Dark Scholar
Solutions Needed, Enquire Inside
It has been over a month since that night together in bed. Weeks after his life was threatened a second time by the blight encroaching over this land. And somehow, getting caught up with the strong and determined Abbey has resulted in Leopold forgetting about his original reason for being away from his people. The monsters are coming tonight, they always come, and the villages and towns around the cities have been challenged with bloody trials that they have not faced for generations.
"We need a scholar." Abbey says which rouses the leopard from his own reverie staring into the embers of their campfire.
"You mean someone that can figure what we need to look for?" He asks in genuine delay of thought, his focus returning to trying to cook the small rodent on the end of his stick evenly for consumption.
"Exactly, a scholar, that's what I said." The Huntress starts to pace back and forth just behind her male companion.
"Don't we need to go to the city then?" Leopold offers after she does not say anything further.
"Yes, but there is a problem with that."
"Which is?" This question makes her stop pacing and look back at him as he watchers her over his shoulder.
"I'm not welcome there any longer."
"Ah, you're banned." Leopold is being a right smart arse, and that is starting to get underneath Abbey's fur.
However the snow leopard is quite right, adventurers, and in Abbey's case famous hunters, very often become barred from cities; even the cities they have saved. Actually that goes double the likelihood for the cities they saved. In many cases it does not matter how valiant or noble you were in saving people from harm when their livelihoods have already been ruined, sometimes by your own ignoble actions. Abbey explains, as dismissively as possible, that there was an incident involving a giant moth. Although as she goes into the tale of how she valiantly fought the moth for ten days and ten nights, Leopold has a confused expression on his face.
"What is it?" Abbey asks, still annoyed and not looking at Leopold as his expression turns.
"A moth?" Leopold feels a little uneasy.
"Yes, a gigantic moth."
"I don't really want to know..." He shakes his head trying to get rid of the thought.
"What? Why?"
"Oh nothing much. I just hate anything which flies and is bigger than a house... especially insects." Leopold shivers and looks back at the fire whilst wrapping his paws around his shoulders.
***
It is the sunny morning now, and after having nearly three hours of sleep in the early hours, the leopard is ready for his new journey. In a surprising break from her usually stoic self, the huntress hugs her little companion close before letting him go. He stumbles back and blushes, but as she smiles at him he feels alright again. Leopold is still not sure what their relationship really is, but at least it is something that feels good to him on a personal level. She begins to explain where precisely to go in the city, and who he needs to get help from.
"In the Moon District of Kashtech, you will find a book reliquary."
"Like a library? I've heard of libraries, full of books right?" Although Leopold's experience of the rest of the world is limited, plenty of oral knowledge was passed down to him as a cub.
"A book reliquary is like a library, yes. It is full of books, but unlike a normal library it is also full of their wardens. The people there see themselves as both preservers and jailers of forbidden knowledge." Abbey seems dismissive as she snorts at the end of talking about the wardens. "One of them is who we want tough."
"Someone special?" Leopold clutches his satchel, and a spring is underneath is paws; a growing excitement to see the city at long last is taking hold.
"Someone," Abbey pauses, "will be expecting you."
"Who?" the leopard frowns, a little confused now about his mission.
"It doesn't matter, but you'll see." The way she says this is almost coy and definitely not helpful.
Leopold does not like the way Abbey is acting now, but pressing more questions upon her will not get him anywhere. So, with a parting gesture from an increasingly stoic Abbey, he starts to make his way to Kashtech. Thankfully it will not take long from here, since the city is only two days and a night away walking. He spends the first day trekking nonstop, covering more ground than he had originally thought he would. The night was spent with a great deal of caution, setting up a few traps as Abbey had taught him during their time spent together. And the last day of walking brought him to the outskirts of Kashtech just as the sun was beginning to set.
***
Kashtech
A patchwork of pebbles leaders up to the front gates of the city. Imposing brick walls tower either side of the gates and spread out as far as Leopold can see. Kashtech might be a relatively peaceful coastal city, but it is also one with enough history to know how to protect itself. The nudist cat approaches the gates built of wood and iron, and waits. There is no one here, which seems a little unusual for such a large settlement's front door. Perhaps they have decided to seal up tight upon hearing of the nightmares out in the smaller settlements. Even worse, maybe the creatures had already arrived here before Leopold and no one is left inside.
"Anyone there?" Leopold calls out at the top of his lungs. And surprisingly someone else appears on top of the wall.
The seconds feel longer than normal as Leopold stands outside in the cold awaiting a response which may not come. But after deciding he has waited long enough the feline starts to circumnavigate the wall. Maybe there is another entrance or he will find some actual sign of life. However all of a sudden someone does call back to him. Leopold hears it quite clearly, though he does not catch what th person is trying to communicate in the shout. He looks up and tries to follow the sound and sees an odd face looking back at him from atop the wall near the gate. It takes the leopard a moment to realise that it is a raccoon.
"Who are you and what do you want?" The raccoon asks again, this time the leopard hearing him clearly.
"Are you the gatekeeper?" Leopold shouts back up.
"Uuuh, yeah you could call me that. So answer the question!" An odd response but a fair question.
"My name is Leopold. I come from the leopard tribe far east. But I come looking for a book reliquary." Leopold stops and then asks a question in turn. "Is something wrong? Why is the city s quiet?"
"Hmm. It'll be best if you come inside." And with that the gatekeeper pulls some mysterious lever and an unlocking mechanism can be heard clicking and whirring into life.
The large doors of thick wood bound in sturdy cold steel slowly pull open autonomously, swinging so as to recede inside the city walls. A vista of slightly foggy and worryingly deserted looking cobblestone roads lay beyond. I a nervous tick Leopold flicks his tail, wondering about the fate of the people inside the city. Is it possible that the reason they had received no proper response for them was due to far darker circumstances? Not that such things really matter at this point, Leopold has a mission, two or three depending on who is keeping score, and this city should be able to help him with at least one of them. As he steps inside the city walls of Kashtech he can feel a presence, almost as if in the smoky fog which is the first thing to greet him with an embrace.
"So..." the voice comes from behind and just to the left of the feline making him jump and fur stand on end. He turns around with paws raised, claws out, only to see that it is the raccoon who let him in.
"What do you think you're doing sneaking up like that! And, come to think of it, how did you get down so fast?" Leopold fumes at the gatekeeper whilst lowering his hands.
"Well excuse me, but I'm still not even sure what you are doing here or if you should even be trusted." The raccoon almost snarls that last part there and looking more carefully at him Leopold begins to wonder what happened here.
"In that case, why did you let me in?"
"Don't see the harm now, and I might as well be mayor of the city." He replies with a strange sort of light hearted melancholy. "Anyway if you need a guide try knocking on doors, they're all hiding but someone might come out. I'm going back to my post." And with that the raccoon is off again, nimbly climbing a series of ladder steps before returning somewhere atop the wall.
Flicking his tail again, though this time in annoyance as well as nervousness, the cat looks back at the dreary cobblestone road. He begins by walking down until reaching a crossing, buildings are arranged as can be expected both sides of the roads. Most are almost cottage like in appearance, remarkably underdeveloped considering the rapid expansion of the city's population, or so Leopold had heard before actually coming here. Regardless he picks one of the homes at random and walks up to the front door. On closer inspection he realises that this is also someone's workshop, though clearly there is a homely feel due to the garden just outside and a letterbox. Leopold knocks on the door and waits.
Just at the very moment leopard thinks no one is going to come, there is a sudden and very loud noise from just beyond the entrance. In fact the sound is of such volume that Leopold jumps a little bit, fur bristling to stand on end as his paws find purchase just a short distance back from where they were before. He stops dead for a moment to wait as he hears a shuffling followed by a rattle on the door and finally someone opens it from the inside. A head pops out, wolfen and with the sort of grey hair turning into a wispy white which underscores a particular kind advanced age. He has a gnarly wooden staff in one paw for support and a dagger in the other made of a metal that Leopold does not quite recognise.
"What do you want!" This is the cherry on the icing for this particular kind of age. Leopold tries to smile and approaches the old wolf with his paws spread out in a pleading gesture.
"I just want to find out where someone is. Can you help me, sir?" He refrains from calling him what he is, an old man, but somehow whilst remaining as polite as possible the feline has still managed to insult the old miser.
"Do I look like an information bureau to you? No, SO BOG OFF!" And with that the old man slams the door shut and Leopold's whiskers twitch as he stares at it.
***
Moon District; It's A Buyer's Market
Leopold spends the next couple of hours wandering Kashtech's many winding streets feeling like a lost kitten. He has tried a few doors so far, but each one has either been met with deaf silence, an irate local or one where he had to run for his life. It is clear that the vast majority of the city dwellers are content to stay isolated inside their homes. At first thought Leopold is inclined to believe that they are hiding from someone or something, but that does not completely sit right with him. It is more like they are waiting for something, and are angered when someone -namely him- tries to interrupt their faithful waiting. The entire situation is quite bizarre, but they are not the cat's chief concern at this particular moment.
As he rounds the next corner the spotted leopard sees a wooden sign with faded black paint saying "Moon District Marketplace". Finally he has found his destination, or at any rate is very close now. Continuing down the cobblestone road he notes a series of market stalls, each as equally barren as the next. To break the monotony he does suddenly find a piece of stray fruit waiting just underneath one of the stalls, he bends down to pick it up -a bright yellow thing- and sniffs at it cautiously. Leopold discards the fruit, deeming it too ripe, and continues wandering around the market square looking for any sign of his destination or someone who has not abandoned this public place too. Thankfully there are more signs here, this time belonging to shops heading down a path that goes uphill, so he takes it and eyes each building carefully.
Success, one of the buildings is clearly marked as "Moon District Book Reliquary". Leopold dashes up the space between him and the shop door, stopping once he gets to it. From nature he checks his satchel, procuring the coin purse in it and checks the pieces of silver he has. Abbey did not mention having to specifically buy the services of whoever Leopold is about to see, but nonetheless he expects to need to spend his limited wealth on something here. Putting the purse away he raises one claw in a fist and knocks on the reliquary's door. To his surprise, and unlike just about every other door he has tried so far, the entrance parts from his first knock; so the book reliquary is still open for business.
The Moon District Book Reliquary is, in truth, not very impressive upon first inspection as Leopold cautiously enters the building. It has a dusty and unkempt appearance, as if half bookstore and half waste reclamation. Different pieces of parchment lay scattered on desks and worn rugs, old books are stacked haphazardly in shelves. The floor creaks underneath every footstep the cat's paws take. And the air is thick with agitated allergy-threatening airborne dirt. But as the leopard thinks about the condition of the first room he wonders if this is less book reliquary and more personal study for someone. Leopold wanders over, past an archway, into the next room beyond this. More dusty books, scrolls and pieces of parchment. Although there also appears to be a counter back here, as he gets closer something reflective on it catches his eye.
"An unexpected visitor," the voice surprises Leopold and he turns away from the counter to track the source of the voice with his eyes.
From an entrance he did not previously notice Leopard now sees a dragon standing with a large leather bound book in one set of claws. His scales a silvery white with black ring spotted pattern over them. Dressed in robes of blue and gold weave, there is a satchel slung over his shoulder with arcane runes inscribed upon it. He steps forward, his heavy claws causing the floor creak underneath his weight as he peers down with ice blue eyes. For a moment the cat does not know how to respond, what to say; for some reason he feels like he has just been caught, like a cub misbehaving. But he soon finds the words again and starts by explaining his purpose to the stranger for being here.
"Sorry I was just looking at something, err over there." The leopard waves his paw in no particular direction, although the dragon's eyes do not leave watching him. "But I've really come here for something specific, though what it is I do not know."
"Can I just get this straight for a minute. You came here for something specific, but don't know what?" There is something in the silver reptile's voice which Leopold is not entirely sure he recognises. Something between amusement and annoyance perhaps, though only now does Leopold realise he has never met a dragon before and as such has very no reference to go on here.
"Well I was sent here by someone, her name is Abbey, Abbey the Huntress. Do you know who sh-" The feline's voice trails off as he sees the dragon's expression change quite dramatically. Eyes wide, nostrils flaring, fists clenching. He looks quite the opposite of calm and happy. Leopold soon finds himself backing away, though heading deeper into the book reliquary.
"THAT WOMAN!" The dragon roars, clearly incensed. "THE ACCURSED BITCH IS STILL ALIVE?"
Gripped with panic Leopold reaches for the short sword in his satchel. His furry digits wrap around the grip, bruising up against the cross guard. But as he removes the weapon from its sheath he sees one of the dragon's outstretched claws glow with a vivid light dancing between the talon tips. Something bright and blurry darts from the mass of light and strikes his paw holding the weapon. A it clatters onto the ground below the cat decides to simply run. Dashing between shelves and haphazard stacks of books, he does not get very far before he trips and tumbles. Something sturdy, cool to the touch and immovable connects with his forehead as the leopard comes out of his roll. It is at this point that he loses all consciousness, the adrenaline doing very little for the concussion.
***
Waking
There is a bitter taste in Leopold's mouth. That is the first thing he notices, the second is the water coming up to his waist. He can open his eyes, though a part of him does not want to; maybe there is a sweet dream waiting for him back in unconscious thought. But open his eyes he does and immediately a scream is about to leap out of his throat. Something is binding his paws over his head, whilst simultaneously suspending him in dark waters which hide whatever is beneath their surface. However the part that shocks and frightens him is a terribly twisted, ugly looking creature that looms over him from just a few feet away where the waters stop against a sheer bank.
"Gah!" Leopold exhales, heart pounding in his chest, as he realises that the thing is only a stone statue; or at least he hopes it is only a statue. Though terrible looking it is immobile and unable to do anything to him. On further thought Leopold realises that he has probably been left facing it for precisely this unnerving effect.
Trying to keep his calm the feline starts to analyse as much of his surroundings as he can. Although he is hindered by an ever present gloominess with next to no light of practical use available to him; cat eyes are not supernatural. Even so Leopold is still able to make out stalactites overhead, what little light beams into this dark and dank place is reflecting off of them. The events from before return to him now, after being rendered unconscious the dragon must have moved his body here; wherever here is. Before his thoughts can turn to what will happen next he hears someone approaching.
"Who's there?" Leopold calls out at the darkness. Shadows move but all he can feel are the petrified eyes of the gruesome statue upon himself. So he asks again, this time with more feeling, but if there is something out there it does not want to say hello.
Leopold can move his fingers, so with his protracted claws he attempts to cut whatever is binding him. However there is no rope to cut, though he can feel something wrapped around his limbs and waist that seems rope-like; he concludes that there must be some kind of sorcery involved here. Changing tactics the feline begins to shift his body weight in one direction and then the other. It is slow going at first but he gradually begins to pick up a rhythm, rocking back and forth. Whatever the binding material consists of is allowing him to precariously swing over the black waters. But as his movement becomes increasingly exaggerated the leopard becomes evermore disorientated by the movement with limited visual reference.
"If you keep doing that you'll just lose the contents of your stomach." Leopold hears a voice which he recognises to be the dragon. He stops throwing his body's weight around, although his motion will take some time to come to a complete stop.
"Why?" Leopold immediately regrets opening his mouth, as that action alone seems to act as the catalyst for the forewarned ill feeling. Putrid bile rises up his throat and the pilgrim can do little to stop the sick from projecting out of his mouth, and catching on his fur on the way down. "Ugh..."
"I told you why. Action, reaction." Leopold can see the silver scaled dragon now. He is standing only a short distance behind the horrifying statue. "The mystical bonds I've used will not give. All you've accomplished is, well..."
"Why have you brought me here then?" His stomach can hold its own now and Leopold is directing all his mental energy on glowering down at the dragon from his compromised, though elevated, position.
The dragon grins and shakes his head whilst obviously suppressing laughter. He begins to walk to Leopold's left, claws clasped behind his back. The leopard's eyes track the drake as far as they can see before he is out of the feline's periphery vision. He can still hear the sorcerer's footsteps, which begin to go all the way around to being behind him. Whatever body of water Leopold is suspended over, it must be about the size of a pond in circumference then, though something tells him it depths are something far more exaggerated. The dragon appears to Leopold's right and he stops before turning to face his prisoner again.
"What was all that about?"
"You can call me Iscin, a practitioner of magic and someone very much irate at your colleague." He speaks fast, curtly and offers no explanation for himself. "For this reason when you indicated your aforementioned association, I lost control. Now you will tell me everything about her, what she has been doing, what she's like... where she is right now." He pauses and waits for Leopold to reply.
"Look, I don't know what she did to you, but-"
"If you don't tell me what I wish to know there will be quite some pain." The dragon's ice blue eyes look dead into Leopold's and the cat knows there is no lie in that.
"I will tell you, I want to tell you, but it's important that-" Leopold's nervous voice is cut off as the dragon holds up one claw. Blue lightning dodges between the tips of his black talons and a ball of light grows in the center. The cat flinches as the next thing he experiences is something best described as a ball of growing heat pressed against his chest, just underneath his chin.
"YAAARRRGGH!" The cat screams and then gurgles as he can feel his fur burn and his skin sizzle and cook underneath the flames. It creeps over his body, reaching around to his back and zipping down his tail. But just as the fires threaten to consume him whole, they vanish in a flash of brilliant light leaving the feline dazed, confused and pissed off.
"Next time the fire will be real. Where is she?"
Leopold relinquishes the information, through parched lips he tells the dragon of the rotation she is on guarding each individual village against shadows. Iscin actually offers a thank you before snapping his claws. The leopard wonders if he is hallucinating now as he watches the statue come to life in front of him. Grey skin seems to move like real flesh, though there is a strange powdery texture to it. Wings unfurl from the statue's back as it makes an awful noise and climbs down from its little stand. The dragon says something in a strange tongue to the creature, which is actually a genuine gargoyle, and it scoots away into the black.
"He'll be back shortly. Meanwhile you can tell me all about this, what was it? Shadows?"
***
Beyond Magic
After Leopold had fulfilled his purpose, telling the sorcerer everything which has happened, he was left alone in the dark for a full hour. His muscles ached, being forced to stretch out from the invisible binds, he cursed quite a lot every time a twinge of pain ran down one limb to the other. However he was eventually able to return to unconscious sleep, probably thanks to the mental and physical fatigue than anything else that point. So he hung there for hours, occasionally twitching and coming awake, only to be reminded of his terrible situation and find his way back to sleep. He has now been conserving his strength for almost ten hours when someone finally enters the cave again.
"Wake up!" The dragon shouts at him and then proceeds to clap his hands, rather loudly too.
"F-Fuck you!" Spittle flies out of Leopold's mouth as he audibly growls at his captor.
"Now now, I know that I've mistreated you, somewhat." The intesnity of the expression on Leopold's face makes the sorcerer reconsider his choice in words. "Quite a lot then, but that doesn't mean we have to hold grudges now."
With another of those nondescript gestures Leopold is slowly lowered down from his position and dropped onto the cold dirt-sand bank of the pond. He stands up, legs a little shaky and only comes up to the dragon's waist. Naked, though that is normal for him, and unarmed, but for his claws, the leopard wants to lash out at the object of his torment for the past several hours. Alas that cautious part of himself quickly succumbs and with outstretched claws, Leopold tries to get a good swing at the dragon's gut. His claws do indeed connect with the reptile, slashing through the fabric of the robes to what lies underneath across his stomach. But then something strikes back at him, pain shooting up along his arm as he flies back into the murky waters.
Leopold splutters and wails as he haphazardly makes his way out of the even colder and dirty liquid; that he is definitely sure is not entirely water now. His fur is sticking to his skin uncomfortably, but that is nothing compared to the aching sensation still running down one side of his body. He looks back at Iscin, who is currently waving one claw at him in a deriding gesture. The sorcerer explains that what he just experienced was a purely naturalistic defence, inherent to his subspecies, any further physical attack will result in the same electric effect.
"Now why don't we get you dried off and someplace warmer, hmm?"
***
There is an entire world, well an entire building anway, hidden away in a pocket dimension within the book reliquary. Seeing the expansive and ornately decorated rooms for the first time temporarily causes Leopold to forget the place he was in just moments ago. But then Iscin starts talking again and the feline has to suppress an almost impulsive snarl which has lodged itself down the back of his throat. He cautiously follows the robbed dragon as he is led through into a serene tea room, complete with a roaring fire. Leopold realizes his mouth is agape as he is presented with a comfy chair sit down in.
"Err, what about the upholstery?" A village boy he might be, but Leopold knows enough to recognize the worth in preserving the chair's condition, and his own still very much soaked state.
"I had forgotten, didn't I?" The dragon smiles -that smile is now sickening to Leopold really- before with a flurry of magic Leopold is once more left with clean, dry fur. "You'll have to brush it back down though, I don't have a spell for that." In truth Leopold has not felt this well groomed since he left his village, what seems like a lifetime ago.
"Thanks, I guess." Leopold is becoming increasingly confused as he slides back onto the chair. His eyes wander over a bookcase leaning against one of the tall, oak paneled walls. Impressive looking tomes stack its shelves, some of the names of the books include: "The Compendium of Recursive Time Fluxes", "Conjurations and You: A Warlock's Reference", and something which he thinks reads as "The Dark Arts: Limited Edition Goatskin Bound Volumes I-VII" although the dried blood makes it hard to make out.
The dragon excuses himself and quickly disappears, only to return with a tray. He places it down atop a table in front of Leopold and bordered by another, larger chair for himself. On the tray there are saucers and cups and a pot from which Iscin now pours what he claims to be tea into the cups. Milk and sugar too, things which Leopold recognizes despite his naturalistic past. He is handed one of the cups and the sorcerer sits down to begin enjoying his. But he stops and stares as Leopold stares with a hesitant look at the vessel.
"Don't worry, it's quite good and I'd have no need to poison you now, would I?" The promise and the logic convinces Leopold and he takes his first sip. He has had tea before, but nothing nearly as good as this. Having spent days down there he now realizes that he has become quite dehydrated and starts gulping it down until the cup is empty and he asks for more.
"So," Leopold gasps as he finishes his fifth cup, followed by a belch for which he feels no need to apologize to his turncoat host. "Why the sudden making with the nice?"
"Oh, I just got a little mad back there. In honesty I should have never taken my frustrations out on you, although..."
"Although?" Leopold can feel his gut clenching up, his heartbeat rising, panic strike into the very core of his being.
"Well, there are many ways to exercise our frustrations. Right?" The dragons words sound off to the leopard. There is something off, as a flush of heat crashes over the skin just underneath his patterned fur.
"I guess... but you still haven't told me what Abbey did to you." Heat is turning into something more, something deeper, as Leopold can feel it soaking into his flesh and then into his bones.
"Why would we want to discuss her now," Iscin gets back up and walks over to where Leopold is sitting. "When we have something more pressing to discuss." Leopold can feel the dragon's scaly smooth tail coil around one of his legs, he looks down and watches the tip press into his furry crotch.
"Poison," he mumbles and begins to pant as his phallus slides out of its sheath. "You poisoned me..."
Again he can see that sickening smile slide its way across the dragon's face. But more than anything else, he is thoroughly confused right now. At first he thinks he is going to nod off, but then that would not make sense after being released from the cave does it? Instead his penis is throbbing against his belly, fingers let go of the cup and it falls to the floor. His vision is blurring a little now, something alien creeping across the back of his mind. Leopold watches Iscin stand up and begin to take off his robes. A toned chest, packed arms and deep abs are revealed as the first robe falls. In that very instant the feline forgets about what has happened over the course of the past few hours.
"Come to me." The dragon assuredly commands and the leopard obeys.
Leopold immediately begins to rub his fur against the dragon's scales, they bristle against the strange surface and a shiver creeps down his spine. A large hand comes around to pat the feline's butt, which tenses in response before relaxing; claws sink in for anchorage. The cat begins to purr, long and deep, his desire building as he wiggles his rump against the larger male's hand. With his other hand, Iscin begins to stroke the leopard's ears back, admiring the handsome leopard spot pattern; he will have to try them out sometime. Then he feels something squeeze around his left thigh and move up to find what lies between.
"You are changing your tune faster than I had expected." The dragon risks revealing his true intentions, but the cat is too far gone down this lustful path. He gropes at the white linen wrapped around the taller man's crotch, giggling as he watches the abashed reaction on the reptile's face.
The glamour is working exactly as predicted, but it is temporary until solidified by something more. But a sorcerer's energy is never in low supply and the bulge in said linen grows, becoming increasingly uncomfortable for him. Leopold is quick to relieve him of this burden, using his small claws to gently remove this last article of clothing. His slitted eyes oogle the sight of the dragon's exposed genitalia. Testicles the size of large fruit, wrapped in smooth silver scales that are both hot and cool to the touch. With one paw he gropes on of these, but the other is already rubbing the head of the drooling monstrosity which he is inexorably attracted to. Pre is drooling out of the draong's phallic head fast enough to not only wet, but flow between the cat's furry fingers. He bites his bottom lips as he feels it throb underneath his pads, coming to life as he rubs and squeezes the fat head.
"Are you just going to play with that, or are yo- oh..." Iscin stops speaking as Leopold hurriedly brings his lips against the large member. He has to bend his knees a little, but otherwise his head perfectly comes up to the dragon's waist for him to start performing fellatio in this position.
Both of the feline's hands are wrapped around the dragon's gloriously throbbing cock now. They run over barbs and ridges that radiate heat. His skin underneath his fur is becoming hot and sticky as his heart pounds in a cage. And then there is the smell, a rich and aromatic scent fills the leopard's nostrils. His head is spinning a little as his lips touch the fat and drooling head. An exotic taste spills upon his lips and seeps onto his palette. Leopold's eyes roll back in their sockets as he widens his jaw, stretching further and further as he tries to fit the wide head in his maw. The hand behind his neck helps him with a gentle shove and finally the feline starts to take the dragon into his mouth.
"Mmm, that's good." Iscin rumbles, enjoying the way that the leopard is rubbing his tongue along the underside of the drake's mighty phallus.
Leopold moves one his hands down to the hanging ball sack, whilst the other remains stroking the overwhelming majority of the dragon's cock. Annoyingly it is too much for him to really get a handle on, though he sloppily slurps around on the head as it pushes into the back of his mouth. His own member has long since reached its full length and girth now; it bobs between his furry thighs, pre dribbling down it. His thoughts have coalesced now as the dragon growls over him getting warmed up for the main course. Leopold wants this man, he wants all of this man as he feels him radiate underneath his paws and throb against the roof of his mouth and the flat base of his tongue. He moans loudly whilst suckling the head, this being the only way left for him to communicate this desire.
"Enough of this foreplay!" The dominating dragon's voice booms, dragging Leopold's attention away from trying to fit the huge organ down his throat. That heavy hand pulls him away and the other one grabs him by his waist.
"Please I need it!" Leopold wails as he paws at the huge throbbing erection, but he is pushed away from it nonetheless.
The cat is carried off, in part by magical means though the dragon remains in physical contact, into an adjacent room. Pillows are piled up here, satin and plump, with one especially large mound near the center. Leopold is set down upon this middle mound, wiggling his butt as his face is muffled by a couple of lavender colored pillows. It is a good thing his face is buried down there too, since the next thing he feels is a hefty smack across his rear causing him to scream loudly. He pushes back against the pillows with both hands, claws risking to release a cloud of feathers, before he feels something new.
"Lets see if it'll fit here." Iscin teases the feline but in truth he has already added something a little special. He presses the broad forefront of his cock against the cat's pretty little ass. The tail just above it comically straightens as with a powerful thrust he shoves it in.
Expletives pour from Leopold's mouth and into the pillows. For a split second there he feels as though he is going to be split in two, but such an event does not happen. Instead the sorcerer enters the far smaller male with resistance, however it is nothing that can not be overcome with more application of raw strength. Little does the leopard know but the dragon has used a surprisingly common alchemical lubricant that prevents untowards damage. If he could see himself now the leopard would not believe just how much new meat is being introduced to his body. Iscin does not stop until he manages to insert the full two and a half feet of his pounding erection, balls now resting against the back of the cat's thighs.
Next comes the fucking and boy is there a lot of it. If the room were devoid of sound buffering pillows it would be echoing with the grunts, slaps, growls and other more slippery noises as Iscin jackhammers away. Leopold's mind is thrown adrift in a sea of unreal pleasures and pains. It is a perversion of course, not the anal sex but the subversion of his mind to reach this end, yet he still loves every second of it. He soon reaches his tipping part and with what passes for a leopard's roar comes hard. The sorcerer barely notices his prey discharging underneath him; he is all the more busy ploughing into one of the smallest holes he has fucked in a long time. It is more than a little satisfying that he gets to perform things in this way again. Magic is very often dissociative, which is what makes a lust spell all the more appealing.
Despite the feline's orgasm he manages to have a second after only two more minutes of ass pounding. This one the dragon clearly notices and slows down a moment whilst petting between Leopold's ears. He leans in to whisper something into the cat's left ear and although the words are the kind of meaningless drivel you can only say in the heat of passion they still have an effect on Leopold. With a chuckle for his own appreciation the dragon resumes his previous pace, and then he triples it. The screams turn into more primitive and fatigued grunts with the leopard's entire body shaking almost apathetically underneath his breeder's body. But deep inside there is a spark that turns into a wildfire going off every time Leopold feels another one of those mighty thrusts.
All good things must come to an end. This one comes and comes some more. Leopold is too far gone, caught up on another seedless orgasm which his body has developed, when the dragon's strong body finally reaches it limits. His claws sink deeper into the smaller male's body as he tenses up, those toned muscles all across his body contracting. Iscin clenches his teeth as he feels his loins boil over, rising up close to his body. One final thrust is all it takes and the base of the dragon's phallus swells up with a draconic knot. Leopold feels that one and lifts his head clear from the pillows for the first time. But whatever noise that the feline makes are lost in the rivalling soundwaves from a roaring dragon. There is a sudden additional swelling of the python buried deep in Leopold's anus, then something rumbles down and finally an explosion of white hot seed pumping at disproportional velocity and quantities into his body.
Even with the alchemical lube, there is only so much that the cat can take. It feels as though his internal organs are shifting, whilst his belly bulges out with a warm glow inside. Inevitably the simple village boy passes out; mouth agape and drooling on one of the many abused pillows. As the sorcerer finally finishes breeding the quest seeker, he stops to notice that some of the pillows have been ruptured and that feathers are tickling the scales down his back and wings. He sighs with some annoyance since those were actually gifts and will need fixing up. Iscin proceeds to carefully remove his knotted phallus from the unconscious leopard, grinning mischievously as his semen goes to work.
***
Proxy
A whole new day is already waiting for Leopold as he opens his eyes. He sits up to see that he is in the actual books section of the reliquary again. There is a couch underneath him that is not nearly as comfortably as the pillows were. But the first thing he really becomes aware of is the pain in his rear. It aches deep, from around the ring and deep inside. Nonetheless he swings his legs around, paws meeting floor, and slowly gets up. His head immediately begins to spin around inside, causing him to sway most unlike any respectable feline should.
"Why don't you sit back down?" The now familiar voice of the dragon somehow finds its way into the middle of the swirling mess and Leopold does as it says. As his body slumps back down into the couch the room seems to stop moving and he can see the tall reptile stood in one of the entrances.
"What happened?" Leopold is not feeling quite right so he wants to get some kind of answers from his torturer come one night stand.
"We fucked." A smirk as the sorcerer states the obvious.
"I mean... something isn't right, is it?" His mind is ticking over before something else pops into it. "The scourge! Oh my gods, Abbey is still out there a-"
"You no longer have to worry about all of that," Iscin interrupts.
"I don't?" The inherent confusion and lack of understanding continues unabated as the dragon walks up to him.
"No, because you will have a new quest now. Stand up again." Even as the words finish sounding the leopard is getting back up. He also starts to sway again. "And stop that wobbling."
Amazingly as the dragon gives that last command he seems to be able to stop himself. Of course his head is still spinning, but some sort of self control has come out of nowhere. In spite of the dizzying motion he is able to put two and two together: mind control. Indeed although he does not know the precise details the sorcerer has put in place a mechanism for immutable influence. The glamour he used to get Leopold into a receptive mood was only temporary, but after being bred a part of him is now carried within the leopard's very own body. This part, although relatively minor after the draining, is enough to facilitate a one-way psychic link. Judging by the smug grin on the dragon's face, Leopold guesses it must be pretty potent.
"Listen closely, I'll only state your new quest once..."