Suddenly, darkness!

As you’re about to open your mouth to reply to the warrior you hear a high pitched voice cry out: “Dark Abyss!”

The words come from the diminutive mage you’d seen initially arguing with the two you’d been fighting. Your vision goes black, and from the surprised curse you hear from Sheila you guess that she’d been affected by whatever spell the magus had cast as well. You fall into a low crouch, all other senses tuned to try and give you an idea of what might come next. You hear the mage cry out again, more spells. You expect to feel pain and see your health drop but it seems you’re not the target.

“Dahc’s Grasp! Blood bolt! Shadow Fire!” The mage cries out a slew of spells like an anime protagonist shouting out their special moves and you hear a cry of surprise from Sheila before her voice falls silent and her body thuds to the ground. The next moment is silent though that silence is quickly broken by shouting from Shay.

“What in the fuck! You killed her, you crayshy little bish!” You can’t help but chuckle at the continued slurring of the aggressive hero’s words.

“Shut up! I told you. I’m going to be the first. That unique reward is mine!” You’re beginning to wonder just how long you’re going to be blind when the light returns. You see the mage standing before you, staring up at the trapped ranger. “Besides, it doesn’t really look like you’re in any position to complain. How’d you let yourself get trapped like that?” She looks at you. “Mind if I just finish her off?”

The way she casually speaks to you takes you aback. “I had another use for her. Can you keep her disabled if I free her?” You ask freely, surprising yourself at your own acceptance of the new situation. This hero didn’t seem to be after your skin, may as well as take advantage of the good fortune while you could.

The mage thinks for a moment and nods. “Yea, that won’t be a problem. Just give me a couple minutes. I need to prepare the spell again. I used it on that she-gorilla warrior.” You’re not exactly sure what that name meant, but the mage’s tone made it obvious it wasn’t anything kind. You nod in acceptance at her statement and rise up from your crouch. Standing straight you tower over the halfling. She looks you up and down and grins. “You’re a big boy, aren’t you?” Her eyes linger around your pelvic area before rising up to meet yours. You’re not certain how to react. You’d understand fear, hatred, anger, casual dismissal. You’d seen them all from heroes before; but was this tiny being flirting with you? She giggled at your confused expression.

“Why are you helping me?” You ask bluntly, wanting to know where she stood, and what you might be getting into.

“I’m here for the same quest they are. I want to know what this special reward is. You’re supposed to take me to your lair. Figure you won’t do that unless I get you to trust me, so I’ll help you out with your little heroine here. Besides, she and her gorilla friend deserve it, trying to upstage me. It’ll be fun seeing what you’ve got planned for her. Whatever that might be.” She grinned mischievously. It seems she already had some thoughts or hopes about what that plan is. You hum softly and nod, waiting for her to let you know when she was ready. When she nodded you loped to where the plant fiber rope that held the net suspended was and sawed through it with one of the crude knives you’d retrieved from where Sheila had dropped them.

Shay let out a cry of surprise and a pained grunt when she hit the ground. Ciani, the mage, cried out once more. “Dahc’s grasp!” Shadowy hands rose from the forest floor, took hold of Shay’s limbs and held them firmly, leaving her spread eagle on her back before you. A final one raises and covers her mouth to silence her ever cussing mouth. You nod, this would do nicely.

You move to Shay’s side and crouch down near her head. You take a moment to look over her held form and lay your hand on her chest, feeling her up through the supple leather that covered and protected her. “You know what I did to Frey, don’t you?” You growl softly and the angry scowl you receive is answer enough. You laugh softly. “She loved it though, so why are you so upset?” You ask, trailing your sharply clawed finger down the center of her armor and watching it part under your deft touch. Below the dark leather is revealed skin as fair as Frey’s had been. They really had stuck with the family similarity for their characters, and you wonder if the players look anything like the avatars.

A flush of red began to show across Shay’s face and her upper chest. “Aww, are you embarrassed? Ashamed to be seen by the big bad wolf?” You chuckle, awareness of Ciani and her binding magic fading as you focus on the prey before you.

You leave the slit leather jerkin hanging loosely over her trembling chest, focusing on her lower half. You slit her pants next, tracing your finger along the creases of her pelvis, cutting loose a v-shaped scrap of fabric. Her eyes were locked on every motion of your digit as you step by step dismantle her outfit and expose more of her fair, flushed skin to the air and to your vision.

The mage watches gleefully as her perceived rival is subjected to your taunting play. She licks her lips briefly and watches the way your muscles move beneath your fur, and the red that begins to show from the folds of your sheathe.

You inhale deeply, the smell of nervous fear and anger that rises from your prey is intoxicating. As is the faint smell of arousal that twines through it all. “You’re the same as her. Your sister loved being made helpless too. She wouldn’t admit it. Just like you.” You laugh at the attempt Shay makes to shake her head in denial. Tears well in the corner of her eyes but there’s something else in her gaze too. Along with the anger, indignation and fear, behind it all you could see the anticipation. It was in every shiver, every tensing movement she made to test the sorcerous hands that held her.

You began to peel away the fabric you’d slowly and deliberately torn to shreds. Every piece removed reveals another swathe of flushed skin, and a light line of red showing the path of your claw as it had cut and torn her light armor and the linen clothes underneath. With every bit of extra flesh that is exposed the scent of your prey grows stronger and stronger. Her anticipation rises to match your own; though she continues to struggle as best she can, despite the magical bindings and the **** numbness of her extremities.

As much as you wished the anticipation could just keep rising, eventually you had to move on. The tattered remnants of her armor and clothing had mostly been removed, just her boots and bracers remained. Their remaining presence was only a mockery of the protection they provided. The thicker material and the sorcerous hands that held them made it more trouble than it was worth to strip the ranger of those last vestiges of covering.

You moved your body over top of the slender young woman, noting that your proportions had changed slightly since your level ups. Your lean frame was longer with more defined musculature beneath your scarred fur. The girl beneath you was taller than her sister, less fraily built, and yet she seemed even smaller than your first target had been to your new perspective.

Your motion made the coarse fur of your coat brush over the flushed, sensitive skin of the prey beneath you and her shivering increased. You brought your face down to hers, while you reached down between her trembling legs to feel the wet heat that had built there. “Just another bitch in heat, aren’t you?” The roughened skin on the pads of your finger brushed gently over her lower lips and up to her hooded clit. The crudeness of your words and the coarse roughness of your fur and skin touching her was at odds with the gentleness of your touch on her. You could see the confusion growing in the depths of her eyes and she looked up at you, still struggling but less strongly than she had. A soft sound escaped her as you caressed her most sensitive area and she bit her lip to stop any further sounds from leaving her.

She shook her head at your question and you laughed. This one would be fun. You considered taking her then and there. Claiming her as you had Frey. As you had taken every female that you’d desired since your rebirth. Seeing the conflict growing in her eyes though, you thought even more entertainment might come of leaving her wanting.

“You are, and you’ll come to know it.” You withdraw your touch from her and smirk as her hips rose unbidden to prolong the contact before she got control of herself once more. She glares up at you and you’re distracted from the look by a new dialogue showing itself.

New Favor Abilities Gained

Mark of the Hunter

You may mark one creature of a higher level than you that you have previously designated as prey. The mark claims the prey as yours even after ****. The mark will last until your prey submits to you, or until you place a new mark. You have knowledge of a marked prey’s location within a 100-meter radius of you. You do 10% damage to marked prey in addition to the usual damage bonus against normal prey. Marked prey deal 20% increased damage to you. Prey that submits to you while marked automatically becomes a member of your pack.

Hunter’s Favor

When prey that has had a Mark of the Hunter placed upon them submit to you, the mark is replaced with this boon. You may control any number of pack members with this boon active as you wish. Pack members with this boon that are within 25 meters of you are granted a bonus to their stealth equal to 20% of your own. In combat, pack members with your favor will do 10% more damage to all enemies in addition to any applicable damage bonuses.

There was too much information for you to really think on how this would be useful. In your current state of mind the most salient detail was the ability to mark your prey in a way that would persist after you had initially eliminated them. A perfect way to remind them of you after you’d had your fun with them, and you’d know if they came back. That was all you needed to know for now.

“Find me again, bring your sister with you next time.” You grin before activating your new ability and clamping your jaws on her shoulder. You pull back to admire the bite mark that would permanently grace your latest conquest before you use one of your crude kunai to slit Shay’s throat. You smirked as you watched her confused, but still defiant, face until the bleed effect from your attack drained her health to zero. When the now familiar dialogue appears about falling **** and returning to town, you stand and stretch your still tense form noting the experience you have received. You watch the countdown until it reaches zero and a new dialogue appears.

Harvest Life Essence?

Yes/No

You quickly select yes. You remember that Sylvana had mentioned that chosen of Nire could harvest life essence, and you’d completely forgotten about that until now. A voice from behind you startles you, and you’re reminded of something else you’d completely forgotten: the mage that had bound Shay while you played with her.

“I’m surprised you let her go without having more fun first.” Ciani giggles, her pointed gaze toward your midsection cluing you in to the predicament you’d left yourself. You’d been so focused on your prey that you hadn’t exactly thought ahead when you’d sent her on her way without taking care of yourself. Now your engorged canid cock swung out ahead of you at full mast, twitching slightly at every light caress of the relatively cooler air around it. The little halfling smirked as she walked closer. “That seems sort of inconvenient. I could help? In return for this unique item my quest is hinting at.”

The way the halfling was watching things go down you were sure you weren’t the only one that could use some relief. She’s watching your cock as it bobs around near her eye level, and you think that you could probably convince her and still have her owe you to complete her quest. Then again you’re not even sure what you’re supposed to do next if she does help you. What do you have to give to her? At worst you could just refuse her help until you knew more about what she was expecting in return.