Unexpected Detour (Razgriz x Wingshadow)

Gnome practically screamed as she felt his semen pour into her body, the powerful arcs finishing the seal that they were drawing around them at almost that exact same moment at which the earth elemental's pleasure had reached its peak. Her body drew him in with great force, an almost suction-like sensation as she drew out every last drop that he would give to her. Nearly all of it was absorbed directly into her as energy on the spot, hardly having any time to rest inside her body as a earth-shattering groan echoed throughout the forest. Shards of rock and mounds of earth rose up and scarred the landscape, sending Dryad into a tizzy as she flitted about in an awed and shocked manner. Gnome's hands gripped him in the troughs of her passion, breathless as she squeezed out the last of his cum and fell back onto the ground. She gasped and tried to compose herself, her hands releasing him and laying by her sides limply as her eyes fluttered.

"I... Love you," she whispered softly to him, "You... Now have full access to my powers... Once I recover for a bit, I'll teach you how to use them."
 
Sam grunted as Gnome's passage contracted around him, squeezing the cum from his member as they both rode out their intense orgasms. Her body seemed to gain back the luster and glow it once had, as if Sam's release was not only re-forming the contract, but giving her the additional energy she needed to become truly healthy once more. When they both came down from cloud nine, Sam laid himself gently on top of Gnome, his head resting just above her left shoulder. Their chest seemed to rise and fall in tandem, both well worked from their intense coupling; soon, however, Sam felt Gnome relax around him, her legs unlocking from his waist and his hands loosing their grip on him.

"And I....love you" he replied, kissing her on the lips; he smiled as she told him that he could fully utilize her powers now. "Well, let's wait till after we rest, shall we?" he then said, affirming her position even more; it was only thanks to his newly-found reserves of stamina that Sam wasn't dead from exerting himself so much. The kiss he shared with Gnome also helped make sure he had enough energy to reform their contract again, else his heart might have given out from the extreme duress.

Regardless, Sam pulled himself out of Gnome, the little cum that didn't get converted into energy oozing out of her pussy as he sat up; he then guided Gnome to lay against him, kissing the top of her forehead and whispering his love for her into her ear once more. The hollowed-out tree was still intact, so Sam wouldn't see the extent of their 'activity' until after they decided to get up and walk around
 
Gnome cuddled up next to her contractor, tenderly pressing herself against him not with lust but with loving affection. She returned his kisses with her own, allowing her body to cool down from their intense lovemaking session. She channeled some of her energy back to him, helping him recover a bit faster than otherwise. She felt much better and she looked much healthier as well. The color of her skin and the brightness of her eyes were restored, and if anything glistened a bit more than they had prior to their separation. Few men in the universe could have survived such an demanding session as they had just completed, as in any other case the elemental probably would have continued abusing her contractor's body until he expired, so great was her need by that point. Thankfully, Sam had become conditioned to such treatment and was in no real danger... Although Dryad was still quite dismayed at what had happened to her forest.

Satisfied and happy, Gnome finally parted from him and pulled her clothes back on before stepping out toward the opening in the hollow tree. She gasped and stepped back, overlooking the severe terraforming that had occurred due to their heated coitus. She looked back at Sam and gave him an uneasy smile.

"Well, it looks like I have my work cut out for me... Dryad's going to be so upset at me," she sighed.
 
For a short while they rested, basking in affectionate company of each other; Sam truly felt drained after this experience. Not a surprise, considering just before he made love to Gnome he'd spent the entire winter grappling in sticky, hot sex with a starved Alraune, giving the flower woman massive amounts of semen to help fertilize her for her spring seed dispersal. But that was the farthest thing from Sam's mind at the moment; he was just happy to have Gnome back.

Sam looked up when he heard Gnome gasp; he saw the look of dismay and unease and stood up as well, dressing back in Vivian's robe before going out to see what she was so worried about. "I'm sure it's not that ba......Oh" Sam said, finally able to see what was exactly wrong; did they cause this? This looked like a scene out of a movie with giant earth worms; spiked pillars of earth pocked the ground, trees and their root systems were sticking up and out at funny angles, and large fissures spiderwebbed out from the now small hill Gnome's temporary home stood upon. The only thing that was unchanged was the river, but even that small boulder-like extensions sticking out from it.

But, Sam just smiled and added, "Well, guess we have something to practice on, don't we? Let's see if we can't put things back, hmm?" He figured this would give him some practice as well as potentially defuse any tension between Gnome and Dryad. Of course, Sam would apologize to Dryad; he WAS partially responsible after all.
 
"Well, lets see what we can do," Gnome shrugged, "Close your eyes and reach out with your soul... Let it flow throughout the land and feel it shape... When you can see it with your mind's eye, you are ready for the next step. Take your hand and spread it out over the land. Make it flat and smooth, pushing the rocks back into place and setting the trees upright. Don't worry about how long it takes for you to see this happen in your mind, just focus on the flow of the land... The land is like a ocean, and the ground is only water which flows from the sea. Finally, open your eyes, and tell me what you see."
 
"Alright" Sam said, closing his eyes and...trying....to reach out with his soul. He had no clue what that meant, but figured he it meant something about opening his mind. He held his hands out in front of him, thinking it might help; then again, that was probably mainstream culture overtaking his conscious. Was he supposed to feel something? He then felt a slight tingling, causing his brow to furrow before he experienced a sudden jump in sensory input; he gasped and fell to a knee, feeling like the breath just got ripped out of his body. It was obvious to him that he screwed up somehow; his limbs felt weak and he couldn't catch his breath.

After a few minutes he managed to calm down enough to say, "S...sorry, guess I let myself go a bit". Sam shakily stood back up; his mind just got assaulted by more data than human minds were initially capable of handling in one sitting, so it was no surprise his first attempt shook him up a little. He sat with his legs crossed on the hill of their current residence, trying to focus. "Breathe, Sam, breathe" he thought to himself; maybe he shouldn't try to fix EVERYTHING in one go. He decided to use a fairly common trick for those in his trade: Partition, solve and integrate. Take it one piece at a time for now.

Sam breathed deeply again, placing his hands with palms parallel to the ground at his sides and tried spreading his soul again; he could see what looked like a light-sketch of the terrain, bright yellow lines creating a very rough diagram of the land around him against a backdrop of pure blackness. Nowhere near a true elementalist's mastery level, but a somewhat decent start. "So far, so good" Sam thought mentally as the light rays traced every imperfection of the land. It was taking him much longer than most would have liked, but it was his first time doing this. However, a small insect buzzed near his ear and broke his concentration; he ended up worsening the problem. The fissures opened wider, trees were uprooted and the spires of stone and earth splintered and grew even more. Sam opened his eyes and saw the chaos he caused; he groaned, his face falling in disappointment.
 
"Don't worry about it," Gnome smiled, although anyone could tell that she was a bit dismayed concerning the additional choas he had created, "You did very well for a first try. I nearly thought you would do it all by yourself. You will get the hang of it eventually... Just relax and let me have a go at it, alright?"

She knelt down on the ground and pressed her palms down beside her, eyes gently closed as a low rumbling issued throughout the land. Her lips pressed together a bit more firmly and all at once Sam would feel themselves falling slowly back down, the hill that they were situated on melting back into a much more smooth, flat terrain. Little ripples in the earth with Gnome at their center, like drips into still water, flowed across the forest, and with them the forest fell back into place piece by piece. The trees were put back right-side up and properly rooted. The rocks sunk back into the earth, while the fissures fused back together and reformed themselves, the land smoothing back out into a form not unlike what it had looked like before.

Gnome slowly opened her eyes once again and stood up, brushing her sleeves off before turning toward Sam. She reached out and took his hand, "Come on, lets practice a few basic combat techniques, alright?"
 
Sam watched as Gnome appeared beside him, quickly getting to work after complimenting his attempt. Even if she said that, it did little to truly soothe Sam's somewhat bruised ego; he usually wasn't boastful, but he would be lying if he said he didn't possess a propensity to learn things at a much quicker rate than most people would normally. But it seemed that wasn't the case here, as the evidence of his failure was wiped clean from the earth. It wasn't that he was upset Gnome fixed it, it was that she made it look so easy. But of course, she was the Earth Elemental, so this was likely child's play for her, something Sam needed to remind himself of. She'd probably been doing this before he was even born.

Regardless, Sam cocked his head; combat techniques? Did she not see the havoc he caused just a few moments ago? "Um.....Gnome, not that I don't appreciate the vote of confidence, but don't you think combat is a bit.......out of my league? At the moment, at least?"
 
"Nonsense," Gnome smirked, "Remember when you were attacked by the Leviathan? Even without training you managed to use a combat technique, and it was rather effective as well. You shouldn't be so put off by failures. I was terrible when I first started, but Dryad as kind enough to fix all my mistakes as I made them. I'll do the same for you, even if it takes you five or six years to master basic control like it took me."

She raised her hand up over the earth in front of her, "Besides, judging from what happened when you tried to smooth things out, I think you might have some talent for destruction techniques."

Gnome quickly pulled her hand away, and just were her hand was moments before a three-foot rock spike lept out of the ground, "This is the most basic attack: earth spike. You have already used a slightly modified version of it, earth javalin, so this one should be a piece of cake for you. You can use earth spike at close range, but its true strength lies in its ability to be combined with other skills to make more powerful attacks."

She then allowed the spike to fall back into the earth before she raised her fist up abruptly. A line of pillars raised up in front of herself in time with her fist movement, "This is earth pillar. You can use it to make steps, or as a blunt attack at close or medium distances. Try both of them, and don't worry about hurting yourself since its pretty much impossible for you to be harmed by your own attack."
 
As Gnome pointed out the time when he fought against the Leviathan, he rubbed the back of his head sheepishly, his face flushing slightly as he recalled the event. He forgot about that, but still, that wasn't skill. He then thought to himself, "Even so, that was just a fluke; it had to be". It was clear that Sam didn't believe he could pull something off like that again, at least not without proper motivation. However, it would seem Gnome's confidence in him was unfaltering as she explained that he might possess a higher aptitude for destructive abilities. He found that statement highly ironic; as an engineer and businessman, he'd spent his whole life creating and building products and relationships. Now he was being taught how to destroy; it would be funny to him if it wasn't so pathetic.

Sam merely watched as Gnome demonstrated several techniques, trying to gather visual cues by watching her body; though that quickly served to distract as he got lost in the beauty of her curves. He shook his head, clearing those thoughts from his mind as she told him that Earth Spike would be simple, since he already executed Earth Javelin against the Leviathan. Weird, he didn't even know these techniques had names. But he continued watching as she then showed him the Earth Pillar technique. "I see" was the only response he could give before Gnome suggested he try them both, saying he was relatively safe from a backfire.

Sam nodded, attempting to concentrate; he would nail this, dammit. He closed his eyes, the yellow rays of light tracing themselves over the landscape, painting the picture he saw before, only there wasn't so many bumps. "Spike, form a spike" Sam told himself; he tried to remember the sensations he felt during the fight with the Leviathan. Fear, anger, the desire to protect, all of those came to mind. There had to be something that let the Earth energy flow through him. But then, Sam was hurtling into the obstacle that would inhibit his learning: over-analysis. And it wasn't even his fault; years of having to solve complicated physics and engineering dilemmas conditioned his mind to analyze everything, down to the last detail. What he needed to do was let the energy flow, instead of trying to force it. His brows furrowed, a light brown-green aura surrounding his form as he yanked his hand back, forming a pitiful thirteen-inch spike. His eyes opened, seeing the results of his effort and looking a bit disappointed. But what would happen next would surprise them both.

His hand clenched, the brown-green glow becoming bright green. "Damn it!" he shouted in frustration, instinctively punching the ground as his Earth energy skyrocketed momentarily; a ring-like spike wall sprang up around him as the ground shook, forming a very formidable defense barrier. Little did Sam know that he just performed another advanced technique: Earth Spike Wall. He blinked in confusion; for some reason, he felt energy coursing through him. He then looked down, the sigil on his right palm glowing brightly. "What the....." he said; he then remembered seeing this before, in the cave with the batwomen.
 
Gnome jumped back, both from surprise as well as to put some distance between herself and the rather intimidating-looking rink of spikes that he had just formed. She formed a pillar and lifted herself up until her head peeked out from over the ring of spikes. She wore a rather cheeky grin on her face as she looked over her pupil with unrestrained pride. Even without having to explain it to him, he had discovered one of the most important aspects of forming advanced earth techniques: aggression and raw will.

"Very good. I knew you had it in you, Sam," Gnome called out to him, "You seem to have a tendency to skip the basics and get right to the good stuff. That technique is known as Earth Spike Wall. Its a powerful ability that allows you to both attack and defend at the same time, and is very useful when surrounded by enemies. Only when your aggression and will has reached a certain point is it even possible to perform such a technique. I think you are starting to get the hang of it... Try to form another one, or you could try making an earth javelin again. What's important is to know which one you wish to perform at any given time so that it becomes practically second-nature."

The earth spirit yawned, "All this talking is getting me tired... Try working it out for yourself. Over half of the skills I use I invented myself, so I can't see why you can't do the same."
 
Sam looked over his hands with disbelief; was he really doing this? Well, Sam had grasped the concept, apparently: Let the energy flow, channel your aggression and will into the fists. He would find out later that there was more finesse to this power that he had yet to grasp, but at least he could perform some high-level (if somewhat crude) techniques. But hearing Gnome praise him made his face flush; it was here that he noticed something strange. He'd just punched the ground pretty hard, yet his hand didn't hurt one bit. He wondered if that was an advantage to using the Earth energy in this fashion.

But, he put that aside; feeling the pride accomplishment wash over him gave him a sense of renewed vitality, and he resolved to try and master the art of terrakinesis, as he just now dubbed it in his mind. The sigil on his right hand glowed brightly as he crossed his arms in front of him; Gnome's unintentional hint of a duality in purpose for this technique gave him an idea. The Earth energy gathered around him, covering his form in a bright green-brown fire; he then threw his arms out with a loud yell, releasing the energy in all directions. The spike wall shattered, sending the pointed pylons rocketing out in a deadly, omnidirectional missile barrage. Most embedded themselves in trees, but some flew out of sight. This was the Javelin Burst technique, the name he thought of himself, unsure of whether this was a previously-developed attack or not.

Sam fell to a knee; he'd used quite a bit of energy, unintentionally putting most of the stress on himself and leaving Gnome feeling relatively unaffected. Sweat dripped from his forehead, making his skin glisten; he knew he couldn't go all out like that, but he still lacked the fine control necessary to be a truly effective Earth elementalist. "Th..this is hard" Sam grunted out, hunching over on the ground as his Earth Javelins disintegrated, leaving volleyball-sized holes in them. And even if he did master the more destructive aspects of being Gnome's contractor, he felt he needed to learn how to finely control his powers.
 
Gnome watched with great interest as he performed his newly-discovered technique, carefully observing the flow of power through his body as he did so. Just as he was about to throw his arms out and release his stored raw energy, Gnome held her palm out toward Sam, a rock wall forming in front of herself as the earth javelins flew outward and embedded themselves in nearby trees, the ground, the wall itself, and flying off into the distance. She quickly sent to his side, feeling his fatigue that she knew should not have occurred unless he had consumed quite a lot of his own energy within a short time frame. Gnome placed her hand onto his shoulder and smiled, proud that he had made so much progress in a single training session while she channeled some of her own energy reserves into his body to help relieve his fatigue.

"Lets stop here today," she suggested, "We can work on some basic control exercise later if you want, but its not good to push yourself too hard all at once. It will come to you in time, I'm sure."

By then, Dryad had made her way over to the pair and looked about at the rather sizable holes Sam had just drilled into several of her trees with dismay, "I'm glad you two are getting along, but could you please stop tearing apart my forest then putting it back together again? This isn't a military test ground, after all."

"I'm sorry, I guess I just got a bit excited..." Gnome blushed, "I suppose we can practice more while on our way to Undie's spring."
 
"Y...yeah, good idea." Sam replied to her suggestion of stopping, still feeling a tad weak but not as bad as before; when Gnome finished channeling some of her energy into him, he replied, "Thanks". He stood up and rolled his shoulders to get some of the kinks out; as he looked around he sweat-dropped. Well, this was certain to earn a reprimand from Dryad, leaving holes all over her forest like this.

Sure enough, the tree spirit herself appeared in a large oak-like tree fairly close to them, chastising them for damaging her grove in such a fashion. "Sorry, Dryad; guess I got a bit carried away" Sam added, bowing his head politely. He then nodded to Gnome's suggestion of practicing along the route to Undine's spring; that would work fine. They needed to get there soon anyhow; he could only imagine that the Goddess was growing weaker as the Pharaoh's seal held her. He still needed to tell Gnome that as well.

"Here, let me try again to patch up the ground holes" Sam said; he wasn't sure if he could do anything about the trees, but he could make the landscape itself look less like Swiss cheese. He closed his eyes, using the knowledge that he had to will the Earth to move to his advantage. He imagined each of the holes closing up and surprisingly enough, they did. He tried to fix the trees, but found they were out of his domain. "Sorry again, Dryad" Sam added.
 
"Don't worry about it," Dryad sighed, "Just take care of Gnome for me this time. I'm sure you already know how attached she is to you already, so I won't tire you any longer with that rant, but remember... We are all counting on you, Sam. It may not seem that way to you, but there are many people who you have met and have yet to meet on your journey that will be willing to help you in any way they can. We all want this terrible oppression to end, so we can get back to our normal lives without having to worry about finding a suitable partner for our lives... Well, at least we won't have to worry about finding anyone at all for that role in the very least."

She bent forward and kissed him on the cheek, "Come back again once everything is over and done, and I'll be here waiting to give you a warm welcome back. I know you want to return to your fiance, but don't forget to say your farewells."

"And you, my darling Gnome," she bent down and rubbed her head affectionately, "Take care of Sam, alright? He's trusting in your strength, and I'm sure you won't disappointing him if you put your whole heart in it."

"I give my blessing to you both... Until we meet again, farewell," the tree spirit gave him a polite nod then pressed her back against one of the large oaks, her body sinking into the gnarled bark and vanishing from their sight. The trees let out a deep groan, and all at once they began to heal up the damage Sam had done, while a few burst forth with colorful blossoms as the two set off on their journey at last...

The forest soon gave way to the barren wilderness of the desert, although unlike last time they were travelling at night which was much more pleasant than enduring the intense heat of the sun over the bare dirt and sand. Gnome had already gone inside Sam at this point, and was taking a nap with Terra as he made his way north to the distant mountain range where they hoped to find Undie's spring. They would doubtless need the assistance of the locals to find her, but merely reaching the foot of the mountains themselves seemed like a daunting task to travel such a long distance on foot. As he walked, however, Gnome began to become uneasy again, similar to when they had met the two Lamia, although this time, as they reached a small outcropping, they would see that it was not merely two but an entire village of Lamia just behind the next ridge.

They didn't seem to notice their presence much at all, as they hurried about this way and that piling up what appeared to be fortifications of some sort. Lamia being active at night was no strange thing, as they were primarily nocturnal due to the intensity of the heat during the day. They were warm-blooded, unlike true snakes, and could get along quite well even in cold environments. Lamia of all shapes and sizes worked tirelessly, repairing damaged houses and reporting to an imposing-looking near the center of the group, who lay on a large green fern leaf beside a shallow bath. She had yellow scales and black skull-like patterns over her body, her long brown hair running down her back and shoulders and obscuring her breasts from being directly visible. She waved her hands at her attendants, giving them orders as she looked over the work, apparently acting as their leader or queen.
 
"I will; I won't let a single hair be moved out of place on Gnome's head" Sam replied; though if the conditions of the contract were anything to consider, then he might be moving quite a few hairs out of place. Sam doubted that all monster women wanted this to end; some seemed all too keen to keep the sex-crazed way of life alive out here. But he understood that a majority wanted this to stop, so he would do this. He would contract the four Elementals and put a stop to this Sleeping Succubus who apparently wasn't sleeping.

"Farewell to you as well; I'll be sure to come back" he replied, watching as she disappeared into the trees and repaired the damage he caused. He felt bad that he couldn't fix that even if he wanted to, but realized that it was a limitation on what he could affect as an Earth Elementalist. He then turned and made his way through the thick forest, heading north as he trudged through the thick undergrowth. He could detect other monster girls around him ever so faintly, but he snuck by them with relative ease; he couldn't afford to get side-tracked. He knew he had a long journey ahead of him, but he would do his best to accomplish it quickly.

Soon, the wide expanse of the desert made itself known to him once more; he still couldn't believe that he went around in a complete circle. But there was bound to be hiccups in the journey, so he would just deal with it. But at least the night air made this more bearable; soon enough he reached the abandoned town where he found the scientist's holodisk and reader. But he walked right past it, not really having the spare time for reminiscence. He then noticed Gnome becoming uneasy, her tension being translated into his tension. He was about to ask what was wrong when he reached a high vantage point and saw for himself.

Lamia, and lots of them. Sam froze; this wasn't good. But what astounded him was the variety in size, coloration and physical development. He wondered if Mist and her sister lived here; he never did learn the name of the other. He noticed that many of the huts had large holes in them and some were outright leveled; were they attacked? And if so, by what? "Crap, what should I do?" Sam pondered; part of him wanted to help them, the other wanted to leave them to their own devices since one, he didn't want to get jumped and two, he had another task to accomplish. But there was the possibility they might know where to find her, so it might be in his favor to aid them somehow.

After a few moments of sorting through his thoughts, Sam decided that there was a greater favor for both sides if he helped them; however, he would need to keep his guard up. "Gnome, I'm going to need you to watch my back, OK? Let's see if these women know anything about where to find Undine" he then said to her, making his way down the side of the small ravine to approach the village itself. He swallowed nervously, feeling a small amount of dread creep up on him as he drew closer.

He then made his way past the village border and made his way to the figure - which by her actions and composure he assumed was the main figure of power here - in the center of town; however, some of the Lamia instantly blocked his progress. Sam readied himself, but said, "Look, I'm not here to fight, I just need help finding Undine. I need to speak with the leader or person in charge of this village"
 
"Let him through... Even if he's lying, at least he's cute," the black-and-yellow Lamia waved her hand in the air, her guards slowly backing away from him and stood on either side. They had steel armor plating over their human upper-halves, and wielded short spears, yet the woman before him most certainly had a much greater and more imposing presence... And she wasn't even wielding any sort of weapon Sam could see.

"Be careful... She's much more powerful than she appears. She doesn't seem to want a direct confrontation, though, since I dont' sense any hostility in her," Gnome warned him, "But stay on your guard. Lamia are known to be highly intelligent and hard to read due to their high skill in deception."

"The person you would be looking for is none other than myself... How can I be of assistance?" she smiled, her words falling from her lips elegantly like honey fresh from the comb. She reached down and patted an open space on the leaf next to her, inviting him to sit with her.

"You see, I'm afraid I cannot spare much time with humans at the moment, however much I enjoy your company," the lamia continued whether or not he accepted her offer, "For a certain wild beast has been destroying our village and stealing our supplies for the last week now. Its all I can do to keep order and assign more lookouts so that we can at least mount some resistance to her when she makes her next appearance."
 
Sam looked on as the lead Lamia made her way forward, dismissing her guard in the process. She certainly looked like a leader; her serpent lower portion was longer than any of the others and black skull marks covered its length intermittently. Though she wasn't much different from the others when it came to her human upper body, except that she easily passed all Sam could see in breast size. But that wasn't what made her look like a leader; the way she carried herself, it was confident and unwavering in determination. Sam nodded curtly as Gnome warned him to remain on guard, noting the keen intellect and high deceptive capability.

When she patted the leaf next to her, Sam merely stood his ground, his eyes not leaving her for a second. He could feel others eying him, looking him over and whispering to each other; it wasn't everyday a human male willingly strolled into Lamia territory, after all. But at least none of them were trying to make a move on him, though that was probably due to their leader being present and watching him.

"I noticed" Sam replied to her statement of a beast destroying the village. "I'm looking for information about where to find Undine, and was wondering if you knew anything about where to find her" He then added, "If it helps, I can offer my services to deal with this creature in exchange" Even though he wasn't that experienced in terms of Earth Elemental energy use, he decided to be ambitious and use this as an opportunity to put the skills he did have to the test.
 
"You must be that human that I have heard so many humors about," the lamia smiled, giving him a quick glance of her teeth as she looked him over, "I must admit you are certainly more attractive than they said you were... I would gladly tell you anything you wish to know if you could rid us of this creature in exchange, and to that end I wish to provide you with whatever materials you may need to that end... However, I have one condition... If you fail to accomplish this task, you must stay with me, is that understood?"

She clearly knew that she held all the cards in this situation, knowing that he had little choice but to accept her offer. If he refused, she seemed more than willing to simply take what she desired whether he would or not. For the time being, she maintained a cool and calm demeanor, despite the fact that her words carried a veiled threat should be not perform up to her expectations.

"From as far as we can tell, she will be arriving either this morning or the day after... She desires nothing more than feeding, sleeping, fighting... and if available, mating," she continued, merely taking for granted that he would not refuse her, "You would be wise to remain alert at all times. She is as strong as thirty men, and could easily overwhelm an army of three hundred of my soldiers."
 
Sam was initially pleased that she would be willing to help him; however, he instantly froze in surprise when she imposed her condition on him. He would have to stay with her if he failed? What the hell kind of deal was that? He could only listen as she explained the characteristics of this particular beast. But he fumed the whole time; if it was possible, his ears would be blowing steam from his thrumming outrage. Even if she was powerful, where did she get off acting all high and mighty?

When she finished, Sam decided to fight for a change in the deal, "Now wait a minute, what the hell kind of condition is that? I have to stay with you if I fail to bring down the beast? First off, how does that even make any sense? What if I fail and die? Second, even if I did live, wouldn't she just take me for herself? And even if she didn't, what makes you think I would want to stay here? How can you expect me to just bend to a whim like that?" Unfortunately, Sam was privy only to the name of Undine's location: the Cleansing Embrace. And Poseidon's map only revealed the location of her sister, not Undine's spring. So he knew she held all the cards, but he wouldn't let her know that; he simply crossed his arms and added, "I could just leave right now and let this beast ransack your village over and over again"
 
"Oh, she doesn't kill anyone," the Lamia leader replied with a shrug, "Although I suppose that there is a possibility that she might take you for her mate, I doubt you will find it hard to escape from her. You see, she is a monster known as a Minotaurus. Although they are quite violent, they never kill their mates even if they resist their approaches. They often fall asleep afterward, and they are not exactly intelligent enough to make sure their captive will not escape."

"How would I know that you would agree to willingly assist us in either case? I have a feeling that I might be able to... Persuade you," she snapped her finger and two of her attendants nodded, slithering off to a small building to her right in front of which were posted two more guards. The attendants entered and returned a short while later with two other adult lamia and five smaller young Lamia... The two older ones seemed vaguely familiar.

"So, we meet again, love," the older Lamia smiled wearily, her rather large breasts and easygoing demeanor almost instantly registering in Sam's mind no doubt. Her younger sister, whose name was Mist, following soon after her. The older Lamia, named Flo as it turned out, was accompanied by three smaller Lamia who all bore a striking resemblance to their mother. Mist seemed to have mellowed out significantly, and behind her stood her two daughters.

"I have agreed to take them in due to their young needing proper shelter," the Lamia leader explained, "But if these attacks continue, they will probably have to leave for their own sake. A destroyed village with no food is hardly a place for children."
 
Sam really didn't like the way she paused and said 'Persuade you'; he was thinking that she might try to seduce him, as was the common tactic he'd seen thus far. However, what happened next would floor him, not because of what it was so much, but the fact that it was there in general.

"Son of a......." Sam growled mentally as Mist and Flo, along with their young, were presented to him; his hands clenched at his own incompetence. Of course they would bear his children; all of the monsters here were capable of breeding with humans. But still, for her to use them as leverage........This 'Minotaurus' must be quite the problem. But at least the leader let them stay in order to protect the children. She had a point; these attacks could not continue, and now that Sam had a real reason, he would most certainly do it. He noticed that Mist seemed to have matured in both body and spirit, as she didn't seem quite so.....'volatile', compared to the last time they met.

"It would seem that way" Sam replied to Flo; he then turned to Mist and bade her hello as well. Three of his daughters possessed his eyes: gold irises, but with larger degrees of cobalt speckling than his own. He then turned back to the leader, saying "Well, looks like my hands are tied, then; if these are my children, then as a father it is my duty to protect them however I can." Everyone would feel his confidence and self-assurance rising as he then added, "The next time the Minotaurus attacks will be her last, I can promise you that. If there's one thing I can do for my children and lovers, it's give them a stable home".
 
"I knew you would be more cooperative once you saw them," the leader Lamia smiled, evidently quite pleased with his declaration, "If you keep up your end of the deal, I swear that I will uphold mine as well."

"Father?" one of Flo's children repeated, "You mean that man is our father?" Their mother gathered her children up into her arms and kissed them on their cheeks and foreheads before replying in the affirmative. They gazed at him with added curiosity, as if wondering how they should behave toward him.

Mist, meanwhile meekly approached him and smiled, "Um if you don't have anywhere to stay for the night you could stay with us, Flo and I that is, if you like."
 
"Not like I have a choice" Sam added mentally, feeling a bit angry with the Lamia leader. Then again, he could blame no one but himself; still, that did little to console him. "I'm going to hold you to that" Sam then replied verbally before his attention was ripped away by one of his daughters. Sam's eyes roamed over each of his children; it wasn't long before a gentle smile broke across his face. They were beautiful.

When Mist spoke, Sam turned to look at her as she offered him a place to stay. It would be good for him to do that; it had been some time since he'd seen them and he would like to know what they've been up to. Sam nodded, accepting the offer, but then turned to look back at the leader, his gaze one of appreciable intensity, "When I finish dealing with the Minotaurus, I would like for us to have a little talk, Miss......." he then trailed off, letting her fill in the blank if she so desired.
 
"I wouldn't have it any other way," the leader lamia seemed pleased with the opportunity to butt heads and wills with someone who would actually put up much of a fight. Being a rather competitive person by nature, she was weary with the constant coddling of her subjects. This human was something new, interesting... Exotic in his own way. The humans that she had met (and mated with) in the past had been largely spineless, cowering in fear at her mere presence and giving in to her every wish. She wanted something more, someone who would struggle against her. It made the hunt that much more interesting, and the same applied to Sam as well.

The two lamia sister, however, had no thoughts of either competition or manipulation on their minds. The children gathered around him and took hold of his fingers in their small hands, leading him back toward the guarded hut where the group apparently lived. As soon as they entered, it was clear that the upper portion of the hut was actually just the entryway, as the actual house was built underground. There were several tunnels which served as short halls leading to two separate bedroom chambers (one for each sister and their children), a general living area, and a small eating and storage room. they guided him into the general living area, as it was the only one that all of them could fit into with a reasonable amount of comfort.

The two sisters sat on opposite sides of the room from each other, their children coiling up on top of them as they lounged much like a family dogpile of some sort. There was plenty of room between them for Sam to take a seat where he liked before they sparked up some conversation concerning their adventures since they last parted.

"So, do you still have that darling little earth spirit with you?" Flo spoke up first, "I'm sure the children would like to meet her as well."
 
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