JTSS 1-154 In the depths

The dark tunnel was quiet except for the five goblins in cloaks who walked down the underground road. They had no idea of the danger they were in or that the danger was practically on top of them. Jaina lurked at the side of the road in the shape of a boulder strewn among some rocks. She watched the creatures carefully as they spoke in a strange language while arguing over a map.

It had been a full day since they fell to what they thought was level four of Frank's dungeon, and it had been one battle after another. They followed the road uphill, fighting ghoul hunters, zombie brawlers, and a few skeleton mages. Through it all, they kept seeing a group of goblins sneaking through the depths while the monsters seemed to ignore them. That led Roric to conclude they were part of Frank's challenge and put them here for a reason. Now that Jaina saw the map, she knew what that reason was.

Jaina could easily take them by surprise, lashing into the group with caustic tentacles, but why waste her true power? Instead, she shifted her form, becoming the lovely dark-haired maiden she was known for and called to the goblins.

The poor creatures turned in alarm only to be hit with a seductive smile. Jaina strutted toward them, using all her charms as the hapless creatures were easily overcome. Shed strode right into their midst as goblin hands began to grope at her rear and plucked the map from the leader's hands. She smiled to see it was a diagram of this level of the dungeon, showing where the way up and down was, as well as a hidden goblin campsite. There appeared to be two ways down, one deep down a tunnel beyond the canyon and another hidden in a cave system off one side.

“This will be useful,” Jaina said as she absorbed the map into her body and petted a nearby goblin's head. “But what to do with you poor guys?” She sighed as they pulled her down, fully under her charms and hungry to have what she promised. She made love to them as a group, putting her entire body to use with a goblin in both hands while her head bobbed on another. She sat astride one while another took her from behind, putting her pussy and ass to use at the same time. She supposed that she could have had Gisley put them to sleep, but what was the fun in that? She was a whore, after all, and her body was her weapon.

Jaina moaned in delight as the creature below her clutched her breasts with little hands. The tallest of the goblins was only three and a half feet, but they were surprisingly gifted below the waist. It didn't really matter to her, as the slave collar made every man a wonder to have. Accommodate worked in both directions, allowing her body to stretch around the largest of cocks, but also tighten around a smaller one. She worked hard to pleasure them, turning to suck the three before her while their companions enjoyed her ass and pussy. She gave them a few minutes, then used her powers to trigger their orgasms, feeling goblin cum fill her body. She then rotated them to her mouth and sent two more to her body, working her way through the little group. When all were spent, she picked through their packs and bags, looking for anything of interest.

“Are you having fun?” Evalynn asked as she approached from their hiding place well off the road.

“Oh, please,” Jaina laughed. “I just had sex with five men. Of course, I am having fun.”

“We were waiting for the signal to put them to sleep,” Evalynn laughed as she looked over the goblins lying about the road exhausted. “But I guess you did that in your own way.”

“These little guys didn't deserve to be torn up,” Jaina replied as she put a pack aside. “But all they have in their packs is basic gear and a lot of rope. However, they did have a map,” Jaina added and produced the document from her body. She turned to smile at her little band of lovers and stepped away, walking off the road with Evalynn to Join the others. Jaina presented the map to Roric, and the group studied it carefully to see if they were not far from the exit.

“So the way up is at the end of the road,” Chandice said.

“It appears to be a ramp,” Roric agreed as he tapped a spot back the other way. “But should we visit this goblin camp?”

“It would mean going back the way we came,” Chandice said. “Do we think they might have something worth going back for?”

“They had nothing useful in their packs,” Jaina said. “But maybe they store treasure in the camp?”

“It's not about treasure at this point,” Roric said. “We need to find our way out and establish a safe route we can use to explore. I don't like the idea that we have no idea where to run if we get into trouble.”

They agreed that going up to floor three was the most important task at the moment and headed off, leaving the poor goblins to recover. Slightly down the road, they encountered the first challenge, a pair of monsters made of the bones of a dozen creatures. The bones were lashed together as if made by the hands of a mad person, roughly shaped into the form of scorpions. They were as large as a horse, and their tails ended in clumps of jagged bones that looked to be a dangerous weapon.

“Well, that’s horrible,” Jaina said as they paused to consider their options.

“Do we go around?” Gisley asked as she and Idris waited in the back.

“We came here for experience,” Chandice said. “Those will certainly help.”

“It's been pretty decent once we got to this level,” Evalynn agreed.

Jaina agreed that the experience had begun flowing once they got to the harder monsters, but it hadn't been without cost. Zillix was dead, and twice, they got into trouble with monsters being stronger than expected. They managed to pull it out in the end with the aid of heals from Idris, but it made them cautious.

“Jaina, flatten yourself out to look like the road,” Roric said as he formulated a plan. “We will attack from range and lure them over you, then you attack from below.”

Jaina nodded as her form melted, becoming a mass of gray liquid. She flowed over the stones, her body shifting until she looked like the stones she was over. If not for a slight rise in elevation, nobody would know that section of the road was a mimic. Gisley, Idris, and Chandice backed away, along with their minions. Roric and Evalynn stood directly on Jaina, then with a nod, they both caused magical copies of their weapons to appear and hurl down on the undead monsters.

The bone scorpions hissed as they were enraged by the sudden attack. They turned and rushed toward the two as they stepped back, hurling more ranged attacks to weaken the foes. They stepped off Jaina and waited for the monsters, making a strange clicking sound as their bony legs struck the ground. A second later, they rushed over to Jaina, and she responded by lashing out with tendrils of sticky sap. She grabbed at legs and, most importantly, the tails, hoping to grapple the foes and render them powerless.

Spells began to rain in as Chandice, Idris, and Gisley opened up while zombies and a devil warrior charged in. The enraged monsters struggled to break free, but Jaina could make her body as sticky as glue. Once they were slowed, she drew in her mass, using it to make additional tendrils, this time coated in acid.

The air filled with a sulphuric stench as bones began to dissolve while others shattered. Roric and Evalynn each tanked one; trading blows while dancing with their spears. It turned out to be a relatively easy fight, with the monster's only surprise being that it could fire the spikes from its tail. A few hit Roric, but Idris quickly healed that damage away.

One of the monsters finally collapsed, falling into a heap of bones as the group focused on the other. The second one didn't last much longer before falling apart, becoming useless fragments. The group paused to heal and pick through the bones, finding nothing of real value. Chandice collected a bag of bone fragments, saying they could be used for enchanting. Roric had the girls search the area around the road and find what might be called the monster's lair. It was a depression in the rocks to one side, where past victims had been dragged, leaving behind a tidy pile of treasure.

“A few hundred gold,” Chandice said as she added more coins to a pouch of deep pockets. “And some magic leather armor.”

“They have some potions,” Gisley said as she held up two small vials.

Chandice identified them as potions of regeneration, and they gave one each to Roric and Evalynn. Aside from the magical items, there was a nicely carved bow made from a nearly green wood etched with blue lines. Evalynn was disappointed it wasn't magical, but Chandice suggested they take it, and she would enchant it for her later. Nearly fifty arrows of elven design were also taken and added to the haul. All of it was put into packs and pouches except for bulky items that were placed on a magical disk that floated behind Gisley. The group took a few normal weapons that were lying around, deciding that they could sell them like regular adventurers did.

On they pressed, following the underground road as the canyon walls moved to well over a hundred feet away. Roric commented that he had no idea Frank could make such a large space and pointed to ledges where smaller caves could be seen. There were even a few stone bridges spanning the gap above for what must have been level three. Gisley flew up to investigate one and said it led into a tunnel of black and gray bricks, but the opening at one end had bars on it.

A little way down the canyon, they ran into a new type of creature. It resembled a spider, but its eight legs ended in sharp, pointed blades. It was the size of a large dog and leaped at the party, flailing its limbs at anyone who moved. Its body was black but had a series of pulsing red lines down the side and a horrible sucker-like maw.

Gisley was terrified of the monster and fluttered out of reach in panic. Evalynn and Roric skewered the beast rapidly, ending any real danger it represented. They encountered more giant rats, a pack of armed zombies and skeletons, and even a skeleton wrapped in black rags that could summon more skeletons to its aid.

The treasure they got from all these was relatively the same. A small amount of coin, a few mundane weapons or bits of adventuring gear, and the occasional gem. Roric commented that it was basic dungeon loot, randomly determined by the world generator, but they were happy to be getting anything.

Idris's zombies proved to be useful tanks as her buffs made them quite powerful. Her heals were particularly beneficial in keeping the party going with minimal downtime. Idris, however, was very upset. She missed Zillix and hated that she was here without him. Jaina had a chance to talk to her about her feelings for the dragon, and she admitted she loved him. He had been annoying at first, but as time went on, she realized he was hurting. He had been abducted from his world and thrown into a game he didn't understand. In many ways, he was like Hannah, lost and confused, seeking somebody to help him come to terms with it. Idris had needed his company while traveling in the north and not just for the sexual requirements. He proved to be a very good listener, with a deep emotional capacity and a knack for showing kindness.

Jaina could see the woman deeply appreciated the little dragon but decided to ask her what she felt for Frank. This lifted her mood as she described Frank like a movie star, a god among men with a heart of gold. She admitted that she loved him too and didn't know what to do about her feelings. She was glad they had joined the harem because it meant she was free to love them both. But in her heart, she felt she belonged to Zillix and showed no shame in calling him her master.

“Good on you,” Jaina said as she rubbed Idris’s shoulder. “I am sure he appreciates how you feel.”

“He does,” Idris sighed. “But he’s got a weird infatuation with Hannah.”

“Like you have for Frank?” Jaina asked with a smile.

“Maybe they should trade,” Gisley suggested.

“If anybody gets Hannah, it's going to be me,” Chandice cut in. “I have a standing offer to buy her any time he wants to move her on.”

“Which will be never,” Evalynn laughed. “Frank could no sooner part with Hannah than he could part with his head.”

“I can’t imagine Frank selling Hannah for any amount,” Gisley agreed.

“It's not like she would be out of his grasp,” Chandice said. “She would still be in the harem, and he could still make love to her when he wanted.”

“Then why can’t you do that?” Jaina teased.

“Because I want to be able to look into her eyes and know I own her,” Chandice replied with a sigh. “I don't care if she spends most of her time with him. I just want to be able to say she's mine.”

“Oh, do you really love her that much?” Jaina asked as she saw the pain in Chandice’s eyes.

“It isn't so much that I love her,” Chandice replied after a moment to think. “It's that I am fascinated by her story. She didn't want to be here and was tricked into the worst start imaginable, yet she rose through it all to become what she is now. The most kind and giving person I have ever met. She learned all those horrible things about her past, and what bothered her most was that it might hurt the people she loved. She is always thinking about other people and how she can help them. She approaches sex with an innocent sincerity, always seeing it as a display of love. When Frank gave her to us as a wedding present, it made her attraction all the sweeter. Now she shared something special, and I wanted to hold on to that feeling a little longer.”

“It is special,” Roric agreed. “Hannah made that honeymoon magical.”

“I don't want any of you to think I don't love you like I do her,” Chandice said while looking at her girls. “The thing is, I would die for any of you, and I can't imagine living without you, but I have you, and I know you are mine. I feel the same way for Hannah, but she isn't mine, not like you three are, and it hurts a little.”

“This is so sweet,” Idris said as she wiped a tear from her eyes.

“Chandice is very in tune with her emotions,” Jaina agreed. “She can be just as loving as Hannah is.”

“Hardly,” Chandice scoffed.

“Oh, please,” Jaina scoffed. “Why do you think Hannah is so attracted to you? You two are so alike I want to laugh about it sometimes.”

“They are a lot alike,” Evalynn agreed. “Beautiful, smart, funny, caring, self-sacrificial.”

“Alright, you get special treatment tonight,” Chandice laughed as the road turned to the right slightly and headed uphill at a slightly steeper angle. They noted the canyon began to narrow as if coming to an end. The road was now heading for the wall, and they looked ahead to see a broad flight of stairs climbing the wall. Roric suggested this was the way to floor three, or at least one of them. He was fairly certain there would be other ways up and down, as Frank had hinted at before. They also had the map to show two ways down to level five, but one of them said it was behind a gate.

“I take it we go up,” Jaina said as they reached a stone arch at the bottom of the stairs.

“I am glad to be off this level,” Roric said. “It wasn’t too dangerous, but I don’t like not knowing the way out. I also want to get Zillix and try again.”

“I hope he’s not upset,” Idris said as they began to climb the steps. “I wish he hadn’t been so brave.”

“He didn’t seem very tanky,” Evalynn said as she glanced back to Idris. “He’s more of a caster, isn’t he?”

“He is,” Idris admitted. “He can fake it for a little bit, but his illusions don’t hold up under attack. Still, he was fearless in battle when I was in danger, but he’s reckless.”

“Which is why he needs to spend more time fighting alongside us,” Roric said. “He needs the experience of working in a team and learning what his limits are.”

“I am sure he will come back with us,” Idris said. “I just wish I could hold him right now.”

“If you don’t mind my asking?” Evalynn began. “Do you ever get resurrected or raised dead?”

“I get revived at level fifty,” Idris replied. “It allows me to bring a dead player who has been dead no less than one minute back to life with ten percent health. I am a decent healer but not a priest. I don't get the big spells like resurrect.”

“Revive will be fine in most situations,” Roric said. “And I assume if you put a few points in it, you can increase the time and health recovery?”

“A little,” Idris said. “But it takes ten points to get three minutes.”

“That gives it more use,” Chandice said when Evalynn held up a hand.

“Hold!” she said as she looked ahead, scanning the stairs. “I saw a green sort of glow in the rocks along that upper ledge.”

They all looked to a ledge about twenty feet above the stairs. It was impossible to see if there was a cave from their angle, but anything could be hiding just over the lip. Evalynn wasn't easily riled, and if she thought she saw something, it was best taken seriously.

“I don’t smell anything,” Roric said as his ears twitched. “But I swear I hear something like moving water.”

“An echo from a stream in a nearby tunnel?” Chandice offered.

“I don't think so,” Roric replied as he stepped forward. “The sound was there for a second, then stopped.”

“I will fly up and look,” Gisley said as she spread her wings and took to the air. She fluttered away from the cliff, careful to give it a wide berth. No sooner was she over the lip than long green ropes reached out as if trying to tangle her. She screamed and fluttered about, heading even further from the walls as the ropes curled uselessly in the air.

“What is it?” Idris asked as they watched Gisely move further away.

“It’s a big green blob!” Gisley shouted as she pointed. “With a big brain in the center.”

“A blob?” Jaina asked as a luminescent ooze crawled over the lip, seeping down in a jelly-like mass.

“A slime of some kind,” Roric said as the monster oozed down the cliff ahead of them to bar the path up.

“Great, it’s one of Jaina’s relatives,” Chandice groaned as the blob dropped to the.

“Oh, so any slime we meet is related to me?” Jaina countered.

“I am just teasing you,” Chandice said as she held out her staff. “So, how do we kill this thing?”

“I hate to say it, but piercing weapons will do little damage,” Jaina replied as she thought of Roric and Evalynn. “Use fire-based spells or spells that do broad area damage. Weapons will do half or less damage at best unless they are enchanted.

“Well, our weapons are enchanted,” Evalynn said as she gripped her spear tightly, causing the tip to burn with fire. “Let's see how much it can take.” She took the lead, rushing up the steps as the translucent monster glowed with a green light. The body was like looking through glass, but a dark spiked center hovered inside the mass, moving about with the monster. Jaina realized this wasn't a true slime but an amoeba and was going to be less dangerous than originally thought. Still, it lashed at Evalynn, sticking to her armor as she buried her spear inside. The creature let out a weird sort of warble, then began to try and drag the woman into its mass.

Chandice unleashed on it with a rain of flaming darts while Roric hurled burning spears. Gisley let loose with moonbeams, and Idris sent her zombies to pummel it.

Jaina wasn't sure how best to approach the danger until she saw Evalynn struggling to break free. She realized that going into melee range with this monster was a mistake as once it had a hold of you; it wasn't letting go.

“I can't break its grip!” Evalynn shouted as she tried to slice the arms off. “It's like fighting glue.”

“Roric, swap me with Evalynn!” Jaina shouted as she thought of a way to counter the monster's attack.

Roric nodded, and the two women glowed with white light as Roric activated his power.

[lvl 19 conqueror skill: Swap] Cause one of your slaves to switch places with another, instantly teleporting them up to 50 feet.

Suddenly, Jaina was awash in sticky green ooze that was burning at her skin. She smiled as her form melted and spread over the monster, her skin becoming a caustic acid.

“Let’s see who eats who,” Jaina said as she began to burn.

[lvl 22 Morphic skill: Acidic absorption] Your absorption is acidic, eating through organic material at a rate equal to your level compared to the materials density. You do significant damage to organic materials in contact with your skin. Nonorganic material also burns away but at a reduced rate. Only magical items can resist this effect.

Now, it was a battle of digestion as the two creatures competed to see who could consume who first. Jaina hoped she had the edge because the amoeba needed to pull her into its mass to do real damage. Jaina, on the other hand, had only to make contact and spread out, touching as much of the monster as she could. The others had to stop attacking for fear of hitting her as the two fluid creatures battled for supremacy.

Jaina began to burn holes in its jelly-like mass, determined to expose that dark core. She reasoned that the core was its heart or control system, and if she could reach that, she could do real damage. However, the creature seemed to be healing at an alarming rate, its body growing back nearly as fast as she could consume it. She would run out of stamina long before this beast ran out of health, so she had to switch plans.

“Roric, Evalynn, aim for the core when I expose it!” Jaina called as she focused all her acid in one spot, pouring it into the hole as she burned it away. She used her own body to widen the hole, her liquid fighting to keep the gap open. She was a few inches away, but the monster began to thrash about, turning and churning as if trying to dislodge her. She struggled to eat that last little bit away and finally exposed the dark center that was the beast's brain.

“Now!” she cried, but the monster was moving fast, making it difficult to aim. The pair rained spear attacks on the beast, but none of them came close to the center. Then, a flash of purple filled the air as something dropped on it from above. Gisley landed feet first with a spear in her hands, burying the burning point into the dark center.

A black geyser of ooze shot up, and the beast suddenly twitched before melting into a thin, rubbery puddle that began to pour down the steps. Jaina's fluid poured away, glad to be out of the terrible struggle. She reformed to the side and began to pant as her skin sizzled from where it had been dissolved.

“Let me heal that,” Idris said, placing a heal on her that affected them all. “Oh, I forgot you share a health pool.”

“Lucky we do,” Jaina said. “I bet that thing would have devoured me if the damage hadn’t been spread out.”

“That is proving to be a powerful asset,” Roric agreed as they dared to approach the odd green creature.

“It's too bad Zillix couldn't benefit from it,” Idris sniffed.

“He would have to be one of Roric’s slaves,” Jaina said as she comforted the woman. “But he does have access to Hannah’s essence.”

“Which makes him a glass cannon,” Chandice said as she poked at the green mass with her staff to ensure it was dead. “Once he starts using the power, the clock is ticking before he collapses into unconsciousness.”

Roric suggested they keep moving as Idris admitted that Zillix was afraid to use the power again. Zillix had described the power as an out-of-control fire, growing in intensity far faster than he could manage. Idris went into detail about what he said about it, then said something very odd. Zillix had successfully used the power to hide the panel's secret without collapsing. It was only when he accessed it a second time, pushing hard to cover the truth stone, that it became too much. He had proven that it was possible to tap into the power and remain standing, at least for a little while.

“That’s fascinating,” Chandice said as they walked up the steps. “I wonder….”

“Oh, that sounds dangerous,” Jaina said as Chandice walked beside her.

“No, I mean, what if we used essence to boost the machine?” Chandice asked as she became excited. “If we could find a way to power her essence into the machine's magic detection, we might be able to overcome the shields put into place.”

“This sounds risky,” Roric interjected.

“All of it is risky,” Chandice replied. “And it would take me weeks, if not months, to figure out where to begin. Legis is making some final adjustments on the current version, so let's see what we can get from that first. If it doesn't yield much more, then maybe we consider the essence route.”

“I am nervous about these planned tests,” Roric sighed. “I love Hannah and don't want to see her harmed.”

“She has no choice,” Jaina countered. “She was supposed to get some of her memories back when she put on Umtha's crown. She has reason to believe those memories were important, and their failure to return is dangerous. She is worried the woman in the devil crown is somehow interfering with it.”

“Because a dragon told her the woman in the crown had betrayed her before,” Chandice finished. “I understand her need, but I still feel like this road will bring her pain.”

“I do, too,” Roric agreed.

“Then we will all be there to love her,” Jaina said. “We will surround her in love and remind her that we are her family. This might all be part of whatever plan she is caught up in. We know she's reincarnated several times and tried to recover her memories, only to go insane. Maybe this time, she was driven to marry and join the harem to have the support she needed.”

“Maybe,” Roric agreed. “But I see an error in the timeline.”

“What error?” Jaina asked, not sure what he was getting at.

“When did all these attempts to recover her memories happen?” Roric asked. “She was told they led to her going insane, but as far as we know, her previous life was as Hathlisora. It's that life we are assuming she lost her memory of. So does that mean she's been back several times before becoming Heather? If Umtha's timeline is to be believed, then the answer is no, so that means Hathlisora had to be one of those lives trying to recover her memories. So, who was she before that? Or before that? How far back does this torment go, and where does it lead?”

“So what we are saying is Hannah's past lives had to be before Hathlisora and that Hathlisora is just one of the insane failures,” Chandice surmised.

“Oh, the poor girl,” Gisley cried. “How awful for her.”

“I hadn't thought of any of this,” Jaina said as she looked down. “I wonder if Hannah has.”

“Should we mention this to her?” Evalynn asked as they reached a ledge of paved stones that took them along the canyon wall.

“We have to,” Chandice said. “She deserves to know that either Hathlisora is just one of her many lost lives or that whoever told her she had gone insane in the attempts was lying.”

“Could it have been the woman in the crown?” Jaina asked. “I swear Hannah said they learned that the time Blackbast interrogated her.”

“Even more reason not to trust the crown then,” Chandice agreed. “But it’s the source of her Lilim class and part of her identity now. Her girls love being her succubi, and I dare say Frank is fond of it as well.”

“All boys are fond of having a harem of sex devils,” Jaina laughed.

“True,” Roric agreed. “But the first true pain of this path might be her needing to take that crown off and throw it away.”

“Oh,” Jaina sighed. “That will change everything.”

“It will,” Roric replied. “For all of us.”

Jaina felt a cold shiver run down her spine as the ledge they walked approached a bridge. What if they were about to discover that Hannah had lost a dozen lifetimes of memories? What if each new layer was another new torment that slowly wore the woman down? What if just knowing this was a possibility would be the catalyst to a new wave of depression? Of course, if it was the woman in the crown who said she had gone insane in the past, then all that could be a lie. She might have said it to keep Hannah guessing, pursuing a path of trying to recover memories from lives that didn't really exist. If that was the case, then this was all a delaying action, a decoy to keep Hannah busy, but why?

As the group puzzled over the matter, they reached the bridge only to find it blocked by a wall of zombies. They stood in black plate armor with long poles ending in wicked axes. In the center of their midst was a single blue-skinned woman who was naked above the hips. She smiled and put her hands on her hips as she took in the intruders in her domain.

“Well, what do we have here?” the woman said with a slight smile. “There is a toll to cross my bridge.”

“I bet the toll is a kiss,” Evalynn laughed as Jaina breathed a sigh of relief.

“How about a firm spanking,” Roric said as he and his girls lowered their weapons and embraced their sister Quinny.