Tears For The Dragon Ch. 02

Emsari gave a rumbling chuckle and then drew his cock into her mouth with one smooth motion. Her nostrils snorted into his thatch of pubic hair as she began to suck him. The pulsating massage of her tongue was too much to bear, and in only a minute or so Tibor stiffened and gave a yell. Thick ropy streams of his ejaculate spewed into her, and he also felt the odd but pleasurable 'draining' sensation as she absorbed his magical essence at the same time.

The dragon continued to suck until his balls were spent, then she dropped his shrinking member and brought her head up to kiss him deeply. Tibor caught the faintest taste of his own emission as her tongue reached deep into his mouth and almost down his throat. Between the orgasm and the sudden lack of air, his head swam and he grew dizzy as his own tongue tried to return the kiss.

Emsari broke the kiss and laid him back down in the nest. His head cleared as she curled her tail up around him and hugged him to her breast. "You...wow..." he finally managed to gasp.

She squeezed him gently while he lay in her embrace. "Who's the one I loooove?" she crooned softly.

"I am." He nuzzled his head into her chest.

"You are so damn right. Go to sleep, my precious."

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Metternich rubbed his forehead while he tried not to snap at the scared agent standing next to him. This apparent irritation was for show, after all. The two men stood in a little alcove formed of white marble. The hallway that stretched out beside them was similarly clad in marble, and had ornate carvings in the walls. This was by far the nicest portion of the Vasalat Temple; in fact, the set of stairs at the far end of the hallway led to the High Matron's quarters.

About midway along that hallway was a half-open door. Judging by the door's plain wooden appearance, it led to a storage closet. There was a large group of servants and Temple guards clustered around the door. In between their legs Metternich could just make out an arm stretching from inside the closet. That arm had the discolored appearance of early-stage putrefaction.

As the group around the corpse murmured, several of them shot fearful glances back to the pair in the alcove. Metternich dropped his hand. "And they're sure it's her?" he asked the agent.

The man nodded. "She started to turn black and 'er stomach's distended, but they had one of Timea's friends come over from the palace and have a look. 'er face is still recognizable."

"When was her friend here?"

"About a quarter hour ago. I knew you'd want to know about this, sorry if..."

He waved his good hand irritably. "No, no, you did the right thing. Apart from these people and the servant from the palace, how many know about this?"

The agent sagged in despair. "I'm sorry, sir. We can't cover it up. The city guard's been notified. And...well, the news is out there. People have been lookin' all over for Timea, and now the word's gone out that she was found here. Right in the Goddess-be-damned Temple."

Metternich groaned and leaned forward while he put his good hand to his head. It might be a bit too obvious of a gesture, but he figured that the agent was not an acting critic. He took in a deep breath. "When was she found?"

"Just over an hour ago. Someone complained about the smell and one of the servants looked and found her. They raised the alarm. I only heard about it a little bit ago."

Metternich dropped his arm. "Right. Now let's work the problem. What do I always say?"

"Take little bites, sir?" The agent seemed to be grateful he wasn't going to be the target of Metternich's anger.

"That's right, we take little bites. Do we know how she died?"

The agent shrugged. "There's nothing obvious that I saw. No stab wounds or big cuts. There's a cut on 'er face, but it weren't nothing fatal. One odd thing is that she's, well, naked. There's no sign of 'er clothes."

"Do we know what she was wearing?"

"Yes, sir. 'er friend gave a description."

Metternich nodded. "That's something, at least. Right, I want our best medic...yes, get Rudolf on this. I want him to take possession of her body and give it a proper look-over. I want to know how she died. Are there any marks on her flesh? Are there any cut-marks on her bones? Is there any trace of poison? If there's any nonsense from the city guard about taking her body you will refer them to me." He pretended to ponder. "And we need a mage. Have Rudolf get somebody from the university. I'll leave it to his discretion, but we need somebody good. Have the mage also give the body a thorough examination to see if they can detect any spells."

Metternich then leaned back against the alcove wall. "And I want Timea's parents brought to me. Who's our youngest agent?"

The man looked at a loss for words, then rallied. "That would be Valentin, sir."

"Yes, he should suffice. He's got a properly innocent-looking face. Have Valentin pay them a visit...in public, mind you. I want everything in this investigation above-board and in the open. We are treating this as a straight-up murder hunt. You spread the word to everyone on the payroll about that part of it. Am I clear?"

The agent nodded.

Metternich continued. "Tell Valentin to request her parents to come to my office at their earliest convenience. Make sure he phrases it as a request, not as an order. He's to tell them that I want to help them find out what happened to Timea. Their visit is just so that I can assure them of that in person, and to see if they have information that can help us in our inquiries."

The agent nodded, and made as if to leave.

Metternich's good hand gripped his shoulder to stop him. "Wait." He leaned in close and whispered in the man's ear. "I also want ten of the best lurkers we have. They are to follow the High Matron and her staff. I want continuous coverage, understand?"

The agent looked back at Metternich. The man was confused and a little frightened. He leaned in to whisper back. "Sir, you don't think the High Matron has something to do with this...do you?"

Metternich shrugged. "Right now, I think nothing. But that body got into the Temple somehow. For the moment we will merely observe. If there are any murderers in the Temple's inner circle, we will find them."

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The morning after Emsari's arrival, the full team reconvened in the overgrown back yard of the estate. There was a large open area that was more-or-less free of weeds, flanked by two large marble fountains on either side. It was a beautiful morning in late summer, with not a cloud in the sky. Somehow Finlay had set up a large table with a more-than-adequate breakfast for them all. Celia was still trying to figure out exactly how he'd done it. The guy should have been barely able to carry his own weight, let alone a big long table. And as far as she could tell he was the only servant here.

There was another, smaller table set off to one side. It had something on top that was currently covered with a sheet. Celia's natural cat-like curiosity itched at her and she wanted nothing more than to take a peek under that sheet. But she controlled herself and just focused on breakfast.

It was not the time she'd eaten with the dragon, and once more Celia was left with no doubt that Emsari was a carnivore. The beast managed to devour an entire pig in less than ten bites. Celia snuck a glance at Tibor while this display was going on, but the young mage seemed unaffected by the carnage being wrought by his paramour.

Celia had to give Tibor proper credit for bravery during his exploits in dragon-shagging. For herself, the burglar wouldn't be getting her private bits anywhere near that beast's huge mouth. Although she supposed that many would have similar qualms about her own chosen partner. Celia snuck a peek to her side at Gard. The battle-mage loomed next to her as he ate from a large bowl of porridge. She smiled and leaned against him, and was rewarded by his huge and warm arm going around her shoulder.

After breakfast, Miklos stood and clasped his lapels. "Quite nice to be back home, yes-yes. Oh, also have important item to demonstrate." The Duke walked over to the mystery object upon the nearby table and whipped the sheet off.

Celia stared in stunned surprise. It was a meticulous reproduction of the Temple in Vasalat. The central dome had little tiles laid out in the same mosaic patterns as the real one. And the two flanking towers had the same onion-shaped tops that she remembered. She stood and walked over to give the model a closer look. He'd even put tiny little stick-figure people in front of it to give it the proper scale.

"That's...very nice," said Tibor in wonder. He'd also come over to have a look. "When did you make this?"

"During last night," replied Miklos. "Have difficulty sleeping, yes-yes? Unfortunately, not able to give interior the same level of detail." He reached out and lifted off the top dome of the model Temple. The interior was laid out with the same meticulous care, but the walls and floors were white and had no miniature decorations.

"This...will do just fine," said Tibor in wonder.

Miklos then reached out and lifted off the model from the base. Under the model building was more white walls laid out in an almost maze-like fashion. "Also have catacombs. Only visited there once, so memory might be not as strong. Would want to double-check before using this for any planning."

Petra's eyes were just visible over the table, and Celia could see the disbelief in the gnome's expression. She met Celia's eyes, and all the burglar could do was shrug.

Tibor nodded. "Then that's our first bit of scouting. We need to double-check the Temple interior and see if there's been any changes. Also, we need to find out how many guards are inside and determine their patrol patterns."

Celia crossed her arms as she mused on what was required. "So right now we can safely send three people, since Tibor and Petra have bounties on their heads. Miklos can come and go no problem. I can disguise myself. And Gard..."

The ogre looked a bit sheepish. "Er, should I go? I fear that I'll attract too much attention. Especially if I keep being seen in the same places."

Celia patted his arm fondly. "No worries, mate. You'll make a great distraction for me to work properly."

Gard still looked uncertain. "Also, if I'm to scan for any wards that will mean a significant use of my Second Sight. That will be pretty draining. It would be good to have another ward expert there, so that we can share the burden." The ogre looked at Tibor.

Emsari's tail curled protectively around Tibor's shoulder. "No, it's too dangerous."

Celia tilted her head as she regarded Tibor. "Nah, I can work with 'im. A nice bit of makeup and a change in posture...nobody will look twice."

The dragon shook her head. "I still don't like it."

"Emsari," said Celia softly. "Trust me. You want to know why I'm still able to work with so many bounties on me head? Sure, I'm really good at staying unseen. But the main reason is 'cause...when it comes to makin' somebody look like somebody else...at that, I'm a bloody genius. "

__________________________________________________________

The Katona estate had a large greenhouse on the grounds behind the estate. It had been un-used for a long time, of course, and when Petra had first opened the door she'd found many of the glass panes broken and an interior that was choked with weeds and ivy. A little...okay, a lot of elbow grease later and the overgrowth had been cleared out. The windows were still dirty, but they let in enough light for her to see. Right now she had a basic distillation setup going, and was in the process of teaching Emsari some of the latest alchemical knowledge. The dragon had admitted that the lesson also helped take her mind off of Tibor being off in the capital. Petra couldn't blame her for being worried. Brilliant disguise or not, Tibor was still heading into danger.

"And that's all there is to it," said Petra as she pushed her goggles back up on her forehead. The solution in the little beaker in front of them was now milky-white. "We let that sit for a bit, then let it dry in air. What you wanna look for is needle-like crystals. This nitrate is useful as fertilizer, and it's much more potent than just manure." She grinned. "And it's also good for makin' blasting powder."

"Amazing," murmured the dragon. Fortunately the greenhouse was easily big enough for her to stand (well, lie down) comfortably. Her big head was hovering over Petra's shoulder as she watched the gnome at work. "I seem to recall something like this process described a few centuries ago, but then other alchemists claimed it didn't work."

"It's because of the purity," said Petra with pride. "The reaction only works properly if ya purify all of the starting components." She snuck a glance up at the dragon's face. Emsari's earlier declaration of her lust for Petra was still very much on the gnome's mind. In fact, she'd become downright curious about the...mechanics of it. How exactly does one have sex with a large creature weighing many hundreds of pounds? Would it be even possible? Did Emsari have any experience with gnomish lovers in the past? Most importantly, if Petra went through with it how would this affect things between her and Tibor?

She still hadn't talked to her human friend, much to her shame. Petra almost wanted to just have Emsari tell him, but she knew that the dragon would want her to do it herself. It was frustrating, both mentally as well as physically. Petra had been celibate for at least a year, and self-stimulation was only gratifying to a certain point. Speaking of which...Petra cleared her throat. "I meant to tell you, back in the lair...every time you and Tibor got, um, together? I think it was puttin' something into the air."

Emsari looked a little stricken. "Oh, Goddess. I forgot about my pheromones. It's been so long since I had more than one guest."

Petra laughed. "I think that's half the reason that Gard and Celia got together so quickly."

"Not the only reason, I hope."

The gnome shook her head. "Nah, I got a chance to see 'em together on the trip here. They would've gone for each other sooner or later. You just made it sooner."

Emsari's stricken face relaxed. "Oh. That's good to hear."

"Um, and I wanted to also ask...do you put those 'pheromones' out all the time?"

The dragon cocked an eyebrow at her. "No. Why do you ask?"

Petra rubbed her hands together in embarrassment. "Because...well, I keep thinkin' about what you said. Your offer, I mean. And ever since then I've been fixated on it. On you."

Emsari's eyes dilated slightly. "Oh? Well, if you find me intriguing I'm afraid that's all on you. I'm not affecting you in any way. No pheromones or magic."

"And...and you're sure Tibor would be okay with it?"

"I love him," Emsari said simply. "I know his heart, and he would be nothing but glad for both you and I."

Very slowly, Petra reached up to stroke the side of Emsari's jaw. The horse-sized head pressed gently into her palm as Petra ran her hand along and felt the texture of Emsari's hide. "Your scales are so smooth," she whispered.

The dragon gave a low chuckle. "Tibor tells me similar things when I need distracting." Her eyes dilated further as she gazed down at Petra. Emsari's tail slithered towards Petra and its thin tip wound up her still-clothed leg. The tail gave her leg a gentle squeeze, and Petra felt a tingle all through her at the contact.

The gnome's hind-brain did what it always did...it screamed at her to run, she was in the sights of an apex predator, she needed to run run RUN...

Petra closed her eyes and took a deep breath, then shrugged out of her lab coat. Her goggles went next, and she laid them on her folded coat. Emsari's tail squeezed her leg more firmly as she unlaced her blouse and pulled it over her head. The dragon's eyes were now almost completely black, and the great creature was breathing faster.

The gnome reached down to unlace her trousers and then saw one of Emsari's huge hands reach forward for her. Petra's own breath was now coming in near-gasps as she was lifted off of the floor. Emsari's snout came down and sniffed at her chubby little breasts, then moved up to nuzzle into the nape of Petra's neck. The gnome gave a little eep of surprised pleasure at the contact.

In the meantime, Emsari's other hand was busy unlacing Petra's trousers. That dextrous tail then reached up and hooked into her waistband, then pulled off her pants with a sudden yank. Petra now dangled naked in Emsari's grasp. The gnome felt her heart hammer against her ribs. Emsari cradled Petra in both of her hands and continued her slow, methodical sniffing of the alchemist's curvy little body.

Every so often the dragon's nostrils would barely brush against Petra's flesh, making the gnome twitch. After a few minutes of this treatment, Petra's heart was no longer beating hard with fear; now she was trembling with excitement. She could also feel the lips of her vulva becoming slick with her rising lust.

Emsari suddenly stopped her teasing and brought her huge head up to stare into Petra's eyes. "Petra, are you okay with this? I want to make really sure. Sometimes I come on pretty strong, and I don't want you to be doing this because you're afraid of me or something like that..."

Petra put her hand on Emsari's snout. "Emsari...shut up and put that tongue in me!"

The dragon did just that. Emsari hooked her thumbs around Petra's thighs and pulled them apart, exposing her completely. Before Petra could blink the tip of Emsari's tongue parted her folds and found her aching hole. The gnome cried out in delight as it pushed in and kept going. The tongue's textured surface raked deliciously against her clit as Petra was penetrated. Petra gripped the fingers that cradled her while Emsari's tongue wriggled and thrust.

Petra felt helpless, but in a wonderful way. She was nothing but a little toy for Emsari to play with. And play with her the dragon did, coaxing gasps and cries of delight with her flexible tongue.

Then Emsari pulled her tongue out with a wet slurp and licked Petra's navel. The gnome gasped and jerked at the unexpected contact, then gave a mewl of pleasure as the tip of Emsari's tongue roved up to circle one of her small and perky nipples.

The resulting tingle that ran through Petra's torso was welcome, but she couldn't help but feel a little empty down below. She didn't have to wait for long, however. There was a light feather-touch on one of her thighs, and Petra realized it was the tip of Emsari's tail.

That finger-width tip dragged itself through her sodden folds, getting itself wet with her juices. It then began stroking all up and down Petra's cleft, from the top of her buttocks around to her clit and back again repeatedly. Every time the dragon's tail stroked across her rear pucker, Petra gave a little extra gasp that made Emsari chuckle.

Then Emsari's tail positioned itself at Petra's pussy and gently pushed inside. The dragon greedily watched Petra's face as the gnome moaned and twitched in her grasp. Emsari resumed her languorous tongue-bath of Petra's breasts while her tail began to steadily pump into Petra's cunny. The scales on the surface of the tail were even more effective than Emsari's tongue at stimulating her clit, and Petra knew she couldn't take much more of this stimulation.

"Oh, Goddess...I'm gonna..."

Before she could climax, the tail withdrew. Petra had time for one cry of disappointment before she jerked with surprise. The now-slick tail tip pressed against her tight rear hole, while Emsari looked down at her. The dragon raised one eyebrow in a silent question.