At the Mercy of the Beast (SuperSrs/MajorMario)

[SuperSrs]

The cave bore with it a peculiar dampness, the humid causing goosebumps to sprout upon Gwen’s arms as she slowly trudged through the knee-deep water. A faint grimace rested upon chapped lips, gray eyes darting to and fro as they did their best to pierce the near-suffocating darkness. In one, gauntleted, hand the young woman grasped tightly a lantern. Yet even that steady light would only do so much at granting her steady passage. Her other hand gripping tightly at the hilt of her blade she softly chewed her lip as the muscles in her body grew ever tenser. The villagers had told her that the cave network that the monster called home was a maze, and yet even still the young knight find herself taken aback. It felt as though she’d been wandering for hours now and even still, Gwen Astoria found herself taking in new sights. Each time it felt as though she were nearing the center she’d find herself beset by yet another series of twisting tunnels.


Am I...truly prepared for this?


A faint sight slipped from her lips as she to a steady stop, pressing her back up against a wall slick with water. Two months she’d been on this beast’s trail, the journey from the capital taking up most of that time. From there it’d been a matter of going to and fro between the local coastal villages, picking up whatever tidbits that she could about the beastie. Accounts of the creature were few and far between, the countless tales spinning a bizarre yarn. Some claimed it to be a massive dragon, others a beautiful siren who could kill with a mere kiss. There was precious little consistency between each description, and half-the-time Gwen was half-convinced that the supposed monster sightings were all just some elaborate jest. Yet the missing people, and terrified looks she’d seen, were enough to make her believe it all. It might not have been a ferocious dragon or beautiful siren, but there was something lurking within these caves. And Gwen meant to put an end to it. Her mentors would’ve scolded the young woman for attack with so little information, and yet desperation overcame common sense.


This was her chance. This was how she was going to earn the admiration, the fame, that Gwen knew that she so richly deserved.


Tired limbs rested she pushed herself off the wall, armor rustling slightly as she began to trudge through the water with renewed vigor. Hand still ready to draw her blade the passage would slowly begin to open up, and Gwen would soon find herself arriving on the edge of an open chamber. The ground dipped a bit, the water growing deep enough to where it seemed to skirt her waist. The faint sound of shuffling at the far end of the chamber drew Gwen’s attention, and with a hint of hesitance the knight would take a step forward.


“Show yourself.” The hiss of metal echoed over the swishing of water as she drew her blade, lantern light bouncing off fine steel. “You’ve nowhere else to run, beast. By order of the Sol Abbey, your life is now forfeit.”

 

[Major Mario]

This cave was a maze that very few could travel through and not wind up getting lost in. The entrance to the cave and the many meters beyond it were natural and thus easy to understand, but once water was thrown into the picture it didn't take a genius to realize that everything beyond had been carved out. Whether by man or monster, the tunnels, dark, dank and damp with moisture and odd fumes, ran deep into the earth in so many directions, or at least that was what it seemed. In reality there had been a seal placed to keep wanderers at bay- a seal that could be removed or temporarily disabled by any novice magician. But for Gwen, the plucky knight, the seal was bypassed not by cunning, skill or magical ability but by sheer tenacity as the 'endless tunnels' had run out of dips, curves and turns to convince Gwen to flee. If she wanted to head in, she would face no opposition up to the point where she arrived in the central chamber.

The main chamber of this cave complex was decorated with leafy ferns and other full plants while mushrooms and biolumenescent ivy strands crept up the rock walls. Sparks of life, either fish or the beast itself, flickered deep in the water. It was unknown just how deep the water was in this chamber; losing one's footing in this place could spell a knight's doom by drowning. Fortunately for Gwen there seemed to be a raised portion of rock that formed a path right down the center of the chamber to the opposite end. Thanks to natural- or unnatural- lighting the chamber was illuminated just enough so Gwen could make out a vague figure at the opposite end of the chamber. Twisting shapes, churning and pulsing, begged to be brought into the light, though perhaps it would be for the better if they were never gazed upon.

Either way, when Gwen made herself known with sword at the ready and a lantern to guide her path, she would be greeted not with the mocking tone of her quarry but with a frightened gasp and whimper. Monsters didn't react like that; supposedly. A timid voice called out to Gwen from the opposite end.

"Hello? Hello?!"

On closer inspection, there appeared a figure strung up against the far wall. A young woman of sorts, dirty, wet and in the nude with her full breasts heaving with each ragged, frightened breath. Her legs were wrapped up in a coil of thick green tentacles while her arms were held above her head by another, smaller set of tendrils as if she was a prisoner. As she began to squirm, perhaps given hope at the sight of Gwen, the tentacles pulsed and tightened their hold on her. These boneless limbs seemed to be independent of any monster as they came from two pod-like capsules directly above the woman and beneath her, to which she was standing within one as if it were a fourth of a barrel. Unintenlligent and unaware of anything other than the prey ensnared within its combined grasp, the two groups of tentacles ignored Gwen completely.

"Please, help me," the woman pleaded. She squirmed against her bindings then shot a pained grimace towards the walls. "Quickly, please, before it returns!"

 

[SuperSrs]

For a brief moment the glimpse of a shadowy figure made Gwen hesitate, confusion showing itself in her gaze as she narrowed her eyes. A...person? Slowly she'd trudge through the water a few steps more, grip upon her blade tightening all the more as she raised her lantern. The darkness would ebb away and, heart skipping a beat, the young knight would find her initial suspicions proven correct. Bound by ghastly green tendrils was a woman who couldn't be that much younger than Gwen herself. Beauty marred by dirt and grime, features twisted into pure terror, the prideful ambition that'd been burning in Gwen's chest would quench for a brief moment. Expression softening she'd lower her blade and, with a glance to and fro, would quickly approach the bound woman.

"Are you alright?" A silly question, and yet it was the first one that rose to her lips. She'd been told that the beast had been claiming innocents and yet Gwen had always assumed it'd been for the sake of devouring them. But this...? Her eyes traveled up and down the imprisoned woman, her dire state serving to kindle the rage Gwen felt slowly burning within. What in the hell was going on?

"Don't worry. I'll get you down." She moved quickly, fastening the lantern to her belt before priming her blade. It would take but a few quick strikes. The first set that held her arms would wither and die as her blade crashed through them, the second group soon follow set. Within mere moments the bound woman would find herself freed, and as she toppled forward the knight would quickly move to catch her with her free arm.

"Shh, shh. It's okay." Gwen held her tight, whispering soothingly into her ear. "You're safe now. I've got you."

 

[Major Mario]

The blonde woman let out a shriek of terror when Gwen struck near her. The tentacles holding her arms, more accurately her wrists as if she were hanging encased in shackles, were swiftly taken care of. It was like swiping an enchanted greatsword through thin vines; child's play. This couldn't be said for the second group of constricting tendrils. Made of sturdier stuff, the tentacles holding the woman hostage by her legs would take a few whacks before falling apart. There was some futile resistance, but for Gwen she would have fought mad cows with more vigour than what these boneless limbs had to show. In due time the busty captive was freed, and she seemed ever so grateful.

"Thank you, thank you! I was so worried..." Well yes, being caught up between two tentacle pods like a stuck pig about to be put on the flame would worry anybody. The victorious atmosphere and the woman's pitiful, grateful expression would soon fade as the sounds of churning waters and coiling tentacles echoed throughout the chamber. "...Worried that no-one would fall for this. But you proved me wrong."

Sweet, innocent blue eyes shifted to a menacing red color as the woman's fearful frown turned into an impish grin. With how close she was to Gwen, complete with full breasts shoved tight against the knight's chest, the woman would reach out and grapple Gwen's sword arm with a surprisingly strong and dexterous hand of her own. The way the woman's limbs bent was disturbingly unnatural, yet as of the moment only three were in play- two arms and one leg that pulsated before deforming into cream-colored tentacles, and even then, that fetching color was soon to dissolve into a sickly green just the same as the tentacles that had held this 'woman' before. Even more damning, the 'woman's' other leg wasn't a leg at all; merely a disguised tentacle to keep the body attached to the pod beneath.

"You don't have me," the deforming woman giggled. Though many of her features dissolved into writhing tendrils upon Gwen's body, the head and torso and all the features that laid upon those parts remained mostly unchanged. "No, I have you, knight."

The knight was in a bad spot. Even if she managed to get her sword arm freed, there was no telling what effect her weapon would have on this monster. Gwen could try thrashing about, but even that seemed like a horrible idea if she somehow lost her footing. In the corner of her eye she would be able to see other tentacles churning through the water like aquatic snakes skimming in for the kill.