Misfortune Begins
“Would you guys hurry up already? I’m tired and I’m in desperate need of a catnap at the inn.” A demi-cat woman calls out into the cavern as she leans against a wall and runs her fingers through her short, brown hair. A moment later a voice yells back to her.
“Dammit, Jessica! We don’t have fast classes like you, so quit running ahead!” Soon a light comes into Jessica’s view as the rest of her party catches up with her. A pale, human man stomps up to her and, despite Jessica’s golden eyes trying to appear innocent as if she did nothing wrong, he gives her a stern bonk on her forehead with the back of his fist. “Run too far away and your knight can’t protect you, dummy.”
“Mreow. Sorry, Danny.” Jessica’s fluffy cat ears droop as she lowers her head.
“Oh, cut her some slack, Dan. She’s just scouting ahead like a scout should. Right, Jess?” A voluptuous, high elf priestess walks to Jessica’s side and pats her on the back.
“Yeah, yeah. I’m just worried we’re gonna run into trouble soon. Besides, the only piece of loot we got was that little ring you’re wearing.” Dan sighs as he drops his bag on the ground before sitting down. “Speaking of, don’t get too attached to that thing since we agreed to sell it. Got that, Rian?”
“I was kind of hoping you’d forget. It looks lovely on my finger aft-”
“Ugh, ya can keep it if we find something more valuable or just more loot in general, alright?” A male goblin, who’s only about three feet tall, interrupts Rian. “Seriously, ya guys act like it’s not a big deal or whatever, but we’ve been wandering all day and only found that pile of bones and a stupid ring. Nothing more, no loot, no monsters, no women needing help, nothing at all.”
Rian glares down at the goblin. “Vic, mind telling me why you added that part about women needing help? You wouldn’t possibly be having impure thoughts about how they could reward us or, to be more precise, you?”
“Hey, hey, hey! Don’t give me that look. Y’know I can control my urges. I’m not like a feral goblin, so give me a break, will ya?” Vic’s massive, pointed ears twitch as Jessica’s cat ears do the same. “Hey, Jess?”
“Already heard it. Two, hold on, make that three on the first right down this path. They kinda sound like lizardmen” Jessica crouches on all fours and readies her sharp claws as a big grin appears on her face. Her ears twitch again and flip around briefly. “There might be four, but that last one is somewhere else and it might be different.”
“I’ll take one of the lizardmen. Jess and Vic, you take the other two. Rian, keep a lookout for that fourth.” Dan orders the others before they attack, but asks one last question first. “You said it might be different. What do you mean?”
“It was faint, so it might just be an echo, but I thought I heard a weird laugh.” Jessica tries to focus to hear the fourth creature again, but doesn’t hear anything, so she tries to ignore the strange feeling it gave her instead.
Dan raises his sword and shield before signaling the group to charge ahead. They quickly reach a side path to their right and three, seven foot tall, lizardmen wearing scraps of leather armor. Dan desperately guards against one of the lizardmen, keeping it busy while the others deal with the other two. Vic blinds his two targets with a few swift shots from his crossbow while Jessica rushes in for a few swipes with her claws. Once those two drop, Jessica darts over to help Dan while Vic just watches the knight struggle against one lizardman. After the fight is over, Dan sits by the wall to catch his breath while Jessica scouts further down the cave to see if there’s anything nearby.
“Thankfully, that fourth one never showed up.” Rian walks over to Dan and pats his shoulder as if telling him that he did a good job.
“Oh yeah, sure. Otherwise we would’ve been in trouble since our knight was too busy dealing with a low level lizardman.” Vic chimes in mocking Dan for struggling with one opponent.
“Don’t be like that. He did just fine holding off his target.” Rian swings her staff and gives Vic a stern tap on his head. “Besides, it’s your job to-”
“Hey! Get over here and check this out!” Jessica suddenly yells from further down the path. The other three look at each other with a little bit of concern before rushing to make sure Jessica isn’t about to get herself in trouble. Upon catching up with her, they find her digging through a small chest.
“Fucking finally! Whatcha find in there?” Vic immediately joins Jessica in rummaging through the chest, pulling out various pieces of jewelry and raw gems. Eventually, he pulls out a strange blue bottle and tosses it to Dan. “Here’s a potion for your injuries that big bad lizard gave ya.”
“Shut up, jackass.” Dan catches the bottle and realizes it feels empty, so he uses his Identify skill to see what kind of potion it is. His eyes widen as he stares from within his helmet. He gulps before finally speaking up. “It’s… It’s not even a health potion, just an empty bottle.”
Object: Genie’s Bottle
Name: Zaara
Level: 1
Dan can’t believe his eyes as he stares a little longer at the Genie’s Bottle resting in his hand. He had heard tales of people finding genies and getting three wishes that could be anything they desire. Basically everyone has heard about that stuff, but he still can’t believe he has one in his hands. However, he also heard that they vanish after someone uses their three wishes, making it impossible to keep them around for others to use. With that in mind, Dan slips the bottle into his pouch to use later while telling everyone else a little lie.
“Alright, pack it up.” Rian claps her hands to get everyone’s attention. “We got some treasure to pay for our rooms, food, and gear for a while. So, how about we head back?”
“Fine, but I call dibs on the first pick of the loot.” Vic quickly slips a gem into his pocket as he tosses a few others back into the chest.
“Excuse me? I found the chest, so I get the first pick.” Jessica snaps at Vic as she shuts the chest and stands up. “Right, Danny?”
“Huh? Oh, right. Yeah. Sure, but let’s get out of here first.” Dan pulls out a map to make sure they’re going the right way before leading everyone back towards the city within the Eternal Labyrinth.
During the trip back to the city, the group had to fight a small pack of feral ratfolk and a few feral goblins. The trip was otherwise peaceful despite Vic and Jessica occasionally arguing over what treasure they want. However, Rian couldn’t shake the feeling that they were being watched by something. Actually, she could feel that something’s gaze was fixed on her in particular. Thankfully, they all managed to make it to the city without encountering anything else. As they passed through the gate separating the city from the rest of the labyrinth, a guard stopped them.
“Ah, you guys left a day ago, right?” The guard approaches as he speaks. “You didn’t see anything unusual did you?”
“Nothing strange beside how quiet it was. Why?” Dan waves for the others to go on ahead to the inn.
“Well, there was a group that went in before you, so maybe they cleared it out a little for you. They came back a few hours ago and said they saw a strange worm-like creature wiggling into a crack in a wall. I was wondering if your party saw anything like that, but I guess not.” The guard waves his hand as he heads back to his post. “Thanks for your time, take care.”
Dan waves back as he turns and continues to the inn where the rest of his party is waiting. Once there, he goes upstairs to see who’s room the others are currently in and finds them in Rian’s room with the contents of the treasure chest spread out on the floor. Vic has a small pile near him, Jessica with another small pile, and Rian with a few pieces of jewelry in her hands. Dan approaches the group and kneels down to pick up what little is left on the floor since everyone else seems to have already picked out what they wanted.
“Sorry about the lack of an adventure, but I guess another group took the same route we did, so they must’ve cleared out most of the stuff before we even had a chance.” Dan stands back up after collecting his share of the treasure. “At least, that’s what the guard told me.”
“It’s fine, Danny.” Jessica cheerfully smiles at Dan as her long, brown cat tail waves side to side. “We got some treasure and had some fun, so I’m happy.”
“Same here.” Rian speaks, but her attention is obviously on the ring that she’s allowed to keep since they found more treasure.
“Could’ve used more loot, but this is still good.” Vic continues to admire his small pile of gems and jewelry.
“That’s good to hear. Well, I’ll be heading to my room.” Dan makes his way to the door after checking to see if Vic swapped out any of the treasure with fakes. “I’m pretty tired after all that, so I’ll probably be asleep for a while. Night.”
“Night.” The other three say as Dan leaves.
“The hell’s he so tired from? I fought way more than him and I ain’t tired at all.” Vic stands up and picks up his share of the loot.
“How many times must I tell you?” Rian sighs and slips her few pieces of jewelry into her satchel. “Dan’s a lower level than us, but he does his best like any true knight.”
“Yeah.” Jessica chimes in to defend Dan. “He’s also doing more than a lot of the guys in this city, so just leave him alone.”
“Heh, sure he is, but he still needs his wife to defend him.” Vic’s smile slowly becomes more like an evil grin. “Seriously, why do you bother with such a weak man?”
“Shut up.” Jessica’s tail stiffens with anger.
“Vic.” Rian says with a warning tone.
“I mean, come on. If he’s exhausted from a few tiny fights, then I can’t even imagine how short lived he is in bed. Ya must be so disappointed, but I can make ya feel real good all night long, if ya want~” Vic gives Jessica a seductive wink while trusting his hips forward twice.
“Get out or you’re dead.” Jessica glares down at the provocative goblin as she flexes her claws.
“Alright, that’s enough. Vic, get out now before I cast a spell to burn that impure thing you’re so proud of.” Rian uses her staff to push Vic out the door and lock it behind him. She walks back over to Jessica and places a gentle hand on her shoulder while casting a calming spell. She then leads Jessica over to sit on her bed. “Are you alright now, Jess?”
“I… I want to rip that little bastard apart, but not because he’s wrong.” Jessica lowers her head and rests it against Rian’s ample bosom. “The problem is that he’s right. He’s right about everything he said.”
“Now, now. You love Dan and even if he’s lacking in a few areas, I know you’d never betray him for someone like Vic.” Rian places a hand on Jessica’s head and gently pets her.
“I wish you were right, but I know Vic could actually go all night long while Danny can only last a few minutes at most.” Jessica clenches her fists as she holds back tears. “The worst part is that I accidentally saw Vic’s cock one time. It’s so much larger and thicker than Danny’s that I’m actually amazed he doesn’t have his own wife.”
“Shhh, of course he doesn’t. He wants you, so as long as you resist him, he’ll eventually give up.” Rian softly whispers into one of Jessica’s ears with a motherly tone to help put her mind at ease. “So what if he’s bigger and has more stamina? You don’t love him like Dan and that love is a sacred thing that’s more powerful than any pleasure you could ever feel.”
“Rian, I know what you’re trying to say, but none of that matters when I’m in heat.” Jessica slightly relaxes against Rian as she continues confessing.
“Wait, you’re in heat?” Rian pauses and looks down at Jessica.
“I could feel it starting a few hours ago and I’ve already struggled so hard to restrain myself the last few times, but each time it feels like I might lose myself and never be the same again if I even have a taste of something as big as Vic’s throbbing… veiny… massive cock~” Jessica begins to tremble as she hesitates to describe Vic’s cock.
“Try not to think about it, Jess.” Rian firmly grasps Jessica’s shoulder as she thinks of a way to help. “I actually might be able to help.”
“Please!” Jessica immediately looks up at Rian with desperate eyes. “Anything you can do will be better than nothing, so please do whatever you can.”
“Alright, but you’ll have to stay in my room for about two days for this to work.” Rian gets up and lets Jessica lay back on her bed. “Purifying someone to stop them from being in heat isn’t exactly a simple thing like stopping humans or elves from ovulating, even us elves or more complicated than humans, so doing this to a demi-beast of any kind is a bit difficult. It’ll probably take about two or three days to actually take effect. In the meantime, you can’t have contact with any men or the effect will be nullified. Don’t worry, I can let Dan know why he can’t see you during that time, alright?”
“Yes please and thank you. This means so much more than you know.” Jessica rests her head back and closes her eyes while Rian begins her prayer spell.
Rian spends the next few minutes chanting a prayer until it begins taking effect. Jessica quickly relaxes to the point that she dozes off to sleep. Once the spell is active and Jessica has fallen asleep, Rian leaves her room to tell Dan what’s happening.
