Tales of a Tenderfoot: "The Vixen and the Hound" Part 4 (Adult Fantasy TK Story)
“Lady of the Morning Dew”
Nate expertly followed the Elfling Lauran's trail through the thick woods of the Elfling Realm. He led Patrisa and Viviana through the woods towards where he was certain was the lair of the Lady of the Morning Dew.
Lauran was light and nimble and to the naked eye it would seem there were no traces of her passing.
Nate, however, was not called the Hound for nothing.
He could smell her, sense her, see where she had passed. All of his senses screamed to him indicating her direction. To someone else she would have passed without a trace. To Nate, it was a matter of locking on to her spoor; there was no way for her to hide from him.
They spent hours on the trail determined to keep pursuit, cautious so as not to stumble upon the other guardians of the Lady of the Morning Dew. That would certainly be the end of their quest.
Stealth was of the essence.
The mistress of stealth was Vivian of course. As they came across the first sentries, Nathan yielded the vanguard and she led the way blending into their surroundings and becoming invisible to the Elflings. The sentries all dressed similar to Lauran and had the same cold and steel like demeanor she had.
Nate wondered if they shared her near immunity to tickling.
Vivian spotted the sentries and indicated the safest route to Nate and Patrisa. Without her, they would not have gotten far through the woods undiscovered.
It was easy to see how people could easily fall victim to the Elflings. They had heightened senses much sharper than the ordinary Elfling. They communicated efficiently among themselves and formed a strong perimeter that seemed quite impenetrable. Neutralizing any Elfling was folly. Judging from the way they communicated, the missing sentry would be noticed in a matter of minutes.
The fortress of the Lady of the Morning Dew was not much of a fortress at all. Its best defense was invisibility and it was cleverly camouflaged into the side of a towering hill surrounded by trees and giant toad stools. From far away it was impossible to distinguish from the rest of the hill. Patrisa suspected that, in addition to clever camouflage, powerful spells kept the fortress out of sight; it was the only explanation as to how the fortress could be so effectively hidden from the rest of the Realmswalkers.
They approached carefully and as they did they could tell that the fortress was well guarded. They could see dozens of guards dressed in white in a large courtyard. It seemed to be enough for a small army.
The companions drew nearer and as they approached it became apparent that the guards were not guards at all, but rather white marble statues. They were statues of warriors and spell casters of all races. All displayed heroic poses and bore the weapons of their trade.
They were life like and they made the three heroes feel very uneasy.
They had arrived near sunset at a gathering of Elflings in the courtyard. Dozens of Elflings all garbed in similar garments as Lauran arrived from all directions. The trio kept motionless in the forest as they watched the congregation of these fierce Elfling guardians.
The Elflings waited quietly in expectation with only hushed whispers exchanged amongst themselves.
They abruptly became silent as a figure approached the circle of Elflings.
The companions exchanged a knowing look. This could be no one other than the Lady of the Morning Dew.
She was taller than the already tall Elflings that attended to her. She wore a long white robe that reached her ankles and had a veil that covered her face and a thin white crown upon her head. All Elflings of high station wore white. It was well known that the Elfling King’s robes were of snow white color.
She was slim like all Elflings yet her feminine curves were apparent even underneath her robe. She seemed youthful despite the white hair that framed her face. That hair had been always white it seemed. Her face was covered by the veil, but the air she gave was one of youth and beauty and seduction.
They watched intently. She was graceful and seemed to glide through the air as she passed. She was barefoot, yet her small delicate feet did not touch the ground.
The assembled Elflings were held in awe by her presence. She strode with perfect poise to a raised dais at one end of the courtyard and sat upon a plain white marble seat.
She sat there for a moment silent and mysterious. Her head did not move but her eyes could be seen moving even with the veil. She studied her subjects intently with a serious face. Satisfied, she smiled beneath the veil and the Elflings all seemed to be relieved.
Finally she spoke.
"Bring the wheel," she commanded. Her voice was musical yet authoritative. Her subjects quickly obeyed and they brought a wagon sized wheel cleverly mounted on a fine wooden post. The wheel was of master craftsmanship. The fine cedar wood was expertly shaped and the fine wood painstakingly sanded and varnished. The face of the wheel was divided in three sections. The largest section which occupied three quarters part of the wheel's surface was a pink color. Of the remaining surface, two thirds was a dark blue and the remaining one third was white. Small pegs surrounded the wheel and there was a golden arrow at the top pointing down at the wheel. It seemed apparent that the wheel was designed to turn and the arrow was designed to indicate a color.
"Bring our first guest of the night," the Lady commanded.
Again Elflings scrambled at her order and they carted into the courtyard a huge ring made of metal and wood mounted on a base on wheels. The ring was lined with metal and gears of all sorts. If the craftsmanship of the small wheel was impressive, the manufacture of the ring was extraordinary. There were buttons and levers and all sorts of instruments surrounding the ring. It was obviously of both mechanical and magical nature.
What drew the attention of the companions was what was contained with in the ring. Inside this formidable ring was a Demonus woman. She was bound to the ring by wrists and ankles by restraints that seemed to be part of the ring itself. She was spread eagle in a completely upright position. Save a simple white loin cloth, she was naked. Her long raven black hair, common among the Demonus, was uncombed and flowed over her bare white breasts.
She might have been very beautiful, but her face was wrecked with worry and despair. She looked taxed and exhausted yet she continued to struggle against her bondage.
"Fate is determined by a turn of the wheel," the Lady said as she drew near the struggling Demonus woman. "Sometimes she favors us and other times she does not,” she said as she caressed the strange wheel affectionately before giving it a powerful turn sending it into rotation.
“She is a fickle Mistress," the Lady said as the wheel turned and the golden arrow clicked ominously. “But she is Mistress to us all.”
As it slowed down the clicking seemed more sinister and everyone's eyes were focused on the wheel intent on seeing where the golden arrow would rest.
The wheel clicked on the blue section of the wheel and the Demonus cried out with joy and relief.
"Forgetfulness and freedom," the Lady said. "Fate has spoken. She is merciful today. So be it."
Elflings pressed a few buttons on the side of the ring and the mechanism released the Demonus who fell to her knees. Several Elflings helped drag her off the platform she had been restrained on.
She offered no resistance. She was too weak to attempt to escape or harm her captors.
The Lady approached and spoke a word of magic as she extended her arm in the Demonus's direction.
Bubbles which shown like morning dew burst forth from her hand engulfing the Demonus in one huge bubble which hovered and kept her above the ground.
The Lady touched the bubble with her right hand and the bubble filled with a light greenish mist.
The Demonus breathed in the mist deeply as a man lost in a desert might drink a glass of cold water.
"A peaceful slumber to send you on your way," the Lady said soothingly as the Demonus feel into a deep magical sleep.
Satisfied, the Lady touched the surface of the bubble with her left hand and a magical dust filled the interior.
"And Forgetfulness so you forget the terrors of the Fortress of the Lady of the Morning Dew and forget us all," the Lady said.
She waited a moment until the gas and dust faded.
"Attend to her," the Lady said bursting the bubble. The Demonus woman fell to the ground. Her face was peaceful and some of her beauty seemed restored.
The sleeping woman was carried away by a group of Elfling warriors.
“Take her to the edge of our domain,” she commanded. “Return her clothes and her gear. When she awakes, this all will have been a bad dream.”
Nate wondered what sort of torment could have provoked such a change in the Demonus woman. They were a proud race and it is unlike them to act in such a passive and submissive manner.
“Who is next?” the Lady asked returning to her seat.
An empty ring was rolled into the courtyard to replace the one where the Demonus has been.
The Lady smiled. “The Child of the Fae. The Pixie.”
Nate squinted and indeed, at the center of the ring was a diminutive female pixie held in place by thin and delicate instruments of the ring.
The pixie was green with long blond hair. She glowed a pale green light faintly. She was more defiant that the Demonus and struggled angrily in the restraints.
“Hush, hush,” the Lady said. “You are new here. With any luck you will learn to behave before the Lady of the Morning Dew.”
“I am Cloverleaf of the Green Squadron of the Rainbow Company!” the little pixie shouted. “My Queen Melca can see me and my position. It is only a matter of time before the entire Rainbow Company charges upon your foul abode, Lady of the Morning Dew.”
“Queen Melca,” the Lady repeated clearly entertained. “That witch can see this place quite well and when she does all she will see are trees and toadstools and nothing more. No one knows you are here. No one will come to rescue you. You must trust in Fate. She will decide what is your destiny.”
The Lady went to the wheel and gave it a hard turn. Around and around it went.
“Blue and you are free, Pink and you are not. White and you are both free and not,” the Lady said mysteriously as the clicking began to slow.
The wheel fell on Pink.
“Fate has decided. Another week as our guest,” the Lady declared as she drew near the ring where the pixie was captive. She pressed a series of buttons on the side of the ring and a series of clicks and bells could be heard and the ring seemed to be changing configuration.
“Take her away,” the Lady said casually. “Her screams will lull us all to sleep.”
The ring was pushed away and suddenly a series of screams could be heard. Desperate screams of the tortured.
Nate wondered briefly what the ring really was capable of but decided it was better not to find out.
“Bring the last one,” the Lady commanded.
A last ring was wheeled into the courtyard. At the center was a proud female Centaur. The restraints from the ring were different to accommodate her different physiology. She was restrained nonetheless from all her limbs. She was beautiful with large bare breasts and long blond hair that cascaded down her pale human back until her night black equine half.
She was tired but defiant.
"What does Fate have to say for you, woman of the plains?" the Lady asked.
“I hope she decides in favor of freedom and forgetfulness,” the Centaur said. “Because if not, I will have the Royal Calvary trample every last tree. I am cousin to Princess Laurannis. They will not hesitate to avenge this aggression against our Royal House.”
“Forgetfulness is merciful,” the Lady said ignoring her captive’s threat and turning the wheel. “Pray that Fate is merciful as well.”
Beads of sweat formed on the Centaur's forehead as she watched in agony as the wheel turned.
The wheel stopped at the part colored white and the Centaur grew pale and began to cry.
"Hush, hush," the Lady said softly. “White and you are both free and not. Fate has spoken.”
A small stepping stair was brought forth for the lady and she stepped up the stair until she was face to face with the Centaur.
"Mercy," the Centaur begged with tears steaming down her cheeks.
"Fate has spoken. You are privileged," the Lady said. "You will live forever now. You will experience what only a select few have experienced. You will become immortal. Your soul will be bound and you will watch the eons pass in peace."
"A prisoner for all time!" the Centaur countered.
"Look at me," the Lady demanded raising her veil and staring directly at the Centaur.
And all watched eagerly. The Centaur tried to look away but she could not. She gazed at the Lady’s face, her eyes wide and her expression blank.
Nate, Vivian and Patrisa could not see the full face of the Lady. The Elflngs all looked away so as to not stare at their Lady.
"You have seen beauty beyond your wildest of imaginings,” the Lady said. "There is a price, of course. Free and not. The price of those who gaze upon the face of the Lady of the Morning Dew!”
The Lady signaled to her Elfling subjects and they quickly released the Centaur from the ring and led her down from her platform.
She walked stiffly and with difficulty.
The Lady positioned herself once more face to face with the Centaur and took her face in her hands. She touched the face changing the expression to one of proud nobility typical of Centaurs.
She turned the Centaur's face so she faced upwards.
A long lance was brought and the Elflings placed it in the Centaur's hands.
The Centaur became deathly pale, but her expression remained the same. Her equine half went from bright black to dull grey.
The Elflings followed their Lady's commands and they worked quickly to give the Centaur the pose they desired.
As they finished, the final stiffening settled in and the pale skin turned to marble white and the Centaur became a statue in a magnificent pose.
That was where the statues came from.
Patrisa looked at Nate and Vivian meaningfully.
“That is the fate that will fall upon us if we fail,” Patrisa whispered.
“We've come this far already risking capture,” Vivian said. “The only difference between returning now and snatching the loot is the time we take. We still have to sneak our way the whole way back out of the wood. Be it with profit or without.”
Nate nodded. “I agree. Stealth is on our side. No one expects someone to get through their tight perimeter defenses. The Elflings are too few to maintain such a huge perimeter and keep a full guard. The fortress's defenses must be lax. And I literally have a nose for treasure, so I guarantee it won't be difficult to find.”
Patrisa nodded. “Very well. We wait until night. Then we make our move.”
There were no more festivities. The Lady retired and the Elflings went about their duties.
Vivian, Patrisa and Nate remained still and hidden waiting patiently.
* * * * *
The sun quickly went down and all activity in the Fortress became quiet and minimum.
The three companions waited still longer. They waited for slumbers to grow deep and for quietness to settle in.
They removed their shoes and stepped lightly and stealthily. A snapped twig or heavy footstep and it would sound like a blaring trumpet in the deathly silence.
They moved carefully avoiding sentries and patrols.
They entered the complex and found it to be rather simple in distribution. Nate led the way past barracks, past sleeping chambers and past the dining halls. There was a dungeon as well and moaning and laughter seemed to come from there. Aside from that, all was quiet.
The reached deep in the heart of the fortress a treasure room.
Nate could smell the magic stored inside.
There were two guards standing at the entrance to the treasure room. Nate paralyzed one with a dart to the neck and then followed up with the other. They stood frozen in place. Only their eyes watched wildly. Nate drew near and pricked them both gently on the neck with a sleeping dart. The wild eyes softened, glazed with sleep, and closed gently, leaving them standing asleep at their posts. Anyone passing at a distance would not notice anything.
They crept by opening the door to the dark treasure room. Nate entered at the front, Vivian covered his back with a torch and Patrisa covered at the rear closing the door behind them.
They entered the chamber and found it full of treasure. Red magical gems were kept in huge baskets. They filled the room.
The torch light fell on the center of the room and Nate was taken by surprise by a lone figure in the darkness. He rolled to one side shooting his last paralysis and sleeping darts at the figure.
The darts bounced off harmlessly.
Patrisa touched a magic globe at the entrance and the chamber filled with light.
It was not a person. It was a statue. A white marble statue of an Elfling.
Nate was relived for a brief moment realizing that they had not been discovered by a sentry of flesh and blood. His own blood went icy as he realized who the statue was.
“Lauran,” he whispered under his breath, looking at his companions with an obviously concerned look.
“That can only mean one thing,” Patrisa said drawing her fighting sticks.
“Indeed it does,” a familiar voice said out loud.
The room filled instantly with a score of Elfling warriors armed to the teeth with bows and arrows, lances and blades.
“It means that I detected your little ruse, for one,” the Lady of the Morning Dew said appearing from behind her cadre of warriors and approaching the companions. “I do not tolerate failure. She should not have revealed what she did. So she was punished. Forgetfulness does not erase obligation.”
Vivian drew her bola, Patrisa her fighting sticks and Nate extended his blow pipe to use it as a staff.
They each looked around calculating their odds.
They did not look good.
“And now to decide what to do with you,” the Lady said. “Fate will make that decision for us.”
“You'll have to beat me senseless and I promise you I won't be the only one senseless by the time I'm done,” Patrisa vowed.
The Lady smiled under her veil.
“No need for pounding three little mice senseless,” the Lady said. "I've built the better mouse trap."
She spoke a word of magic and extended her right hand in their direction. It was a powerful magical command full of intention.
A whirlwind of dew like bubbles issued from her hands surrounding her victims each in a large bubble.
They were trapped. The Tickle Scourge pounded the inside of the bubble with her fighting sticks. Vivian tried to poke a hole through with her fists and feet. Nate swung his blow pipe turned staff against the walls of the bubble to no avail.
"Ah, Tickle Scourge. Your reputation precedes you. So much energy, wasted," she said studying the Scourge intently as she continued to pound the walls of the bubble. "Better to save that energy. Better to rest."
She placed her left hand on the Scourge’s bubble and caressed it gently as she spoke a soothing word of magic.
"Sleep," she commanded soothingly tapping gently on the magical bubble as the greenish mist filled the bubble. The Scourge visibly resisted the magical spell attempting to resist the sleeping vapors.
"No sense resisting. There is nothing else to breathe in there,” the Lady said.
The Scourge continued to resist and the Lady seemed to grow impatient.
But the Scourge could not resist for very long and her eyes closed and she sank to the bottom of the bubble on her back her head slumping limply to one side of her head.
The Lady pressed a hand into the bubble and the bubble allowed her hand entry. She undid Patrisa’s sandals and stroked the soles of her feet tickling them intently. There was no reaction.
"Sleeping like a baby," she said satisfied as she pressed the bubble gently to the ground.
The Lady popped the bubble and the Scourge fell to the ground with an unceremonious thud.
The Lady took her fighting sticks and two guards stepped forward and took her by the ankles and the wrists as they carried her away.
"Who's next?" she said cheerfully turning to Vivian and Nate.
Nathan and Vivian exchanged grim glances.
"Ladies first, then," she said drawing near Vivian. “Vixen. Your reputation precedes you as well. I cannot leave my Fortress and I so enjoy the gossip among the other Realms. Your name pops up frequently as does the Tickle Scourge’s.”
She touched her bubble like she had with Patrisa and again the bubble filled with sleeping gas.
"Now, breathe deeply," the Lady whispered and Vivian breathed in the mist. She sank to the bottom of the bubble as the Scourge had.
The Lady reached into the bubble and pulled off Vivian’s boots.
Vivian came to life and grasped the Lady’s hand. Vivian held the hand firmly and she might have bit the white delicate hand but the sleeping vapors affected her and she released the Lady and her eyes closed as she slept.
The Lady was visibly disappointed by Vivian’s outburst. But she tickled Vivian’s soles in a way Nate was certain Vivian could not resist has she been conscious.
"Now,Tenderfoot, it is your turn,” the Lady of the Morning Dew said studying Nate as she burst Vivian’s bubble sending her to the ground.
"You're a more recent Manling than the Tickle Scourge," the Lady said to Nathan as she picked up Vivian's bola and another couple of guards took Vivian by wrists and ankles and carried her sleeping form away. “The Hound. You are just beginning to make a name for yourself. Fate will decide if you have the chance to further that reputation.”
"What are you going to do with us?" Nathan asked as she approached. She was beautiful, even behind a veil. She seemed so delicate, so perfect, so dream like.
"Fate will decide," the Lady repeated nonchalantly. "But none leave here without being tickled and tormented. The fortunate ones recall none of this save in their deepest dreams."
"Why don't you just get it over with and tickle me then?" Nathan said reluctant to breathe those sleeping vapors. "Why put me to sleep?"
"If I don't, I'd have to have you subdued to enter my tickling apparatus,” she explained. “Asleep, you are far more cooperative."
She drew near to place her hand on the bubble and activated the sleeping gas.
The bubble filled with greenish mist as it had with his companions. Nathan held his breath.
She watched him intently with a smug look of total dominance apparent even with her veil over her face.
He could hold his breath for a while. He slumped against the bubble pretending to be asleep, trying to simulate the rise and fall of his chest as if he were breathing. He held a pink fletched dart in his hand and was intent on using it on the Lady. If her spell required concentration, he’d perhaps have a few moments to attempt an escape.
He let in minute amounts of air into his lungs. It was tainted with a sweet aroma that made him feel warm and relaxed. He was so sleepy and he could do nothing to shake off the sleep. He felt the lady pulling off his boots and he dreaded the thought of her nails on his soles. He tried to muster the energy to prick her with his dart but his arms and legs were as if they were laden with lead.
He fell asleep and could not recall her tickling his feet.
* * * * *
Nathan awoke.
He was mounted on one of the rings inside what was a large cell in what had to be the fortress's dungeon.
It was the same sort of ring the Pixie, the Centaur and the Demonus women had been attached to. It was made of several rings actually and all the rings were held in place by gears and mechanical things that seemed more complicated than they probably were. Now, being so close, he realized the rings were of cold iron and wood, so all magic was neutralized.
He was naked but for a white loincloth covered his privates and at least helped make him feel more comfortable.
Next to him was Vivian and next to her an empty ring.
She had not awoken yet. She was beautiful. Her hair hung over her fox features which Nathan had simply fallen in love with. Her body as also naked and he admired her curves. He'd have loved to have such an elaborate machine to tickle his mate in.
He watched her slowly stir and start to awaken. He loved her. More than life itself he realized. She looked at him and she smiled.
He smiled back.
“Looks like we’re in trouble,” Nate said gesturing with his head at their restraints.
“I’ve walked away from worse, lover,” she said but Nate was not so convinced.
The door opened and an angry Lady of the Morning Dew stormed in.
She was furious. It was easy to see even through the veil her flushed face.
Then he realized why.
One ring was empty.
The Scourge was missing.
"I had the Scourge!" she said angrily. "Where is she?" she asked.
"We had not even met her until just recently," Vivian replied. "We have no way of knowing where she is now."
"We'll see about that," the Lady said approaching Vivian. She pushed the ring back and it clicked as the gears moved and until Vivian was horizontal. She then pulled Vivian's legs together until they were together and facing the Lady.
The Lady studied the sole and began to draw a complex rune on the sole of her left foot.
Vivian laughed as the Lady's finger traced the mark on her sole. When she finished, the rune glowed and then disappeared.
“A branding rune,” the Lady explained. “You're mine now and those who are mine are marked as such. The rune has other properties as well.”
The Lady then tickled her gently. The reaction was unexpected. Vivian's foot thrashed violently in her restraints and she screamed horribly.
She was ticklish, Nate knew that very well, but not that ticklish.
The Lady tickled harder and Vivian reacted even stronger. She screamed and shook her head left and right. The Lady pressed a button at the base of the ring and new restraints came out from the ring and held Vivian’s head in place.
She pressed another button and Vivian's feet were held in place unable to move. Her soles were effortlessly tickled by the Lady and Vivian madly screamed as if it were a fiery brand placed in her soles.
"Stop it!" Nathan shouted. "Stop torturing her!"
“Hush,” she said turning to him. “You are impatient. But I will indulge you.”
The Lady made the ring fall back and then turned as she did with Vivian.
Nate was not going to make it easy for her to place her rune on his foot and he moved his feet in all directions.
The Lady simply pressed a button and the ring responded by grasping his feet and holding them tight. She easily traced her rune on his foot and there was nothing he could do but grunt and laugh at her finger tracing on his sole.
“There,” she said satisfied. “I now own you both. Vixen and Hound,” she said.
“We are not yours,” Nate said.
“I disagree,” the Lady said. “You cannot leave. You cannot live unless I allow it. And anything you say you do not mean.”
“I meant it,” Nate said defiantly.
“You make this so very entertaining,” the Lady said laughing pleasantly. “I am almost forgetting about having lost the Scourge.”
She pressed multiple buttons on the side of the ring.
“You will say: ‘I am yours, Mistress’,” the Lady said. “When you do, the torment will end.”
Nate was confused. Then she pushed a button and the ring came to life.
Gears moved and twirled and the ring moved. Small disks lined with feathers mounted on mechanical arms attacked his sides. While mechanical fingers touched his feet and other devices of all sorts touched and tickled his body. He trashed wildly but more and more restraint was added as required. He could not move and every touch on his body tickled insanely. His senses were completely overloaded in just seconds.
Mechanical arms raced all over his body extracting ticklish reactions. No part of his body was spared.
“Say it,” the Lady insisted.
“I am yours, Mistress,” Nate shouted and instantly the machine ceased tickling and the mechanical arms and tickling equipment disappeared back into the ring.
“That is better,” the Lady said. “The taste was bitter in your mouth, but soon it shall taste sweeter.”
Nate was not convinced, but dared not say anything.
“The rings are designed by the Maker,” the Lady explained. “Virtually indestructible. They feed off the magic of their victims. They are precise ticklers and tireless ones.”
She pressed several buttons on Nate's ring and also on Vivian’s.
“I am off to supervise the tracking down of the Scourge,” the Lady said. “The rings and their multiple apparatus will keep you company. You will agree with me that they are quite skilled.”
The rings activated and tickled them both with a myriad of tools and instruments. They screamed at the excruciating tickling.
The cell door closed as the Lady left the room.
Nate was certain he would go mad from the ruthless tickling. But the ring only attacked him for about a minute before it was shut off.
He opened his eyes that had been closed while he received the tickling torture and saw the Tickling Scourge looking up and him and smiling.
“Hello, partners,” she said.
“How did you escape?” Vivian asked.
“I pretended to be asleep. I can hold my breath a long time,” Patrisa explained. “She tickled my feet so she obviously didn't get anything there and she assumed I was asleep. They carried me here and I beat the Elflings senseless. Trouble was that I did not know where to escape to, so I figured the best place they would least expect me to hide out is right here in their dungeon.”
“You must let us free, Scourge,” Nate demanded.
“If I do that, I seal all our fates,” the Scourge said. “We are weaponless and every last Elfling minion of the Lady of the Morning Dew is out looking for us. I need to recover our weapons and snatch the treasure before I free you.”
“What's to stop you from keeping all the treasure to yourself?” Vivian asked suspiciously.
“Honor,” Patrisa replied.
“Then what's the plan?” Nate asked.
“The rings will torture you for hours before they allows you to pass out,” Patrisa stated. “I think that if I tickled you quickly and effectively, you can skip the torture part, give the machine the magic it needs and you'll keep your sanity while I get our weapons back and we wait for things to calm down.”
“You tickle us?” Vivian said with clear reluctance.
“Yes,” Patrisa said. “Or do you prefer the ring?”
“Okay,” Vivian agreed. “I hope you realize that you have an advantage over us. We have not tickled you.”
Patrisa smiled. “That's not likely to happen,” she said. She then paused for a second, and finally shook her head.
Vivian sent Nate a knowing wink and smile.
“Very well, then,” Vivian said. “Do your worst, Tickle Scourge.”
Patrisa moved the ring so her feet were facing her.
“I can't say this will be painless, but it will be quick,” she said.
Vivian was about to say something when she felt the Scourge’s fingers on her bare soles. Nate watched mesmerized again at Patrisa’s technique. She worked on Vivian’s feet perfectly once more. She stroked the entire foot, between the toes, the heels, the arch... She was decisive in her tickling. The Lady’s rune had made Vivian all the more ticklish, but Patrisa’s skill seemed to take advantage of the extra ticklishness to overload Vivian’s senses. She laughed and screamed madly until she climaxed and became calm again.
Patrisa turned to Nate.
“You enjoyed watching that,” she said smiling. “You were made for this world. That is why you have done better than the average Tenderfoot. That is why I have done better than the average Tenderfoot.”
“I’m not so keen on being tickled,” Nate admitted. “But I’ve been working on that.”
Patrisa smiled. She raised Nate’s ring so he was vertical once more and she turned it around so she could stand behind him.
“That’s just being cruel,” he said unable to look back at her.
“That’s not cruel,” she said. “THIS is cruel.”
She dug her nails into his sides and Nate exploded with laughter. It was more intense than he had ever felt. She raked his sides and he shouted and screamed in protest. She attacked his underarms with equal relish. She reached under his loincloth and tickled his inner thighs with her nails while at the same time she nibbled on his sides with her mouth.
Nate did not last a minute. He blacked out quickly like she had promised.
He could not bring himself to admit it verbally, but the tickling was so well done, that he could say he ALMOST enjoyed it.
“I’m not called the Scourge for nothing,” were the last words he heard before blacking out.
* * * * *
When Nate awoke, he realized he had slept for several hours.
He felt better and refreshed.
He looked at Vivian and she smiled at him.
“You're such a sleepy head,” she scolded him playfully.
Nate did not argue. “I think I needed some rest. Where is the Scourge?”
“She sneaked out to try and get our weapons back and treasure,” Vivian said still not sure what to make of the Scourge.
“Think she'll be back?” Nate asked.
“If she doesn’t, or if she ends up on a ring next to us,” Vivian said her voice breaking slightly, “I want you to know that these past three years at your side have been the very best of my life. No amount of Dust of Forgetfulness can erase those memories.”
“I'd cross all the Realms and beyond to find you, Viv,” Nate promised. “Nothing would keep me away.”
The door of the cell opened and the Lady of the Morning Dew entered abruptly.
“The Scourge is no where to be found,” she said her face twisted in an angry and vengeful frown clearly visible through the veil. “She cannot pay for her crimes, but you can.”
She pulled a heavy cover from an object in the corner of the cell and she revealed the wheel that had determined the fate of the three captives the day before.
“I usually wait a few weeks before letting Fate intervene,” she said giving the wheel a powerful turn. “And then at that I make the act public for the entertainment of my subjects.”
The wheel turned and the clicking was loud and fast.
“For you two I will make an exception,” the Lady hissed watching the wheel go round and round, slowly losing speed. The colors were now apparent and it went from blue, to white, to pink again and again.
“Let Fate decide,” she said ominously.
“And may she be merciless!”
To be continued...
Next: The Wheel of Destiny Turns!
“Lady of the Morning Dew”
Nate expertly followed the Elfling Lauran's trail through the thick woods of the Elfling Realm. He led Patrisa and Viviana through the woods towards where he was certain was the lair of the Lady of the Morning Dew.
Lauran was light and nimble and to the naked eye it would seem there were no traces of her passing.
Nate, however, was not called the Hound for nothing.
He could smell her, sense her, see where she had passed. All of his senses screamed to him indicating her direction. To someone else she would have passed without a trace. To Nate, it was a matter of locking on to her spoor; there was no way for her to hide from him.
They spent hours on the trail determined to keep pursuit, cautious so as not to stumble upon the other guardians of the Lady of the Morning Dew. That would certainly be the end of their quest.
Stealth was of the essence.
The mistress of stealth was Vivian of course. As they came across the first sentries, Nathan yielded the vanguard and she led the way blending into their surroundings and becoming invisible to the Elflings. The sentries all dressed similar to Lauran and had the same cold and steel like demeanor she had.
Nate wondered if they shared her near immunity to tickling.
Vivian spotted the sentries and indicated the safest route to Nate and Patrisa. Without her, they would not have gotten far through the woods undiscovered.
It was easy to see how people could easily fall victim to the Elflings. They had heightened senses much sharper than the ordinary Elfling. They communicated efficiently among themselves and formed a strong perimeter that seemed quite impenetrable. Neutralizing any Elfling was folly. Judging from the way they communicated, the missing sentry would be noticed in a matter of minutes.
The fortress of the Lady of the Morning Dew was not much of a fortress at all. Its best defense was invisibility and it was cleverly camouflaged into the side of a towering hill surrounded by trees and giant toad stools. From far away it was impossible to distinguish from the rest of the hill. Patrisa suspected that, in addition to clever camouflage, powerful spells kept the fortress out of sight; it was the only explanation as to how the fortress could be so effectively hidden from the rest of the Realmswalkers.
They approached carefully and as they did they could tell that the fortress was well guarded. They could see dozens of guards dressed in white in a large courtyard. It seemed to be enough for a small army.
The companions drew nearer and as they approached it became apparent that the guards were not guards at all, but rather white marble statues. They were statues of warriors and spell casters of all races. All displayed heroic poses and bore the weapons of their trade.
They were life like and they made the three heroes feel very uneasy.
They had arrived near sunset at a gathering of Elflings in the courtyard. Dozens of Elflings all garbed in similar garments as Lauran arrived from all directions. The trio kept motionless in the forest as they watched the congregation of these fierce Elfling guardians.
The Elflings waited quietly in expectation with only hushed whispers exchanged amongst themselves.
They abruptly became silent as a figure approached the circle of Elflings.
The companions exchanged a knowing look. This could be no one other than the Lady of the Morning Dew.
She was taller than the already tall Elflings that attended to her. She wore a long white robe that reached her ankles and had a veil that covered her face and a thin white crown upon her head. All Elflings of high station wore white. It was well known that the Elfling King’s robes were of snow white color.
She was slim like all Elflings yet her feminine curves were apparent even underneath her robe. She seemed youthful despite the white hair that framed her face. That hair had been always white it seemed. Her face was covered by the veil, but the air she gave was one of youth and beauty and seduction.
They watched intently. She was graceful and seemed to glide through the air as she passed. She was barefoot, yet her small delicate feet did not touch the ground.
The assembled Elflings were held in awe by her presence. She strode with perfect poise to a raised dais at one end of the courtyard and sat upon a plain white marble seat.
She sat there for a moment silent and mysterious. Her head did not move but her eyes could be seen moving even with the veil. She studied her subjects intently with a serious face. Satisfied, she smiled beneath the veil and the Elflings all seemed to be relieved.
Finally she spoke.
"Bring the wheel," she commanded. Her voice was musical yet authoritative. Her subjects quickly obeyed and they brought a wagon sized wheel cleverly mounted on a fine wooden post. The wheel was of master craftsmanship. The fine cedar wood was expertly shaped and the fine wood painstakingly sanded and varnished. The face of the wheel was divided in three sections. The largest section which occupied three quarters part of the wheel's surface was a pink color. Of the remaining surface, two thirds was a dark blue and the remaining one third was white. Small pegs surrounded the wheel and there was a golden arrow at the top pointing down at the wheel. It seemed apparent that the wheel was designed to turn and the arrow was designed to indicate a color.
"Bring our first guest of the night," the Lady commanded.
Again Elflings scrambled at her order and they carted into the courtyard a huge ring made of metal and wood mounted on a base on wheels. The ring was lined with metal and gears of all sorts. If the craftsmanship of the small wheel was impressive, the manufacture of the ring was extraordinary. There were buttons and levers and all sorts of instruments surrounding the ring. It was obviously of both mechanical and magical nature.
What drew the attention of the companions was what was contained with in the ring. Inside this formidable ring was a Demonus woman. She was bound to the ring by wrists and ankles by restraints that seemed to be part of the ring itself. She was spread eagle in a completely upright position. Save a simple white loin cloth, she was naked. Her long raven black hair, common among the Demonus, was uncombed and flowed over her bare white breasts.
She might have been very beautiful, but her face was wrecked with worry and despair. She looked taxed and exhausted yet she continued to struggle against her bondage.
"Fate is determined by a turn of the wheel," the Lady said as she drew near the struggling Demonus woman. "Sometimes she favors us and other times she does not,” she said as she caressed the strange wheel affectionately before giving it a powerful turn sending it into rotation.
“She is a fickle Mistress," the Lady said as the wheel turned and the golden arrow clicked ominously. “But she is Mistress to us all.”
As it slowed down the clicking seemed more sinister and everyone's eyes were focused on the wheel intent on seeing where the golden arrow would rest.
The wheel clicked on the blue section of the wheel and the Demonus cried out with joy and relief.
"Forgetfulness and freedom," the Lady said. "Fate has spoken. She is merciful today. So be it."
Elflings pressed a few buttons on the side of the ring and the mechanism released the Demonus who fell to her knees. Several Elflings helped drag her off the platform she had been restrained on.
She offered no resistance. She was too weak to attempt to escape or harm her captors.
The Lady approached and spoke a word of magic as she extended her arm in the Demonus's direction.
Bubbles which shown like morning dew burst forth from her hand engulfing the Demonus in one huge bubble which hovered and kept her above the ground.
The Lady touched the bubble with her right hand and the bubble filled with a light greenish mist.
The Demonus breathed in the mist deeply as a man lost in a desert might drink a glass of cold water.
"A peaceful slumber to send you on your way," the Lady said soothingly as the Demonus feel into a deep magical sleep.
Satisfied, the Lady touched the surface of the bubble with her left hand and a magical dust filled the interior.
"And Forgetfulness so you forget the terrors of the Fortress of the Lady of the Morning Dew and forget us all," the Lady said.
She waited a moment until the gas and dust faded.
"Attend to her," the Lady said bursting the bubble. The Demonus woman fell to the ground. Her face was peaceful and some of her beauty seemed restored.
The sleeping woman was carried away by a group of Elfling warriors.
“Take her to the edge of our domain,” she commanded. “Return her clothes and her gear. When she awakes, this all will have been a bad dream.”
Nate wondered what sort of torment could have provoked such a change in the Demonus woman. They were a proud race and it is unlike them to act in such a passive and submissive manner.
“Who is next?” the Lady asked returning to her seat.
An empty ring was rolled into the courtyard to replace the one where the Demonus has been.
The Lady smiled. “The Child of the Fae. The Pixie.”
Nate squinted and indeed, at the center of the ring was a diminutive female pixie held in place by thin and delicate instruments of the ring.
The pixie was green with long blond hair. She glowed a pale green light faintly. She was more defiant that the Demonus and struggled angrily in the restraints.
“Hush, hush,” the Lady said. “You are new here. With any luck you will learn to behave before the Lady of the Morning Dew.”
“I am Cloverleaf of the Green Squadron of the Rainbow Company!” the little pixie shouted. “My Queen Melca can see me and my position. It is only a matter of time before the entire Rainbow Company charges upon your foul abode, Lady of the Morning Dew.”
“Queen Melca,” the Lady repeated clearly entertained. “That witch can see this place quite well and when she does all she will see are trees and toadstools and nothing more. No one knows you are here. No one will come to rescue you. You must trust in Fate. She will decide what is your destiny.”
The Lady went to the wheel and gave it a hard turn. Around and around it went.
“Blue and you are free, Pink and you are not. White and you are both free and not,” the Lady said mysteriously as the clicking began to slow.
The wheel fell on Pink.
“Fate has decided. Another week as our guest,” the Lady declared as she drew near the ring where the pixie was captive. She pressed a series of buttons on the side of the ring and a series of clicks and bells could be heard and the ring seemed to be changing configuration.
“Take her away,” the Lady said casually. “Her screams will lull us all to sleep.”
The ring was pushed away and suddenly a series of screams could be heard. Desperate screams of the tortured.
Nate wondered briefly what the ring really was capable of but decided it was better not to find out.
“Bring the last one,” the Lady commanded.
A last ring was wheeled into the courtyard. At the center was a proud female Centaur. The restraints from the ring were different to accommodate her different physiology. She was restrained nonetheless from all her limbs. She was beautiful with large bare breasts and long blond hair that cascaded down her pale human back until her night black equine half.
She was tired but defiant.
"What does Fate have to say for you, woman of the plains?" the Lady asked.
“I hope she decides in favor of freedom and forgetfulness,” the Centaur said. “Because if not, I will have the Royal Calvary trample every last tree. I am cousin to Princess Laurannis. They will not hesitate to avenge this aggression against our Royal House.”
“Forgetfulness is merciful,” the Lady said ignoring her captive’s threat and turning the wheel. “Pray that Fate is merciful as well.”
Beads of sweat formed on the Centaur's forehead as she watched in agony as the wheel turned.
The wheel stopped at the part colored white and the Centaur grew pale and began to cry.
"Hush, hush," the Lady said softly. “White and you are both free and not. Fate has spoken.”
A small stepping stair was brought forth for the lady and she stepped up the stair until she was face to face with the Centaur.
"Mercy," the Centaur begged with tears steaming down her cheeks.
"Fate has spoken. You are privileged," the Lady said. "You will live forever now. You will experience what only a select few have experienced. You will become immortal. Your soul will be bound and you will watch the eons pass in peace."
"A prisoner for all time!" the Centaur countered.
"Look at me," the Lady demanded raising her veil and staring directly at the Centaur.
And all watched eagerly. The Centaur tried to look away but she could not. She gazed at the Lady’s face, her eyes wide and her expression blank.
Nate, Vivian and Patrisa could not see the full face of the Lady. The Elflngs all looked away so as to not stare at their Lady.
"You have seen beauty beyond your wildest of imaginings,” the Lady said. "There is a price, of course. Free and not. The price of those who gaze upon the face of the Lady of the Morning Dew!”
The Lady signaled to her Elfling subjects and they quickly released the Centaur from the ring and led her down from her platform.
She walked stiffly and with difficulty.
The Lady positioned herself once more face to face with the Centaur and took her face in her hands. She touched the face changing the expression to one of proud nobility typical of Centaurs.
She turned the Centaur's face so she faced upwards.
A long lance was brought and the Elflings placed it in the Centaur's hands.
The Centaur became deathly pale, but her expression remained the same. Her equine half went from bright black to dull grey.
The Elflings followed their Lady's commands and they worked quickly to give the Centaur the pose they desired.
As they finished, the final stiffening settled in and the pale skin turned to marble white and the Centaur became a statue in a magnificent pose.
That was where the statues came from.
Patrisa looked at Nate and Vivian meaningfully.
“That is the fate that will fall upon us if we fail,” Patrisa whispered.
“We've come this far already risking capture,” Vivian said. “The only difference between returning now and snatching the loot is the time we take. We still have to sneak our way the whole way back out of the wood. Be it with profit or without.”
Nate nodded. “I agree. Stealth is on our side. No one expects someone to get through their tight perimeter defenses. The Elflings are too few to maintain such a huge perimeter and keep a full guard. The fortress's defenses must be lax. And I literally have a nose for treasure, so I guarantee it won't be difficult to find.”
Patrisa nodded. “Very well. We wait until night. Then we make our move.”
There were no more festivities. The Lady retired and the Elflings went about their duties.
Vivian, Patrisa and Nate remained still and hidden waiting patiently.
* * * * *
The sun quickly went down and all activity in the Fortress became quiet and minimum.
The three companions waited still longer. They waited for slumbers to grow deep and for quietness to settle in.
They removed their shoes and stepped lightly and stealthily. A snapped twig or heavy footstep and it would sound like a blaring trumpet in the deathly silence.
They moved carefully avoiding sentries and patrols.
They entered the complex and found it to be rather simple in distribution. Nate led the way past barracks, past sleeping chambers and past the dining halls. There was a dungeon as well and moaning and laughter seemed to come from there. Aside from that, all was quiet.
The reached deep in the heart of the fortress a treasure room.
Nate could smell the magic stored inside.
There were two guards standing at the entrance to the treasure room. Nate paralyzed one with a dart to the neck and then followed up with the other. They stood frozen in place. Only their eyes watched wildly. Nate drew near and pricked them both gently on the neck with a sleeping dart. The wild eyes softened, glazed with sleep, and closed gently, leaving them standing asleep at their posts. Anyone passing at a distance would not notice anything.
They crept by opening the door to the dark treasure room. Nate entered at the front, Vivian covered his back with a torch and Patrisa covered at the rear closing the door behind them.
They entered the chamber and found it full of treasure. Red magical gems were kept in huge baskets. They filled the room.
The torch light fell on the center of the room and Nate was taken by surprise by a lone figure in the darkness. He rolled to one side shooting his last paralysis and sleeping darts at the figure.
The darts bounced off harmlessly.
Patrisa touched a magic globe at the entrance and the chamber filled with light.
It was not a person. It was a statue. A white marble statue of an Elfling.
Nate was relived for a brief moment realizing that they had not been discovered by a sentry of flesh and blood. His own blood went icy as he realized who the statue was.
“Lauran,” he whispered under his breath, looking at his companions with an obviously concerned look.
“That can only mean one thing,” Patrisa said drawing her fighting sticks.
“Indeed it does,” a familiar voice said out loud.
The room filled instantly with a score of Elfling warriors armed to the teeth with bows and arrows, lances and blades.
“It means that I detected your little ruse, for one,” the Lady of the Morning Dew said appearing from behind her cadre of warriors and approaching the companions. “I do not tolerate failure. She should not have revealed what she did. So she was punished. Forgetfulness does not erase obligation.”
Vivian drew her bola, Patrisa her fighting sticks and Nate extended his blow pipe to use it as a staff.
They each looked around calculating their odds.
They did not look good.
“And now to decide what to do with you,” the Lady said. “Fate will make that decision for us.”
“You'll have to beat me senseless and I promise you I won't be the only one senseless by the time I'm done,” Patrisa vowed.
The Lady smiled under her veil.
“No need for pounding three little mice senseless,” the Lady said. "I've built the better mouse trap."
She spoke a word of magic and extended her right hand in their direction. It was a powerful magical command full of intention.
A whirlwind of dew like bubbles issued from her hands surrounding her victims each in a large bubble.
They were trapped. The Tickle Scourge pounded the inside of the bubble with her fighting sticks. Vivian tried to poke a hole through with her fists and feet. Nate swung his blow pipe turned staff against the walls of the bubble to no avail.
"Ah, Tickle Scourge. Your reputation precedes you. So much energy, wasted," she said studying the Scourge intently as she continued to pound the walls of the bubble. "Better to save that energy. Better to rest."
She placed her left hand on the Scourge’s bubble and caressed it gently as she spoke a soothing word of magic.
"Sleep," she commanded soothingly tapping gently on the magical bubble as the greenish mist filled the bubble. The Scourge visibly resisted the magical spell attempting to resist the sleeping vapors.
"No sense resisting. There is nothing else to breathe in there,” the Lady said.
The Scourge continued to resist and the Lady seemed to grow impatient.
But the Scourge could not resist for very long and her eyes closed and she sank to the bottom of the bubble on her back her head slumping limply to one side of her head.
The Lady pressed a hand into the bubble and the bubble allowed her hand entry. She undid Patrisa’s sandals and stroked the soles of her feet tickling them intently. There was no reaction.
"Sleeping like a baby," she said satisfied as she pressed the bubble gently to the ground.
The Lady popped the bubble and the Scourge fell to the ground with an unceremonious thud.
The Lady took her fighting sticks and two guards stepped forward and took her by the ankles and the wrists as they carried her away.
"Who's next?" she said cheerfully turning to Vivian and Nate.
Nathan and Vivian exchanged grim glances.
"Ladies first, then," she said drawing near Vivian. “Vixen. Your reputation precedes you as well. I cannot leave my Fortress and I so enjoy the gossip among the other Realms. Your name pops up frequently as does the Tickle Scourge’s.”
She touched her bubble like she had with Patrisa and again the bubble filled with sleeping gas.
"Now, breathe deeply," the Lady whispered and Vivian breathed in the mist. She sank to the bottom of the bubble as the Scourge had.
The Lady reached into the bubble and pulled off Vivian’s boots.
Vivian came to life and grasped the Lady’s hand. Vivian held the hand firmly and she might have bit the white delicate hand but the sleeping vapors affected her and she released the Lady and her eyes closed as she slept.
The Lady was visibly disappointed by Vivian’s outburst. But she tickled Vivian’s soles in a way Nate was certain Vivian could not resist has she been conscious.
"Now,Tenderfoot, it is your turn,” the Lady of the Morning Dew said studying Nate as she burst Vivian’s bubble sending her to the ground.
"You're a more recent Manling than the Tickle Scourge," the Lady said to Nathan as she picked up Vivian's bola and another couple of guards took Vivian by wrists and ankles and carried her sleeping form away. “The Hound. You are just beginning to make a name for yourself. Fate will decide if you have the chance to further that reputation.”
"What are you going to do with us?" Nathan asked as she approached. She was beautiful, even behind a veil. She seemed so delicate, so perfect, so dream like.
"Fate will decide," the Lady repeated nonchalantly. "But none leave here without being tickled and tormented. The fortunate ones recall none of this save in their deepest dreams."
"Why don't you just get it over with and tickle me then?" Nathan said reluctant to breathe those sleeping vapors. "Why put me to sleep?"
"If I don't, I'd have to have you subdued to enter my tickling apparatus,” she explained. “Asleep, you are far more cooperative."
She drew near to place her hand on the bubble and activated the sleeping gas.
The bubble filled with greenish mist as it had with his companions. Nathan held his breath.
She watched him intently with a smug look of total dominance apparent even with her veil over her face.
He could hold his breath for a while. He slumped against the bubble pretending to be asleep, trying to simulate the rise and fall of his chest as if he were breathing. He held a pink fletched dart in his hand and was intent on using it on the Lady. If her spell required concentration, he’d perhaps have a few moments to attempt an escape.
He let in minute amounts of air into his lungs. It was tainted with a sweet aroma that made him feel warm and relaxed. He was so sleepy and he could do nothing to shake off the sleep. He felt the lady pulling off his boots and he dreaded the thought of her nails on his soles. He tried to muster the energy to prick her with his dart but his arms and legs were as if they were laden with lead.
He fell asleep and could not recall her tickling his feet.
* * * * *
Nathan awoke.
He was mounted on one of the rings inside what was a large cell in what had to be the fortress's dungeon.
It was the same sort of ring the Pixie, the Centaur and the Demonus women had been attached to. It was made of several rings actually and all the rings were held in place by gears and mechanical things that seemed more complicated than they probably were. Now, being so close, he realized the rings were of cold iron and wood, so all magic was neutralized.
He was naked but for a white loincloth covered his privates and at least helped make him feel more comfortable.
Next to him was Vivian and next to her an empty ring.
She had not awoken yet. She was beautiful. Her hair hung over her fox features which Nathan had simply fallen in love with. Her body as also naked and he admired her curves. He'd have loved to have such an elaborate machine to tickle his mate in.
He watched her slowly stir and start to awaken. He loved her. More than life itself he realized. She looked at him and she smiled.
He smiled back.
“Looks like we’re in trouble,” Nate said gesturing with his head at their restraints.
“I’ve walked away from worse, lover,” she said but Nate was not so convinced.
The door opened and an angry Lady of the Morning Dew stormed in.
She was furious. It was easy to see even through the veil her flushed face.
Then he realized why.
One ring was empty.
The Scourge was missing.
"I had the Scourge!" she said angrily. "Where is she?" she asked.
"We had not even met her until just recently," Vivian replied. "We have no way of knowing where she is now."
"We'll see about that," the Lady said approaching Vivian. She pushed the ring back and it clicked as the gears moved and until Vivian was horizontal. She then pulled Vivian's legs together until they were together and facing the Lady.
The Lady studied the sole and began to draw a complex rune on the sole of her left foot.
Vivian laughed as the Lady's finger traced the mark on her sole. When she finished, the rune glowed and then disappeared.
“A branding rune,” the Lady explained. “You're mine now and those who are mine are marked as such. The rune has other properties as well.”
The Lady then tickled her gently. The reaction was unexpected. Vivian's foot thrashed violently in her restraints and she screamed horribly.
She was ticklish, Nate knew that very well, but not that ticklish.
The Lady tickled harder and Vivian reacted even stronger. She screamed and shook her head left and right. The Lady pressed a button at the base of the ring and new restraints came out from the ring and held Vivian’s head in place.
She pressed another button and Vivian's feet were held in place unable to move. Her soles were effortlessly tickled by the Lady and Vivian madly screamed as if it were a fiery brand placed in her soles.
"Stop it!" Nathan shouted. "Stop torturing her!"
“Hush,” she said turning to him. “You are impatient. But I will indulge you.”
The Lady made the ring fall back and then turned as she did with Vivian.
Nate was not going to make it easy for her to place her rune on his foot and he moved his feet in all directions.
The Lady simply pressed a button and the ring responded by grasping his feet and holding them tight. She easily traced her rune on his foot and there was nothing he could do but grunt and laugh at her finger tracing on his sole.
“There,” she said satisfied. “I now own you both. Vixen and Hound,” she said.
“We are not yours,” Nate said.
“I disagree,” the Lady said. “You cannot leave. You cannot live unless I allow it. And anything you say you do not mean.”
“I meant it,” Nate said defiantly.
“You make this so very entertaining,” the Lady said laughing pleasantly. “I am almost forgetting about having lost the Scourge.”
She pressed multiple buttons on the side of the ring.
“You will say: ‘I am yours, Mistress’,” the Lady said. “When you do, the torment will end.”
Nate was confused. Then she pushed a button and the ring came to life.
Gears moved and twirled and the ring moved. Small disks lined with feathers mounted on mechanical arms attacked his sides. While mechanical fingers touched his feet and other devices of all sorts touched and tickled his body. He trashed wildly but more and more restraint was added as required. He could not move and every touch on his body tickled insanely. His senses were completely overloaded in just seconds.
Mechanical arms raced all over his body extracting ticklish reactions. No part of his body was spared.
“Say it,” the Lady insisted.
“I am yours, Mistress,” Nate shouted and instantly the machine ceased tickling and the mechanical arms and tickling equipment disappeared back into the ring.
“That is better,” the Lady said. “The taste was bitter in your mouth, but soon it shall taste sweeter.”
Nate was not convinced, but dared not say anything.
“The rings are designed by the Maker,” the Lady explained. “Virtually indestructible. They feed off the magic of their victims. They are precise ticklers and tireless ones.”
She pressed several buttons on Nate's ring and also on Vivian’s.
“I am off to supervise the tracking down of the Scourge,” the Lady said. “The rings and their multiple apparatus will keep you company. You will agree with me that they are quite skilled.”
The rings activated and tickled them both with a myriad of tools and instruments. They screamed at the excruciating tickling.
The cell door closed as the Lady left the room.
Nate was certain he would go mad from the ruthless tickling. But the ring only attacked him for about a minute before it was shut off.
He opened his eyes that had been closed while he received the tickling torture and saw the Tickling Scourge looking up and him and smiling.
“Hello, partners,” she said.
“How did you escape?” Vivian asked.
“I pretended to be asleep. I can hold my breath a long time,” Patrisa explained. “She tickled my feet so she obviously didn't get anything there and she assumed I was asleep. They carried me here and I beat the Elflings senseless. Trouble was that I did not know where to escape to, so I figured the best place they would least expect me to hide out is right here in their dungeon.”
“You must let us free, Scourge,” Nate demanded.
“If I do that, I seal all our fates,” the Scourge said. “We are weaponless and every last Elfling minion of the Lady of the Morning Dew is out looking for us. I need to recover our weapons and snatch the treasure before I free you.”
“What's to stop you from keeping all the treasure to yourself?” Vivian asked suspiciously.
“Honor,” Patrisa replied.
“Then what's the plan?” Nate asked.
“The rings will torture you for hours before they allows you to pass out,” Patrisa stated. “I think that if I tickled you quickly and effectively, you can skip the torture part, give the machine the magic it needs and you'll keep your sanity while I get our weapons back and we wait for things to calm down.”
“You tickle us?” Vivian said with clear reluctance.
“Yes,” Patrisa said. “Or do you prefer the ring?”
“Okay,” Vivian agreed. “I hope you realize that you have an advantage over us. We have not tickled you.”
Patrisa smiled. “That's not likely to happen,” she said. She then paused for a second, and finally shook her head.
Vivian sent Nate a knowing wink and smile.
“Very well, then,” Vivian said. “Do your worst, Tickle Scourge.”
Patrisa moved the ring so her feet were facing her.
“I can't say this will be painless, but it will be quick,” she said.
Vivian was about to say something when she felt the Scourge’s fingers on her bare soles. Nate watched mesmerized again at Patrisa’s technique. She worked on Vivian’s feet perfectly once more. She stroked the entire foot, between the toes, the heels, the arch... She was decisive in her tickling. The Lady’s rune had made Vivian all the more ticklish, but Patrisa’s skill seemed to take advantage of the extra ticklishness to overload Vivian’s senses. She laughed and screamed madly until she climaxed and became calm again.
Patrisa turned to Nate.
“You enjoyed watching that,” she said smiling. “You were made for this world. That is why you have done better than the average Tenderfoot. That is why I have done better than the average Tenderfoot.”
“I’m not so keen on being tickled,” Nate admitted. “But I’ve been working on that.”
Patrisa smiled. She raised Nate’s ring so he was vertical once more and she turned it around so she could stand behind him.
“That’s just being cruel,” he said unable to look back at her.
“That’s not cruel,” she said. “THIS is cruel.”
She dug her nails into his sides and Nate exploded with laughter. It was more intense than he had ever felt. She raked his sides and he shouted and screamed in protest. She attacked his underarms with equal relish. She reached under his loincloth and tickled his inner thighs with her nails while at the same time she nibbled on his sides with her mouth.
Nate did not last a minute. He blacked out quickly like she had promised.
He could not bring himself to admit it verbally, but the tickling was so well done, that he could say he ALMOST enjoyed it.
“I’m not called the Scourge for nothing,” were the last words he heard before blacking out.
* * * * *
When Nate awoke, he realized he had slept for several hours.
He felt better and refreshed.
He looked at Vivian and she smiled at him.
“You're such a sleepy head,” she scolded him playfully.
Nate did not argue. “I think I needed some rest. Where is the Scourge?”
“She sneaked out to try and get our weapons back and treasure,” Vivian said still not sure what to make of the Scourge.
“Think she'll be back?” Nate asked.
“If she doesn’t, or if she ends up on a ring next to us,” Vivian said her voice breaking slightly, “I want you to know that these past three years at your side have been the very best of my life. No amount of Dust of Forgetfulness can erase those memories.”
“I'd cross all the Realms and beyond to find you, Viv,” Nate promised. “Nothing would keep me away.”
The door of the cell opened and the Lady of the Morning Dew entered abruptly.
“The Scourge is no where to be found,” she said her face twisted in an angry and vengeful frown clearly visible through the veil. “She cannot pay for her crimes, but you can.”
She pulled a heavy cover from an object in the corner of the cell and she revealed the wheel that had determined the fate of the three captives the day before.
“I usually wait a few weeks before letting Fate intervene,” she said giving the wheel a powerful turn. “And then at that I make the act public for the entertainment of my subjects.”
The wheel turned and the clicking was loud and fast.
“For you two I will make an exception,” the Lady hissed watching the wheel go round and round, slowly losing speed. The colors were now apparent and it went from blue, to white, to pink again and again.
“Let Fate decide,” she said ominously.
“And may she be merciless!”
To be continued...
Next: The Wheel of Destiny Turns!
