New Discoveries Ch. 03

Elma had spent her entire life on the streets. She'd grown up under the harsh rules of an urchin. For someone such as her in Auspice City, one had to learn quickly. She became the perfect street rat. She was tough, she was quick, and she was crafty.

She was also currently getting fucked senseless.

Golden tentacles bound her by her wrist and ankles and held her aloft in the air while a fifth tendril mercilessly rubbed along her pussy. All the while, the High Priestess Iridana looked up at her with an imperious smirk on her lips. The whole experience was horrible. It was degrading, it was humiliating, it was... kinda hot, admittedly.

"You should be thanking me, you know," Iridana said. "If it wasn't for me, the guards would have locked you away for good this time, my little thief."

"Sh-shut up," Elma grunted. She suddenly gasped as she felt the tentacle bring her to the precipice of climax... then immediately pull away, keeping her agonizingly on the edge of coming. It waved there, just out of reach for a tortuous length of time, before once again returning to her cunt and so, so painfully slowly began to play with her clit. Just like the past dozen or so times she'd almost reached orgasm.

"Such a weak, slutty girl for your mistress," Iridana said in a sultry voice, beginning the mantra she said after every time Elma was edged. "It feels so good to be a good girl. You love being a good girl for your mistress."

"It's not gonna... gonna work!" Elma said, whimpering as the tentacle flicked at her little clitty.

"Such a silly, stupid slut," Iridana continued. "You need your mistress. You love your mistress. Only smart girls get to come. Smart girls listen to their mistress." She repeated the lines a few more times as the tentacle began picking up its pace again.

"You're not, agh! G-gonna control me," Elma said, trying to remain confident.

High Priestess Iridana just smiled and chuckled. "Is that so?"

"Y-yeah!"

"Then why don't you get yourself off? You clearly need it."

"Because I can't!"

"Why?"

Because you control me. Only smart girls get to come. I'm just a dumb slut for my mistress. I love my mistress. I need my mistress. My mistress lets me come.

The thoughts came into Elma's mind without permission. She gritted her teeth. She would not let this smug bitch get the better of her. "Because you have me f-fucking tied up!"

" 'Fucking'? I bet you love that image, slut." She stood up and strutted over to Elma, reaching up and beginning to play with her tits. "The thought of being in bed with a lover as they grab you around the waist and force you down on something biiiiig and hard just drives that subby little mind of yours wild, doesn't it?"

Elma bit her lip and tried to ignore the sensation as she began approaching the edge again. She'd always been a top. In the bedroom or otherwise, Elma was used to being the one calling the shots. Everything Iridana said was a complete lie. However, the constant stimulation and the hands massaging her tits was just too. much. Elma hated how appealing the image Iridana created was starting to look in her head.

"Well?"

"N-no," Elma said, whimpering in dismay as the tentacle pulled away just as she was about to orgasm yet again.

"Really? Hm. Color me surprised." Iridana smiled as she continued to fondle Elma. It was a pretty smile. "You know, I'm proud of you slut. You've managed to last longer than any of my previous acolyte initiates. For a dummy such as you, that's impressive."

"N-not a-"

"Yes, you're simply just too smart for me," Iridana said, cutting Elma off. "If only there was a way to reward you. A good girl like you deserves something special for lasting so long."

"I-"

"And you are a good girl, right?"

"Uh..." Elma furrowed her brow. The constant pleasure was making her thoughts all buzzy and hard to keep focused, but a plan was starting to come together in her mind. Iridana was offering her a reward. This could be the perfect opportunity to get a chance to come- Escape! She meant escape. She'd just have to play along.

"Y-yes," Elma said through clenched teeth.

"And good girls are dumb girls, yes?"

"Mhmm..." Elma felt the tentacle grinding against her entrance again, this time with even more fervor than before.

"And dumb girls are slutty girls."

"S-sure."

"You're such a smart girl." Iridana pinched a nipple.

Elma squeaked. "Yeah!" All the stimulation was making it hard to focus on exactly what Iridana was saying, but that was fine. She just had to keep playing along.

"And smart girls are good girls. Good girls are all dumb and slutty for their mistress. Isn't that right?"

Elma nodded.

"Good. Now that we have that covered, let's think about what your reward should be for lasting a full thirty seconds!"

Elma felt her stomach drop. That... that couldn't be right! There was no way she'd nearly come so many times in only half a minute. That would be like... like... She tried to do the math in her head, but all the pleasure and sexual frustration made it nearly impossible.

"Something wrong, dumb girl?" Iridana said innocently.

"That... That doesn't sound right," Elma said quietly.

Iridana sighed. "I know. I'm sorry, I lied. It's actually only been ten seconds, I just didn't want you to feel bad."

Ten seconds?! It had felt like hours since they began! Elma was sure having a hard time keeping track of things. Like the tentacle that was now tickling along her asshole, making her giggle.

"Awww, what an adorable little laugh!" Iridana smiled and fondly squeezed Elma's titties. "You're such a cute little thing!"

"N-no I'm not!" Elma said petulantly. She was beginning to feel like a bit of a brat, but that's what was needed to get out of this situation.

"Yes you are. Do it again!"

Elma opened her mouth to tell Iridana off, but felt another giggle bubble out from her lips as the tendril darted up underneath her arm and began to wiggle.

"There's a good girl," Iridana said in a husky voice. Elma felt herself flush and her pussy grew even wetter than it already was. Why... Why had that had such an affect on her? "I love seeing cute girls do as their mistress says."

"Not... not my mistress!"

"Oh? Why's that?"

"Because... because..."

"Tsk, tsk, tsk. Can't even think of a reason. Such a dumb little thing. A smart girl would immediately know, but that clearly isn't you."

"Yuh-huh!" Elma said but whined and thrust her chest forward when Iridana's wonderful fingers stopped playing with her titties. She hadn't realized how badly she craved that possessive feeling of someone else getting enjoyment out of fondling them until it was gone.

"No you're not. Smart girls are always in control, and you can't even get yourself to come."

"I...I-!"

"So instead, you're a good girl, and good girls are all dumb and slutty. They can't think of what to do at all. That's why they have to rely on others to tell them what to do. That's why they always listen to their mistress."

Elma shivered as one of Iridana's fingers gently brushed across her nipple in a teasing gesture. "B-but..."

"What about your butt?"

"...Huh?"

Iridana sighed. "See? You're so stupid that you can't even remember what you were talking about. You're lucky that your Mistress knows exactly what you need." She flicked her wrist and Elma squealed as the tendril suddenly coiled around her ass and began to tenderly massage it.

"S-stop it!" Elma whimpered.

"What was that? I couldn't hear you."

"i-i said stop!" Elma demanded, but her voice suddenly felt so small and unconvincing. How could she ever want something that felt so good to stop?

Mistress Iridana smirked up at her and elma flushed at the expression, she felt so powerless under the priestess' pretty eyes and beautiful smile. elma wasn't used to being in such a state, but it felt so... so...

Right.

Mistress Iridana flicked her hand again and one of the tentacles holding elma's arm vanished. she instinctively began to touch herself with it, continuously bringing herself near orgasm, but never quite over the edge. It felt wrong to give herself release after going so long without it.

"Well?" Mistress Iridana asked expectantly.

"Hm?" elma blushed, not knowing what she was supposed to say.

"Why aren't you making yourself come?"

"B-because..." elma trailed off, trying to think. The answer came to her in a flash. "Because i'm a good girl!"

Mistress Iridana smiled, which made elma's blush deepen. "And that makes you..."

The answers came to elma naturally. "Dumb and slutty!"

"Wonderful," Mistress Iridana said, then snapped her fingers. Suddenly, all of the tentacles vanished and elma dropped to the floor. She rose to her knees, confused, as she continued to touch herself. What was she supposed to do now?

"Go on, then," Mistress Iridana said. "Escape."

elma blinked at her vapidly, not understanding.

"Well? What's the matter?"

"Mistress, i... i'm confused."

Mistress Iridana tilted her head curiously, but her lips continued to rise into a wide grin. "My, my, are you saying that you're so dumb that you don't know how to, slut?"

elma nodded meekly.

"Oh, dear. If only you had someone to look after a stupid little thing like yourself. If only you had someone to tell you what to do!"

elma thought for a moment, feeling both distraught and turned on by her own idiocy until a flash of inspiration came upon her. she'd just had the most wonderful idea!

"Oh, well, maybe You could tell me what to do, Mistress," elma said.

"That's a fantastic thought!" Mistress Iridana said. "I always knew you were a smart one, my little acolyte."

elma giggled at the praise. Phew! She sure was relieved that she'd found her Mistress to listen to. Otherwise, she'd never have escaped that nasty High Priestess Iridana.

"Um, Mistress? May i come now?" elma asked submissively, her voice barely more than a squeak. she'd edged herself nearly six times now and the need in her cunt was becoming unbearable.

Mistress Iridana smiled and leaned down to cup elma's chin in her hand before uttering a single, terrible, wonderful, deliciously horrific word.

"No."

~~~

Vellen stood off to the side, emotionally resigned as he watched his mistress argue with a fruit vendor in one of Auspice City's many markets. It had been several weeks since the incident in Downteg and Mya had quickly returned back to her usual brilliant, driven, and horridly self-absorbed self.

"Are you deranged?" Mya spat. "You must be if you think fifteen gold is a reasonable price for one of those bundles!"

"Look, lady," the merchant said, having quickly stooped to Mya's level of annoyance once she'd started voicing her frustrations. "I got a family to feed. These bundles feed two people an entire meal a piece! It's no skin off my dick if you don't buy one!"

Mya scoffed at the crude analogy and Vellen felt much the same way, but retained a visage of calm serenity as he'd been taught. It was always best to avoid displaying any emotions that could be used against you in certain situations.

Vellen eyed Mya as she continued to argue with the man. So strange... How was it that it seemed she could have a total shift in personality at the most absurd of moments? Perhaps she had some form of mental condition? Vellen had read a few journals that mentioned such things in the monastery's archives.

Mmm, no. Something about that didn't seem right to Vellen. Did the brothel owners toy with her mind somehow? No, as she'd had a similar episode before at the...

At the Lavender Coast. When she'd spent the night with that woman. Vellen had found that whole situation rather peculiar. If she was responsible, then she had to have been a sorceress and brainwashed Mya in some way. Unfortunately, backtracking to the coasts was a detour that they couldn't afford--not that they'd even find the woman again if they did.

Vellen frowned slightly. He'd have to start keeping a closer eye on his mistress to find out the full extent of her... affliction and hopefully reverse it. He certainly didn't want a repeat of what happened with the brothel. Mya only seemed to remember bits and pieces of that night and Vellen didn't have the heart to tell her the full extent of what happened, so he just said that he'd found her quite intoxicated... It wasn't technically a lie, so it didn't interfere with his tenets as a Monk of Drispel.

His thoughts were interrupted as Mya and the merchant's debate became heated to the point that other people were beginning to stop and watch the spectacle.

"Miss, perhaps we could simply purchase lunch at the inn, once we find one to stay at for our duration here," Vellen suggested, calmly resting a hand on his mistress' shoulder.

Mya huffed, brushing Vellen's hand aside. "Fine. It'll probably be better than this grime anyway."

"Yeah, go suck a faestem, bitch!" the merchant sneered.

Mya pursed her lips before turning away and proceeding to stomp off. Vellen only allowed himself a mental sigh before following after her.

"It would be wise to keep a low profile, miss." Vellen said. "Auspice City is the country's main religious center and therefore quite populated and heavily guarded. It would be best to avoid drawing the wrong kind of attention."

"Uh-huh, yeah, sure," Mya said dismissively as she documented everything that she saw in the city in her notebook. "Main religious center. Is that what you said? Tell me more about this land's faith system."

Vellen blinked. Scholars. He was quickly beginning to suspect that they were even more peculiar than monks. "Ah, I am afraid I never had much time to invest myself in the religious structure of the country, miss. I only know of one of the major pantheons. It's rather complex, from what I hear, and has several underlying sects."

Mya hummed in dissatisfaction, then looked up from her journal, squinting at the numerous buildings of worship surrounding them, many of them containing spires that jutted up into the sky, far above most of the other structures. "How many chapels are there in this city?"

"Some say over one hundred, miss."

"Fascinating."

As they continued to stroll down the side of the road, Vellen made note of a particularly rotund gilded hillsparrow perched on a nearby roof. He faintly smiled at the bird and made a mental note to record that he saw it in his bird journal later. Those were rare.

"H-hi!" said a timid, yet insistent voice from the side.

Vellen and Mya paused and turned to look to find a petite woman nervously making her way up to them. She was adorned in a golden priestly robe that seemed a bit snug around the waist and chest. The hem was also oddly short in the front, only going to about mid thigh, while the back drooped down near her calves. She had coppery brown hair that was kept short and pinned to her head with several pairs of barrettes.

"Can I help you?" Mya said.

"U-um, yes. Well, i mean, no, b-but i... i would like to tell you about..." She trailed off, looking down at her feet, which shuffled nervously.

Mya raised an eyebrow. "Well? We don't have all day here."

"R-right. Sorry, ma'am," the girl stammered. "i-i'm an acolyte of the... the Church of Two and... and i wanted to ask if you'd been b-blessed by the gods?"

Mya looked at the acolyte, a perplexed expression on her face. "No."

"W-would you like to?...Please?"

Mya sighed, snapping her notebook closed. "What would that entail?"

"i... i don't know, i'm sorry! But the Head Priestess can tell you all about it!"

Mya glanced over at Vellen and shrugged. "Could be a good opportunity to gather more information about the culture. It's certainly better than waiting around and doing nothing while you're out getting coin for the next leg of this insufferable journey."

Vellen thought on the idea. He wanted to keep an eye on Mya, but hadn't thought about what he'd in that regard for when he'd have to work. He looked over the acolyte woman. The passive little thing certainly didn't look malicious, and leaving Mya at a church would probably be better than an inn. However, looks could be deceiving...

"What is your name, miss?" Vellen asked, giving her a reassuring smile.

"elma..." she said.

Vellen nodded, looking back to his mistress. "If you believe it will do well for your research, miss, then I do not see the harm. Although, I would like to see the place of worship for myself before departing from you."

"I wouldn't have to convert to this faith of yours to receive a 'blessing,' would I?" Mya asked Elma.

"N-no, ma'am. At least... I don't think so."

Mya sighed, then gestured forward. "Fine. Lead the way."

Elma smiled, as if relieved, and quickly began scampering down the road as Mya and Vellen followed.

"She's a nice girl," Vellen commented.

"She's a charlatan. All priests that go out sponsoring themselves are," Mya said flatly. "I only intend to lead them along enough to give me plenty of notes on their system of religion."

Vellen frowned slightly and eyed his mistress. She didn't seem to notice his subtle disapproval, for better or for worse. He found it quite peculiar how she never seemed to remember the events surrounding her... "personality shifts," but still insisted upon seeing the worst in everyone she met all the same. That, at the very least, appeared to be an inherent trait from the start.

Elma led them down the road for several minutes until they reached their destination. Multiple times along the way, she turned, as if to attempt to make conversation with Mya, but would immediately blush, grow flustered, and give up on the attempt. Vellen found the display cute, but pitied the acolyte's choice for company. Eventually, Elma had them stop at a surprisingly small stone building that was round in shape and roofing. Most of the structure was rather simple apart from intricate metalworking on the exterior of the roof made from steel and rose gold beams, many of which were designed in sharp and curvy patterns that almost looked as if they were meant to depict some kind of scene.

"Vile," Mya muttered to herself and Vellen turned to see her staring at the roof as well before looking down to take a note. Vellen glanced back up at the roof and squinted but still couldn't make any sense of the shapes.

Elma ushered them inside and they were met with a single, cozy room that looked as if it belonged more at mead hall in the frozen wastes of the east rather than a church. Fur rugs and plush furniture were scattered amongst the room along with pleasing tapestries. There was even a hearth at the far end of the room.

"And, um, here we are!" Elma said with a nervous smile.

Mya raised an eyebrow. "It doesn't seem very... traditional."

"In other religions maybe," Elma said. "But the Church of Two prefers to be more i-intimate with its followers. Normally a priest will sit down with those who come in and speak to them about their worries and how they can receive guidance."

Vellen nodded along in interest as began to move about the room, feigning curiosity while in actuality looking for anything nefarious. "And where is one of these priests now, Acolyte Elma?"

Elma opened her mouth to answer, but then one of the tapestries moved to the side and a woman stepped forward. "Well, right here, good monk," the woman said. She smiled at Vellen and he quickly inspected her. She seemed nice enough. Tall, slender, amber hair tied up in an intricate bun with an assortment of small, clear gems. She wore a similar robe to Elma, but notably less restrictive and revealing. It also seemed to be embroidered with silver thread in patterns similar to those on the roof of the chapel.