We needed to find the way off the mountain, but that was impossible with all the fog. Our only hope was to kill the wyvern creating it. But how did we find that in this pea-soup?

Luckily, once we were given the pine needles, it didn't take long for someone to realize that the ground had a slight slope to it, giving us a feature to orientate ourselves with. We followed it upward until our way was blocked by a vertical cliff-face. From the sharp angle of it, I deduced this must be the mountain's peak. It was also likely where we'd find the entrance to the wyvern's lair. We saw no caves or even crevasses that could be an entrance, so we kept walking, holding close to the rock wall and seeing if we wouldn't find it farther along.

The pine needles had bitter stale chewing-gum taste to them, but I appreciated that I was no longer under the influence of this fog. Well, in some ways I appreciated it.

While it was making me high, I hadn't really noticed how tender my vagina was from the recent sex or how sticky it was from Rick's drying semen (I really wished I could get a private moment to clean up, but it wasn't to be). I also hadn't minded the fact that Sulin had pretty much observed me begging for sex and then being given it. And I certainly hadn't cared that I stood around in front of her naked for about fifteen minutes.

Now those things were all I could think about. I'm sure they all could smell the sour tang off Rick's seed on me (I sure could). And even though when ever I looked, Sulin's eyes were focused on something else, I couldn't help feel them on me, judging me.

The fog, it would seem, significantly lowered a person's inhibitions. It had made me absolutely brazen.

Which got me worried about how much of that was really me.

Look, I could say it was all the fog's fault, that it "made me do it." But in my own mind, I should be honest with myself. Self-deception wouldn't do me any good. So, it was worth analyzing what it had revealed about me.

I'd started to go into combat naked because my stats were so much better that way. It was the sensible thing to do. But always, I used my ring of invisibility. Without people's eyes on me, I was free to experience the world without any clothes on. I'd come to enjoy that unfettered feeling of having nothing to restrain my movements, to feel the air on my skin without the filter of cloth. It seemed so natural. So perfect.

But under the fog's mental distortions, I was unrestrained from my own sense of what was right or wrong. Free from the judgments of others. If it hadn't been for Rick's urging, I wouldn't have ever put my robe back on. Well, not until I chewed the pine needles and returned to my normal way of thinking.

Also, until the fog, I hadn't realized how much I liked being a woman. And especially, having sex as a woman. I mean sure, I enjoyed being with Rick those other times, but I'd been so self-conscious and so aware of the sensations of this new body of mine that I over-analyzed every second of it. Having my super-ego wiped away was a real eye opener.

Riding him, I felt so powerful and in control, seizing the pleasure for myself. But it was even better when he took me from behind and drove into me like some mindless rutting animal. That really got me going.

In my mind I pictured the scene again, me bent over, him pressing against me. But this time, I'm aware of Sulin being there. She watches me getting taken. I look of desire fills her face. Her hand slowly, almost on its own volition, reaches between her legs.

I shake the thought from my head and started doing math equations in my head to distract myself before anyone noticed my flushed sweating face and my erect nipples pointing through my robe.

"It's here," Crystal said, but the fog was incredibly thick, and I couldn't even see her in it.

"How can you tell?" Rick asked. A fair question since there was almost no visibility.

"There's a gap or an opening in the cliff. And the fog is blowing out from it."

One by one we followed each other, finding our way only by the back of the person in front of us. Once I was in the path of it, I could understand what Crystal meant by blowing out. It wasn't so much a wind as the feeling of the mist billowing across my face like a hot, steamy breath. And after not very long the light began to dim fading until it went out altogether.

Cherry tried her light spell, but almost all of the glow was swallowed up by the fog. 

Rick said, "Crystal, try your lantern."

"Lost it."

"How did you manage to lose it?" he asked incredulously.

"Mack," Crystal said. "Do you have yours?"

She lit it, and its light formed a muffled ball of orange that barely gave me something to follow. But I was some distance away. Perhaps Mack was able to see a few feet ahead.

I can't believe we're actually in a dragon's den," Cherry said. I could tell they were speaking to alleviate their nerves. "That's such a fantasy bucket-list thing."

"It's a wyvern," Sulin corrected.

"Close enough."

Mack said, "Don't bring up bucket-lists. That's something for when you're about to die."

Traveling in misty darkness through a monster's lair was nightmarish. From all the signs we were in a tunnel traveling deeper into the mountain. But from what I could actually see, we could have been walking through a cloud in the night sky, following a flickering orange glow do our doom.

So, I was relieved when the world began to brighten again.

It started small. Just a lighter patch of fog in front of us, but it grew, and then the mist itself began to clear. And I could see we'd entered a large cave. Two holes high up in the chamber let wind and light in. However, as the air cleared, it became apparent that the source of the fog was in here with us. 

The cavern was round and nearly dome shaped. The air gust in from the holes and blew out through the tunnel behind us. Between them, in the center of the chamber was the wyvern, thick mist billowing out of its nostrils. 

The thing was massive. Easily forty-feet from nose to tail. Wings curled back along its body, compressed into a hundred folds of leather. It didn't appear to be scaly. Instead, it's hide was a uniform verdigris color like oxidized copper. 

For a second, it seemed as though we caught it sleeping and we'd get the jump on it.  But before we could attack, one of it's eyelids opened. A large black orb peered out at us. It rose up on its legs with a speed that seemed impossible for something so big. It shook out its body and wings in a gesture that was very bird-like. But the hiss it let out at as was pure reptile. It had stopped exhaling the mist. Perhaps reserving strength for an attack.

I did a quick system check and got back: Wyvern (Trippy ) Level 12 — Solitary creatures found on mountaintops. Emits clouds of narcotic gas to control their hunting grounds and weaken their prey. Does physical damage from teeth, claw, and tail. If struck by its venom a saving-throw against poison is required (1-3 permanent effect, 4-8 temporary effect for 1D4 days, 9-14 poisoned for 1D6 rounds, 15+ saved). High resistance to magic.

I yell out to my companions, "It has venom,"as I jam my invisibility ring on. 

Everyone was spreading out, making sure it didn't only have one target to launch itself at.

Cherry asked, "What does the venom do?"

"It doesn't say, but the effects can be permanent," I said, shedding my clothes.

"Well," Mack said, "I say we don't find out. Stay away from it's mouth, people."

So far, it hadn't attacked us. It was watching, observing.

Crystal, Mack, and Trogia were in a semi circle in front of it. The other four were hanging back for ranged attacks and healing. I made my way to its side, hoping to flank and blindside it with my spells. But the wyvern's nose scrunched up in a great sniff and it turned toward me.

Its tail lashed out and cracked like a colossal whip. I dove to the side, but the tip hit across my backside and sent me sprawling on the ground. It hadn't done much damage, but my bare cheeks burned from the hit. I'd just been spanked my a monster. Of course, I had. We were in Feronia after all.

The others used the opportunity to rush in for an attack. The wyvern swung around and back-kicked Mack, catching her with the fierce claws of one of its feet. The blow sent her sliding across the floor.

I recovered myself and fired double Electrical Surges at it. They fizzled around its body, but on the whole it seemed more concerned with the daggers and arrows flying at it (not to mention, Crystal's powerful ax) than my spells. 

The beast flapped its wings sending a gale of wind at us, then took to the air, swirling around the top of the chamber. A sickly green glow covered it, and before my eyes the wounds we'd inflicted on it disapeared.

"Fucking great!" Crystal said, "It can heal itself."

Mack raised herself to her feet and said to me, "And you could of warned us that its venom was in its talons. You're lucky I made my saving-throw, bitch!"

 I got off another shot of electricity as it swooped down at Sulin, reaching out with its talons. She'd been peppering it with arrows and had drawn its attention. But she was close to the cave wall, and it had to pull up before getting a hit.

It changed course and went for Trogia, shooting toward him like an arrow, its gigantic teeth gnashing. It bit him, clasping him in its jaw and bringing him airborne. Black tendrils of smoke came out of Trogia's body and assailed the monster's head.

I held back my fire, concerned I may accidentally harm my friend.

Whatever spell he was using, it obviously annoyed the beast and it dropped him. He landed with a thud, and Rick ran to him, casting a healing spell. 

With the wyvern now clear of our allies, I cast again. This time I switched tactics and used my gale spell and blasted it from both hands. It went tumbling backward in mid-flight and slammed into the cave wall and then fell unceremoniously to the ground. From the way it staggered and struggled, I could tell I'd finally done some real damage.

But it was healing again. 

Everyone piled on, trying to end it before it could return to the air.

Crystal's ax came down hard and severed one of its wings at the joint. The beast flopped over, and I thought it was done for, but with its last breath, it shot a leg out and raked its claws against the exposed flesh of my stomach.

No! No! No! No! my mind screamed. What was it going to do to me?

The system announcement came up, congratulating me on failing my saving-throw. I was so paralyzed with fear, I almost didn't read the rest of it. I really didn't want to find out what kind of horrible way it would change me. But I also, couldn't not know. 

I heaved a sigh of relief, when I found out I'd only been poisoned.

But as my health dropped bellow the halfway point, my muscles seized up, and I dropped to the floor. "Rick," I cried, already feeling my jaw going numb. Soon I wouldn't even be able to talk. "I'm poisoned. Help!"

"Where are you?" He called running in the general direction of my voice but wide of where I lay. With clumsy, dead fingers, I pulled the ring off.

He knelt by me and used his healing chant.

As I lay in his arms, my strength slowly restoring, I heard Ellie whisper, "It's kind of strange. I think I see her naked more often than Cherry."

Sulin said back, "Tell me about it. She's a total perv."

"I don't know. I think it's nice. I mean, she's certainly has a great body for it."

Warmth returned to me. It could have been the poison retreating or a deep blush covering my whole being.

Mack cursed. "Doesn't this thing have any treasure? Aren't dragon's supposed to have treasure?"

"It's a wyvern," Sulin corrected.

"Yeah," Trogia said. "We just killed Puff not Smaug." He then walked around the corpse humming Puff the Magic Dragon to himself.

Ellie said, "The system scan for valuables points to something called ... Trippy Wyvern Glands. They're located in it's stomach."

"Oh good," Mack said, with heavy sarcasm. "I get to cross off 'disembowel a dead dragon' from my bucket-list today."

By the time, I was feeling well enough to join the others, they'd managed to hack a rent in the creature's belly with Crystal's ax. There were two glands, cantaloupe sized, slimy, veiny, and a revolting purple-blue color. But we redistributed our extra potions to make room in the inventory and took them with us. Although I really wasn't sure who we'd find to buy them.

Intestines and gore spilled out of the wyvern and made an unbearable stench in the room, which got us moving on our way.

It was Ellie, who noticed a rock that could be pushed to the side to reveal a passageway behind it. The tunnel wasn't long and let directly back out to the mountainside. At the exit, there was a ledge almost like a balcony and a rough flight of stairs leading downward into a wooded valley. A river ran along its length.

As we got closer to the valley floor but with just enough height to see over the treeline, Sulin called out, "On the bank." She pointed to something, but all I could make out was the glistening silver water. "There's some kind of large building. A house or something."