Nox's sleep is busy, full of visions from what must be the Sacred Horribs as they follow indistinct blobs around. But it's sharp enough to recognize specific Towers. With a bit of cross-referencing, it should be possibly to associate the appropriate names with them as well, since those being tracked were almost certainly the dinner guests.
When she does wake-up, it's due to Rattlebone poking her in the back with his rattle, while he hunches down to look Nox in the face. He's apparently taken over watch duty from Ashad.
Nox opens one eye and then the other. Then she glares at the serpent. "What do you want?" she asks, dryly. "Feeling bitey again? Or maybe like the other one and wants me to be all panicky while he plays around with trying to eat me?"
"I don't want to eat you," the rattler Naga says, but looks amused for some reason. "You wouldn't fit, ssseee?" he asks then gapes his mouth open.
Nox does indeed look. "You are pretty inferior by comparison, yes," the rat snarks, "No wonder you have to bite."
The serpents fangs then flex forward and spray venom into Nox's face! "I have other tricksss," the Naga says afterwards. The spray burns for a moment when it strikes Nox's eyes.. and then things start to go blurry.
This causes Nox to cry out and blink over and over; not unlike getting soap in the eyes! Ouch! When thinks start to get blurry, she keeps blinking, trying to clear her vision! "... crap?" the rat thinks as she tries to keep panic under control. she's normally an Eeee, she's used to not seeing in the dark. She still has ears and a good nose as a rat! And a few other skills very few have.
Blinking begins to become harder. The paralytic venom is making all of Nox's facial muscles go limp - including her eyes. First to go is the focus, then the ability to move them, so she can't even be sure if they're both pointing in the same direction anymore. Blinking stops soon too, with one eye closed and the other stuck half-way. Her whiskers seem to fair the best, even if she can't move them, because they still work as intended, letting her feel the movement of the air. At least her mouth was closed, so her tongue isn't affected. It isn't exactly blindness, but it's effectively so with a more irritating aspect.
"Go skew a turnpth," Nox sort-of growl-slurs, irritated. At least she knows this is temporary. It's just ... undignified, never mind she's still face down on the table and her wrist and ankle rings rather snug. She doesn't remember any appropriate curses in Imperial, drangit!
"A 'turnpth' you say? I suppossss that means you then, sssince I don't ssee anything else. A few moments later a lot of weight rests on Nox's back, making it hard to breathe.
"Grrnnkpth!" Nox says very intelligently. She must look rather mentally deficient right now, but she's very aware of her surroundings. She also remembers that some snakes are doubly endowed, which may mean she's about to be rather full on her lower end. "It sucks that Inala's blessing means they're always enjoy me when I don't always enjoy them," the squished rat thinks.
It takes some doing - normal hemipeens only work one branch at a time in non-mutants, but with enough effort Rattlebone gets both active, and uses one for each available hole. He's still slow about it though - the primary sensation is his weight, and the scraping of his scutes across the Skreek's diminished cheek.
The rat grunts, and hisses. The scutes do not feel good, especially on her damaged rump. It doesn't feel good with him in the alternate hole, either, since that isn't ask built for, or as blessed, for such treatment. He's also certainly no Malagast, the rat enjoys riding him. Having this serpent in her just feels ... vile. And the thought he's going to release his seed in her makes her feel doubly ill.
Rattlebone needs time to really warm up, as well. It's at least a half hour before he works up to proper thrusting.. and that just seems to drag on forever.. especially when he has to pull out get things firm by hand. If Nox could talk, it'd be pretty easy to hit up his flaws as a rapist. It's like being crushed by sandpaper more than anything.
The slowness is also aggravating! Such slow movement is guaranteed she'll never really get any buildup from it either, so nothing to even lessen the degradation of it. What she gets from it is a sore rump, inside and outside, and a harsh reminder of the metal bars going through her back, his weight on them really digs them in uncomfortably. "Just when I thought I couldn't hate this guy any further," the thinks. Then she gets frustrated she can't even scowl!
It's another hour or so before the Naga finishes.. possibly.. or just gives up and fakes it. There's a big sigh of sorts, but nothing to really feel. It isn't even clear which of forks did anything. The Naga does get off Nox's back though, and says, "You are a terrible lay."
"Hah! Looth ho talkth," Nox chortles. At least she doesn't feel like anything was, well, deposited inside her. Small mercies.
Nox can hear the door opening and Rattlebone slithering out, saying, "Your turn," to someone outside. A moment later and the door closes. Another moment later and the voice of Number Three asks, very quietly, "Do you think you could crawl if you had to?"
"Probably," Nox slurs out slowly, exasperated already with her mostly numb face! Since she cannot see, she tries to use aura feel to 'see' for her.
It's definitely Number Three, and he's coming around in front of her. She feels something touch her lips - and for once it isn't somebody's anatomy. It's the mouth of a clay flask. "Just a few sips, or they'll notice somehow," the Eeee whispers, tipping it enough for some water to flow.
Since Nox' tongue works, she is able to coil around the flask and take a few sips from it. When it's done, she comments, "If youth use yer thin dere, I coul get from it too." A disturbing way to get more moisture, but it's true enough.
"Um.." the young Eeee responds, and his aura does 'blush' some. "I thought you might want to.. you know.. maybe.. escape?"
"An go wereth?" Nox points out rather dryly. "Offer standths."
"There's a garbage chute," Number Three claims. "It must go to the sewer system.. or somewhere. Anywhere but here."
"Dat so? How can I truth that it no just a place to entertain others?" Nox struggles out as she lifts her head. She also moves her arms, demonstrating that they're very firmly affixed to the table. "An besides, tied down."
"I can take you there," Number Three says nervously. "Then I have to run too. It stinks, so.. why would anyone go into the sewer? But I have to do this while they're all gone. Doctor is in her rooms, Rattlebone is heading down below.."
"Fine," Nox agrees. She doesn't trust this, his aura is too ... squirrelly. She's sure they have all been offered this before, then throw them into more despair. But, she'll play their little game. She's got strength left, and shadow as her shield.
The Eeee unhooks her from the table, and first tries to see if she can stand - but the damage to her left leg makes it clear that she can't. So Number Three keeps and arm around as he heads to the door, then opens it just enough to peek out. Nox can hear his heart pounding.
Nox also tries to probe more about his aura. Her left leg drags uselessly behind her as her right leg hops along. "/Why do dis? Thought you afraid of bein' skinned?" the skreek asks. I mean, does he think she's dumb? How would she have gotten /off/ the table without help?
The man nearly jumps at the words. "Because I can't DO this anymore," he whispers back, almost crying. "I heard what they did.. what they're going to do to you. You'd be better off lost in the sewers, and I.. I don't sleep well as it is.."
He finally opens the door fully, and helps Nox out into the hall.. then turns and closes the door again.
"An just what are dey gonna do?" Nox slurs out. Her head rolls so she looks at the man. Well, metaphorically speaking. She's trying to unnerve him with how she looks so she can continue to inspect his aura.
The aura is certainly troubled, and the fear is genuine enough. He really does want to flee. "Some sort of ritual execution or sacrifice," he whispers as quietly as he can, and tries to help Nox along without touching her injured parts. "You should be able to get this stuff off of you yourself, once you're free.."
"Y'know all of you gonna face justice," Nox slurs, "Mabb 'as seen t' it. Wit' her I can endure anything." She continues along, letting her injured leg limp along. She realizes she could probably use shadow beneath her skin to supplement her damaged leg, but again she cannot tip her hand she isn't as helpless as she might seem. "I pity all of you for what is comin'."
"I just want to be able to sleep," Number Three mutters, then pulls Nox into a side passage. "I know if I stay, I'll become like the other two." The smell of garbage is stronger now.. Nox can even pick out some of the smells from the dinner.
Nox is less concerned about what she smells and more about what she feels. What is ahead of her? What auras await her? "If you stay, yer end will be as bad as deres," Nox counters. "Yer no broken yet, don' waste dat."
"If I'm here when they find you gone, it'll be the end anyway," the Eeee claims, and carefully lowers Nox onto her knees. "Are you sure you can crawl? Can you show me?"
One leg being lame isn't going to make crawling /too/ hard, so Nox demonstrates this. It's slow, but she can still find the strength to move her body on all fours. It also helps having lived as a hog to learn how to walk on all fours reasonably well. "/This poor Eeee, not brave enough to fight. Cannot blame him for that," she thinks.
"That.. I hope that's good enough," Number Three says. Then he's busy opening something in the wall, and the garbage smell suddenly becomes more intense. So far, Nox only senses him, the doctor and the son on this level. "The Naga's are too big to get in here," he assures Nox, then bends over to lift her back up. "If you make it out, be sure to tell everyone about this place.. do you want me to pull your eyelids back, or shut them all the way?"
"Shut them all the way," Nox says. Getting more crap in her eyes will be a distraction and they're not helpful as it is.
The Eeee does so, and thus eliminates some of the distraction caused by having a half-opened eye that can't do anything. Then he leans her forward so her hands are on the edge of the opening. "It's a chute, but it doesn't go straight down.. it'll be slippery," he warns, and seems to wait for Nox to start pulling herself in or giving up.
Nox' focus on aura, scent, and hearing goes forward. "Garbage, to disrupt a skreek from being able to scent her way. Clever," the rat thinks. She heaves with her arms and starts pulling herself into the chute. She's weak, so it's a bit harder than she expected, but she struggles none-the-less to do it on her own.
Whiskers are wonderful things. They tell the Skreek that not all of the humid, rising air is exiting out of the opening.. so the shaft must extend upwards as well, to other levels. The surfaces are slimy-slick however, from all the rotten garbage that didn't quite make it all the way down.
Number three helps get Nox's torso raised once it's clear she's going in.
"Into the shadow of darkness I go," Nox thinks. She's scared. Her heard is starting to pound. Her gut tells her this is all wrong, it's just another trick. But fear can help too, it makes her senses more alert and gives her a small boost of energy and strength.
At least it's easy to go down, since it's mainly just braking that she has to concern herself with. The slope is there, but it's still very steep. For once, the rods through her wrists with the big fastener loops at the end are handy - they can scrape against the wall to let Nox know the spacing of the blocks - and thus where the seems are for getting a grip.
It's not comfortable to use those spikes, but it's not painful ... just very very strange. "What lies ahead?" she wonders. She knows roughly how the others died. Is this Beyard ahead? something else? Or was the Eeee actually helping her. The last seems so very unlikely, but maybe. "Should I have signaled Tulani last night?" she wonders.
There's definitely water ahead, at the bottom of the shaft. It doesn't smell fresh by any means, but it's not stagnant either, so it must be moving at least a little bit.
Nox starts sniffing more, ears flicked forward. She also once more tires to extend her aura sense and feel if anything living is ahead.
There are specks.. insects, probably tunnel worms on the roof of the pipes. The seem clustered more in one direction.. off to the left. And not far.. the water is only yards away now.
Nox continues forward, slow and careful. It's use of sound, scent, and aura now. She really misses her sonar, though; it would help much in this place. But, she must do what she must. So, onward she goes. Then ... perhaps towards the tunnel worms.
The water still seems a shock. At least nothing is floating it, since there is a slight current towards the left, even though the shaft runs to the right as well. It's about two-thirds flooded, but Nox can keep her head up without hitting the roof.
Nox tries to not think about the crud that might be within this water or what could make her sick. She waits for a bit, acclimating herself to the temperature and the feel ... then heads left. "Keep moving," she thinks, jaw set even though her face is numb.
The reason for the worms clustering here becomes apparent: there's more floating stuff here. It backs up.. but Nox can still feel the current flowing across her toes and fingers. Most of it seems to be vegetable matter.. which of course would float.
"Geh," Nox thinks. It's disgusting, but she continues in this direction. She also continues to try and extend her senses, looking for blimps. "Well, this is pretty high on the disgusting scale," she thinks. As long as she is focusing, at least it keeps her from panicking.
The vegetable matter piles up.. and there are bugs on it, which sometimes fall victim to the sticky fishing lines of the worms above. At the worst part of it, Nox's hands touch stone: an underwater grate! The backup is due to the water level being too high, so anything that floats isn't going to get sucked through (and the gaps in the grate are at least three inches wide).
Nox grunts. She grips the grate and starts to pull on it, trying to dislodge it.
It's annoying. It doesn't want to move, and Nox realizes just how weak she's gotten physically since her arrival at this place - and it can't be due to the venom. It does put a lot of strain on her damaged rump though, which has lost the most muscle mass, obviously.
"Right, so only one direction to go, never mind the flow of water is the best way to go," Nox thinks, then growls in irritation. How she has to back up and try to turn around to go the other way.
Turning around isn't too hard, at least. The spines through her back scrape and catch occasionally, but she's still limber. And the current is that strong - it's really a question of trying to swim against it or push herself along. There is presumable an incline involved for the water to be moving like this.
Nox will have to use the walls and push, or any hand holds. She doesn't feel like she has the strength to swim. Hmm, down here she could even use shadow tentacles to grip and pull if she had to.
Pulling works, since she's still a bit buoyant in the water. There are also fresher smells in this direction - meaning air. It's after going well beyond the garbage chute drop that she starts to detect presences though. At first it wasn't clear.. but she soon realizes she's picking up an animal aura, one that seems to exude patience, but also some intelligence. Just about the only 'intelligent' animals in Babel (that aren't part of the Temple of Gorphat at the moment) are groks.
Nox draws still and focuses on that creature, that aura. She has been a grok, she might be able to confirm it is one. She also remembers how badly damaged the bodies were described to be. That would have to be a huge grok to have a part big enough to do the damage it did.
It doesn't feel like a particularly large one - that is, not a wild grok. They usually don't just sit and wait. This one must be trained, for either guarding or hunting. Or possibly a pet.
"Then this cannot be what kills the people," Nox thinks. She steadies herself, draws a breath, then continues on. It's funny how you can both know you're safe enough, that you can protect yourself, and yet you can still be terrified. Maybe it's just nature's way of keeping you sharp. Or maybe she's not really as 'safe' as she believes. She is rather weak after all.
The closer she gets, the better her sense of position. The grok is not near the same level as she is.. but she's started to pick up the scent of it. It seems to be six or seven feet higher.. possibly at the opening of another shaft, but an odd one. A floor drain? Who would have an open shaft going straight down into a sewer?
"Except another pit," Nox thinks grimly. She now expects she'll come out into a gallery of people.
There's still no movement from the grok, or anything else to indicate it knows Nox is down there.
On Nox goes. She isn't going up until there is no other choice.
The channel still goes on past the drain, and Nox is quite a ways past it before the grok responds.. and climbs down the drain to enter the water behind her. It also lets out a keening cry when it does so.
"Of course," Nox thinks grimly. She presses onward, but she isn't panicking! Instead she's playing intelligent here. She reaches into herself and takes hold of the feel of the dragon. How brave will this creature be if it feels that it's hunting something far more dangerous than it is?
So far, it isn't clear that the grok is hunting. After all, the Skreek is just ahead of it, with nowhere to dodge. The grok doesn't seem that interested in following her though. But now Nox and sense more activity at the edge of her aura-sphere. More groks, and also a few Naga. No Eeee yet, however.
Nox draws the 'dragon' back to herself, satisfied it isn't going to really come after her. So, they want to induce panic? She isn't surprised. Onward she goes, methodical, slow, trying to show the bravery of a skreek. One they haven't broken yet.
It isn't much longer before the T junction. Another choice, right or left. The water seems to be flowing from both directions, so they likely go up higher. The water level may even be a bit lower by now.
Nox picks left. Why? Because left was a dead end last time. So, why not? "Rats is a maze, is that your game?" she wonders.
It may be just that. There are lots of branches - more than a sewer would rightly have, and each choice leads higher, into shallower water. There are few more drains.. but these have grates capping them. But the groks are still getting closer, along with their presumed handlers. Eventually thinks reach the uppermost level - the water is only a few inches deep here, but more telling is that the roof has been replaced by continuous stone grates now. There's light, at least enough to penetrate Nox's closed lids. Her eyes are still useless though. With the water so low, crawling is the only option.
Nox so wants to unleash the full draconic aura now. She's tired, and tired of being treated like entertainment. But, she reels herself back and continues onward. Her focus is on her sensing of others auras, counting them, and placing each one in position. The groks are obviously to scare someone along, maybe get them to crawl faster in panic. She's having none of it. She will move at her pace.
The Nagas finally seem to reach the maze level.. and as such are easy to avoid. They don't actually know where she is.. but depend on the groks - and so far they haven't found her either. Whatever is above her, it can't just be a big open room - there must be support structures, walls and such. It might be a normal, ancient construction used for some specific purpose - although the only one that really jumps to mind is 'mass holding' for a slave market.
Which is ... good to know. There should be records for this place somewhere. It's a marker. That combined with the horribs means she can finally give a solid location to Tulani on where they come. So, Nox smiles darkly to herself. "You want to play? Lets play," the rat thinks. She starts focusing hard on where they are, and exactly how to avoid them...
It's almost fun. The Naga are completely dependent on the groks, who are largely depending on their sonar to keep track of Nox - which doesn't do much good if she stops moving. It also doesn't hurt that she already knows a bit about influencing animals, at least enough to trick them into running off after a ghost, with the Naga slithering behind them. Soon things devolve into shouting and insults, both aimed at the groks and at each other. But eventually more presences begin to arrive - Eeee this time. Certainly some of the ones from the night before.. but others as well. That's when things get noisy - everyone has a staff of some sort, and they start banging them against the grates.
The banging is annoying! It's good she doesn't have to rely on hearing so much here, but still. She intends to drag this out for as long as she can keep her strength up! She sadly knew the young Eeee was lying. She's both mad and pitying him; she's pretty sure he did it all out of fear. Do this or else. Or, perhaps he was really gaming her? Be the friend, trust him, then lead unto despair. No matter, she can reach him in dreams if she much ... and she's pretty sure he will be honest with the Son of Death.
The noise has to be as annoying to the Eeee, if not more so, but they keep it up.. until they start stabbing the poles down through the grates. It is a game for them: they're running about like children, and stabbing down at random, only to move on. It makes it impossible to predict where they'll be, and even if they come close they might miss and move on, or try jamming things up and down from their current spot. At this rate, Nox is going to be found, and found painfully.
Nox could use the shadow to make a shield to protect her back. The urge is there, to be sure. Instead, though, she keeps the game up. A rat in panic would not so readily give up. Pain it will have to be because little else would be believable.
Movement is still restrictive - the limp slows her down when crawling, and she's forced to here. The groks are also caught up in the excitement, but seem more focused on the Eeees, since several times the animals run right over Nox's spot without noticing.
And her game is to stop, and wait. The next one that tries to jam a stick down will get a rude surprise when she grabs it and then tries to shove it right back up into their face.
There's definitely someone coming towards her quickly.. and it feels like a woman. She jabs her staff down a few feet in front of Nox.. and then laughs as she moves down the grates towards the rat. They usually give up after five or so jabs, which would put this one within grabbing range on her last jab.
Nox waits patiently. "Hope you didn't like your teeth," the battered rat thinks darkly. If this works, she won't be laughing so much after this. Her fingers flex as she prepares.
The staff jabs down right between the waiting hands. And since it's the last jab, it actually lingers an extra second while the wielder is looking off to where she'll run next.
And that's when Nox grabs a hold of the staff. She smiles and then shoves the staff upward as hard as the rat can muster. She's mad enough that she's even tapping into the shadow to give her a bit more strength for a few seconds. No one can remain without the urge for a little vengeance forever.
The woman is taken by surprise, especially as she had just begun to raise it. It's enough to put her off balance, and instead of letting go she tries to yank it towards her. The grates are a foot wide and half as thick, so there's a lot of play in that gap.
Nox yanks then pushes more, trying to pull the woman off her feet. God, part of her wants to impale this damn woman on her staff!
The yank this time does topple the woman.. who falls onto the grate. One of her hands even slips through, held out to break her fall but failing spectacularly.
Nox grabs that hand, then proceeds to break several fingers on it! She wants to bite them off, but she'll settle for making the damn Eeee scream. Then it's time to move!
And scream the woman does! It nearly makes Nox's own ears bleed. And of course everyone rushes towards the spot, calling and yelling. For now it looks like the woman just fell and hurt herself..
And Nox is on the move at this point to get away! Perhaps they'll think she just broke her fingers on the grate. It gives her time to reposition, at least. "Serves her right," she thinsk, remembering her own poor claws.
Moving is a chore of course, and it doesn't help that once someone reaches the fallen women, she yells, "It's here! Kill it!" That's enough to get the staves jabbing down up and down the length of that particular section.
Which of course is where she is not now. Now she needs to move to a further spot. Their aggression on the grate she left will hopefully buy her time.
Nox makes it to the next T-section (it's all T-sections) before she's spotted. The spotting comes from a blow to the side her head from a staff though. "Here!" a man yells, and then the pummeling begins. It's like being punched by a dozen angry children. But some of them aren't pounding, they're pressing down to hold her in place.
Nox growls and tries to force herself up anyway, in spite of the beating. It's incredibly frustrating in that she knows she could kill them all right now. All she has to do is spread the shadow, then surge spikes of it upwards through all the slits of the grates. Impale every damn last one of them. It's anger that is driving her more than strength. Every blow fuels it and she can feel the shadow within her boil ... but somehow, she holds it back.
Once she's firmly pinned, the Naga work to pull up the grates behind her, and soon they've got hooks through the eyes of the rods impaling her ankles, and start to drag her out backwards. "She broke my Dagh-Damned fingers!" the woman is still yelling and crying.. but further off. Someone is carrying her away from all the commotion.
"Maybe this one will last to be offered to Zakaro," one of the men above her comments. The reply to this is, "They never make it that far."
"I could have done much, much, worse," Nox thinks! As she's dragged along, the rat is actually snarling and snapping in pure rage. Bloodied, battered, and incredibly angry, this one. Probably more fight than they've ever seen.
"Keep your distance," another of the men says, and staffs are raised up. It isn't until Nox is actually lifted up by legs to dangle that they feel safe. And even then, everyone stays clear of her claws. The lines have been attached to two long poles that the Nagas carry between their shoulders..
This amuses Nox. In a dark way, she likes how they fear her. They who treated her like this helpless thing now are too afraid to come close to one so battered and beaten. Bravery when there are bars and poles, but when reality comes, they cower like most others. It's channelling dragon aspects, for sure, but then she is flush with anger, and that's a playground for breeding it. Vorg must be proud.
It's a bit of a trudge from that point. Being upside down does has one benefit though - the rush of blood to her face is flushing out the effects of the venom faster - she can blink again!
And blink she does! Even if she cannot see well, at least she can move her face. "Last change," the skreek calls to her captors. "Last chance for mercy if you let me go."
"You'll be letting go soon enough," one of the men notes. The injured woman isn't with the group anymore. As vision begins to return, it looks like the Eeee at least aren't wearing their fancy clothes - at least, nothing that's glittery. It's dim anyway, but things look relatively drab.
"And you may be disappointed in that," Nox counters angrily. She makes a swipe at one of the Eeee.
It's easily dodged - they're keeping out of reach of her tail even. Finally they pass through and archway into a better lit area. There are more people here.. even the woman, her fingers in a cast now and the Doctor next to her. It's an amphitheater - not an unusual feature in most towers, since the wealthy always preferred that their entertainment come to them. Eeee break off from the little parade to find seats, as Nox is taken down to the the theater floor.
"Oh look an audience ... and I can't really perform here! How depressing," Nox thinks. She feels, scared and smug. She even blows a kiss to the woman whose fingers she broke. As for the doctor, she says loud enough for her to hear, "Tick Tock." Then it's on to just examining those gathered, their auras, and anything about them she could identify later.
The woman scowls back, but then grins. There are four posts rising up in the center of the stage, with an ominous stain on the floor between them. Of course there are hooks at various heights on all of them, and Rattlebone and Ashad are there as well, reaching out to tray and grab onto Nox's wrists.
"I can imagine I'm going to be spread eagle between those," Nox thinks as she looks between the polls. Inala's blessing should save her through this. She hopes, anyway. Failing that, she has enough shadow left she thinks to save herself if need be. It'll be a way to go if not. "Hey," Nox calls out to the bandaged woman, "Do you like to wager? I've got a bet for you."
"Did she just call me a bat?" the woman declares, standing up and looking like she's ready to come down and physically correct the Skreek's etiquette, until the man with her restrains and says, "Bet. She said she wants to make a bet with you."
"She's got nothing to bet with!" the woman declares, then points at Nox with her good hand. "What is your so-called 'bet', creature?"
The Nagas go about securing Nox's limbs as expected. No matter what, she'll be hanging a bit from them.
"Yes, you, squeak," Nox says, her voice dripping with anger. "My bet is you're a coward. I have a challenge to prove me otherwise. Brave enough to hear it, or will you show your nature now?"
Nox also looks up at her arms, and soon expects her legs to join them in dangling her uncomfortably. This is making her more angry, enough that her tail is twitching violently.
"Go ahead, it should make for some interesting last words!" the woman retorts.
The woman laughs hysterically, and the man has to get her back down into her seat.
"See? She's a coward! Wouldn't take the bet!" Nox declares to the room, "Even if it would take a miracle to happen."
Rattlebone appears again between Nox's legs, and is holding a familiar-looking leather harness, which he begins strapping on. The stud covers are snapped on last, before he begins tightening specific straps to spread the Skreek as wide as possible without the harness loosing its grip.
Nox hisses at the Naga as the straps are fitted and she's slowly and painfully stretched as wide as she can be. This leaves the rat lewdly gaping between her legs. She can smell her own musk at this point, too. Her tail swats, trying to smack that damn naga.
This results in her tail being hooked to her back, of course. The Naga isn't quite finished though. He looks at Nox, and then produces a feather from his vest. He uses it to try and tickle the Skreek's toes.
This makes Nox squirm like mad! Her growls are mangled-sounding, too, due to it. It's a weird mix of laughter and growling. Kind of comes across as gurgling.
The tickling goes on until the doctor clears her substantial throat. Only then does Rattlebone, put the feather away and slither off to one side. The doctor slithers down to the stage, then turns to face the audience. She raises up her arms, and says, "Oh Inala, Goddess of Lust and all that is Carnal - Accept this humble sacrifice, and reward your Faithful with the Pleasure that You yourself will gain from it!" There's a chorus of stamping staves at this, followed by the chanting of "Beyard! Beyard!" over and over.
And Nox hangs her head. This is mostly to hide her smile. She's blessed by Inala; favored by her. She sired for Inala in a miracle of spirits. Sacrificing her might be taken as an affront. And anyway, at least she should be able to bear just about anything thanks to Inala's favor. As long as it isn't recinded for this ... but would Inala do that?
Nox is also now very curious to who Beyard is. And for that matter, what he is. Her heart is pounding again too, a mix of excitement, tinged with fear. She hopes what will happen is what she thinks, the alternative would be bad.
There's a sort of roar in response to the chanting, which comes to an abrupt stop. It isn't like anything Nox has ever heard, but she can feel the thrill suddenly run through the audience. There's not a little fear there, and nervous anticipation. Ashad appears, slithering backwards from one of the side stage entrances, hauling on an ironwood chain. And struggling. What eventually comes out into the light is confusing at first - but soon becomes clear: a Rhian stallion, wearing Rugrhat furs over most of his upper body. There's even a faux ram's head covering his own, complete with curling horns. The mouth beneath the mask is foaming, and the eye peeking out looks maddened and bloodshot. He's already frighteningly aroused, with throbbing veins and twitching motions. He's much bigger than Tulani's brother was, certainly.. and Nox isn't a unicorn at the moment either.
"A Rhian? I suspected, but I wasn't sure. What did they do to him? He's raging like an animal. Is he cursed somehow?" Nox thinks as her head shoots up and he looks at this beast, wide-eyed. Even she's a bit scared now, that creature is huge, his endowment is about the length of her torso! Though eyes wide in shock, she tries to read his aura, to see if there is any clue as to what was done? It's almost like a Gorphat curse combined with a Blakat one. The rat starts to squirm in her own confines, which means she's writhing between the pillars.
It's all purple and black. He's madder than a Yodhblakat, and it's some sort of disease. Ashad yanks his chain to turn him towards the posts, and when he finally sees Nox he charges forward, only to grab the leg-posts with his huge hands and squeeze them. Even with that barrier, his ramrod is only a few inches from the Skreek. He stares down at her with those mad eyes, dripping froth on to her belly as his chest labors. He looks like he's just run a marathon or something. He then opens his mouth and lets loose another mad whinny-roar.
Nox pulls her head back! "Great Gods, he's insane. It would take Scourge to try and pull away this madness," the skreek thinks, horrified. Even if she survives the tremendous bit that is inches from her, his sheer strength could mangle her! That fear she felt? It's a whole lot stronger right now. Even the shadow inside is starting to twitch, sensing danger!
It actually takes Ashad snake-handling the stallion to get him lined up.. but once the tip makes proper contact.. he pushes forward. Those plate-sized hands release the post and grab onto Nox's shoulders, and then he's thrusting. Clearly, the Blessing has limits.. and this monster is pushing right up against them. Nox feels more stretched than ever before, and gets the distinct impression that Beyard is trying to gut her like a fish. This isn't being driven by any kind of sexual urge, certainly.
The chanting and stamping starts again from the audience: "Beyard! Beyard!"
Nox's head goes back, eyes wide. The sensations are ... beyond description. There is full, full, and this. The skreek could sweat she can about feel the man's endowment in her throat, though that would be impossible! She can feel her entire abdomen rolling and stretching, too. It's ... part of it actually feels good, if only because Inala has some mercy, but the rest feels just so utterly terrifying! She cries out, her gasp a rattling, screaming, cry. "Inala, if you're still with me, I need your support now more than ever!" she thinks in a panic.
The chanting begins to break down a bit after a few minutes, when the expected tearing of flesh and screams do not occur. Ever Beyard seems confused. Nox's shoulders and hips are taking a lot of strain as well, and her right hip definitely 'pops' out of the socket when the equine starts thrusting even harder.
The popping of her hip causes the rat to cry out, that's the pain she feels. Her insides remain very much intact! And to make it worse, even though she's in pain ... the skreek starts laughing. This is a jab at those watching, pure and simple.
There's silence from the audience now. Beyard seems confused.. and slows down. He seems less.. mad. He moves one of his hands from Nox's shoulder to the post binding her left arm, making him lean over further. He still thrusts, but not with anger now. He's actually rolling his hips, confused not just by how long things have gone on.. but that he might be feeling things he's never felt before.
And probably even more disturbing to the crowd is that the rat rolls back in kind. Yes, it hurts, the one side that is dislocated screams with each roll, but she bears it so that she can shock the audience. Her eyes are clenches shut and tears run down her cheeks, but she bears the pain in her hip to actually make it seem like someone wishes to be with the monster. "Dagh, this, gah. Thank you Gorphat, for all the pain I have felt, it makes this ... possible to endure with my hip. And thank you Inala, for your blessings and lessions of how pleasure and the giving of it can be powerful," she thinks.
If Beyard is thankful, he doesn't name names. He just grunts, but at least isn't panting anymore. He seems.. nearly docile, right up until Rattlebone hits him in the back with a riding crops. With all the wool piled up, the slap may not even have made an impression. "What's wrong with you, oaf! Kill her! Kill kill kill!" the Naga chides, and then chooses a more tender target, slapping the crop up between the Rhian's legs. This causes Beyard to let go of the post for a moment and jerk back with his elbow. This catches Rattlebone in the throat with a very loud crunch. It also sends him over backwards to the ground. He doesn't move after that.
"/Holy Gods, did the rhian just kill the naga?" Nox thinks in shock. Her fears earlier are very much founded, the rhain could kill her via sheer strength not just through this act. It's all the more reason to make it pleasurable for him, so hip pain and all the skreek is /trying/ to pleasure him now, to even trying to do some muscle tensing to squeeze a little, if she can at all.
Nobody else tries to interrupt, not even Ashad who must outweigh Beyard by a factor of two or three. Now that killing limb is used to gently support Nox's hip, as the great horse is really enjoying things now. He's nostrils are making snuffling sounds as he exhales, and the foam has stopped. And then.. he nuzzles Nox's throat.
"You're a good guy at heart, aren't you?" Nox whispers to him softly, "You've been in such unrelenting pain and frustration. Let me help you find relief. I welcome you inside me, find comfort, find pleasure, and find Inala's love with my body as her altar." The the rat leans her head up and nuzzles gently at his ears as her hips continue a slow and steady roll, and her insides, well, they try to work what magic they can, stretched as they are. She's trying to not think about what might happen if he does release, though. It's either going to be a mess, her belly will inflate, or both.
The Rhian whickers, almost sadly... but does release. The tension in his body reduces noticeably.. while Nox experiences a very new sensation. There's also the thought: what happens when he pulls out?
Those gathered get quite a show when the rhain does finally release. Who knows for how long and how pent up he was? The rat's belly swells a lot, to where she looks like she's got one heck of a litter within her. It's actually uncomfortable and heavy. And yes, now the thought crosses her mind of what happens when he pulls out? Will she remain huge? Will Inala's blessing somehow hold it all within her as an offering? She tries to push it out of her mind and instead coo to the rhain and nuzzle his ears, to bring him peace and calm.
The answer comes soon enough. Beyard pulls back and staggers, slumping to one side and grabbing onto a leg-post to steady himself. The Blessing then.. goes away. Which comes as a real shock to those in the front row, right in the line of fire as a high pressure spray erupts from the Skreek's stretched-open loins.
"I am so glad I can't really see what just happened," Nox finds herself thinking as she suddenly feels like an airship that just farted away all of its gas in one deflating whoosh. "Well, that backfired on them!" she thinks. Then in a tired, but defiant voice she raises her head and says as she looks right at the Eeee with the broken fingers, "Your turn."