Schemes of the Rat Cult

This is a standalone story, and you can understand and enjoy it without reading any of my other stories. If you like it, you can read about Colin's other adventures in Wish Come True and Lair of the Emerald Enchantress.

*****

Colin sat at a table in a shady corner of a shady bar called The Raven. He nursed a pint of warm, watered-down beer while he waited for his contact. He scanned the bar anxiously. He saw the usual crowd of non-Guild thieves, dissidents, freelance mercenaries, artists, and other undesirables. Many of them scanned the same room with the same visible anxiety.

"Gods damn you, Lem," Colin spat under his breath. His usual fence and business associate should have been there already. He told Colin to find him at The Raven, where they were to meet with an emissary from a client who wanted to remain anonymous.

A haggard-looking woman in a low-cut blouse and a skirt that was little more than rags entered the tavern and started walking from table to table. Colin craned his neck for a better view, wondering if this was the emissary. If she was, he hoped this was a clever disguise, and her rags weren't an indication of the mystery client's ability to pay.

"Hey there, handsome," the woman said when she arrived at Colin's table. She had a face that was leathery and heavily lined, and when she smiled at him he could see that most of her teeth were missing. "You want to pay me two crowns for the best night of your life?"

Colin waved her away impatiently, looking over her shoulder for Lem.

"I tell you what: because you're so handsome I'll let you have me for half price. How about it?"

"Please leave," Colin said through gritted teeth.

"How about you feed me a warm meal, and I'll have your cock for dessert. That's my final offer."

"Go away," Colin said in a growl. The woman snorted at him and walked to the next table to make her offer to another man.

"You know, they say teeth are highly overrated in a woman," Lem's voice said from behind Colin. "There are advantages to being with a woman who doesn't have any."

"How did you get past me without me seeing you?" Colin asked with a start.

Lem shook his bald head and chuckled. "I may be fat and old, but I still have some tricks up my sleeves," Lem told him. He was a heavyset man at the far end of middle age, and his clothes looked like he had slept in them every night for the previous week. He sat himself next to Colin.

"So, why did you want me for this job?" Colin asked Lem.

"They didn't give me details," Lem responded, "but it sounds like some noble's daughter has joined a cult. I figured you would be able to convince her to leave. The emissary will tell us more when she gets here."

Colin nodded and sipped his beer. "If it's a 'she', then I'm sure I can make her tell us what we need to know."

Lem chuckled. "This one's not for you."

Colin shrugged. "You'd be surprised. I have a way with women."

"You think you're so special. You should have seen me when I had hair." Lem proceeded to regale Colin with stories of his youth while they waited. Colin found them suspicious but entertaining. Lem was halfway through a story about how he seduced a pirate queen when a woman walked into the bar.

The woman was tall and stood with a proud, upright posture. Her blonde hair cascaded down her shoulders in waves. She wore calf-high boots made from shiny leather with intricate patterns on them.

She wore a collar made from small gemstones that caught the light, diffracted it into rainbows, and threw it in all directions. The silver wires holding the gems together were thin enough to be invisible from a distance. The cuffs at her wrists and the belt that hung across her hips were made from the same materials.

Besides the boots and the jewelry, the woman was completely naked. Her breasts were full and seemed the exact right size to fill Colin's hands. Her small pink nipples were erect. Her hips were narrow but curved invitingly. Her thighs didn't quite touch, and Colin could clearly see her protruding labia in the gap between them. They glistened slightly in the dim light of the tavern.

The bar fell silent as she walked in. Everyone stared. She took in the room with an aura of pride and confidence, her back straight and her head high. She spotted Colin and Lem and strode towards them.

"You must be the men I'm here to see," the woman said, looking down her nose at them.

"I sure hope we are," Lem said. He indicated the seat across the table. "Please, have a seat."

She wrinkled her nose. She gingerly sat down on the edge of the chair, her hips twisted so only one leg touched it.

"So you're..." Colin asked.

"Yes," she sighed, "I've been put under a Writ of Free Use." She held up her arms and shook her jeweled cuffs.

"My body has been declared property of the kingdom. Any noble can use me however he or she deems fit. Of course, if anyone who isn't a noble touches me, these jewels would detect it and mark him. He'd be put to death." She stared meaningfully at Colin while she said this.

Colin swallowed. "And what should we call you?"

"I'm a creature of pure desire, your wettest dreams come true," she purred. Her voice was husky and resonant. "You may call me Siren."

Colin looked to Lem.

"So... what can we do for you Miss Siren?" Lem asked.

"You," she said without looking at Lem, "can't do much of anything.

"You," she said, reaching across the table to run one finger down Colin's chest, "can work your charms on a young woman for us." She licked her lips and glanced down in the direction of Colin's crotch.

"Are you trying to seduce me?" Colin asked.

Siren batted her lashes. She licked her lips and twisted one of her nipples between two fingers.

"I wouldn't mind. You know these things make me constantly horny?" Siren touched her collar with one finger. "They prepare me to be a fuck-toy who's ready for an endless buffet of cock, only for me to be neglected and sent to talk to commoners. It's like the nobles of this city only want to fuck you if they know you wouldn't enjoy it.

"The jewelry is enchanted to keep all of my fun parts healthy and constantly ready. You can be as rough as you want and you won't hurt me. Did you know my back door lubricates itself? What's the point of that if nobody's going to use it?

"I've been free-use for two years now, and nine commoners have died for the chance to fuck me. I'd be flattered if you were number ten."

"You know, my family used to be noble," Colin told her.

"Then you used to be able to fuck me wherever you want, whenever you want, however you want," she retorted. "Used to." She wiggled from side to side for emphasis.

"So..." Colin continued, pulling his gaze up from her full breasts, "if we assume you're not going to convince me to do that, then what do you want?"

"Yes, of course," the woman said in a breathy voice. She dipped her finger in Colin's beer, put it in her mouth, and moaned as she briefly worked it in and out of her soft lips. "Let's assume you're not brave enough to put your dick in me.

"There's a young lady who's been taken in by the Rat Cult. They're calling her Carver. She's being held in their shantytown in the woods outside of the city."

"And you need me to bring her home?" Colin asked.

"The men I work for want her returned. They'll accept her in any condition you can deliver her, but they would prefer to see her alive and intact." Siren rolled her eyes. "I'd rather not have any more trouble from her."

"You want me to... kill her?"

"No!" Siren waved a hand at him. "I don't want you to kill her. I want you to know that she's dangerous. If something happened to her and she didn't make it back alive and intact..."

The woman reached between her legs. She rubbed her pussy with one finger, then raised her hand and placed that finger in Colin's mouth.

"I'd be very grateful. Personally. Besides the money, I might be able to get you a knighthood and all of the..." she looked down at her own body, "privileges that go with it."

Lem cleared his throat. "Can you describe this Carver?"

"She's nineteen years old. Curly brown hair. Slight overbite. Scar on her left shoulder from diving into shallow water as a child." Her eyes never left Colin as she answered Lem.

"And what's her real name? Why does your employer want her so badly?" Lem asked.

"Come, come now," Siren responded, finally looking at Lem. "A girl has to have some secrets. If I can't have this one I'm not sure there's any mystery left to me." As she said this she leaned back on the chair and put her elbows behind her back, causing her chest to thrust forward.

"And what if I bring her back alive?" Colin asked.

The woman sighed and looked down. "You'd still get your money, but I'd be a bit disappointed." She looked up at Colin. "You don't want to disappoint me, do you?"

Colin shook his head. "I'm not desperate, you know. You're not the only woman in Drake's Landing."

Siren kept her head down and looked up at him through her eyelashes. "I know you're not desperate," she told him. "I just think you'd rather be friends with me than with the asshole nobles who think they can use you and me as their playthings.

"Besides, this isn't some naive innocent girl we're talking about. She's dangerous. You'll see for yourself. When the time comes, I want you to remember that my employer will pay the same to get her back whether she's alive or not.

"So, do we have a deal? Are you going to go get her for us?"

Colin stared intently into Siren's eyes, trying to read her. She returned a seductive look and bit her lip suggestively. He looked back down to her hard nipples. He exhaled heavily. She smiled triumphantly, excused herself, and sauntered out of the tavern.

*****

Colin reached the top of the winding stairs and set his cage down with a heavy thunk. The rats inside made a noise that set his teeth on edge. He picked the cage back up. The rats ran about in a way that shifted the weight to one side. Colin wanted to grab the body of the cage to steady it, but didn't want the rats to bite him through the openings between the bars on the side. He carefully put a hand on the wooden bottom to steady it.

"So, what can you tell me about this Rat Cult?" Colin asked as he carried the cage into the circular room. He set the cage down next to a solidly-built man with white hair.

The white-haired man was named Palin. He worked as beastkeeper for a local lord named Mosel. In his younger days he had belonged to an elite group of warriors known as the Boundary Wardens. Colin knew him to be knowledgeable and resourceful.

"Hard to say," Palin answered as he opened a hatch at the top of the cage and reached inside. The rats bit at the thick leather glove that covered his hand. He grabbed one of them by its tail and pulled it out. He held the rat up to inspect it for a second before he tossed it into the air. A large hunting bird with feathers the color of gold launched itself from a perch on one side of the room and snapped the rat out of the air.

"I had to deal with the Rat Cult in Kormak long before you were born. I don't know if you're familiar with Kormak, but the city has been destroyed and rebuilt a hundred times. There are ruins under the city that go down and down - nobody knows exactly how deep. They call it the Undercity. A lot of unpleasant things dwell in the Undercity, and the Rat Cult was one of them.

"Of course, this Rat Cult is all different people, and even they would tell you this is a new Rat God they worship. The constant cycle of death is part of their faith." He threw another rat into the air, and the large gold bird flew across the room again, devouring the live rat in mid-flight.

"That's kind of their whole deal. They're a doomsday cult, of sorts. They want to see the city torn down, and to watch a new one emerge from its ruins."

"So they're anarchists?" Colin asked.

Palin turned to fix Colin with a hard stare. "Nihilists. Anarchists believe that... do you really not understand the difference, or are you trying to provoke me?"

Colin shrugged. "I don't actually care. Do you think I could just walk into their camp? Would they stop me if I started looking around for the girl they've kidnapped?"

"You're sure they kidnapped her?" Palin asked. "Ransoming hostages is something I associate with more practical criminal organizations. The Rat Cult I dealt with was more interested in stealing, killing, and sowing chaos."

Colin shrugged again. "I don't think it's a ransom situation. Maybe they've brainwashed her? I don't know a lot."

Palin sighed. "Well, if they're anything like the Rat Cult in Kormak they won't let outsiders in. If you want to join they'll make you prove you're a survivor and a scavenger. In Kormak they made initiates prove they were survivors by spending a day and a night in one of the lower levels of the Undercity. They made them prove they were scavengers by stealing something from one of the noble houses."

"That doesn't sound so bad," Colin responded.

Palin shook his head. "Whatever they make you do, it won't be pleasant. The whole point is that it's supposed to be unpleasant. The kind of people who worship a Rat God who wants to see civilization destroy itself don't want anyone to be too comfortable."

"Yeah, they sound like a fun group," Colin said. "If there's nothing else I can do to prepare, I guess I have to just give it a shot."

"Be careful," Palin said as he threw another rat into the air.

*****

Colin carefully approached the shantytown the Rat Cult had built in the woods. The settlement was surrounded by a palisade made of sharpened logs planted in the ground. They weren't tightly fitted, and Colin could see into the encampment through the gaps between.

The shelters inside were made mostly from rope and canvas. There were scraps of wood here and there. Colin could see smoke rising from a central location, but couldn't see the fire that was producing it.

He looked up at the branches of the old trees around him. Some of them grew over the settlement. He considered climbing up and dropping in, but quickly rejected the plan. He didn't think he could avoid detection once he was inside, so there wasn't much point to sneaking in.

Colin backed away from the palisade for some distance, then headed towards the guarded opening in the wall. He walked loudly, making no effort to avoid snapping branches. As he expected, two cultists came out to meet him before he arrived at the entrance. They were small and gaunt, with sunken eyes and rags wrapped around their thin bodies. They each held a long knife in one hand.

"Who are you? What do you want?" one of them asked with a dry cough.

"I've come to serve the Rat God," Colin told him.

"Do you think we're stupid?" the other cultist asked. "Why in the fuck would someone as clean and well fed as you want to starve in the filth with us? We're all here because the city chewed us up and spit us out, but you..." He looked Colin up and down.

Colin's head spun as he tried to come up with a new plan on the spot. These men had a point, and he realized he should have thought of it.

"I didn't mean I want to live here. I want to serve the Rat God in another way," Colin said with deliberate slowness.

The cultists looked at each other and then back at Colin.

"And what way would that be?" the one with the cough asked.

"It's a sensitive matter. I can only talk about it with your leader."

The two drew back a few steps to discuss what to do. They were evidently unprepared for this response.

"Highpriest Blacktooth doesn't see visitors. It's not a risk he likes to take," the coughing cultist replied.

Colin raised one eyebrow. "And you expect me to believe you two are in a position to make that decision for him? Do you think I'm stupid?"

They looked nervously at each other again.

"Fine, we'll take you to Greybeard. He's Blacktooth's number two. But you need to leave your sword with us. And don't try anything!"

Colin sighed. He reached to unfasten his sword belt, but stopped when one of the cultists advanced on him with his knife. Colin put his hands in the air and waited for the other cultist to strip off the belt and take it from him.

They led him into the settlement. They took a meandering path through haphazard shelters thrown about in no pattern or order Colin could detect. The cultists Colin saw were filthy and emaciated.

They finally arrived at a tent near the center of the shantytown. It looked to Colin like the kind of tent armies set up to act as a headquarters. It was sun-bleached and dirty, but it was the first thing he had seen that looked like it would provide actual protection from the elements.

The cultist with Colin's sword entered the tent while the other stayed with Colin. A short time later he poked his head back through the tent flap to grunt at the other cultist. This was evidently the sign that Greybeard had agreed to see him, because the cultist pushed Colin into the tent and followed on his heels.

The inside of the tent was mostly empty, but the sparse furniture was clean and the few belongings were tidy. The tent had been divided into sections with sheets hung from ropes, and Colin estimated that the front section where he was represented about a third of the tent. In the middle of the section of tent was a high-backed mahogany chair with tattered upholstery in a cream-colored paisley pattern. On this chair sat the man Colin thought must be Greybeard.

Colin was surprised to find that Greybeard was young. He was as weathered as the other Cultists, so Colin had a hard time estimating exactly how young. What little hair the man had was mostly grey, as was his disheveled beard.

"I heard you have a message for me?" Greybeard said to Colin.

"You heard wrong," Colin told him. Greybeard raised an eyebrow and Colin explained, "I have a message for Highpriest Blacktooth. A warning, actually."

"You're threatening the Highpriest?" Greybeard said, sounding more amused than angry.

"No. I'm bringing him a warning. And he'll want to hear it."

Greybeard squinted at Colin. "So tell me, and I'll tell him."

Colin shook his head. "It concerns a sensitive matter. I can't talk about it in front of just anybody." He indicated the other two cultists with a tilt of his head.

Greybeard stared at Colin while he thought. After a while he stood and took Colin's sword from the cultist who was still holding it. He drew the blade from its scabbard and held it pointed in Colin's general direction, its point touching the dirt floor.

"Leave us," Greybeard said to the cultists. They scampered out of the tent without a word.

Colin looked theatrically over both shoulders and took a step towards Greybeard. "There's a plot," he said in a loud whisper. "A plot to assassinate Carver."

Greybeard took a step back. His face showed concern for the first time since Colin had come into the tent. "What makes you think someone is trying to kill Carver?"

"Because," Colin told him, "they tried to hire me to do it. Who knows who else they've hired. I'm taking a risk telling you."

Greybeard considered this. "So what do you want?" he asked.

"I want to talk to her. I need to find out who's behind this. And we'll need privacy."

Greybeard scratched at his tangled beard while he thought about this. "Fine," he said, "I'll bring her to talk to you, but I'll be in the room. You don't get to see her alone."

Colin shook his head. "It's a sensitive matter. We'll need to speak alone."

In truth, Colin was worried about getting Carver alone because he wanted to show her his penis. He had an enchanted phallus, and in his experience no woman could resist or refuse it. He could convince women to do anything he wanted with the promise that they could have his cock afterwards. He was confident he could convince Carver to leave once she saw it, but he didn't think Greybeard would react kindly when he pulled it out.

"That's just too bad," Greybeard told him. "You're telling me someone's tried to hire you to kill her, then you think I'm going to leave you alone with her? Not a chance."

Colin tried to keep his face from scowling.

"And one more thing," Greybeard lifted the point of the sword and waved it generally at Colin's body. "I'll need you to strip. I don't want to take the chance that you have a hidden dagger or poisoned dart or something."

Colin bit the inside of his cheek to stop himself from smiling. "If you think that's best," he said while he stripped off his clothes.

"Really?" Greybeard asked as Colin pulled off his pants. Colin's cock was half-erect from excitement. Colin shrugged.

Greybeard backed up to one of the sheets dividing the tent and lifted it, the sword in his other hand still pointed at Colin. He told someone in the other room to come out, and Colin saw a young woman walk past him.

The woman's brown hair was matted and filthy, but Colin could tell it was naturally curly. She had small eyes, an upturned nose, and a slight overbite. He couldn't see her shoulders through the rags she was wearing, but he was confident he would find a scar on the left one. This had to be Carver.

Carver stopped in her tracks and stared at Colin's growing erection. Greybeard put his hand on her back and encouraged her to go to him. She walked halfway across the room and stopped. Colin beckoned her with one finger and she walked the rest of the way to him.

"Carver, is it?"

She nodded.

"What's your real name? What was it before it was Carver?"

"Gelbeth," she answered in a timid voice. The name meant nothing to Colin.

"Okay, Gelbeth," Colin whispered to her. "I'm going to give you this cock, but first you need to do exactly what I tell you."

Gelbeth nodded. She reached out and timidly touched his cock with her fingertips, drawing them back after only a second.

"Okay," she whispered back. "But does this mean I'll lose my gift? That I won't be able to go back to the Temple?"

"Fuck!" Colin couldn't stop himself from exclaiming. He looked past Gelbeth to make sure he hadn't alarmed Greybeard. "You're from the White Temple?" Colin asked.

Gelbeth nodded.

"You said something about a gift? Do you mean you can do magic?"

"Not exactly," she told him. "Prophecy. I can tell the future, in a way."

"Fuck!" Colin swore again. He was starting to put things together. He hadn't thought it remarkable when Siren used the phrase 'alive and intact' but now he cursed himself for missing it. She was talking about keeping the girl's virginity intact.

Siren had hired him specifically because she knew about his enchanted cock. She must have thought he would deflower Gelbeth. That would have neutralized her, since only virgins could work White Temple magic.

"So, why aren't you with the White Temple now?" Colin asked.

"My father called me back to Drake's Landing when he learned about my gift."

"Who's your father?"

"Governor Haimley."

Colin blinked hard. Drake's landing was ruled by the Council of Governors, a group of five of the richest and most powerful men in the city. They took turns acting as the leader of the city, but would convene as a group to make certain important decisions. Colin wasn't sure what it meant that one of the most powerful men in the city was this girl's father.

"If you're the Governor's daughter, why has the White Temple raised you?"

"Well... my mother was a serving girl. When the Governor's wife learned that the child she was carrying belonged to the Governor she... she beat my mother rather badly. She didn't kill her, but after that my mother was broken. She couldn't speak or do much of anything that required a mind. She couldn't take care of herself, much less a child."

"So your father shipped your mother and you to the White Temple. So what are you doing here? Why are you in this shithole and not in your father's mansion right now?"

Gelbeth shook her head. Fear showed in her eyes. "My father is not a good person. His wife is not a good person. The people who stood by and did nothing when she savagely beat my mother are not good people. With my gift he could... Well, I don't know exactly what he would do, but it wouldn't be anything good."

Colin nodded and placed a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "And what does the Rat Cult plan to do with your gift?"

A tear rolled down Gelbeth's cheek. "They say they want to use me to cut the city down to its foundations. That's why they call me Carver."

"What does that mean?" Colin asked.

Gelbeth's lip quivered and her voice broke as she answered, "it means things would change. They're working on something big, but I don't know what it is. When I use my gift I go into a trance, and I can't remember later what was asked or what my answers were."

Colin sighed. "I'm going to come back for you, once I figure a few things out. Until then I want you to stay safe and not do anything foolish. And don't tell Greybeard or anyone else anything about what we've talked about."

She wiped away tears with the back of one hand. "But I have to!"

"No!" he replied in a firm whisper. He grabbed his flaccid cock and shook it at her. "Remember this? You can have it later, when I think you're ready, but only if you're a good girl. Not a word."

Gelbeth looked down at his cock and bit her lip. She nodded her agreement and whimpered softly.

*****

Colin needed to find Siren. He knew who had hired her and why. He knew why the Rat Cult wanted Gelbeth. He knew why Gelbeth would rather be with the Rat Cult than with her father. The only things he didn't know were what Siren wanted and why she was trying to sabotage Governor Haimley.

Colin felt the burning urge to do something. He just didn't know what he needed to do. Siren's comment about nobles using them for playthings rang in his head. He felt like he had heard every word she had said but didn't understand it until now.

Colin inquired after Siren. Nobody seemed to know the name, but people had an easy enough time remembering a woman who walked around naked except for boots and jewelry. Writs of Free Use weren't common, mostly because the enchanted jewelry that went along with them was exceedingly rare.

Colin learned that a woman dressed only in boots and jewelry had been seen in the Royal Hall over the last few weeks. A steady stream of nobles visited the hall most nights, and there were regular deliveries of food and alcohol. If it was a secret, it was poorly kept.

The Royal Hall was a large palace with sprawling gardens located near the center of the city. It was property of the king, and was his residence whenever he visited Drake's Landing. In addition, it had housing for royal guests and visiting dignitaries. It had the largest ballroom in the city. It had an amphitheater with acoustics so perfect it was hard to believe they hadn't been magically enhanced.

Colin expected to be challenged when he approached the hall, but a city guard waved him through. It seemed that a steady stream of commoners was also passing through the hall, no doubt to serve the noble visitors.

As Colin was walking in he saw a man in a white chef's coat walking out.

"Excuse me! Maybe you can help me. I'm looking for a woman."

The man smirked at Colin and pointed down a long hallway. "A lot of people are looking for that woman," he said before he left.

Colin walked a short way down the hall before he spotted a small table holding a plate covered by a silver cloche. The door next to the table was ajar, and Colin could hear grunting noises. He carefully walked up to the door, gently pushed it open, and peaked his head inside.

He saw a portly man sitting on the edge of a large bed. A woman was kneeling in front of the man. He held two handfuls of her emerald green hair and used them to force her head up and down. Two tattoos traced their way up the woman's naked back, running along either side of her spine. These were criss-crossed by red lines, and the handle of a flogger was inserted halfway into her anus, its leather tails splayed out on the floor behind her.

The green-haired woman was naked except for a collar, cuffs, and a belt all made from small gemstones that caught the light, diffracted it into rainbows, and threw it about the room.

"What's the matter? You don't like it when you're not the one in control?" the man asked. He held her head down on his cock, making it impossible for her to answer. The woman moaned and gurgled, and she slapped the bed next to the man. Her back heaved, and her moans turned desperate and pleading.

"I heard stories about what you did to those men," he said. "It would serve you right if I choked you to death with my cock."

Colin felt like he had to do something. He stepped into the room and tried to think of what he could possibly say.

"Who the fuck are you? What do you want?" He relaxed his grip on the woman and she pulled back, gasping for air. He pulled her head back onto his cock, and she was forced to suck it while she recovered.

"Were you curious about Melandra here? Lots of commoners have been peeking in to have a look." The man had an amused look on his face. "She used to be a dangerous enchantress before we tamed her with these," he said, pointing to the tattoos on her back.

"I know. We've met," Colin replied.

"You!" The woman turned her head sharply to look at Colin. She was still panting for breath and her face was smeared with thick drool. "I should kill you for what you did to me!"

The portly man grabbed her hair again. "Looks like you still haven't learned your lesson!" He pulled her to her feet by her hair, then threw her face-down onto the bed. He stood and grabbed the flogger that was sticking out of her ass. He pumped the handle in her ass a few times before he pulled it out and started striking her back with it.

He started between her shoulder blades, and slowly worked his way down her back. Melandra cried out in pain each time the tails of the flogger landed on her skin. When he reached her ass, the noble struck it vigorously and repeatedly, switching from left to right. He didn't stop until her ass was bright red and her cries turned to indistinct whimpering.

"Do you know what I'm going to do now?" the noble yelled at her.

Melandra nodded into the bedspread.

The man dropped the flogger, grabbed a handful of her hair, and pulled her head back roughly. "I asked you a question! I expect an answer!" He smacked her red ass hard. She twitched and trembled at the sensation.

"You're going to fuck my ass!" she yelled back at him.

"And why am I going to fuck your ass?"

She hesitated. He laid his hand gently on her ass where he had smacked it, and she squirmed from the sensation.

"Because I deserve it!" She yelled.

"That's right," he said as he pushed his cock into her asshole. It slid in with no resistance whatsoever. He pulled back on her hair while he pumped his cock mercilessly into her.

Melandra let out choked cries. Colin heard them get shorter and more intense until she had a shuddering orgasm on the man's cock. He didn't slow down, and quickly followed her over the edge. After he came inside her he pulled his cock from her ass and wiped it on the bedspread.

"What do you say?" the man asked her, red-faced and panting.

"Fuck you, pig," Melandra mumbled at him.

"No!" He smacked her ass and she spasmed. "What do you say when someone is nice enough to give you what a slut like you needs?"

"Thank you," she whimpered in a defeated tone.

He smacked her ass again. Her feet left the ground in a jumping dance while her hips shook left and right.

"Thank you sir! Thank you for fucking my slutty asshole and filling me with your cum!"

"That's better. Now," he said, "do you want to put the flogger away, or do you want me to use it on you again?"

Melandra whimpered pitiably, then pushed herself back. She collapsed on the floor near the bed. She grabbed the flogger and pushed the handle back into her own asshole.

"Good job. You're learning your place nicely." He looked up at Colin. "I'll leave you to gawk. I heard my dinner arrive, and I think I'll take it in a room that smells a bit cleaner." He pulled up his pants and left the room.

Colin stood dumbstruck while Melandra panted and heaved on the floor. He lowered himself next to her. He laid a gentle hand on her shoulder. When she didn't recoil or lash out like he expected, he tried to offer help.

"Can I help you with this?" he asked, touching the handle of the flogger. Melandra tore herself away from him and jolted upright. She slapped him hard across his face. She glared furiously into his eyes, then seemed to melt as he met her rage with concern. She fell against his chest and started sobbing.

Colin put his arms around Melandra and held her while she cried. When her sobs died down he held her in silence. After a while she reached back to pull the flogger from her ass and toss it aside.

"You know," she said in a quiet voice, "nobody had ever fucked my ass before you did. Now it seems like half of the nobles in this city have no interest in a vagina. Is it just a way to demean and humiliate women? Is that why men like anal so much?"

"Sometimes," Colin answered sympathetically.

"You know the most humiliating part? It feels good. I cum so hard when I get fucked in my ass. I'd like to think it's just this," she said, hooking her thumb under her collar, "but I'm not so sure. Sometimes I don't know if I cum so hard despite the humiliation, or because of the humiliation."

"Figuring out who you really are is a messy process," Colin replied. "You don't always find what you think you will."

"That's easy for you to say," she said, wrapping her arms around him, "when you're the one in control."

Colin gently stroked her hair and they lay there for a while.

"So," Melandra said, letting go of Colin and sitting up, "did you come here to have a turn with me? I've had a lot of practice since the last time, you know."

"Not exactly. I came here looking for someone."

"Not me?"

"Well... no."

"Was it a different free-use slut you were hoping to see?"

"Do you know her?" Colin asked excitedly.

"I was..." Melandra creased her brow in confusion, "joking. I thought I was joking. There's another woman going through this same shit? It's a wonder any of the men in this city are still standing."

"Yeah. I don't think she's getting as much attention as you are. She said something about how the nobles only want to fuck you if they think you won't like it."

"Are you telling me I should act like I enjoy being fucked in the ass by a dozen fat, disgusting men every day? I should let them know how hard I cum when they whip me and call me names and force me to act like a common slut?" Some of the fire returned to her eyes.

Colin put his hands up defensively. "I'm not telling you to do anything. That's what she said, not me."

Melandra relaxed somewhat. "So who is this other woman? And what did she do to earn this treatment?"

"I have no idea," Colin said, shaking his head.

"Maybe you should find out. It seems to me like this is a special punishment they save for women who have fucked over the nobility. When one of us fucks them, this is their way to fuck us back."

Colin considered this and nodded thoughtfully.

"Since I've found you, maybe you can answer a few questions for me? About magic?"

Melandra slapped Colin across his face. Colin thought it wasn't as hard as the time before.

"So you're going to mock me? You resisted my magic, captured me, had some hack without a tenth of my gift mark my back to seal my power, and now you're going to mock me?"

"Mark your back? Is that what those tattoos are for? They stop you from doing magic?"

Melandra glared at Colin. He thought there wasn't much genuine anger behind the look, but it was still best not to press the issue.

"No, not that," Colin continued, clearing his throat. "I wanted to know about prophecy."

"Oh," Melandra said, her expression suddenly bored. "Temple magic. It's a waste of time if you ask me. It's hard for anything to be so dangerous and so boring at the same time."

"Dangerous?" Colin remembered how Siren had told him that Gelbeth was dangerous. "How is it dangerous to know the future? I would think that would make things safer and more predictable."

"You can't know the future. Any fool knows that's impossible." Melandra threw her hands up in exasperation.

Colin opened his mouth and closed it again. Melandra sighed and continued. "Let's say you knew you were going to be mauled by a bear in the woods tomorrow. Would you go to the woods and let it happen?"

Colin started to answer, but Melandra cut him off. "Of course you wouldn't! You would do something else. Maybe you would go to the theater. So the future you saw never happened. So you didn't actually see the future."

"Okay," Colin said. "That sounds safe, though. Why is it dangerous?"

"Because prophecy doesn't show you the bear attack! That future didn't happen, so how could you see it? Prophecy can only show you the choice that splits fate in two. It's like a crack in fate; when you make a decision fate fractures on that crack.

"The problem is, you make a thousand choices like that every day and don't even know you're making them. All a seer is good for is showing you the largest fault lines in fate and how to apply pressure to them. Even then, you don't really know what the outcome will be.

"Sometimes a greedy fool will think he can use a seer to his own advantage, but it never works out. They find the decisions that lead to the biggest changes in fate. They start wars, cause famine, incite revolts, things like that. History is full of stories about powerful men and seers, and none of them end well."

"I think I understand," Colin said. "That does sound dangerous."

"It is! But it's also so boring!"

"Thank you. You've been helpful," Colin put his hand on her naked thigh. "And kind," he added.

Melandra wrinkled her nose. "I have, haven't I? Well, you just remember that. They told me I have to wear these things until I'm too old to be worth fucking, but if I get a parole hearing or something I want you to tell them how helpful and kind I am."

Colin smiled and squeezed her thigh. "I should go," he said. He stood up and held a hand to Melandra. She accepted it and let him help her to her feet. "Do you want to come with me?"

Melandra shook her head. "No. I'd rather be fucked in a palace than in a dirty alley. People get excited when they see a real live free-use slut. Sometimes they run off to find a noble, just so they can watch me get fucked. At least here I have satin sheets and down pillows."

When Colin was at the door she told him, "you know I don't really blame you."

He turned and gave her a puzzled look.

"I was angry at the whole world. I had good reason to be, but that's hardly the point. I think when you're angry like I was, nothing is ever enough. Like how no amount of degradation or humiliation is ever enough for these men who come here night after night.

"I was going to keep pushing until something pushed back. If it wasn't you it would have been something else. I'm kind of glad it was you. The way you and that redhead tied me up and fucked me..." She closed her eyes and smiled to herself.

"Yeah," Colin said, equal parts confused and amused. "We'll have to do that again sometime. I'm surprised you're so philosophical about your situation."

Melandra shrugged. "I have a lot of time to think. Just about all I do these days is think and get fucked."

*****

Colin walked aimlessly through the night for a long time. He cursed himself for leaving Gelbeth with the Rat Cult. He knew he couldn't bring her to her father. He thought maybe Siren was right, and killing the girl would be the right thing to do. The thought made him sick, and he cursed fate for making him the one who had to decide if the girl lived or died. He wanted another option.

He found himself near Lord Mosel's estate. He walked to Palin's small shack, hoping the old man might be able to give him some advice. There were no lights in any windows, and no answer at the door. Colin swore to himself.

Colin set off towards the White Temple's sanctuary. The Temple didn't have much of a presence in the city for reasons that weren't entirely clear to Colin. Their sanctuary was a hospital and orphanage that also housed the few people working for the Temple in Drake's Landing.

"How can I help you, son?" an elderly man with thin grey hair and a jutting chin asked him in the building's lobby.

"I need to speak to Kell. Can you get her for me?" Colin responded.

"I'm sorry, but that's quite impossible. Can I help you?"

"It's okay," Colin reassured him, "we're old friends. Tell her it's Colin and she'll come see me."

The man coughed out a rasping laugh through his toothless mouth. "I'm sure she would, son. Only she's not here. She left to sail up the coast to help with a plague afflicting the fishing villages."

Colin frowned at him.

"I'm happy to help you, if I can. What's your trouble?"

"Thank you, Father," Colin said.

The elderly man laughed again. "Not Father. I'm no priest. Kell is the only proper clergy we have here. People call me Old Jim."

Colin smiled and nodded at the man. "Thank you, Jim." He turned to walk away, but turned back. "How much do you know about the justice system in this city?"

"More than I'd care to," Old Jim said with a sad smile.

"You've heard of a Writ of Free Use?"

"Ah! You're concerned about the enchantress, are you? I understand Kell was the one who caught her and brought her in."

Colin laughed quietly through his nose. He didn't need to tell the man that he was the one who brought the enchantress in.

"I've heard that too. Her punishment is pretty rare, isn't it?"

"You could say that. This is the first time I've seen it in twenty years."

"Is that right? There wasn't another one? Maybe two years ago?"

Old Jim looked up and squinted. "Not that I recall. I guess it's possible. I try to keep up on the decisions of the Governors, but sometimes I miss things. Part of my job is to follow the important news so I can keep the White Temple informed."

"I see." Colin closed his eyes, trying to understand how this information fit with what he already knew. "And it would be the Governors who dole out that punishment?"

"Absolutely! It's a big deal, you know. The Council has to convene and decide together."

"And if they were to put a woman under a Writ of Free Use, do you think one of them would hire her later?"

"Hmm," Old Jim grumbled. "Maybe? If they really wanted something from her they might commute her sentence in return."

"Yeah, that sounds different from what I'm thinking of. So if I saw another woman besides the enchantress dressed in that free-use jewelry?"

Old Jim laughed. "I love a mystery! You know, I was a pretty sharp investigator when I was your age. That's how I ended up in this job."

"This is a job that calls for a lot of investigation?"

"Oh yes! The Governors have always been some sneaky shits. The Temple had to pull its clergy from this town a long time ago. We're here to help people how we can, but also to keep the Temple informed. You can't do that without being able to dig through bullshit and find the truth."

Colin clapped Old Jim on his shoulder. "You've been a great help. I'll come back when I have more time so you can tell me your stories."

"I'd like that," Old Jim said as Colin turned to walk out.

"Maybe," Old Jim called as Colin approached the door, "someone else made her free-use."

"I thought only the Governors could do that?"

"In Drake's Landing, sure. But what if she's not from here?"

"If that's the case, then what would she be doing in this city?"

Old Jim shrugged. "And who's been hiding her?"

*****

The next morning the news of Governor Mewes's death spread through the city like wildfire. The serving girl who slit his throat killed herself afterwards. Her body was found next to his, the knife still in her hand.

Colin sank into despair. This was the biggest news to hit Drake's Landing since he had arrived. This had to be the work of the Rat Cult. He was sure they were pushing on a fault line in the fate of the city, and he had no idea what would happen next.

Colin didn't know what to do. He decided to drink at The Raven until some answer found him.

A few drinks turned Colin's despair to anger. He knew that he could have prevented this if he had known what he needed to know when he had found Gelbeth. He fantasized about confronting the people who had put him in this situation.

He thought about what he would say to Lem. He would give the bald bastard a piece of his mind. He'd teach Lem a lesson for dragging him into these shit jobs for shit customers.

He thought about what he would say to Siren. Everything she had said to him was a half-lie. She had used her sex appeal to distract him from her double-talk and secrets. He'd teach her a lesson for manipulating him.

He thought about Palin. His drunken mind struggled to connect with how Palin had wronged him, but he was sure he would teach the old man a lesson.

*****

Colin slept through most of the next day. He was hungover and praying for death when he figured out a missing piece of the puzzle. His hangover had subsided a bit in the evening while he lurked near Lord Mosel's estate.

The long wait for Palin was excruciating. Colin's head spun whenever he closed his eyes. He didn't know if he needed food or sleep or sex, but he was sure he needed something he wouldn't get while he waited.

He tried to contain his relief when he finally saw Palin leave the grounds. He tried to stay as inconspicuous as possible while he slunk after the man.

Palin moved slowly. Colin wanted to rush out. He wanted to confront the man and tell him to hurry. His hangover magnified his impatience tenfold.

Palin headed into an alley in a bad neighborhood, not far from The Raven. Colin followed him without getting close enough to be seen. He saw Palin enter the back door of some brick building. He counted to ten before he rushed into the alley and put his hand on the door Palin had walked into.

"I don't want to kill you, but I will if I have to," Palin said as he slid behind Colin and pressed a knife to his throat.

"Fuck," Colin spat. He had no idea how Palin had seen him, and thought it was impossible that the man could be behind him in the alley now.

"You're a good kid, but I'll bleed you out right now if you don't tell me why you're following me."

"Because," Colin shot back, "you're trying to use me to kill that girl, and I want to know why."

"I'm what? Is that what you think of me?" Palin relaxed the pressure of the knife on Colin's throat.

Palin opened the door in front of Colin and pushed him through. Inside was an empty abandoned store. The few small windows had been covered and an oil lamp provided enough dim light to reveal less than half of the space.

Colin touched his neck. When he felt no blood he continued. "Governor Haimley didn't hire some free-use slut to retrieve his daughter. There's no way someone like him would trust someone like her. But a former Boundary Warden? That's someone he would call on.

"But you didn't want to, did you? You would rather send me in. You thought I would kill her or fuck her. Either way, Haimley wouldn't have access to her gift and neither would the Rat Cult. Only you didn't want to be the one to ask me. Maybe you thought I'd ask too many questions. Maybe you thought I'd say no."

Palin sighed. "If I wanted her dead, she'd be dead. You think some sickly, starving cultists could have stopped me? I sent you to get her because I wanted her alive. The girl's only nineteen. None of this is her fault."

"So why didn't you tell me that!" Colin yelled.

Palin shook his head. "Because you're a mercenary. I've never known you to do a job where you knew you wouldn't get paid. If you want people to trust you to do the right thing, you have to act like someone who does the right thing."

"Wait a minute... Siren told me that Haimley would pay for the girl no matter what condition I brought her back in."

"Is that what you told him?" Palin asked over his shoulder.

"Well," Siren's voice replied from the shadows, "sometimes you have to tell people what they want to hear."

As Siren emerged from the shadows, the gemstones on her collar, cuffs, and belt threw tiny rainbows around the dim space. Colin tried to glare at her, but his gaze drifted to her full breasts with their hard pink nipples, then down to her wet, exposed pussy.

"While we're getting the truth off our chests," Siren said, putting her hands on her hips, "you should know that there's no magical pixie who takes your lost teeth and leaves candies in their place. That was a lie, too."

"Be nice," Palin grumbled at her. "The boy has good cause to be upset."

"If he's figured this much out," she shot back, "how can he still think someone like Haimley would give a shit about the girl if he can't use her?"

"You lying slut..." Colin started. He stopped short when Palin smacked him across his face.

"You'll keep a civil tongue when you talk to my daughter," Palin said firmly, waving a finger at Colin's face.

"She's your..." Colin started, rubbing his face.

"You don't see the family resemblance?" Siren asked as she put an elbow on Palin's shoulder and leaned against him.

"If she's your daughter, why don't you make her wear some clothes?" Colin asked.

Siren shook one wrist, drawing attention to the jeweled cuff she wore. Looking at Palin she asked, "is he really the best you could find?"

"He's not actually stupid," Palin replied. "He was a pig farmer until recently. He's still learning."

Colin flushed. "Okay fine," Colin said through gritted teeth. "So why were you trying to get me to kill the girl? Palin wants her alive, why do you want her dead?"

Palin looked at Siren with a hurt expression. "No! You, of all people?"

Siren looked down and nodded. "That's right. Me, of all people."

"But your mother..."

"My mother wore this jewelry for my whole life!" Siren looked back up at Palin with wet eyes. "Now she's dead and they passed her jewelry down to me. Don't you think it would have been a kindness if you had just killed her instead?"

Palin opened his mouth, but no sound came out.

"Your mother was a seer. Palin took her virginity to take away her gift, and that's how he became your father." Colin's voice was quiet as he pieced it together out loud.

"My mother was a good person. She always did the right thing," Siren said, turning to Colin. "When she started to understand the kind of devastation her gift could cause she tried to run away. The nobles hired my father to bring her back. They must not have expected him to do the right thing, too."

Palin squeezed one of her hands and gave her a sad, tender smile.

"Fine!" Colin said in a frustrated tone. Palin and Siren both squinted at him, and Colin thought he could see the family resemblance. "Let's go get the girl! But I won't kill her. And we're going to pick up a friend of mine first."

"Who?" Palin asked.

"You'll get along with her," Colin told Siren. "You two have something in common."

"No! Not her!" Palin exclaimed.

Colin shrugged. "We could use the help. And she could use the opportunity to start acting like someone who does the right thing."

*****

Siren and Melandra tramped through the woods arm-in-arm. Their giggles carried through the forest.

"... so he's holding his finger in front of him like this," the emerald-haired woman said, placing her hand in front of her crotch with her index finger pointed out in front of her, "and he sticks it right in my ass. And he's like, 'you like that cock, slut?'"

The blonde doubled over laughing.

"Like I can't tell? If you can't even get it up, do you really need to try to fuck me just because I'm there? And if that was his cock, I mean..." She held her finger in front of her face and gave Siren a knowing look.

"Stop! He didn't!" Siren said as she wiped tears from her eyes.

"He did! I think he only tried to fuck me because his parents were watching. You know what they say about Lord Winston and his riding coach, don't you? The only thing that boy is riding is cock."

"Wait! His parents were watching? While he..." Siren closed her hand into a fist with her index finger pointed out.

"Oh yes," Melandra said with a vigorous nod. "If that boy's so desperate to have people think he likes women, he could have at least aimed for my pussy."

"No! Stop!" Siren said as she shook with laughter.

"Stop! Don't take another step!" a cultist called out to the women as he and another cult member approached them with long knives drawn.

"Oh my," Siren said as she stepped towards them. She reached out a finger to touch the blade, then quickly drew it back. "Are you sure that's what you want to stick in me and my friend here?"

"What are you... uh... doing here?" The cultist's voice faltered.

"My friend here likes it filthy. The more humiliating the better." Siren told them.

"It's true," Melandra said. She reached a hand between her legs to play with her pussy.

"And I thought," Siren continued, "what's filthier than getting gangbanged by the whole Rat Cult?"

"I'm getting wet just thinking about it." Melandra spread her labia with two fingers to let the cultists see how wet her pussy was. She was always wet, because of the enchantments on her jewelry, but she didn't tell the cultists that.

"Uh..." the first cultist stammered.

"You're telling us you two want to have sex with us?" the second cultist asked.

"Well," Siren said, pushing Melandra down to her knees and running her hand through the woman's green hair, "my friend here likes being degraded. You can start by sticking your filthy cocks in her. If you come up with something I like, I'll join in."

Melandra put her hands behind her head. The cultists looked hungrily from her large breasts to her wet pussy between her spread legs.

"And what do you like?" the first cultist asked.

Siren's eyes sparkled as she replied, "I like men who can't resist me. I love it when a man takes what he wants without asking for permission."

The first cultist dropped his knife and pulled down his pants.

"Wait! Don't!" the second cultist warned him, putting a hand on his shoulder. "Look at the jewelry they're wearing. I've heard about this. If you fuck either one of them, you'll be marked for death."

"Oh sweetie," Siren said, "look at yourselves. Look at this place. You're already kinda marked for death, aren't you? Don't you think you should at least enjoy life first?"

The first cultist stepped forward and put his cock in Melandra's mouth. The woman made a disapproving sound at the taste of it. Siren pushed her head forward, forcing her to take the whole shaft.

The gemstones on Melandra's jewelry sparkled with an inner light. A moment later the air above the first cultist's head shimmered as though it was very hot. The shimmer in the air formed itself into an arcane glyph.

"Be a good little slut and clean that cock for him. You know you love this." Siren pushed Melandra's head back and forth on the man's cock. When she started to moan Siren added, "you can play with your pussy if you want. You deserve a treat for being such a good little whore."

Melandra reached between her legs and started to play with herself. She rubbed her clit while Siren used her face to fuck the cultist, and it only took her a few seconds to bring herself to orgasm. Her cries and moans were muffled by the cock in her mouth. The second cultist pulled his cock out and started to stroke it while he watched.

"Get on your feet, slut," Siren commanded. When Melandra stood, Siren added, "bend over and let this man fuck you so his friend can feed you another filthy cock."

Melandra obediently bent forward. She leaned against a tree for balance, and with her other hand she reached back to spread her ass. The cultist who had been fucking her face moved behind her. He put his hand on the small of her back and pushed. When she bent her knees to lower herself, he pushed his cock into her.

"Thank you, sir, for giving me your cock!" Melandra called out between cries and moans.

"You feel amazing. I can't believe you're letting me have you," the cultist said.

Siren smacked his ass. "Have you heard a word I've been saying? She doesn't want you to be nice to her. She wants you to treat her like she's a cheap slut who's only here to pleasure you."

"Oh," the man said. "I mean, this pussy belongs to me."

"Yes, sir. This pussy is yours," Melandra responded.

"It's about time you brought it here so I can give you the fucking you deserve."

"Thank you for fucking me, sir. I hope my pussy isn't too wet for you."

Siren beckoned the other cultist. "Why don't you come over here and shut this whore up."

"I don't know..." He licked his lips as he watched Melandra's tits shake back and forth with each stroke.

"You hear that, whore?" Siren grabbed Melandra's hair and pulled her head up. "He wants you to beg for his cock."

"Please, sir! Please feed me your cock. I promise I'll be a good cocksucker for you. I don't mind if you choke me with it, just please... Ah! Ah!" Melandra's knees trembled and her begging turned into incoherent yelps as an orgasm exploded through her body.

The man walked over and grabbed Melandra's hair. Siren stepped aside to make room for him. As he forced her mouth onto his cock he said, "You had better be worth it, slut. I could die for this, so you're going to show me what kind of fucking is worth dying for."

The gems on her jewelry sparkled again. The air above his head shimmered and resolved itself into a glyph identical to the one above the other cultist.

Melandra made an incoherent noise with his cock in her throat. She started to tremble and her back heaved. When he finally pulled her head up to let her breathe she said, "thank you, sir. Thank you for giving me a chance to prove myself worthy of your cock. I know I'm just a worthless..."

"Shut the fuck up," he said as he forced her mouth back onto his cock.

More cultists started trickling out of the shantytown to investigate the noise. A small crowd started to gather.

"Oh fuck. I'm gonna cum," the cultist fucking Melandra's pussy said.

"You want to fill this slut with your cum? You want to get her pregnant and know she's out there somewhere carrying your bastard?" Siren asked him. Both women knew it was impossible since the enchantments on their jewelry prevented pregnancy. The whimpering sounds coming from Melandra made it sound like she might have forgotten that fact in the moment.

The man grunted as he came inside her. Melandra pushed back against him with trembling legs and cried out into the cock in her mouth as she came.

"You," Siren said, pointing to one of the men in the crowd, "come fuck this slut." She leaned close to Melandra's head and told her, "you don't need to know who's fucking you. You just need to keep taking cocks and getting filled with cum. That's what you're good for." Melandra whimpered into her mouthful of cock, then moaned as another dick entered her from behind.

"What about you?" a tall cultist asked Siren. "Are you going to let me fuck you?"

Siren walked over to the man. She looked him up and down. "Not a chance," she said, laughing in his face. "I'll tell you what I'm going to do. I'm going to fuck him and him," she said, pointing to the men on either side of the tall cultist, "and you're just going to watch."

"What the fuck is your problem?" the tall cultist asked.

"Don't believe me? Watch this." Siren bent over and pulled down the pants of the man on his left. She wrapped her lips around his cock, trying not to wretch at the man's body odor. She tried to moan convincingly as she slid her mouth up and down his shaft.

"Teasing fucking slut," the tall cultist spat at her.

Siren arched her back to stick her ass out and started swaying her hips from side to side. The tall cultist let out a growl. He grabbed her hips and twisted her so her ass was pointed towards him. Siren gasped as the cock fell out of her mouth, then cried out as the tall cultist hammered his cock into her.

"Are you going to... Ah! Are you going to let him get away with that? Are you going to let this asshole steal your pussy?" Siren asked the man whose cock had just left her mouth.

The man grabbed her shoulders and stood her up. The cock fell out of her pussy, and he pushed her up against the tall cultist. He picked up one of her legs and pushed his cock into her wet pussy.

The tall cultist grabbed a handful of her hair and pulled her head back. "You like that, slut?" he asked with a cruel smile on his face.

"Yes! Oh gods! Oh fuck! Yes!" she yelled in reply.

"Then you're going to love this," he said as he pushed the head of his cock into her asshole. It slid in with far less resistance than he had expected. The other man's thrusts made her bounce on his cock until it was deep inside of her and sliding back and forth in her tight asshole.

*****

"That's not what a father wants to see," Palin said. He and Colin were perched on a thick branch of an old tree. The Rat Cult's encampment was below them, and they were watching it empty out as cultists left to join the crowd around Siren and Melandra.

"So stop watching. It's time to get to work," Colin replied. He dropped a coil of thick hemp rope. It was tied around their branch and knotted at regular intervals to make climbing easier. Colin quickly descended into the encampment, followed by Palin.

They picked their way through the tangle of makeshift shelters. The few cultists Colin saw were huddled in ones and twos under rags. He couldn't tell if they were dead, sickly, or only sleeping. He didn't stop to investigate.

They found the army tent near the center of the encampment. They worked their way around it until Colin estimated they were near the area where Gelbeth was kept the last time he had been there. He pushed the tip of his sword through the canvas side of the tent. He slid it down, but the canvas resisted more than he expected and his sword stopped two-thirds of the way down.

Colin reached into the tear he had made and pulled the fabric of the tent wall apart. Inside was a living area, with a small cot and a small, untidy pile of clothes. Gelbeth was on the cot, her knees pushed up to her chest and her arms around them. Greybeard stood in front of her, holding a dirty spiked cudgel. He sneered menacingly at Colin.

Colin lept back in time to avoid Greybeard's charge. The cultist reached his through the hole in the tent with his cudgel, swinging wildly for Colin. The arm pulled back, and a second later Greybeard squeezed himself through the opening.

Palin leaned forward and ran his sword through Greybeard's belly when the cultist was halfway through. Greybeard let out a scream that turned into a gurgle. Palin kicked his cudgel aside, then grabbed him by the back of his shirt and pulled him the rest of the way out of the tent. He made choking noises as a dark puddle spread through the dirt beneath him.

"You had better get in there and do your thing," Palin said as he wiped his sword on Greybeard's back.

The men heard a sound that was somewhere between a growl and a hiss. They turned to see a tall, lanky man dressed in dark furs and a necklace of large, pointed teeth. The man's lips were pulled back, revealing a mouth full of sharp, grey teeth and yellow gums.

"That must be Highpriest Blacktooth. He runs the place," Colin told Palin.

Palin nodded and patted Colin on the shoulder as he walked towards the Highpriest of the Rat Cult. Blacktooth let out a scream that started as rage and turned into pain. His shoulders pitched forward, and his back seemed to elongate. His arms and legs grew, and his mouth pushed forward into a snout.

"Go! I'll deal with him!" Palin pushed Colin roughly, and the younger man climbed into the tent.

"Sorry there's no time for romance," Colin said to Gelbeth as he pulled down his pants. His cock was flaccid, and he pumped it with his hand to start it growing.

Gelbeth stared at his cock with wide, fearful eyes. "Will it hurt?" she asked.

Colin nodded. "It might."

"And after this..." She took a moment to gather herself. "Everything is over?"

Colin shook his head. He moved to sit next to her on the cot and put his arm around the young woman. "No. Not at all. Life goes on. You're still going to laugh and cry and love and hate. After this you get to start figuring out who you are and what your place in the world is."

Gelbeth nodded. Her lower lip trembled, but her eyes were dry. She reached over and put her hand on his soft cock. Colin put his hand on the side of her face and kissed her. The kiss was tender, their soft lips pressed together then parted while they touched foreheads and noses.

"Oh!" Gelbeth said as she felt his cock start to swell in his hand. "Is it supposed to do that?"

"It is. You're doing well," Colin reassured her.

He grabbed her ragged shirt by the hem and lifted it over her head. She was skinny, with ribs that seemed to poke through her skin. She had small, triangular breasts. Her left breast was slightly larger than the right, and had a prominent mole above its brown nipple. She tried to cover her breasts with her hands, but Colin grabbed her gently by her wrists.

"Don't. I want to look at you." He leaned back to admire her. "You're perfect," he told her.

Gelbeth pushed herself against him, pressing her face into his shoulder to hide from his gaze. He kissed her neck and ran his hands gently down her back. He caressed the nape of her neck, her spine, the crest of her hips.

Colin pushed Gelbeth back onto the cot. He kissed her stomach as he slid his fingers into the waistband of her long skirt. He kissed his way down her hips and thighs as he pulled it off of her. Gelbeth crossed her knees over one another, but Colin gently pushed them apart. He kissed her on the inside of her thighs. She squirmed as he ran his tongue over her skin.

"That tickles!" she said with a shy smile.

"That's because you're sensitive down here," he told her. "You should see how it feels when I..." To finish the thought, he licked the length of her pussy, from bottom to top. He paused at the top to flick his tongue over her clit.

Gelbeth gasped and squirmed. She grabbed the cot tightly and her whole body shook.

"Do you like that?" Colin asked.

Gelbeth mumbled something incoherent.

"I'll keep going, but only if you tell me you want me to," Colin said to her.

"Please," she whispered.

Colin put his head back down to tease her clit with his tongue. Gelbeth breathed heavily and shook as she slowly built towards orgasm. When she finally came she made small high-pitched shrieks. She pushed Colin's head away from her and pressed her legs tightly together. Colin climbed next to her and held her while she recovered.

"I've never felt like that before," she confided, unable to look at Colin's face.

"Are you telling me," Colin asked with a sly smile, "that you've never had an orgasm?"

"Well... I mean I've... you know, I've..." Her face flushed with embarrassment. "But it didn't feel like that."

Colin kissed her forehead. "Are you ready?" he asked gently.

Gelbeth nodded timidly.

Colin positioned himself between Gelbeth's legs. He put one hand behind her head. He used the other hand to guide his cock to the opening of her pussy. He pushed into her. She bit her lip and her face took on a look of pain and discomfort.

Colin kept his hips still. He wondered if he had already done the job. Nobody had ever explained exactly what activity would cause a person to lose the ability to perform White Temple magic. He was frustrated that virginity seemed to be so important, and yet he didn't understand what it actually was.

"Please," Gelbeth said in a shy voice, "don't stop."

Colin moved slowly and gently inside of her. He brushed the hair from her face and watched her closely. When she started to look uncomfortable, he would slow down or stop entirely.

Gelbeth seemed to grow accustomed to the sensation, and showed more pleasure in her face and in the sounds she made. Colin cautiously picked up speed. Gelbeth picked up her knees and put her feet flat on the cot, changing the angle that he entered her. Colin somehow resisted the urge to grab her by her legs and hammer her with all of his strength.

When Colin came, he pulled his cock out of Gelbeth and sprayed cum all over her belly. He had a moment of concern about whether he needed to cum inside of her to finish the job, but he couldn't bring himself to do it. He thought of Siren and her mother, and hoped he hadn't ruined this girl's life.

Gelbeth reached down to take Colin's cock in her hand. She looked down at it with awe as she stroked it. "That was incredible," she told him.

Colin smiled at her and rubbed one hand up and down her thigh. "I wish we could take our time, but I think we need to get out of here now."

Gelbeth nodded. Colin helped her wipe herself off with the tattered clothing from the dirt floor. They dressed and exited the tent. They found Palin waiting for them outside. His shirt was ripped, and he had a series of parallel gashes across his chest that were oozing blood. He held his sword in one hand, and the other held a long forearm covered in dark fur with fingers that ended in jagged claws.

"Blacktooth ran off. I don't think he'll be bothering us," Palin said, holding up the forearm. "It's done?"

Colin nodded and Gelbeth looked down at the dirt by her feet. The three of them made their way through the mostly-empty shantytown to the opening in the palisade. Outside, they found an orgy.

Half of the men and a handful of women were marked with sigils shimmering in the air above their heads. A few cultists were asleep on the ground. Some of them were having sex with each other, in pairs or small groups. The rest were watching Melandra, Siren, or the other cultists.

Melandra was lying on her back on top of a man. Her knees were pushed up, and a second man was kneeling in front of her. The kneeling man was plowing her pussy, and his thrusts caused her to move up and down on the other man's cock buried deep in her asshole. A naked emaciated woman was squatting over her. She held two handfuls of emerald green hair as she rubbed Melandra's face into her pussy.

Siren was standing on her tip-toes in front of another man. She was letting out short, high-pitched cries. The man was choking her with one hand and rubbing her clit with the other while he fucked her ass.

A murmur passed through the crowd and cultists started to break off whatever activity they were engaged in as they saw Colin, Palin, and Gelbeth emerge.

"Blacktooth is gone," Palin said in a loud, commanding voice. He held the severed arm high over his head. "Greybeard is dead."

He waited a few seconds for them to absorb the information before he continued. "Carver is coming with us. Her magic is gone, and she's of no use to you anymore.

"Every one of you with a sigil floating in the air above your head is marked for death. You can never go back to Drake's Landing or any other city. Learn to hunt and trap and forage and you can live long, happy lives deep in the woods.

"The Rat Cult is no more. If you all learn to work together to make a life for yourselves, you can have something better than all of this." He waved the severed arm in the direction of the shantytown.

There was a tense silence. Colin was worried it might explode into violence at any second. He found Melandra and helped her to her feet while Palin helped Siren. He was prepared to help her on her walk back, but she seemed to be surprisingly unharmed.

He looked over his shoulder regularly as they walked away from the Rat Cult, but nobody followed them.

*****

"Colin told me how you helped him rescue that poor girl," a slim, curvy redhead said. She wore a white dress trimmed with gold that marked her as a priestess of the White Temple. The dress was tightly fitted, revealing her shapely body. Her name was Kell.

"I don't know how he talked me into it," Melandra said. They were sitting on stools at the counter of a tea shop located in one of the more fashionable neighborhoods of Drake's Landing. Colin was sitting between them. "There's something about him that can be quite persuasive." Melandra put her hand in Colin's lap and squeezed his cock through his pants.

Kell looked down at the hand in Colin's lap, then back up at Melandra. "You're being modest. You helped because you're a good person, and you're a good person because your rehabilitation is working."

Melandra blushed at the genuine smile from Kell. She took her hand out of Colin's lap so she could sip her tea. "I guess I am glad that something good can come from this," she said, putting a finger between her neck and her collar.

Kell gave her a confused look. "Of course good things come from it. The whole point is to make you a better person."

Melandra opened her mouth and closed it. She looked at Colin for help, but he only shrugged.

"Slut! Come over here and suck my cock!" The shout came from the street behind them. They turned to see a well-fed man in expensive finery.

"Don't tell me what to do!" Melandra yelled back at him. "Just because you can use my body, don't think that gives you the right to order me around! I'm trained in the arts of magic! I'm educated! I'm talented! I'm your better! If you want this pussy you should come over here and beg for it!"

"I'll teach you some respect, you filthy whore!" The man was red in the face as he pulled his pants down. He grabbed Melandra's hips and pulled her back on the stool. He pushed his cock all the way into her asshole with one hard thrust. "You don't have any magic, and you don't have any talent. All you have is one fat cock in your ass after another."

Melandra's only answer was a series of loud, intense moans.

The man saw Kell in her White Temple dress and smiled sheepishly. "I beg your pardon, ma'am," he said to her. "I'm sorry about the language."

"Please," Kell said, "don't be. She needs this. You're very kind for helping her."

Melandra pounded the counter with one hand as she had a loud orgasm.

"You fucking slut," the man said. "Did I tell you you could cum?"

"Fuck you," Melandra said as she panted for breath.

The man grabbed one of her nipples and twisted it roughly. "What was that?" he asked.

"No! You didn't give me permission to cum!" she shouted.

"So what do you say?" When she hesitated he twisted her nipple harder.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry I was a selfish whore and I came without permission! I promise I won't do it again!"

"That's better," he said, releasing her nipple. "Now, do you want to make me cum?"

Melandra bit her lip and nodded slightly.

The man grabbed her throat and squeezed. "I can't hear you," he told her.

"Yes! I want to make you cum. Please fuck my slutty little asshole until you fill me with your cum," she told him.

The man pulled his cock out of her ass. He dragged her all the way off of the stool. When she collapsed on the ground, he grabbed her hair and smacked her in the face with his cock.

"Well you can't have it. This cum belongs to my wife. She deserves it because she's not a filthy whore like you." He looked down on her and waited for a response.

"I'm sorry, sir," Melandra said. This seemed to satisfy the man, who pulled up his pants and walked away.

Melandra got back onto her stool. The woman behind the counter looked at her coldly and shook her head as she handed Melandra a small towel. Melandra wiped her face and put the towel down on the counter.

"So," Melandra said as she took another sip of her tea, "what ever happened to Siren and that girl?"

"I don't know," Colin answered. "They left together. Palin thought it would be best if nobody knew where they were headed."

"That's probably smart," Melandra replied. "Siren seems like a tough girl, but you can't fuck your way out of every problem."

Colin shrugged. "It's been working for me so far."