== VORTEX QUEST 1-13 ==
== SHADOWHAND'S GIFT ==
One plasma chute ride later and the pantheon was back at the holy spire, resting, horny.
There was no fabric to create new fundoshi for the naked members, Marcus and Goro. The mania-warrior's hair was a shoulder-long undercut again. Chay had given him the beads that had held his book collection together as a hair tie. That was all he could do.
While Pie lazily floated around between them, collecting cloud-belly rubs, the glistening athletes compared notes. Just as their discussion died down, their crotches lit up.
The aegis-light was bright even in the shimmering fog that seeped in from around the crystal hideout.
Gallant awaited them at the misty border.
Chay landed there first. He kept his voice perfectly level, despite wanting to scream, as he retold the events in brief.
"And now I'd like some answers," he finished.
"Certainly," the gold-skinned demon said, casually. "Ask away."
Questions came barreling out, not just from Chay.
When a human died, their soul often passed through the abyss before reaching whatever lay beyond. Reapers could capture a soul and – if judged suitable – manifest it in an artifice of its body made from ectoplasm.
But that human was a mere Shade, barely conscious, hollow, without thoughts and memories. If left alone the Shade's shell would break apart within a month, letting the soul escape.
Driven only by bare instincts like pain and sex those Shades were traded around as currency until the body was killed near a soul stone where the soul got trapped.
This soul then spent its vitality powering machines. Once used up, it became too immaterial to be contained and escaped. Reapers caught it anew, `nurtured' it back to health and the cycle repeated.
However, with each `rebirth' the soul solidified, becoming more and more a person with full conscience, memories and so forth. Gradually turning from a Shade to a Figment.
Figment Slaves were just as useful but sometimes got unruly. They could be used as thralls or forced to do labor but were troublesome and still broke apart after a few months at most, getting trapped in a soul stone.
Then why the vortex?
A fully manifested soul had a chance to escape the abyss by wiggling out of the Reaper's nets, although that took many, many cycles. Anyone brought alive from earth could be bound and tracked by demonic magic, never to escape. An infinitely rechargeable battery.
A lot of things made more sense now, but the news weren't encouraging. They really needed to stop the vortex.
"We got time for a drink, right?" Marcus asked, eyes on the Nephil's crotch.
"Afraid not," Gallant said, turning and lowering his dragonfly wings to watch a Wyvern approach. "Hrailoth awaits you. He mustn't know about your little diversion. Although, he'll notice the betrayal soon enough. The open signature is plain to see for any demon worth his nectar."
Gallant slowly waved his hand across the men.
Chay cupped his balls in anticipation but it did nothing to lessen the crushing. Breathing through the pain that rose even after Gallant's half-second tug, the umbralist glanced over his team mates.
Marcus whimpered, knees weak. Goro was steady, his pain only noticeable by his clenched glutes and set jaw. Xane was on one leg, using the other to `shield' himself from nothing in particular.
Neither was too weakened by the attack to be useless in a fight, Chay figured, so from a tactical perspective this was fine. From a personal perspective it was bullshit and he wanted to scream.
===***===
"Aw," Xane made as they arrived at Hrailoth's fortress. "I was so close. I can almost make a fourth mote. It's just not stabilizing."
Marcus chuckled. "I thought `I was so close' meant you got off on riding that Wyvern."
Xane punched him on the back. "Man, if only it was that easy. Hehe, we did ride some massive snakes though, am I right boys?"
Chay rolled his eyes. "I'd rather not talk about that."
"About how we're turning into cock lovers?" Marcus asked as they passed the gate and stepped into torch light. "If we avoid the conversation forever it'll come crashing down at the worst possible moment."
"Probably true," Chay said.
"See," Marcus said. "I make a great vice-leader."
"Excuse me?" Xane said. "That's already me. You're third in line and I'm only putting the big guy last because he's all about that lone wolf life."
Goro grunted.
Chay gestured them to keep it down. "Not in earshot of the big mofo."
The humongous, red, horned muscleman was lounging on cushions among piles of gold. Gnomes formed a furry slingshot and tossed bits of raw meat into his maw.
"We got the half from Rvebnar," Chay said and raised the semi-circle of rune covered stone. "Where's yours?"
Hrailoth pulled out a similar device and tossed it right into Goro's hands.
"What a strange coincidence," the Daemon said with a voice that traveled more through bone than ears and made Chay's legs quiver, "that my old friend Fno'Xhaan has been slain so shortly after the arrival of you four."
Chay said nothing. Hrailoth was lying about being friends with the dead Wretcher, he could tell.
"And even stranger," the lord continued, "that the signatures I put on you are no longer bound to me. No doubt opened with blood old Fno'Xhaan had kept in reserve."
Chay held back a smirk. Their ally Dle'Shuul was safe, unless they decided it was expedient to betray him.
Hrailoth closed his fist and Chay felt pure force coming down on his balls. He sank to his knees, squeaking. His friends dropped, too, the Japanese bodybuilder holding out the longest.
PainPainFuckNo StopPainPain FuckShitAaaaahh.
The ball crushing radiated into his nub, his thighs and knees, his abs and flank, his lungs.
He whimpered soundlessly.
The demon wasn't even looking at them. "I suppose we're still on the same side, no? The vortex must go. That's useful for me and all right with the heavens."
Chay bent forward. There was a tug on his balls as much as a crushing. If his crotch was pressed to the ground, he could take a bit of the edge off. He'd never had his balls crushed for so long, only briefly in a few fights as a teen. The sheer heat was on a whole new level. His abs were seemingly collapsing into themselves.
Hrailoth lazily spread his immense legs. "Then I guess we should continue to work together. I can understand your need to stay independent. Fine then, I'll accept this."
Their balls were released. Chay dared to rise, but the ache wasn't lessening. His family jewels had a long memory. He was dizzy.
"But I have a condition," the demon added, now looking down at them. "There is something of Fno'Xhaan that must become mine. You will bring it to me or I'm letting the Purgator's Legion and the King's Own Ever-Guard know you're here. The vortex will be guarded by everything the abyss can throw at you."
===***===
They speed-walked away with as much dignity as four sweating hunks with two fundoshi between them could muster.
"Fuck you!" Goro shouted as soon as they were outside the fortress. He flexed his whole body in a half-squatting most-muscular pose, middle fingers up, muscles pulsing with frenzy, and shouted at the abyss. "Fuuuuck Youuuu!"
"We're fucked, huh?" Marcus asked.
"Yep," Xane said with mock-cheer. "Fucked in the ass. And we love it."
Marcus sighed. "Should have asked for more nectar. Chay, can you call Gallant when were back home? I need it bad."
Chay shrugged. "I'd rather finish the job right away. The overcastle has to be in shambles right now. Should be easy."
Xane clapped his hands, hopping eagerly. "Your call, boss. At least we know there's no demon there anymore."
===***===
The dead Wretcher's castle was under a few minor sieges. Various factions were trying to partition the demon's possessions or claim the castle, while Fno'Xhaan's allies tried to keep it locked up for his possible resurrection after a few centuries.
Goro was bald yet again. Xane looked bald through illusion and could keep Marcus light hair invisible the same way as long as they nearly touched.
The pantheon approached over a bone bridge until their aegises glowed.
"There's a few Daemon Fiends," Chay said, gesturing at the specks of red – muscle packed, horned, winged men in robes or armor. "Probably here on behalf of some lord, or looking to make a name for themselves."
"Why aren't they just breaking in?" Marcus asked, pressing his body into Xane's, who was pressed into Chay in turn.
"They're in a complex balance of alliances and such," Chay said. "Don't have time to suss it all out but they don't want all-out war, just to share the spoils."
"How do we get in?" Goro asked.
"Working on it," Chay said.
"Wait," Xane said. "Piss first."
Chay stepped forward. "Same."
"Uh," Xane made. "Sorry Marky-boy, but you gotta stay in range or I'll have to redo the illusion."
Marcus threw a middle finger at the thaum-mage but didn't say anything.
Chay pulled the fundoshi aside and instantly regretted not taking it off. The wild spray went everywhere, running down his legs and off the bridge, where it dripped down into the glowing lake. The fundoshi got soaked.
His friends had to stay next to each other. Their splattering streams went wild. Their hands under their faces for protection, the sweating hunks had to accept getting sprinkled by each other.
While the literally pissed demigods bantered, Chay puppeteered a lone Aeobold to their position and a minute later the pantheon marched straight at the castle, looking dead inside like Shades so nobody paid them any mind. Chay overlaid thin little clouds that dimmed the occasional glow of their packages whenever a Fiend zoomed past overhead.
The random Aeobold didn't have a key for the slave delivery side entrance but Goro's hands bent the lock aside with a few pulls, then crushed the winged Kobold who was no longer needed.
Alone in the cave-like corridor, the four demigods spread out, illusions dropping.
Goro activated his mania-power to heal his hair back into existence and tied it up with the bead string.
"All right," Chay said. "I think we need to go... three floors up. Whoever finds the stairs gets first dibs on the next cock, hehe."
They walked through a few antechambers where the winding corridors branched, encountering no one but Gnomes that scrambled out of their way.
Chay kept an eye on the Gnomes. There were patterns to their movement, which told him things such as-
"Someone's coming this way," Chay said. "And fast. This isn't a search party, I think the Gnomes figured out we're aberrant slaves."
The battle-ready men came face to face with an Aeodrake. The winged, brown dino had two horns – a biceratops? His tall, muscular body blocked the tunnel effectively. He was nude, his enviably big dick and balls dangling distractingly.
He pointed at them. "You!" he said in pandemonic, "You killed the lord. And you're back for loot."
Chay had instantly analyzed the situation. The Drake had been close to the lord, but not liked him much, only liked the power that came with a high position. He wasn't too mad at them, mostly surprised, a little afraid, and surely interested in advantageous deals.
The Thai leader stepped forward and gestured his friends to stand down. His human body wasn't a match for the four armed dino-man but he presented his buff, glistening strength with confidence, wrapped into a mist-cloak.
"That was us," he said in ceiling dialect Boldian, "but that was a professional mission, as is this. We need the amber seed. Nothing more."
The Drake took a few seconds to get over his surprise. He put a hand up to his chin, supporting the elbow with the other hand of the same side. "Nothing more, huh? The seed isn't something I planned to hold onto."
"And if Fno'Xhaan returns," Chay said with a calming voice, "his pet project would be long gone either way. An amber seed doesn't make much of a negotiation chip. Maybe we can help with something here."
That was what the reptilian guy had wanted to hear. Chay had just won a free ticket to anywhere in the castle. They could kill him if he asked for too much payback.
"Shadowhand," the winged Drake introduced himself. "Former lieutenant of Lord Fno'Xhaan."
"Chay. Demigod."
Shadowhand looked down at himself. Chay had controlled his gaze but the others had kept glancing at the displayed manhood (dino-hood?) with barely hidden emotions.
The Aeodrake smirked which looked rather threatening. "I was asleep when your intrusion was reported. Follow me, strange little figments."
The bi-horned monster went to grab a flimsy loincloth and a black bident from his chamber.
A few flights of stairs and several Hellion-manned checkpoints later, the demigods were led past a gate adorned with gold thorns, close to the throne room entrance.
It was guarded by what Chay had first through were bodybuilders before he noticed they were too broad and buff to be human. And a little too green. The Trolls were wrapped in leather armor, their bronzed skin bulging from every crack with flexing fibers. Their dicks were in leather thongs so comically bulbous, Chay would have called it overcompensation if he hadn't know the size of Troll dicks.
They moved past the highly important room's door, to an adjacent one.
Parchments, gems and knick-knacks filled the iron shelves and bone tables.
"Shadowhand? Would you mind," Xane said, "if we grabbed a bit of tablecloth?"
The creature shrugged. "Help yourself. The amber seed is somewhere in here. I'll keep an eye on you while you look. But I'm not touching anything. Fno'Xhaan may have cursed a few things."
Chay could tell Shadowhand didn't really believe that and was messing with them. He just started searching. He kept an eye on the reptile as he did so.
Goro was ripping red cloth into stripes and twisted new fundoshi for them. The others helped with the search. Their crotches glowed, probably from demons flying by outside.
"What's that ring?" Marcus asked.
Chay regretted not giving his teammates more consideration. Of course Marcus had also noticed that Shadowhand kept touching one particular ring on his hand. Chay hadn't figured out what it was but it had to be a security feature. It looked pretty much identical to the one Chay was wearing that contained Pie. Angelic design?
The Drake raised the ring as if seeing it for the first time. "Oh, one of Fno'Xhaan's gifts. He got it during the attack from the holy spire. War spoils."
"Wait," Marcus said. "You get to spray holy fog around a demon's place?"
Chay sighed. Shadowhand wasn't a trustworthy ally yet. He moved next to the Filipino and nudged him in the side.
"Fog?" the ringbearer asked. "Was that its purpose? It holds dust now."
"Dust," Marcus echoed. "Oh, unicorn dust. How much?"
Shadowhand let some rain from the ring into his palm and had the ring suck it back up. "More than a demigod can handle."
Chay pushed Marcus back. "Nobody wants a fight. Not when we're looking for something fragile, okay?"
"Guys?" Xane said. He shoved an open box into the center. Inside was a cracked egg shell the size of an ostrich egg but made of swirling amber. "How fucked are we?"
Shadowhand got nervous. "If the Amber Wyrm is loose... We're already getting hit from all sides. Today is the biggest pile of impshit I've dealt with in ages."
"Wanna fuck me about it?" Xane asked. The Korean bodybuilder noticed everybody's eyes on him. "What? My hole's imploding."
Marcus sighed. "I better not get addicted to Drake-rod."
"Too late," Goro said. "A sensation second only to nectar."
"By the way," Marcus said. "You wouldn't have some nectar handy?"
Shadowhand cupped his crotch. "In the treasury. But I'm not sure what in there is safe to touch."
This time he was telling the truth. It made sense that a lord would put curses on his wealth, even if breaking into a castle was already quite an ordeal.
Chay watched the ribbed dino-dick grow under the laughable thin loincloth and was surging with horniness. Anal sex promised relief.
"Let's fuck," the Drake said and slapped a table. "Right here."
A kitten-sized, bright orange snake dashed out from under the table and slipped between the reptile-man's legs.
"The Amber Wyrm!" Chay shouted. He puppeteered the creature. It flared in even brighter orange and slipped from his divine grasp. He should have researched Amber Wyrms more.
Shadowhand rushed out the door and the pantheon followed. The tiny creature was skittering along the smooth terrain. Chay snapped his fan open and threw a black cloud in front of it, making it veer to the side. The moment Xane had line of sight he could grab-
Gnomes pelted the Aeodrake from above, pouring from a pipe, squeaking.
"What..." Shadowhand froze. "S-someone's breaking into the treasury!"
The Troll guarded door was right behind them. Except when Chay turned to see- Both Trolls had been beheaded, blood splattered from the stumps to the ceiling.
With a roar, Shadowhand broke through the pantheon and kicked the treasury's gate in. He ran inside and was thrown back out by the blast of an unnaturally red flame. His bident clanked along the ground.
The demigods ran to him.
Chay looked into the room, carefully. Amid piles of treasure, a red skinned, three horned Daemon Fiend was trapped in black vines. He had freed his torso by letting the vines tear his gray, studded armor off him, but his naked legs were still wrapped.
A flap of his wings sent Chay flying into the corridor wall. He slammed into Marcus who had been helping Shadowhand up.
The Drake cursed. "I don't have the Kobolds to subdue him while we're under siege. Do that for me and you can grab one item from the treasury."
Chay grinned. He had a good read on the Fiend. Young, reckless, a lone wolf out to put himself on the map with no plan.
"Does unicorn dust work on demons?"
"Not adult ones, but it's forbidden."
"And breaking in isn't? Come on."
Shadowhand huffed. "His wings-"
"Won't be an issue. Goro?"
Chay sent spasms into the demonling's wing-shoulders while the berserker lunged. His massive legs wrapped around the irate nine-foot Fiend, Goro grabbed the wings and pulled them together.
Some dripping orb burst from the demon's palm but one of Xane's butterflies crashed into it and tore it apart. Another orb appeared, expanding, the air around it vibrating. Xane was ready this time and his force slammed into the orb, jerking it toward the ceiling were it exploded into the rock.
The demon screamed and thrashed but didn't think of a new tactic before Shadowhand was already in front of him. Goro straightened his legs, exposing the demon's face and a load of glitter blew right into the screaming mouth.
The demon sputtered and choked but a bulge formed between his legs.
Shadowhand held out his hand and the black vines retreated into floor and ceiling.
The demon dropped to his knees and tore his tatters off. Two dicks jumped out. Comically large, with the ribbing that made Chay's hole tremble.
Xane touched his own chin. He had been drooling. "Fuck, I'm thinking like a cockcrazed faggot. I was gonna say `no sucking' when only dino-dick was on the menu but that guy got nectar, right?"
The demon was jerking off his double dick.
"Rock paper scissors?" Chay proposed. He cheated and won a demon dick. He had sworn not to cheat anymore but he needed to be first. It was like seeing a glass of water after a day in the desert.
A drop of gold appeared on the Fiend's tips.
Getting the demon to calm down was tricky. Chay and Xane sucked and licked the cockheads until the glitter-crazed creature got the message and leaned back, willing to make the slaves work for it.
Meanwhile, they both spread themselves with their fingers. Using nectar as lube practically made Chay fall apart. His hole was wax and he could shape it seemingly as big as he wanted.
Finally the flow of nectar was great enough to lube the shaft.
While third winner Goro grunted with abandon as the Drake slammed into him, the two demon-suckers hopped on.
Riding double dick took some coordination. Chay and Xane threaded their legs, thigh on thigh, and slid down into a quarter squat. Chay had to go down a bit more since he was taller but his leg development made a little bit of bouncing trivial.
Bliss that went past the sexual and into the transcendental flooded him, from his ass to his brain. Marcus dropped between their flexed calves and licked the demons balls as the demigod's asses overflowed and liquid gold ran down the ribbed shafts.
Chay got wave after wave of injections of raw manliness burning itself into his mind as demon-muscle-pleasure. Each wave was an insatiable fuck-craving and the total resolution of the previous wave.
Eventually he had to trade places and got on all fours to lick nectar off the demon's balls while Shadowhand fucked him. The Aeodrake was satisfied with scooping the occasional drop from the red shaft for himself.
Drinking nectar was still overwhelming but by comparison to an injection it was like a nap after the massage, rather than the massage itself. Luckily, Drake-dick seemed like the most pleasure his body was able to receive as far as non-demon sex went.
He didn't care that he was whimpering, rubbing his face on sweaty demon balls and the sweaty calves of his friends. Drake-dick sent heat into his ass like a thousand tiny explosions.
Chay felt himself cum. There was basically no sensation from his nub, only the wet splatter of his ropes getting flung all over him.
It was time to switch again. Not that they were really keeping track. It came down to a lot of jostling between the naked hunks.
In the end it was Goro whose ass caught Shadowhand's load. Nectar dried fast but regular cum left running strings. The umbralist could tell the silent hunk was trying hard not to think about it.
Chay was still coming off the most immediate nectar-high while Marcus was already chatting to Shadowhand, saying all sorts of things he shouldn't but Chay didn't have the wherewithal to stop him, including their plans to destroy the vortex and where to find them.
"Keep on your guard," Shadowhand said. "The spire isn't as safe as you think."
"Any threat in particular?" Chay asked.
"Not sure. We don't go there, generally. But a lot of abyss dwellers can survive the holy vapor for a while."
"Thank for the advice," Marcus said, patting the winged dino's chest. "Now we get to pick a reward, right?"
"You still have to help me carry the demon out, but yes."
"I want the ring."
Chay kept himself from facepalming. To his surprise, the lieutenant considered it. Maybe the ring was a mere convenience item for dealing quicker with slaves. No longer part of his duties now that he needed a new employer, unless he managed to hold onto the castle himself.
Shadowhand was about to take the ring off, when Xane interjected. "Can we at least look around first?" He strolled along the treasure. Marcus chuckled, the others joined in.
"...what's so funny?"
Goro was laughing the hardest. "Bro, you walk so bowlegged right now."
"Fuck off," Xane said, defensive. "You do too."
"Not that much," Marcus said. "Short dudes got tighter holes, huh?"
Xane was getting angry enough that Chay felt the need to intervene but then Xane sniffed the air. "It smells like nectar. Shadowhand, you said there'd be some here?"
"There could be nectar buds here," the Drake said. "Rarely needed but the vault is full of `eventualities'. You don't have enough?"
Marcus sighed. "We're demon cum junkies now. Wow, that sounded only half as fucked up in my head. Ugh, this isn't turning me gay, right? This can't turn me gay. I'm not turning gay."
Xane grinned. "We'll take the buds, too, though. Just planning for the future. Which I wouldn't do if I was a junky, right? Right?"