Dark Waters Ch.4: Ritual of The Black Blood

Myrine walked down the hall and entered the room. It was a wide circular room with cracked walls due to its lack of maintenance after so many years and dilapidated statues of priestesses of some sort with their arms stretched out circling around the room. Just a few feet away from the center of the room was some sort of strange alter on a short pedestal with two handle bars on the bottom in front of it and a statue of a human man with his hands open as if ready to take hold of something. Myrine could tell off hand what that altar would most likely be used for in the coming ritual. In front of the altar was drain of some sort which emptied into the center of the room into some sort of cesspool. Myrine opened up the scroll from the old woman and sighed in anxious preparation for the mental strain this ritual would most likely do to her. Tickling was inevitable but if she was going to make it through this room she would have to bear with it.

“Well, I guess I had best get started.” Myrine said to herself as she looked at the first segment on the scroll. “First thing first.”

Myrine took notice of the first station in the corner of the room. There was a stone chair and a pool of fresh water by it. Myrine approached it as she remembered the first thing the old woman had translated for her in the scroll as she followed the illustrated instructions inside the scroll.



Myrine took a wide bucket sitting by the chair and scooped out some water in the pool by it. She then sat in the chair and picked up a brush sitting on the right arm of it. She then proceeded to wash her own feet with it. The bristles of the brush were slightly rough and meant for heavy cleaning. This sort of brush would be sending her into a laughing fit if it were someone else washing her feet, but Myrine, knowing the sensitivity of her own feet, managed to scrub her soles without tickling herself. After her soles had been scrubbed of salt water and any filth she may have gotten on them along the way, Myrine picked up another brush by the chair shaped like a saw of some sort. With it, she scrubbed between her toes getting rid of any filth that would have been trapped in the pores between them before scrubbing beneath her toenails. After finishing that, Myrine picked up a cloth sitting on the left arm of the chair and began to dry her feet off. After doing so, she stretched her left leg out and spread her toes to gaze at her work. Her foot was extraordinarily clean. She crossed her left leg over the right to look at the sole of her foot and was amazed even more by how clean it was. Myrine’s feet were the cleanest they had ever been and felt softer than before. Myrine was so impressed by the result that she actually wished that someone would worship her feet to see how sensitive they were now.

But Myrine let the thought go as she got up to go to the second station in the front part of the room past the altar. She opened the scroll and gazed at the illustrations in it as she recalled what the old woman had told her what the glyphs inside it meant.






Myrine saw a small fountain in the second station with what looked like a stone lounge chair next to it. She stuck her finger in the fountain and quickly withdrew it as she felt the thick, warm liquid flowing into it. It was blood, black blood from the Kraken that had sent her to this room. Myrine looked at the scroll and its illustrations. She felt a bit of relief knowing that this part would not involve anything that would tickle her. She simply had to paint her toenails in the blood of the Kraken. Myrine dipped a small bottle sitting next to the fountain into the creature’s blood. She then placed it on top of the lounge as she picked up a brush and other tools for treating her nails that were in the same place as the bottle. She then sat down and did a touch up on her nails fixing her cuticles and filing them a bit. Myrine always kept her toes well kept no matter where she was or what she had to work with; keeping her toes well trimmed was as important as finding food to get by on. The process didn’t take long since Myrine had done this exact same thing a few days ago when an aristocratic woman had “misplaced” her nail kit on her windowsill. With the necessary treatment done, Myrine went on to paint her toenails in the Kraken’s blood. The blood dried like a dark, ebony polish which looked very nice on Myrine. The pedicure, of sorts, made Myrine’s nails stick out and display how well shaped her toes and toenails were. Myrine made a note to herself to look for a nail polish of similar color when she was done with this treasure hunt. With her nails done, Myrine made her way to the final station before going onto the altar.

Have her choose where she shall carry the immense weight of the responsibilities and definite perils that await her for taking up this blessing by the Serpent God. May it be where she is most comfortable and prepared. For this shall be the part of her body first struck by the perils her life will forever entail.​

Myrine came to another pool lit up by runes and filled with the blood of the Kraken. She opened the scroll and looked at the next scene in it. It showed a young woman having some sort of markings painted on to her ankle. The markings were fairly easy to draw so Myrine was confident in being able to draw them herself. However, she did not know where to place them. In the hieroglyphic scene on the scroll, it showed multiple women trying to figure out where to place these markings through various means. Taking these images as a suggestion, Myrine sat down and spread her legs apart to stretch them. One of the girls in the scene was doing this so Myrine figured it might work and would be a good excuse to loosen her muscles after all the strenuous physical activity she was doing to find the treasure within the tomb.

“How does one chose where to place these markings? It would be nice if I could actually read some of the writing left in these illustrations.” Myrine said to herself as she leaned to the right grabbing her toes and pulling back in a stretch. “I have a feeling that whatever these marks are for, they aren’t just for something I’ll be able to switch ankles on as I please.”

Myrine then stretched to her left and found it slightly easier to do so than her right. For whatever reason it had always been that way. Thinking of this, Myrine then stopped and pulled her right leg back in so she could lean forward and observe her left leg. For the entirety of the journey thus far, it had always been her left ankle that had been grabbed during the perils she had encountered so far. Outside of this, Myrine had once decorated this ankle when she was a child and still belonged to a gypsy band. Also, she had always given her left foot to those she teased and flirted with first; starting with the left foot for tickling and worship was just an unintentional habit that she did. Or was it? Myrine couldn’t say that this sudden revelation was coincidence for her and she couldn’t deny that for the entirety of this quest so far that her left leg had been what got her physically prepared for most of the things that had attacked her. Myrine was sure of it now, the markings in the scroll should go on her left ankle.

Myrine sat down by the side of the pool and picked up a brush sitting inside of it. She began to draw the markings in the scroll around her left ankle to the best of her ability. The Kraken’s blood felt cold against her skin making her almost shiver as she painted. With the markings done, Myrine was finally ready for the ritual. She picked up the scroll and moved to the altar near the center of the room.

Strip her down so she may be viewed in her entirety by our Lord. As the cesspool fills with her offering her body and spirit shall be exploited of all weaknesses. Let the Ritual of the Black Blood commence.
​

Myrine went behind the stone altar. There was an indentation on it for the scroll to be placed. As she put it in the opening, the scroll magically began to wind itself to the very end where a final hieroglyphic scene revealed what she had to do next. Myrine gulped at the thought of what awaited her as she saw feathers floating around the feet of the girl in the scene. But now wasn’t the time to be afraid. She had gone through all the preparations, she couldn’t back down now. Myrine stripped naked placing her clothing and belongings beside the altar. She ran her fingers through her hair pushing it back out of her face. This would probably be the one thing that annoyed her during the ritual. Myrine walked to the front of the altar with a sigh as she lay down on the stone slab in front of the altar and took hold of the handle bars on it. Myrine was now completely stretched forward on the slab. She winced in pain however as she held on to the handlebars.

“Why do these handlebars feel barbed or something?” Myrine thought as she looked closer at the handlebars in front of her. They were stone like everything else, but with pyramid like bumps covering them. They weren’t sharp and could probably help someone with a sweaty grip hold on, but squeezing them too tightly would certainly cause pain. “I hope there isn’t some sort of masochism involved in this ritual too.”

Myrine looked behind her back to see a statue at the end of the slab where her feet where. She kicked up both legs and placed her ankles in the hands of the statue. Suddenly runes lit up on the statue and the hands held both her ankles firmly like the hand from earlier. As they did, Myrine heard a mechanism go off and the sound of a fluid being poured. She peered over the slab to see the blood of the Kraken flowing through a drain in the floor leading to the center of the room. Myrine held on to the handlebars not knowing what to expect. Her heart raced in anticipation and her fears were brought to life as dark portals opened up around the slab. Suddenly four wispy like arms came out of the portals with jet black hands hovering over Myrine’s open and defenseless soles. Myrine looked back in terror as the hands, two on each foot, began to run their wretched fingers across the soles of her feet.

“GAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!! NO!!” Myrine burst out laughing. She rocked her upper body from side to side in a vain attempt to cope with the tickling sensation. “IT’S NOT FAIR! ITS NOT FAI-HAI-HAI-HAI-HAI-HAI-HAI-HAI-HAIR!!! NOT MY FEET!! NOT MY FEE-HE-HE-HE-HE-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA-HA!!!”

Myrine got a hold of herself and tried to contain her laughter. The hands took turns holding her toes back so the other could run its fingers up and down the soles of her feet. Myrine got over the initial shock of being tickled suddenly and her breathing and laughter began to regulate. While being tickled, she began to think back to a similar tickling experience in order to not lose herself so soon. The tickling was actually moderate, it only felt worse because she wasn’t able to look back constantly and see what was being done to her feet.

“GAH!! I ha-ha-ha-hate magi-i-hi-hi-hi-hi-hic and sorcery meant for things like thi-hi-hi-his!!” Myrine screamed as she held on to the handlebars tighter. The feeling in her hands actually helped to distract her from the tickling sensations in her feet. “Hahahahaha!! Why my fe-he-he-he-he-he-heet!?”

With four hands having at her, Myrine thought of the experience as that of a renfaire or a similar festival she had been to in the past. Being paid to get on display with plenty of extra tips from eager visitors, the hands reminded her of the hands of the horny men who lusted after her feet. Thinking of it like this, Myrine was able to endure the tickling better. Her feet might have been ticklish, but even intense finger stroking on her soles would lose their effect over time. Myrine laughed loudly but far from being truly tormented. As the girl peered through the strands of hair in her face, she saw that the blood had traveled further down the drain. Taking an educated guess, Myrine concluded that this treatment would go on until the blood made its way to the center of the room. Myrine gritted her teeth as the hands had a free for all on her soles again.

Sensing that the method had become less effective, the power at hand tormenting Myrine prepared to up its methods. The four hands each took hold of a toe. Both of Myrine’s big toes and pinkie toes were grabbed spread apart. Suddenly another set of demonic limbs appeared and crafted feathers out of the same energy they were made from. Myrine struggled to catch her breath as she became nervous about what new method awaited her. She then exploded with laughter as she felt something silky soft saw between her toes. Myrine whipped her head back to glimpse at the magic feathers rub between her toes. Once again the initial shock of the sensation made things feel worse than they actually were but Myrine did manage to get a hold of herself but just barely. The quadruple toe saws were unbearable enough but with the other hands still tickling her soles, the tickling was escalating to torturous levels. Gritting her teeth before breaking out into another fit of laughter, Myrine let go of the right handle and attempted to swat at the evil hands.

“STOP!! STO-HA-HA-HA-HA-HOP!” Myrine screamed as her finger tips just barely grazed the hand tickling between her right pinkie toe. “IT TICKLES TOO MU-HA-HA-HA-HA-HUCH!!”

Myrine turned her attention back to the drain and much to her surprise, the blood was actually beginning to retreat back up the drain in the floor. Myrine quickly grabbed the handle she had let go of and saw the blood continue down its course again. She had to hold on to the handles in order to make the blood continue to the drain. Myrine laughed in ticklish defeat as she realized how helpless she really was now. She couldn’t bare the increasing intensity and but she couldn’t stop now. She would have to endure the entire torment to escape or possibly be tickled to death by giving up.

“OH GODS OF MERCY PLE-HE-HE-HE-HE-HE-HEASE!! DON’T LET ME FAIL HE-HE-HE-HE-HE-HE-HE-HERE!!! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!” Myrine said as she fruitlessly attempted to wiggle her toes free. This only seemed to provoke the feather wielding hands to saw faster between her toes while the other hands worked to secure her feet better to prevent her attempts to resist the torment. Myrine sucked in huge puffs of breathe with each burst of laughter trying to keep herself sane. The hands began to run at a steady pace as Myrine stopped struggling and gave in to the situation with no attempt to struggle anymore other than her usual ticklish reflexes. Myrine tried hard to contain herself but the tickling was not becoming any less torturous no matter what she told herself to try and make the situation seem less terrible than it actually was.

Suddenly the hands stopped and Myrine was granted a mere minute of relief. As she caught her breathe, she watched the blood get closer to the cesspool drain but also go slower as well. Myrine accepted this as compensation for the moment of peace she was being granted but that sense of security was soon faded as the power controlling her tormentors made its worst move. As more hands appeared to join in the torment, four long arms came and wrapped themselves around Myrine’s body holding it down while the set of feather hands then turned their instruments of torture on her rear. On top of that, two more hands appeared and took hold of Myrine’s to keep her arms stretched out. Soon two more hands appeared and began to burrow their fingers furiously into Myrine’s armpits as her hands were pinned. Adding to the torment, another pair of hands appeared and held back the rest of her toes while two small black spheres appeared. Horrific maws opened up on the spheres revealing sharp teeth but rather than biting the victim, they began to lick underneath and between the delicate toes of the cruelly trapped girl with their sandpaper, catlike tongues. And finally to ensure that Myrine’s spirit would break, two more spheres appeared this time armed with tongues that had the roughness of a goat’s and the flexibility of a human’s. Myrine’s armpits, rear, toes, and feet were now trapped in a twisted combo of tickle torture.

Frothy mirth and blood curling screams mixed with hysterical laughter as Myrine felt all the wicked methods of tickling go at her all at once. Tears poured from her eyes, drool ran from her mouth and her head banged furiously in madness as the torment overtook her. As her sanity slowly diminished from her being, Myrine began to thrash in madness while gripping the handlebars of the altar until her hands bled. As she did this, her blood began to trickle its way into the drain below mixing in with the Kraken’s blood. The moment the first drop of Myrine’s blood mixed with the beast’s, a bright, white glow came off of it. Myrine was too crazed to see it, but the blood then began to rush down into the cesspool completing its course in a mere second. Suddenly the tickling stopped as a bright light shot up into an opening in the ceiling. Myrine just barely glanced at the sight as she fainted from pure exhaustion.



Myrine woke up hours later lying on top of the slab still with the horrors of the trial still fresh in her mind. She sat up quickly thinking she was still being tried for being on the slab, but her logic kicked in and she realized that she would not be able to sit up if she were still trapped and let out a sigh of relief knowing that the torture was over. Myrine then felt something weighing on her left ankle. She looked down to see a golden anklet with three empty gem sockets wrapped around her left ankle where she had drawn the markings for the ritual. As she leaned forward to touch it, she then saw that the puncture wounds on her palms were healed. Myrine became much more self aware after that and realized that her fatigue was gone too. Even her hunger and thirst which she had begun to develop over the course of her journey had miraculously disappeared after the bright light that had filled the room earlier. Myrine let out a sigh of relief and self assurance. She knew that this would not be an easy quest and that she risked losing her life for this, but this miracle she had experienced now after the torture she had just endured meant that whoever or whatever was overseeing this ritual had some sense of mercy. Myrine felt her confidence returning. The tickling she had just endured was a new record for her, but she wasn’t going to back down now just because of a little tickling. She’d willingly go through it again if it meant getting closer to her goal.

Myrine got up and returned to the alter and got dressed. As she fixed her hair and bandana, she looked back down on the scroll to see that there was nothing left in it tell her of what lay ahead. Only a list of names in the ancient language and the faces of several women. Myrine could tell that these were the other girls who had taken the trial before her and went on to succeed at it. There was one spot left on the scroll for a name. Myrine wasn’t about to doodle in a picture of her face and ruin the sanctity of the scroll, but she did write her name in the empty slot. She then clasped her hands in prayer to the spirits of those who came before her. She prayed to these sisters of the sole to guide her through the rest of this journey and to give her the strength to go on. Her wish may not have been an entirely good one, her line of work may not have been an honest one, but that didn’t mean Myrine couldn’t honor their memories as a pirate. She would be a barefooted pirate queen, a woman who lived a life of glory and plunder while still honoring these women who came before her by displaying in pride the one thing they all shared; beautiful, ticklish bare feet which drew the attention of all who saw them and infatuated gods like the serpent god sleeping inside this ruined temple. Myrine left the altar and made her way to the center of the room.

Hanging from the ceiling was a silver chain with what looked like the half of a shackle at the end of it. Myrine picked up the end of the chain and examined it. There were three key like points sticking out of the inside of it. Myrine then looked at her anklet and saw that the sockets in it matched that of the points in the shackle. Myrine already knew what she had to do. Myrine rotated the anklet so the gem sockets were on the left side of her ankle and clicked the shackle piece into place. She then looked up and braced herself for another lift like that of the statue from before.

“Up to the next challenge I suppose.” Myrine said as she waited patiently for chain to start lifting. Suddenly a strong jerk on the chain pulled Myrine and made her fall on her back with her leg up in the air. Then the chain began to pull Myrine up and out of the room but at an extreme speed. “What!? Aahh!!”

Myrine felt the force of wind off the speed that she was being pulled by. She held on to her bandana and sword so she wouldn’t lose them the speed was so intense. Then suddenly she felt an odd change in direction. It no longer felt like she was being pulled up, it felt like she was being pulled down. Myrine continued to watch the chain pull her and in just a few seconds she went from looking up to looking down as she descended into what looked to be a pit of water. Myrine held her breath as she braced to be pulled under.

Myrine splashed into the pool below but rather than be pulled under water, Myrine just sank. She tried as hard as she could to swim back to the surface but for whatever reason she couldn’t. As she released her breath, no bubbles of air escaped her mouth. She was breathing as if she was on dry land yet it felt like she was underwater. Myrine was in some sort of magic substance and chances were that frightful things lay ahead for her. But she would not be deterred. This was the real path now. This was the way to the treasure she longed for.



[SUB]Ok, I know its been a while since I updated this story on here. I've mostly been updating it on DA. I hope you guys are still enjoying it. More to come. Once again, all credit for the character Myrine goes to Khali. Thanks again for letting me do this.[/SUB]

Amazing story writing, how do I find you on DA........ I'm hooked! Would love to read more of your work.

ticklerboy said:

Amazing story writing, how do I find you on DA........ I'm hooked! Would love to read more of your work.

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I'm glad you like my work. Look up NagaTheRomantic on deviantart to read more. Thanks a lot.