Endgame

Story by FakeMan on SoFurry

, , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

A hero who has already saved the world finds a long forgotten cave complete with a rather saucy dragon. He tries and tries, but it's evident that he won't be able to progress without . . . changing.

Editing help provided by the inglorious and keen eyed skiesofsilver


Disclaimer - This is not a guide on how to level up. It will not teach you any tricks to boost your Elo or increase your DPS. That being said, if you've explored all the areas on the map, bought every item, and finished every quest, but still feel like you need something to do, then perhaps this may help you find a new and quite unorthodox way to deal with a dragon.

Endgame

The stalwart hero strode carefully through the ancient cavern, huge ornate mace drawn and greatshield raised. The entrance hadn't been marked on his map, nor had he ever heard of such a place during his continent-spanning adventure. There had to be some reason, some secret priceless treasure waiting for him. At the very least, there was a sacred font at the entrance, so the Almighty obviously wished for him to be here.

The first area of the cavern had been an abandoned underground city, its majesty worn down by time.There was no one living there, and no monsters as well, not even so much as a rat. But after he had ventured through the silence and found the entrance to the subterranean cave, everything had changed. The tapping of the creature's talons against the stone had been the only warning before the hero was ambushed by a hulking draconic monstrosity. Its body was a twisted combination of a blue dragon's features and a human's form with glowing yellow eyes completely devoid of any pupil or retina. Smoke leaked from its nostrils as it pounced. Corded muscles twisted under its blue scales as it took a heavy swing with a wicked serrated axe that had a crescent blade the length of a man's arm. The notched edge crashed into the hero's hex-plate, knocking him back and wounding his vitality as he turned to face the stocky beast, holding his shield in front of him.

One of the stout beast's wings was larger than the other, both unfurling rhythmically behind it as it paced around him, readying another swing. The hero could smell the oddly scented smoke of the thing's breath in the air, like plumes of burning pitch and brimstone. He continued to stare at the creature over the crest of his oversized shield as he circled. Its body was twisted, a few bits of armor haphazardly buckled around its asymmetrically twisted navy blue scaled body.

It hissed before lunged again, but this time the hero was ready, stepping to the side and letting the axe crash into the ground mere inches from him as he raised his mace and slammed forwards. The creature cried as his holy weapon thudded into its mutated flesh, stunning it long enough for the hero to wind up for a killing blow, striking the beast in its head with a muted thud. Its stocky body went limp and collapsed to the floor, wheezing out one last smoky breath.

The hero was surprised that a single strike from the beast had hurt him as much as it had. He took out one of his potions and quickly drank it, renewing his vitality before leaning down to check the corpse for loot. Oddly though, as he reached for it, the abomination began to fade, even the axe slowly winking away into nothing. The hero knew that this was not unusual, otherwise the forests would be littered with the corpses of his slain enemies, however, usually such things only took place when he was not watching. It was somewhat unnerving to see the creature fade from existence right before his eyes, leaving him with nothing to show for his efforts.

Striding forwards, the hero turned right at a fork, cautiously going down a winding hallway that ended in a looming cul-de-sac, the walls of the cavern looking like melted wax as the light from his enchanted helm shone against the walls. Finding no other exits, the hero returned down the dank ominous hall, only to hear the telltale tapping as he was rushed by the same warped dragon-creature that he had vanquished before. It swung with identical mad murderous intent, just as it had before, and the hero rolled to the side, springing to strike before the creature turned its larger wing to the side and blocked the heavy blow. It was almost like the beast was learning . . . as if such a thing could happen.

The hero whispered the words of power that he had found in the Crypts of Harrowing. It was a risky move that his weapon could only use handle once a day, but it had been ages since he even felt the need to, and the invocation was invigorating. The beast paused as he cast the spell, glowing hollow eyes following him. His mace glowed as he wound up and struck again. This time though, his blessed glowing weapon tore through the thick membrane of the beast's wing, slamming its massive body back against the wall behind it and vanquishing it in a single blow. Its body faded before it even hit the floor without dropping so much as a single gold coin.

Tapping the outside of his helm thoughtfully, the hero continued on before reaching a great chasm, the path spiraling up the outside of it. As he walked up, a shadow rushed over the light from his helm, and he barely had time to roll backwards as a man sized greatsword slammed into the path where he had been not moments before, cracking the stone floor and raising up a shower of sparks.

This draconic monstrosity was different than the other: its body sinuous and twisting, a long lashing tail twitching behind it as a writhing counterweight. Its menace was added to by the chaotic black tangle of jagged curling horns that rose from the back of its head, along with the same blank glowing yellow eyes as the other. Its twisted body undulated in an almost whip-like fashion as it brought its sword around again. The hero brought his shield to bear, just managing to turn away the following colossal blow, his arm shaking, stamina failing. He would not be able to block another stroke of such magnitude.

Backing up slowly, the hero watched the smoke pour from the beast's nostrils, smelling the odd resiny odor in the air as the beast lunged forwards again. He was forced to throw himself against the wall, the sword just clipping his arm, the shock of the blow damaging him even as his stamina recovered. He tightened his grip on his mace, about to strike when a tapping from behind him made his eyes widen. There was another one, just like the heavy beast he had slain before, with one large wing and a jagged axe. He tried to dodge, but with nowhere to go, the axe crashed into his weakly held shield and slammed him up against the wall. His armor was dented as his life force nearly depleted while both blue scaly creatures bore down on him relentlessly.

Swearing, the hero launched himself into a risky maneuver, rolling behind the sword wielding dragon to buy himself some time, eyes twitching as he cycled through the words of power in his mind. He ducked under a heavy backswing from the lithe dragon, its upper body turning to face him though its splayed claw-feet still faced away as it turned like a flag billowing in a slow breeze. The other hulking beast circled around, flanking the hero and raising its jagged axe for a killing blow.

Finding what he was looking for in his overloaded memory, the hero shouted, cavern ringing with the force of the word of power as a wave of force slammed outwards from him. The two dragons were blown back, the taller one with the great sword bracing itself while the other went tumbling over the edge into the center of the chasm with a quickly fading roar, its mismatched wings making it tumble fitfully through the air into nothingness.

The hero raised his shield as the impossibly heavy sword came crashing at him again, managing to damage him even through the nearly flawless protection of the Xanthrian steel. Panting, the hero grit his teeth, steely eyes staring through the slit of his visor as the dragon adroitly paced from side to side, looking for an opening. Its arms tensed, about to raise its massive blade again as the hero pounced, leaping through the air in a wild desperate strike. His blessed mace slammed down and crushed into the scaled hide of the sinuous blue scaled monstrosity, staggering it before the hero raised a plated leg and shoved forwards, toppling the roaring beast into the pit to join the other. Its smoky roar left a trail into the darkness as it fell, wings flapping weakly.

Breathing heavily in the silence, the hero took out another potion from his satchel, feeling his wounds close as the thick bitter concoction slid down his throat. His heart pounded in his chest. This was the most trouble he'd had in ages. It must be a sign. There was something here for him, some confrontation that he missed when he was on his quest to slay the Demon Lord. The thrill of a real challenge propelled him as he strode forwards.

He trudged his way up the spiraling path, the light from his helmet a thin beam in the darkness as he glanced around at the basalt columns of the walls rising up into the darkness above him. While he continued on, the telltale scraping of claws against the stone floors came every few minutes, and one of the dragon-men would come rushing at him from behind. Thankfully, he was prepared now, and could vanquish them with relative ease, baiting out their heavier attacks and then rushing in to strike the killing blow.

Although many of the creatures the hero had seen in the world were indistinguishable, these dragon-things were strange. He never saw more than the two of them, almost as if they simply kept returning after he slew them rather than just being some inexhaustible army of minions. It was certainly better for the hero this way, as fighting two at once was challenging enough, but it was still quite puzzling. Nothing else in the world seemed to operate on similar principles . . .

The path turned in towards the heart of the mountain, leaving the great yawning chasm behind as it widened, walls becoming smooth, natural brown and gray stone turning black and blistered as if seared by impossible heat. The hero stepped forwards, towards a seemingly opaque wall of swirling smoke, heart racing as he stepped through the barrier, feeling heat tingle over his body. He had seen other smoke walls before, but never had he noticed the stench. The seemingly liquid fumes smelled of charcoal and scorched earth, but also an odd hint of spice that tickled his nose as he pressed through.

The miasma seemed to solidify behind him as he was pressed into the huge rounded cavern. Checking behind himself before looking up, he saw the light from the gem on his helmet glint over a wall of reflective blue panes that glistened as the wall rumbled and two massive yellow eyes opened, glowing like lamps, completely devoid of any pupil.

"What do we have here . . ." The dragon looked down on the hero, stretching out her long neck and tapping an arm-sized black talon against the ground. The frills on the side of her head fanned out in curiosity. "It's so rare for adventurers to make it here at all, much less in one try . . ."

Villains always gave grandiose speeches before confronting the hero, and so instead of listening carefully to her words he took the time to size her up. It wasn't like he hadn't slain a dragon before, but she seemed different . . . Her colossal animalistic body was curled up, but he estimated her size to be somewhere between a roc and a colossus. Her glittering dark blue scales showed no weakness other than her luminescent yellow eyes. Possibly he could break the membranes between the spokes of her wings, or maybe he could climb up her back using the frills and black curled horns as handholds before delivering the killing blow . . .

The dragon sighed out a black pillar of piney smoke. "You aren't even listening, are you? Well, fine. Can't say I didn't warn you."

As she spoke the hero heard the sudden swish behind him as the dragon's armored tail came slamming down. He flung himself to the side, but it was already far too late, the scaly bulk catching him and slamming him into the ground with enough force to shake the cavern itself, pain searing through him as his armor was crushed into his body. The hero's life faded as he looked up and reached out with a hand, gasping in scented smoke, seeing only the dragon's gleaming grin before his body went limp and his world faded to black.

And then in the darkness, the pure alabaster words of the Almighty came to him:

A WELL TIMED PARRY CAN KNOCK SOME ENEMIES OFF BALANCE.

Slowly, the hero opened his eyes, finding himself kneeling before the sacred font back at the entrance of the cave. He shook his head. Never before had an enemy attacked him while they were talking. He had never considered it was even possible. A strange thrill ran through him as he considered it. This was something that he hadn't even pondered in ages . . . a challenge. Nothing had really got his blood boiling since he had slain the Demon Lord some years ago.

Since then, he had been idly adventuring around the countryside, destroying whatever evil he happened to come across. But this navy scaled aberration . . . this was something new. Even the Demon Lord hadn't tricked him so. He could still see her pearly predatory grin and glowing amber eyes in his mind. Finally, he had a purpose again.

He refilled his empty runic bottles in the bubbling font, water transmuted into new potions of healing before he cracked his knuckles and entered the cave once more. The twisted dragon monstrosities attacked him again, but regardless of how many times he slayed them, they just seemed to return from the darkness, with single-minded murderous intent. He was convinced that instead of the normal regularly arranged enemies in the world, they were simply two creatures that just wouldn't truly die. Such impossibilities were usually reserved to the dark arts of necromancy, but they hardly seemed undead . . . In fact, they seemed to be learning from him: not giving him the room to achieve the same strategies as before, rushing him whenever he gathered his will for the words of power. Regardless, now that he was expecting them, he managed to hack his way through again, though it did cost him another two of his potions, just as it had last time.

He steeled himself as he reached the wall of smoke again, stepping through to where the dragon still reclined, yawning as he walked in, smoke drifting lazily from her nostrils.

"So, decided to come back, have you? Persistence is so hard to find nowadays." She slowly rolled over onto her legs as the hero raised his tower shield and approached her, even as she spoke.

He would not be fooled this time. He didn't strike though, strafing slowly as he observed her patterns.She realized that he had returned. So few of his enemies seemed to be aware of the Almighty's blessing upon him, so she must be a creature of great power: all the more rewarding when he would inevitably slay her.

"What's this? Not even going to bother attacking?" Her smirk was large enough for him to see her dagger-like teeth. She reached out with a front leg slowly towards the hero, and he braced his shield for the impact, but it never came. Instead, she just held her talons in front of him like a child who was very purposefully not touching someone. "How droll." Her rumbling deep voice commented. "Come back when you've got something more interesting." She held together two of her fingers above him.

And with that she tapped down with an ebon talon as large as a man's arm. The hero raised his shield, the blow incredibly light, barely affecting his steely resolve, almost as if she was only just tapping out if impatience. But he had no time to recover from the recoil, however slight, as her other finger rushed down as well, followed again by the other, like a clacking deadly pianist's tremolo. The hero began to pant as his stamina almost immediately began to fade. Surely she would try some other attack, every villain had some sort of pattern he could follow.

She didn't though, and eventually, he was forced to wrench himself to the side, his exhausted evasion slow and clumsy as he tried to recover. But as he stood up, he found himself face to face with her muzzle where she blew a stinging spiced ring of smoke into his face, opened her jaws, and snapped forwards, teeth rending into him and pulling him into her wet balmy throat as his world faded to black again before she could swallow.

The words of the Almighty drifted onto the inky silk of nonexistence:

USE HEAVY ATTACKS TO BREAK THROUGH AN ENEMY'S GUARD.

He shook his head and looked up towards the divine font once again. Perhaps he had given her too much time. Dragons were clever, though none before had acted anything like her. He needed to go on the offensive. He refilled his stocks and headed back into the cave. This time, when the mutant dragon-men rushed him, he flung himself at them, managing to defeat the one with the greatsword in a single decisive blow, though his wild abandon caused his fights with the twisted axe-wielder to stretch on for far too long, costing him all three of his potions before he reached the wall of haze. He put away his shield and grasped his heavy mace with both hands as he strode through the stinging, yet oddly fragrant fog.

He didn't even wait for her to talk this time, charging forwards as she rolled over onto her feet, raising a scaled brow. Her tail lashed out towards him, but he was prepared, leaping over it, dashing towards her exposed flanks. Leaping into the air, he focused all of his power into the one strike, bringing his mace down against her glossy blue scaled thigh, feeling the weight of the hit with the cracking sound that assured him he had done damage.

The dragon roared in gargled pain, head lashing up towards the ceiling, spewing black clouds of smoke that smelled less demonic and more petrichor. Her talons scraped against the ground and her wings flapped with finality as she toppled over, body seizing. The hero clenched his mailed fist around his mace, readying himself to dodge another deadly strike, but the dragon let out a final coughing wheeze and then lay still, long body twisted and splayed out against the ground.

He was almost sad. This was supposed to have been a challenge. The hero let out a sigh and walked towards the back of the room. At the very least dragons always guarded treasure of some sort, even if there was very little chance any relics he found here could be better than the ones he had recovered in the Tomb of Rath Thangol. Surprisingly, the room didn't seem to have a hoard at all, or even any other exits. He turned around to see that the wall of smoke was still there from the way he had come in . . . but that meant that he couldn't leave yet . . . because the smoke always dissipated when . . .

"You can't have possibly thought it would be that easy."

He caught the honeyed scent of her smoky breath as his eyes widened and her deep voice resonated through him. Before he could even turn around, her talons tore through the back of his armor, causing his blood to pool on the floor before his body faded again from her lair.

In the primordial darkness, the Almighty offered his infinite wisdom:

SOME FOES ARE ONLY VULNERABLE TO MAGIC.

The hero could still smell her almost tobacco-like stench as he stood up from before the divine altar. Perhaps he was approaching this in the wrong way. He had all the strongest artifacts and spells from around Yarlheim, so perhaps they were the key to victory. He rifled through his various charms and incantations. He'd spent most of his time adventuring as a simple warrior, but as he progressed, he found little else to learn as a man-at-arms. So, he had managed to become rather adept at spellcraft as well. The hero hadn't really found a use for magic after he had saved the world, as it always seemed less satisfying than martial combat, but now might be the time to dust off his skills.

After he entered the cave and heard the telltale tapping, he greeted the one-winged draconian that rushed towards him with a hurled blast of raging fire. The blue scaled beast stepped to the side, letting the blast sail past, detonating and taking a chunk out of the solid stone wall behind it. The hero smiled. Magic was always the flashiest way to deal with a problem. Not wanting to waste all of his magical energy, he closed the distance between them, waiting for the lopsided beast to lunge before countering with a rain of icicles. They didn't seem to do much damage, but they confused the beast for long enough for him to surge forwards and deliver a quick series of lethal blows with his mace.

The twisting dragon-man with the longsword was easy to home in on with a bolt of lightning that was drawn towards its massive worn sword like a giant crackling wasp to honey. The jolt stunned the creature briefly, its muscles straining under its navy scaled skin as its long neck whipped about. It didn't last for as long as the hero had hoped though, and when he approached to dispatch the dragon, it recovered and lashed out with a wicked arc that slammed into his breastplate, knocking him aside. The hero used the momentum to roll behind the beast, striking at the base of its twisted neck. Its head turned around completely, hissing black smoke at him in pain as it collapsed and then disappeared.

The smoke from the dragon-creature smelled differently than the hero remembered it. Although it was still somewhat sulfurous, there was also something almost comfortingly familiar about it. Perhaps he was just getting used to it. At the very least, it felt good to be challenged by the world again. What was the use of being a great hero if there was no equally great evil left to thwart?

He made it to the wall of smog this time after only drinking one of his potions, but having exhausted a healthy chunk of his mystical prowess. This time, he wasn't going to let himself be fooled. He reviewed the powers he had at his disposal before he walked through the wispy barrier. Immediately, he clenched his fist, gathering power before flinging forward a blistering fireball at the dragon as she sat up on her haunches, blank yellow eyes wide . . . possibly with fear.

"Oh no. Anything but fire." Her voice trembled, melodramatically raising from her usual bass rumble as the bright rose of flame blossomed against her yellowish belly scutes, hardly leaving a singe. "The one thing that every dragon truly fears." Coalish smoke puffed from her nostrils as she chortled.

The hero noticed that the fire had at least done some damage, however miniscule. Dodging out of the way of her lazily swinging tail, he conjured up a cloud of razor sharp hail that plinked against her thick scales with equally diminutive effect.

"Hmm, are we doing party tricks? Here's my favorite." She grinned, opening her massive jaws wide and inhaling before breathing out a black cloud of swirling smoke right at the hero. He braced himself, but instead of singeing him, it was merely warm . . . The scent though, was overwhelming, pouring into his lungs as he took in notes of pinewood and cloves amidst the cumbusted reek. She continued to breathe out, her breath like a desert simoom, darkening the room further and further.

That meant that her mouth was open though, which meant that she was also vulnerable.

The hero focused, the last of his energy drawn into his arm as his will gave it form. Whipping his hand forwards, he called forth a blast of lightning, a grin pulling up at his lips as it crackled forth.

Suddenly the huffing whoosh of the dragon's smoky breath halted, but instead of a roar of pain, there was a deafening explosion. The black smoke ignited, turning into a roaring sheet of flame that slammed the hero back against the stone wall, intense blast of heat killing him immediately and making the rocks behind him bubble. The smell of the smoke was seared into his senses as she leaned over him.

"You really shouldn't have done that . . ." Her impish words faded as the hero's world was subsumed by blackness.

And from that great blank slate rose the pure white words of the Almighty's truth:

YOU CAN USE THE WORLD KEY TO TRAVEL BETWEEN RUNIC FONTS.

The hero coughed, spitting as he found himself kneeling before the holy basin again. He wheezed, a hint of smoke drifting from between his lips. Of course he could leave . . . but there was nowhere worthwhile left to go. The Almighty obviously wanted him to be here. He had hurt her. She wasn't invincible. He knew that, but at the same time, how could she just remain so infuriatingly calm? He spat again, tasting her spiced breath on his lips before grinding his teeth. The hero was getting nowhere. She hadn't yet done the same thing twice, so how was he supposed to learn her patterns?

He silently refilled his potion, remembering the sheet of her hazy ignited smoke covering him. It had been painful, yes, but he couldn't forget the feeling of the smoke forcing its way into his lungs, the robust and oddly alluring flavor seared traumatically into his memory. He needed to beat her. The hero knew that he could. He just needed to try harder.

Instead of tackling the twin threats of the recurring dragon-men, the hero rushed past the both of them, taking a few stray hits before they chased after him. It was much faster, but he used all three of his potions before he reached the wispy door and rolled through it, knowing that it would separate him so he could focus on the real threat. Anyways, it didn't matter if he had any potions left, as he'd never had the time to use one when fighting her yet.

"Oh my, you really look quite exhausted. You must have really given the boys a run for their money." She flashed a wicked grin. He managed to fling himself to the side and dodge her massive claws as they swept forwards in an almost playful arc. Sliding along with one mailed hand on the ground, he heard a tapping ringing around the cavern. He raised his head up and stared towards the massive dragoness, but did not see a source of the distracting noise. It was only after the massive greatsword knocked him forwards that he realized that the half-dragon creature had somehow made it through the hazy wall, and was followed quickly by the hulking one with uneven blue flapping wings.

"You didn't think that they were going to just stop, did you?" Her booming laughter rang off of the ceiling as the hero was forced to dodge back from a heavy axe strike, panting, already seriously injured by the inhumanly powerful swing of the sword. "My boys are more dogged than that, and so loyal . . ." Her voice fell to a throaty growl that made the hero uncomfortable, tail flickering against the ground as she watched him try to avoid both of her minions, each a twisted reflection of her own draconic visage. She clawed forwards with her talons like a lazy cat, and the hero flung himself to the side, raising his shield just in time to intercept another powerful blow from the greatsword, but the jagged axe caught him from the side, slamming into his armor as he wheezed and his vision began to blur, vitality almost completely depleted as he gasped.

"What good boys . . ." She cooed, craning her neck down between the two twisted pseudo-dragons, dark spiced smoke streaming from her nostrils, seemingly echoed by the smoggy billows from her two minions. They snuggled up against her muzzle, and her massive fleshy forked pink tongue lapped out over them as they churred, seemingly overwhelmed in a most un-dragonlike fashion.

"You could stay . . ." Her empty glowing eyes turned towards the hero. "If you were stronger . . ." Her tail casually swept his body away as it faded, and the last thing he saw as he tumbled through the air was the two mutants nuzzling against the shining blue scales of the dragon's muzzle while her man-sized tongue slid down between their braced legs.

The hero smelled their torrid sage-laced smoke as the darkness engulfed him. He hardly noticed the message from the Almighty

SOME LOCKS CANNOT BE OPENED WITH PICKS.

He was panting as he materialized by the divine basin. How could she be so impetuous? And how were those monsters allowed to pass through the barrier!? That had never happened before. It wasn't allowed! He was supposed to be locked in sacred single combat!

He grit his teeth, licking his lips as he thought of her spiced reek, thoughts wandering to the two draconians rubbing against her. He swallowed heavily as the mental image played over and over in his mind. He wanted to be that close, close enough to smell her breath and feel her smooth scales . . . so that he could slay her . . . The thought filled him with vigor, his armor feeling tight around his waist.

The hero dunked all three of his potion bottles into the font as if he were drowning an unwanted puppy, jamming in the corks and tromping back into the cave, pulling out his mace into his white knuckled grip. He barely looked at the ruins of the old city as he strode impetuously through them, only halting when he heard the steady clacking of the one-winged dragonling rushing towards him.

How dare it.

He didn't even bother dodging, letting the opening blow slam into him, almost draining his vitality before the hero lashed out. Instead of catching the beast in the chest or head, he caught it in the knee, knocking it over and slamming down at its other leg, feeling the bones shatter under his blow. It hissed and roared in pain, wisps of smoke drifting from its wide jaws as it tried to cover itself with its enlarged wing.

The armor clad hero slammed down against the tough light blue membrane of the thing's wing over and over again, stamina running down as he panted. This is what the creature deserved. This is what it got for getting in his way. For getting between him and the dragon, and her sinuous beckoning blue form.

He was going to slay her. In his mind he saw the two half-dragons nuzzling in at either side of her massive reptilian snout as her blazing yellow eye stared towards him beseechingly. Why did they get to be so close to her?

He could smell the thing's devotion to her in its weak imitation of her robust smoky breath while he pummeled its body with his mace and blows from his shield over and over again. The hero's weapon eventually slammed down against the stone floor of the cave, the dragon-creature's battered body fading as the man haltingly brought himself to his feet, swaying slightly as if he'd just woken up before continuing on, mace hanging to his side, loose in his grip as he continued into the cave.

Generally, the hero couldn't care less about what the creatures of the world thought or felt . . . but this was different. He hated them . . . but at the same time, he also envied them. How strange it was that they seemed to break the rules of the world, almost in a similar way to the hero's own blessed providence. He wanted to figure out this puzzle, as there was always a way to win: to overcome the encounters that the Almighty placed before him. But this dragon . . . She just seemed to be toying with him. All villains were overconfident, but she just seemed to be preternaturally aware, impossibly at ease with the hero's quest to slay evil.

He would show her, even if it took eons. He would finally reach her, get close to her smooth scaled body, and have the satisfaction of slaying her. The very thought sent an oddly stimulating tingle down his spine, halting between his two plated thighs.

The two twisted dragon things continued to harry him, and he fought them off with cold mechanical detachment until he made his way to the wall of smoke. His blood was boiling, as he ran towards it with reckless abandon, a strange wave of anticipation rising up in the pit of his stomach. She was there, taking up the other side of the room like a smug blue-scaled house. As he charged she rose to her haunches with a languorous lack of worry.

"Back again so soon?" She teased.

He dashed towards her, staying in motion as she batted out with her claws. Sliding under them, he lashed out after her razor sharp talons passed over him, slamming into the side of her hand and feeling the impact harm her, at least barely: a victory, if only a slight one.

"How rude." She squinted down at him, blowing a stream of hazy blackness down at his armored form. His panting breaths drew in great lungfuls of the smoky heat into his lungs. The beam of light from his helmet just seemed to make the billowing blackness even darker. He shook his head even as his mouth watered. He couldn't see, and didn't dare cast any spells that would cause the cloud to combust. His armor felt tight, itching against his skin, but the smoke didn't seem to be causing any type of affliction, so he grit his teeth and dashed to the side, seeing the pine-laced smoke clear and finding himself face to face with the dragon's muzzle that turned up at the edges.

"Not a good guess." She huffed a ring of spicy smoke at him before snapping forwards, catching his leg even as he tried to evade her. She tossed him into the air, the hero staring down at her pink cavernous maw before she snapped her jaws around him and his world faded again.

He was so incensed that the words of the Almighty might as well have been aggravating pearly white flies.

RAISING YOUR SHIELD SLOWS STAMINA RECOVERY.

The hero had seen all of the Lord's advice hundreds of times, but the words seemed almost condescending at this point. He refilled his potions and rushed back into the cave, not even pausing to contemplate. The smell of her smoke was still fresh in his lungs as he dashed through. The dark walls of the cave began to blur in his mind as he fought his way through to her again, but was

Crushed

LOOK FOR POINTS OF INTEREST ON YOUR MAP.

Chided

A BLACKSMITH CAN INFUSE YOUR WEAPONS WITH THE ELEMENTS.

And utterly destroyed

LIGHT ATTACKS CAN BE CHAINED TOGETHER.

Over and over again.

It wasn't that she was invincible. He was sure of it. He could sense her vitality lowering ever so slightly those lucky few times he got close enough to strike her, to feel her glossy navy skin through the medium of his mace. But she might as well be invincible, never faltering, and never letting him try the same gambit twice. He was supposed to be learning from her, but it seemed like she was learning more and more about the hero himself.

When he wasn't locked in life or death combat with her, his existence seemed so hollow. Soon, even the two twisted dragon-men were welcome company, their scales and claws twisted and imperfect mementos to her own regal perfection. Sometimes he even let their lethal sparring matches draw on slightly longer than they needed to, just so he could watch the muscles bulge under their scales and smell the burnt musk of their smoky breath.

He lost track of how many times she had defeated him, finishing each encounter by blowing a cloud of smoke into his face as the world faded to black. Every time she had something infuriating to say to him, teasing remarks about his persistence that verged on coy praise. Until after one futile bout, she stood, neck curled down over his battered body, and offered casual advice.

"Your armor isn't really helping you at this point. You realize that it's just slowing you down, right?" She ended with a impish stream of engulfing saffron tinged smoke as the hero faded away.

SOME SHOPS ARE ONLY OPEN AT NIGHT.

The hero came to kneeling at the font, coughing up sweet dark smoke. He tried to take deep breaths to steady himself, but the fresh mountain air seemed worse than the smoke for the first few breaths, and it took him a moment to compose himself. His thoughts ignored the Almighty, and focused fanatically on her deep thrumming words.

She was right. His armor really didn't offer up any worthwhile protection. Due to his physique and martial skill, it hardly slowed him down at all, but there was still some effect. And the dragon's attacks were so heavy, that it really didn't matter. If she hit him, it was likely that he was going to die anyways.

With oddly malleable justifications rattling around in his increasingly one-track mind, the hero unequipped his armor piece by piece. As he took off his helmet, his eyes squinted at the sunlight. Looking towards the cave was easier though. It wasn't nearly as dark as he remembered it being. He stood up and stretched out, only wearing his loincloth and carrying his mace and shield. He did feel a little freer, although the extra spring in his step might have been more from his attitude than his reduced encumbrance.

With simmering anticipation, he ran back into the cave, the darkness not seeming nearly as oppressive as it had before. His eyes seemed to emit a slight yellow glow as they adjusted to the gloom, and he had little trouble seeing far enough ahead to make his way through the ruined city. All too soon, he encountered the greatsword wielding half-dragon, its long neck bobbing as it surveyed his lack of the plates that had previously protected him. Oddly, the beast didn't lunge forwards, but rather twisted its ponderous many-horned head to the side, hands still wrapped around the hilt of its massive sword.

The hero circled slowly, staring over the top of his shield at the scaly blue creature's body: its small twitching wings, its wide grasping taloned feet, and its somewhat serpentine torso. But even as he waited, the beast wouldn't make the move to attack him. As he was now unarmored, he couldn't risk lowering his guard, and was planning to block and riposte, but the sinuous beast simply wouldn't lunge forwards, whereas before it had always seemed so eager to . . .

Eyes darting into the darkness, the hero made his move, vaulting to the side not to make a swing, but to run past the creature, ready to dodge the inevitable sword strike that was sure to follow. He knew that he'd have to fell the creature eventually, to prevent it from coming through the miasma gate after him, but oddly it gave no chase at all, its head twisting around to follow his escape, but nothing more. Perhaps the hero really was faster now, so much so that the creature realized it couldn't even hope to catch him.

Running forwards to the spiral path leading up into the yawning chasm, he encountered the squat beast with the mismatched light blue webbed wings and glowing yellow eyes. Although it stood in his path for a moment, it then lowered its axe, standing to the side as if encouraging the hero to run by.

The hero paused, circling for only a moment before bolting past. It seemed wrong. Something was off . . . But perhaps they were growing as weary from their constant fights as he was? Anyways, he didn't have the time to dwell on the thought. He finally had the edge to allow him to slay the dragon. He just had to stay on his toes. His grip tightened on the bands of his shield and the hilt of his heavy mace as he stepped up and walked into the pane of smog that marked the entrance to her lair.

She seemed to perk up as his unarmored form entered the circular chamber, wings unfurling as she craned her neck up and opened her luminous angular eyes.

"My oh my." She grinned with a hazy exhalation. "You've really decided to give it your all, haven't you?" Her words made a flush of heat rise up through the core of the man's body: the thrumming thrill of battle like he had never experienced it before. It almost seemed like she had more to say, but as the hero rushed her, she sighed and turned to face him: "If you insist . . ."

His new strategy was working. The hero evaded her scything claws, rolling to the side as she languorously snapped at him. He was amazed at how fast she could move her whole body, her talons scraping against the floor as she charged, massive body trampling over him. As he crouched, his momentum caused him to slide, finding just enough time to flick his arm forwards and crack his blessed mace against her banded tan scutes. Her roar of displeasure didn't fill him with elation though. It felt oddly wrong. That was the most he had managed to damage her yet, still just a sliver comparatively, but instead of glorious pride, it made the fire in his veins turn to ice.

His moment of reflection cost him as her tail curled around behind him. Instead of crushing or swatting him though, he was scooted across the ground as more and more of the scaly flesh wrapped around his bare skin. The walls of the cave jerked around him in his vision as he was lifted off the floor, struggling in the banded coils of her tail. She looked somewhat peeved, lamp-like eyes squinting into slits.

"For one who learns so quickly, you really haven't learned anything at all, have you?" She pushed her head forwards so that the tip of her boat-sized snout was inches from his face. "You could keep coming here for eternity trying to slay me, hero . . ." She emphasized the word with a curling belch of warm smoke that caressed the sides of her struggling captive's face as he was forced to breathe in the acrid yet perfumed haze. "But that's not the only way to win, you know . . ."

Her tail tightened around him as a muscular band as thick as the full grown trunk of a tree. She had to release him eventually. Whenever a creature grabbed him, it eventually tossed him away or blasted him with some other attack. Oddly though, the massive dragon seemed to be taking her time.

"What are you going to do when you finally slay me? Have you ever thought of that?" She tapped a talon against the floor slowly. "You've scoured the world. I can see it in your face, and in your belongings. There's nothing left for you." She blew out a ring of smoke and then snapped her jaws shut around it, revealing her wicked teeth. The hero's struggles lessened slightly as her words rang in his mind and her smoke tingled pleasantly in his lungs and thoughts.

"There's nothing else in this world that will ever give you a thrill like this again. And I'd bet that you've never had an experience quite like this before in your career . . ." She pursed her lips and the hero winced, waiting for the inevitable coup de grace, but instead her massive forked tongue slid out over his bare neck and face: warm followed by an electric chill. Her coiled tail felt like it was squeezing even tighter around his waist specifically as he squirmed and his mind swam, blood pulsing in his veins.

What was she talking about? His entire existence revolved around fighting evil and collecting treasure. If she was really the last sinister creature in the lands . . . then what would he do after her? No easy solution came to mind as his jaws hung open slightly, his mind overwhelmed by the dilemma and the sensations washing over him.

"You still don't even understand, do you? How much stronger you could be . . ." She sighed a cloud of smoke into his face, making him cough. "Well, I know of two creatures that might be able to enlighten you." Her deep sonorous words were ringing in his ears.

Was she offering him a quest? Could monsters do that?

"So why don't you try learning from them, instead of just running past? Maybe you could actually pick up something . . ." And with that, the hero's vision blurred again, seeing the stalactites hanging from the ceiling far above as her tail unraveled, setting him surprisingly gently back on the ground.

"Well?" Her question hung in the air just like the dark cloud of smoke that she huffed towards the stunned hero.

His heart was pounding. He had no idea what she meant, but he had survived another one of her attacks nearly unscathed. Falling back on old habits, he raised his mace and dashed forwards groggily.

"Figures . . ." She shook her head, blasting out a sheet of fog that the hero rushed into, knowing now that it wasn't toxic. In fact it was almost comforting, even though he couldn't see through it. He could hear her talons scraping all around him, and her tail sliding against the stone as he took in great lungfuls of her smoke, swinging his mace wildly, giddy with irrational enthusiasm.

He didn't even have time to think about dodging as her body slammed down over him, her massive scaled bulk crushing him against the stone floor. She could feel the small indent on her belly struggle and fade as the hero was vanquished again. She tapped her talon against the stone of the floor slowly, her voice whispering in his mind: "Soon . . ."

The hero's mind swam as he waved away the words of the Almighty, coming back to consciousness coughing on his knees before the divine fountain, halting wisps of black smoke drifting from his lips as he hacked and wheezed. It felt like it was hard to get a breath, the crisp air of the outdoors seeming to sting his lungs more than the smoke had. While he convulsed, her words echoed around in his head: something about the two dragon-men that so zealously guarded her. But they were just monsters . . . Surely if they could speak, they would have done so by now.

Spitting, the hero wrenched himself to his bare feet. His head was still spinning, the taste of the smoke redolent in his mouth as he cleared his throat. Even his tongue felt a little strange, the center of the tip oddly tender when he rubbed it against the back of his teeth.

Maybe he had been going about this wrong. Perhaps this was supposed to be some sort of problem of diplomacy. He'd done quests before where he'd never even had to raise his sword, even for trolls and liches. Maybe there was some sort of clue to be gleaned from the two twisted dragon-creatures.

Without thinking to put his armor back on, the hero set forth into the cave, walking past the abandoned city as his mind wandered, oddly fixated on the memories of powerful blue-scaled skin wrapped around him, the deep booming sound of her voice, and the pungently spiced smell of her smoky breath. There was little room left to watch the cave around him.

The telltale clicking of talons against the stone floor never came. That was usually the signal for the hero to raise his guard. But this time, he found himself surprised as he rounded the corner into the inner cavern and found himself face to face with the squat blue creature with the mismatched wings. The nearly bare-skinned hero raised his mace and shield, and the dragon-creature twisted its enlarged bony hands around its heavy pitted axe. Oddly, it didn't seem eager to attack him, nor did it seem surprised to see him. Its dimly glowing yellow eyes stared at him as it cocked its wide reptilian head to the side, black smoke drifting up from the two nostrils at the end of its snout.

The hero looked closely at its twisted body, and found it oddly hard to pull his eyes away. Its scales were not nearly as polished as the true dragon's were, but at the same time, they had a strangely appealing luster in and of themselves. He watched the webbed heavy azure skin between the rungs of the creature's one larger wing tense as it fanned out and the beast shifted its weight from one foot to the other, wide spread talons making muffled clicks as it watched him carefully.

As the hero waited, his thoughts continued to drift. Why did this creature look so much like the dragon who vexed him so? Why was it blessed with such unnatural strength? And more importantly, why was it not attacking him as it had before? The hero's nose twitched as he picked up the scent of its smoky breath, weaker, but vaguely reminiscent of the true dragon's own. It made him salivate as he thought of it, mind thinking back to her wide banded scutes. He hardly realized that he was letting his guard down, but as his mace and shield lowered, the creature lowered its massive axe as well, wings twitching, the small one in a futile way that was almost humorous.

He was so engaged staring at the hulking dragon-creature that the sudden contact of a scaly hand on his shoulder made him start, staring up to see the head of the other dragon-man curling above him from behind, sinuous neck bent double as it stared down at him, tangle horned head tilted quizzically. The hero's first instinct was to bolt, to roll forwards and raise his shield, but he realized that the sinewy beast behind him could have simply stabbed him from behind if it wanted to engage him. The beast pulled itself closer behind him, claws slowly dimpling the skin of his shoulders. He could feel the banded dun scales of its sinewy chest against his back before the creature's nostrils flared and it breathed an anemic plume of smoke down into the hero's face.

The hero didn't so much as cough though, breathing in and feeling a strange relief roll over him as he tasted the abrasive yet silky haze that was weak, but so reminiscent of the true dragon's own . . . The hero licked his lips with his sensitive tongue, eyes half-lidded, thoughts drifting away from the lethality of his situation. His mace fell to the ground, metallic ringing lost with the pounding of his blood pumping through his veins as the upside-down pointed snout of the dragon pressed towards his face, jaws opening, pink forked tongue sliding out to scrape over the man's cheek, slipping down before the beast pressed in and locked lips with him fully.

This wasn't an interaction that he could have with an enemy . . . But it was hard to think about the implications as the beast's flickering warm forked tongue smeared itself over his gums. The elongated creature's fumy breath huffed into his face, and the scent was oddly relaxing, a warm haze that was pleasantly cloying. He leaned back against the creature's sinewy chest, feeling the warm scaled flesh rise and fall. The taste of the beast's mouth changed as its tongue wrapped around his own, slippery edge grinding against the sensitive fleshy tip until there was a hot tense pause. Then his flesh seemed to give way, parting, dividing the of his tongue tip into two pulsing tines that each seemed to taste the dragon-man's smoky mouth independently.

Head swimming, the hero lost himself in the strange twisted kiss as the other stockier dragon-creature strode towards him. He could feel its breath against the bare skin of his belly as it hunched down in front of him. The smoke from its huffing breaths curled up and blended with that from the other beast, smells twining together in the hero's senses, simmering in his lungs. He felt the creature's long black talons scrape over his smooth skin, and he twisted against the more slender beast behind him, but those heavy hands did not rend his flesh. Instead they hooked themselves under the material of his modest underclothes and pulled, tearing the cloth off like it was paper, exposing the hero's privates to the cool air of the cave even as his unveiled erection pulsed and throbbed unabashedly.

This was wrong. This was something that could only happen in a brothel. The world didn't work this way, with such public unplanned lewdness . . . But if it was happening . . . then perhaps it was meant to happen? His lengthening tongue squelched forwards, feeling the beast's serrated teeth as its lips grasped at his own, which were beginning to thin and turn blue almost as if he was frostbitten. It felt like exactly the opposite though, his body blazing with heat as the tall dragon wrapped its clawed fingers around his chest and hugged him closer, its tail slowly curling up from his calf, reminding the hero of being caught in the powerful engulfing coils of the true dragon.

The large wing of the wider dragon kneeling before him tensed and relaxed behind it as it leaned in, huffing smoke against his throbbing erection before opening its balmy maw and licking out with its slick stubby tongue, faint fork running up either side of his fleshy shaft. The hero squirmed as his erection pulsed. He groaned into the other dragon's mouth as his cock was accosted with long scraping laps. The probing fleshy tongue ground down against his testicles, scraping up and letting them drop back down as the human's cock jerked and dribbled out a thin clear drip of pre that was then lapped up with evident relish. Slowly, the man's bushy hair around his shaft began to slick back, unseen skin thickening into blue scales and banded dun scutes as the beast's hot smoky breath huffed against him, its stocky tail slapping slowly against the ground behind it.

With each gasping breath the man inhaled, the combusted spice of the dragon's smoke tickled his lungs, sending a shiver of pleasure out through him. It was like he could feel his insides shifting. As the slender beast behind him groped at his chest, his ribs began to pop, like creaking joints shifted back into their proper place as he breathed in deeper and deeper, nostrils flaring while his nose began to flatten. Soon, dark talons were tapping and sliding against his chest as his skin was covered in solid blue scales. They traced along the horizontal tan bands of his front before crackling over the blue tinted scales that were forming around the edges, sounding like someone dipping their hand into a bucket filled with marbles.

The stouter beast's hands grasped at his thighs, squeezing them in rough pulses as the hero's muscles bulged. His skin took on a blue sheen before cracking into a solid flexible sheet of interlocking navy blue scales. Thoughts clouded with the burnt musk of smoke, he was vaguely aware of how much stronger he was getting. Previously, he thought that he was at the pinnacle of his ability, but now . . . this opened up so many new doors. Perhaps now, he could get close enough to her to . . . to . . .

He lost his train of thought as the creature bent down over him, pushing into the kiss and puffing out a hot steady smoky breath, making the hero's lungs expand with the charred vanilla fumes before they leaked out of his nose. The man's skull creaked forwards, nostrils pulling to either side of his forming draconian muzzle as the smoke flowed through him. The creature's tongue wrapped around his own before it pulled its pointed snout back, letting them slide apart, the man's lengthening tongue twisting with inhuman finesse, grasping at the other's before they parted with a wet drop of thick spittle snapping between the two. And then he felt the creature's nails slide down his sides, resting on his hips as it bent down behind him. Suddenly, the man's eyes widened, feeling a warm puff of smoke against his bared anus moments before the beast's muzzle pressed between the sides of his rump and its warm tongue swabbed at his ass with prodding insistence.

The hero gasped out a plume of the dragon's smoke into the air as the heavier dragon began to slurp in hard loving strokes over his testes from the front with its blunt slippery tongue. With each stroke his spine arched slightly and his skin tightened. Soon, the loose skin of his scrotum was drawn taut, plump orbs feeling like they were being squeezed back against him. The more the wide sloppy tongue ground against his changing body, the more the tight bulge seemed to disappear as they were pulled back inside of his form in a proper reptilian fashion, pulsing inside of him. Its claws teased at the base of his neglected shaft, tracing around the edges as his flesh welled up, pulling into a straining sensitive vertical slit from which his throbbing shaft jutted, dividing the tannish banded scales of his crotch.

The hero was lost in a slick world of twisting pleasure, his usually one-track mind derailed as his body shook, just trying to deal with the bizarre and yet overwhelmingly compelling sensations. He leaned forwards as two scaled hands spread his ass wide and that hot forked tongue slathered his anus in forceful slippery affection. It made the human's muscles bulge and strain as his tender ring was tugged this way and that. A straining tension built up in his lower spine before it strained out with an tectonic cracking, fitfully jerking out into a wide fleshy nub, blue scales icily sprinkling in on the top while flexible bands formed below. The muscles of his asshole strained, stretched by his budding new appendage writhing above it, tugging his widening orifice to a more draconic position. With every lewd smoky lap, his clenched ring darkened, becoming tender and supple, pulsing with need as the licks became slower and more forceful.

Jaw creaking, the hero's teeth ground together as they sharpened, slowly growing out into interlocking sets of serrated fangs. His ears slowly shrank back, overcome by a wave of inky blue scales that left nothing but faint indentations on either side of his head, though he could still hear their heavy panting filling the darkness of the looming cavern. His neck swelled, creaking out slightly as he pulled his head one way and then the other as if straining back against the pleasure that assaulted his body. The slender dragon's breath puffed against the pulsing straining tail nub above his rear before its tongue surged forwards, spreading the hero's ass wide as its hot twin tines scraped against his tender wrenching insides.

The hero groaned and leaned over forwards as if he had been struck, closing his eyes, feeling the slippery tongue pulse inside of him, ramming up against something that made his eyes water as his asshole wrenched around the writhing sinuous length. His slitted nostrils flared as he huffed, and he smelled something other than smoke on the air before the tip of his proto-muzzle bumped against some turgid straining mass before a hot dribble made his eyes open and cross. The front of his hunched snout was pressed against the fleshy ridged base of the heavier dragon's twisted cock that rose from its slit in a pulsing curve, tapered head dripping down clear drops of pre onto the changing hero's muzzle that made him sniff in almost instinctually, basking in the masculine reek, eyes half-lidded. It was just so appealing that he couldn't even begin to question why.

His ass strained as the tongue plunged into him one last time before drawing back with a lewd squelch, leaving him clenching around nothing as the beast stood up behind him. Then the hero felt something slick and throbbing press up between his ass cheeks. The tall beast's shaft was a slowly tapering arc, slender tip leading to a textured bottom with fleshy ridges that ground against the man's increasingly scaly ass. Claws grasped around his hips, and the beast pulled himself into position as the hero's breath caught in his throat. Wanton desires ran rampant through his mind in clinging clouds of ashen perfumed smoke. His muscles strained, twitching in need as the creature hissed out a malingering cloud, one hand rubbing his quivering tail-nub as it ground the tip of its cock up against his already glistening slickened reptilian asshole.

As this was happening the squat dragon-creature ran its heavy claws over the changing human's head, fingers scritching behind his ear-holes as the hero continued to absentmindedly lap his flexible forked tongue over the beast's girthy and alien pulsing shaft. A building pressure behind his eyes made it feel like he had a sinus headache before there were two twinging points of pain. The talons then clicked against something solid that resonated through the changing man's skull. Two curling black horns strained out as the one winged dragon massaged the flesh that rose up in a thick ridge at the bases. Soon, the creature grasped his thickening horns in each hand, wrenching the confused man's head up so that the head of the beast's pink dripping cock was pressed against the changing man's taut scaly lips.

From either side of him, both dragons pressed in as one. The more slender dragon-thing behind him ground its hips in, spreading the hero's ass wide around its shaft with a burning twinge of spasmodic pleasure. Likewise his muzzle was pulled down over the other creature's meaty cock as it ground up against the fleshy roof of his mouth, forcing him to taste the musky slick salt of its pre as his divided tongue squelched against the turgid shaft. The man's body was creaking, stretching out longer and wider, sinews in his neck straining as it creaked out both thicker and longer, angling his head so that he could take the shaft deeper into his muzzle. Behind him, the taller creature began to rock forwards, sliding back and then squeezing in a little deeper with each thrust, slick contact making the hero squirm in pleasure as his insides clenched with wild inhuman strength, growing tail writhing in bliss. His jaws creaked wider than seemed possible, allowing the jerking member to grind against the fleshy back of his throat as he moaned out a smoky gurgle.

Desire welled up inside of the hero, tight and hot, straining with every motion as he was filled from both sides. His own unattended cock bobbed wildly, jostling with every thrust from behind him. The throbbing skin thinned, becoming slick and glossy as his rounded cock-head lost definition, pressing forwards into a chiseled point as the whole thing throbbed longer and wider, thick base straining against the edges of his taut reptilian slit. His spine creaked, popping out longer as the nub of his tail began to strain out further, pulling his thickening skin tight, muscles developing rapidly as the beast fucking him grabbed it with one hand and pulled, dragging itself forwards so that the ridges at the base of its cock slipped into the hero's straining ring of muscle with a uneven ripple of sensation.

The hero's tail began to lash from side to side, forming muscles bulging as the top thickened with two bony ridges. Each time his cock pulsed or his ass twinged with pleasure, his tail creaked out longer and longer. It moved as if it had a mind of its own, sliding around the slender dragon's side and entwining with its own, wrapping around it like a hungry snake. Two hands traced up his broadening back, talons clicking over his scales that were forming up into thick raised bands along his twisting spine. Its thumbs dug into the man's shoulders, straining down against his flesh even as the creature shoved in harder, hilting itself so that its scaly slit brushed against the quivering edges of the man's reptilian anus, embedded fleshy base pulsing with need.

The changing hero groaned around the cock lodged in his gullet, huffing out the smoke that still filled his lungs as the hands around his horns pulled him roughly lower. Forked tongue pulsing in time with his body's muscular contractions, the man tasted the pre dribbling down his throat as his jaws thickened and strained, scales growing in raised points that banded together to accentuate his increasingly draconic visage.

His shoulders clenched, bones creaking just under his skin. The writhing hero's whole body was full of an impossible pressure, simmering just under the surface. He could feel every pulse and throb of the dragons impaling him, the sensations driving him wild as his ass was ravaged and his gullet was filled. His own shaft still pulsed below him, swelling wider, glistening pink skin going taut as a heady dribble of pre spattered from the pointed tip to the hard stone floor below. It felt too tight, like it was being crushed by a vice into a space too small for it, the sensations making his body writhe even more, shivering all the way to the tip of his still growing tail.

Soon, both of the twisted dragons shoved in from either side, their cocks pulsing as their internal testes churned. The hero tasted the thick white spurts of draconic virility as the cock shook in his gullet, and his ass clamped down, base of his tail raising as the shaft drilling into his insides erupted in a white hot torrent of molten dragon-seed. His shoulders strained, muscles stretching painfully before wings jerked outwards, light blue webbing pulling up taut from his dark scaly skin. He flapped fitfully as they grew fully in moments, not large enough to fly, but still he could feel the air they caught as he continued to be railed from both ends.

His unattended cock bulged. The hero's breath halted as his straining length quivered and the head strained, a divot forming and deepening as the one pointed end divided into two. The crease extended downwards, separating his now doubly dripping maleness into two reptilian shafts that bobbed and jostled against each other, the sensation driving him mad even as he was filled with blazing gouts of virility. But even with the maddening stimulation of the bases of his shafts grinding together, he still couldn't overcome that precipice of release. His body twisted as he groaned and his wings flapped fruitlessly while the hot turgid tugs of their swollen shafts splashing into him slowed.

They both pulled back from him as one. Behind him, the tall beast's cock slid from his stretched ass, letting a thin line of cum drip from his exhausted leathery hole before it squeezed shut behind it. The hero's tongue grasped at the thicker cock that slid from his muzzle as it was pulled back, the creature's hands pushing at his horns, keeping his head at bay. The hero still felt so unfulfilled, body twisting with knots on the inside as he panted, the smoke from his breaths becoming fainter and fainter. His body was now largely draconic, covered in patches of scales and his skin tinted blue where the scales had not yet managed to reach. The dragons' heads both perked up, as if hearing unheard words from on high. Then they both turned and departed as suddenly as they had come. The hero tried to follow, but his long tail dragging over the ground made him stumble, barely catching his balance as he tested the strength of his new legs.

Had he won? It was a strange question. Surely he was still alive, and had managed to get past the creatures . . . but at what cost?

He gulped as he looked down. He was a monster. Two slippery pink alien shafts jutted needfully from his crotch, each shuddering and dripping independently of the other as they slowly and almost reluctantly began to pull back inside of his bulging reptilian slit, still occasionally making him shiver with need. He flapped his wings experimentally, feeling the oddly satisfying snap of his lighter blue membrane stretched between the rib-like fingers of his wings. It didn't lift him from the ground at all, but perhaps he could survive a drop from a considerable distance . . .

Wait . . . Why wasn't he panicking? No sane person in the world would ever give him any quests looking like he did now . . . but at the same time, he did feel more powerful than he ever had before as he flexed experimentally, feeling his long snake-like tail slide over the rough stone of the floor. Perhaps his armor would no longer fit . . . but he didn't feel like he needed it anymore, his scales were as hard as any steel.

And yet, he knew that he wasn't complete. His breaths soon began to come in great wheezes as he stood in the darkness and the last of the twin dragon's smoke drifted from his lungs. It was like the musty air of the cavern was no longer enough to sustain him. It made him pine for the potpourri of the true-dragon's breath. His mind fixated on her, his tongue running over his scaly lips as he looked up the spiraling path, darkness no impediment to his vision as he started to trudge his way upwards, slowly at first, but going faster and faster as he began to use his tail to balance himself as he ran, hunching forwards naturally as his cocks finally retreated fully inside of him.

Anticipation was the only thing that rang in his mind. He felt so strong, muscles bulging under his scaly blue skin. But he knew he could be stronger. He just needed to get to her: to show her how powerful he had become.

Then, could he defeat her?

The hero couldn't imagine what it would be like though, a world without the huge scaly monster, looking down at him with her luminous eyes. He wheezed as he thought about her breath, fleshy tongue lolling as his wings flapped faintly behind him, armored tail sliding over the floor, unfamiliar sensation creeping up his spine in scraping bursts.

In front of him was the gate of opaque fumes. His breakneck pace slowed as he neared it, and he swallowed heavily, looking up before stepping forwards into the large circular chamber. The first thing he noticed as his muzzle pressed through was her smell, his changed nostrils huffing in on either side of his snout, taking in the residual wisps of her breath, smelling the indescribable blend of potent odors from sulfur to turmeric, all of it making his mouth water. Finally, it was easy to breathe again, the heady fumes feeling as fresh and crisp as mountain air. As the rest of his changed body emerged, he heard her shifting her weight, twisting her huge body so that she was lounging on her side, long blue tail slapping against the floor lazily.

"Such progress! It's so nice to see a person so willing to better themselves." Her deep words boomed around the yawning cavern.

The hero raised his mace and shield, looking at them almost confusedly. He should be charging her . . . He knew she was about to attack him at any moment, but at the same time, he found the idea oddly exciting: her perfect body getting closer to his own.

"I think blue really does suit you." She craned her long neck forwards as if to get a closer look at him. "And so well protected too. I'm glad those two were able to teach a man as strong as you something . . ." With that word she huffed out a focused stream of smoke at the hero's face. He barely even flinched as the warm spiced cloud enveloped him like a silken shawl, caressing every scale it passed. "I could teach you so much more, you know? You would like that, wouldn't you?"

The hero stood there almost petrified. Refusal wasn't an option at all as he nodded his head slowly. His entire body ached. The slit between his legs pulsed as he surveyed her entire massive body like it was fine art: Her two sets of gently curling black horns atop her head, the graceful curve of her long neck, the way her wings folded so neatly against her back leading to her languorously swaying tail that quietly slid against the ground like some kind of unspoken invitation.

"Yes, I could tell from the moment I first laid eyes on you that you were something special." She rose and strode forwards, talons on her table-sized hands rapping against the hard stone floor. "You're not the kind of person to leave anything unfinished, are you?" She stretched her shoulders, wings shifting slightly. "Especially yourself . . ." She moved her head down so that her solid yellow eyes blazed only feet away from him, making him feel like an animal caught in the beam from a lighthouse.

He could strike, leap forwards and crash into her with his new-found power, and maybe that would give him enough of an edge to win the fight . . . But that just seemed so inconsequential . . . even though it was what he lived for. That was his purpose . . .

Or was it? His muscles strained under his blue scaly skin as he tried to think.

Leaning in, her lips parted, and her tongue slid out like some sort of fleshy wall. The hero didn't even think to raise his shield as the glistening pink slick flesh scraped up his body, sliding up from his crotch to his chest before slipping up the underside of his elongated chin. He shivered, the contact lighting up his senses like nothing in the world ever had before. The hero's slit pulsed between his legs, edges pressing out slightly as he squirmed. His body went limp as his mace slid from his grip and clattered to the ground, his shield soon following.

"Such a good boy." She lapped up against his body again in a warm engulfing wave. "Let's make it so you feel more at home . . ."

She inhaled deeply before leaning forwards, the tips of their muzzles bumping together like a dinghy crashing into a warship before she pursed her lips and took the front of the hero's comparatively miniscule snout into her lips. The man's heart skipped a beat as he saw her chest contract, before she blew a concentrated stream of hazy smoke directly into his lungs. He could feel and taste the powerful blend of her personality: petrichor sage and smoldering spice.

His chest expanded, ribs creaking as his tail began to lash wildly. It felt like he was going to burst, the walls of the cavern seemingly spinning around him as he struggled, pressure building as it felt like his lungs were hitching, seared by sensation. His slit bulged as the tips of his cocks emerged, pulsing in the darkness despite the pain. It hurt, but he wanted it so badly as he raised his arms up and wrapped them around her wide reptilian chin, fingertips lengthening into long solid claws as his eyes squeezed shut, his bones creaking as his frame stretched out even larger.

It was more than he could take before she pulled back, tongue flicking teasingly against his lips before he let out a forced gasping exhalation: an inky black stream of smoke spreading out from his lungs, going on for much longer than seemed possible. She grinned as she watched him inhale the dank air of the cavern, and then breath out another cloud of smoke, this one thinner, but completely his own, his insides twisted to be somewhat like her own. His tongue undulated, tasting the combustion of his internal lust made physical, his cocks pulsing as he shuddered and writhed.

"There. Now I think you begin to understand." She cooed, tail curling up behind him and drawing him close to her. He could do nothing but fan out his arms, wrapping them around her broad shoulder and feeling her voice rumble through her massive body. "You can feel the fire kindled within yourself, searing you with purpose . . ."

She leaned her head in behind him, tongue lapping out down his shoulders between his wings. They both spread out, joints thickening as he groaned, feeling the slimy warm length slip down his lower back. His ass clenched as the fleshy fork of her tongue split down over his tail, making his new appendage undulate, creaking out thicker and longer, bracing back against her as he laid his horned head sideways against her glossy scales, gasping breaths coming out in hazy plumes. As she slid towards the tip, his tail was able to curl back against her, as flexible as a coiled snake as it creaked yet longer.

"All this time serving some silly quest . . . Where has that got you?" She breathed out a curl of smoke against the top of his head, making his horns thicken and curl as he sucked in her narcotic scent. "You've acquired so many silly things, but have so little to do."

She lapped out slowly across his face before sniffing in, deep breath moving the air in the room as she smelled his growing adoration in his hazy breaths. His thoughts were muddled. His entire existence was devoted to doing what others told him, and taking whatever he found along the way. But why had he done any of it? He could think of no real benefits as her tongue slid over his waist and wrapped around to the underside of his tail, tip flickering against his still tender anus and tasting the telltale flavor of her other minions there as he quivered against her encompassing probing lap. He was lost: the only thing solid left in his mind were the sensations of her ideal form against him.

"But you crave purpose, don't you? Just wandering around the country in search of rats to slay doesn't suit you." She gracefully slid onto her side, body curling as she reached down and her talons wrapped around the hero's thickening form, feeling his muscles bulging as his mind wandered. He was literally in her clutches, but she wasn't hurting him. Instead, just being so near to her was making his heart hammer in his broadening chest as scales tickled in on the rest of his stretching form. She pushed him forwards, making his toes grasp out into limp talons as his feet dragged across the stone floor.

"Only the strongest make it here to me. Your skills are wasted on this world. You need something more worthwhile of your abilities . . ." She set him down back between her hind legs, one massive limb stretching up into the darkness as the other splayed out against the rough floor.

She smiled as the hero's eyes locked onto where her thick tail met with the rest of her body. Her scutes were in plated regular bands except for one thicker horizontal break, already bulging, pink showing in the center of the long slit, pulsing as her tail slid from one side to the other. Her massive open talons clenched as she breathed a heady sigh. "If you stayed here. You could protect me from the weak . . ."

The hero swallowed heavily, eyes still locked on her massive cleft. His slitted nostrils flared as his tail flickered behind him and he smelled the heady sultry tang of her draconic femininity blend with the scorched perfume of her breath.

Was this a quest? It felt similar, but more encompassing: something he could never truly finish. The thought was oddly appealing. The dual shafts that jutted from between his legs strained and shuddered independently, dripping down his evident lust as he took an unsteady step forwards, claws spread out on the ground. Her form was taking up all of the space in his changing mind, but he wanted to do so much more than protect her . . .

"Yes. There's so much for you to do here. This cave can get so lonely . . ." She reached behind him and scooted him forwards, letting his tail curl around her claws as his fleshy tongue licked out over his lips. "If you stay, you can help keep me company as well. Won't you help me?"

He nodded slowly, wings flexing in her grip, her feminine monstrous scent weaving itself into his thoughts. Her massive hand let go of him and slid down her banded belly, resting at the base of her tail and rubbing at the two swollen edges of her draconic femininity. She then pressed in and spread her claws, bearing the pink pulsing insides of her slit to the still changing man, muscular fleshy edges pulling in towards a central bulging orifice.

"Show me that you do . . ."

The hero staggered forwards as if drawn in by some intangible magnetism. He reached forwards and rest his hands to either side, feeling her muscles straining under her scales. A fist sized bead of lust slowly leaked from the bottom of the fleshy chasm as he leaned in, distracted smoky breaths puffing against her most sensitive flesh, making it quiver. Her entire body undulated as she shifted her weight, allowing the hero to lean in and scrape his thick forked tongue up over the pink swollen edge of her cleft, cocks shuddering as he tasted her power, and her lust, causing her tail to stiffen and drag across the floor with a rushing flick. With every lap he felt a wave of elation course through his own body, like her own pleasure was spilling out into him, making his twin cocks throb and leak unattended as he lost himself in his new servile position.

"What an eager vassal." She grinned as smoke poured through her lethal grin. The word sank into the hero's mind like red blood into white linen as her smoke washed over him. His tentative laps became longer and harder, increasing in speed and intensity, slowly descending into wild sloppy need as he tasted her lust with his long fleshy tongue.

"So ready to serve . . ." she rumbled. "But some things require more than raw desire."

She clenched as his comparatively diminutive tongue tickled her engulfing folds. The hero's chest filled with an odd panic as he kneaded in with his hands, grasping the scaly edges of her massive slit as he bent in with his neck, pushing his tongue forwards in long sloppy strokes that flickered over the tensing tight surface of her clenched inner orifice.

"You know you can't hurt me." Her massive wings flapped with something approaching irritation. But even as the hero continued to become monstrous, his ministrations were like trying to fell a tree with a loaf of bread. "So stop holding back . . ." Shifting her massive hips, she reached in with her hand, huge fingertips pressing on the backs of her devotee's horns with increasing pressure.

He continued lapping, but soon his lips were grinding against her pulsing pink skin as well, and then the entire side of his scaly head. She rumbled out her smoky pleasure, fingertips pressing him in harder and harder, grinding him towards that tight and twitching massive central orifice. Her pleasure rang in his mind like a pealing bell, leaving no room for thoughts other than her satisfaction, which had become his own as well. But even as his body thickened with twisting inhuman muscle, he was painfully aware of his own inadequacy.

"More." She growled out, a wave of smoke washing over the hero, sucked into his lungs like ambrosia even as the taste of her heady nectar washed over his desperately scraping tongue. Her colossal thighs clenched as she spread them, internal muscles tensing as she pulled in against his head, forcing his muzzle against the tight center of her vaginal entrance. Straining out with his tongue, the hero felt her writhing passage resist with steely force before his tongue slid deep inside of her. The force with which she clenched around his tongue was almost painful, making the hero's eyes water as they blazed golden, losing any sign of a pupil as his thoughts became filled with her own pleasure ringing through him. As her torrid insides clenched around him, his tongue pulsed and thickened, straining longer and stronger, fork scraping against her sensitive insides, just managing to kindle the sparks of true lust inside of her, the sensation spilling out into his mind, making his tail flicker about wildly behind him, cocks dripping with his own need as his slit clenched sympathetically around their bases.

She bellowed out a deep wordless roar, darkening the cave with a heady noxious cloud as her tongue flickered out and licked up over her snout. Her powerful body was beginning to writhe, muscles contracting with an exertion that she had never come close to reaching in their battles. The feeling of his wide lengthening neck making his snout writhe against her flesh titillated both of their senses, but she needed more. He hand drew him in tighter and tighter, his draconic muzzle straining against her taut rink of flesh, her folds quivering before she roughly shoved the entire front of his snout inside of her.

His glowing yellow eyes widened, pleasure lighting his body up. His tongue lashed around inside of her as her pussy squeezed around his draconic face with increasingly wild abandon. He could feel the pressure making the bones in his jaw creak, but the ecstasy he felt surging over him washed away the pain. His wings flapped as he strained forwards, the taut ring of her stretched insides inches from his eyes as he lapped hungrily at her powerfully twisting inner passage, tasting her lust that began to well and seep out around his blue-scaled snout. He couldn't breathe, but it didn't matter, his smoky breath hitching in his lungs unnoticed as her fingers stroked at the back of his horns, tilting his face inside of her, making her groan and hiss out in reptilian delight, darkness pouring from her nostrils in dual twisting plumes.

"Harder, my pet. Serve me." She rocked her body against him, making his foot-claws scrape against the stone floor. Her tree-sized tail thrashed about, barbs clacking against the walls as the edges of her reptilian slit pulsed and clenched against the hero's outstretched arms. "Give yourself to me."

Her long toes with lethal talons clenched in the air as she panted. Waves of muscular contractions undulated through her body, from her swaying neck to her slowly flapping wings, to the twitching tip of her tail. Her desires resonated through his own body, twisted into a distorted yet heightened reflection of her own. Clear pre poured from the chiseled tips of his cocks, dribbling down over his quivering slit, dripping down past his clenched ass and running along the underside of his lashing tail.

"Forever . . ." She arched her neck up, insides squeezing around his muzzle as she shuddered, and her pussy began to spasm wildly. The roaring surge of her orgasm rocked his body physically, drawing his face in and wrenching around it with force that would have broken a mere human's bones. His arms braced as his cocks both stiffened, his occluded testes churning as twin jets of his own thick white seed splashed out needfully against her perfect blue scales as he ground himself against her. He gave into the pleasure fully, letting it surge through him with the echoes of her voice.

Her spasming wrenches continued on in wild twisting abandon, making him writhe and twist in complete sympathy. All he cared for was her: the living embodiment of complete and utter perfection, his own existence like a shadow to her orgasmic glory as he came over and over again.

He was delirious after her final throes of pleasure clamped down on him one last time. His muzzle slid from her femininity as he staggered and fell backwards, completely depleted, gasping for breath. "Yes. You've done well . . ." She sighed as she stood up on all four limbs looking down at him with a bemused grin. "I accept your devotion. You can keep me safe." She stretched her sinuous neck down towards him. "And barring that, entertained." She licked her lips with a lewd slow pass of her thick tongue. "But for now, you may rest." And with that, she blew out a plume of smoke, and as the exhausted hero breathed in her divine blessing, his world faded to blissful black, unsullied by the now forgotten words of the Almighty.

* * *

The mercenary gripped his spear in hand, having wandered through the abandoned underground city into some sort of natural cave system. Blue crackles of electricity ran down the shaft of his enchanted weapon as he continued on. The only things he had found down here were two draconic beasts: a squat one with an axe, and a slender one wielding a massive greatsword. They were tough to be sure, and yet as many times as he slayed them, there always seemed to be more of them. But they were no match for his martial prowess. He'd wandered all over the world, and defeated every evil that stood in his way. There was no way that some simple lizards were going to stop him now.

A yawning chamber opened up before him, with a wide path spiraling upwards around the outside of the circular walls. A slight flapping gust of air was his only warning before some new terrible creature glided down from above and slammed into him. He managed to get the haft of his spear up to absorb the worst of the blow, but it still left him panting and wounded.

The creature was taller than the other two, wielding a heavy mace and a huge shield that looked more like a buckler compared to its huge blue scaled body. Smoke poured from its nostrils as it sneered towards him with evident disdain, wings furling slowly behind its scaly back. Its lunge was quick, but the mercenary was ready this time, ducking and weaving under the arc of the swinging mace, electricity coursing through his arms as he jabbed forwards with his crackling lance right towards the twisted thing's exposed chest.

There was a clang as the blow was intercepted, the shield swinging up and knocking the flashing tip wide, making the man over-commit to his strike, even as he spun his spear back in front of himself to protect him from the next inevitable blow. But instead of swinging, the huge humanoid beast roared, smoke pouring forth from its maw, making the human squint against the oddly scented fumes as he slowly paced back, desperately trying to preempt the next strike from above. Instead something wrapped around his leg with sudden vice-like pressure. The mercenary grunted as the beast's tail wrenched him off his feet and hurled him. The cloud of smoke made it disorienting, and the man braced for the impact against the wall that never came, his scream fading away as he fell into the central chasm of the room.

The hybrid dragon-creature stood panting, tongue lolling out as the praises of his mistress rolled around in his mind. Such a feeble creature as that was not worthy to ever be in her presence. And perhaps when the pitiful human finally gave up and stopped returning, as they all did eventually, her new guard would be summoned to her chamber along with his brothers. The subtle promise rang in his mind as he slid back into the darkness of the cave, licking his lips. He no longer needed to roam the world looking for adventure. He had finally found something greater than all the treasure in the world, and serving her was his everything.