Forbidden Foods: Galloping Gallons

Red orange flames licked up at the night sky as the settlement burned. The sounds of clashing steel and cursing could be heard everywhere, and that was before Vaneera even stepped off her ship.

It was high tide, and the darkened waves chopped up against the sides of the dock as the centaur clopped slowly down the ramp and onto the pier. Behind her, a fair sized vessel was anchored, and above her, a flag depicting a shattered green gem loomed in the breeze.

The aged wood of the pier creaked under the hooves of the pirate as she made her way toward the settlement, and it was clear that she was in no rush to get to her destination. Her girls would have made quick work of most resistance by the time she made her presence known, and she did so hate to sully her blade on the undeserving ruffian.

As the pirate captain set foot on land, her body was illuminated by the fires that burned from every direction. She was large even for a centaur woman, and she stood fully nine feet tall from hoof to head. Her dark hair was long and tightly braided into miniature dreadlocks that were so fine that they looked like curls. Her deeply tanned face was feminine yet hardened, and her grey eyes shone with satisfaction as she surveyed the work of her crew.

Several bodies could be seen here and there, most already charred from the fires that had been set. Vaneera strode up to one and looked down at it with all the interest of a god noticing an insect, and she sniffed to herself.

"Hm, they really were careless if they thought a few mercenaries were going to stop us," she mused.

She adjusted the sheath at her side and continued on. On her human half, she wore a tight crimson garb that was lashed over with an intricate weaving of leather armor. Her large breasts were made to look even larger as a bit of cleavage swelled over a thin steel breastplate, and a long red scarf around her neck ran down to her equine back.

Vaneera's coat was a beautiful chestnut brown, and though she was scarred in several places, it was obvious that she took great pride in her lustre. Her long, dark tail was braided in the same manner that her hair was, and around her hind end she wore a red barding that matched her torso.

As she moved forward, something unmistakable shifted beneath the barding at her underside. Layered as she was, there was no mistaking the heavy quiver of her manhood, and the outline of her giant testicles could be seen easily as the layers of material struggled to hold her in.

Vaneera was a female alpha, cast out at birth and reviled by even her own parents. She'd dragged her way up through life, using any and all means to survive, until she'd forged a place for herself in the world and taken her destiny by force.

The settlement burned on as Vaneera approached the tavern. It was the only building that wasn't set to fire, per her instructions, and she smiled widely when she saw the burning oil lamps in the windows.

Their attack had been swift and quiet, and everything had happened so quickly that those inside didn't even have time to douse their lamps. The settlement was nothing more than a group of child stealing slavers and bandits, and she knew that they wouldn't have any women or riches to plunder. There was only one reason she'd decided to strike, and it was more a matter of principal than anything else. Several weeks prior, she'd had dealings with one of the merchants there (a man who was probably a burning corpse by then) and he'd short changed her during a transaction. It was important to the equine woman that people respected her and her business dealings, and she simply couldn't have anyone thinking that they could take advantage of her or her crew.

The centaur captain took a step toward the door when she suddenly heard a howl to her left.

"To hell with you, freakish bitch!"

Her hand caught the throat of a pike as she snapped her head to the ground. A bandit was lying there, his body half charred and his face burned beyond repair, and he was so ragged looking that she'd mistaken him for dead. He was glaring up at her with eyes that were filled with a lifetime of malice, and his arm shook as he tried desperately to stab her with the weapon.

Vaneera yanked the pike upward and tossed it over her shoulder before she settled her hoove firmly down onto the man's chest, "I'll get there soon enough... maybe you can scout it out for me."

The burned bandit couldn't reply even if he wanted to, because she was already pushing down on his chest with more force and weight than five men could have mustered. She felt his ribs crack beneath her powerful leg, and she stared into his eyes as he wheezed out his last breath.

The matter settled, she turned away from the dead man and continued on toward the tavern.

She'd expected the tavern to be completely empty, but surprisingly, it was not.

There was a scattering of skewed tables and knocked over chairs all over the room, and signs that people had gotten up and left in a hurry were everywhere. There were several plates that still had hot food on them, full tankards of ale and playing cards and dice sitting on every other table.

She barely noticed any of it however as her eyes immediately fell upon the cloaked figure sitting at a table directly in front of her.

"Good evening, my lady," the cloaked figure spoke with a masculine yet gentle tone.

Vaneera cocked her head and smiled slightly as she glanced around. It was possible that they could have set a trap for her, but then, there was nowhere that anyone could hide other than the bar on the far side of the room. She took a step forward and asked casually, "You didn't run?"

"I didn't," the man agreed with her with a slight nod, "Didn't see the point. If I had lost my head and fled like all the others, I'd probably be quite crispy by now... either that, or I'd have actually lost my head to one of your girls. Besides, I knew you wouldn't set a light to this place; everywhere else, surely, but here..." he shook his head knowingly, "Not a chance."

Vaneera smiled widely, doing nothing to hide her amusement, "Oh? How did you know, exactly?"

"It wasn't hard to figure out. Once I learned that Foley tried to give you less than what you agreed on, I knew it would only be a matter of time before you returned to make a lesson of this place. The wine you smuggled for him is fine and expensive, and I know you must have gone through great lengths to get so much of it. Where else would we store such a great quantity of wine but a cellar, and where would we have a cellar but right beneath the tavern... the only tavern in town," the man chuckled. "And, more to the point, why would you want to burn such fine wine, especially when you can reclaim it and sell it all over again?"

The centaur's eyes narrowed before she broke into a wide smile, "I don't generally expect deductive reasoning this far north. I must say, I'm impressed. Still, that doesn't explain why you stayed in plain sight. You could have hid somewhere until we left; do you not fear for your life?"

"There is some fear, yes, but mostly, it's admiration," the man folded his hands and leaned forward, "Vaneera Tuskcraven in the flesh. Captain of the Gilded Loupe, leader of the Shattered Emerald crew and the most hung alpha since..."

"Careful," the centaur cut him off, "I've killed men for saying less." Her tone was firm but her smile never wavered, "Tell me what you want; such flattery is never given without an ulterior motive."

"Agreed," the man nodded once. "I simply wish to have a drink with you, truth be told," he raised his hands show that he was unarmed before he reached for a decanter that was sitting on the table in front of him, "The wine you brought here is among the finest in the world, not to mention the rarest, it would be an absolute shame if you didn't at least..."

"Do you have any idea how much I need to drink in order to get drunk?" She asked him suddenly, interrupting him for a second time. "If you're looking for an ass reaming from me, you should reconsider: I'd rip you open from the inside..."

"No, please, don't misunderstand me," it was he who cut her off as he shook his head, "As glorious as I consider you, I wouldn't even deem myself worthy to share a bed with you, and I could think of worse ways to die, but no..." he chuckled, "Just a drink is all I'm after. To share a glass with you would be erotic enough in of itself, and afterwards, if you decide to kill me, so be it."

There wasn't much that the jaded centaur respected, but she couldn't help but respect the man's sheer clout, "I could kill you now," she commented as she took a step closer. "And drink beside your corpse."

The stranger seemed unflappable, and he sneered beneath his hood, "No doubt... no doubt at all. Everyone knows it's bad luck to drink alone, however, and if you were to give me a last wish I would request again to drink with you."

Vaneera was used to nearly everyone she came into contact with running or begging for their lives. Very seldom did she come upon people who were so apathetic towards their own life that they were willing to gamble with it, and the stranger seemed so amicable in such a dark way that she lowered her guard for just an instant, "Why do you wish to drink with me so badly?" She pressed as she took yet another step forward.

"For the sake of," he shrugged, "All of of life is a collection of experiences. Generally, the greater the risk, the greater the experience; you should know that better than anyone... Vaneera the bonecrusher," he spoke the title with a bit of a smirk.

It was a nickname she had earned during a particular skirmish years before. In the same way that she'd finished off the bandit outside, she killed most of her enemies by stepping on them and pummeling them into the ground. Her hind kicks were so powerful that she could easily snap a man's neck with one strike, and she'd gained a reputation for simply galloping through a battlefield and trampling any enemy she saw.

She considered the man for a long moment before her eyes narrowed, "Pour the wine," she ordered quietly as she crossed her arms over her chest.

The cloaked man nodded once and tilted the decanter into both of the glasses that were there.

Vaneera watched the liquid flow into the cups. It was impossibly red, and the pungent aroma of sugar and nondescript citrus notes graced her senses.

The wine was Elven, of course. An ancient concoction known only to the secretive dark elves of the far south. Many people had died trying to learn not only the recipe, but the distillation process as well, and the centaur had to admit that she was curious about how it tasted.

"You drink," she said after he'd set the decanter down. "From both glasses."

The stranger looked up at her with tired amusement and took up one glass. He drank slowly, being sure to turn his head so she could see that he was pouring it into his mouth. He opened his mouth to show her that he'd swallowed, then he repeated the motion with the second glass.

For better or for worse, in that moment, Vaneera was more taken by her curiosity of the audacious fellow than she was concerned for her own life, and she stepped up to the side of the table and reached down for one of the glasses, "Fine, stranger... let's have a drink." She raised the glass along with her eyebrows and nodded once, "To life experiences."

The stranger lifted his glass and met the toast with an approving look, "Yes indeed... to life experiences."

Then, they both drank.

The texture met her senses before the flavor and boquet did, and she found herself immediately tilting the glass forward as she finished it in one go.

"Well," her eyes widened slightly as she looked down at the man, "That is as good as they say say it is... perhaps even better."

The man smiled, "Isn't it? Would you like another? I..."

But Vaneera was already reaching for the decanter. There was nearly an entire litre in it, but it disappeared quickly as she threw her head back and quaffed it greedily. It was almost too sweet, but the alcohol balanced the flavor, and she understood immediately why the mysterious beverage was so coveted. She drank deeply and raised the decanter until it was almost level with the ceiling, and a bit of the wine trickled down around her mouth and dripped onto her cleavage.

"Ah!" She tossed her head forward and set the decanter down on the table roughly.

"Hm... that was far easier than I thought it would be."

Vaneera blinked as every nerve in her body tensed, "What do you mean?!" She growled as she glanced down at the stranger and went for her sword.

The stranger stood slowly, "I have a message for you, Vaneera the bone crusher."

"The only message you'll deliver is...gah!" she gasped suddenly as her arms went limp. All at once, her body felt like it had been filled with molten lead, and her legs trembled as she struggled to even hold herself up, "You!" She howled. "Fucking bastard! What did you do to me?!"

The stranger stepped away from his seat and approached her. He stopped just short of her arm's reach and looked up at her, "Did you really think you could get away with stealing from the Lord of rats? The guildmaster's reach is far longer than you know, obviously, and he's quite incensed that you stole this wine from under his nose."

The centaur recalled the job immediately and growled once more, "I had no idea the wine belonged to him! There was no way I could have known! Fuck the Lord of rats and fuck you! I..."

"Stop," the stranger said firmly with a tone and demeanor that was completely different from how he'd been acting before, "Whether that's true or not doesn't matter to me. The fact is, you've bitten off more than you can chew. You're lucky... you might even survive this," he commented dryly as he looked her over, "If it was me, I'd probably just have you killed, but you pirate kings and queens get a little big for your britches and like to make statements and such," he laughed.

"What did you do to me?!" Vaneera screamed as her body began to burn. It wasn't painful, but it was stifling and pervasive, and with every second that passed she grew warmer and warmer, "Did you poison me?!"

"It's not poison... exactly. This is some sort of magic shit that they made just for you. It doesn't affect me at all, which is why I was able to drink the wine. If it means anything at all, I meant all of the things I said," he looked over her and grinned sadly, "You are a damn sight to behold. I am truly honored to even be in your company, and I wish the situation was different. That being said, I suppose the lesson here is that maybe you should think twice before you fuck with someone with a hundred times the resources and manpower than you yourself have."

"What... what's going to happen to me?" Vannera asked, her voice wavering. It was becoming increasingly difficult to hide her fear, and her anger was quickly turning to desperation.

The man shrugged, "I don't know and I don't intend to stick around to find out; it seems that you'll be making quite a mess regardless," he stepped past her and out of her line of sight.

"I swear I'll hunt you down to the ends of the..."

"Save it," she heard the man laugh sardonically, but she couldn't even turn herself to look at him, "I'm just an assassin doing a job; you want revenge, go talk to King Ratty."

"Fuck you!" Vaneera screamed through grit teeth as beads of sweat began to form at her brow.

"I've heard that one a few times before. Oh," she heard the sound of the door creaking open and knew that he was on his way out, "The rest of the wine is down in the cellar; since you wanted it so badly, it was decided that you should have it. Consider it a gift. Goodbye Vaneera, it really has been a pleasure, I truly hope you survive this ordeal."

The centaur wanted to scream obscenities, but her mouth was going numb, and her tongue felt like it was stuffed with cotton.

As she heard the door close, she mentally prepared herself to die. She was young enough, for her kind, but her entire life had been one long gauntlet of pain and suffering, and if it was going to end, she decided, it was just as well that it happened right then and there.

She closed her eyes as her legs began to shake, and with the last shred of energy she possessed she managed to collapse upon the ground.

I'm ready... She thought as her mind suddenly cleared, I killed these bastards, my reputation will live on, and eventually, the Lord of rats will get what's coming to him.

She sighed with heavy resignation, determined, at least, not to make a fool of herself in her last moment.

But death did not come.

The burning within her nerves rose to an unbearable level before it just stopped. It was so sudden that it was shocking, and Vaneera gasped as her skin prickled against the cool air.

Suddenly, she could move again, and her sweat felt cold on her forehead as she opened her eyes and looked around slowly.

"Surely that can't be the end of it," she mused carefully, "They must be mocking..."

She stopped speaking as she felt an odd yet familiar tingle at her underside. Her eyes widened and she stood shakily until all four of her legs were planted firmly upon the wooden floor of the tavern.

She felt her barding shift below her, and she shook her head as she winced, "No...what kind of magic is this?"

The layers of fabric that were wrapped around her hind end began to bulge as the ties on her barding loosened. Seconds later, it was all too obvious what was happening to her, but try as she might, there was nothing she could do to stop it.

Vaneera the bonecrusher was getting very hard very quickly.

She grit her teeth as she felt her balls heat up. Already, her sheathe was beginning to tense up, and her prick was beginning to creep forward and press against the confines of it's padding. Vaneera knew that if she were to grow fully erect, the scant clothing wouldn't be able to contain her, so she turned and arched her back in an attempt to undo the barding.

Usually, her first mate, Tana, helped dress her, and the fellow centaur had almost done too good of a job tying the knot. The woman could scarcely reach it, and she cursed loudly as she felt her cock beginning to strain against the fabric.

"Motherfucker," she muttered desperately as she pulled at the knot. It was folded beneath her and wrapped around several times, and no matter how hard she pulled it simply wouldn't come undone.

All the while she was getting harder, and the strain was beginning to cross over from discomfort and into the realm of pain.

"Gah!" She cried out as she grit her teeth once more. It wasn't just an ordinary erection, she realized, but she was too afraid to admit it right at that moment, and survival was the only thing that was on her mind.

Angry and exasperated, she drew her sword, a finely crafted, ornate sabre, and slid the blade beneath her coat and the barding. With a jerking movement that was more force than grace, she cut upwards and sliced through the barding.

The sound of tearing cloth met her ears as she grunted loudly. The padding beneath her all but exploded from her, and her huge, heavy sack plummeted downwards. Before her balls had even settled, her partially erect member wobbled outwards towards the ground, and it hardened even faster as Vaneera gasped from relief.

Now completely exposed, the woman's horse-half could be seen in all its glory.

Her testicles were dark and easily the size of her own head. Directly above them, a thick black sheath was quickly thickening and growing veinier by the second. Even half hard, her equine member was massive, and as she stood there trying to figure out what to do, more and more if it was sliding out of her body and into the open.