(Continued from Mediation)


She had been blind folded. Thick coils swarmed about her as the serpentine coils enveloped her body. The hissing chuckle had been load within her ears as her midriff felt the crush of those coils that tightened with each breath.

Her eyes squeezed together as her blind fold was torn off her. In horror she could hear what sounded like the rumbling of stones as they smashed together, her colleagues succumbing to that fiendish gaze attack that effected even Deities.

Eros, Hermes, both were turned to stone by the vicious stare of the creature that now torment her. Medusa.

“You think you can undo what I have done? You are nothing but a girl that my husband took a fancy too but I am glad you have returned, it allows me to be rid of you and your unborn child at the same time.”

The voice was strong and feminine in attention to Medusa's chuckling. Hera. There had been no question about it. She had to have some means of protection against Medusa so that she did not suffer the same fate as did her escorts.

“Kill her … slowly ...” She felt those crushing coils tighten against her with each intake of breath. It was like a constrictor slowly asphyxiating prey. A slow death? If she just opened her eyes she could end this quickly.

When the pain grew too great, when those coils tightened against her chest in such a crushing fashion she opened her eyes …

A dream … she woke in bed with a start. The place at her side was warm indicating that someone had been sleeping there until recently.

Eros was her guess though he was gone by the time she woke from her nightmare and Hermes was now here in his place, either it had been he that had been sleeping beside her throughout the nigh or Eros had just left.

“Good morning.” With an accelerated step Hermes moved to the edge of the bed with a tray of food.

Unlike the able from the evening before this actually did not seem to be tainted.

“The food in Olympus is untainted. This is the food for the servants though and not for the Gods. Ambrosia is no so easily given due to it's qualities. I must apologize about not joining you last night. Zeus kept me busy with other matters though he has not become aware of the note as far as I can tell so either Oberron did not read it or Zeus' mind is elsewhere.

“I trust that Eros filled you in on all the details. Is there anything that he left out that I could explain or any questions that you might not have thought of then that you're thinking about now given the nights rest or shall we get started as soon as you have eaten and dressed?”

"N-no!" She choked out, tears welling up in her irises. Alynia couldn't see, but she could hear... She could feel. The girl tried to struggle, but her restraints were thick and strong. Her legs kicked uselessly as the snakes were gradually squeezing the life out of her.

Suddenly the blindfold was removed, and suddenly she could see. There was Hera... And Medusa. And.. Oh dear... Eros and Hermes. What was the point of removing her blindfold if her vision was just to get blurry with tears?

"Stop... Please n-no" she gasped pleadingly feeling her head go numb. What unborn child was Hera talking about? Either way Alynia didn't want to die... Not here!

Her eyes blinked open as she sat up suddenly. Her harsh breathing evident with the rise and fall of her breasts. Her hand went to the other side of the bed, taking in the comfort that it was warm. Where Oberron had recently been lying... Wait not Oberron. Alynia closed her eyes as if fending off a headache. It had been Eros who was sleeping besides her.

Her thoughts were interrupted with a chirpy good morning. She glance in the direction of the voice. "Good morning, Hermes." The girl muttered, looking away timidly. Oh she had not forgotten about the kiss that happened before.

She gladly accepted the food... Alynia hadn't realized how hungry she was. Breakfast in bed. Fresh fruit, cheese, grape leaves... A foreign pallet to her taste buds. But immensely enjoyable. She wrapped the fruit and cheese in a bundle if leaves, seemingly having fun while eating with her hands.

"Delicious." Alynia commented as she playfully sucked on her fingers for the last bits of her breakfast. She then stood up, still wearing the maroon dress from last night... But such a long train it probably would be inconvenient to travel with. "No need for more explanation, I'm confident Eros covered all the bases while he was here."

"Let me dress, and we can be on our way." Alynia gave Hermes a little bit of a smile before making her way to the bathroom. She clicked the door shut and let out a breath... God what was she going to do about Hermes?

She slowly peeled off her wrappings until she stood in the center of the bathroom nude and began running taps for a shower. There was undeniably an attraction to the god... But all she could do for now was attempt to ignore it. She let of a sigh, feeling the warm stream of water cascade down her body.

As she washed herself, her hands wandered briefly over her clit. And feeling a buzz of pleasure, she played with herself for just a moment. Alynia shook her head, telling herself there was no time. She shut off the water, and proceeded to dry herself off.

A few moments later, Alynia walked out of the restroom looking fresh. She was wearing what seemed to fit the realm a bit more. A flowy white dress that stopped only a bit after the curve of her backside, almost teasingly emphasizing its shape. In her raven hair sat a golden crown of ivy vine. It seemed her appearance had shifted back over-night, now that Eros had left. She was going for a more Greecian look, trying to blend in a little more. On her feet a matching pair of sandals.

"Shall we head out then?"

The nightmare played out, but was it just a bad dream or was it something that had been far more insidious? Was it Hera's doing? Probably not. It was probably her subconscious mind going over all the details that she had been caught up in as well as considering a few problems.

If they had to see Medusa how were they going to deal with her gaze? The dead were already dead, would they be immune to being petrified or would they too be just as vulnerable since the gaze did not cause death.

That had seemed to be an issue that neither of her guides had mentioned yet so perhaps she no longer had that ability. But as she stirred she had soon discovered that Eros had been gone replaced by Hermes who was casting his sight her way.

He smiled at her as she spoke about getting ready as if he didn't mind. She had not told him to leave and he was mos interested in seeing her in a state of undress once more but sadly she left him to go into the bathroom.

This had been expected though he had not hoped for it of course. Hermes had hoped for a little show though he was not going to receive one. He sighed when he heard the shower running though. It was not quite time he had told himself as the urge to go in there was strong. No, not yet.

Her lusts would build he had hoped though Eros who knew of the ways of the heart would tell him when it was time. No he had not been seeking her love, she would have been resistant to that even more so. Hermes was not seeking to steal her away from Oberron for as good as a thief he was that was impossible for him. There were even somethings that a God could not do but he was letting her get use to that Fae notion again, sex without love was alright. Acting on lust was fine.

When Alynia exited the shower he grinned at her again. “You look exquisite my dear.” He took her hand, kissed the back of her palm then lead her from the room. Though he was fairly distract by her beauty that he was not thinking straight, not until he heard the collective gasps of some of the patrons, stares had been upon them, no one her. For her beauty had been unblemished leading to the question of what Goddess she was, for clearly she had to be a Divine individual.

The ivy in her hair was no clue and no clues could be gathered. A Goddess that revered cities or spent time in them, clearly Aphrodite, no she was a blond … Athena? No, she did not protect a warriors spirit, nor had she possessed the cold eyes of Hera.

But as men and women alike mulled this over they left and soon Hermes had accelerated their speed as they quickly left one region behind them for another. Stopping outside of a settlement Hermes regarded her once more. She certainly cut a rather pleasant figure.

“Orpheus can be found within but …” Hermes paused as he looked at the walled city in the distance. It sat atop of a cliff over looking a rather busy harbor with a trail leading up to it and another leading to that harbor.

Merchants appeared as little dots at this range, loading or unloading carts with their goods many going back to the city.

“I cannot set foot beyond the walls though it is perfectly safe for you if you would like to see to Orpheus or if you think it necessary we could contact Eros and wait for him if you think it wise for an escort to be used.”

She blushed sweetly as Hermes kissed the back of her palm. “Thank you” Alynia muttered quietly. Subconsciously did she want to please him? Either way there were butterflies in her stomach. Alynia shook her head, not letting herself get too carried away with such thoughts. She reminded herself that she would finish this mission and then return home. How dearly she missed her husband.

Alynia tried not to notice, but she could feel her divine companion’s eyes wandering over her form as she walked in front of him. She kept her eyes on the ground modestly… perhaps she should have opted for a longer dress. But as they stepped outside in the blaring sun, Alynia didn’t feel as much as a tease. Gone was the fog from last night. It was still morning, but there were signs that it was going to be a hot day.

She heard the gasps before she could see where they were coming from. Her eyes were still adjusting to the light. She blinked her eyes trying to see what was happening until she realized that the citizens of the town were all staring at her. Her innocent eyes went wide. What were they looking at? Was she dressed oddly? Her hand subconsciously touched the wreath of golden ivy on her head and blushed. Had it been too over the top?

“Why are they staring at me?” Alynia muttered sticking self consciously close to Hermes, trying to shield herself from the eyes of whomever they passed by. Now that she wasn’t wearing high heels, he was a good deal taller than her. She never got an answer to her question as Hermes jaunted them out of the city.
They stopped suddenly somewhere else… next to a port it seemed. Alynia for a moment watched the ships in the harbor with interest as one of her hands played with that silver bangle. It almost seemed like she was back on earth and now she was a part of sometime in the past. The odd familiarity from history books intrigued her.

“Orpheus, the musician?” She confirmed making sure she was getting all her Greek names matched up correctly. Alynia was surprised to hear that Hermes could travel no further. She shook her head at his offer. “No there’s no need. I’ll go by myself. Whatever will save time.” She responded.

“I’ll be back, hopefully soon.” She bade him a smile and a sweet wave before heading on her own down the worth pathway on her way toward the city.

Hermes had whisked her away rather than answering her question. She would have been embarrassed he thought with all the attention that she had received and once they were alone they would have a better idea as to how to play this.

Before long they were a distance away from that city, close enough to see tiny shapes in the distance but too far to be recognized with any real detail. He answered her question this time without any hesitation.

“Yes, Orpheus the musician. He will be necessary in getting out of the Underworld as his music can lull even the terrible Cerebus who will let you into the Underworld with no problems. He won't let you out.”

Hermes explained the role of the musician to her trope. Would it be best to get a bunch of sailors here? No, he thought given the reasons why he was banned from the city the natives would be difficult to work with at best.

“To answer your earlier question … I am ashamed to admit that I was distracted by your beauty to even think about it at the time but the people believed that you, not being under the effects of the curse, thought that you were a Goddess of one sort or another.

“They were probably trying to figure out which one. Nike, Goddess of victory perhaps or maybe one of dozens of lesser known deities or half deities. This is not a bad thing, an oversight on both our parts though it was a shame having you cover your face the day before.

“This settlement reveres Poseidon chiefly. There are other deities that they worship but the two most popular are Poseidon and Aphrodite. How you approach this is up to you, veiled or unveiled.

“Orpheus may be easier to sway if he were under the impression you were a Goddess and I imagine that no trouble will befall you without the veil, it was just so that Zeus would not learn that you are back here and Hera of course.

“You are in possession of magical abilities and could fool the typical person. The major drawback of course is that if this gets out amongst the Gods they may seek you out, the only mortal that isn't tainted with this curse, of course most probably won't find out unless you draw attention to yourself in that you immerse yourself in their portfolios and even then …

“The biggest deity you would have to worry about would be Aphrodite. She is Goddess of love and beauty but seeing that she already knows seeing that just by being a beauty she is aware of you and has not yet disclosed this tells me that she is not going to. After all, who would want this curse to end more than the deity that governed beauty? So knowing that you are trying to end this curse you have another allie so to speak.”

Hermes explained all this before he allowed her to leave and make her own decision on how to approach this, whatever made her feel more comfortable. He moved closer with her so that she had the courtesy of getting a bit closer to her destination so she did not have to travel so far to the walled city that over looked the harbor below.

They walked together in silence close the village. An adorable blush still painted her cheeks as it seemed that she was too flustered to speak. Why did Hermes have to continue to call her beautiful? And those villages believed she was a goddess? Well, that made partial sense as she was protected from the curse... But still Herme's flattery made her stutter and blush. Alynia thought it would be less embarrassing to say nothing at all.

He stayed with her until then edge of the city walls where she gave him a quick farewell before heading through the city gates. It was a busier town than the last one she was in. Merchants and sailors carrying heavy loads over their shoulders bustled about like ants. She stood at the entrance of the city just to watch the workers for a moment before going inside.

The first thing she saw, as Hermes had mentioned, was a statue of Poseidon. A little distance away, elevated on a hill was a shrine. Alynia assumed that if she looked around a bit more she would also find one for Aphrodite.

Well, she walked aimlessly along the seaside city. Vendor sold pretty trinkets, it seemed to be less effected by the curse than the last village. Perhaps because this town was under Aphrodite's protection. Here and there Alynia saw a gnarled faced woman covered in warts and straw like hair. Though for all the queen knew, the women she saw could have looked like that for all of their lives.

For some time as she wandered the city in amazement Alynia had almost forgotten her original mission. She had to find Orpheus... She stood still for a moment in the middle of the street looking thoughtful. Where to find a musician? Well... She assumed a good place to start would be the village center. Surely someone as famous as Orpheus would be have a prominent home... Surely she'd see something like that in the center of the city. If that failed, she supposed she would just ask for help.

As Alynia walked along the crowd, doing her best to ignore the glances of those passing by, she thought to herself what she would do once she found the renowned musician. How could she convince him to undertake a journey to the underworld? Surely the land of the dead wasn't a pleasant place to be... How was she going to convince him? Alynia sighed as she nervously tugged down the bottom of her short dress. Surely she'd find a way.

The gates of the city had been open. Merchants ported their goods in and out from he harbor loading up vessels with exports or taking in imports as the case may be. There was a lone guard at the gate to collect taxes from those using the gate but he had gone wide eyed when seeing her.

He did not bother to so much approach her, whether that was because he was under the belief she was a deity of not did not enter the equation but she could feel his eyes upon her as she had passed through the gates to the point that he had to soon hustle with other patrons to stay a float given the constant flow through the gates.

The merchants had to pay a higher tax but that covered them throughout all their trips back and forth.

Ahead of her was an enormous bronze statue of Poseidon and sure enough that was one of his temples there on the hill behind it.

She received many stares, many and while the settlement had been blessed with the mitigation of some of Hera's curse many had been twisted by it too and kept out of sight.

She set out to the center of the settlement but did not get there for soon her way had been barred by a plethora of fishermen, sailors and other pillars of he community. With them was the man in a blue toga with a laurel on his head.

“A gift of Aphrodite. She had heard and answered our prayers.”

The men where leering at her, fanning out to encircle her. There were a lot, a lot more than the goblins back in Ian's camp that he had threatened her with that one time. The man, Blue since she did not know his name must have had been a priest dedicated to Aphrodite. She would have figured that women where more common here in her ranks though men would not be absent she assumed and this may have been one of them.

“A gift, Aphrodite has not forgotten us!” Blue exclaimed as the other men seemed to close in, a bit weary or perhaps not willing to be the first to seize her thinking that he would gain the worse of it.

“Bring her to the temple,” apparently sex, if indeed that was what the men had been after and that was a pretty good assumption considering their leers and in some cases the erections that some sported, had not been shunned in Aphrodite's temple but encouraged.

The few women she had noticed out on the streets did not come to her defense though rather they had gone back inside their homes leaving her to fend for herself.

Soon, if she were not quick the men would loose that caution and press in on her.

Alynia didn't make it very far through the village before she was confronted by a man in a blue toga. He announces something with a loud voice... A gift of Aphrodite? At first Alynia didn't understand. Was he complimenting her?

They way his eyes were set on her, in a bit of a delirious way made Alynia think otherwise. She backed away from the man carefully... Still a bit confused. The girl wasn't too sure what was happening, but an instinct told her that it wasn't good.

Her eyes went wide as the man's words began to draw a crowd. He seemed to have some sort of authority... A priest? A prophet? But either way Alynia noticed the group of patrons that had gathered around her comprised of just men. And there were quite a lot of them, slowly closing in on the vulnerable girl.

And she backed up until her back hit a brawny man's chest. A large man, tall and burly. She jumped back into the center of the crowd staring at the man she had bumped into with a horrified expression. Her eyes casted downward and her fears were confirmed. the large bulge in his trousers set off a fight of flight instinct. They hadn't thought she was a goddess, they thought she was a sacrifice!

In time it took for the men to gain their confidence, Alynia was already executing her escape. She casted a large gust of wind that emitted out from her center. It was a strong gale that not only knocked away the majority of her attackers but flipped one or two of the stalls sitting a distance away.

She didnt have time to apologize, as her eyes found the clearest pathway out of the center and sprinted for it. The men, perhaps still in stunned in surprise, did not react in time to catch her. She continued running, even after she cleared the crowd.

She was so relieved she hadn't worn high heels, as the sound of her flat sandals slapped against the worn streets. Alynia ran until she couldn't go any further... She never looked back to see if she had any pursuers. Quickly she ducked into an alleyway, where she stood still leaning against the wall concealed by a dark shadow casted over her form. Her breasts heaved as her lung gasped for oxygen. She had been running for some time.

She slid down the side of the building until she was promptly sitting. Alynia figured she had time to rest.. at least for a bit.

Alynia closed her eyes wearingly, evidently tired... Imagining what would have happened if she hadn't made it away.

The men had been taken by surprise as the gust of wind hit them toppling many over along with a stall or two. She had taken the opportunity to rush between a gap she generated.

“AFTER HER!” The priest hollered and the men formed up and chased after her.

As luck had it Hermes magic that had enhanced her speed earlier had not completely faded. Though it was hardly noticeable now it gave her the slight edge that she needed to elude her pursuers at least for now though as she ran more men joined the ranks getting caught up in the fervor that seemed to possess them.

She managed to loose them by ducking down an alley, men rushing past the end of it going the other way.

Breathing heavy she had tried to still the sound as a trio of men had been rushing past the alley evidentally not as quick as the others.

“We'll never catch up.”

“At the end of the street she's got to go left or right. If left that will take her to the cliff face, she'll be trapped but if right -”

“we'll cut throw the alley and gain -” the man stopped, surprised to see Alynia sitting there. He grinned at discovering she was closer than they had thought. “Oh, lookie here.”

The men began to advance on her again, though this time there were only the three of them and they were not exactly athletic either given that their were at the end of the pack. One was overweight and the other two must have done clerical work to be so out of shape in a culture that promoted athleticism.

Another fortunate matter for her was that there was a door in the middle of the alley though it could lead to salvation, it could be locked or worse another man could cut her off there quite suddenly though if a man she could only hope he was not whip up into a frenzy like the others had been given the nature of priest.

As it were only two of the men could get at her at a time and the thinner ones had been side by side with their portly friend trailing behind them.

They gained half a step on her before she could rise, their pace accelerating as they drew near though at least they did not possess any weapons though the moment she thought that the man in the back bellowed out.

“SHE'S OVER HERE!”

Alynia let out a cute squeak as a slower trio of men had discovered her hiding spot. They didn't appear so fit, and she was planning to stay and fight. She was confident she could handle just the three of them. But her eyes widened with fear as one of them bellowed out her location.

She cursed quietly under her breath. She might have been able to deal with these three slowpokes, but by the time she was done the rest of the herd would have caught up. The three of them had blocked her exit from the alley, and she was pretty sure the other direction was a dead end.

She waved an arm and sent a strong her of wind into the stomach of one of the scrawnier men, knocking him hard into the brick wall of the side of the building. There was t time to disarm anybody else, she could already hear the pounding footsteps of the more intimidating men.

"Crap." She muttered as she quickly stood and flew off in the direction of the dead end. There were people, probably homeless crouched in the alley way... But none of them rose to her aid. Thankfully none of them had any intention to join in the pursuit either. They seemed eerily lifeless... But Alynia didn't have time to pinpoint what the matter was.

She skidded passed a doorway embedded in the wall. A creaky wooden door that didn't look all too friendly. But at this point the girl could see the dead end of the alleyway a few meters ahead. She was cornered, and this seemed to be her last choice.

Alynia rushed to it and pounded on it with a fist. "Let me in!" she called pleadingly. And since there was no time to wait for an answer she yanked desperately at the handle. She prayed that it be open and not locked... And that the members of the household would take no interest in her.

Sometimes it did not pay to be first. The lead man was flung into a wall, his head cracking against the stone with violence as his body slowly slunk to the alley way.

He groaned but no one was stopping to assist him for after the wind had passed, giving Alynia a head start the two others proceed after her. And though the alley was wide enough for two people one was wide enough for two on his lonesome, well he wasn't that big but big enough where no one was going to be traveling along side him.

Thus they were single file as they approached. They were slow and she could hear shouts behind her as to the homeless men or transits or whatever they were to get out of the damn way. Still the other men should be joining in the chase soon though the Queen had no choice but to keep rushing down the alley with her heart pounding in her chest as she went.

The wall at the end of the alley had been seen now causing her to pound on the door. The only response she seemed to get was from the closest of the men who looked in her direction but said and did nothing.

She twisted and pulled – locked to her horror! No, she had to push … it opened, thank God, allowing her to rush inside and slam the door closed behind her.

There was no lock but wedging a chair beneath the handle was just as good. Fortunately there had been one close at hand and she got it in place mere seconds before someone tried to open it and began pounding on it as if she was actually going to answer that!

Given he chance to look around now she saw that there was a table and a single chair at it, the other had been wedged beneath the door handle. One person living her or two … one could have had the extra seat in the event of company but you'd imagine that he or she would need more.

There were tanks of all sorts of sea animals in them and a huge draconic skull hanging from the ceiling. At first she had thought it was that of a dragon but dragons had not been native to Olympus though hydras were and this had to be a skull taken from the multi headed beast.

But she was no longer alone. A bearded, white haired man wearing a white toga and wielding a staff had checked on the commotion here, his blue eyes falling upon the Queen and the man regarded her in that moment as if judging who she was or perhaps how he could most benefit.

“What is all this rack it about?”

He seemed rather annoyed at being intruded upon seeing that she had let herself in and not carrying about the energy or not understanding what it was in the first place.

While she was pretty recognizable in her own Shadow that did not hold up here. “Who are you girl? And why isn't Hera's curse effecting you?”

For a moment Alynia waited for her heart to stop racing. She back away from the blocked door watching for a moment terrified at the pounding. Would it hold? There seemed to be so many people on the other side of it. Thankfully... Not too many of them would have been able to squeeze into such a tight alleyway.

Once she determined that she was safe for now, she turned around to see whose home she had broken into. She wandered around the skull mounted from the ceiling. a large terrifying creature. Not quite as large as a dragon, but surely it wouldn't have a problem eating her in a single bite. A hydra perhaps... being that it was Olympus.

There was aquaint table, a pair of chairs... And creatures. Aquatic creatures it seemed.

How curious. She wandered over to the tanks observing with interest at the denizen of each one. Some were fish she had seen before whether in Avalon, Llynoria, or Earth... But some were unlike anything familiar. She stopped at a small fish darting back and forth energetically in its tank. It seems to know that she was there.

It was beautifully violet, with a lush feathery tail of blues, greens, and pinks. It seemed to be laughing as it swam back and forth. It was a wonder such a happy little critter existed.

Her amusement was interrupted by a voice. She stood up straight and turned to meet gazes with the stranger. For a moment it was silent, save for the annoying yet persistent knocking on the door.

An humble old man with piercing sapphire eyes. Who seemed to by eyeing her more out of confusion than of lust.

"I'm terribly sorry..." She began. "I-I was trying to get away... They keep shouting something about Aphrodite's gift..." Alynia shook her head disapprovingly as her voice trailed off.

"My name is Alynia, I'm from another shadow." She was unsure of how much to tell the man... But there was no question after she broke into his home the girl owed him at least a bit of an explanation.

She let him see the beautiful silver bangle hanging from her wrist. "I have the god's protection from Hera's wrath."

Many of the tanks had exotic species as she found, some of which she had seen, many she had not. There were more than just fish as some of the tanks had large star fish in various colors easily the size of her hand.

Hermit crabs, crayfish, sea horses even eels and octupi made up others though the tanks holding the octopi had been a little different given that the tops of their tanks were Arcane Locked so that the Octopi, which had been known for getting loose and thus into all sorts of trouble like getting into other tanks and consuming specimens and even figuring out how to open jars.

She was able to look at some of the more exotic fish and while the banging continued outside they could only get two at best side by side to hit the door which refrained from coming loose. Eventually the banging died down though not before the arrival of the old man.

He listened to her as he rubbed his chin. “A gift from Aphrodite? They believe that?” He glanced at the silver bracelet as she presented it. He had wondered if there were more to this but there had been little time to consider things. Yes, so little time as his attention was brought back to the door as it was struck again with a mighty blow that splintered it a little.

“I suppose I should help you, eh? This way.” He gestured her out of the room and lead her to the basement. It was a bit cluttered with boxes and older samples that he once had on display. One day he would have to open his own museum and serve as a curator but that was neither here more there as he removed a few boxes on a table. “Help me with this, will you?”

They moved the table and he depressed a few stones on the wall which reshaped revealing a passage beyond. “Let's go.” His staff let out a soft white glow as they went pressing aside the darkness.

They had fled down the passage soon coming to an iron door. “Beyond leads to freedom. I will go hold the others off.”

He tapped the staff against the top of the door then bottom suppressing the Arcane Lock. The room beyond was dark and he assured her she would find a light on the inside to the left, a torch had been there though as she went to retrieve it the old many grinned.

He lashed out at her sticking her at the back of the neck.

“Claudius, she's a pretty one in light of the curse, come look.” The sound of a jingling chain followed, a shackle was about the ankle of a creature with goat like legs, a bearded face and horns sticking up from a mound of long red hair.

“Oh she will do most well,” the satyr began punctuating the words with a grin, his cock nice and big swiftly hardening as he regarded her as he came forth.

Alynia was rather hesitant to follow... rather surprised at his sudden change in tone. He had been rather irritable at one moment, and now he claimed he was going to help her. She glanced back at the door, impressively still holding its own against the crowd of men on the other side. It didn’t seem that Alynia had much of a choice besides to follow the old man into the basement.

It was darker down here, and it took her eyes a moment to adjust to the dim light. It was dusty, and cluttered with boxes, empty tanks, artifacts, sculptures… Alynia would have loved to have a day unearthing what curious objects he had down here, but the old man was already shuffling away boxes.
“Oh, of course” she chirped enthusiastically as she began to shift filled boxes from the table. They were heavier than she expected as she clumsily carried a few over to the edge of the room, where hopefully out of the way.

Alynia was well aware that the dress she wore had not been designed for any sort of labor. She had quite a bit of difficulty bending down to place boxes on the floor without flashing her panty-clad behind.

She watched with a tilted head of interest as he revealed a passage way. An escape route? Why would this be here? Either way she trailed behind the man as they walked along the corridor.

They stopped at an iron door. “H-here?” Alynia asked rather confused… There didn’t seem to be any inkling of such a large iron door leading to the outside. But with no intention of going back out the front door, Alynia wandered into the darkness.

Her hands groped at the wall, feeling for a torch. She wasn’t able to see very far in front of her. A few words were muttered under her breath as she held out her hand, and suddenly a small flickering flame was dancing on her palm. It was just enough light to see… her eyes glanced around growing from confused to fearful.
“This isn’t a way ou-“ she tried to remark before something solid struck her on the back of the neck.

A few moments later, the girl was waking up from the floor. She had collapsed and her head was still a bit foggy… Someone had finally lit the torch. Her eyes shifted upward for the first time first meeting eyes with the red haired satyr.

She yelped out sharply, immediately trying to shy away from the nude man in front of her. “G-get away from me!” she yelled confused about what on earth was happening.

She stirred on the straw covered floor meeting the grin of the satyr she had seen not long before. Where was she? That's right the memory came rushing back quickly enough, Olympus, a basement. She doubted that she had been out for long though the muscled Satyr regarded her as if she were naked, such had been the mind set of Satyrs.

They were quick and had plenty of stamina as well. There had been little space in which to run for the iron door had been closed behind her though the torch flickered a red-orange glow over the room.

It was readily apparent too that the Satyr had to have been a prisoner given the manacle on his ankle attached to a chain set into the wall that looked as if it allowed him to move freely within the confines of his cell.

A blanket was here as well as a wooden bench that must have been for use as a bed but given the way the straw was piled up and the depression in it it had seemed very likely that the Satyr sleep on the floor instead.

In the corner of the room was a round hole a bit bigger than her fist for the passing of waste and trash most likely. Perhaps it emptied into a sewer beneath the place.

“It seems that my jailor is treating me well today. Given that the recent crop have been hideously marked and deformed. Has he begun actually cultivating Nymphs instead I wonder.” The Satyr more of less spoke to himself as he casually stepped forward, his eyes melting down over her then back up.

She looked somewhat familiar not that it had mattered to him and she could tell by his nakedness that he had found her very pleasant indeed for he was quite hard, there was no mistaking the glint in his eye as he swept his gaze over her.

With each beat of his heart his impressive length swelled and danced as the urge to just take her settled in.

“Get away from you? Why would I do that when you are the most exquisite thing I have seen in weeks. Besides, I might make use of the drought that Psy gave you. Unfortunately it will not last but the cocktail will impede your ability to use magic as well.”

Of course that was not his idea for he was anxious to begin whether she was conscious or not at the time hardly mattered to him.

“You can run but there's no place to go my dear. You can struggle but that's just wasted strength. You can tell just by looking that I am stronger, more athletic. You cannot hope to keep me at bay for long.

“Submit or don't it's your choice but either way they will result in the same thing. I am through talking now, you have but five seconds to make up your mind. Four, three -” and he sprang at her quite suddenly not even waiting the full five seconds.