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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Rel" data-source="post: 1783964" data-attributes="member: 99">This post (and the one following it) are rated "M" for Mature. <img src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/joypixels/assets/8.0/png/unicode/64/1f609.png" class="smilie smilie--emoji" loading="lazy" width="64" height="64" alt=";)" title="Wink    ;)"  data-smilie="2"data-shortname=";)" />The party descended the path as quickly as they could without risking a fall down the rough, pitted stone.  Below was not merely a path, but a distinct road, made of a mottled looking material of varying colors.  Cathal bounded down ahead of the others and made it to the road first where he stared in horror at what he found.The road itself was made from the tortured faces of the damned.  They were packed impossibly close to one another with their faces upturned, mouths open in eternal silent screams of agony.  Cathal flinched as one of the faces shifted its gaze to regard him with an expression of unfathomable sorrow.  He stood transfixed as Marius stepped up next to him.  “If we don’t want to wind up like them, we’d better get moving.  Half the demons in Hell are after us!”  Cathal tore his gaze away and the group hurried down the slope into the valley cut by the river ahead.  Cathal walked along the stone at the edge of the road.They moved as quickly as they could but Marcus and Speaks were hampered by their heavy armor.  While Speaks could easily have shifted form to something faster, Marcus had no such option.  As the ground began to level out it became obvious that they could not win a footrace against the infernal beings that followed them.  They stopped to catch their breath as the bridge across the river loomed ahead of them.Knowing that at any moment the pack of devils was going to crest the hill behind them, they had a decision to make.  “The bridge is too broad to provide a good defensible position,” said Marcus.  They looked to each other for a solution.“Well,” said Marius, “we Run, Fight or Hide.”They all knew that running was going to be futile.  Marcus probably wouldn’t even be able to doff his armor before the devils arrived.  “I’ve got damned little magic left,” said Lazarius.  The battles with the Ogres and the pack of devils they had just fought had clearly taken a toll on the party’s resources.  They would be down to their blades and wits if forced to fight again soon.“Hide it is then,” said Speaks.  As the Druid spoke, Marcus’ face lit up in recollection.“Wait!  I’ve got just the thing to help us out!”  He fumbled in a belt pouch for a moment and came up with a small silk bag tied with a delicate cord.  “This magical dust should hide our trail.  I’ve been carrying it around forever and had nearly forgotten it.”Marius prodded the group, “That’s great.  But if we don’t get moving, they’re not going to have to track us.  They’ll just see us standing here having a town meeting!”  They hefted weapons and cinched their pack straps and immediately started moving upstream on the near side of the river.  The air filled with a salty tang that almost smelled of the ocean.The going was slow along the barren, uneven stones at the edge of the river and they had to get out of sight of the road or the game would be up.  They could see a ridge that ran down to the river from the craggy mountains to their right.  The river took a slight bend there and if they could get over that ridge they’d be hidden from the road of the damned they’d left behind.  The only other saving grace was that the splashing of the river helped to hide the horrendous racket of Marcus’ armor scraping on the rough rocks.As they scrambled over the ridge, Marius looked back and could see the band of devils milling around on the near side of the bridge.  “Better use that dust quick, Marcus!”  The servant of St. Cuthbert ripped open the silk pouch and threw it back in the direction they’d come.  Now it was just a matter of luck.  Speaks and Marius lay low between two basalt boulders and watched the devils.  After another minute of indecision, they proceeded across the bridge and away from the party.As a sigh of relief passed their lips, they all suddenly felt a voice in their minds.  The intrusion was shocking but not entirely unwelcome for the voice in question was silky, soft and feminine.  “You boys are not from around here I take it.”They looked around to find the source of the woman who had addressed them but saw no one.  The voice came again like a fantasy, “Looks like you drew the unwelcome attention of some of the Destroyers.”Marius was the first to reply, “Do you know what it was they were destroying?”The voice returned, full of humor and naughtiness, “I know all SORTS of things.  Just as a quick example, I know that if you remain here in the open, you’ll probably be spotted by an Imp and they’ll fly off to tattle on you.”Marius kept up his end of the conversation, “We’d rather avoid that if possible.  Do you know of somewhere we could take cover?”“Oh indeed I do, pretty man.  And I’d be only too happy to show you where it is…among other things.  But this is Hell after all.  Nothing comes without a price.  But only a small one in this case.”  The voice dripped in undisguised sexuality and promise.Marius asked in reply, “What price do you ask?” knowing already that he’d pay it and happily.“Just one little kiss.”  The voice was somehow the epitome of innocence.  But not.Marius looked at his companions, all of whom it turned out had not just fallen off the turnip wagon.  They brimmed with skepticism.  He said aloud, “A moment to consider your offer milady.”“Don’t keep me waiting too long, pretty man.  I might get bored and go tell your pursuers where you can be found.”  The voice held the casual confidence of a card player holding three Emperors and a pair of Centurions.The party huddled close.  “I’m not sure she can be trusted,” said Marcus.  Marius regarded the Cleric with utter incredulity, “Ya’ think?!”  Lazarius interjected, “I’ve heard tales of fiends who can steal your mind with a single kiss.”  Marius turned to the Wizard, “Well then whoever does it had better stay focused on NOT losing his mind!”  Marcus looked at the Imperial Explorer with disbelief, “You’re not really considering going through with this are you?!”  “Have you got any better ideas?!” retorted Marius.  “If we don’t find someplace to hide until Lazarius can get us out of here, we’re going to wind up dead or MUCH worse.”  All of them remembered the road.  “Wish me luck,” said Marius.They rose from the huddle and Marius called out to no one in particular.  “Your offer is accepted.  You show us safe shelter and I give you a kiss.  Only, I’m not used to kissing women whom I can’t see.  Would you be so kind as to show yourself?”“Certainly,” came the answer as she appeared some thirty feet away.  Envy washed over all but Marius as she beckoned him with her finger and moistened her lips in anticipation.  Marius felt only Lust as his eyes raked up and down her naked body.  Marcus gripped the shoulder of his lucky companion, perhaps slightly harder than was strictly necessary, and prayed for St. Cuthbert to give him strength.  Marius shrugged off the grip and walked toward her, marveling at how her pale skin seemed to reflect the purple of the skies.She playfully wrapped her arms around his neck and whispered, “My name’s Jalena.”“Of course it is,” said Marius.Then she kissed him.</blockquote>

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