Eat and Run

Ellen had been running while pressing her boobs tight against her chest to keep them from flopping about for about an hour now. She had really been trying to ignore the writhing mass of tentacles from the slime suit covering her body. Eventually, though, she took a break and moved off the road she had been following into the woods, where she found a small pond. Ellen decided to take a quick dip to cool off and get rid of the sweat.

The dip only helped so much to relieve the built-up arousal. So Ellen masturbated while submerged in the pool of water. After a few minutes of fingering herself and the teasing the slime suit provided, she came. Which brought a second kind of release Ellen hadn’t been expecting. The slime suit stopped teasing her. “What the? Wait a second. Slime, I don’t know if you can hear me or not, but seriously, I just needed to masturbate to get you to stop?” That earned her a playful tease of her nipples. “Hey, quit that! So you can understand me. At least to some degree. Fine, if I promise to provide you with orgasms regularly, could you please let me sleep soundly?” Another teasing of her nipples. “Oh, thank Laura.”

Ellen got out of the pond and, using Hilde’s talent, vibrated until she was completely dry. She was just about to head back to the road when she realized she should check on something. She looked at her reflection in the pond. “Good, I was worried about that.” Ellen didn’t see Hilde’s face in the water; rather, she saw the reflection that Hilde currently had in a mirror to disguise herself from the other team. Ellen went back to the road and saw the walls of the capital off in the distance. There had been more and more traffic on the road the closer she had gotten to the capital, and not wanting to raise any flags had been ducking off the road any time she saw a cart or horse coming her way in the distance. This time, she decided to just stay off the road proper and run through the trees as she headed to the capital.

Ellen had a surprisingly easy time entering the city, as the guards, all ASTRIDs in soldier getups, weren’t checking people just walking through the gates unless they were carrying something unusual. Now to find a map. Ellen walked into a tavern to an extremely bizarre sight. The staff of the bar were all ASTRIDs and looked exactly like her, no disguise or pretense, except that they were all wearing barmaid outfits. The guests were a mix of people, but a good chunk of them were still clearly ASTRIDs in costumes. So Astrid is serving herself drinks… I guess that sort of makes sense for the NPCs. Ellen walked up to the bar and ordered a coffee and some food, which Astrid happily provided. When her food was delivered, Ellen asked, “Hey, so I’ve come from the rural areas of the empire, and don’t know my way around the area all that well. Would you happen to know where I might fight a map?”

The ASTRID scoffed, “A map? There’s the basic one that the schools have and the one in the town square, but those don’t show all that much. You want anything detailed, and that is pricey.”

“Thanks for the information.” Ellen slid a gold coin across the counter.

The ASTRID took it and said, “Well, if you have this kind of coin, you might be able to buy one in a shop in the high-end district.”

“I appreciate your assistance.” Ellen beamed at Astrid as she finished her meal and left. So, Cassandra went with maps are rare and expensive for the setting… in that case, the best maps would likely be in the palace. Ellen ducked into an alleyway and transformed into Flora. Oh come on! Ellen found out that her morphing included any cursed items the other currently had on. So she felt the piercings and buttplug. At least they apparently got rid of the vibrators. Small mercies. Ellen found that when she used Flora’s boon, it didn’t make people incapable of noticing she was there, but it did make everyone’s notice slip off of her like it wasn’t odd she was present. She headed towards the palace and, on the way, saw Mark and the opposing team following Sadie and a woman riding a moose heading away from the castle. Who the heck is the new girl? Ellen shook her head. Probably just Astrid in disguise. But why is Sadie riding a moose? How does that fit Pixie Princess? Whatever, not important right now. Ellen walked right on through the guard checkpoint at the palace gates, getting only a momentary glance from the guards. She moved through the palace picking up bits of gossip from the passing staff, including that the woman with the other party was apparently a princess Ethel. Ellen asked a passing maid, “Excuse me, I was told to go retrieve some maps for the heroes by the princess, but she didn’t actually tell me where they would be. Do you know where I might go to find them or who I would talk to?”

This ASTRID looked Ellen up and down for a moment. “Oh, you must be new. Go to the library, it’s down this hall, turn left, and then turn right as you pass the dining hall. The big double doors on the right are the library. You’ll need to speak to the archivist, though. They can get you whatever you need.”

“Thanks.” Ellen said with a smile. Ellen followed the directions and reached the library quickly.

Upon entrance, she was greeted by a bearded Maja. “Hello, how can Old Man Maja help you today?” Maja took off a pair of spectacles and cleaned them with a cloth. “Hmm… Old Man Maja doesn’t recognize you.”

Ellen deftly replied, “Oh, that’s because I’m new. I only started working in the palace a couple of weeks ago.”

Old Man Maja nodded, “Ah, yes, that would explain why Old Man Maja didn’t recognize you. What can Old Man Maja do for you?”

“I was told to get some maps of the surrounding area for the heroes. A detailed one for the empire as a whole, and then maps for the areas around the capital in particular.”

“Ah, yes… Old Man Maja can get you those.” Maja got up from her chair and grabbed a cane, and began to hobble through the library.

Ellen tried to be as affable as possible. “Could I assist you in any way? I wouldn’t want to trouble an old man overly much.”

“Nonsense. Old Man Maja can do this. You just wait here, while Old Man Maja gets you the maps.”

Ellen smiled and nodded. This is a bit and is clearly meant to annoy Mark. I must commend Cassandra on the use of the slow bureaucrat trope, though. Ellen pursued the library’s contents near the front to kill time. She hadn’t really expected to find much, but was surprised that the book titles all seemed to be lore for the setting. She didn’t actually take any of the books, not wanting to jeopardize her goal, that was, until she came across a book she thought might be massively useful to her team. It was titled: ‘Guardian Dragon Knights: A lost order of knights and their abilities’. Ellen looked around to make sure Maja wasn’t nearby and tipped the book off the shelf and into her bag.

It was a moment later, Maja said from behind Ellen, “Oh, find anything of interest?” Ellen did her best not to jump in surprise.

Ellen said, “Oh, I was just surprised by the sheer volume of your collection. Also, the titles are so intriguing. I always loved history.”

Maja nodded with a bit of melancholy. “Yes, indeed. Alas, Old Man Maja wishes more people showed such an interest and could read our splendid collection. But it is not to be.” Maja had three scroll cases, which she gave to Ellen one by one, listing off the contents of each. “Here you are. As requested, a detailed map of the whole empire, a detailed map of the capital and the surrounding areas, and finally, detailed maps of any city, village, or hamlet within forty kilometers of the capital. Please give the heroes Old Man Maja’s regards and suggest that they come visit Old Man Maja. Old Man Maja has much that they might find useful here.”

“Thank you so much, I’ll let them know.” Ellen smiled as she took the cases and left.

+2 CP Play your part as a spy and not break character.

After putting the cases in her bag, Ellen walked back the way she came and noticed that the servants were setting up a large meal, and mentioned it was for the heroes, who were on their way back from completing a task. Well, this gives me an interesting opportunity. Ellen followed the servants to the kitchens and swiped a serving tray. She then found a secluded place to load the tray up with sweets that she and Flora had taken from the dungeon and piled them in a decorative spread on the tray. Mary had briefly told her what each one did, as far as she could tell, on the way back from the dungeon yesterday. Ellen deliberately avoided the ones that would have obvious physical changes, hoping that way more of them would be consumed. She then carried the tray into the dining hall as if she were any other servant. Then she quickly made her escape, not wanting to be anywhere near the other team at the moment. After getting out of the palace, she found a secluded alley to look over the maps and found the village she was supposed to go to very easily. She even had a map of the village in detail, with the church conveniently marked for her as well. Then she finally took the time to examine the note card that Merigold had written out for what her new equipment did.

“Okay, let’s see… shape-changing multitool, can turn into any tool or basic weapon. Will not bypass resistances to non-magic weapons when used as a weapon. Interesting, and thanks to the slime suit, I sort of knew that already.” Ellen then proceeded to the equipment from the hall of glory, which she thought was odd for her, considering it didn’t really contain weapons or armor like the others had. “A ring of sending… OH, that will be super useful right now, being separated from the group. Then a necklace of form storage. Oh… well, this will be useful eventually, but the requirement that I have to physically touch the person is annoying. Finally, a potion of… OH, YOU HAVE GOT TO BE KIDDING ME! There is absolutely no way that this was originally part of my reward.” Ellen read the note card again. Then she used her ring of sending to ask Merigold, “Okay, is this seriously a potion of symbiote awakening and enhancement? This is bullshit.”

Merigold was surprised by the sudden message and realized she had to be brief in her reply, having identified the ring Ellen was using herself. “Sorry, Ellen. It seems loot is generated at time of earning. You aren’t the only one to get something odd.”

Ellen wondered what Merigold meant by that, but turned back to the potion. “Lucia, what do you think, should I use it?”

“Yes, I think you should. What’s the worst that can happen? You get another voice inside your head? I could use the company.”

“Har Har. You realize if I use this, we are likely getting a slime girl TF.”

“PBBBT! We are getting that regardless if you use it or not. The only other option I see is us getting something where what animal girl we are changes all the time. Slime girl makes sense. We can mold our form then to whatever shape we need it to be for our costumes. So, might as well use the potion. It gives us challenge points as a permanent equipment boost and will make that symbiote more effective for us, meaning we might place higher in the challenge, resulting in the eventual TF being better for us.”

“That’s fair.” Ellen reluctantly agreed with Lucia. Ellen drank the potion. Ellen could immediately feel another presence in her head. “Hello?” Ellen thought while reaching out to the presence.

“Horny… so horny… when release? Was promised release… Will you give release soon?”

“Umm, sure, after I leave the city, I’ll find a quiet place to get some release, just don’t tease me for a bit more, okay?”

“Hurray! Sweet release. Let us go.”

Ellen found herself standing up against her will, and she started walking down the alley and then forcefully stopped herself. “Hey, don’t try to take control of my body like that, or we will have a problem, understand?”

“But you promised release…”

“And you will get it SOON. But I don’t appreciate you taking control of my body.”

Ellen heard Lucia speak to her and could tell that the slime couldn’t hear Lucia’s words, “Pbbbt, your wet snatch says differently. You might not like surrendering control as much as me, but you still like being controlled. You can’t lie to me either that you found it arousing that the slime took over your body like that.”

Ellen mentally poked Lucia to shut up. Then continued talking to the slime. “Do you have a name, something I should call you?”

“No. I would like a name… would you give me a name?”

Lucia shouted at Ellen, “SLIMEY… actually Horny seems more appropriate.”

Ellen was not amused. “Okay, NOT Laura.”

“Harsh… but okay, fair. What about… Symbietta?”

“Really? Just symbiote with the ending changed?”

“Why not? Lots of names are like that. Also, it’s feminine like the sound of its? Her? Voice.”

Ellen acknowledged that point. Ellen thought to the slime, “What do you think of Symbietta?” The slime didn’t respond in words, but rather a pleased purr and a light rippling of contented tentacles that moved across Ellen’s skin. “Okay, Symbietta, it is.” Ellen rolled up the maps and put them away after finding what seemed like a secluded glen in the direction of Lakeview Village. Ellen shot off a message to Flora as well, “Hey wanted to let you know I got a really detailed map of the empire.”

She walked out of the town and took a few minutes to get Hilde’s form correct. Then dashed off to the glen she had noted on the map. It was indeed secluded, with only a couple of deer in the area before her arrival scared them off. “Okay, Symbietta, you promise not to tease me if I give us an orgasm right now?”

“For a while, yes. I feed on fluids, on lust. Need regular feeding.”

“Okay, fine. I can make sure you are fed if you promise not to tease me all the time.” Ellen felt like Symbietta did a little happy dance in her head.

Lucia asked, “Mind unblocking the connection between me and Symbietta? I wouldn’t mind talking with her.”

“I feel like I’m going to regret this, but fine.” Ellen lowered the mental barrier between the two.

Ellen went about the process of feeding Symbietta. Symbietta eagerly joined in teasing Ellen’s nipples and clit as she fingered herself. She even used Hilde’s talent to turn her fingers into vibrators as she massaged her clitoris. A few minutes later, she was covered in sweat and panting. “Okay, why did that feel better than normal?”

“I enhance pleasure. I make it better, to encourage you to feed me more.”

“Ah, that makes sense. I was wondering what benefits you provided me since you are called a symbiote and not a parasite.”

“Yes… I also protect. Can become hard and durable. Also sharp and pointy.” Ellen felt the suit become more rigid in areas, and Symbietta extended a tentacle from around Ellen’s wrist, and it suddenly turned into a needle-like point. Ellen poked the end and realized it was extremely sharp. “We are… very compatible. Both moldable.” Ellen pulled up her status sheet and noticed that Symbietta was now both officially named and listed under armor and weapons.

Ellen stood up and made her way to Lakeview Village. She quickly found the church, with the aid of the map, but hesitated to put the idol on the altar. “Hmmm… If I put this on the altar now, I bet the other team will get a priority quest to stop the corruption. I bet that was even why that was included as part of the task.”

Lucia said, “You could always go back to the capital and tail the others until they’ve started another task. I doubt they plan on doing nothing for the rest of the day. Maybe you could even sabotage their task, then rush over here and place the idol.”

“Okay, I like that plan.” Ellen rushed back to the capital and shifted back to Flora when nearing the palace. Before going any further, though, Ellen sent Flora a message. “I’m planning on trying to sabotage the other team before placing the idol. Wanted to let you know in case you don’t hear from me for a while.”

“Ellen, that seems risky. Why not just place the idol and come back?”

“I’m concerned that they will get a priority quest to stop my quest. I want to make sure they are in the middle of one before placing the idol. Also, I gave them the present from Sally.”

“HA! Okay, fine. That makes sense. It did say to make sure no one stops you. Just be careful.”

Ellen walked into the palace to find the opposing team.

Mark and company had arrived back at the palace and were greeted by Freya. This time, in her standard butler outfit, she informed the party that a meal awaited them in the great hall after they had had a chance to clean up. Everyone took the opportunity to wash off the slime and get changed before they had their lunch. After a nice, relaxing wash, everyone met in the great hall. The palace had really gone all out preparing them food, even providing a tray of desserts for them to enjoy.

For lunch, the palace had prepared a succulent roasted turkey, a variety of vegetables, most slathered in butter and garlic to Mark’s delight, and mashed potatoes. Mark noticed both Ethel and Talia bowed their heads in prayer as everyone else hungrily dug in. Mark noticed Laura stifle a snicker at seeing Ethel pray and made a mental note to ask her about it later. Everyone devoured the food, as most only had a light breakfast that morning, and had a surprising appetite from battling the slimes. Mark noticed the desserts on the table and swiped a few powdered sugar brownies while Sam wasn’t looking, as he didn’t want to be chastised about ‘proper eating’ again. He bit into the first one and BOY was it good. Then he ate the second one, which was when Sam noticed him and glared. “Mark… Seriously?! I get not having the best eating habits. I’m not happy about that, but seriously, you can’t even wait for dessert? I don’t care if you TF makes you fit all the time; there is no way it lets you run on pure sugar.”

Mark glared back at Sam and reached for another brownie. Sam slammed her sword down on the table and pulled the brownies towards her with it. “I’m confiscating these. If anyone, BESIDES Mark, wants a brownie, let me know.”

Everyone but Mark and Sam burst out laughing. Allie even patted Mark’s arm, “You can’t even fault her now. She is your girlfriend. It is sort of in the job description to help take care of you.” Allie could not say a word of that with a straight face or without giggling.

Mark grumbled and thought, I’ll get her back for this. I just don’t know how yet… Mark rolled his eyes, not actually wanting to fight with Sam, and went back to his meal. Besides, it isn’t like she took the OTHER desserts away, just the brownies. Even if they were strangely the most delicious brownies I’ve ever had.

Talia asked, “So what’s the quest Sam picked out for this afternoon? Also, do we think it’s still appropriate, given what a level two quest was like, considering we all made it to level three and some of us are close to level four right now?”

Sadie said, “There is a threat in the woods an hour east of the capital. It’s been labeled as a level four to five quest. It seems to be some sort of raiders based upon reports of the aftermath of previous attacks on caravans and guard patrols. A lot of people have been incapacitated, some even killed in the attacks. They think the raiders have wolves as well, based on the injuries. The main uncertainty is that there are no witnesses to what actually attacked the caravans and guard patrols. As far as being the right level? Well, talking with Ethel, the higher the level you go, the bigger the difference in power is between each level. So I’m okay with doing this quest if everyone still wants to.” Everyone agreed, mostly giving nods while chewing on some food.

Laura reached out and grabbed a tart. As she bit into it, her eyes fluttered in pleasure at the taste. This is really good. God, am I really still this horny from the slimes? Laura wasn’t, but couldn’t tell that the tart was boosting her arousal.

Talia asked a follow-up question as she reached out and grabbed a donut. “So, have we decided what items are getting blessed?”

Sam reached out and grabbed a pair of donuts as Sadie answered Talia. “Yeah, we are going to bless Mark’s jacket, Allie’s armor, and Laura’ and Talia’s staffs.”

“Why Mark’s jacket?” Laura asked.

Sadie replied, “Well, we don’t know what the blessings will do. I’m hoping that it will provide Mark with an extra layer of defense. Among other things.” Sadie flicked her eyes towards Ethel, who was sitting next to her. Most of the table understood she meant give him some challenge points.

Sam and Talia seemed distracted, though looking towards Mark, with longing and hunger in their eyes. Isabella grabbed an eclair and bit into it. She noticed something was up immediately and swatted the donut out of Mark’s hand. “Everyone, stop eating right now!” Isabella exclaimed. Everyone looked at Isabella in confusion. “Does anyone else feel different? After biting into that eclair, I got a strong desire to blow Mark. It isn’t completely overwhelming, but it’s there. I think something is wrong with the food.”

Ethel blushed at Isabella admitting she wanted to blow Mark so openly, but said, “Isabella, the food was prepared by the palace chefs. Are you saying that we would poison you somehow?”

Isabella shook her head. “No, I don’t think so. But I do think that there was ample opportunity for someone to sneak into this room while the food was being laid out and place some items that your kitchen didn’t actually prepare.”

Ethel summoned an ASTRID servant over and said, “Would you please go get the chef?” The ASTRID hurried out of the room. A few minutes later, she came back with Freya in a chef’s uniform, including a tall white hat and a comical mustache.

Freya said, in a horrendous Italian accent. “You’a called for a me’a princess?”

“Yes,” Ethel said sternly. “Is there anything on this table that you or your assistants did not prepare?”

Freya examined the table, and when she got to the desserts, feigned an exaggerated level of shock. “Oh, momma mia, those were’a not prepared by my’a kitchen!” Ethel did not seem to notice anything odd with Freya’s acting at all.

“I see…” Ethel said sternly.

Talia said, “Mark… do you still have Messing with The Code?”

Mark replied, “I do, but how did you know that I had that copied?”

“Please activate it now. I'm willing to bet you will be able to suss out the offending food. As for how I know processes of elimination. What else would you copy from her?”

Mark nodded, “That’s fair.” Then he activated the TF. “It’s all the desserts. All of them, just like the chef said. They do a… oh shit.” Mark whipped his head around and looked at everyone in the room. “Ethel, can we lock down the palace? There might be an intruder working for Smug here.” Ethel immediately informed the guards of the possible security breach. “Actually… Wait… there was this huge-breasted staff member. I mean, absolutely enormous, she was here not that long ago. I thought it odd, but it was like my mind could barely register her… Sadie, you want an answer from our conversation earlier, well, here’s my answer.” Mark first thought. Hilde, I REALLY NEED YOU TO DELIVER TO ME WHOEVER PLANTED THESE DESSERTS. ESPECIALLY IF THAT PERSON IS YOU! Then Mark shouted in an absolute snarl. “ELLEN! GET YOUR ASS OUT HERE THIS FUCKING INSTANT! YOU THINK YOU CAN **** ME AND GET AWAY WITH IT!”

Isabella and Allie flinched at the bestial tone of Mark’s voice. While Talia and Samantha had the hunger in their eyes deepen.

Ellen had arrived shortly after the meal had begun. She watched what desserts people were having to make note of what could be used against them later. She was a little worried that Mark, of all people, ate some brownies, but she knew that was a risk. It isn’t like the brownies would do as much as that collar would have to Mary. Sam stopped him from just devouring the plate. It should be fine. She continued to listen to the conversation. Interesting, so they only hit level three today? So we are ahead of them. They also don’t have any magic items yet, besides what they are about to get as a quest reward. Ellen shot off a message to Flora about the other team’s progress so far. Flora was glad to hear the information, but reminded Ellen not to take too big a risk.

She watched as Laura ate a tart and Talia and Sam ate a few donuts. Then, when Isabella ate an eclair and swatted a donut out of Mark’s hand, she knew it was time to leave. She slowly made her way to the door, not wanting to arouse suspicion. She managed to step out of the chamber just as Freya walked in. She was partway down the hall when she heard Mark shout at her. She immediately soaked her panties and froze in place. She started to turn around when Lucia shouted in her head, “WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING? YOU NEED TO RUN!”

“But… Master ordered me back…”

Lucia said, “Symbietta, help me get Ellen out of here. I’ll give you a half dozen orgasms as soon as we are safe. If we fail, we might not orgasm for quite some time.” Ellen, for the first time since they experimented with this aspect of her TF, found herself wrestling for control of her body not only with Lucia but also with Symbietta. Symbietta did not like the sound of no orgasms AT ALL. Ellen quickly found herself a passenger in her own body. Lucia was getting her away from the great hall as fast as she could, but with Ellen still wrestling for control, it wasn’t easy. She heard rapid footsteps behind her, when she suddenly had control of her body. She immediately started transforming into her Lucia form, since she knew the form so well. She sprinted as fast as she could down the halls and found herself in the courtyard. She jumped up on the wall, extending her wings, and then jumped off as fast as she could. Lucia saw her sister enter the courtyard behind her, just as she crested the wall. The second she had landed, she started to transform into Hilde as fast as she could. Laura was hot on her trail launching bolts of pink energy at her just barely missing as she noticed Sam was flying through the sky as a dragon.

Laura shouted after her, “Big mistake coming after us alone, Ellen.” Lucia felt a wave of arousal come over her and she felt Ellen receive a suggestion It wouldn’t be that bad to let Laura catch me. Lucky for Lucia, Laura made the same mistake as Mark and didn’t also target her. Laura said. “Don’t worry, though, I’m very kind to my prisoners.” Laura reached out and narrowly missed Lucia as she had lost more than a foot in height in a second as she finished her transformation into Hilde. Lucia turned around and landed a punch, with her full weight behind it, directly to Laura’s crotch, sending Laura staggering back, and then ran out of the capital as fast as she could, not stopping until Sam couldn’t be seen in the sky following her.

Sam was carrying Mark on her back. FUCKING HELL! How did she get away? Sam was pissed. She landed back in the palace courtyard. Where Laura was icing her crotch.

Mark slid off Sam’s back and went over to Laura. “My angel, you haven't fallen. You simply need to get back up to soar again.” Mark pulled Laura to her feet, kissed and then dipped her.

As Mark pulled Laura back up, she said, “Still love the way healing feels.” Then she frowned. “I had her and let her slip through my fingers. I also don’t know why my suggestion didn’t even make her hesitate.”

Mark replied, “Don’t worry about it. She escaped. It is what it is. I’m more concerned about something else. I saw her hit you, even if it was from a significant distance. It was only one punch. Yet, you took more than seventy percent of your HP pool. If she had spent another second or two to land a follow-up attack, you would have been incapacitated.”

“I think it’s because of where she hit me.” The others had regrouped in the courtyard. Laura asked Ethel, “Hey, Ethel, are there weak points that cause someone to take more damage if they get hit there?”

Ethel nodded, “Yes, the head and crotch are the two most well-known ones. The rest vary from person to person.”

“That explains it then. She punched me hard right in the crotch, and I think that tart I ate increased my arousal and arousal buildup.”

“It definitely increased your arousal.” Mark confirmed. “The desserts are all likely from another Host, Sally. Though they seem to be modified from what I’m aware of, if only slightly?”

Sam asked, “Is that why I’m tempted to drag you to bed at this moment to work off this frustration? Because of those donuts?”

Mark nodded, “Yes. The donuts make you more attracted to those you already are, have fantasies about them, and make it harder to resist acting on those fantasies. It is amplified around me. Isabella already said what the eclair does, and you are correct about the tarts, Laura.”

Sam stomped the ground in frustration and growled, “And what do the brownies do?”

“They… they um…” Mark didn’t really want to share that fact.

Sadie said, “Mark, I need you to answer Sam. If you don’t, I’m having Bertha trample you until you are incapacitated. We need to know if you are a liability.” Mark saw that Bertha looked eager to follow that request.

Seriously, what did I do to Bertha? “They lower inhibitions.”

Laura asked, “How much is this worse than the nights with the caramels?”

“It’s different. The caramels more enhanced my desires to do the wicked things, while only lightly suppressing my inhibitions. These aren’t enhancing what I want to do at all. Rather, just suppressing that nagging voice that tells me I shouldn’t do something for various reasons.”

Laura pressed, “I need to know Mark. Would you let Sam drag you off to bed? Would you have sex with her if she offered right now?”

Mark wouldn’t look directly at Laura but eventually said, “Yes.”

Sam immediately grabbed his hand and said, “Then what are we waiting for?”

Laura stood up and grabbed both of their arms. “Stop, you aren’t doing that like this.”

Sam whipped around on Laura. “BACK OFF! I want this. I’ve wanted this more than I’ve ever wanted it before. I’ve already made it clear that I do want this. I’m absolutely pissed at Ellen, but I’m going to make use of this opportunity while I have it.”

Allie walked over and gently removed Laura’s hands from both of them. Allie then turned to Mark, “Husband, I need you to do something for me.”

Oh shit! What did I do wrong? “What is it, Allie?”

Allie said in a calm, gentle voice that nonetheless wouldn’t tolerate Mark’s refusal. “I need you to update Sam’s list, and I need you to do it now. Specifically, you should make it so the only active items are: Following My Walkthrough; Being in control of her emotions; Resolving Your Problems; Looking after your well-being; And being open and honest with you. I need you to put everything else as inactive, and I need you to do it now.”

Mark didn’t hesitate to do as Allie requested, even as Sam said, “Allie, what the hell! Mark, don’t you…” Sam felt the effects take over.

Allie said, “Sam, I need you to know you need to not have sex with Mark like this. Or fool around with him either. It will destroy the current Walkthrough. I know you want to do things with him right now but you need to maintain control of yourself. Right now most of us are **** and you acting on it will make things worse for Mark later. You don’t want to create problems that he needs to resolve right? I know you want to be with him. But it matters how that happens. To the both of you.”

Sam felt the compulsions take hold. “Damnit… Why? Why? Why can’t we… I want this… I want this badly.”

“Sorry, dear.” Allie said as she wrapped Sam in a hug and pressed their foreheads together.

Sadie coughed and then said, “I think, considering what has happened, we should reassess what task we take on this afternoon. How about we take thirty minutes to calm down and then meet back in the great hall.”

Everyone gave weak nods of agreement. Sam and Allie went off together, while Talia, Ethel, and Sadie went directly to the great hall. Isabella eyed Mark. (Meet me in the baths in five minutes, and I will blow your mind.) Then she sashayed away, her tail swaying back and forth as she left. Mark was about to follow after her when Laura grabbed his arm.

“No way, bucko. You aren’t going anywhere without me until these desserts wear off. Plus, it’s my night with you. So, no, you are not going to go take advantage of Isabella. I know you heard something in the way she moved, telling you to follow her, and she would blow you. The come-hither eyes made it obvious. Don’t make me go get handcuffs to literally make you unable to go elsewhere.”

“You’re serious?”

“Absolutely, Mark. What part of I love you don’t you understand? One of the things you do for people you love is make sure that they don’t make colossally stupid mistakes, especially while under the influence. If you really need to get your rocks off, I will screw you repeatedly. I just got an arousal increase, which is honestly not saying a lot since I’m essentially always down for a good screw. I messed up last round and let things go further than they should have. We got extraordinarily lucky that nothing permanent happened. I’m not going to let it happen now.”

Mark looked where Isabella had left and then at Laura. “Okay, come on. I hear we have thirty minutes to kill.” Mark grabbed Laura’s hand and led her to his room.

Lucia was breathing heavily. She had been running for the past thirty minutes. Despite Lakeview Village being due east of the capital, she had run west. “Okay, I think we’re safe now.”

Symbietta said, “So it is orgasm time now?”

“Give me one minute to catch my breath, and sure.” Lucia could feel Symbietta’s elation at Lucia’s words.

Ellen said, “You going to give me back control of my body? I understand why you forcibly took control, but having you rip control away from me feels different than when I simply give you control. This is really uncomfortable.”

Lucia asked, “First, it isn’t your body, it's our body. Even if you are the original personality, I’m here now, too, and I’m not going to go anywhere. You need to remember that fact because when another personality emerges, they might not take it as kindly that you don’t view this as our body. Second, are you going to stop trying to go back to Mark if I let you have control back?”

“Sorry… you’re right, it is our body. Also, yes, it’s out of my system.”

“Then fine. But you are giving Symbietta the promised reward for helping me.”

Ellen felt back in control of her body. “Symbietta, I’m a little tired—”

“I was promised orgasms! I have been good and waited, Lucia said I could have them now!”

“Symbietta, I’m not saying no. I was just wondering if you would be willing to assist.”

“OH! Sure, sure.” Ellen immediately felt tentacles caressing her body all over.

__

“It would help if you took control of my right hand and played with me.” Ellen started to vibrate her fingers, and when Symbietta took over her right hand and started to finger Ellen, she nearly came instantly from the loss of control. Ellen let the exhaustion and pleasure wash over her. As Lucia instructed Symbietta on how to coax out another orgasm from Ellen. Eventually, she passed out lying in the grass from pleasure.

Isabella joined Talia, Ethel, and Sadie in the great hall when she realized that Mark wasn’t going to follow her, despite the fact that she desperately wanted him to. God damn it. Why did he not follow me? He clearly intended to?

Several minutes later, Sam and Allie joined them in the hall. Sam was clearly upset but looked more disappointed than anything. Isabella watched as Talia went to comfort Sam. Then Mark and Laura came in. Both had disheveled hair, and Laura had a light sheen of sweat. Isabella was ticked. SERIOUSLY! I know that she’s willing to have sex with you, and I’m not, BUT SERIOUSLY! I finally want to do more with you, and you turn down my invitation! MOTHER FUCKER! Isabella glared at Laura and Mark. Mark heard essentially everything Isabella just thought, as it was evident from her body language that she was pissed.

Mark sat down next to Isabella while Laura sat on his opposite side. Mark said, “Look, I’m sorry I didn’t follow you. I wanted to, but Laura pretty much isn’t going to allow anything to happen while I’m like this. A part of me knows she is right, too, even if I do really want to do stuff.”

Isabella hissed quietly, “Mark, save it. Laura isn’t the boss of you. If you wanted to let me blow you right now, there isn’t jack shit that Laura can do to stop that from happening.”

Laura leaned over. “You are wrong about that, Isabella. I suggest you don’t press me to find out what I can do.”

“Bite me, Laura, you aren’t Mark’s mom.”

“Have it your way.” Laura launched four consecutive full-strength impulses at Isabella, all backed by one suggestion. Isabella, you should bark whenever you try to talk while horny for Mark.

Isabella let out a laugh, “HA!” She really thinks that will work. “Wooof, wooof?” What the hell? Why did I woof? “RUFF! ARF! GRRUUFF! AARF!” Isabella slammed her fists on the table, and Mark could understand her still from her body language. Everyone was now looking at the three of them.

Laura calmly said, “I did warn you, Isabella. That’s mild, by the way. I can and will throw more suggestions at you and at Mark if I need to. Honestly, anyone who needs it to prevent something that people will regret later.”

Isabella growled at Laura. (OH, and you are the one who gets to decide that?)

Mark nodded, “Yes, Isabella, she is the one who gets to decide that. Look, I would love to indulge you, but Laura has a more convincing argument as to why I should indulge her instead.”

Sadie interrupted, “Laura, please tell me you can lift those suggestions. What if we need Isabella to talk?”

Laura shrugged, “No, I can’t, but they aren’t permanent. Nor does Isabella actually have to follow them. Isabella is completely capable of normal speech. She’s just choosing to bark.”

“RUFFRUFF!” (Bullshit!)

“No, Isabella, it isn’t bullshit.” Mark said, “I looked at her TF very closely. It isn’t a compulsion, it is just a very strong suggestion. You absolutely can refuse to follow it if it was truly distasteful to you.”

“Grr, ruf’f rruuuff, rruuuff ruff ruff. ARF ARF ARF AARF ARF ARF RUFF ARF! (I am super pissed that I’m barking like I’m your fucking pet, but also incredibly turned on by it and don’t want to admit it.)

Mark leaned in and whispered to Isabella, “Look, Isabella… you might want to collect yourself, because your body might be disagreeing with your intended words, and unless you want to expose more secrets, it might be best to try and convey nothing at all right now.”

Isabella didn’t say anything simply pouted. (What the hell is that supposed to mean?)

Sadie turned to Laura, “You know that wasn’t cool, Laura. I thought you cared about consent? Like a lot? The Laura I knew did.”

“I do, Sadie, and I get that it is distasteful to use this spell like this. You know what would be worse, though. Letting Isabella gargle Mark’s cock because of a magically induced state. A state that will eventually wear off. Right now, she isn’t different from being drunk.”

“So you made her bark like a dog?”

“I picked something mostly harmless but annoying. Let's move on and discuss what we are going to do for the rest of the day.”

Sadie sighed, “Fine. Looking around, it doesn’t seem like we are in the best of moods or all that cooperative. So I don’t think taking the quest we were planning on is wise.”

Sam said, “I still want to do it.” Sam seemed dejected but continued, “The way I see it, if we don’t go and do the quest, then Ellen was successful. Honestly, she’s already successful at sabotaging us. If we don’t do the quest, though, we may fall further behind. Think about it. Only Ellen was here. Where are the rest of Smug’s champions?”

Ethel spoke up, “Excuse me, you keep saying Ellen. Do… do you know Smug’s chosen?” Everyone looked a little awkward, having forgotten that Ethel was present. “You all do! Why didn’t any of you tell me? Tell the Empire? Also, Mark, why did you yell out like you expected Ellen to just come marching back into the great hall simply because you told her to?”

Mark began hesitantly, “Ethel… We do know Smug’s chosen. We’ve encountered them in our old world. Though I will say Ellen didn’t look like herself. But it was definitely her.”

Laura continued for Mark, “Ellen is… effectively my evil twin, Ethel. Mark yelled at her because Cassandra cursed her in our old world. When Mark yells at her like that, it makes it hard for her to disobey him. Not impossible, but very difficult.”

“I see… and the rest of Smug’s chosen?” Ethel asked.

Sadie nodded, “Yes, we know all of them. Things are complicated between us and them, but there is rather a lot of enmity and personal baggage. If it isn’t too much, please trust us to share what we are ready to, in our own time.”

“Okay, Sadie, I’ll trust you.”

Sadie returned to the original topic. “I don’t disagree with you that we need to do more today, Sam. I just worry that there will be too many issues right now. Talia and Isabella have been eyeing Mark with lust, much like you are. Laura is mostly more **** to damage because of her arousal boost, while Mark's judgment is majorly compromised.”

“I still think we should do it.” Sam replied. “Honestly, I’m tempted to do it alone if I have to. I would take Laura with me as well, but I have a feeling Laura isn’t going to let Mark out of her sight if she can help it. The way I see it is fairly simple. I'll fly us out there. Talia, Laura, and Mark can all stay on my back. Laura and Talia can rain down destruction on these raiders well outside their attack range.”

“That…” Sadie went over the idea in her mind. “Could actually work. Unless the raiders have an indoor base…”

“Like I said, I think we should all go do it, but if some people won’t, I still want to try it.”

Sadie sighed, “Fine, we can go, unless there is an objection? Though I don’t think we should fly there. Sam, you are rather noticeable as a dragon, plus we won’t be able to bring Bertha or the Cheddar knights if we fly.”

“Works for me.” Sam said, standing up to go. The group took another twenty minutes to get ready and set out to the east.

Ellen woke up sometime later. She felt strangely refreshed and clean despite everything that had happened, and her lying in the grass. Ellen looked up at the sun to get a sense of how much time had passed. It was Symbietta that answered her question, though. “It has been around twenty minutes, Ellen.”

“Symbietta? You sound… different.”

“I am. I think I’m absorbing… no mimicking parts of you, the more of your fluids I devour.”

“Well, shit.” Ellen could sense that Symbietta thought she wasn’t happy with her. “Sorry, I’m not upset that you are becoming like me, Symbietta. I’m annoyed because that likely means that Cassandra has decided I’m becoming a slime-girl.”

“What’s wrong with being a slime? I’m a slime?”

“Nothing is wrong with it exactly, Symbietta. Tell me, would you like to be a plant-girl? Or a mermaid?”

“Would I still be able to orgasm? Would I be able to orgasm on my own?”

“Probably?”

“Then, sure.”

“You really have a one-track mind, don’t you?”

“What is the purpose in life if not to be happy and indulge in pleasure?”

Ellen didn’t really have a response to that and stood up. “I should probably contact Flora and let her know what’s up.” Ellen used the ring. “I was discovered, but escaped. Heading to Lakeview now. It is on the southeast lake around the capital. Might need backup. They were planning to go east of the capital.”

“Well, luckily for you we decided to head towards the capital for other reasons. I can send Hilde right now. The rest of us will meet you in Lakeview not sure when exactly but before sunset.”

Ellen was pleased to hear she would be getting back up and started running to Lakeview Village.