I mentally scratched off a line. I'd gone one day without my obligation to my (very not voluntary) divine quest making me do anything repulsive or humiliating. So far, the worst thing was having to agree to the plan of resting and taking turns on watch. But honestly, I had maxed out my Life Balance and was losing Life Force, so I'd only been disagreeing with the others on principle, and would have folded eventually.

The name still made me cringe. It was simply dumb. It was the sort of name a kitten would be given by a slow child. And what's worse as far back as I could remember that's what people called me. I guess that's why I started the nickname of Frisks. Wait! No. That wasn't it. Was it? Grrrr! Son-of-a-bitch! I hated not being able to trust my own mind.

Other than the quest and the name, it wasn't bad (but those were two fucking huge BUTs). I didn't even mind the pervy Mark of Tamarra that had been placed right above my pubic area with a design of a flower and a bee. At least, my skirt hid it.

The blessing boosted my Intellect, Finesses, Presence, and Defense Rating, all very helpful things. Except for the Presence. I still had the Voluptuous blessing on me (apparently Tanamarra was super cool with combining blessings from other gods), and the increase Presence points had made me curvy as hell. My breasts were big D-cups now and looked obscenely huge in my bustier. And my ass need its own zip code now (I guess that would make it three huge BUTs). Seriously, I can't count the number of times I bumped a hip into something because I'm not used to them being so wide.

The passive skill I got was a mixed bag. On one hand, I got experience now from doing what other people wanted or "being open to new possibilities" as the shitty system put it. On the other hand, the experience was tied to how much I didn't want to do it. And worst of all, it meant I had to do things other people wanted! Which absolutely sucked! But I figured it could just sit there in the background, and should I ever accommodate someone, at least I'd get compensated.

I just had to make it another thirteen days without anyone asking me to do anything for them. After then, I'd be able to decide whether I would be "open" or not.

We got going before the sun was up. One of the benefits of going to bed so early, I guess. 

The morning had barely started before we were set on by three more of those plant monsters. But with them being so outnumbered, we dispatched them quickly.

It was about an hour later, when the path the forest grew over the trail. Or so we thought.

The second we got close, looking to step around the trees in our path, they attacked.

The were ent type things, looking like trees but acting like people. We faced four of them, and they were no joke. When they smashed us with their branches, it hurt like hell and did shit loads of damage. We split up into teams taking them on two at a time. I found myself with Trogia, and was pretty disappointed by that at first. But he turned out to have a really effective spell and could double cast it when he got his hands on the trunk. It actually seemed to be better than my sword as each hit only chipped off a bit of bark. Although, that must just have been what it looked like because the damage was decent. We killed ours right around he same time that Crystal and Savanna chopped their's down. 

Cherry and Ellie ended up being last, and just as theirs fell, we heard a rustling. 

Ten more of those woad monsters moved toward us like a herd. We were pretty beat up from our fight. Rick had managed to heal some of the party, but hadn't gotten to me. And I was down to less than half health. We were not in good shape to be outnumbered by these things.

"Come on!" Cherry screamed, waving us away from them. "They're slow, we can put some distance between us and prepare."

It wouldn't have been a bad plan either, except we hadn't been running long before more tree-men slipped out of the woods, flanking us. It was only another four, but if we stopped to fight them, the woads would be on top of us, and we'd be even more screwed.

We kept charging through the forest, dodging trees and branches, rocks and hollows.  The tree creatures were nearly as fast as us, and we weren't shaking them. But perhaps we could move them farther from the flytrap monsters, kill them, and get going again.

And as I had the thought, more of the woads appeared in front of us, making us veer of to the right.

Yarrow screamed out, "This is no good! There driving us toward something."

But her warning was too late. We broke into a wide clearing that was filled with creatures.

The bright sunlight and the incongruous scene made me blink. 

Before us were a crazy amount of woads—at least twenty, nearly as many not-ents, and some other weird plant species that looked like a cross between a thorn bush and a porcupine. Then there were the people. Or people-ish creatures. I recognized some of those badger things (bugbears, I think the game called them) and some fox people I hadn't seen before. There were also at least six Elenians and about the same number of sprites. They all stood together with an aisle between them, leading to a chair woven out of branches. On it sat the dryad.

She had to be ten feet tall. Her skin was a pale green and her hair almost the same shade of dark-green as Blossom's. And she was stunning. Her presence must have exceeded 16 (if monsters ha attribute points like us). She almost hurt to look at, she was radiant. She wore no clothes. Her pumpkin sized breasts hung pendulously from her chest, and almost looked painful. Her pubic area appeared to be coated in grass. 

The way behind us was closed off by the woads and not-ents that had chased us here.

Despite being way on the other side of the clearing, the dryad's voice carried across to us although she didn't yell. "Greetings! How good it is of you to come here to serve your queen! Advance before me and kneel."

Before I could even think about it, I started heading for the throne. A hand grabbed the back of my bustier and held me in place. My body twisted and struggled in the grasp, trying desperately to move forward.

Yarrow whispered in my ear, "I'm asking you to stay with us."

For a moment my mind was torn in three directs: wanting to go to the dryad, really really not wanting to go to the dryad, and wanting to stay with Yarrow. But then, either the more recent request took over or it aligned enough with my own preference to triumph.

All of the many monsters in front of us bristled. Obviously they expected to obey without question. And if they charged us, we were dead. Their numbers were just to great. We couldn't fight an army and survive. 

Yarrow whispered again, but loud enough for everyone in the party to hear, "I have an idea. It might be the only way out of here. Follow my lead."

Then, she began marching up the aisle. This was insane. We'd be even more surrounded by these things, not to mention directly in front of the dryad. But I couldn't help but follow her. I'm not sure why the others were though. It wasn't like they were compelled to do the stupid shit she said.

Yarrow kept whispering, "Keep healing us, Rick. Just don't be obvious about it. Our only chance is to take her out." she nodded up at the figure in front of us. Rick touched my shoulder and I felt my points return. "Most of the others are under her enslavement spell. Kill her, break the spell. I'm not sure how many that will leave us with to fight, but it'll be better than these odds. When we strike they'll come to her aid, so try not to hurt the Elenians and the sprites. They're non-monsters and simply victims. Just try to focus all your attacks on—"

She didn't say any more because we reached the throne.

"Now, kneel and pledge yourselves to me," the dryad said.

A wave emanated from her and washed over me like a warm breeze. I knelt not because I was forced to but because I wanted to. I wanted to serve her in any way she asked.

Yarrow said something, but it was just white noise. I said, "How may I serve you, my queen?"

My old team chose that moment to attack. Spells and arrows flew over my back at my beloved queen. Crystal jumped forward to attack her. Rage filled my every molecule at the insult of it. I pulled my sword and lunged at Crystal.

She kept her focus on the divine being that she should be worshiping, while I slashed at her back. She kept screaming at me, "Attack her not me." And I felt a twinge of compulsion but nothing nearly strong enough to sway my loyalty. Around me it was mayhem with my queen's forces surging over the interlopers. Pixie-dust was in the air turning some of them against each other, but not nearly enough to make a difference.

Suddenly, whatever spell I'd been under broke, and I felt myself free to act again. I turned my sword on the dryad and side by side Crystal and I fought her. She was spending more time healing herself than attacking, and I recognized this as the nearing the defeat stage. Teresa had done the same thing when I fought her. The healing prolonged the battle but couldn't win it. Especially as the dryad not only had us attacking her but Yarrow, Cherry, and the others when they could get a shot in.

Finally with my blade in her stomach and Crystal's ax in her thigh, she fell over, crashing down, and withering like any other plant creature. 

The mayhem exploded as many of her thralls broke and ran into the woods, while others changed sides. There was still an army of woads and several of the porcupines and bugbears still fought for the fallen dryad, but the tide had turned.

And I'd evolved. But I barely had a chance to register that, before vines lashed out and wrapped around me.

The remaining forces loyal to the dryad were swarming all over us. I felt Rick cast some spell. It didn't heal much, but seemed to effect the entire party. And it might have been the only thing that kept us alive. That and a healing potion now and then.

At one point, I was fending of three woads and two porcupine-things by myself. But then a few of the Elenians and fox creatures came to my aid. Those fox things were supposedly monsters, but apparently they didn't take any more kindly to being enslaved than we did.

It felt like being in hell. I took injury after injury, healed, and got injured again, the pain constantly new and sharp. 

Little by little the enemies dropped away. I was left fighting one woad and finally slashed it down. Relieved to be done, I want to collapse, pass out on the battlefield, maybe never move again.

From the look of it, everyone felt the same way. Trogia was still battling the last remaining woad but everyone looked on, dazed. Only two of the fox creatures were left and they darted into the forest and disappeared. Three Elenians and two sprites had survived but were badly wounded. The field was strewn with desiccated plant beings and copses.

Trogia put his foe down, and Katie surprised as with a message.

"What the actual fuck is Dryad Essence?" Crystal said. He pulled the vial from his inventory. "It looks like green jizz. I ain't drinking this!"

Yarrow said, "Nobody should drink it! It's what the dryad uses to enslave people. But it's also a valuable ingredient in potions. I think we're meant to sell it as treasure."

"I didn't drink any of that," Rick said. I guess I hadn't been the only one under her spell. And he was right, I would have remembered drinking that shit.

"And you weren't enslaved, just compelled. That's why it wore off. Had she managed to compel all of us, then she would have used it to make the effects permanent." Yarrow paused. "Woot! Looks like we have some evolutions! Who want's to show off their new selves first?"

While I hesitated (hell, I hadn't even checked myself out yet), Cherry stepped forward. They were all curvy and oozing with sex appeal. I'd never been attracted to women, but looking at them, I felt myself grow wet. Her hair had changed. It had grown longer and was in two braids that looped over their ears and joined into a single plait at the back. "I'm still a Wood Sprite but a Marquesses, which I think means I'm part of the royalty. I gained the ability to ..." They hesitated in a way that made me suspect what they was about to tell us was only part of the story. "Regenerate my Life Force whenever I'm in the open air. And I have these ..." They pulled off their dress. And at first I thought they was showing us their beasts (which were absolutely spectacular and disturbingly twisted my arousal up a notch), but then they turned around, and I saw the wings.

Two silver gossamer wings in the same shape of a butterflies spread out from their shoulder bladed. They fluttered them and said, "That feels better. I don't think they're supposed to be pressed beneath clothing."

Ellie said, "Oooh!" And touched them running a gently finger over the edge of one of them. But then she stopped and frowned looking at something on Cherry's front. "What's going on down there? Is that part of the evolution too?"

Unconsciously they turned when they looked at themselves, and I was able to see too. I'd been so distracted by her breasts before I hadn't noticed that her clit was sticking out an inch from her groin.

"Nothing in my notification said anything about that. But maybe it is."

One of the surviving sprites came up to us and addressed Cherry, "Excuse me. If I may be so bold. Their majesty is in the preparatory stage of their mating period. You should be entering your frenzy tomorrow."

Cherry looked as though she was about to have a heart attack. Ellie whispered to her, "It's okay. We'll get you through this."

Everyone was all stunned a bit by this news, as well as the fact that they didn't put their dress back on and simply stood around in all their radiant nudity.

"How about you, Frisks?" Yarrow asked.

I pulled up the notice and told them, "I became a Cloud Leoposa, whatever the fuck that is." I whipped my tail so I could see it. The gray of the fur was deeper and more lustrous, but it also had black spots at regular intervals like a leopards. "I have the ability to become a shadow. Essentially I can disappear if it's dark enough. Do I look very different?"

Yarrow said, "Your coloration has changed and your ears look more predatory than cute. Also, if you ever lose your sword, you can probably beat enemies into submission with those boobs."

"Ha! Ha! Very funny!" Fuck! They had grown again! They must be E-cups now. My armor pushed them up and out, and I had to look around them to see the lower part of my body.

Ellie said, "I got a lot of experience from using my pixie-dust to geth the monsters to fight one another and reached level 10, but I can't evolve until I get a name. Katie says: 'the anonymous cannot ascend ...'"

"I'm in the same boat," Rick said.

"We'll just have to find you a temple you can be blessed at," Yarrow said to him.

One of the Elenians said, "There are temples at our village. If you would accompany us, you would be greatly honored."

"Are you from Dewy Valley?" Yarrow asked. He nodded. "Well, then lead the way."