees and stuck to the brush when possible to remain hidden. The Sprawlers numbers weren't yet great enough for it to act more brazen, but that was beginning to change. This more adventurous specimen had just been birthed by the one that devoured and digested Rose earlier in the day. For the moment at least, the Sprawlers spawned another of their kind upon successfully digesting a female meal. Yet they possessed the potential for pure infestation.

The only thing it needed to do was find a suitable morsel. And how timely as it saw the headlights off in the distance? It could smell Rie's scent on the wind, drawing it toward her with a salivating maw that demanded recompense. Further and further it traveled through the trees, awaiting the general area where she might descend...

Rie grabs the curious looking rig of co2 canisters and what looked like a winch from the back:



Though the blades were rusted beyond use, the grappling Omni-Directional Maneuvering gear was still functional even after 375 years since its production. She hooked on the modified harness around her waist, and then grabbed the TIRS issue takedown shotgun:



Given it was dark, its flashlight attachment would be quite handy. Rie slammed the trunk shut and then proceeded to the edge of the cliff. She let out a sigh, and then leaned forwards. Her heels slipped off the edge and the woman fell into the darkness below!

Instead of a 'splat' a 'swoosh' sound was made as the CO2 canisters expelled the grapple hooks, launching into a pair of trees which catapulted the woman further into the woodland. With some practiced ease, she managed to turn around, and then lower her speed by widening the grapple wires. She then launched her hips forwards and found her self jogging onto the forest floor towards the fallen truck.

Rie unfolded the stock of the shotgun and activated the flashlight on the pump, aiming the weapon to also train her light on the derelict transport.


"*Whistle* Damn... this thing's seen better days..." She thought, as she trained the light on the hull of the cargo hold. It looked like it had been torn open... from the inside. A slimy substance still trailed off the opening, which she concluded had not been from the fall, and found it curious to be this slimy even after going missing for quite a few days now. She checked the cabin for any sign of life of the driver, Lisa Valentine. Nothing. However... it looked like the steering wheel was 'chewed up' so that didn't bode well...

"Hazardous material.... indeed." Rie sighed, and then noticed the footprints leading from the truck to the nearby woodland. Her face became more stern, and she undid the safety of the shotgun. They didn't appear human.

Rie Fujime-Simpleswallow wrote:Rie grabs the curious looking rig of co2 canisters and what looked like a winch from the back:



Though the blades were rusted beyond use, the grappling Omni-Directional Maneuvering gear was still functional even after 375 years since its production. She hooked on the modified harness around her waist, and then grabbed the TIRS issue takedown shotgun:



Given it was dark, its flashlight attachment would be quite handy. Rie slammed the trunk shut and then proceeded to the edge of the cliff. She let out a sigh, and then leaned forwards. Her heels slipped off the edge and the woman fell into the darkness below!

Instead of a 'splat' a 'swoosh' sound was made as the CO2 canisters expelled the grapple hooks, launching into a pair of trees which catapulted the woman further into the woodland. With some practiced ease, she managed to turn around, and then lower her speed by widening the grapple wires. She then launched her hips forwards and found her self jogging onto the forest floor towards the fallen truck.

Rie unfolded the stock of the shotgun and activated the flashlight on the pump, aiming the weapon to also train her light on the derelict transport.


"*Whistle* Damn... this thing's seen better days..." She thought, as she trained the light on the hull of the cargo hold. It looked like it had been torn open... from the inside. A slimy substance still trailed off the opening, which she concluded had not been from the fall, and found it curious to be this slimy even after going missing for quite a few days now. She checked the cabin for any sign of life of the driver, Lisa Valentine. Nothing. However... it looked like the steering wheel was 'chewed up' so that didn't bode well...

"Hazardous material.... indeed." Rie sighed, and then noticed the footprints leading from the truck to the nearby woodland. Her face became more stern, and she undid the safety of the shotgun. They didn't appear human.

As this new woman approached the woods, the Sprawler could see she was armed to the teeth. Facing her head would be tantamount to suicide so instead it began to formulate a plan and corral her toward its brethren. The Sprawlers in the area numbered between four and six at the moment and mainly kept to themselves, though they would band together if the situation called for it.

First step was to put her on edge. Her flashlight swept across the tree line, prompting it to descend and dash into the brush to bait a shot from her firearm. Next was to goad her into following it by darting in and out of cover, even suffering injuries if need be. At some point it surely would have bled, either by gunshot or sword slash due to charging Rie in order to keep her focused....

BastionCon wrote:

Rie Fujime-Simpleswallow wrote:Rie grabs the curious looking rig of co2 canisters and what looked like a winch from the back:



Though the blades were rusted beyond use, the grappling Omni-Directional Maneuvering gear was still functional even after 375 years since its production. She hooked on the modified harness around her waist, and then grabbed the TIRS issue takedown shotgun:



Given it was dark, its flashlight attachment would be quite handy. Rie slammed the trunk shut and then proceeded to the edge of the cliff. She let out a sigh, and then leaned forwards. Her heels slipped off the edge and the woman fell into the darkness below!

Instead of a 'splat' a 'swoosh' sound was made as the CO2 canisters expelled the grapple hooks, launching into a pair of trees which catapulted the woman further into the woodland. With some practiced ease, she managed to turn around, and then lower her speed by widening the grapple wires. She then launched her hips forwards and found her self jogging onto the forest floor towards the fallen truck.

Rie unfolded the stock of the shotgun and activated the flashlight on the pump, aiming the weapon to also train her light on the derelict transport.


"*Whistle* Damn... this thing's seen better days..." She thought, as she trained the light on the hull of the cargo hold. It looked like it had been torn open... from the inside. A slimy substance still trailed off the opening, which she concluded had not been from the fall, and found it curious to be this slimy even after going missing for quite a few days now. She checked the cabin for any sign of life of the driver, Lisa Valentine. Nothing. However... it looked like the steering wheel was 'chewed up' so that didn't bode well...

"Hazardous material.... indeed." Rie sighed, and then noticed the footprints leading from the truck to the nearby woodland. Her face became more stern, and she undid the safety of the shotgun. They didn't appear human.

As this new woman approached the woods, the Sprawler could see she was armed to the teeth. Facing her head on would be tantamount to suicide so instead it began to formulate a plan and corral her toward its brethren. The Sprawlers in the area numbered between four and six at the moment and mainly kept to themselves, though they would band together if the situation called for it.

First step was to put her on edge. Her flashlight swept across the tree line, prompting it to descend and dash into the brush to bait a shot from her firearm. Next was to goad her into following it by darting in and out of cover, even suffering injuries if need be. At some point it surely would have bled, either by gunshot or sword slash due to charging Rie in order to keep her focused....

She was sweeping with the shotgun, when her light fell on something gleaming white. Approaching it, she realized the remains of skeleton clad in slimy clothing.



"Well shit... this is gonna be gross..." she sighed, taking a rubber glove and applied it to her left hand. The skeleton was amid a mass of gooish substance that oozed from the orafices of the remains. She rummaged through the dead person's black spandex bike shorts, and discovered a folded slimy paper and a wallet with a smiling, short haired brunette with the name 'Lisa Valentine' beside her face:



"Twenty something years old... and you get yourself eaten by something in the Lair. Sorry kid..." she sighed, dropping the wallet for now, and would inform her superiors about it later as she checked the papers. "Well, damn they lied to you. 'Fruit?' I think not... what ever was inside there caused you to crash, and ate you while you clung to the wheel... unless it was some killer tomato, I would wager that would be my 'hazardous mate-'" she paused-

-it was then she saw the flash of blue, leathery scales flushing past her view in the brush, which caused her to raise and discharge her firearm!

The shotgun boomed loudly, but the creature sprinted ahead and out of danger! "-what the fuck was that?!" She gasped, and proceeded to give chase. If it was her 'hazardous material' she was looking for, it was probably best to kill it while it still drew breath! She gave chase, occasionally seeing it, and shouldering her shotgun and firing at it. She had enough buckshot and slugs to keep it up a little longer. Is this thing toying with me...? She asked herself, but didn't let up the chase! It was best not to let it get away, or heavens above, find its way into a populated area!

BastionCon wrote:Darkness formed all around Gil save for the beacon of flame below. The bonfire called to him across time and space, anchoring his soul to this earthly plane. It seemed as if he were hurtling back to Galiavan, about to crash into the grassy soil. Yet when Gil blinked his eyes, he sat kneeling in front of the bonfire, left leg propped over his right leg as it lay on its side. His left armed rested on his left knee while his right hand lay spread out on the ground. "Damn it, dead again?! How in the hell was I so careless. Fucking thing was just watching the entire time. I have to be perceptive, but what about those two!"

Gil launched to his feet already clad in his equipment. The bonfire revived him as was just before death, longsword at his side and shortbow strung across his back. He swiftly discarded the longbow and gathered his shield to combat the deceptively large predator that had slain him. The sun had already set, signaling the passing of hours before his revival. "Gods damn it, hold on!" He called out to the two witches before preparing to rush off into the dark of night.

This time he would be ready though. With spellbook in hand, Gil performed a brief chant to perform a Spook spell, silencing his armor in the first step. Next he flipped a few pages to the Hidden Body spell, making himself transparent with an ancient tongue. He was still visible upon close inspection, but combined with the darkness, he was effectively invisible for the time being. Though he had used his limited castings of the spells for now, Gil was confident they would last long enough to track down the predators.

His footfalls made no sound as the warrior sprinted through the woods, dodging any low hanging branches and expertly weaving around the loose twigs in the brush. He refused to make a sound until just the right moment, aiming for a one stroke kill if at all possible. Luckily his body was rejuvenated upon revival as well, hunger no longer availing him and dulling his senses.

Gil arrived at the previous clearing in short order only to find Regan's opulent hat. "Covered in grime and flattened. This thing has been here for hours already. And there's no sign of the redhead. Thankfully...." Gil had planned for such a contingency. He next retrieved the faded coin from his pack, a lucky memento to channel his faith. With a single versed prayer, he performed Seek Guidance with Regan's hat in hand. A golden, glimmering trail of magical essence snaked across the ground to lead him to her location.

Gil raced after the trail, following it for a solid ten minutes on foot. Eventually, it led him to the mouth of a small cave where he spotted the Sprawler slumbering heavily within. Its belly was still bloated thankfully, seemingly holding Regan's body. Gil could only pray she was still alive....

Earlier...

Regan woke up to the sensation of movement. The digestive acids which sloshed around her body did little to her dress but make it slimy and gross to wear... but she could feel the tingling sensation of the acids biting at her flesh in uncomfortable sizzling bile. She had to assume the animal had just woken up prior to eating her, and was likely intent on going back to sleep given her size and weight in proportion. She tried to stretch her arms, weakened yet by the poison, and by the cramped and unsavory conditions she was lain bare to. She then remembered her staff, and closing her left eye, she blinked the right eye on her staff. The beast had been sniffing or studying the tracks she supposed that were left by her assistant... and as the beast wandered off towards the woods she ran, Regan, using what little magic she could, levitated the rod to follow the beast.

It traveled through dark, harsh woodland, passing the famine beasts she was used to seeing... who regarded the bloated predator with a mix of confusion and curiosity- as well as the 'hopping' staff behind it.

Eventually it settled down into a cave when the staff moved on its own and smashed against a wall!

"OW!" Hissed Regan, rubbing her eyepatch clad eye. It was then she felt the creature plop down, nearly squishing her with its weight between itself and the rocky cave floor. She squirmed fiercely, but it only seemed to please the beast, as her bulging struggles were put on display to the cave entrance now...

---

Now...

For hours, Regan felt like she was going to slip away. She tried to keep her cool, even when the humidity of the stomach got intense and the Hypnovenom seemed to win, she couldnt let it... let the slumbering creature crushing her win. Her long, dark hair clung to her slimy face, her body curled up in a fetal position. She squirmed slightly here and there... when she checked the 'outside' with her right eye, she found her staff had been propped against the cave wall... and it was dark. The stomach began to pump more fluids, that were much more caustic than before. She hissed, feeling a tremendous pain in her extremities as the acidic bath rolled under her back, and began to rise up past her shoulders...I'm... going to die here... She sighed, squirming a little more, wanting to be resistant to the very end!

It was then she noticed something outside... a familiar dark shape in the mouth of the cave. She blinked, the staff's eye blinked... and she couldn't believe either of her eyes. "I must be... dying, he can't be..." She blinked, her garnet eye becoming a tiny red needle point as the acids flowed up to her lips!

---

Outside the Sprawler, Regan's feminine shape squirmed more intensely! Fiercely, the bulging mass frantically bounced and just a barely, audible, gurgling cry of pain, fear, maybe both emanated from the undulating, jiggling leathery sack! The sound of the creature's internal organs breaking the witch down became more powerful...

Within moments, the short-stacked witch would be nothing more than:

Regan Blackthorne wrote:

BastionCon wrote:Darkness formed all around Gil save for the beacon of flame below. The bonfire called to him across time and space, anchoring his soul to this earthly plane. It seemed as if he were hurtling back to Galiavan, about to crash into the grassy soil. Yet when Gil blinked his eyes, he sat kneeling in front of the bonfire, left leg propped over his right leg as it lay on its side. His left armed rested on his left knee while his right hand lay spread out on the ground. "Damn it, dead again?! How in the hell was I so careless. Fucking thing was just watching the entire time. I have to be perceptive, but what about those two!"

Gil launched to his feet already clad in his equipment. The bonfire revived him as was just before death, longsword at his side and shortbow strung across his back. He swiftly discarded the longbow and gathered his shield to combat the deceptively large predator that had slain him. The sun had already set, signaling the passing of hours before his revival. "Gods damn it, hold on!" He called out to the two witches before preparing to rush off into the dark of night.

This time he would be ready though. With spellbook in hand, Gil performed a brief chant to perform a Spook spell, silencing his armor in the first step. Next he flipped a few pages to the Hidden Body spell, making himself transparent with an ancient tongue. He was still visible upon close inspection, but combined with the darkness, he was effectively invisible for the time being. Though he had used his limited castings of the spells for now, Gil was confident they would last long enough to track down the predators.

His footfalls made no sound as the warrior sprinted through the woods, dodging any low hanging branches and expertly weaving around the loose twigs in the brush. He refused to make a sound until just the right moment, aiming for a one stroke kill if at all possible. Luckily his body was rejuvenated upon revival as well, hunger no longer availing him and dulling his senses.

Gil arrived at the previous clearing in short order only to find Regan's opulent hat. "Covered in grime and flattened. This thing has been here for hours already. And there's no sign of the redhead. Thankfully...." Gil had planned for such a contingency. He next retrieved the faded coin from his pack, a lucky memento to channel his faith. With a single versed prayer, he performed Seek Guidance with Regan's hat in hand. A golden, glimmering trail of magical essence snaked across the ground to lead him to her location.

Gil raced after the trail, following it for a solid ten minutes on foot. Eventually, it led him to the mouth of a small cave where he spotted the Sprawler slumbering heavily within. Its belly was still bloated thankfully, seemingly holding Regan's body. Gil could only pray she was still alive....

Earlier...

Regan woke up to the sensation of movement. The digestive acids which sloshed around her body did little to her dress but make it slimy and gross to wear... but she could feel the tingling sensation of the acids biting at her flesh in uncomfortable sizzling bile. She had to assume the animal had just woken up prior to eating her, and was likely intent on going back to sleep given her size and weight in proportion. She tried to stretch her arms, weakened yet by the poison, and by the cramped and unsavory conditions she was lain bare to. She then remembered her staff, and closing her left eye, she blinked the right eye on her staff. The beast had been sniffing or studying the tracks she supposed that were left by her assistant... and as the beast wandered off towards the woods she ran, Regan, using what little magic she could, levitated the rod to follow the beast.

It traveled through dark, harsh woodland, passing the famine beasts she was used to seeing... who regarded the bloated predator with a mix of confusion and curiosity- as well as the 'hopping' staff behind it.

Eventually it settled down into a cave when the staff moved on its own and smashed against a wall!

"OW!" Hissed Regan, rubbing her eyepatch clad eye. It was then she felt the creature plop down, nearly squishing her with its weight between itself and the rocky cave floor. She squirmed fiercely, but it only seemed to please the beast, as her bulging struggles were put on display to the cave entrance now...

---

Now...

For hours, Regan felt like she was going to slip away. She tried to keep her cool, even when the humidity of the stomach got intense and the Hypnovenom seemed to win, she couldnt let it... let the slumbering creature crushing her win. Her long, dark hair clung to her slimy face, her body curled up in a fetal position. She squirmed slightly here and there... when she checked the 'outside' with her right eye, she found her staff had been propped against the cave wall... and it was dark. The stomach began to pump more fluids, that were much more caustic than before. She hissed, feeling a tremendous pain in her extremities as the acidic bath rolled under her back, and began to rise up past her shoulders...I'm... going to die here... She sighed, squirming a little more, wanting to be resistant to the very end!

It was then she noticed something outside... a familiar dark shape in the mouth of the cave. She blinked, the staff's eye blinked... and she couldn't believe either of her eyes. "I must be... dying, he can't be..." She blinked, her garnet eye becoming a tiny red needle point as the acids flowed up to her lips!

---

Outside the Sprawler, Regan's feminine shape squirmed more intensely! Fiercely, the bulging mass frantically bounced and just a barely, audible, gurgling cry of pain, fear, maybe both emanated from the undulating, jiggling leathery sack! The sound of the creature's internal organs breaking the witch down became more powerful...

Within moments, the short-stacked witch would be nothing more than:

Gil's Hidden Body spell finally ran out just as he entered the cave and spotted the bulging sack that was the creature's stomach. The witch's struggles seemed to heighten before the bloated stomach suddenly let out a sickening squelch, the audible sound of acerbic acid slopping around as it suddenly retracted. Regan had been digested in full, perishing exactly as Gil arrived. Damn it all! I'm too fucking late! His sword hand trembled with rage with rage before flowing through the rest of his body.

This beast would die a horrible death, Gil would see to that. With shield raised and dagger armed, he silently approached while his Spook spell was still active. Operating on general biological knowledge, he plunged the blade into the side of the beast's neck and attempted to rip it downward. If Gil had seen how the Sprawlers had devoured Rose and Regan, he would have known how dense the musculature of their necks were. As it stood, he opened a gash only a few inches long without piercing entirely though its hide.

The beast awakened in a frenzy and smashed Gil's shield with its left forearm, knocking him away by a solid inch. Luckily he'd braced himself with his shield and avoided suffering any damage, but the blow certainly shook him. "Powerful. I should have known. Guess we're doing this the hard way!" He snarled at the Sprawler by arming himself with his longsword, slashing its exposed elbow while it was still getting its bears. The blue beast was fully enraged now, hunched low and ready to execute Gil again.



In a flurry of thrashing limbs and powerful blows the Sprawler barreled toward Gil, blows glancing off his shield in quick succession. The warrior remained on the defensive, electing not to strike until he was sure he had an opening. His foe certainly wasn't going to make that easy as it towered over him by rearing back, utilizing the advantage of its longer limbs. "Standard melee won't work either, I calculated as much." He swiftly sheathed his blade and unclasped his spellbook, pulling his shield aside to blast the beast's underbelly with a soul arrow! The spell originated from his book, acting as the catalyst by which he casted.



A bolt of blue energy streaked across the cave and struck the vulnerable part of the Sprawler, landing with a slight explosion of azure light. The magical energy seared its underbelly and knocked the Sprawler off balance, allowing Gil to unleash a barrage of three more soul arrows. Each soared toward the same spot on its body, bombarding the same location thrice in succession. It could only throw its head back to howl in agony, suffering its first humiliations since it was created in a distant lab.

Gil wanted to rush in and pierce its exposed belly, but that would have been equivocal to a death sentence. Instead he fired another salvo of soul arrows while circling to his right, keeping the wall of the cave close to prevent any form of flanking. This time it fell low to all fours and bounded to right and then to the left, avoiding the next four spells that flew its way. It was learning as it fought, a truly dangerous adversary Gil needed to defeat quickly before he was overwhelmed.

Considering his sorcery was no longer of any use, he stowed his spellbook and drew his longsword again. "C'mon you ugly fuck, too fat to land a hit? Or are you just worthless in real combat?" He taunted the creature while drumming on his shield in an effort to draw the Sprawler in close. Luckily it fell for his taunt and pounced into the air, attempting to land and pin him to the ground. Gil dove forward and rolled at the last moment, sending the predator crashing into the cave wall by taking advantage of its blindness in midair. It tumbled head over foot in a painful mass that left its underbelly exposed yet again.

This time he would not falter as Gil stepped once. Twice. Three times to plunge the larger blade into the middle of its torso. Steel pierced flesh, drawing crimson blood as he thrashed the blade around inside of the wound. RRRGGGGHHHhh! The Sprawler unleashed a deafening roar Gil was unable to bear, ripping his blade free and covering his ears in a desperate effort to shield them. The Sprawler finally flipped itself upright and mule kicked Gil straight in the torso, launching him across the cave. "GGGGGAAAHHHHH!" His armor reverberated loudly upon impact, knocking the wind out of him and sending him to his knees. The creature was still reeling from the wound he inflicted as it bounded toward him again, intent on finishing their duel to the death.

Gil had dropped his longsword, wielding only his shield as his vision sharpened. He had finally fallen into the rhythm of his Battle Focus, senses all elevating to higher levels. With minimal movement, Gil scooped up his sword and danced around the Sprawler, leaving it slashing at a stone wall rather than a stunned warrior. He stabbed once at his left hind leg before pivoting around its tail, bashing the limb away with his shield. He let loose a flurry of horizontal slashes against its right hind leg next, slicking through its tendons a dozen time and finally crippling the predator. Barks of pain escaped the lotus maw as it tried to mule kick him again in a frantic plea to separate them.

But Gil bashed the crippled leg before it could be lifted, knocking the Sprawler completely off balance and flat on its belly. He then swiftly dashed atop its back, using the ridges along its spine to hold fast. Gil tossed his shield aside and then launched himself off the middle ridge, several feet above the prone Sprawler. With the full weight of his body, his armor, and both hands driving the point directly down, he rent the blade through it skull and into its brain. The steel pierced hide, muscle, skull and organ all with Gil's momentum behind it, finally slaying the beast and avenging Regan.

Gil stood in place for several moments, legs parted over the Sprawler's neck and his blade still lodge in its skull. He had to catch his breath after snapping out of his Focus. It was a last ditch effort his mind and body utilized against dangerous foes, heightening all of Gil's senses and physical abilities to their absolute limits. But it took a toll on his body and nearly knocked him unconscious. Thankfully a quick chug of his Estus flask reinvigorated him, restoring both health and stamina. He had to raise his helmet and wipe the sweat from his brow before wrenching his longsword loose, taking stock of how the blade had been worn. It remained sharp but was stained with brain matter that refused to simply wipe away. "Great, that's going to be lovely to clean." But when all was said and done, Gil stood triumphant and avenged the death of himself and both witches.



The entire battle was witnessed by Regan's staff, a detail that had not escaped Gil's notice. Though there was a matter he needed to tend to before checking on it. The warrior carved out one of the Sprawler's paws, lashing it to his side in order to carry back to the bonfire. Finally, he kneeled before the corpse and bowed his head. The soul of the Sprawl was then absorbed into his body, manipulated by the Soul Arts. Gil would empower himself at the bonfire thanks to the strength of the soul, a dark art he had no qualms utilizing.

But now he turned his attention to the blinking eye of the staff, examining it ensure he wouldn't be zapped with some errant defense mechanism. He grasped the middle of the staff and was greeted by a wide eye stare, but that was it. "Excellent. This might come in handy." Gil winked to the eye from beneath his helmet before setting off back toward his camp, staff and trophy in hand. He had also gathered Regan's hat and Rose's hat, folded and stored into one of his side pouches for later. He exhausted his final casting of Spook to ease the journey back to the bonfire, not wanting to engage another Sprawler after such a grueling battle.

Thankfully he was able to reach the cackling flames beneath the tree without being disturbed. The bonfire had repelled any and all hostile presences, its power far greater than such simple creatures could have anticipated. "Now let's see if this will work..." Gil was going to attempt a ritual he had only read about yet never performed. He set the staff flat near the bonfire as the eye glanced at the dancing flames. He lay Regan's hat to the side as well before kneeling in much the same fashion as when absorbing the Sprawler's soul. First, he spent the essence and strengthened himself, increasing his physical strength so that he would not be so easily overcome next time. Strength increased: 20->23

Once that was done, he stared into the bonfire and drove both hands into the base, through the bones and ashes. Defying physical dimensions, he pulled the entire flame up and held a dancing fireball the size of his helmet in both hands. Slowly, carefully, he used the entirety of this bonfire's power to resurrect Regan, forming a new body from the ash and pulling her soul from the ether. Wisps of flame spiraled around ash into the shape of her voluptuous body, restoring her clothed form and all as she was when she perished. The light of the bonfire was then extinguished, burning the ash to cinders until nothing remained and the coiled sword was left plunged in cold dirt. Gil knelt over the witch to make sure she was awake before doing anything else....

For a moment, Regan had been in a vast chamber of a hollowed out tree. A large cauldron stood at the center of it, burning intensely. Around it... familiar faces of her original coven she had made her first blood pact with. The souls greeted her warmly to sit beside them as they encircled the boiling cauldron. "So... this is what its like... eh?" Regan could make out the shape of many of her former sisters in the dark arts... but one, was missing... "Where is Tsuki Nightingale...?" She asked her friends. All glanced at one another and looked back to her. "Her soul has not departed the Realm of Mortals, Sister Blackthorne..." said her original Coven Mistress. Regan found that confusing, but even so... looking around, didn't see Ciara nor Merrigan... which meant they too were alive. "But I don't understand, we all saw Tsuki get swallowed by the despoiled God she had tried to summon forth..." She began, before feeling something in her chest. "Wh-what? Huh? What...?" She gasped, and her fellow sisters glared at her with many different emotions. Mostly jealousy. "What is happening... to ...ah... me?!" She screamed, glancing down at her hands her body being consumed by flame! The fires ate away her flesh, her skin, bones, turning and fading into ash carried by a strange wind! "No, wait, I need more answers!" She glanced up in time to see the coven fade away as the world became bright and then dark once more.

---

Regan's eye fluttered open hazily. The first thing she could see was the armored man looming over her. She reached out, grabbing his thigh... feeling the cool metal of his armor upon her fingertips. The heat of the flame beside her dying down. "Tell me..." she began, sliding her hand up and down his leg. "...are you real? Am I real? Did we get really drunk when we lain with you... or...?" She asked, blinking up at him.

Regan Blackthorne wrote:For a moment, Regan had been in a vast chamber of a hollowed out tree. A large cauldron stood at the center of it, burning intensely. Around it... familiar faces of her original coven she had made her first blood pact with. The souls greeted her warmly to sit beside them as they encircled the boiling cauldron. "So... this is what its like... eh?" Regan could make out the shape of many of her former sisters in the dark arts... but one, was missing... "Where is Tsuki Nightingale...?" She asked her friends. All glanced at one another and looked back to her. "Her soul has not departed the Realm of Mortals, Sister Blackthorne..." said her original Coven Mistress. Regan found that confusing, but even so... looking around, didn't see Ciara nor Merrigan... which meant they too were alive. "But I don't understand, we all saw Tsuki get swallowed by the despoiled God she had tried to summon forth..." She began, before feeling something in her chest. "Wh-what? Huh? What...?" She gasped, and her fellow sisters glared at her with many different emotions. Mostly jealousy. "What is happening... to ...ah... me?!" She screamed, glancing down at her hands her body being consumed by flame! The fires ate away her flesh, her skin, bones, turning and fading into ash carried by a strange wind! "No, wait, I need more answers!" She glanced up in time to see the coven fade away as the world became bright and then dark once more.

---

Regan's eye fluttered open hazily. The first thing she could see was the armored man looming over her. She reached out, grabbing his thigh... feeling the cool metal of his armor upon her fingertips. The heat of the flame beside her dying down. "Tell me..." she began, sliding her hand up and down his leg. "...are you real? Am I real? Did we get really drunk when we lain with you... or...?" She asked, blinking up at him.

"We are indeed real. Nothing you experienced was the result of alcohol. You truly perished but I was able to revive you." Gil gently reached for the hand brushing his head and squeezed it softly. "You might feel fatigued for a while, that was my first time reviving someone else and I don't know if I performed the ritual properly." Gil replied under the moonlight, easing the witch back into the world of the living.

"Take a few moments to catch your breath, I need to gather my supplies before we move." He told her, stepping away to retrieve the coiled sword first and foremost. The artifact was in full view for Regan to see before Gil wrapped it in thick blankets and tucked it away into his pack. He also threw the Sprawler's hand into the pack for later after covering it in a different blanket.

"Since walking might prove difficult for the time being, please allow me to help you." Gil acted as a gentlemen and bowed his head for Regan's consent, only scooping her up in his muscular arms once she had agreed. Lifting her was a simple matter after increasing his strength and the close sight of her bobbing breasts did wonders for his morale. It was a shame he had to extinguish the bonfire though, the Sprawler bones might not even work to rekindle it. But it was worth to bring back an innocent life.

"I'm sorry to say your apprentice was also digested. But not to worry, I can resurrect her the next time I rekindle the sword. Though that might be some time away. And please tell me if you are uncomfortable, I'll try to change my pace but it's better if we keep moving under the cover of darkness." Gil told the witch after casting Spook upon himself and her, quieting the sounds they made save for their voices. The bonfire had also cleaned his armor, leaving it gleaming under the moonlight while he held Regan in his arms.

She was silent for a while, only nodding to his request as he lifted her up. Her first words, upon the mention of Rosette were on the... semi concerning side. "She's the fifth apprentice this year..." she sighed, nuzzling herself against him. She looked up into his helmet. She had many questions, concerning the blade he carried, which she had definitely seen in some tome at one point. She could see his eyes, gleaming from behind the visor, staring down at her face, and her jiggly breasts. She blinked, then smirked, reaching a hand under the helm, feeling just the slight presence of his neck underneath. "Well, before we were killed, I did offer my body to you. Shall we at the next bon fire, luv? It may help me exercise my stiff limbs, and further increase your... morale and spirit. Besides... such an act under the moonlight should be enough to replenish my mana~" She cooed with a blushing smirk.