Tier 1.31: Meetings in the Mist [Mack]
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Hey! Hey!

I'm just going to take a moment to address the poll in the last chapter. It seems that the overall majority of readers are okay with tone of the story so far, although there are some worries about it getting darker. So, I'll do my best to keep to the current balance of things (light/dark, adventure/sex).

Also, based on feedback, I'm going to put a list of the party in a spoiler at the beginning of each chapter going forward to help readers keep track of everyone. It will contain the information (character names, level, etc) that is correct at the start of the chapter. Along these same lines, all future chapters will only use the character's current name as the identifier in the title.

Oh! One last thing, it's a short chapter today. I kept getting interrupted and it was either this or not putting anything out.

Spoiler

Cherry-Blossom — Wood Sprite, Forester (Level 6) — They/Them

Mack — Felinoid, Duelist (Level 7) — She/Her

Yarrow — Elenian, Hedge Witch (Level 8) — She/Her

Trogia — Corrupt Human, Dark Acolyte (Level 6) — He/Him

Rick — Elenian, Shaman (Level 6) — He/Him

Crystal — Gnome, Ax-Maiden (Level 8) — She/Her

Ellie — Pixie, Trickster-Mage (Level 6) — She/Her

Sulin — Human, Archer (Level 5) — She/Her

[collapse]

 

The top of my head kept corkscrewing upward. At least, that's how it felt. It was as if it was defying gravity and pulling toward the sky while constantly spinning. To try and keep my mind off the sensation I pet my tail. 

Normally, I ignore my cat features as much as possible. But here in this fog, not only did they not bother me, I was suddenly happy to have the. The soft fur in my hands was calming, and the strokes on my tail were as relaxing as a massage at a spa. I tried rubbing my ears for a bit, but soon realized I was essential masturbating in front of the others. No matter how numb and sleepy-headed I was, I wasn't comfortable with getting myself off in public.

Unlike some people.

"Would you two cut it out," I grumbled.

Cherry and Ellie were in the middle of a next level make-out session. Their hands were hidden under garments, but it wasn't hard to figure out what they were doing.

Trogia said through clenched teeth, "Yeah, cut it out!" He was dancing about like a spider on hot tin.

"What the hell is the matter with you?" I asked.

"I'm not allowed to ... I can't ... it's none of your business!" he yelled. Then, he turned around and rubbed at the front of his obscenely small thong, even though he wasn't hard. Not being hard was pretty unusual for him.

When we got separated from the others, we decided to stay put. Cherry said it was a forest survival method to not move and let others find you. I wasn't sure if it was something she'd learned in her old life or something she knew from being a sprite. (Or was she a sprite in her old life and I'd just forgotten?) Also, we weren't in a forest, so I had no idea what good this advice would do us.

I went back to petting my tail, trying to ignore the lewd display of the two fairy girls and half-naked Trogia jumping about. But a large rock slammed into the ground about ten feet from us breaking my inner peace.

It had to be two-feet round and when it met earth, a concussive boom rippled beneath me and shook my bones.

"What did that?" Trogia whispered, no longer feeling himself up and hopping in discomfort. He crouched low on his haunches, looking out into the thick mist. His staff was raised, ready to strike out or cast a spell.

I drew my sword and got up from my seat on the ground. Another large rock came smashing down. This time, closer. But it wasn't in line with the first, making it hard to be certain where the next one (if there was a next one) would land. This froze me in place, even though my instinct was to get out of the way. I couldn't get out of the way when I didn't know which way was the way. 

Why did I have my sword out?

Right! Rocks from the sky.

Or did I imagine them?

There was another one. Closer and from yet another direction.

The four of us were now on our guard, clustering together and waiting to get pulverized.

Cherry hissed, "What's doing it?" No one had an answer.

Trogia raised his staff high above his head and it glowed briefly. Their was a cry of pain from off to our left and the sound of a rock crashing down, but it wasn't close enough to see.

"Now," he said, charging off toward the cry. "Before it can launch another one."

"What was that spell?" I asked running along side him.

"It drain's Life Force of any nearby enemies."

I realized as we sprinted that we could easily run straight off a cliff, but it only partially registered. And I need not have worried, we didn't come to a cliff. Just a giant, twenty-five-foot tall troll.

See. No reason to worry at all.

It had another boulder in its hands and raised it above his head, when it saw us. Ellie cast a spell, and the troll lost its balance and the rock kept its backward momentum and fell behind him. The troll roared in anger, and one of Cherry's knives lodged into its stomach.

I was going to vote for running like hell, but apparently the others had decided to attack the fucking thing.

Running still seemed preferable, but for some reason, I screamed, "Aha!" And drove my saber into its knee, which was twice as thick as my recently expanded hips. The maneuver brought me horrifyingly close to its dangling cock. It swung just above my head like a monstrous gray worm from hell. My fear of something dripping off of it onto me may have been the only thing that saved me, as I was already darting away when it tried to kick me.

I spun in an a perfect pirouette and ended up behind him, slashing a long gash into its calf.

It swept out and arm, angrily swatting at everyone in front of it, but managed to miss. As the arm swept over toward me, I hacked at the wrist. The skin split open and veins popped like over-stressed high-tension cables. Black blood gushed out, and the troll brought it protectively to his chest. Almost simultaneously, he collapsed to his knees, then keeled-over on his side.

"I honestly thought it would be a lot harder to kill," I said.

Cherry said, "Maybe it was high too."

"What are you talking about. Who's high?"

Trogia said, "Seriously! And you people were making fun of me for being stupid. We've all been out of our heads for the last hour."

"Pfft! Maybe you have but I'm fine."

"So, that's why you sat there nearly the whole time staring out into space, playing with your tail, and purring."

"You're crazy. I wasn't purring." Was I? "Cherry was I purring?"

"I'm not sure I was a little distracted." They glanced guiltily at Ellie.

 "Gods!" a voice bellowed from the fog. A shadowy figure started to emerge from its depths, broad and powerful looking. I was certain it was another troll, but then it stopped getting any taller.

"I could hear your bickering a mile off. The two of you remind me of my parents," Crystal said.

I was about to level some retort at her, but I was having trouble figuring out if her words had actually been insulting or not. And if they had been, who had been insulted.

Ellie said, "Thank goodness, you're here. Now if only we can find Rick and the others." She sniffed then added, "Were you sitting by a campfire?"

"Never mind that," Crystal said bruskly. She held out a handful of pine needles. "You all have to chew on these?"

"What?" Ellie said, sounding as confused as I felt.

I said, "I'm not putting that in my mouth. I don't know where it's been."

"That's never stopped you before," Trogia said.

"What? What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"It means you've never been too particular about the cocks you've—"

"Will you two shut up! Look, the fog gets in your head and makes you all wonky. These needles stops it from effecting you. Take a pinch and chew it. See." She stuck her tongue out and showed us a wad of green mash.

"The fog isn't in my wonky head, and the needles isn't stopping it effecting the needles ... what?" I lost my train of thought.

Cherry said, "Maybe we should do as she says." She took some and put half in her mouth and gave the other half to me. 

Reluctantly, I began chewing on them.

"Don't swallow," Crystal said insistently.

"Now, you're asking the impossible from her," Trogia said.

I said, "I'm going to bash in that smart mouth of yours." But because I had something in my mouth, it came out as, "Um gonna hashen at mart mooth o' oors."

I almost spit the stupid needles out to speak properly, when my floating head suddenly came crashing down. 

The silent mountain top bristled around me. Windless, the mist hung in the air like dump muslin. I was achy in a hundred unspecific ways from muscles and joints sore.  As loose as my brain had been, I'd be unconsciously clenching my entire body. A headache bloomed like a burr caught between the two lobes of my brain, but the world was back in focus.

"Damn," I said. "What the hell is going on here?"

Crystal answered, "I don't know. The fog is some kind of drug. I don't know what's causing it though."

Yarrow, Rick, and Sulin stepped into our circle. Rick said, "We do."

 

 

 

 

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