A classroom

Teysa and Aliara crept cautiously through the corridors of the Basilica's sub-basement. Fresh from her ordeal in the tunnels, Teysa found herself jumping at shadows, her heart racing every time she heard the scrape of stone or drip of water. This portion of the great building appeared to be abandoned, or at least woefully neglected; every third brazier was dark and cold, and even the lit ones burned low and fitfully, as though nobody had replaced their coals in a long time. Teysa was keenly aware of how tiny the dagger in her hand felt. Mish'li was right-- this wasn't any kind of weapon.

Aliara stopped short and held up a hand. Teysa was about to ask her what had stopped her, but the half-elf held a finger to her mouth for quiet and pulled Teysa into an alcove. Leaning forward, she whispered into Teysa's ear:

"Be quiet. The corridor is sloping up here, at least ten degrees. I think we're getting into a more frequently-used part of the Basilica. There are going to be people around. We need to stay out of sight."

Teysa whispered back, "I don't think we can hide forever, Li. We need a better disguise than this. We'll need to get past people at some point."

Aliara took a deep breath. "Tey, what are we even looking for? We've gotten a long way, a very long way, and it's very dangerous here. I want to find Siri'ka as much as you do, but we don't even know where to start looking! We can't just ask someone for directions! I think we're in over our heads."

Teysa paused before answering. She knew she would have to be very careful here. "Li... I know this is hard for you. I'm sorry. I should have..." she bit her lip. Here goes. "I should have been more understanding." Reaching out, she held Aliara's hand between her own, and looked her in the eye. "You know me. I have always had faith. I put that faith in Agamor on the surface, and even down here, where His light does not reach, I feel His warmth. Agamor's light reveals all mysteries, all secrets. Nothing can hide from Him. I know that if I keep my faith, even down here in the darkness, He will lead us to the answers we seek."

For a long moment, Aliara said nothing. I shouldn't have said that. She's not a believer. She's going to say something rash, and this is going to turn into a fight.

Then the half-elf smiled. "Tey, this is why I love you. I don't have the same faith you do, but I have faith in you. I'll follow you anywhere."

Relief washed through Teysa and she leaned in to plant a quick kiss on Aliara's cheek. She was surprised when the other woman moved her head slightly, enough to catch Teysa's lips with hers. She pulled Teysa close and kissed her passionately, a kiss that seemed to go on and on and on. Teysa lingered, unwilling to break the embrace, until finally Aliara pulled her head back and gave a smile that was almost shy. "In case I don't get the chance later. Now let's go."

The corridor they were on continued to go straight for a few minutes more, and even Teysa began to notice its steady incline. The bare rock of the floor gave way to fitted stones. It was still a dank basement, but now at least it was a dank basement that was clearly inhabited. Up ahead, Teysa could see, the corridor terminated at a thick iron door with a broad iron ring for a handle.

From behind the door, she could hear voices. It sounded like a discussion-- the door muffled individual words, but Teysa could make out at least a dozen individual voices. She looked at Aliara, who frowned and shook her head. This way wasn't going to be an option. Aliara signaled a turnaround and they began to retrace their steps, when from behind them came a squeal of rusted iron. Teysa froze, unwilling even to look around. It was dim down here, maybe they hadn't been--

"Madam, there's someone in the corridor."

Shit! Teysa didn't waste time turning to see what was happening, she just broke into a sprint. Next to her Aliara was keeping pace with her. Shouts erupted from behind them, a hubbub of angry confusion, followed by the pounding of footsteps. Cover's blown. Time to go. Teysa had to hope that they could lose their pursuers in the warren of subterranean caves.

Aliara led the way, choosing turns seemingly at random. They veered left, then right, then right again, passing by empty doorways that yawned like the sockets of pulled teeth. The few braziers that were lit flickered dimly, lending the passages an eerie sense of movement. Teysa stumbled on a loose rock, kept her balance, and kept running. Behind her, though, she could hear their pursuers, and she was flagging-- her exertions in the tunnels had taken a lot out of her, and she had not had adequate time to recover.

Aliara stopped short and Teysa almost ran into her, windmilling her arms frantically to stop. Somehow, she kept her balance-- just. Lucky, too: a few feet ahead, a gaping pit yawned in the earth. Teysa could only see a few feet down, and the other side of the pit vanished into darkness, but it was surely too deep to jump over. Aliara turned and pulled out her dagger, and Teysa met her gaze. The half-elf was prepared to die before being taken again.

The first of their pursuers rounded the corner. It was a surprisingly young-looking drow male in a dark robe. Teysa prepared to lunge at him, but he produced a wand from the recesses of his robe and spoke a few arcane syllables. A bolt of blue light shot out and hit Teysa squarely in the chest.

The effect was immediate. She felt her muscles cramping and spasming. She dropped the knife with a strangled yelp and her forward momentum carried her over into an undignified tumble. Somewhere above her, she heard a crackling zap and then Aliara crying out in pain. Teysa wasn't fully paralyzed, and with effort she dragged herself around to look up.

About a dozen drow stood in a semicircle above Teysa and Aliara. They wore simple, unadorned robes of dark grey silk. Teysa was struck by just how young they looked-- the oldest couldn't be more than nineteen. She didn't have long to wonder about this. The crowd parted to reveal a taller drow priestess in a red-and-silver robe. She wore thin silver chains that cris-crossed her face to form a sort of mask, and a silver band perched atop her braided white hair. She looked imperiously down at Teysa and Aliara and smiled.

"Intruders, hm?" she asked in Undercommon. Her accent was aristocratic. "I imagine you have quite a story to tell. Coming in here... you bear the mark of the exiles. The monstrous children of the Spider Queen. I can smell it on you." Her nose wrinkled with disgust. "Come, students, bear them back to the classroom. I believe we have a practical lesson today."

Many hands scooped Teysa up below her knees, shoulders, ankles and elbows. She found herself carried unceremoniously through the halls. Her head lolled, and any attempt at voluntary movement produced only twitches and tremors. Next to her, Aliara suffered the same fate, her eyes staring sightlessly at the ceiling. After a few turns the two found themselves once again ascending the long, straight passageway, and soon they reached the iron door.

Inside, the "classroom" turned out to be part wizard's lab, part surgical theater. A pair of heavy stone tables dominated the floor, surrounded by ascending tiers of seats. Each slab had iron rings hammered into its surface, from which manacles depended. Tables ringed the room, each piled high with thaumaturgical ingredients: glass jars filled with unknowable substances, piles of herbs and fungus, neatly dissected body parts. One wall was given over to a series of bookshelves. The priestess stood behind a lectern between the tables. Her students dumped Teysa and Aliara onto the tables and secured them with the chains. Teysa found herself spread-eagled on her back, her limbs pulled apart just to this side of pain. One of the students had claimed her knife and used it now to cut her robes away, pulling great swatches of cloth off her and tossing them to the floor. Soon she was naked. Teysa shivered, partially at the sudden cold and partially with fear at what was to come next.

The priestess spoke as her students took their seats. Her voice was clear and piercing and carried to the back of the room. Teysa wondered if she spoke Undercommon typically, or if this was for her benefit. She knew that the sadistic drow often wanted their captives to know what was coming.

"These sluts," the priestess was saying, "bear the mark of the exiled ones. Does anyone know what that means?"

One young drow raised his hand. "They whore themselves out to them, right?" The priestess smiled.

"Almost, Di'rek. These slatterns lay with the driders because Mother Lolth-" here, the entire class made the sign of the web with their hands- "has punished the exiles by taking their fertility. They cannot expand their wicked race naturally. Some depraved whores will sell their bodies to them, allowing them to lay their eggs inside them."

The entire class groaned with revulsion. Teysa felt her face flushing, which was ridiculous. Of all things, why did she care what these animals thought of her, here and now? She felt the urge to defend herself, to explain the truth, but she couldn't even speak coherently.

The priestess was circling the tables now. "As you might imagine, the driders cannot implant their eggs into these unfortunate creatures naturally. They are thoroughly unnatural creatures, and only using their unnatural magic can they prepare the bodies of their collaborators for this obscene congress. Witness." She crossed the room to one of the tables and returned bearing a rounded object about the size of two clenched fists. Teysa tried desperately to see what it was, but couldn't get a good angle on it. The priestess held it high as she spoke.

"I have here the egg of a hound-spider. Yes, very much like the kind you may have in your own home. This comes from the queen's stables. If-- perish the thought!-- I were to try to gestate this egg, I would break it and injure myself. But behold what happens when this slut tries it!"

She leaned over Teysa's waist, and the paladin felt something cool and smooth pressing against her nether lips. She struggled frantically, trying to pull herself loose. The priestess snapped her fingers and the chains retracted a half inch, pulling Teysa's legs apart and exposing her quim. She moaned in fear and her eyes rolled frantically, but she could do nothing as the priestess began, steadily, to push.

The pressure began to grow, and Teysa heard the priestess call out. "Vel'an, please fetch me some of the oil in that jar. No, the other one. The driders produce a foul secretion to aid in their polluting of outsiders' bodies, but we will have to make do." She dipped one hand in the proffered jar and slathered it over the egg, then redoubled her efforts. Teysa groaned as she felt the thing sliding inch by inch into her pussy. Her hole stretched to accommodate the invader-- it was big, but no bigger than the matron's ovipositor had been-- and with a sudden shlick she felt it slide all the way inside her. To her shame, the sensation sent a familiar tickle through her body, and she felt her arousal growing. The priestess's hand had followed the egg inside, and Teysa could feel the fingers moving around inside her as the drow adjusted her grip.

"Notice, class, how easily it goes in. This slut has clearly been bred numerous times. I'm going to keep pushing, and I want you all to watch her belly distend as it pushes through to her womb. The exiled ones invade even that most sacrosanct of spaces-- their magic allows it." She continued to push, and with every inch the egg slid deeper into Teysa she felt another tremor of pleasure shake her body. She willed herself not to come, but she knew it was a losing battle the moment the egg touched the entrance to her womb.

"One more good push and it'll be in, class. Now, take careful notes-- see how her face is twisted by the pleasure? A normal man can't satisfy a whore like this anymore. She needs this egg. See how the driders have corrupted her."

As she spoke, she twisted the egg back and forth in a spiral motion and applied a steadily mounting pressure. Teysa felt her orgasm building as the egg slipped deeper and deeper. With a sudden shock, it pushed all the way into her womb, and as she felt herself fill up the wave of pleasure broke across her brain. She clenched and unclenched her fingers and toes and wished she was free so she could reach a hand down to touch herself.

With a wet pop the priestess's arm withdrew from Teysa's sopping cunt. She wiped it down with a silk swatch and surveyed her class. "Well? Who's next? Let's test this bitch's capacity. I know-- everyone write on the chalkboard a guess as to how many eggs she can take. There may be a small prize for the winner."

One by one, the students took up stations around Teysa's belly, taking turns pushing eggs deep inside her. Each one resulted in a stronger orgasm than the last, until her legs were quivering and her thighs were soaked with her juices. The students could barely restrain their disgust at her behavior and condition. They left her stomach bulging massively. Teysa could no longer see her legs, and only the sensation of egg after egg sliding deep into her most intimate sanctum let her know that they were still at work. Her hugely swollen belly **** her breasts upward until they pressed uncomfortably against her chin. She tried to look down but could make out only a seemingly endless expanse of smooth pink skin. She felt distended, as though she might burst at any moment.

In the end, it took eleven eggs to fill her up. When they were done, the students filed out, chattering among themselves. The priestess remained behind to tidy up. Without looking at Teysa, she addressed her.

"You did well today, my pet. Tomorrow, I think your little friend will be a good demonstration." Aliara sobbed at this, but said nothing. The priestess's mouth curled up into a predatory smile. "In truth, we use captives for the same thing as the driders do. The best hounds breed this way. Don't worry, you won't be harmed. We need some like you-- the breeders the driders have enchanted always work the best."

Finishing her task, she turned to go. "I'm sure I can find you more fitting accommodations in the kennels, but you'll have to spend your night here tonight. Don't worry-- we know this is what you're used to. This is what you're good for. You'll just be doing it for us now." The door slammed behind her as she left.

Teysa lay in the dark, thinking on her fate. She had been a fool to leave the warren, where she was comfortable and provided for. In the end, she had traded one violation for another.

(GAME OVER)