Ced, Full of Steam (A Fire Emblem Heroes ticklefic) */M F/M M/M */FM

[Lake Superior]

Ced the Brave, Ced the Liberator, Prince Ced of Silesse. He'd been known by names and epitaphs, none of them had ever made him feel utter disgust like-

"Wake up, Ceddy-bear. It's almost your tuuuurn."

Ced grimaced at hearing the pet name again, and he wasn't very fond of the woman who called him it either. L'Arachel beamed at him like she was the hero here even as he knelt in chains, staring up at her while she teased the green-haired man in her lap. He wore naught but a pair of tight swim trunks that he'd heard referred to as a "speedo" by Itsuki. L'Arachel sat upon a throne as she looked down at him with a sweet satisfaction. She'd crossed her legs so as to trap one of his father's ankles between her thighs and as she spoke, a finger traced figure eights on Lewyn’s smooth sole as the runaway royal giggled into his hands. Ced bit his lip and once again wondered how he could possibly be that man's son.

"It looks like poor Zephiel has lost, what a shame. That young man should have watched where he was going but the Rusalka will take good care of him. Time for our next round of ‘Princes in Peril’, don't you think?"

L'Arachel smiled at Ced and looked at the board for pictures of all the princes who had failed before him, a good few of whom he hadn't even known to be captured. Visages of Soren, Innes, Marth, Berkut and more were up on display, all with their faces contorted in red-cheeked laughter. Ced swallowed hard as a new image of the mud-streaked Zephiel was added. Even his bared feet could be seen, his toes being flossed with tinsel as he wailed.

---
Ced bit his lip as L'Arachel pointed to an image of a drooling Jamke stretched taut as dozens of hands played with his nipples.

"That's how I think it'll end for you. Maybe you'll surprise me like Prince Ryoma though. He made it all the way to the Spiders after all. We'll see won't we, my special, slick-footed daddy bear?"

L'Arachel had gotten her fingers in between each of Lewyn's toes and interlocked with that hand to pull all five taut. This meant she could scrape a nail along the pads of each one to her heart’s content as the "bard" went wild. Something that might have been an agreement to her comment was choked out through his mad laughter, though it could also have just been a desperate wheeze. Just looking at L'Arachel's nails on his father's foot had Ced squirming in his chains as he imagined them on his own body.

"You remember the rules, right Ceddy Bear? All you have to do is make it to the end of The Labyrinth and you're free to go. It'll even let you out right back into your old room in Askr. You get plenty of chances to succeed, as many as the clothes on your back to be precise. Each time you give up or are rendered completely helpless, I'll summon you back here and take an item of your clothing. Then I’ll send you right back to the start…well, after we shuffle up the route of course. Can't make it easy for you, gotta be a legitimate challenge to saving your soles after all! Ah-ha~, I'm sure you appreciated my pun?"

"Oh by Forseti himself, do be quiet. It isn't enough you kidnapped me in the night to make me come and wait to play your game, all while you humiliate the worthless runaway that is unluckily my father. Now you bid me to laugh at your jokes as well? Is there no chance you could just kill me and be done with it?"

"Hmmph, quite the temper our son has. My poor, buttery-footed bard with the smile so warm, wherever could he have gotten that from? Here you are ALWAYS with a smile on your face when I'm near, and I've yet to see this one even laugh."

"Do NOT ever call yourself my mother, she was a true queen who fought on the battlefield, rebuilt a kingdom, and did it all without the aid of the delinquent king. You can feel free to keep him, but you will not sully her name."

"Ooooh so serious, oh it'll be heavenly to see you finally beg. Have a good time in there, sourpuss!"

With a tap of her staff, Ced was suddenly dropped down a chute and into the labyrinth below. She enjoyed his indignant cry for as long as she could hear it, but eventually turned back to admire her souvenirs. She gazed upon a “doubles set” of the princes Pelleas and Kurthnaga, forced into stocks and facing each other. The pair was forced to dance their toes over each other’s soles which left them red in the face with laughter. L'Arachel tapped her chin and looked back to her breathless Lewyn, pondering if she had time for a few rounds of toe-tiggles with him too...

---
Down in the troubadour’s challenge grounds, Ced got to his feet shakily. His bonds had gone slack and simply dropped off him upon entering the maze, so there was that at least. The mage’s hands were free again, though that meant little without any real way to defend himself. He considered what he could use as an improvised weapon, not particularly knowing what he could expect to run into down here. A metallic clink caught his ear as he took a step forward, and thanks to that noise a thought suddenly struck him.

The very chain that had bound him could now make for a decent enough weapon, at least until he found a tome or a sword during his trek. Reaching down to pick it up however, the Sage was caught totally off guard as the silver chain came alive in his hands like a serpent! The links rattled and slithered through his grip, having suddenly become quite slick to the touch. He struggled with the damnable thing before it ultimately rendered him helpless by rebinding his hands to his chest, even looping around his ankles as well this time. Ced immediately lost his balance and toppled over as he struggled to loosen the enchanted fetter once again.

He soon found it hopeless unfortunately, and now Ced was bound so tightly he could barely do more than wiggle futilely. He seethed at the formerly alive chains before doing his best to control his breathing and quiet his frustration. Without many other options, he twitched his fingers in an attempt to conjure a bit of magic. As he expected, none of the mystic gales he'd formerly commanded seemed to answer his call without a tome on hand. Instead, a strange draft blew towards him from the shadowed turns and twists of the labyrinth. It felt nothing like the free winds of his home and if anything, it failed to even feel natural. To the wind mage, it was like a being he couldn't see had appeared before him, its hot breath wafting over his face. The sheer unpleasantness of the air made him squint his eyes in disgust, distracting him from the simple, white feather that fluttered in from the darkness.

Ced had no idea the feather was even there until the plume licked along the bridge of his nose. He giggled in confusion, and his eyes opened in time to see it twirl about in the air unnaturally in just the right way to slip beneath his nose and tease both of his nostrils. The handsome Sage tried to pull away but found that the chain tightened again in direct response to keep him still. The feather continued to flick about and this time its tip went partially up Ced's left nostril.

"Pfehehe gehet away! Whahaht is thihis?! Ahhaha...ahhhh...ahhhhh"

It started small in the back of Ced's nose, the feeling of something building. When the feather flipped again and started spinning itself beside his nose, the sensation grew and grew.

"Ahhhh…eheheh…AHHH…"

Ced tried to crane his neck and escape the sensation, but suddenly his restraints reoriented themselves to force his chin down towards his chest. The greenette had nowhere to go and as such couldn't do a thing as the feather flicked up and down the bridge of his nose. The sensation was filling his head and building pressure in the back of his throat.

"Aaaahh…ehehehhe n-n-nahhh...AHHHH~"

That loud gasp came from the feather’s latest trick, as it had flipped itself about and was now stroking its stem inside one of its victim’s nostrils. Ced the Brave's eyes were beginning to water as the pressure continued to rise uncomfortably within him. As if things weren’t difficult enough, the sight of even more feathers now blowing in on this "wind" made him gasp with anxiety.

"NOOOOOHO, HAAHAAHAAAA *gasp* AHHHHH–*Ftoooooo*!"

---
Ced fell back, exhausted after the sneeze. His whole body tingled from the leftover force of it and it wasn't until he felt a hand ruffling his hair that he even opened his eyes. Gone was the coming storm of fluffy feathers and that hot, unnatural air. Instead, his cheeks were caressed by the cool winds that he recognized from his homeland. He smiled at the familiar feeling…but stopped when he realized that the only other mage who could conjure them was his worthless father. That meant that the one messing with his hair was likely–

"Well you DID set a record at least, sourpuss: the fastest loss yet! My goodness, you didn't even complete a single step, Ceddy Bear! Oh my ticklish little bard, what are we to do with a child such as this."

"Nnnn...I'm NOT your child! I barely even like HIM as it is! You can stay away from me completely–"

"BAHAHAHAHAHA! MY LAHAHADY PLEEHEEASE!"

Ced turned to look and saw those same damn feathers from before, though this time they were occupied with tickling his good-for-nothing father. The idiot had doubled over and wrapped his arms around himself, but that just meant they could flutter all along his defenseless back. As they tickled down his spine, between his shoulders, and right at the small bit of his butt that the swimsuit couldn’t protect. Ced sneered at the childish giggles pouring out of his father, but there was something that disgusted him even more that he needed to take care of first. He made to slap away L'Arachel's hand, but then he noticed both his gloves had up and vanished.

"Where did they…did you steal from me? Just when I thought I couldn't think less of you!"

"Oh my heart,” the doting troubadour sighed. “Truly, my dear, ticklish bard. What WILL we do with this child?! He's rude, he's lazy, and to top it all he doesn't listen!"

"Lazy?! This coming from the one constantly lounging in bed?! Wh–"

"BAHAHAHAHA!"

Lewyn had tried to swat away the feathers but had only managed to get them caught between his fingers. He waved his arms frantically to dislodge them, but this only invoked an image in Ced's mind of the silly bard trying to take flight with his new wings. A gentle pat from L'Arachel brought the bound mage’s attention back to his current situation however.

"Remember my child,” she sang to him, “Each time you force me to bring you back here, you're going to lose some clothes. Consider it payment for services rendered. I think they'll look good with all the outfit sets I've won from the other losers. Now back you go my boy! Try and get a bit farther this time!"

---
Ced wanted to protest but the world around him blurred and changed before he could form the words. The next thing he knew, he was back at the labyrinth’s start. It was still as dark and unpleasant as he remembered it. He looked down at the discarded chain on the ground and carefully stepped over it this time. He debated in his head about kicking them out of sheer frustration, but the way they rattled on their own had him thinking better of it. With a deep breath he set off into that horrible woman's maze, this time with an intense sense of caution. He saw quite a number of obvious traps as he went. A treasure chest that was coincidentally surrounded by feathery vines, a suspicious chair that just so happened to have gloves hanging from it, even a set of stocks accompanied by a sign that read "COME REST YOUR FEET" (he supposed she’d just run out of ideas at that point); but a few others were much harder to spot.

If he hadn't been a naturally suspicious young man, he'd probably have fallen victim to the very snare trap that Prince Khalid - or Claude as he was better known - was now struggling in above him. The brown-skinned lord called to him hysterically for aid as he hung upside down by his ankle, but Ced noticed that while some of the dangling serpents were busying themselves by slithering along Claude’s sole and between his toes, more still watched him intently as well. He had a sneaking suspicion that should he try to help the helpless lord with the spear leaning against a nearby wall, he'd find himself laughing quite hard about it. Incidentally, something about the man being upside down seemed quite natural, and so he felt a bit better about leaving him to try and extricate himself. Still, the tanned young archer was putting on quite the show, so much so that Ced couldn't look away.

That was quite the mistake on Ced’s part, for if he had turned around he might've seen a monster approaching. Watching a cackling Claude try to lean upwards and free his captive foot was just too entertaining, so the stealthy newcomer was able to catch him totally unawares as it crept up behind him. The feeling of something light tapping his nose had Ced instinctively raising his hands toward his face, terrified that the feathers might have returned. This time though, it was a pair of small - yet distinctly inhuman - hands, and they clapped themselves to either side of Cedsy's face to hold his head still.

At the same time, much stronger hands closed around each of Ced's wrists, lifting them high enough above his head that the now dangling mage could barely scrape his toes along the stone floor. These hands were different, with leathery skin that felt more akin to an animal than a man. Nonetheless, their grip was tight but not painful. Ced tried to crane his head up to see the creature that had caught him but found the little hands holding his face were quite determined to keep him staring straight ahead. Curious as it was, he would find out what their intent was shortly. A third pair of hands emerged and again felt different, as these felt not just human but unmistakably feminine, sporting pointed nails that Ced could only just spy the red paint on if he strained.

Though he still couldn't see what had him, he could tell the shape of the nails due to the way they flicked about inside each of the man's ears. The way their tips circled about, tracing the insides of each of Ced’s ear-cups, had him biting his lip to try and contain himself. Again he tried to at least crane his head up and see WHAT had him in its grasp, but still the deformed claws held him fast. The woman's hands now teased behind each of his ears and he squealed most unbecomingly in response.

"Eeeeeeehehehehe! Lehehet go! Dahahahmmit!"

"Ha, love it when a plan comes together."

An astonished Ced glanced up to see Claude wiping crocodile tears from his eyes and cuddling with the snakes around him, apparently having faked his distress earlier. The Sage had many unkind words to say about the sniper’s sneaky gambit, but he had become preoccupied with how another pair of hands had joined the fray. These two were armored, and Ced could feel the cold steel through his pant leg as one of them closed around his ankle. It pulled his leg back as another gauntleted hand rolled up his pant leg to expose the man's calf. Those fingers pressed into his shin in a pair and began sliding down his leg as he writhed and begged. It traced a small shape into his ankle before stopping to finger with the material of his sock. It then slid back up his leg to start the whole process again.

Ced's mind was already swimming from all the tickly sensations, but he was very aware of one thing. Each time the hand got to his sock, it was slipping the cloth further down and exposing more skin. Between that and what felt like sharp claws trailing down the sole of his shoe, the man was shaking in terror for every second he wasn't shaking in laughter. Ced wanted to scream, it tickled so bad that he couldn't think straight. Suddenly the multi-armed monster let him go without warning, leaving Cedsy to land flat on his face before quickly trying to curl and protect himself. He shivered in fear when he felt yet another feminine hand, but this time it ran itself through his hair. It wasn't until he heard a voice that he realized what had happened.

"Oh, my poor boy. Were you tricked and made a fool of down there yet again?

---
He didn't want to look up, that would just mean acknowledging the witch. It suited L'Arachel fine, he could use his break however he liked. She ruffled his hair reassuringly while admiring the sock that had been confiscated for his loss. It hung on the wall, right beside his lost gloves. She enjoyed how it looked as a part of her collection with the entire wardrobes of all the other losers of her game so far. She did her best to reassure her boy while also getting a bit introspective. After all, here she was admiring stolen clothes while in the corner of the room her beautiful bard kicked his legs back and forth, laughing into the scaly hand clapped over his mouth. The silly man had tears in his eyes as over a dozen tiny hands teased and prodded at both of his nipples.

The creature had done such a good job down in the labyrinth that she'd invited it up for a reward. Before she could even get a good look at it though, it had scooped up her silly Lewyn and now…well, she supposed this was a good enough reward. Strong hands with callused fingertips now tended to each of the man's toes while smaller ones with stubby and cracked nails dug into his hips. Now a shameless bulge forming in the idiot's speedo was stealing her attention from this indescribably horrible tickle monster. With a flick of her wrist, Ced was off for another round while she stood to help her poor bard with his mounting pressure...

As soon as he recognized that he was back in the challenge grounds, the first thing Ced did was briskly get to his feet and start moving. A good thing too, as not long after he left did he notice the strange fog starting to roll in over the area he'd left. A whole bank of it started to creep in from the shadows, and a voice in the back of Ced's mind said to stay as far ahead of it as possible. He heeded the thought and sped off down the passage in what he hoped was the correct direction.

---
Keeping ahead of the fog seemed simple enough, that was until he reached a fork in the path. Both passages seemed too dark to see that far ahead and the fog was coming up behind him. His gut heeded him to take the left corridor, but he decided on the right one at the last second. Sprinting down the passage with the fog at his heels, he was forced to make right turn after right turn until eventually he'd arrived at a dead end. With nowhere left to go, Ced realized he'd have to double back through that ominous fog. Rather than think about it too hard he did so with a running start in an attempt to get it over with. Right away he was struck by how thick the mist was, making it hard for him to even see his hand in front of his face. To his chagrin, he could still make out ominous shapes darting about in the miasma and that inspired him to run faster, lest he find out who was in there with him.

"Whoever is in here, stay back! I may not have my tome but the blood of the crusaders is in my veins all the same!"

With a head full of steam he accidentally ran straight into a solid wall and fell on his butt. The feeling of cold fingers on his spine made Ced shiver as he tried to quickly stand up. Before he could, a clammy hand closed around Ced's ankle with an audible *squelch* and he let out a yelp of fear. The next thing the mage knew he was being dragged deeper into the fog to the point where he couldn't remember where on the path he was anymore. He tried to get to his feet again only for an unseen force to shove him back to the ground. Something slimy dragged along his stomach beneath his clothes and a smile began tugging at the corners of his mouth. It had begun slowly, but the attacks sped up after that; cold air in his ear at first, then pokes up and down his spine, slimy tongues on his ankles, and something that didn't feel human tracing his Adam's apple.

"Bahahah! Gehehet away! Dahahammit! Geheheht off!"

Ced waved his arms wildly through the fog to try and fend off his attackers but each one he warded off was followed by another, using the poor visibility to tease and tickle another spot on the man and drive him back to the ground. Something that felt far too "crustacean-y" closed a claw around his wrist and dragged one of his hands into the air. Ced pulled at it in fear, but soon something that gave a solid smell of saltwater had slipped beneath his tunic and was running up his chest into that exposed armpit. He crumpled to the ground and beat his free hand against the ground at the feeling of the organ that was sampling each and every green hair in his pit hollow, one by one.

"Vihihihle! Pfffhhehe! Disguhuhusting! GAHAHAHA!"

When one of Ced's boots came off he gulped in fear of what was to come. The feeling of the cold fog on his toes alone made him shiver, and when what he hoped to Naga was just water and not drool started dripping onto his sole, all he could do was prepare. Small things with too many legs to count started to crawl up and down his sole, and immediately the mage tried to kick them off. No matter what he did, how he twisted, or how furiously he tried to shake them loose, they clung to his sole and continued their treks. Worse yet, whatever those little things were seemed to be multiplying on his sole! He tried to yank his leg back so that he could inspect and pull the little bastards off himself, but another claw closed around his other wrist and his hands were pulled behind his back. He could feel a tugging at the other shoe, and with tears in his eyes he screamed out.

"I YIHIHIELD! HAHAHAHALP! PLEEEHEEEASE!"

In seconds the soggy sage was back in L'Arachel's chambers no worse for the wear, but with the distinct feeling that he'd not be getting that shoe back.

"Poor boy. I really should explain my rules better. No doubling back, sorry. Well, you can, but only if you think you can handle the fog crawlers."

---
Once more, Ced laid on the floor of L'Arachel's chambers with her looking down at him and giggling at just how flustered he was. He wanted to summon up some kind of witty comment to show his disdain but he was far too busy wheezing and having an adorable blush on his face. L'Arachel couldn't look away and the hungry expression just made Ced try and hide his face. After a bit more of savoring his quivering, she decided to get on with it, snapping her fingers and sending him back. She glanced towards her trophies and one of the lad's shoes that hung there now as a new addition. Getting up to open the door to her chambers and smiling at the fog creeping in beneath it, she did so hope her bard was having a good time out there in it.

Back in the maze once more, Ced found an unexpected sight before him: a great chamber that was divided in two by what seemed to be a calm lake. Without thinking he crawled forward and cupped his hands to get some cool water to curb his thirst. He found it cool and refreshing, and he smiled at the welcome relief on his hoarse throat. For a moment he felt like a child again, simply enjoying the fresh water. However, the remembrance of where he was snapped him out of his reverie, and he looked back behind him fearfully to see if that damned fog was there. With his eyes darting sharply left to right, he saw no trace of it for the moment.

"Thank Forseti...now, how to proceed?"

His sigh of relief earned a smile from an observer in the chamber that he hadn’t yet noticed. They took steps to hide themselves as Ced turned back to the lake and frowned at his reflection. Missing a shoe made him feel quite exposed here of all places as he held his size 9 above the water and wiggled his toes quizzically. He considered just wading across the water but with a foot exposed like this, he wasn't looking forward to finding out what kind of creatures were hiding in that water. There was still a crimson flush on Ced's sole as well as a faint shine of condensation from the fog, and he wasn't sure which he liked less. He supposed if that horrible woman had put tickle monsters in the lake, they weren't likely to be dissuaded by a shoe anyway.

"Well if there's no other way forward, I guess I'll have to–oh?"

---
The greenette saw a few rocks that protruded from the water just high enough and close enough together that he believed he could use them as stepping stones to cross. Standing up and stretching he walked over towards the one nearest him, not noticing the lingering look from below the water. Stepping upon the rock, Ced was relieved that nothing immediately surged from the water to snatch him, wrap him up, and tear down his pants. Still, he kept his guard up as he took another step and placed his bare foot down on the next stone. The surface of it was slick and made him skid a bit, but after waving his arms was able to regain his balance and stand properly. He found himself smiling as he glanced downward at his reflection in the water, though he noticed how ridiculous the look on his face seemed. He just couldn't help it as that smile turned into a confused laugh, probably because of how he was unaware of the wet finger poking from the water right below his defenseless foot. Ced moved to step over to the next rock but had to stretch in order to reach it, accidentally knocking a small rock off into the water and splitting his reflection with the ripples it caused.

"Juuuust about there..."

It was in that moment that his now rippling reflection drifted towards him across the water, silently reaching out with its finger even closer. While Ced was stretched out between the two rocks, it gently stroked its fingertip along his heel. The smile didn't change, but this time there was no “almost” to the Sage’s laugh. It started as just a giggle, but as the other four fingers rose from the water and started teasing his sole it got more frantic. He tried to scooch his foot back and give it less room to play with, but the hand simply took his big toe between its thumb and forefinger and pulled it back. To his horror, another hand rose from the water and started flicking its nail into the pad of his big toe. Ced was biting his lip trying to resist it, screwing his eyes closed as a result. It wasn't until he heard the splash that he looked and saw the water disturbed and rippling, and while the chill on his toes was a clue it still took him a second to register that it was on the wrong foot. Whatever had just come from the water had ripped away half of his remaining shoe so that now the man's toes were out in the cold.

"Whahahat?! No, not the shoe! Dahahahmmit!"

The feeling of an arm wrapping around his ankle made him look back at his other foot and the sight made him gasp. Still dripping water as it had risen from the waters was none other than an exact duplicate of Ced. It smiled at him in a way that he couldn't help but return thanks to how it traced a finger along the top of his foot. Ced tried to keep his balance but that required keeping still, which was quite hard as his doppelganger teased a finger along his foot and occasionally wiggled them up his pant leg as well. Everytime Ced tried to pull his foot away, the evil reflection would overindulge him and push it back further to make the lad tip over the water.

"Wahahhahait! Nohoho! Pleeheease! Dahahahmmmit! Noooohohooo!"

---
Just as Ced was about to tumble over into the lake, he was given a "helping" hand. This came in the form of another arm wrapping around his other partially disrobed foot. Ced looked in horror to see yet another copy of himself that had emerged from below to take a similar position in giving him a bit of support. This new one forced its fingers in between each of Ced's toes and clenched them, pulling them all back to tauten what parts of the foot it had. Tears formed in the corners of his eyes and fell from his cheeks to the water, once again causing ripples. Ced could do nothing as it brought the thumb of its other hand up and swiped it back and forth on the ball of his foot. Thanks to his tears, four more doppelgangers appeared and now had their arms outstretched waiting for Ced to fall and assuring him they'd catch him. The way their fingers wiggled was all Ced needed to know about what was planned should he fall.

"Hehehehh stahahp! Dahahahmmit! I'll dehehehstroy whahahtever you ar-GAHAHAHA! NAHAHT THERE!"

The “Ced” that played with his bare foot had placed both index fingers on either side of the man's big toe. To Ced's horror, it then began moving them up and down in alternation while scraping their nails along the sides of the chunky toe. Despite how tirelessly the Sage worked and how much he traveled on foot, he had still inherited from his father an almost buttery texture on the bottoms of his soft feet. As a result, those nails were gliding along so very easily. When L'Arachel or the other various pervs of the castle swore that the Silessian's feet were made to be tickled, it wasn't that much of an exaggeration; considering the smooth skin that practically radiate warmth, their long and noble-looking toes, and a pleasing curve to the soles that almost seemed to draw the fingers in.

"Ahahaha! No! Ahahah! Geheheht out of my ahahaharches!"

---
Ced's mother Erinys had actually posessed tougher feet than her no-good husband. Size 6s yes, but with tough soles and stubby toes befitting a warrior. While her sisters may have occasionally teased her with pegasus feathers, she wasn't fearful of them like Prince Lewyn had been. Hers were feet made for the battlefield, save for one quality that the Prince would tease her about and her sister Annand had carried on with it as well. High arches had served her well when she'd thrusted and parried with her lance in combat, but should one fingernail – or heavens forbid, a feather – get in there, Erinys would turn into a furiously laughing little girl who could do nothing but snort and beg.

"*Hnnnggkk*--Gahahah! Gehehet out of there! Ahahahit tihihihckles!"

Ced the Brave now bore those high arches on his handsome feet as well, and he’d always held a deep-seated fear that they'd be exploited to drive him mad. Now the two other Ced's in the lake were slowly digging their fingers deeper beneath his feet and unmistakably towards his arches. Still balancing atop both rocks as he was, there was nothing he could do to stop them. Instead, he had to focus on keeping himself upright as his body was wracked with laughter and his toes were being fondled relentlessly. He leaned forward and tried to resist, but the way those fingers were twiddling away at his toes made it hard to dissociate from the sensations. He pulled at his hair in frustration because it tickled so damn much he was losing his mind.

He tried his best to steady his feet, but even the subtlest maneuvering simply invited more fingers in to tease his supple soles. Their wetness only moistened his soles and made their scribbling all the more easy, and whenever they seemed to grow bored then the teasing would return to his ankles and the tops of his toes. He was laughing his head off and trying to keep his shaking in check, but gradually he was slipping. When another pair of green-haired dastards rose up from the water and began spidering their fingers along the backs of his calves, that finally did him in. In a panic he tried to move his legs away, only for them to slip and cause him to pitch back into the water.

---
Normally such a reckless dive would have gotten Ced ejected from the pool for being unsafe. However, the "cheering section" that had formed beneath him was more than happy to catch Ceddy Bear and help show him the pool rules in a way that could keep him safe AND smiling. He tried to twist away but there were more than enough hands to restrain him. Before he even sank below the surface, he was laughing hard enough to make himself dizzy. They dug into his sides, grabbed him by the ankles, nipped at his ears, and more things than Ced could even keep track of.

"WhaAHAHA eheheheh NO!!"

When he was finally lowered into the water, once more did the ripples split the reflections of his various doppelgangers. As a result, their number soon doubled as Ced tried to kick and fight his way free. He felt hands interlinking with not just the fingers of his hands but his toes as well, both types of digits being pulled back to expose his buttery skin. Soon Ced’s whole body felt like it was melting as mouths and hands explored and worshiped his soles and palms. Enough fingers were supplied that he basically had a whole choker of them teasing his slender neck in unison, rising and falling with his breath, getting faster the more ragged it got.

"Gaaahahaha, gehehet ahaff, ahahah I cahahan't–oooohhh"

Soon scraps of his shirt and trousers began floating away as his clothes were ripped apart by the horny water spirits, all so that more ticklish skin could be found and exploited. His inner thighs soon felt their tongues, then his kneecaps were chewed upon, and oh so many fingers danced along his bared ass once the poor boy's boxers drifted off down the lake. His head was spinning but it immediately cleared up when he felt a pair of all too familiar, buttery size 9's encircle the other “head” of green hair he had. The high arches bore the perfect curve to guide the slick end rhythmically, an intense heat rising in his gut until his eyes crossed and he–

"I SUHUHURRENDER!! GAAAHAHAHA UUUUOOOoooo~"

---
"Oh my, look at the mess! Poor boy just can't control himself, can he?

Ced couldn't, he just couldn't. His breath was still ragged from having mere moments ago been reduced to a soggy chew toy for…for...whatever those were.

"Did you have fun with the water nymphs Ceddy Bear?"

"Mmmnn s-so that's what they were..."

"Oh, poor boy. Yes, they are rather rude little creatures, not even introducing themselves. It's ok though, when they're brought to heel they can be quite sweet as you’ve seen."

"Nnnmm....ahhhh..."

Ced hadn't been sure about the sensations but could barely form any words to complain. Since he'd been pulled back to L'Arachel's chambers, he'd lost the lone shoe that had been ripped up as punishment. He now laid on her bed with his head resting on the woman's thighs and his bare feet hanging off the edge. He wanted to complain about the situation but the feeling of the gentle hands massaging his feet had him unable to do anything but moan mindlessly. He managed to get one eye open and saw his...father with his head on the woman's other thigh and an absolutely content expression on his face.

Normally Ced would have stinging words for both of them, but he was distracted by the four hands tending to each of his tired feet so delicately that he would swear they were made of clouds. They got between his toes and gently worked the muscles to relieve any tension that had accumulated there, they traced his heels carefully to help them work out their stress, and his arches! He didn't have the words for what they were doing in his arches, but suffice to say there was a reason all he could do was gasp when L'Arachel tapped him on the nose rather childishly.

"Well that was rather humiliating, wasn't it Ceddy Bear? You even lost extra clothes! If I were playing fair with you I'd just send you back in these rags but after the poor performance you've put on so far, I might as well show you some mercy."

L'Arachel ruffled the hair of both the groaning Ced and the moaning Lewyn before laying kisses on both men's brows.

"We are *family* after all."

"Nnnn..n-noooo..."

The small inflatable pool at the foot of L'Arachel's bed had been host to still waters for most of the conversation, but Ced's moan of displeasure caused a few ripples to form and summon several more hands from the disturbed waters. They began helping the other appendages in performing a deep tissue massage on the two sets of Silessian soles that hung over the edge of the bed. When a pair of feminine soles poked out between the lad's feet, even more hands came to meet them. L'Arachel smiled as her toes were exercised and their pads gently rubbed even as she rubbed them along the sides of Ced's own feet with mischief in her eyes.

"I'm happy for some family time together, just the three of us. You can go and try again whenever you'd like my precious Ceddy Bear, but I'm happy to keep you here in my arms right now for as long as you like."


---
"Mmmmmmnnn...s-send me...ba-back you wi–OOF!?"

Ced hadn't even been able to choke out his insult before everything was gloomy again and he'd been dropped back into her maze. Thankfully this area was significantly less wet. Looking around, the vicinity was actually different than the others he'd seen before, the walls here having a discernible hue to them. Albeit faded, it was color nonetheless and it seemed disquieting to Ced considering what he'd stumbled across down here already. He hadn't noticed it at first either but the ground seemed softer as he trudged forward. He supposed that was good since he was now totally barefoot. A cold gust of air on his thighs made him shiver as he went forward, or it could be the fact that–

Wait. There was a mirror set up ahead and Ced was able to get a good look at himself in it. L'Arachel had promised him clothes to replace his ruined ones but never said they were going to be like his. His original pants were gone, instead replaced with a ruffled skirt that stopped a bit above his thigh, his shirt swapped for a white blouse with small tails hanging off it that ended in rings. His shoulders were bared and the only remnant of his old outfit was the cape, but she'd even changed its color to match the outfit. His mouth hung open in shock as he realized the awful woman had dressed him like the troubadour herself, and he heard a cartoonish giggle as humiliation washed over his face.

"Why look at the handsome boy, all dressed up for old Dandelion. Haven't gotten a visitor down here in a while, but here you are to bring a smile to an old clown's face, guh-huh!"

Ced’s face went pale and he spun around to see who had spoken. He immediately regretted it as he now beheld the huge clown emerging from the dark tunnel ahead of him. Instinctively he tried to back away from it, but a pair of hands came from the mirror and seized him by the wrists the second he turned around. He struggled and tried to pull away with no luck, instead only able to quiver as the clown advanced on him with his fingers wiggling.

---
"St-Stay back you! Get away! Dammit, I'm w-warning you!"

The clown simply chuckled but the breathiness of its voice made Ced shiver. It took notice of this and began rubbing its gloved hands over his bare shoulders against his will.

"Guh-huh~ is the poor boy cold? Dressed up all pretty as a present as you are, you're really not prepared for the elements are you? Don't worry! Dandelion's here to help you warm right up!"

Its hands ran back and forth along Ced's shoulders, warming the skin and letting it use him to lean upon. The mage's lip quivered and he tried to hold it in, but even the mere touch of this circus freak felt unnatural. He danced from foot to foot trying to squirm away from it but had nowhere to go. When its fingers started to flutter across his shoulders, a shameful squeak escaped out of his lips.

"Awww what kind of noise was that?! Poor, poor boy are you still cold? Maybe it's your neck that needs to warm up? Guh-huh~"

One of the hands pressed itself to Ced's cheek and pushed his head back, and ignoring his startled cry the horrible thing pressed its mouth onto his neck and started buzzing its lips.

"No! PffffeheheehehahaAHAHA! Gehehet ahahahaff! Nohohohoo!"

"Bbbbbttmmm ohhhh you're having fun aren't you? Good old Dandelion can tell that you're having a blast."

Ced stomped his feet and tried to get away but still had no way to escape. The feeling of the man's saliva trickling down his neck and beneath the frilly ruffles of his new outfit made him feel quite..odd. He gasped as the clown began licking at it with its unnaturally long tongue, and the slimy thing was able to slip down further and taste the top of Ced’s pec while he giggled in utter helplessness.

"Such a handsome lad, with quite the unique taste to him as well! My, my, what a find you are! Such a handsome laugh to you as well, guh-huh~. I think I see the two of us definitely going places! How do you feel about show business? I used to have one heck of an act and I think a handsome dancing boy like you could put me back on top!"

---
As the fiend pressed in closer it unintentionally gave Cedsy an opening, and with nothing else to do he took it. He swung his leg full force and kicked the clown right between the legs, hoping to hurt or at least get some space from it. To his horror, the clown simply giggled and closed its legs around his shin to trap him.

"Awwww, sweet boy! Not even done with the first date and he's giving me gifts! Guh-huh~ this really IS gonna be a beautiful partnership! Tell me, what's your singing voice like if you don't wanna dance?"

"Singing?! What are you blathering abou–-GAHAHAH?! AHAHA OHOH NOHOHOO!”

The clown had turned around in a manner where it kept a hold on Ced's calf and walked forward just enough to pull it from beneath him. With the mirror still holding onto his wrists and leaving him to precariously balance on one foot, Ced felt he'd arrived at a whole new level of helplessness. When the wicked clown started stroking all over that sole of his, he laughed it off - unwillingly mind you - at the feeling of the creature’s stubby fingers forcing their way in between his toes. With them scratching up a storm in his sensitive arches, and rubbing their calloused thumbs all along his heel, Ced was laughing himself hoarse and cutting his own remarks off with bursts of laughter.

"I used to do ventriloquism but you seem too smart to be a dummy. Hey! How do you think I'd be as a musician?! Old Dandelion playing the five-string? Guh-huh~"

Ced wanted to protest but the fingers were back and digging hard into his arch now.

"Gahahah! Stahahap! Nohoho! Ahaha~"

"Hmmm, no. The sound’s off, lemme try again."

One of poor Ced's toes was pushed back and its stem tweaked and scritched. The young man thrashed in ticklish agony at the feeling before the clown put his nails back into his arch and strummed away again, paying attention to where it had found Ced weakest.

"Guh-huh~, ‘Green Arches are the place to be! Making my boy giggle and go tee-hee!’ Awww it's still off...maybe it's not the toes that need tuning?"

"IT TIHIHIHCKLES! IT TIHIHIHCKLES IT TIHIHIHCKLES! GAHAHAHD DAHAHMMIT, STAHAHAP!"

The clown used one hand to lift Ced's ankle and pull it further out while inclining it upwards to stretch his bare leg taut, then dug the fingers into his ankle and started traveling upwards. The calf, shin, and knee were all brief stops on its journey, but it was when they got to the thigh that he became worried. They seemed to enjoy the smooth skin and how the leg jiggled and kicked when they scratched juuust a bit harder. Dandelion kept traveling even further up Ced's leg though and began teasing right beneath that skirt; poking and prodding at what seemed to be a small animal hiding in there…

"Guh-huh~ well what's that in there? Come on out lil' fella and let old Dandelion give you some pets."

"GEHEHEHT AWAHAY FROM THERE DAHAHAMMIT!"

Ced strained against the hands but they held him fast and kept him from doing a thing about the clown's fingers poking up under the skirt and teasing his cock beneath it. They'd poke it on the tip before retreating, then swirl around its wet tip, but the most worrying thing was when they’d opt to not tickle it at all. It was when they'd prod at the fabric around it and guide the stiff organ out from beneath the maddening ruffles. When the green-furred thing finally spilled out, the Clown let out a silly squeal before teasing it further.

"Ooooh look at this cute little guy! Why I just wanna twist it up into a balloon animal, but it might pop then huh? Guess I'd better be gentle then huh? Tickle, tickle little fella, guh-huh~! Oooh, look at you dancing in my hand! Aw, you're so cute I could just eat you up. Coochie, coochie coo~"

"N-Nahah...unhhh...stahahap...I-I'm go-gohohnnna..."

While Ced's eyes were watering from it all, the clown had taken his leg under its arm so it could use both hands to tease his manhood while keeping him precariously balanced on one foot. Now the pole had gotten stiff enough so that Dandy could use one finger to pin it to the inside of Ced’s thigh and trace its shape to simultaneously tickle his thigh again. Dandelion smiled as it started to dribble out a sticky flow, while Ced eventually sagged in defeat.

---
The feeling of gentle lips on his forehead made him scowl. He hadn't verbalized any surrender but he already knew where he was before she even spoke.

"What a show that one was! I mean yes, you ran smack into him and didn't even give him a chase, but he had a point; I do think you two would make for a good act together! Not family entertainment mind you, but I won't begrudge my son his personal life. Speaking of! Look who's come to watch the show, Ceddy Bear: your aunties!"

Ced eyes snapped open to see a pair of bound women he'd never met in person before. He still recognized them from a few pictures and heraldry around the castle, even if they were flushed and far sweatier than he'd ever imagined them. Dithorba and Annand were both royal Pegasus knights of his home, Silesse, with the former being famous for her nobility and the latter infamous for her lack of it. He pitied both in equal measure right now. The two had been stripped of their battle garb and now wore matching outfits that he recognized from L'Arachel's wardrobe. Her "mad scientist" outfit looked good on the pair, even sans the footwear, but the addition of the ink on their soles was what drew his attention.

Nibble marks, writing, and even still wet drool adorned their soles, propped up and wriggling helplessly for all to see. If not for their hands being cuffed behind their backs, they probably would have given their host quite a bit of payback. Now all they could do was glare furiously at her over the gags stuffed between their lips, though she ignored them of course as she laid atop Ced and rained gentle kisses on him.

"Want a bit of time to unwind and watch a show? Your aunties just finished but your father's up right now!"

Ced was still wheezing when she hauled him up to look through a window he swore hadn't been there before. On the other side was his idiot father similarly dressed in the mad scientist outfit of their captor, but he was frantically trying to open the door back into this room. Ced could see why as in the center of the room set up to look like a laboratory lay a clown that was much too familiar to him.

"Has my silly bard forgotten his line? My, my, is music really that different from acting? C'mon and say it and I'll let you out! This is the scene where Doctor Raustenstein examines his monster on the table as it awakes with a series of tickly pokes. You've got the best role, honey! Don't make me have to do a rewrite..."

"Guh-huh~ It's aliiiiiive!"

Dandelion sat up slowly as that good-for-nothing father pulled at the door, and for once Ced actually felt a twinge of sympathy. Lewyn was quickly swept off his feet and bundled away to find himself strapped down to the lab table. The quill that Dandy produced and began using upon the man's soles told Ced that this particular scene had played out a few times already. His viewing was interrupted by L'Arachel kissing him on the crown of his head.

"Wanna stay here with mama for a bit and wa–"

"No."

---
In an instant, Ced was once more dropped upon the cold ground of the labyrinth. He groaned at having still been caught off guard by that. He had however learned one lesson at least and quickly took stock of his appearance. It looked as if she'd given him back his old clothes, somehow having repaired them. Sans pants that is, which he supposed was the cost of his last loss in her game. He pouted as it didn't seem quite fair to count that when she'd put him in a blasted skirt, but he supposed he'd best be grateful to still have boxers. He wanted to stop and take inventory but he caught movement in the corner of his eye.

"Stay back! I'm in no mood to clown around!"

Something was lurking about in the shadows and when he peered at it more closely, it trotted out. A rather large dog emerged and growled at Ced, making him take a step back. Rather than stick around and find out more about this mutt, Ced chose to run. Taking off down the passageway, the dog let out a stream of threatening barks and gave chase. Ced ran as fast as he could and always seemed to keep just a step ahead of the mutt, an odd fact as he'd never been a particularly fast runner. As he saw another fork ahead Ced prepared to bank left this time, but the dog leaped ahead of him to block that path and force him to the right.

"Damn, damn, damn I've always disliked dogs!"

Ced's lungs were burning as he ran but finally the sound of the dog seemed to be getting fainter behind him. Still, he sprinted on until he ran smack into another dead end in the maze. Swallowing hard, he leaned against the wall and pondered his options. He could head back to try and get past the dog…or simply surrender. He considered neither particularly appealing and as he was making his decision, he failed to notice the wall behind him slide open. Shackles sprung from the dark and clamped around his ankles, pulling them together. Before he could act at all, his wrists were pulled to his sides and clamped there as well. He struggled but was ultimately lifted by the shackles into the little alcove that had opened up without his knowledge. Up against the wall, the mage went suspended up off the ground until he could just barely scrape the tips of his big toes on the stone.

He heard the crackling of tape and froze in absolute fear. Before he could do a thing though, it was pressed over his lips and he caught the shape of something that turned out to be a silken blindfold. Everything went dark for Ced just as bandage wrappings began circling around him and bound him tight. Before long he was limited to only the slightest twitching as he’d been tightly mummified from his neck to ankles. The only real movement afforded to him was the panicked kicking of his feet back and forth. He heard a creak and sensed movement closeby but had no idea what it was. The wall he'd been bound to slid forward and pressed the bound boy against a pane of glass that had slid down in front of him where the wall had been formerly. Partially at least, as there was maybe a half a foot between the glass and the ground, which coincidentally left Ced's dangling feet in plain view as well.

---
Ced could feel the unpleasant air blowing in from the labyrinth on his bare feet, but moments later he felt something block that airflow and started breathing hot air of its own over the tops of his vulnerable feet. They cringed away from this warmth as the dog sniffled around them, but he wasn't prepared for when the tongue came out to worm itself around his helpless toes and slurp the tops of his feet.

"Hmmmrph?! Phmhmh!?!"

Ced's swears and laughter mixed together into muffled nonsense beneath the gag as the animal lapped away at his dangling feet. He wondered if this is what the dog had wanted the whole time and if he would have been better at taking his chances fending it off. Well actually, that's what he wished he was thinking. What he was actually thinking was something along the lines of "OHGODOHGOD ITTICKLESOHGOD NOTMYTOESITTICKLES SETYSAVEME ITTICKLESIMLOSINGMYMIND ITTICKLESOHGOD TOESTICKLESNOOOOO". Through the gag it sounded more like a bunch of unintelligible "Mmmphrm!?!"'s though. Ced tried to twist and buck but the bandages kept him tight as the beast's tongue kept trying to wrap around his toes and pull them closer.

He could feel his boxers getting tighter and was starting to lose control, it just tickled so much. He tried pitifully to kick at the dog, but that just let it get its nose between his long toes and start snuffling about in there. The hot breath passing through his sensitive canyons had Ced melting again, and before he knew it he was groaning into his muzzle as well. At first, he'd been trying to clench his toes to deny space, but the feeling of that tongue scraping up his arches left them too tired for even that. Soon Ced could only hang there and let all his toes be lickled without rebuttal, feeling his hot defeat leak shamelessly down his inner thigh. His eventual reappearance in L'Arachel's bed didn't even surprise him at this point.

---
What did surprise him was the laughter. He recognized the voice but not as one he'd heard in here previously, and his heart sank as he realized who it was.

"They're just so pale! Ohhhh it's darling! My goodness, I could just set up a pair of stocks outside and leave you there to get these darling little toes some sun! I feel like they'd shine! My, my Ceddy Bear, how have you been hiding a cute little grandbaby from your mama?! He's such a precious, ticklish little thing!"

"I'm eighteeeheeen!" giggled Asbel as the witch played with his toes, making him flop around the bed in frustration.

"He's just my disciple..." Ced groaned as he took a pillow and pressed it over his face, trying to hide from the embarrassing scene.

"Phhhfmppth!~" grunted Lewyn from beneath his gag. A quick look over revealed to Ced that the idiot was wrapped up tight in a familiar-ish way. The biggest difference was how the fool's stomach and chest were completely bare; and judging by how many smiley faces, hearts, and variations on L'Arachel, Queen of Silesse now adorned it, he'd guess that was intentional. The fool even seemed to be smiling as if he was having a grand old time with it.

By stark contrast, any noise coming from his actual mother, as well as his aunts, he could not hear. A glance over into the other room showed they'd each been trussed up just like his father, and now all three had been strapped to the operating table for the clown to tease. They shook and teared up beneath their blindfolds as his pen zipped along their bare stomachs and breasts. The whole scene was overseen from above by a certain ethereal being who was observing all that L'Arachel was doing with the power she'd granted her.

"Oh my, Poor Ceddy. Lost again hm? You're on your last chance now, you know. Only these boxer shorts now, lose anything else and you'll be a bare-faced loser."

L'Arachel picked at the waistband of the aforementioned undergarments until Ced slapped her hand away. She pouted for a second before the hand got back to counting the freckles on Asbel's sole one by one as the lad tittered.

"Maybe you'd want to finally have some family time? Let your mama give you a massage before going back? After all, if you get caught again, you're not coming back here. You'll spend the whole day in there, trapped in whatever sticks you. Maybe just one rub on your feet? They must be so tir–"

"Send me back, now."

"Oh, poo."

L'Arachel obliged him, dismissing him with a snap of her fingers before turning back to play with Asbel's kneecaps and try not to dwell on the spoilsport. The boy's cackling kicked up an octave at that, and as a result she missed the sound of the latch opening underneath her to her "stage". He flopped about like a fish as the only actor left unbound crept his way towards the door looking for some fun of his own.

---
Ced had braced himself this time, ready for the labyrinth. Not planning on wasting time, he would use everything he'd learned so far to get to the exit and put this ridiculous game to rest. In light of that, it made for quite the shock when the Sage found himself dumped not just into the familiar cavern, but right into a pair of massive arms. As he tried regaining his bearings, he found himself tilting his head back and locking eyes with the King of Múspel himself, and in an instant his boldness was snuffed out.

"Ha! I knew that waiting here long enough would yield me prey eventually. Even sweeter that you made it so far in, only to fall right into my arms."

Ced tried desperately to struggle his way out of the man's arm but found his grip stronger than he could manage. At the very least he could flail his legs and keep Surtr from getting his hands on those sensitive feet.

"Naah! Let me go! Get off me! Dammit no! Let me down! GAH! DAHAHAMMIT!"

Surtr put an end to Ceddy's struggling by craning his neck down and taking a chomp of one of the poor, unfortunate pectoral muscles. He held it tight with his teeth and Ced's wiggling came to an end out of fear of losing some skin. The feeling of the giant man's tongue swishing back and forth over his captured nipple had him quaking as the monarch swung him back and forth, almost looking as though he were rocking a child. When his titty was released, Ced soon felt a hand groping it brutishly. Surtr laughed and pushed about the bullied nipple with a finger as he carried the chuckling Ced off deeper into the labyrinth.

"Haha, giggle for me worm. I have a special little area set up in here just for all the fools who've made it this far. Hmmm, I'm not sure which game we'll play first! Perhaps we'll wrap you up tight like Alfonse, or maybe lock you in the milker like Hríd? Ah-ha, prepare yourself, worm. You will sing for me until the morning."

Surtr took Ced by one of his ankles and placed his tongue on the tired mage's heel. The hot tongue slithering against his sole sent a surge of sensations straight through his brain and he saw green beginning to poke through his boxers. While Surtr busied himself with nibbling his toes, he saw his chance to escape rather than find out what exactly "The Milker" was. Giving Surtr the very foot he was enjoying, Ced kicked right into the giant’s face with all his might and then twisted out of the villain's arms before taking off running.

---
He could hear Surtr's heavy footsteps behind him and unlike the dog from earlier, the fuming despot was gaining. He decided to put what he'd learned to use, turning towards the sound of rushing water he heard. Once again he found himself at the large lake but this time he knew the trick. Hopping on the stones as fast he could, he was already halfway across by the time Surtr thundered in after him. He dodged over the grasping hands coming from the water as best he could but was tripped up right at the end.

Face-planting into the mud, he soon felt many hands exploring his soles and teasing his bare legs. They tried to take him by the ankles and drag him deeper into the water, but with a growl of defiance he managed to pull free. Thankfully, the nymphs were distracted by Surtr artlessly wading his way right through after his meal. He shrugged off the copies of himself that tried to overpower him, snatching bits of his breastplate armor with them. Despite how unfazed he seemed, the Surtrs and a few Ceds were able to wiggle their fingers along those newly bared hairy pecs which slowed him considerably.

The big man was starting to sink when Ced finally clawed his way free and took off running towards the next room. He stopped for just a second to watch, fascinated by how even as there were so many ticklers on him, the king couldn’t be stopped. Ced couldn't even see how the ghostly hands beneath the surface were teasing the tops of the monarch's massive feet after removing his boots. Rather than see if Surtr could make it, he chose to speed on ahead.

---
The next room made Ced pause for a second as memories welled up. The ground shone with seemingly discarded chains but he knew better, as the feathers being blown about in the air told him what waited for him in here. That said, the audible approach of Surtr left him with no other choice. Taking off at a sprint, it wasn't three steps before the cold shackles snaked around his ankles and sent him slamming to the ground. The air shifted as the feathers began floating towards the struggling prince, though he did his best to keep his limbs apart and avoid being chained up completely. Still, they wrapped around one leg and though he could still crawl his way through, it slowed him considerably. This meant that the feathers could fluff and flutter along his ticklish ears and neck as he sputtered and tried to go forwards.

He crawled with the feathers sliding between each toe and his ears almost filled with them, repeating frantically to himself that he just had to make it a little further and hold on. Sure enough, Surtr arrived charging directly into the chains, and many stopped bothering with Ced in favor of the bigger man. Soon only 3 or four were assaulting him while Surtr strained through the rest and ALL of the feathers that teased his biceps and great, fiery pits. Even with all of that though, he still was barely slowed and his fingers just grazed Ced's leg as the sage escaped out of the room. The roar of frustration from the tyrant helped motivate Ced to get through faster and beat it out the door.

Letting out a sigh of relief as he didn't hear Surtr following, a sign caught his eye. "Reward Room" sounded like it was worth a look, and just a peek inside affirmed his assumption. An emerald tome sat upon a pedestal, and he'd recognize it anywhere as the Legendary Wind Tome, Forseti. His father had wielded it as did Ced himself, but since being summoned to Askr he hadn't for quite some time. The thought of blasting Surtr right back to the perverted pit he’d crawled out was too tempting, and so he ducked into the room and grabbed the book. A glance around after the fact revealed that the reward room had quite a number of strange devices that all seemed to be occupied at the moment.

He spied Prince Bruno's face poking out from what seemed to be an iron maiden made of transparent glass. Instead of spikes lining its insides however were grabbing hands that rubbed and teased every inch of the muscular ruler's naked body. Hanging from the ceiling was Prince Joshua, his bare body suspended in a hogtie by ropes that kept his feet together and hovering over his defenseless ass. A small goblin sat upon his back and alternated between dancing its nails all along his soles and scratching roughly at the cheeks of his rear. A strangled squawk got Ced’s attention and revealed a man-sized birdcage in the corner containing a straitjacketed Prince Reyson. The heron's wings were bound with leather straps and one leg stuck out between the bars where it was kept by strings tied carefully around each of his toes. A jet-black feather teased its plume along the young man's rosy sole and kept a pace that had him gasping for air through his caws of laughter.

---
Forseti opened itself in Ced's arms to his surprise and began flipping its pages quickly. He saw several incantations that he didn't remember being in the book before, as well as some illustrations – most of them of a certain young, green-haired lad being tied up variously and having his feet played with by a giant with orange hair. Fixating on one in particular of his feet with a tongue on them had paralyzed him where he stood, and due to that he didn't notice how the cover of the book began shining in the dim light. It wasn't until he felt heat from it that he actually looked and saw the title change. The gold lettering smudged and shifted until it spelled out "FORSETI" no longer and a new title appeared. Ghostly hands burst from its pages and held Ced tightly as he was bathed in light by the tome and a device constructed for him.

"Damn! What-"

"POOR CEDDY" was the new title and it also seemed an appropriate caption for the scene after the light faded. Ced struggled and wanted to scream but the piece of tape that had been slapped over his lips made him only capable of "Mmmph's" and "Hhrrrmg's". The stocks he'd been trapped in were sturdy enough that all his bucking and wiggling could do nothing but the cushioned holes for his ankles kept them comfortable at least. His hands had been tied behind his back with thick rope and the last scrap of clothing he had, his boxers had been neatly folded and placed on his lap, right beneath his defenseless cock.

"Fhghgphrmm!"

He whimpered as the ghostly hands came from the book and began the chapter. They teased the undersides of his pecs with their fingers and made him squeak. They produced paintbrushes laden with itching powder and gave the insides of his thighs a good coating to make him bounce. His navel was squeezed between two fingers and toyed with by a third. His neck had fingers fluttering all over it, making little shapes and teasing all over his bobbing Adam's apple as he squealed. His hair was already slick with sweat when it all got worse as Surtr came into the room.

"Ahhh, I do love the Reward Room. It always gives me such a good prize after I chase my boys here. Why look at you! Ticklish little worm wrapped up like a present."

"Ppprhmm! Fffhmmstrd!"

---
Ced tried to give a look of defiance but it was rather difficult with tape over his mouth and fingers teasing his nose as if he were a pet. So when the big man knelt down by his helpless feet and began stroking a knuckle over the ball of his foot, there wasn't much he could but groan. Surtr chased the hands away before pressing a finger into his arch and scraping it about. The Sage pulled at the bonds but couldn't do a thing about Surtr's thick fingers dancing on his foot, nor how they started stroking at the ball of his foot as well. When he tried to pull away, Surtr merely smiled and gave chase. Using both hands the man clasped both of Ceddy Bear's feet and held them still. He smiled at the frightened way the toes clenched and began using his tongue to tease the curled little digits. Each lap began down at the ball and went upwards trying to force them to break formation.

"Come now worm, open up for daddy. These handsome little toes of yours need a chewing out to get them ready for their new life as my favorite snacks. I think I'll chew on them every day and squeeze you tight ahaha. Just go on ahead and say nothing if you're perfectly fine with that."

"Mmmpgh! Ghgfmf!!!"

One long lick did the trick and Ced's big toe was dragged up by the suction of Surtr's tongue. Before the digit could retreat, it was taken between two of Surtr's fingers and trapped. The King then leaned in and began chewing happily at its sensitive pad, driving Ced wild beneath the gag. His bristly beard scrubbed away at the other curled toes but after a while, the ticklish sensations from his teeth made them unable to stay curled. The ticklish toes bloomed open and found the ticklish hairs on King Surtr's chin eager to get between them and tease their vulnerable crevices and stems. The mage was losing control of himself and, when his seed spilled, Surtr chuckled but did not stop. Instead, he left the drool-soaked foot be and began a new campaign on the other foot while cackling at Ced's distress.

"I'll keep you tied tight and upside down in my room, every day I'll come in and chew on these toes until–"

His words were cut off suddenly and the world around Ced blurred. He thought for a moment that he'd never been more glad to be pulled back by that woman. The promises Surtr had been making had left him chilled and this time he'd take her up on it. Lounging about with his father as what was essentially a piece of laughing decorative art didn't sound bad compared to a life as a chew-toy for a madman.

---
"Phrmffh! Sthfmp!"

"Hmnhnpp thfmfles!"

"Phmphmphmhm!"

"Shmmgh mmhm!"

The cacophony of muffled cries was not something Ced had been prepared for upon being pulled back to L'Arachel's bed. He tried to sit up but found his hands still bound behind his back and somebody worked quickly to tape his ankles together. A look down chilled him as a familiar clown gave him a wave while working its tape over his ankles and moving up to begin tying his calves together.

"Welcome back little guy! Guh-huh~! Family times haven't been the same without you!"

In a panic, Ced looked over to his right to see his mother and father mummified in shiny tape with blindfolds and gags over their faces. The two were red-faced and sweating and a glance down to the foot of the bed revealed why as the table down there was covered in various kinds of tickle tools. Turning to Ced's other side revealed poor Asbel as well as his aunts Annand and Dithorba in the same situation, tied tightly and very clearly exhausted from a good working over. Dandelion had the tape up to his waist by now, and as the clown sat him up for ease of access he was able to see L'Arachel at the edge of the bed behind his mother. The woman had been wrapped just as tight and seemingly his arrival had interrupted the clown as he'd left his feathers right there between her toes to tend to Ceddy.

"Phrmrn?!"

"Guh-huh~, don't worry buddy. You'll have your turn once you're all buckled in! Safety first after all! Don't want you wriggling about too much once I get started on these cute feet of yours. Just one last touch to go!"

Ced looked back to see Dandelion with the blindfold and could only squeak in fear as it was forced upon him, blinding him to which tools the monster would be selecting for him.

"Perfect! Love group shots! Haha, we're all gonna have so many laughs!"

Above the room, a goddess watched. Hel smirked at what she'd done, teaching that fool L'Arachel a lesson in going too far with her games. She'd come back later and collect them all before turning them over to King Surtr, but as she turned away a gloved hand closed around her ankle.

"Guh-huh~! Always room for one more!"