Out of the Shadows, Part 30
Hesitantly, the Matriarch peeks around the door frame into the ruined remains of her safe room, looking in shock at the devastation you've wreaked. You rise to your feet, then turn to her. "Sorry about that," you say. "It happens every now and then. At any rate, the important thing right now is to get out of here. Fast. What's the swiftest transportation you can reach?"
The drow shakes herself out of her stupor. "I... should be able to reach the palace web-pits in all this confusion. We could use my royal mount."
"Good." You nod. Then—for now at least—you return her enchanted armor to her, just in case. "Put this back on, then get your mount and make for the south-east gate of the city. I'll join you en route." With that, you turn and move toward the door.
"Wait!" the Matriarch blurts out. When you glance back at her, you see a look of confusion on her face. "You... trust me? Just like that?"
You flash her a roguish grin. "I trust that you want to ride my cock again, far more than you want to die trying to hang onto power here," you say honestly. Then you raise your hand, letting the glow of your Corruptive Boon play across it, before winking at her. "And our pact wasn't for show. Try to break it sometime... and you'll really see what I can do to you."
The Matriarch shivers with arousal, reminded again just how completely you own her. In less than an hour, she's gone from ruler of the Underworld to an eager, compliant sex pet serving an "inferior" male.
And to her shock, she's discovering that fall to be the most wonderful thing to happen to her in all her misery-filled, power-grubbing existence.
Turning again, you dart out of the room. As you run you undo your shapeshifting, reverting back to the non-naked version of your demonic form. You sprint up the stairs, then out onto the same garden balcony you found in your earlier infiltration. From this vantage point, the entire city spreads out before you.
Running toward the stone railing, you leap off with a flap of your wings. You rise, until you're soaring over even the tallest spires below, keeping just underneath the cavern roof. As you veer gracefully toward the south-east, your superhuman senses pick out the sights and sounds of combat far below.
It looks like Khaytala and Relis were successful in grabbing the three captured elves. (Not that you had any doubts.) By now, all five of them have broken out of the palace grounds, and are racing toward the south-east gate, the closest one to your escape point. The drow are dogging their steps, however, chasing after them relentlessly, forcing them to make a fighting retreat. And the captives—naked, barefoot and weary—are slowing them down.
You can also see more reinforcements closing in, swarming across the city. From this high up, it looks like a disturbed anthill, soldiers converging from many directions toward the fleeing group. You can hear alert bells ringing, see magical signals going up. Many of the reinforcements seem to be wearing Lady Eshosi's colors. Doubtless the soldiers meant to be there to—eventually—quell the riot that never came to be.
Even with the Matriarch on your side, you very much doubt that the religious fanatics will listen to an order from a ruler so disgraced. Not if it's to spare the attackers who desecrated and ruined one of Melca's most important festivals.
No. This is a race now.
You swerve back around, diving back toward the palace again. As you plummet through the air, you see a giant spider burst out from the palace grounds, the Matriarch riding atop it as it skitters with terrifying speed through the streets and across the rooftops. You angle your dive to land next to her. "Follow me!" you urge, before taking to the skies again.
By the time you reach the rest of your feeling allies, Verika and Belan have joined up with them as well. Seeing just one heroine fighting alone is awe-inspiring enough... but this is the first time you've seen two of them fighting together... and the result is something far greater than the sum of their parts.
The two friends move in ferocious tandem, Khaytala able to throw herself into the battle without wasting any concern for the enemy archers that she knows will fall to Verika's arrows before they can become a threat. At one point you see Verika's own supply of ammunition start to run low... but without even sharing a word, Khaytala snatches a quiver off one of the drow archers even as she falls from the rooftop with an arrow in her chest, and tosses it to Verika, who slings it onto her own back without even a pause in her shooting.
But the drow keep coming, in greater and great numbers, each one bent on killing you all. And you know that not even Khaytala and Verika can last forever.
Fortunately, you've brought help. Everyone involved is taken aback when the huge spider launches itself into view, landing next to the fleeing group, with their Matriarch riding atop it. You see Verika's eyes meet her sister's. So much conflicted, confused emotion, passing between them in that brief moment. So much that has happened between them.
And now... now they both understand what you've done to them as well.
"Quick!" you bark, as you land nearby. "Get as many as you can onto the spider!" Verika immediately understands, turning to the youngest elf—Leati—and throwing the small girl up. The Matriarch catches her, swinging the child down into the large saddle by her feet. There is a cry of rage and betrayal from the drow, and they resume their attack.
But the Matriarch doesn't even attempt to take cover. Instead, any arrows that might have hit her are deflected, as several gold-colored metallic plates shoot into view from beneath her robes, levitating in the air right in front of her as they interpose themselves between any projectile that comes even close to her, sending them spinning away.
Belan wraps his arms around Esile's naked body, lifting the older of his two fellow students toward the saddle as well. She blushes furiously at his touch, even as she clambers aboard. Their teacher, Syvel, leaps aboard on her own power, followed by Belan, all of them hunkering low and together, bodies pressed tight in the confined space.
The Matriarch shouts out a command, and the spider takes off like a bolt for the south-east gate. And without the hostages and youngsters slowing them down, Verika, Khaytala and Relis are able to retreat much faster. You fly ahead, weaving between stone buildings as you keep an eye on the spider as it races furiously toward its destination, drow citizens scattering from the streets as it hurtles past on its mad course.
When you reach the large stone gate, the guards are flummoxed. They've heard the alarms... but whatever they were expecting, it wasn't the sight of the Matriarch riding her royal cave spider, with four elves huddled deep in the saddle, three of them naked. Their stupefaction costs them any brief chance they might have had to react, as the spider leaps to a nearby rooftop, then manages to clear the gate itself, landing atop it before diving down to the wide-open rocky plain outside.
Belan points, and the Matriarch swings the spider toward your true escape route. You circle back, just in time to see Khaytala plow her way through the gate as well, while Verika and Relis work together to give cover fire and keep their pursuers' heads down. Together, they all take off at a dead run for the particular tunnels that lead to safety.
You manage to outpace most of your pursuers, though arrows still rain down around you from desperate, long-range shots that you sometimes have to chart a swerving course to avoid. By the time you reach the tunnel mouth, Relis is doubled over, gasping for breath, and even Verika looks slightly winded from the long, all-out sprint. Only you and Khaytala show little weariness, her because of her impossible endurance... and you because wings are convenient that way.
By now the pursuit has become far more organized, and you know you have little time left. You can see dozens of other cave spiders sweeping across the cavern toward you now, and bolts of explosive fire have joined the arrows as you see several mages unleashing their spells from atop the beasts. "Time to go!" you say, as the four of you duck back into the tunnels, following the familiar route back to your hideaway.
It won't be secure for much longer, not with the depth of search these particular tunnels are about to be subjected to. But with the elves rescued, and Verika now happily joining Khaytala in taking your dick, it's more than served its purpose.
You find the entire group waiting there. All the elves you've rescued, including the older elf from Lady Mykra's dungeons. The two gnomes, mother and daughter. Belan and Ioni. The Matriarch. They're all on foot now, these tunnels too small to bring the cave spider in.
They all look worriedly to you, and you point back in the direction from which you entered the Underworld. "Follow Verika," you say. "She knows where to go."
Many of them are tired, but they rouse themselves for one last push. Verika leads you through the long, twisting passages one last time, even as you hear footfalls echoing from behind you, your pursuers closing in. Belan's spell-light illuminates the darkness, while with his other hand he tenderly guides Ioni as they all stumble forward. The young drow girl leans into him, their bodies naturally finding affectionate solace together... something that does not go unnoticed by either Esile or Syvel.
Finally, you reach the key location. Verika pulls out the shadowgate, and once more throws it in front of her, her hands moving in slow circles as she opens the portal back to the surface. The shadows flow to fill the expanding circle, and soon it's wide enough to step through. "Hurry!" Verika urges. "Right now, I'm the only one who knows that this spot connects to the Great Forest. We can't let them to see where we went through!"
Without wasting any time, your group begins to leap through. You're second-to-last, with Verika following immediately after, closing the shadowgate behind her. And with that, any sight or sound of the world beneath is abruptly cut off, leaving only the quiet, peaceful sounds of unsullied nature, as warm, natural sunlight filters lazily through the trees.
You've done it.
Around you, most of your group have collapsed, many of them laughing in relief at still being alive. Belan takes off the top part of the rough slave's tunic he was wearing as a disguise, giving it to the younger of the two elf girls, and on her it's big enough to mostly cover her nakedness. That still leaves the older student naked, however, and she increasingly blushes and tries to cover herself now that there's no danger left to occupy her thoughts.
She also keeps stealing nervous, intent glances at Ioni, chewing cutely on her lower lip, her conflicted expression torn between worry over the blind girl's injuries... and worry for entirely different reasons.
Even as Esile studies Ioni, you notice Syvel—the young elves' magic teacher—is studying you. She's trying her best to hide it, but it's clear that she's wary of you. And it's not hard to guess why. Given her knowledge and training... you're pretty sure she recognizes exactly what you are.
She hasn't said anything yet, and you suppose that you might be able to convince her that you're on her side... or at least that you've been summoned by someone compelling you to be. Still, it raises a larger question. Now that your mission is complete and you're ready to head back to Kovora, who should you take with you?
Anyone you take will need to be fucked into alignment with you, if they aren't already. The main difficulty there is Leati. Since—as you noticed when you first saw her in the forest—the prepubescent elf girl is too young to really appreciate what you have to offer. As she is now, it would only harm her, and damage future prospects of her falling properly into lust when she is ready.
Still you might be able to talk her into coming along, especially if her friends are... convinced. Or you could let her go; she doubtless knows these forests like the back of her hand, and it should be safe now that you've dealt with the drow threat.
But do you want to send anyone else back? It may not hurt to have agents of your own in that place, and if you've already subverted them you could even give them a task to pursue. Both approaches could have their own benefits and risks, and you'll need to think carefully on the long-term consequences of each combination, whether you have any of them return... or simply vanish with you.
