When the Stars Come Crashing Down

Lia studied her map once more over a bowl of soup, marking her current location with a quill she had borrowed from Cid. She found it easy to browse the land despite the dull roar of conversation that ebbed and flowed all around her. She was barely paying it any attention, but kept her ears perked for whispers of the war, wondering if the news had made its way to this remote location. But the confirmation never came, only revealing to her that the people of this land received news of the kingdom's affairs intermittently. A pause in her perusal of the surrounding landscape saw her eyes lift from the canvas and fall quickly upon a man seated just a few stools away. Even in the dim light she could make out his features, confirming from the shape of his ears that he was human. The man was too preoccupied with his alcohol at first to notice her gaze, but once the drink was gone and the empty horn was slammed upon the bar into a graveyard of similar cups, his head tilted in her direction.

"Buy you a drink?" he asked calmly, no sign of impediment in his speech.

"No thank you," Lia responded, making sure to hide most of her face within the hood.

"Suit yourself," the stranger said with a shrug, reaching out to the bartender for a fresh horn.

"I'm looking for something, perhaps you can help me? I've heard stories of a place of power in this land, an abandoned elven temple. Do you know where it is?"

Lia waited patiently for a response that never came, as the stranger ignored her and continued to drink in silence.

"Thank you for your time," she said abruptly, standing from the stool to pack her map in advance of a hasty exit.

"You aren't from around here," the stranger said accusatorily.

"No, I'm not," Lia admitted.

"Where you from?"

"Casebel," she said with a straight face, despite him being unable to see it.

"You're a long way from home. This temple must be important to you."

She nodded, map still in hand. The stranger reached toward Lia, and she instinctively recoiled, but he only grabbed her map and opened it up before himself, producing a quill from his pocket. He made a couple marks on the canvas before sliding it back across the bar toward her.

"Thank you," Lia said while folding the map, stowing it in her satchel without looking at it.

"What's your name?" he asked, casting a side eye at her hood.

"Andriel," she responded flatly.

The man faced her fully for the first time and fixed her with a quizzical stare, peering into the shadows of Lia's hood which she slowly tightened around herself. The man turned back to the bar, smirked and shrugged his shoulders.

"My name's Brecken. Good luck to you Andriel."

---

After gathering a few supplies from around town Lia set off toward her next destination, map in hand. From what she gathered from the marks Brecken had made, the distance wasn't great but the mechanism of finding the temple was puzzling. He had simply written the words Fall Upon the Mountain on her canvas with an arrow pointing at the summit. She glanced time and time again at her map as she trekked up the mountainside, occasionally casting cautionary glances over her shoulder as she put more distance between her and the tavern. It was a treacherous journey up the mountain, and by the time the sun was beginning to set and the cold started to sink into her bones, she yearned for the warmth and comfort of her cabin back on Cid's ship. She clutched the cloak tighter around her body and pressed onward into the blustering winds with a renewed pace.

Lia reached the summit as the remainder of what little light was left in the sky was extinguished for the night, and the stars began to come to life. She stashed the map to pull on a pair of gloves, her hands now free for another attempt. She clasped her hands together and focused on the tavern she had left earlier in the day, her mind's eye bringing into view one of the sconces she had noticed behind the bar. Inside the sconce was a weak torch that barely held a flame, but she focused on it nonetheless. Her hands once again began to glow, a soft green light spilling between her interlocked fingers. The light quickly died away, only to be replaced by a dull flame perched atop a torch, the handle of which had materialized within her palms.

She was pleased to have successfully exercised her newfound power, but time was in short supply as her teeth began to chatter and the flame began to rapidly deteriorate. She waved the torch about her surroundings, looking for signs of the temple. Brecken's ominous clue replayed in her head several times as she searched, but she found nothing of interest. It wasn't until the flame was seconds away from dying that she found a peculiar rock formation that perfectly encircled a patch of beautiful moon grass. The oddity of the formation was what drew her eye, the spherical rocks placed deliberately to encompass a space large enough for a person to reside within. Lia weighed her options quickly before stepping into the circle, and as her second foot fell upon the blades of grass, the stars dotting the sky were extinguished and her world went dark.

---

Lia regained consciousness in an unfamiliar place, her head swimming as she struggled to understand what was happening. Despite opening them her eyes refused to focus within the near pitch-black expanse that surrounded her, but her sensitive ears picked up on dripping water that echoed off what she assumed to be large walls of a cavern. She was naked and bound to a post with her wrists subdued in rope high above her head, and her legs were similarly restrained with rope that snaked around and dug into her ankles. She began to struggle against the bondage that tethered her, grunting as her wrists were burned by the friction of the tightly bound rope biting into her flesh. Lia abandoned the escape attempt for the time being, lightly panting as her senses began to return, an acute smell of death and decay beginning to creep into her nostrils. What was this place, and how had she gotten here? The last thing she could remember was conjuring the torch high above the mountain, and then darkness.

"Is someone there?" came a meek voice, echoing across the black void.

The question froze Lia on the spot, and she squinted into the darkness to try and make out where it had come from. It took a few moments for her eyes to adjust to the lack of light, but she could soon make out the silhouettes of other wooden posts like the one she was strung to, and upon those structures were poor young women such as herself. Panic crept into her nerve but she tried to remain as stoic as possible, eyes scanning the structures that littered the immediate landscape, all of them lifeless and rotten. But eventually she found a body that showed signs of life, the slightest intermittent rise and fall of the chest to indicate breathing. The young woman was nude and restrained just like Lia was, but her face was hidden by her hair that hung across it like a golden drape.

"You there," Lia whispered cautiously, unaware of how close their captor we, "who are you? How long have you been here?"

Before Lia could receive her answer, a splash echoed from far across the cavern, the sound so loud it was as if a large boulder had been dropped into a lake. The report of hasty, heavy footsteps upon the cold rock floor met her ears next and the arrival of the unknown entity caused the crestfallen young woman to moan out in terror. Lia watched her thrash uselessly against her restraints, making out her face for the first time as her hair whipped to and fro. She was an elven maiden with delicate features, but her face was contorted into an expression of utter despair. Lia would soon understand why, as a dozen lamps or more came to life at once all around them, the candles within them flickering ominous shadows upon the jagged walls.

The largest shadow though belonged to the dark green scaly creature that stood at the post that contained the struggling elf, his towering presence only causing the young woman to scream louder than before. The lizard must have come from the water that surrounded the rocky outcrop they were perched upon, as she could now see a sunken lake just feet away that no doubt served as his habitat. Lia also observed posts as far as the eye could see, each baring the lifeless form of a beautiful elven woman. Some were bludgeoned, some looked to have been strangled and others appeared to have mercifully starved to death judging by the levels of emaciation. True fear began to set in, and all Lia could do was watch as the captor set his sights on her frightened companion. The monster unraveled a tongue from its mouth that was as long as the blonde woman's body and began to taste her with it, the tip of the pink muscle tracing her soft skin from head to toe. In its wake the tongue left behind a viscous film of saliva that clung to the elf, the result of which caused her to shudder violently within her restraints.

Lia once again tried to loosen the rope binding her wrists, attempting to saw through it with the aid of the wooden beam supporting her, but only ended up drawing attention to herself as the lizard whipped its head in her direction. An audible crack filled the cavern, and the slimy tongue was slung around Lia's neck from afar before she could blink, constricting her windpipe with impressive but terrifying strength. The monster sauntered toward her on a pair of powerful legs ending in humongous, webbed feet, the toes of which were separated by a thin membrane of veiny, translucent skin.

As it drew closer Lia finally made out the eyes, a pair of crimson orbs set ablaze with baleful intent. The head was covered in spikes, like the stalactites hanging from the cave ceiling high above, and the mouth bared an intimidating set of teeth that numbered in the dozens, all of which appeared to be razor sharp. Standing just a few feet away now, the height disparity struck a new chord within her, and it was only then that she seriously considered the gravity of the situation. The tongue that had captured her breath was recalled back into the mouth of the creature, and Lia hung her head, gasping desperately for air.

"Princess Lia. Never in my wildest dreams would I have expected to find you in my lair," the creature said in such a low baritone that it vibrated the core of her stomach, inducing a violent bout of vertigo.

Lia had no response prepared, her head still hung as she choked down mouthfuls of air, fighting to remain conscious. Her head felt as if it were tilting off axis and simultaneously falling off her shoulders, skewing her senses wildly. She squeezed her eyes shut and tried to orient herself, combating the overbearing cacophony of percussion that rattled her skull.

"How much gold is your life worth? I'm sure your father would empty the war chest in exchange for your safe return."

The Princess raised her head, not to look at her captor but to find the eyes of the blonde woman, who was watching the lizard intently from afar. The monster followed Lia's gaze and began to cackle ominously, driving the color from the face of the blonde elf. It took a powerful jump away from the Princess and landed with a thud that sent a few cracks into the foundation of the cave floor, standing once more before the terrified woman. The creature undid her restraints and fastened an iron collar around the blonde woman's neck, before forcing her down to her hands and knees. In one large hand it tightly gripped a rusted chain that was attached to the collar, and he prodded the woman forward with a harsh kick to her bare cheeks, earning a yelp of pain from her. The broken elf obeyed the nonverbal command and crawled toward Lia on hands and knees, bloodying her legs on the sharp rocks that littered the cave floor in the process.

A blind rage filled the Princess as she was forced to watch one of her citizens being treated in such a manner, but she was helpless to stop it. The blonde elf was sobbing as she was halted about a foot or so away from her Princess, still on her hands and knees. The creature fixed its fiery gaze on Lia, and she could see the gears turning inside its spiked head, wondering what type of twisted punishment was in store. She was certain she wouldn't meet her end here if riches were what the creature was after, but that was to say nothing of the poor girl it had leashed as a pet.

"Let's negotiate," Lia said through gritted teeth, maintaining the creature's gaze.

The lizard ignored her and stepped forward, cutting easily through the rope binding her ankles with a haphazard slice from one of its nails. Lia's legs were now free, but she didn't have a good feeling about the prospect, forcing them shut at the knees. The lizard stepped back behind the frightened elf at its feet and smiled, baring those razor-sharp teeth menacingly.

"How is this for negotiation Princess: cooperate with me or you can watch me snuff the life out of this girl."

The threat prompted the blonde woman to curl into a ball on the ground, no longer capable of screaming as she broke down once again. Lia was at a loss, and she felt her mouth go dry as her tongue anxiously twisted, trying to find the right words to say. But they never came, not even when the creature unfurled its impossibly long tongue once again, this time diving the tip straight in between the legs of the stranger at Lia's feet. From her angle Lia couldn't see the tongue violating the young woman but the pleading that soon began informed her of all she needed to know. The creature issued a deep, guttural groan that reverberated Lia's ribs, causing her to look away in disgust.

Heavy iron clanked together, drawing Lia's attention back to the horrific scene unfolding before her. The creature had yanked upon the makeshift leash, forcing the young woman's neck and head up into the air, her palms barely making contact with the ground. The lizard stood still for a few moments, looking down at its prize as the tongue retracted, and suddenly genitalia began to unfurl from beneath its scaly skin. The organ was of a milky white complexion and proportionate to his body, roughly shaped in the manner a human or elf would be accustomed to but not entirely so.

He kneeled behind the blonde elf and guided himself into her with his free hand, while also holding her in place by the chain he yanked upon, torquing her neck to crane upward. This placed her eyes directly on Lia, who could only watch in horror as her kinfolk was tortured before her, the innocence of the young maiden being torn asunder. The young woman could barely breathe let alone voice her displeasure, and yet the creature continued, thrusting violently into the young elf. The grunting and panting of the lizard made Lia's skin crawl, but she couldn't look away from the grisly scene. He was enjoying himself immensely, occasionally looking up at the Princess as if to admire his handiwork in crafting such a depraved scenario.

"Don't just kneel there you ungrateful brat," the lizard said to the blonde elf, "you have an audience with the Princess, it is your duty to please her."

He encouraged the woman with another harsh blow to her backside, causing the chained girl to yelp out in pain. Lia could see the woman pleading with her through with her eyes, but in that moment she felt weaker than ever. She was on a quest for enlightenment, in search of greater power to protect herself and for her kingdom, and yet here she was with nothing to show for it. The lizard struck the woman again, this time delivering a much more vicious strike that set the blonde woman into motion, her tiny hands carrying her forward another foot, tears streaming down her face.

"That's it, now you've got it. Show your Princess how much she means to you."

The tortured woman obeyed the creature that continued to ravage her from behind, his repeated thrusts forcing her blonde head in between Lia's closed thighs. The Princess wanted to refuse her to maintain what shred of dignity she thought she still possessed but feared doing so would bring the girl more harm. Lia tilted her head to the side and looked away as she slowly spread her legs, revealing to her captor and companion both a place no other person had ever seen before. The creature growled with glee as he studied the Princess' most intimate area, but it soon disappeared from his view as the chained elf dutifully began to pleasure that very same spot.

Just as Lia's eyes fell upon her clothes and satchel strewn about a few feet away, a sudden and intense torrent of pleasure ruptured her consciousness. The warm tongue that found purchase at the apex of her thighs was unlike anything she had experienced before, and she wondered how she could have gone her entire life without it. She knew deep down that enjoying what was being done to her was wrong, but how could it be when it made her feel so good? That was the thought she wrestled with for a few moments until the wet muscle disappeared abruptly with the clinking of the chain, causing a greedy whimper to tumble from her lips.

"Are you enjoying yourself Princess?" the monster asked, his sanguine gaze focused intently on Lia's soaked vagina.

She refused to give him the satisfaction, a light sheen of sweat clinging to her chest that heaved up and down, her skin flushed from a combination of pleasure and embarrassment. Her weary eyes focused once again on the satchel that lay near her, overturned on a small rock. Squinting, she could just barely make out the object that jutted from the interior of her bag and then something clicked within her. Outwardly she showed nothing save for her wanton expression, but internally her heart began to beat harder than it had throughout the entire ordeal she found herself in.

Lia craned her head back around to the front and slowly clasped her hands together behind the wooden post up above her, the extremities hidden from view. Right as she began to focus on the item she needed, the monster forced the blonde woman to resume pleasuring her, the wet mouth sending a fresh current of electricity directly into the Princess' core. She gasped aloud as that wonderful tongue returned, and a warm sensation began to slowly build deep within her stomach. Through half-lidded eyes she watched the young woman's tongue swirl within her swollen lips, then she traced her purple hued orbs upward, placing them upon the lizard that grunted and groaned with every thrust, his red eyes casted downward as he focused on the push and pull of his cock.

It was next to impossible to focus on the verge of what she could only surmise was going to be a heavenly orgasm, but she persevered the best she could. Lia dug her fingers deep into her palms, her hands shaking from the force that she exerted. She could hear her own desperate moans reverberating off the walls of the cavern as she rode the blonde woman's mouth, her hips swaying of their own accord. The warmth within her core blossomed into an intense heat, drawing her ever nearer to the cliff of no return. Her lips throbbed and pulsated, an intense ache eating away at her groin that grew in ferocity until she could no longer take it.

The blade arrived before she did, the leather pommel of a silver kris slipping in between her palms. And then she crested the wave that carried her farther off the edge than she had ever been before, dropping the floor out of her stomach as she descended into a whirlpool of pleasure. The sensation was almost spiritual, and Lia lost herself within the riptide, unfamiliar noises escaping her throat as her legs shuddered. She was so lost in the current that she nearly dropped the conjured weapon in the excitement, but she managed to snag it back within her fingertips at the last second, surrendering a few drops of blood to the blade in the process. The biting cold steel buoyed her against the unrelenting waves, allowing her the momentary strength to saw through the rope, the razor-sharp blade making quick work of her restraints.