Pound For Pound

Fuck this!

I stormed out of Dorothy’s chamber, and it seemed to me my decision would be making no decision at all.

There had to be another way. I’d been able to outsmart everyone so far, maybe just one more time.

I stormed through the library practically blind with rage when a book fell from the shelf right in front of me.

I almost kicked it, when Tan’Hagorath’s golden rune caught the light, and my attention. Could it be?

Oh it was.

This was a spellbook. I carefully picked it up, using my finger to mark what page it had been turned to. “The One-For-One Life Saving Technique…” I read aloud. Gasping I punched the air, and whooped. “Tan’Hagorath you’re the best!”

I sprinted up to the next level, ignoring the calls and questions of my minions. Instead I grabbed the still sleeping Sapphire and slung her over my shoulder. I wish I was this strong all the time!

I ran back down to Melli and laid the witches down next to eachother. Then following the instructions of the book bound their hands together with a blood soaked ribbon. Plenty of that to be had. “Melli are you still with me?”

She stirred, wheezing and gasping for breath. It was painful just to hear. She couldn’t say anything, only rattle out the few puffs of air that kept her from suffocating.

“Listen Melli… I need you to give your soul her her.”

She glared at me. Eyes so fierce it was hard to believe she dying.

“I know, I know but I’m trying to save your life. Melli please, you’re going to die if I you don’t.”

Her eyes softened.

“Don’t let it end here.”

Tears welled in her eye. Why couldn’t I have just left her alone. Then, she nods.

Melli +25cp (92 corruption) 243total

Trait Gained: Glamour

Description: The Subjects body is warped and bent to reflect their inner hag. In exchange the witch may now cast a glamour over themselves allowing them to take on the appearance of any non-existent human, including their original form.

Uh oh.

Her body seemed to boil before my eyes. Warts and boils flourished over her skin, as her limbs elongated making her look slender and elongated. She spine curled her into a hunch, and her hands turned into these knuckly claws. Her face wasn’t safe either as her nose pulled out and bent into a beak, and her chin jutted out as well giving her face an elongated look.

But I had no time to marvel at my great work. Though I well could have creamed my pants at the uglification writhing before me.

Alas, I raised my dagger and made a sacrifice of Sapphire.

Somehow ending both twines felt less cruel than ending only one.

Of course now Sapphire was heading to the pure lands, while Ruby wandered the flesh fields awaiting the return of her goddess.

Huh…

I don’t want to dwell on it too much, but the ritual demanded her life, and if it was between her and Melli there was no question.

Her life fled from her body, along with so much blood. It traveled along the ribbon that bound her to Melli, and into the writhing changing hag.

Dorothy stood above me, smiling. “A tough choice, as promised, but the correct one. You got everything you wanted.”

I stared down at the blood on my hands. “This isn’t what I wanted.”

——-

I walked back up to the top floor. There was no limp or anything. Every wound I suffered had been healed by Matrowyn’s milk. I was remarkably unharmed after a fight that felt like it had taken my life and soul with it.

Celeste’s Poison had lingered around for a while, however it turns out that the dungeon now had vents that could air out the catacombs, rather than allowing the vapors to collect at the deepest depths. Good to know that when I armed the traps, that wouldn’t be a worry.

Celeste, beautifully was still hanging there. Strung up in a cocoon of chains, between the steel sisters.

Marvelous.

“Come to bargain?” She asked, still brimming confidence.

The only thing pouring forth from my cup was malice. I walked past her without a word and instead went into the prison. From there I took a shackles threaded through the wall and pulled it out, out, out and over to Celeste.

I clamped it around her wrist, and she most of felt something magical in its touch, because she started mewling and struggling, but the time for that was over.

I brought three more chains for her other limbs, and then flipped a switch inside the prison. There was a ‘crk crk crk’ of a mechanism, and the she was dragged inside the prison. Like a tongue of a great frog it pulled her in until she was spread eagle against my wall, naked and exposed, **** and mine.

She was screaming, yelling, crying, bargaining, but it was all just noise over the heartbeat in my ears.

Noise I soon silenced. I placed a gag in her mouth and strapped it secure behind her head. While I was back there I clenched a handful of her silver hair and she whimpered as any woman might.

There was fear in her eyes, so I covered them with a blindfold.

And then I watched her squirm in her bindings, drool from her gag spilling down her chin. She whimpered behind it, struggling against chains I was now sure she would never break.

I was throbbing hard at this point, the conquest of a hated enemy was thrilling beyond any sense. Oh what tortures and pleasures I wanted to inflict upon that body.