"So this Long, he ruled your city?" Cereza asked as the trio walked through the flat, dead terrain of the Chaos Wastes.
"Lung," Taylor corrected. "And I'd say… about a third? Maybe a fourth?" Taylor shrugged.
Cereza nodded. "I'm surprised that a dragon was not able to conquer the entirety. Everyone in my world knows and rightly fears the terror that dragons can bring."
Taylor raised her hand and shook it in a "so-so" motion. "Well, he wasn't a full dragon, he just transformed into one. I think. And honestly, probably the only reason he didn't take over was that he was either too lazy to, or that he was too afraid of calling down the Triumvirate on him."
"Hmm, I still do not see it. This Lung sounds like one of the Dragon Lords of Cathay. They live half a world away from Sartosa, but even I have heard of the terror of the Celestial Dragon Emperor, or his children Miao Ying the Storm Dragon and Zhao Ming the Iron Dragon, both of whom can also shift between human and dragon shape," Cereza explained. "Although there are several of them, and if there is only one Lung, I have heard more than one tale of an enterprising Bretonnian knight who slayed a dragon for his Lady."
"Have you ever seen a dragon?" Taylor asked, quirking a brow that was half hidden by the bandage on her face.
Cereza shook her head. "Thanks be to Manaan no. Dragons are highly intelligent and vicious monsters. A single one could set an entire pirate fleet aflame. Fortunately, they were a rarity in my time, and the only times I've heard of dragons taking flight on the field were when the Elves or the forces of Chaos rode to battle. And if such armies were fighting, you can be sure the Swordfysh was many leagues away."
Cereza then paused and looked up to the sky, bringing her thumb and index finger to her chin as she drudged up some long ago memories. "I do recall seeing some wyverns though. Occasionally we sailed near the Badlands while raiding the Border Princes, and that forsaken desert was filled with both wild and Greenskin tamed wyverns."
Taylor simply hummed in response to the information. Learning about the Old World was always interesting, and remarkably relevant to her current situation as many of the denizens of Chaos she had seen and will see were from there. She just hoped she wouldn't see any dragons as she continued her quest.
Though this did bring up the question in her mind if she could kill Lung in a one on one fight. Her Chaos Warrior form was probably stronger than Lung's base form, so if she could cut off his head before he transformed she'd have an easy win. If Lung did transform enough, she didn't know if she had enough strength to put him down. Both she and Lung were pyromancers and immune to the effects of fire, which meant both of them would lose half of their arsenal. And finally, she didn't think even a transformed Lung would be able to really hurt her in the Armour of Morkar. But that meant the fight would just continue on, letting Lung grow and grow until he could possibly hurt her, or she found a way to permanently end him.
"Look at that!" Cereza's excited shout drew Taylor out of her musing.
Following Cereza's pointed finger, Taylor saw a wondrous sight along the horizon. Similar to before, where there was the clear divide between the Chaos Wastes and the Realm of Nurgle, so too was there a new divide between the Wastes and a new realm.
Like Nurgle's realm, Taylor looked upon a forest. But where before she saw putrescent swamps and glades, now she saw gnarled trees of purple-pink hue that grew and twisted in strange, unnatural directions. Many of the trees stood on vibrant grass, and were covered with leaves and flowers of a multitude of colors, so many hues that it hurt Taylor's eye to look at them for too long. And like the forest of Nurgle the smell was overwhelming, but rather than the smell of rot and decay, it was the sickeningly sweet smell of pollen and nectar. It was like Taylor had splashed half a dozen different bottles of perfume and cologne in her face. Individually pleasant, but together and in such a magnitude, it was overpowering.
Taylor began coughing as she placed a torn fabric over her nose and mouth before replacing her helmet over her head. "What foul realm have we found now?" Taylor asked between choked coughs.
"A forest of the Dark Prince, Slaanesh," the Advisor happily answered, once again not affected by the haze that stifled the rest of them. "We shall have to make our way through this Demi-Plane of the Prince of Pleasure, should we wish to reach the Swords of Chaos in any timely manner."
Taylor growled inside her helmet, the sound now a deep, resonant bass to all around her. She glanced at Cereza, who had fashioned her own fabric over her face as well before nodding at Taylor.
That was all the affirmative Taylor needed. "Let's get moving," Taylor's now booming voice said and she took her first steps towards the forest.
Taylor kept her gaze down as they made their way through Slaanesh's demi-plane. When they had gotten closer to the woods, Taylor realized that not only were the trees here bent in queer directions, but they were bent into shapes, silhouettes of humans. They curved into lithe forms in provocative positions. When she saw their faces however, the bark of the trees were shaped in contorted countenances that Taylor couldn't tell if they were in ecstasy or despair. The faces were so strange that at the first tree she stood at, Taylor was caught staring at it for long enough that the Advisor had to shake her awake.
This slowed their pace through the wicked woods, but it was always better to be safe than sorry when dealing with the Chaos Gods. After several hours of hiking, the clanging, ringing of bells drew Taylor's gaze back up. The sound was a sonorous melody that sent a shiver down Taylor's spine, and almost made her legs buckle.
While it was difficult to see distance through the forest, Taylor could see a rocky mountain on the far horizon. At the top of this mountain, Taylor saw what looked like a black castle with towering spires that seemed to pulsate occasionally in different colors. Taylor could see a small path winding down from the castle, to what looked like a windmill.
As the ringing of the bells continued to echo over the forest, Taylor glanced at the Advisor. "What is that place?"
"The Marcher Fortress," the Advisor answered with a grim face. "A vile castle dedicated to Slaanesh's hedonistic whims. It is run by the many Daemons of the Lord of Excess, where they cavort in unspeakable acts and sickening temptations in vicious mockery of the noble courts of the Old World." He glanced at Taylor. "Believe me when I say, Mistress, you are not ready to face the debauchery in that place. It would be best if we go around it."
Taylor looked at the Advisor for a moment, before turning to look at Cereza. The pirate shrugged her shoulders.
"Out of my realm of expertise, love," she said.
Taylor grunted again. "We'll go around then," she commanded.
As Taylor took her first step however, she heard a small clink as her sabatons stomped on something metallic. Raising her foot, Taylor looked down, and saw that she had stepped on top of a coin, the glittering shine of the gold pressed slightly into the violet grass. The gold was beautiful, and stamped into its side was the profile of a beautiful, elven woman, her head shaved and decorated with a circlet.
Out of curiosity more than anything, Taylor extended her hand to pick up the coin. In a flash of movement, Taylor found a wrinkled hand around her wrist. Out of reflex alone, Taylor felt the flames of rage explode in her as she glared at the Advisor who now held her. Taylor grit her teeth, resisting the urge to punch him in the face.
"Do. Not. Trust anything, from this realm, my Lady," The Advisor grit out, uncharacteristically serious. "Slaanesh is the prince of temptation. Taking even the slightest sliver of his wealth will damn your soul to her service."
Taylor met his gaze, defiance and pride screaming at her to strike him down for his insolence. But in this case, the logical part of her brain was able to win out, and she relaxed. With a nod, she said, "Thank you, Advisor. I'll keep what you said in mind."
"Be sure that you do," The Advisor said gravely.
Standing back up, Taylor continued forward, pointedly ignoring the occasional jewel, the trinkets and baubles that she knew she would pay for in blood by taking. The party continued on for more several hours, walking around the perimeter of the Marcher Fortress. Every now and then, they would hear the shrill, ringing of the bell, and every time Taylor would have to resist the urge to look back up at the fortress. But she instead focused on the task in front of her, stepping one foot forward at a time, and soon enough, the siren's melody was far behind them.
The forest continued on for many more miles, the group's travel turning to days. While they were far from the Marcher's Fortress, the forest of Slaanesh was nothing close to being safe. More than once, blood-dripping thorny vines would whip out at them, bouncing off of Taylor's armor or swiping through the air as Cereza avoided them. Or they would be tempted by sweetly smelling fruits, dripping with sticky nectar that was poison to even touch, let alone taste.
Eventually, they began to tire of the trudge, and found a small clearing to rest. Taylor cut apart some thorny branches with her sword, and threw them into a pile that she then set alight with her powers. As they sat down, Cereza groaned as she stretched her arms above her head, popping her spine as she lounged back and took off her coat. Taylor pointedly tried to ignore how close fitting Cereza's tunic clung to her body, accentuating the curves.
"Everything alright, love?" Cereza asked as she took off her hat, letting her hair flow down. "Staring rather intently there."
Taylor blushed and turned away. "Sorry."
Cereza softly laughed. "Don't worry, I'm used to gazes. Why don't you take a rest though. I'll take first watch dear."
"You sure? I don't need to rest as much as you do."
Waving her off, Cereza said, "But you haven't rested since we left Nurgle's domain. Sleep, Taylor. I'll wake you when it's your turn to watch. After all, I do need my beauty sleep."
Taylor snorted. "Alright. I guess I'll get some shut eye then." She pulled off her helmet and placed it to the side, before she lay down on the purple grass, which was surprisingly soft to the touch. While the perfumetic smell was still pungent in the air, the musk that lay on top of everything even had a pleasant, calming effect that soothed her muscles.
Getting comfortable, she closed her one eye, the throbbing, incessant pain of the warpstone in her missing eye still there, but now a regular part of her life. So used to agony she had become, that in spite of it, it did not take long for her to let the darkness of sleep overtake completely.
"Taylor! Taylor, come on!" a voice sounded, stirring Taylor from her slumber.
For some reason, awakening was a laborious task for Taylor, her eyes crusted shut and body heavy.
"Wake up sleepyhead! Don't you remember, we have a playdate today!" The voice shouted again, now next to Taylor.
The voice was high and shrill, but almost melodic, and carried a loving familiarity that sent a wave of comfort through Taylor. Small hands grabbed at Taylor, pulling her out of the warmth of her blanket. The cooler air of the room sent a shiver through Taylor's body that woke her up completely.
She was in her room. Blinking, Taylor looked around and saw her childhood bedroom. Then again… where else would she have been sleeping? Maybe Emma's place? And speaking of Emma, her redheaded best friend was currently dragging Taylor's left arm so she would sit up straight.
"Dang it, Taylor, would you at least try to sit up!" Emma shouted. While Emma was always the more energetic of the two of them, both she and Taylor were still only 7 years old, and she didn't have the strength to force Taylor's body up when all Taylor wanted to do was sleep.
"Emma…" The dazed Taylor groaned out, now sitting up straight and rubbing her left eye with the respective hand. "What are you doing here? What time is it?"
"Time for you to wake up, silly!" Emma jumped back, her hands on her hips. She was wearing a knee length white, summer dress decorated with flowers that matched her red hair. "Come on! Aunt Annette said to wake you up so we can head to the aquarium today! You can't waste every day of summer vacation sleeping!"
Taylor groaned again as she got out of bed, slowly trudging her way to the bathroom to brush her teeth and shower, Emma following her all the way through. Once Taylor was done, she was dressed in her own summer dress, a yellow dress with sunflowers, and she skipped down to the ground floor of her home holding Emma's hand.
"Oh you are looking lovely, my little owl!" Taylor's mom cooed as Taylor entered the kitchen.
"Thanks mom!" Taylor said with a bright smile as she pulled up a chair on the dining table to eat the breakfast her mom had prepared, a plate of pancakes with a side of scrambled eggs. "Emma picked the dress!"
"Yep!" Emma beamed. "Taylor wanted to wear her Armsmaster t-shirt, but I made her wear something actually cute!"
"Hey! Armsmaster's cool!" Taylor yelled back with a mouthful of food.
"Yeah, cool. Not cute," Emma countered, sticking out her tongue.
Taylor was about to say something back when her mother cut in. "Now, now girls let's all calm down. Tell me, what do you girls want to see when we go to the aquarium today?"
"Oh, I want to see penguins!" Emma shouted.
` "I want to see the sea anemones!" Taylor shouted afterwards. She was so excited to see them, that she stayed up extra late reading about them in her Mom's encyclopedia. "Did you know sea anemones are relatives of jellyfish? They have tiny hairs on them that they use to feed, by stunning fish, shrimp, and zoo-plan-ko-tin!"
"Ugh, that sounds so boring!" Emma groaned. "And not cute at all! I wanna go look at the penguins!"
"We can do both, girls." Taylor's mom said, raising both hands to placate them. "Though we can't do either until you finish your food Taylor."
"Right!" Taylor called back as she scarfed down the rest of her meal.
After she finished, Taylor and Emma excitedly piled in the back of her Mom's sedan and they were off to the aquarium. Once they reached their destination, Taylor and Emma rushed out to the exasperation of her mom, and ended up having to wait at the entrance for Annette to catch up.
They started off at the sea anemones like Taylor wanted, listening to Taylor excitedly spout off facts for ten minutes, before Emma practically ran off to the penguin enclosure. There, they got to watch as the zookeepers fed the flightless birds small fish, laughing as they waddled about or slid on their bellies. Afterwards, they moved to the shark tank, which was what Taylor's mom had wanted to see, though she had to clutch a scared Taylor and Emma to her legs as the children were too scared to move.
As Taylor stood in the aquarium gift shop, looking at a stuffed starfish she was thinking of buying, she couldn't help but feel… happy. She was here with her best friend and her mom, and they were having an amazing time. They could've been sitting around at home, doing summer homework, and Taylor would've still been over the moon.
"Taylor! Wake up!" a voice from behind Taylor shouted.
Taylor spun around in an instant, dropping the stuffed animal. She looked around for the person who called out to her, but she didn't see anyone else in the store. It was an older woman's voice, Taylor could tell, and she couldn't help but feel a sense of familiarity with it, but as soon as she came close to grasping the fleeting identity of the speaker, it faded from her memory.
Strange. Maybe she was just hearing things. She also remembered a saying her Dad would sometimes say to her mom, that if she forgot something, then it wasn't something worth remembering. Shrugging, Taylor left the voice behind and made her way back to her mom and Emma. The playdate was perfect, and Taylor was exhausted by the day's activities. Sitting next to Emma in the back seat of her mom's car, Taylor couldn't help but curl up next to her best friend as her eyes became heavy, and sleep overtook her.
"Taylor, please! Listen to me!" The voice shouted, sickeningly sweet in the foul suffering it exuded.
Taylor kept her eyes close as she tilted her head up, breathing in deep the aromas around her. The room was humid, dank even, pungent with the stench of sweat, urine, and more importantly, fear. When Taylor smiled, she could hear the sounds of whimpers and the rattling of chains.
Ever so slowly, Taylor opened her eyes and looked at her prisoners. Emma, Madison, and Sophia, all three of them were chained together and attached to the coal chute in Taylor's basement. They were all covered in a patchwork of slow healing cuts and bruises. The once beautiful dresses that Emma and Madison wore and the athletic clothing of Sophia were all torn and rancid with the sweat, blood, and other bodily secretions and wastes.
Three days ago, Taylor had captured these three harlots, these betrayers and torturers, and began inflicting the same horrors onto them that they did to her. Oh, they were strong at first. Admirably defiant. They flung all sorts of threats, insults, and promises of retribution at her.
That stopped when the beatings started.
Madison broke on the first day. She couldn't even make it past the first few hours of Taylor using her Father's belt as a whip. But the physical beating only seemed to incense Emma and Sophia further.
So on the second day, Taylor decided to go psychological. Going to a nearby pet store, Taylor spent what money she had on a litterbox, several cans of cat food, some toys, and 3 electric collars.
When Taylor had returned to her pets, she first fed them their cans of wet food. She had to restrain Sophia with some zip ties to get close enough, but even the trackstar had to eventually relent after Taylor tired out her arm from half an hour of whipping. While they ate, Taylor put the collars on them.
When Emma tried to speak out and protest, she was shocked by the collar's max setting. When she reached for the band around her neck, Taylor shocked all three of them at once. They quickly learned not to mess with the collars after that.
That day, Taylor didn't let them speak. If they did they got a lash or a shock. Taylor taught them tricks like roll over and sit, and if they did good, Taylor would give them belly rubs or head pats. She also made sure that her pets were properly house broken and watched them all use the litter box. After all she couldn't keep them in their own filth all day, otherwise disease and infection may take them before Taylor was done with them.
Emma broke when Taylor offered to clean off their bodies with a wet towel and a bucket.
And today, the third day of their imprisonment, was the day that Taylor hoped Sophia would break. Taylor kept her eyes closed, taking in the aroma of the scene before her as Emma cried out again.
"Please Taylor, you've done enough!" she bawled. "We're sorry! For everything! I'm sorry about the flute. About the homework! Even Sophia is sorry!" The aforementioned girl didn't say anything as Emma called her out. "We won't tell anyone about this if you just let us go! We'll never bother you again, I promise!"
Taylor clicked her tongue, shaking her head as she finally lowered her gaze and deigned to look at Emma.
"Emma, Emma, Emma," Taylor said, her voice low and husky. "You are missing the point." Taylor's hand caressed the side of Emma's face, wiping away a tear.
"There will never be a point where it's enough. I mean, how many months did you three torture me?" Before Emma could respond, Taylor's hand shot forward, gripping Emma's cheeks, squeezing the flesh pink and drawing a whimper from the redhead. "The three of you are going to be my guests for a long, long time. But don't worry, I'll make sure you all experience a time that is as pleasurable as it is painful."
Still gripping Emma's face, Taylor leaned forward and pressed her lips onto Emma's. Emma tried to struggle, to pull away from the kiss, but Taylor's grip was strong on her face. So strong, that Taylor's grasp forced Emma's jaw open, and Taylor's tongue eagerly pushed into her mouth.
Emma made a sound that was half a moan, and half a cry. It was a beautiful melody that reverberated through Taylor's own mouth, going beneath her skin and thrilling the nerves below. Taylor grunted, near animalistic noise as Taylor's free hand found itself exploring the flesh of Emma's breasts.
"Taylor!" a voice shouted. Taylor thought it might've been Madison, or Sophia shouting, but she couldn't really tell. It didn't exactly sound like them, but then, who else would it have been?
Not that she really cared about their cries anyway. Taylor was lost in the fog that was Emma's pheromones, both her hands now moving to the rump of Emma's butt. And to Taylor's surprise and delight, Emma seemed to be getting into it as well. Emma's tongue seemed to stop resisting, and instead danced with Taylor's, pushing back into Taylor's own mouth.
"Taylor! You fucking wandought, wake up!" The voice shouted again.
The voice was loud, and strained with physical exertion. Taylor almost rolled her eyes. Cereza needed to shut up, things were just getting good.
…
Wait, what?
Taylor's eye shot open, the dying light of the fire momentarily blinding her. But that wasn't the most pertinent sensation she was feeling as she took a moment to realize something was in her mouth. Her eye focusing, she saw a face in front of her own. It was a beautiful face, feminine, with angular features and pointed ears that showed some kind of Elven ancestry. But the face was distorted. Too angular to the point where it was unsettling, the eyes were too deep black to where one could get lost in them, and the tongue, a long, slithering purple organ that was also shoved deep into Taylor's mouth.
Taylor gagged as she realized the creature's tongue was not just in her mouth, but going down her esophagus, forcing Taylor to deep throat it. Tears welled in Taylor's eyes involuntary. She tried to shove the monster away, but realized that the daemon had wrapped its limbs around Taylor, trapping her in a bear hug that Taylor couldn't push out of. Restrained and violated, the Taylor of Earth-Bet would have panicked and screamed, perhaps even Triggered from the horrifying torture she was being subjected to. But the Taylor of now? Any momentary panic she felt at her violation was swiftly replaced by a single, overwhelming emotion. Rage.
Taylor's eye scowled at the monstrosity before her. And she bit down. Hard. The muscles of the tongue were tough, tougher than any tongue should've been, but Taylor's canine teeth sheared through it like it were veal.
The daemon's eyes widened, and it tried to retract its tongue as it realized what Taylor was doing, but it wasn't quick enough. It let out a horrifying, yet somewhat beautiful shriek as it flung its head back, mouth spewing black blood that fountained from where its tongue used to be. It let go of Taylor bringing its limbs to its face in agony.
Now free and with a bit of distance, Taylor could see the rest of the creature that had assaulted her. It was a mostly naked creature, supple, nubile pink-purple skin sat over a well curved and toned body. The most decidedly inhuman aspect of it however, were two, lobster-like claws that replaced its forearms and hands. Taylor quickly realized it wasn't just feminine in features, but it had some male traits as well. It had only one breast, which was uncovered and pierced with a wicked looking nail. Below its breast it wore a leather corset and loincloth, and Taylor quickly realized it had cloven feet as well.
It didn't take long for Taylor to identify what she was looking at. A Daemonette, a maiden of ecstasy, a minor daemon of Slaanesh, and her next victim. First, Taylor opened her mouth and dug her thumb and index finger in, grabbing the still squirming tongue of the Daemonette. Taylor slowly yanked it out of her throat, gagging occasionally as she felt the nearly footlong, proboscis-like forked tongue of the Daemonette leave her.
Dropping the hunk of flesh on the ground, Taylor glared down at the Daemonette, who was currently writhing on the ground in pain. Taylor could have killed this creature in any number of ways. Flames, swords, her fists. But for what it did to her, Taylor wanted a more… personal execution.
Slowly stepping her way towards the Daemonette, it had no defense as Taylor gripped the creature's head with both of her armored gauntlets and lifted it to meet her gaze. Taylor looked deep into the pitch black eyes of the Daemonette. She looked for the expected emotions, fear, anguish, pain. But instead, Taylor was caught completely unawares by what she did see. Ecstasy. The Daemonette was enjoying the pain Taylor put it through, and it looked forward to what she planned on doing next.
Taylor's lips curled in disgust. She then reared her head back, and flung it forward as she dragged the Daemonette's head towards her own. With an echoing crack the foreheads of Taylor and the Daemonette impacted with a mighty headbutt. The Daemonette wailed in agonized delight, while Taylor merely girt her teeth as she shut out the pain.
Again, Taylor slammed her skull against the Daemonettes, splitting the skin of both their faces. Again. And again. And again Taylor continued to beat the Daemonette's head in, the maiden squirming and twisting as it tried to pry itself free of Taylor's grip in vain. Eventually, the daemon's flailing stopped, and all that was left of its face was a pulverized mush of meat, bone fragments, and black blood.
With a final sneer, Taylor squeezed her palms together, crushing the ruined skull between her hands, before the head itself exploded like an overripe melon. Taylor let the body slump back to the ground, disgust filling her as she watched the body dissolve. When it was fully gone, Taylor took the chance to survey the scene around her.
A few feet away from her Cereza was fending off two Daemonettes, keeping them at a distance with her rapier, while the Advisor was nowhere to be seen. Fucking typical. Glancing to her left, Taylor saw another trio of Daemonettes approaching her from behind. Taylor growled and reached for the sword at her belt, only to find it missing. She glanced back to where she was sleeping and saw her sword, shield, and helmet all lying on the grass, out of reach for now. Ready to leap forward and attack with her fists instead, Taylor stopped when a voice spoke behind her.
"Ah so what have we found here? A group of souls ready to pledge themselves to the glory of Slaanesh?"
Taylor spun around to face the speaker. It was a woman, tall and so pale-skinned she was almost a light purple. Her face was beautiful, and her stark purple lipstick almost made her look like a Daemonette, but less exaggerated and more in the realm of human. Her skin was so wrinkleless and flawless that Taylor couldn't help but think the woman was only a few years older than her. But her eyes carried an intensity and weight to them that suggested she was in fact far older.
The woman wore a black robe with a hood that hid the rest of her head, although Taylor could see strands of brown hair framing her face. The robes were slit at the forearms, thighs, and the chest, exposing her cleavage, wrists, and tops of her long legs. The robes would have been flowing if not for the tight black leather underbust corset with gold-trimming she wore that exaggerated her breasts even more. Taylor thought she looked like some kind of perverted parody of a nun straight out of a porno shoot.
The nun looked down upon Cereza and Taylor, regarding the two of them with her nose in the air. She focused on Cereza and said, "Now you are true beauty! And already such fertile ground for the gifts of Slaanesh!" When she looked at Taylor, her smile slightly waved, "You, on the other hand, could use some work. But I do see potential!"
Taylor raised a brow at the comment, unsure if she should be insulted or glad. "Who are you?"
The woman grinned as she unfurled her arms, gesturing grandly to an invisible audience. "I am Junia, priestess of Slaanesh, the Siren of Myrmidens, and your new mistress!"
Cereza's head perked up at the name. "The Siren of Myrmidens? Salt and blood I've actually heard of her. The harlot was a former priestess of Shallya, and charmed the duke of Myrmidens when she cured his son of Bonerot. She turned the whole city into an orgy of debauchery until an army of Tilean mercenaries and other Border Prince Legions restored order."
Junia's grin became absolutely face splitting at Cereza's words, her hands exploring her own body as she spoke, caressing over the mound of her own breast and inner thigh. "Ah, it is good to know my offerings to the Dark Prince have left such a long memory in the living world." As her words left her mouth, Taylor watched as more Slaaneshi followers appeared behind her.
A trio of shirtless, muscle bound men, wearing visored, Spartan style helmets flanked their mistress, bodies, hairy and glistening with what looked like sweat and oil. On their left hands were large, circular shields that looked like what an ancient Greek hoplite would wear. But instead of any spear or sword in their right hands, all of their right arms were replaced with wicked looking, barbed crab-like claws not unlike the Daemonettes.
A fourth and final Marauder approached behind them as well, but he did not have the same mutations. Instead, in his right hand was a multi-headed whip with jagged hooks meant to inflict maximum pain, and in his left was a leash. Taylor's eyes followed the leash, and it led to the neck of a man. A normal looking man by all accounts. A bit tall, with shaggy blonde hair and pale blue eyes upon a young and frightened face, his hands bound together by heavy shackles. He wore a medieval surcoat colored in red and white, and on his back was a red kite shield that had the heraldry of white boar's head. He had no sword, but Taylor quickly saw an arming sword at the belt of the blonde foot soldier's captor.
Five Daemonettes, four Marauders, and a priestess of Slaanesh versus herself and Cereza. Not the most favorable of odds in Taylor's opinion. While Rothide was a colossus of raw power and aggression that was far more physically intimidating, Taylor had never fought against another magic user before.
Junia must have sensed Taylor's rise in aggression and stepped forward saying, "Come now child, there is no need for that! We need not be enemies! I'll even forgive you for killing one of my poor Daemonettes, when all she wanted to do was grant you a nice dream."
"You have a funny definition of nice," Taylor growled out.
"This is the realm of Slaanesh, my child!" Junia raised her hands in exultation to the forest around her. "You'll find we all are a bit 'funny' here!" She then focused back down on Taylor. "But such an understanding will come far faster if you join us. I do not know what dreams the Daemonette granted you, but can you truly say what you saw was so repugnant?"
The images of Emma, chained in Taylor's basement flashed in her mind. Tylor licked her lips as she recalled forcing her tongue into Emma's mouth.
Junia must've seen the action, because she smiled at Taylor. "Or what you tasted…"
Taylor's gaze flicked back up to Junia with a glare, but she wasn't focused on her. Her mind instead focused on the dream once again. The memory of forcing Emma down, imposing her will upon her, sent a shiver of electricity through her. She remembered looking into Emma's eyes, seeing the fear in them that was oh so delicious. Would it really be so bad to join Junia and drink such delicious agony from those around her. To see that fear in so many others.
But the image of Emma reminded her of something else. That was when a new image crashed into her mind. The image of the Bestigor pinning her down when she first entered the Chaos Wastes, and the fear she felt at the experience. And with that fear, came rage. Clenching her fists, smoke began to rise out of Taylor's hands as her gaze on Junia turned vicious.
Taylor's refusal was clear on her face, and Junia sighed.
"How disappointing," she muttered as she stepped back, allowing her chiseled guards to form a shield wall in front of her.
The fires of rage and hate came to the forefront of Taylor's mind, purging any malaise put upon her by Slaanesh's realm. Taylor charged forward roaring, her hands coating themselves in flames as the three Chaos Marauders braced. But with all of her infernal hate, the bronze and iron discs in front of her meant nothing as her fist shattered the shield of the closest marauder, obliterating his arm as Taylor fist continued forward and buried itself in his torso.
Taylor was fist deep in her target's ribcage, when she decided to then open up her palm. Fire burst from Taylor's hand, immolating the marauder from the inside out. Her victim shook with uncontrollable spasms as his eyes boiled and burst, small jets of flame replacing them. The marauder didn't even have time to scream before he was absorbed by the conflagration. The only real sound was Taylor laughing as she watched the man die.
The sounds of Taylor's laughter only grew as she took in the immense pleasure at watching her victim fall. And why shouldn't she laugh? Why shouldn't she take pleasure in the death of this perverse barbarian who only knew hedonistic pillaging and raping? They would laugh if she was beneath them.
Taylor was so absorbed in her kill that she only realized something was wrong when she felt agonizing pain as something sliced the back of her knee. Dropping to one leg, Taylor spared a glance behind her, and saw that the the flanking Daemonettes had caught up to her, using their crab like claws to slice though her the chinks in her armor.
She then felt pulling at her arms, and Taylor looked to her sides, and saw that the remaining two marauders were holding her limbs, one apiece. Confusion momentarily overtook Taylor. How had she not noticed either the Daemonettes coming from behind, or the marauders coming to grapple her? It was only now that her mind was clearer, that Taylor heard the whispering.
Now glancing forward, Taylor looked at the priestess Junia, and saw that her mouth was moving. But even though she was speaking, the words weren't coming from the priestess, but instead were coming from Taylor's mind. Taylor grit her teeth. Sorcery. Taylor knew Junia was some kind of magic user, but still rushed in. Stupid, stupid, stupid!
As Taylor glared at Junia, the priestess looked up from underneath the cowl of her hood, eyes meeting Taylor's, and she grinned. It was the face splitting smile of a cat who had just cornered its prey. Junia's chanting then abruptly changed as she extended her hands towards Taylor, spreading her fingers in a claw like motion.
All around Taylor, purple-black whips tipped with jagged hooks appeared out of thin air and lashed at Taylor with lighting-quick speed. The barbed hooks dug into the gaps of Taylor's armor at her shoulders and knees, sinking into the meat of her limbs, serrated blades sawing through her. The mind-bending fog around her was then replaced by sheer mind-breaking agony.
Taylor's screams echoed through the forest, over the cackling laughs of Junia and the Daemonettes. Their laughter however, was then cut off by the thunderous explosion of a gunshot. Junia's laughs turned to screams as she clutched her chest above her breast, a gaping hole right where her heart should've been.
Taylor couldn't spare the moment to check on Cereza as she felt the magic whips disappear. Without waiting, Taylor shifted her grip as she grabbed onto the throats of the marauders trying to hold her down. With a titanic effort, Taylor lifted the two burly men into the air, before stepping and swinging her torso, turning the Chaos Marauders into improvised bludgeons as she slammed them into Daemonettes behind her.
The Daemonettes flew back, landing in a heap of limbs and claws. Now having a moment to breathe, Taylor looks at the two marauders she held in her grip. She knew she didn't have time to do anything fancy, and that savoring any pain she inflicted on the marauders could potentially feed Slaanesh, Taylor opted to simply squeeze and break their necks, killing them in an instant.
Taylor dropped the bodies to the ground, feeling nothing but contempt as she did. She couldn't let herself enjoy anything about what she was doing, lest she potentially lose herself again.
"Taylor!" Cereza's shout immediately drew Taylor's attention.
Cereza's rapier and pistol were on the ground, smoking as her left arm hung bloody and limp. One of the Daemonettes she was facing held the injured limb in a vice grip with its pincer, while the second wrapped itself around Cereza like a serpent, its limbs contorting and wrapping around the pirate. The Daemonette wrapped around her was face to face with Cereza, their lewd tongue deep in Cereza's mouth, enchanting her.
Taylor needed to close the distance fast. She held back from a ranged attack, as didn't trust that the Daemonettes wouldn't use Cereza as a human shield if she flung a fireball at them. But while Taylor was superhumanly strong with her Brute rating and armor, she didn't have a Mover rating, and the Daemonettes would swarm her before she had any chance of getting close. However, inspiration struck Taylor as her mind thought back to her home world. More than one Tinker had made jet boots for such a situation.
Praying to Tzeentch that this would work, which she then quickly discarded as a very bad idea, Taylor focused her fire magic in her feet, charging it up as she felt her soles burn and singe, burning to a bright white. Taylor then released the magic, and exploded forward. Her head almost snapped back as she flew towards the Daemonettes at a ridiculous speed.
The Daemonette who was holding Cereza's arm widened its eyes as it let go to get away. Unfortunately for it, that just gave Taylor a target to hit and that wouldn't put Cereza in danger of getting tackled as well.
Acting more out of instinct than anything, Taylor adjusted her left foot, changing the direction of her flight right for the lone Daemonette. Taylor swore she saw that the Daemonette actually grin at her as Taylor drove her rocket propelled fist through the Daemonette's face. The Daemonette was pulverized back into oblivion as Taylor cut off the magic on her boots, falling to the ground with a thud.
Standing back up Taylor rushed the Daemonette on Cereza, placed her hands on both of their heads, and pried them apart with her raw strength. Cereza blinked in incomprehension as she was broken out of whatever illusion she was put under. Seeing her friend was freed, Taylor let go of Cereza's head and reared back her fist, before swinging it through the Daemonette's head, sending that seductress back to its dark master as well.
Cereza stumbled a moment before catching herself, clearing her own mind of the haze before she looked back up at Taylor. The confusion was obvious there, but it quickly shifted to fury, then stern acceptance as she realized where she was once more.
"Can you cover my back?" Taylor asked, gesturing her head towards the Daemonettes she knocked down earlier, who were now recovered.
With a grim nod, Cereza picked up her rapier off the ground. "They'll not get past me."
Returning a nod of her own, Taylor walked past Cereza and approached the largest threat here, Junia. The fallen priestess was hardier than she seemed, her own body no doubt reinforced by the blessings of Slaanesh, as the bullet wound upon her chest slowly knit itself. No doubt and agonizing process, but it kept her alive. With Cereza taking care of the Daemonettes behind, Junia only had her one remaining Marauder, the one who was holding the prisoner knight.
"Bold of you to think you can just approach me," Junia spat at Taylor, the regalness in her pose and demeanor lessened.
Taylor's response was blunt and curt. "I can't beat the shit out of you without getting closer."
Junia glared down at Taylor. "I had wanted to bring you both to the pleasures of Slaanesh," she hissed out through purple lips now stained crimson with blood. "But now, you will just know her pain!"
With a wave of her hands, the air around Taylor shifted as light shimmered around her. This was followed by the sound of breaking glass as the air shattered as well. Gigantic pieces of broken mirror-glass floated around Taylor in a myriad of deadly shards, and with another wave of her hands Junia flung them all at Taylor.
Taylor didn't have time to consider any options to try and counter Junia's attack. Fire might've melted the glass, but she couldn't get it hot enough that it would melt something moving so fast, if magic glass could burn anyways. Instead, she opted for the strategy that seemed to work so well against the fell followers of Slaanesh. Straight forward, brutal aggression.
Focusing on her rocket boots once more, which she creatively dubbed Fire Walk, Taylor exploded towards Junia. Taylor's fist was aimed right for Junia's stunningly beautiful face, when the final remaining Marauder stepped between them, letting go of his prisoner knight to save his mistress.
Taylor's fist went through the Marauder's chest and out his back in an explosion of bone and gore. But whether through barbaric human resilience, or some supernatural aid, the man did not fall instantly. Instead, through the last reserves of his strength, he wrapped Taylor in a bear hug of raw, hairy muscle. Taylor found herself enveloped by the man, struggling to break out of his death grip.
It would take a few seconds for Taylor to overpower the Marauder, but a few seconds was all Junia needed. The glass shards behind Taylor disappeared, and instead Junia brought her hands together, palms facing to Taylor, and focused all her magic on her.
Before Taylor could escape, Junia spoke quickly in hushed whispers and completed her spell. Unlike the previous spell, which was an ostentatious show of shattered glass shards, there was no extravagant light demonstration. Instead, Taylor only heard a hauntingly beautiful whistle coming out of Junia's mouth.
As soon as the melody hit her ears, Taylor's spine snapped back nearly in half as she felt an agonizing, searing pain coarse through her body. Her bones threatened to break as her muscles spasmed uncontrollably, her joints contorting and twisting in unnatural ways. A wretched howl ripped its way out of Taylor's throat as she felt her tendons snap. Her scream of pain was joined by the laughter of Junia as she held Taylor in her magical grip.
Through the pain, Taylor glared at Junia, who took in the whole situation with sadistic glee. So enraptured by the torture she was inflicting upon Taylor, Junia didn't seem to notice the blonde knight who was held prisoner by the Marauder stand up behind her.
The knight looked around as if confused, obviously looking for something he could use as a weapon. However he didn't find any, and regardless, his hands were still bound by the chains that kept him in bondage. But when the knight looked at his wrists, inspiration seemed to strike him.
Unsteadily creeping his way towards Junia from behind, the knight raised his hands high above his head when he was but a few feet away. With a shrill, almost awkward warcry, the knight then brought the shackles down on the back of Junia's head. There was a meat thunk as metal slammed against bone, causing Junia to stumble forward.
But the knight's strength wasn't enough to knock her out, as Junia spun around toward him, her face ugly with raw fury. But even though it wasn't a strong hit, it was enough for Junia's concentration to be broken on whatever spell she was using on Taylor.
Flexing her muscle, Taylor burst from the Marauder's grip, tearing his arms out of his sockets as she raised her arms into the air. Shoving him away, anger, hate, and contempt overtook any feelings of pain Taylor felt as she closed the distance between herself and Junia in an instant.
Junia's eyes widened in terror as she glanced back at the advancing Taylor. She tried to move her mouth and fingers to cast another spell, but it was too late. Swinging her fist up, Taylor hit Junia in the stomach with a devastating uppercut. The punch would've evaporated any mortal, but Junia's blessings kept her together, and for that, Taylor was glad. She could enjoy this then.
Taylor followed up with a right cross that slammed into Junia's face, breaking her perfect nose and several teeth. While Taylor wasn't a professional boxer by any means, her raw power made up for any flaws in her technique. Junia stumbled back, trying to catch herself, but Taylor was relentless.
Raising her leg up, Taylor heel kicked down towards Junia's left knee, kicking through the joint, completely severing half of Junia's leg. Junia let out a strange cry that was a mix of a scream and laugh. Before Junia could collapse to the ground, Taylor's left hand shot out and caught her by the throat and lifted her into the air.
Taylor looked at Junia's face, and saw what she thought she heard in the woman's voice. Despite the brutal damage to her, Junia was smiling, experiencing some sick sense of pleasure from the beat down Taylor was putting down on her. Rather than killing her right away, Taylor paused as she recoiled slightly from the intense sense of disgust she felt towards the woman. That moment of hesitation was what Junia was waiting for.
In a lightning fast flash of movement, Junia's left hand disappeared behind her waist and drew a knife. The blade flew towards Taylor's neck, perfectly aimed for the carotid artery. Taylor didn't see the attack, it was just too fast. The blade would've sunk deep into the flesh of Taylor's neck, but a feeling, almost a whisper in the back of her mind, compelled her to raise her hand.
The dagger deflected off of the Armour of Morkar to the astonishment of both Junia and Taylor. Both women were temporarily stunned by what just happened, but Taylor was the first to regain her wits. Snarling at Junia, Taylor crushed her neck. Junia's body went limp in Taylor's grip, but her eyes stayed alive, looking around frantically as her body no longer responded to her.
With her opponent now a quadriplegic and unable to resist, Taylor was able to take her time as she grabbed the top of Junia's head and began to pull. With the sounds of snapping bones over Junia's screams, Taylor tore Junia's head off her body, her spine detaching from the ribcage and following her skull. Blood pouring down on her, Taylor raised the decapitated skull above her, roaring as she waved it at the remaining followers of Slaanesh.
Seeing their leader fallen, those Daemonettes not slain fled the field, using all of their supernatural speed to put as much distance as they could between themselves and Taylor. When they were all beyond sight, Taylor relaxed, letting herself drop to her knees as she finally experienced the full weight of her wounds.
Every joint and muscle in her body cried out in agony, but she felt her body slowly begin to knit itself together, one of the greater boons her status as a Marked of Chaos gave her. It would still take days, if not weeks for her to be back to one-hundred percent, but that was far better than being permanently crippled.
As Taylor remained there, panting on her knees, the sound of shuffling clothes and chains in front of her made her raise her head back up. The prisoner knight stood in front of her, awkwardly shuffling as he looked at her with a downcast expression. It was obvious he wanted to speak, but didn't seem to want to push Taylor while she was injured. Taylor almost chuckled at that.
"Thanks for your help," Taylor said, her voice hoarse after such a rough battle. "What's your name?"
The young knight stiffened at Taylor's words. He seemed a rather twitchy fellow for someone who was supposed to be a warrior.
"My- My name is Jean. Jean du Artois," the young man said, his voice thick with something similar to a French accent. That, combined with the fact that Taylor recalled Artois being one of Dukedoms of Bretonnia, obviously placed Jean as a Bretonnian. "My lady." Jean quickly added on with a slight bow to Taylor.
Taylor chuckled. Jean looked about 18 or 19, and yet he was showing such deference to her. Taylor couldn't help but find his awkward flailing amusing. With her breath back, Taylor stood up, rolling her shoulders. She was still in horrifying agony to be sure, but she knew how to force the pain out of her mind as she focused on the tasks ahead of her.
Turning her head back, Taylor saw Cereza and the Advisor approaching her, the pirate sporting several new gashes and cuts courtesy of the Daemonettes, while the Advisor was frustratingly untouched. Seeing that her allies were still alive however, Taylor was able to return her attention to Jean.
"I'm Taylor. Well then Sir Jean, let's get you out of those chains." Taylor walked forward and placed her hands on his shackles.
"Oh, I'm no Sir, my lady," Jean quickly sputtered out. When Taylor gave him a quizzical look, he continued. "I mean, I'm no knight. I am but a humble peasant. A man-at-arms called up to serve his Duke in the service of Mallobaude."
Taylor looked at the man-at-arms confused, prompting the Advisor to fill in the gaps.
"Mallobaude was the bastard child of King Louen Leoncoeur, High Paladin and Royarch of Bretonnia," the Advisor supplied. "In the years before the End Times, Mallobaude betrayed his father, made a pact with the ancient lich Arkhan the Black, and began a civil war in Bretonnia for the throne."
Jean seemed to deflate at this, regret obvious on his face. "I only did as my liege-lord commanded."
Taylor just shrugged. "Not my war, and not my place to judge. We all do what we have to to survive." With that, Taylor used her Brute strength to break apart the shackles, freeing Jean from his bondage. "And to that point Jean. We're trying to get out of this accursed realm. Something I think you would be interested in. And to achieve this goal, I'll need allies. Now my question to you Jean, is will you fight for me, to escape this hellscape and return home?"
Jean's eyes were wide at her. He started to stammer out a response, when his eyes darted down to the whip-wielding Chaos marauder who was holding him prisoner. Moving to the body, Jean reached for the corpse's belt and retrieved the arming sword that was buckled there, no doubt Jean's own sword the Marauder stole.
Fashioning the scabbard to his belt, Jean drew the sword and stabbed it in the ground, kneeling before Taylor. "If you mean to get us out of here, Lady Taylor, then I swear by the Lady of the Lake I will aid you in this quest."
Taylor smiled. While Jean didn't look like he was of the same quality of warrior as Lukas, she was glad to have his allegiance. Having another tank on the field would go far in improving their chances for survival in the Wastes.
"Well then, let's not waste any time. Gather up anything of use you can carry. We leave now and won't rest until this accursed forest is miles behind us."