Zentou

It’ll get worked on eventually. But due to me changing my focus to other non-omo projects and how I would say, “getting high on my own supply” with this story, it’s currently isn’t super high priority. I plan to release one more chapter as soon as it’s done then finish the last half of story all at once and release the chapters on a drip feed.

All will be revealed in due time, good sir. Im also gonna start responding to comments because i want this thread to go to the second page already, scrolling with chapters this long is becoming a hassle.

Chapter 5: Mi Casa, Su Casa “Could you stop movin’ around so much?” asked Steve. “It’s gettin kinda hard to keep you balanced.” Steve and the girls had arrived in the streets of Garmberland’s outer residential district. “I’m sorry!” said Faminelli, wriggling around on Steve’s arm with both arms on her crotch. “It’s gotten so bad that I can’t stop!” “You’re a big strong man, aren’t you?” teased Dagalin, with one leg crossed over the other and slightly bouncing. “I’m sure a couple of women clamping down on your arms won’t hurt you too badly.” “It’s about you guys falling off more than it is about my discomfort.” said Steve, unamused. “Dagalin! What am I gonna do?” asked Faminelli. Dagalin wrapped her arm around Faminelli. “Just try and hang in there. Besides, you’re not the only girl who needs to go.” Dagalin then gave a cheeky glance at Meliay on the other side of Steve. Meliay gasped slightly and looked away. “Y-You’re crazy. As if I’d be so irresponsible.” As she said this, she grip her arms tightly, twisted around slightly, and pressed her legs together tightly. “At least you guys won’t die if you guys go.” said Tyria, enjoying the scenery they were passing by without a care in the world. “Just the knowledge that you will do quite possibly one of most embarrassing things in front of all the people you know.” “Tyria! You’re not helping!” said Meliay with a slight growl. Tyria only chuckled in response. Lance, who was running slightly behind them, groaned loudly. “My god! How long… are we gonna keep running?! Like… do we even know where we’re going?” Faminelli’s eyes then widened. “STOP!” she yelled while holding onto Steve’s head. Steve then slid to a halt. All the girls yelled as they tried to hold on. Dagalin hung upside down from Steve’s forearm, wrapping her arms and legs around it. Meliay used her levitation magic to hold herself in place. And Tyria gasped as she fully fell off, only for Lance to swoop in and catch her in a princess carry. “I saved you.” he said with that stupid smile Tyria knew so well. Tyria then gave him a playful slap in the face. “My hero.” Lance blushed slightly as the two became entranced by each other’s eyes. Meliay looked at them wistfully, choosing to break up the moment by clearing her throat loudly. The two snapped out of it and Lance put Tyria on her feet. “So why did we stop?” she asked. Faminelli pointed to the street they were just about to cross. “We were just about to pass the market street. That place is absolutely packed with people at this hour.” “And that’s a problem, why?” asked Steve, giving Faminelli a confused look. “Look at me!” shouted Faminelli, having to scrunch up her body to hold back a wave of desperation. “I can’t go into a crowd like that while having to do this!” “Then just try and keep your composure.” said Dagalin, “I recognize this street. There’s a friend of mine’s house close by, I think we can get there before we can reach the Inn’s in the center of the city.” “I-I’ll try.” Faminelli slowly removed her hands from her crotch and loosened up her legs. Almost immediately, she felt her control slip. She quickly reapplied her hands on her crotch and squirmed like her life depended on it. The pressure was just on the tip of her pee hole. Then with a squeal, pee spurted out, dampening her panties slightly and making her gasp. “No! Nope! I absolutely cannot! I have to hold it with my hands!” Eventually, the pressure subsided and made its way back up into Faminelli’s bladder. The warm wet feeling in her crotch though made her uncomfortable. “Then let’s hurry up! Their house is just this way!” said Dagalin, pointing the way. “I’d love to, but I’m not exactly one for plowing through crowds.” said Steve. Meliay then hopped off Steve’s arm and extended her staff. “Then we can use my magic to fly there.” she said, tightly crossing her legs from the pressure that built up from landing. “And make us the main attraction! Absolutely not!” said Faminelli. “And sorry to burst your bubble,” said Tyria, “But I don’t think you could carry this much weight. All of them together would probably weigh a literal ton! Could you really carry us that far?” Meliay planted the end of her staff on the ground and squirmed slightly. “I guess not.” “Then we’ll do the only sensible thing, we’ll just have to walk.” said Steve. “Our lower profile will make us less likely to be focused on while we still move at a reasonable pace.” “Says the 7 foot tall man!” said Faminelli, still nervous. “We’re out of options you want to use.” said Steve. He set her down on the ground and bent down to her level. “I assure you that the average person is a master at minding their own business. You live in a big city, yeah? Surely you’ve seen your fair share of weird things and not cared.” Faminelli pondered for a bit and nodded. But an idea came to her mind. She snapped her fingers and her jacket threads immediately burst and spooled around her body, tightening up until she was practically mummified by jean threads. “There! Now I’m anonymous! I think I’ll feel a little better this way.” “Is that why you added a strip of tight cloth to help you hold it?” asked Dagalin, pointing to the strap that way slightly imprinted under the threads. It wrapped around her shoulders and crotch tightly. Faminelli stamped her foot in frustration. “Dagalin, please don’t make it worse!” “Alright, let’s go.” said Steve. “I’ll take the front, the girls will follow behind, and Lance, you take up the rear.” “Yes sir!” Lance said instinctively. Meliay sighed. “It’s not like a military operation, Lance. Don’t give him the satisfaction.” “He’s only trying to help.” said Lance. Meliay noticed that she may have been slipping again and she took a deep breath. “Fine.” The group got in formation and began to snake their way through the dense crowd. Faminelli stood as close behind Steve as she could, hoping that his huge stature would cover her from prying eyes. Dagalin followed behind her, giving directions to the rest of the group while also having to hold her hands near her side as she was coming close to her limit. Meliay came next, gripping her staff tight as she stubbornly hid how badly she needed to go. She could feel her bladder was now as hard as a rock and was pushing quite hard on her pee hole. Tyria and Lance took the back, each somewhat distracted by each of the girls' ways of holding. Secretly however, Faminelli gave a quiet gasp and felt a tiny drip of pee escape her urethra. She silently begged the group to hurry. --- Dagalin walked up the steps of a poorly kept front yard sidewalk. Blades of grass tickled the other girls' ankles, making them kick it away thinking they were bugs. Dagalin then went up to the door and knocked in a specific way, clearly being some kind of code. But for a while, nothing happened. “Barrek! It’s me! I’m… I’m back.” shouted Dagalin. Another pause of nothing. Dagalin heard the slight whimpers of Faminelli dancing behind her. Thinking about it made her own desperation rise a bit. She held her own crotch slightly with her left hand. “It’s urgent!” Another moment of silence. “I don’t think they’re home, Dagalin.” said Tyria. “No! No no, please! We would’ve wasted so much time!” said Faminelli under her breath. “No worries!” said Dagalin. She shifted over and raised an upside down flower pot, revealing a key. “I just so happen to have a spare key.” She put it in the door knob and quickly opened it, letting herself in. Everyone else quickly followed, but Meliay stopped Steve outside the door. “Look, I guess I can thank you for helping us or whatever.” said Meliay, looking away. “Oh? Was that almost a thanks?” asked Steve. “Augh! Don’t get used to it! You don’t have to help us anymore so… let us deal with our own problems, okay?” Meliay then shut the door in his face. “But… I want to help anyway.” he said, slightly dejected. When Meliay entered the house, it wasn’t very impressive. It was dark with dirty shades drawn, the kitchen counter was full of empty instant meals and beer bottles, and the living room had the bed in its center pointing at a magic pane, with the bed un-made of course. “Your friend is kind of a slob.” said Meliay. Dagalin then sweeped the trash on the kitchen counter into a trash can over the side, missing half of it in the process. “Yeah, he kinda gets like this when I don’t check on him from time to time. I can’t leave him alone for too long, you know?” “Guys! Please! I-I need a bathroom!” said Faminelli, desperately holding her crotch and shivering in place. Even her tail was holding on top of her hands. And thought the light was dark, the girls could see that a slight wet patch had appeared on her shorts. She doubled down and held even harder, until even her bones started to ache. “Now would be good!” “Yeah, imma sit this one out.” said Lance to Tyria, going over to the living room and fiddling with the magic pane. “Oh! Um, the first door on the right down the hall!” said Dagalin. “T-Thank you!” said Faminelli. But before she could move, Dagalin hopped over the kitchen counter and got in her way. “But I get to go first! I’ve been needing to go pretty badly too! So I hope you don’t mind, Elli.” Dagalin said with a smile. “But, Dagalin!” said Faminelli with a slight squeal. “Like hell!” said Meliay, walking up beside Faminelli. “She’s about to lose it! Let her go first!” “Are you sure you aren’t in the same boat, Meli?” asked Dagalin. “Drinking both the lifewater and the Varnspydir infused potion has to have left you in quite the predicament.” “I’m fine!” said Meliay, while also crossing her legs as subtly as she could. “Uh huh.” said Dagalin, clearly not believing her. “Guys! Please! Stop arguing!” said Faminelli, twisting her body in desperation. “I don’t care anymore! All this fighting is wasting time! Something of which I don’t have very much of!” “Why does that sound like my line?” asked Tyria, scrolling through the channels on the magic pane with Lance on the bed. “As your friend, I’ll let you go first. But do please hurry up! I’m barely hanging on as it is!” said Faminelli, bending over as her wet patch re-glistened with a new spurt of pee. “Right! I’ll go as fast as I can!” said Dagaling, quickly swinging into the bathroom and shutting the door with a click of the lock. Faminelli and Meliay both stood in a line beside the door. “You’re too nice for your own good, you know that?” said Meliay. “Better than being mean, isn’t it?” asked Faminelli. Meliay sighed and looked away. --- Dagalin walked across the bathroom towards the toilet. “My beloved.” she said while holding her hands out over the toilet. She danced slightly as she tried to reach around her back to unzip her suit. But as soon as she tugged on the zipper, it pulled off the suit with a tiny tink. Dagalin gasped and held the zipper to look at. She saw chew marks and bits of teeth. “Those assholes!” she said. “The stars ate my zipper!” She tossed the broken zipper away and tried to pull her suit apart. But it stuck like glue, still being quite damp from the lifewater veins. She twisted around and tugged as best as she could, trying desperately to get her suit off. --- Meliay closed her eyes and concentrated, trying to think of anything to get her mind off her desperation. But no matter how much she tried, it always looped back around to her need to pee. Eventually, the thought of needing to pee and actually needing to pee seemingly stacked upon each other and sent a huge wave of desperation through her body. Her expression stiffened as she willed her pee holding muscles to hold harder. But the pressure built higher and higher. She tried as hard as she could, but the pee was just about to burst out. She gasped as she finally had no choice but to hold her crotch with her hands. “Fuck! No!” she said to herself, holding as hard as she could. But she had waited too long. Some pee hand already made its way past her muscles and was squeezed out into her panties. “Shit!” she gasped. Her skirt received a small coin-sized wet spot for her stubbornness. She twisted her body, crossed her legs, pressed on her crotch like a vice, all in an effort to stem the wave. But it wouldn’t go away. This new wave had become her new desperation level. There was no going back. “Dagalin! Ah! Please hurry!” said Faminelli. She had her legs flat against the wall, crossed tightly. She grit her teeth as she bent over rapidly, pressing into her crotch as hard as she could. Despite this extraneous effort, almost half of her shorts were now wet and the first beads of pee began to snake their way down her upper inner thighs. Suddenly, Dagalin opened the door and swung out. “Sorry to keep you waiting guys!” she said with a strained smile. “But my zipper broke off and now I can’t pee. I’m gonna go ask Tyria for help, you guys go on ahead.” “Finally!” Faminelli said with a slight whimper. She hobbled inside the bathroom, a couple new beads of pee streamed down to her middle thighs in the process. When she stood in front of the toilet, she turned around and tried to unbutton her shorts, but gasped when she saw Meliay close the door behind them. “Meliay! What are you doing in here?!” “In all honesty, I’m about to lose it too!” said Meliay with a strained voice. “I’m gonna be right here until you’re finished, then we’ll switch.” “No! I can’t pee in front of someone else!” said Faminelli. “Are you sure you can afford to say that?”asked Meliay. As if on cue, Faminelli’s shorts glistened with even more pee, the first drops finally going straight through them and landing on the tile floor. “Ah! Fine, okay!” Faminelli pointed to the bathtub. “Stand there, don’t look at me, don’t hear me, don’t even imagine me!” Meliay quickly hopped in the bathtub and faced the wall. “Got it! Just hurry!” Faminelli then closed the shower curtain behind her. Meliay waited patiently behind the curtain. She danced and held as hard as she could. She could hear the strained grunts and moans Faminelli was making behind the curtain, silently apologizing as she couldn’t use her hands to block her ears. But the strange part was that this was starting to go on for a while. She listened to Faminelli fumble around for what felt like 30 seconds, then a minute, then 2 minutes. A wave of desperation came, making Meliay have to hold even harder. But it was starting to become impossible to hold it all inside as another spurt made its way out quite easily, pattering on the ceramic floor of the bathtub. Every second was starting to count and Faminelli was taking her sweet time. What was she doing? “Faminelli? Are you okay?” Meliay asked. “Meliay!” said Faminelli, with her voice as high as a balloon. “I can’t get them off! My shorts are too tight! Please! I need your help!” “Okay! I’m coming!” Meliay shoved the curtain to the side and hopped over to Faminelli. Her shorts were soaked now and a puddle had formed at her feet that was the size of a small plate. “The button, right?” “Yes! Please hurry!” said Faminelli. Meliay immediately got to work but immediately noticed something strange. The button on her shorts had so much tension on it, it would’ve been a miracle if she got them on by herself. “How did you put these on?!” asked Meliay, still fiddling with the button. “It’s almost like I’m trying to pull apart steel!” “They weren’t that hard to put on when I put them on a couple days ago!” said Faminelli, trying to shut out another spurt. “And I know I didn’t gain weight! I have a strict dietary regimen!” Meliay looked closer at the problem. She then gasped as it looked like Faminelli’s abdomen was about to burst out of the shorts itself. She went over to touch it. But without even barely running her fingers over it, Faminelli yelped and backed away. A huge gush of pee came out of her shorts and splattered on the floor. “Please! Don’t touch there!” Meliay knew immediately what the problem was, even with the slight touch. Her abdomen was rock hard, almost like touching a slime monster. “It’s your bladder, Faminelli! You held it for so long that it grew so big that you can’t take your shorts off anymore!” “What?! No! Please! I’m so close!” said Faminelli, tears forming in her eyes from the sheer strain. “Listen! The only way for this to work is to suck in your stomach as much as you can! Then in that time, I’ll unbutton the shorts!” “I can’t!” said Faminelli, “If I do, I’ll pee!” “Well it's pee now or pee later, we don’t have many options right now!” said Meliay. She crouched down and held her hands at the ready over the shorts button. “Are you ready?” Faminelli, with little choice in her panicked mind, nodded. “In 3, 2, 1, go!” Faminelli sucked in her stomach as much as she could. But as she did so, Meliay felt a wave of desperation at the absolute worst time. “Shit!” she said and a jet of pee immediately shot through her panties onto the floor. She quickly clamped it up, but she could feel the rest of the stream ready to leak through. She took a deep breath and worked as fast as she could. With Faminelli’s stomach sucked in, it was easy to unbutton her shorts now, doing so in a swift motion. But it was quicker than Meliay anticipated and she momentarily lost her balance, leaking another jet onto the floor. She stood up and danced around with both hands on her crotch. “Alright! Now hurry!” Faminelli tried to get her shorts off, but now there was another problem. The wet fabric was getting stuck on her skin. It was impossible for her to slide them down with only one hand and the other holding her crotch. Meliay watched as she prayed that Faminelli would make it in time. But her hope soon faded as another spurt gushed through her fingers, then another, and another. They were happening so frequently. No matter how hard Meliay tried, she couldn’t stop them! That was when she then felt the big one coming. The stream that would break all her defenses and leave her utterly powerless. Still in vain, she held, she danced, she even bent her body at various different angles. Nothing even slowed down the oncoming disaster. “S-Sorry Faminelli! I-I just can’t hold it anymore!” said Meliay. She quickly hopped into the bathtub, crouched down, slid her panties over to the side, and peed a torrential jet of pee against the wall of the tub. It was so loud that it was seemingly rattling the air around them. Faminelli was forced to hold with both hands as the sound made her spurt into her shorts again, splattering drops into her puddle, now the size of a large dinner plate. In a last bid, she grabbed the sides of her shorts and pushed down with her might. The shorts scrunched up, just getting to her lower-mid thigh. But that was good enough for her. Her pee hole burst, spraying everything it had into her blue, green, and black striped panties, showering down on the floor and her shorts for a split second before faminelli threw herself on the toilet. Meliay gave a huge sigh of relief. She was actually quite surprised, she kept peeing at full power for what felt like a whole minute and a half before it petered out. As she peed, she looked at Faminelli, her eyes squeezed shut as she sobbed in a high pitched voice. Her face was as red as a tomato as her pee splashed loudly into the toilet below. Eventually, both of their streams died down to nothing more than droplets. Both of them breathed heavily, absolutely exhausted from the amount of effort they had to put in in order to make it as far as they did. Meliay leaned back and sat down on the far end of the tub, as far from the pee as she could. “Are you okay?” she asked. Feminelli gave another sob. “I couldn’t even say I made it. I just minimized the damage. Look at me, a grown woman, peeing her pants like a child! I’m such an embarrassment.” Meliay put her painties back on and walked over to her. “Faminelli. It's going to be okay. Any adult would pee themselves if they held it as long as we did. This was just a bad circumstance.” Faminelli sniffled, tears running down her eyes. “But-” Meliay reached in, hugging Faminelli warmly. “I was a victim too, you weren’t alone. But you know what we’re gonna do?” “What?” “We’re gonna move on. This is just a simple accident in the very bumpy road called life. We’ll grow, we’ll learn, we’ll be better at this sort of thing.” Meliay said with a smile. Faminelli hugged back. “Thank you, Meliay! You’re not as mean as I thought you were.” Meliay stood back up. “Hey, I’m a pretty nice girl once you get to know me.” Faminelli chuckled. “I bet.” She then fully took off her shorts as well as her panties, exposing her bare lips and making Meliay blush. Turns out the carpet does match the drapes. “Whoa! Are you okay with that?” asked Meliay, shielding one on her eyes with her hand. “I know you are a bit more squeamish than the rest of us.” “Dagalin said that this was just locker room stuff. If I’m gonna be better, I’ll have to get over my uncomfortable nature in such settings. Plus, if I’m gonna travel with Dagalin, I imagine we’ll be doing this a lot.” said Faminelli. “For sure.” said Meliay, putting down her hand. “We even took a shower together under a waterfall in a cave. It was actually so pretty.” “You did! That sounds so cool! You gotta show me some time!” said Faminelli excitedly. “I will! If you’re gonna be traveling with us, then I guess you’re my friend.” said Meliay with a smile. “My friend?!” asked Faminelli, “For real?” “For real, for real.” said Meliay. Faminelli threw her hands up in the air in celebration. “Yayyy! That officially makes you the second friend I've ever officially made!” “Aw thanks.” said Meliay, scratching the back of her head. She then pointed to Faminelli’s legs. “On another topic, do you happen to have spare clothes on you?” Faminelli nervously shifted back and forth. “No, not anymore. We jumped into the lifewater vein before we got my stuff.” “Oh… sorry for sealing the entrance before you could go get them.” said Meliay, apologetically. “No! It’s fine! It only just occurred to me right now so I would’ve forgotten about them either way. On a more pressing note, I need to figure out how to get dry.” said Faminelli, flicking her hands on the ground. The tiny droplets that came off sent ripples through the puddle on the ground. The two of them then looked at the towel rack. “And there’s only one towel.” said Meliay in a disappointed tone. “This dude, how does he live with himself?” “Should we take turns?” asked Faminelli. “You go first. You seemed to have gotten a lot more pee on you than I did.” said Meliay. “Thanks,” Faminelli said with a smile. “Maybe I should start wearing skirts more often if this becomes a regular occurrence.” “I’m sure this will be the last incident for us for a while.” said Meliay. “Hopefully.” said Faminelli, taking the towel off the rack and wiping down her legs. Meliay watched as she did so, imagining it to be Tyria. Her body seemingly being overlaid over Faminelli’s. As she wiped her upper thigh, Meliay imagined Tyria's recognizable birthmark. It was like a scar of a blade snaking its way down her leg. But it was still as smooth as the rest of her skin and glistened just as brightly. Then as Faminelli reached her crotch, Meliay was taken away completely to fantasyland. It was that special night again. The laughs, the moans, the intimacy. It was making Meliay’s body shiver with arousal. “Hey um, Meliay?” asked Faminelli. Meliay was knocked out of her trance. “Y-Yeah.” “Could you not stare?” asked Faminelli, looking away slightly and blushing. “I may be trying to get used to this, but that’s a little hard when you won’t take your eyes off my goods.” “Oh! I’m so sorry! I’ll just… look this way.” said Meliay, facing the door. “Thank you!” said Faminelli, getting back to her business. As she did so, Meliay smiled. Letting the mischievous thoughts from earlier flood her mind. Oh how badly she wanted her and Tyria to do that again someday. --- “Finally!” said Dagalin, leaning back from the bed. “What took you guys so long?” Meliay and Faminelli walked in from the hall. “Well, you see…” said Faminelli, poking her index fingers together nervously. “We ran into some… complications.” said Meliay, answering for her. “Uh huh?” said Dagalin, eyeing them up and down. “Does it have something to do with your soaking wet clothes?” Faminelli’s face flushed red. “Could we not right now?!” Dagalin laughed. “I’m just teasing, Elli! Plus,” Dagalin rubbed her legs together and bounced in place. “I’m not exactly in a good spot either.” Tyria peered in from behind Dagalin. “They didn’t just eat her zipper handle, the whole like… “Mechanism?” I don’t know, is gone.” “And I chose a really strong zipper. Ain’t no way we are pulling this apart.” said Dagalin. “Wait, you chose it?” asked Faminelli, approaching full of interest. “Yeah. The suit and cloak I made myself. Which is why I would really like to not pee in them.” Dagalin breathed through her teeth and held her crotch for a moment, bending forward slightly. “ But at this point, I don’t think I’m gonna have a choice.” “You said you made it, can’t you fix it?” asked Meliay. Dagalin scoffed. “Yeah right. You try fixing a zipper on your back while also desperate to pee. And I only know how to do basic stitching and sewing. I only attached the zipper to the suit. I can’t really fix the zipper itself. I’d have to take it off and put on a new one.” “Wait, I think I can fix it.” said Faminelli. “You can?” asked Tyria. “I uh… dabbled in armor smithing as a little hobby. That’s how I made my jacket, Threaddy.” Faminellie then let threads from her jacket flow through the air. “Threaddy?” asked Lance. “You know, because thread kinda leads into the name Freddy? I thought it was pretty cute.” Dagalin stood up, slightly bent over. “Can you really fix it though?” Faminelli raised her hands “I can try. But we have a couple problems.” Meliay raised her eyebrow. “And that would be?” “Armor doesn’t normally incorporate zippers in their design. Less reliable than straps and clips and the like. So I’d technically be working in new territory, but I should be familiar enough with how it works. But the other thing is more problematic…” “Which is?” asked Tyria. “I kinda left all my tools back at my place…” she said nervously, hiding her hands behind her back. “You say that like it’s a bad thing.” said Lance. “In a way, yeah.” Faminelli began to pace back and forth. “You see, I didn’t exactly leave home on the best of terms. It's just my mom and seven sisters.” “Damn, seven sisters? I can barely handle you two.” said Lance, pointing to Tyria and Meliay. Both of them gave him unamused looks. “Alright, I’ll just shut up.” Faminelli resumed. “My Mom is kind of a skeptic. So when she heard that I wanted to travel, she didn’t really support my decision. It was all, ‘How are you gonna make a living?’ or ‘Where are you even gonna live?’ and stuff like that. So I just kinda left unannounced.” Faminelli looked down nervously. “I’m kinda scared to go back there. I don't really know how she’ll react.” “Why not be straight forward?” asked Dagalin. “You met some new friends who needed help-” “No!” said Faminelli a little loudly, startling Dagalin a bit. Faminelli calmed down a bit. “No. It’s a bit much for me right now. We’ll just sneak in, get the stuff, and go.” “Okay. We’ll do it your way.” said Meliay, placing her hand on Faminelli’s shoulder. “Do you think you can do it?” Faminelli pondered a bit. “I can sneak in just fine, getting out is gonna be harder. I have a lot of tools that I’d need to move. I may have to make several trips.” “Screw that.” said Dagalin. “Mama ain’t raise no two trip bitch! We’ll do it all in one!” “How?! I’ve got at least 100 tools in my room!” asked Faminelli. “Oh, I guess I never showed you.” said Dagalin. She took off her cloak and laid it flat against the bed before taking a lamp and dropping it right on top. The lamp fell straight through. Faminelli gasped. “You put a holding enchantment on your cloak! That’s so cool!” She ran her hands through the fabric. “Yes, this will work perfectly!” “Then let’s go now.” said Dagalin, crossing her legs tightly. “The sooner the better. I don’t think I can last much longer.” “But I was hoping to go in late at night when everyone is sleeping.” said Faminelli, her voice trailing off. “But you don’t want me to pee myself also, don’t you?” asked Dagalin. “Well… no. I’d hate for you to soil your clothes too. Laundry is already hard enough with just Threaddy.” “Okay, lead the way Faminelli. We’ll all make it in and out quick!” said Dagalin with a fist bump. “I actually think we should split up our efforts.” said Meliay. “Me, Lance, and Tyria should go around town looking for a way to get to the mushroom falls. You and Faminelli should go by yourselves. The less people there are, the less likely you are to be caught.” “Alright then,” said Dagalin, putting her hands up. “I get it, you still don’t wanna hang out with me.” “N-No, I just-” “I’m kidding!” said Dagalin, tapping Meliay’s shoulder with the back of her hand. “It’s a good plan. I’ve always been a multitasker. And let’s be honest, I’m a bit better suited to stealth than the rest of you. I’ve got the darker clothes and I’m more subtle compared to what happened in Boford Town.” “I get it.” said Meliay. “It's your cloak too, you know.” “Yeah, I do.” Said Dagalin with a cheeky smile. She made her way to the front door and opened it. “Faminelli and I will take off right now. You guys go whenever you feel like it.” “Right now?” asked Faminelli. “Yes right now!” said Dagalin, gripping the doorknob with both hands and crouching down as a slight wave of desperation ran through her body. “It’s not like I have to pee or anything!” “Oh! Okay, um, we’ll go right now!” Faminelli said while running over to the door. “Good luck everyone else!” “Good luck!” said Tyria, waving from the bed. Faminelli nodded and closed the door. Dagalin took a step forward and immediately stubbed her toe on something. “Ow!” she yelped. She jumped on one foot, holding her stubbed toe to soothe the pain. But the shock of the impact also rocked her bladder, sending an even stronger wave of desperation. Dagalin gave a stuttered gasp and she held her crotch with both hands. She could feel her urethra struggling to remain closed, the muscles aching slightly from the pressure. “Dagalin! Are you okay?!” asked Faminelli. Dagalin calmed her breathing and loosened the pressure on her crotch a bit. “Yeah, I think I’ll make it.” She looked down to see Steve sleeping in the middle of the garden path. “Damn, his head is hard as a rock!” “He sleeps like a log too.” said Faminelli. “Whatever. Faminelli, could you please lead the way?” Dagalin balled her fists and raised her knee. “And hurry.” “Of course! This way!” Faminelli sprung herself over Steve's body using Threaddy and Dagalin followed close behind, vaulting over Steve’s chest before running into the city. --- The streets were dark now and the air got cold. Golden lights poured out of the nearby houses as families began to enjoy their dinners. And within the empty streets, Faminelli and Dagalin were strolling down. Dagalin was in worse shape, trying her best to walk without holding her crotch just in case they ran into somebody. But it was getting extremely difficult. Every step threatened to separate her pee holding muscles and let the stream flow. She held her arms tightly and braved on the best she could. Faminelli looked back and curiously looked Dagalin up and down. She wondered if dagalin’s bladder was bulging just like hers was. As they passed another lit window, she got a good look. It definitely was bulging out against Dagalins tight suit, creating a subtle, rotund dome above her abdomen. She must’ve had to go bad. At least she won’t have difficulty taking off her clothes. “Are we almost there?” Dagalin asked, shivering slightly. “Almost there, I promise.” said Faminelli assuringly. “You said we were almost there 5 minutes ago.” said Dagalin, rubbing her hands near her crotch. “I didn’t think you would be living on the other side of town.” “That's just how it is. I don’t control where I live.” Dagalin groaned at this. Her bladder was seemingly displeased at this news as well as it sent its first serious wave of desperation. She gasped and she quickly slipped into the shadows and held her crotch tightly. The pressure pressed on her pee hole, like water threatening to break through a glass window. “Oh! Are you okay?” asked Faminelli, rushing to Dagalins' side. Dagalin felt the pressure subside, but now she couldn’t remove a hand from her crotch. “It’s getting really bad, Elli. I think I’m topped up in here.” she said heavily breathing, rubbing her bladder gently. “If your house isn’t around the corner, I think it's the end for me.” “It is, it is! I promise this time!” said Faminelli. Dagalin then held out her free hand. “Then please lead the way.” Faminelli took it and hurried Dagalin down the street. After a quick left turn, Faminelli pointed to a shabby shack. “There, that’s my house.” she said. It was a crude place. Wooden all the way through, seemingly put together with driftwood. Its second story was larger than the first, making it look like it collapsed at any moment, despite the planks of wood supporting it. “THAT’S your house?” asked Dagalin. Faminelli sighed. “Home sweet home.” “Um… sorry.” “It’s fine. Let’s get the stuff and go.” said Faminelli with a hint of determination. The two got closer and looked it over in the darkness. “So which one is your room?” asked Dagalin. She was sitting against a crate with her knees to her chest and her right hand over her crotch, glancing over the side. “That one.” said Faminelli, pointing to a window. Her cat ear then twitched. “They’re having dinner. Great timing for us.” “You can hear them from here?” asked Dagalin. “A special trait of mine.” Faminelli said. Dagalin looked over the window again. It was high above the ground with no ground underneath it. “I don't think I can make that jump.” Dagalin said. “I have a jump potion, but considering my situation, I don’t I wanna risk any more than I have to.” She twisted her legs slightly after saying this. “We can use Threaddy.” said Faminelli. “I’ll lift you up and you can undo the lock.” “Oh! That’s a good idea!” Faminelli felt a surge of pride. “Of course. Just ask Threaddy and it can solve almost any problem.” Dagalin then stood up and held her arms out. She twisted her legs extra hard to compensate for her missing hand. “Come on, let’s do it now.” Faminelli nodded and held her hand out. The threads around her jacket sleeve unwove and wrapped themselves around Dagalin’s stomach tightly. Dagalin yelped. She was forced to bend over and hold her crotch as she felt her bladder get compressed like a bag of water. “No! Don’t grab me there!” “Oh! I’m so sorry! I forgot!” said Faminelli, releasing the threads around Dagalin. Dagalin took a minute to get her bladder under control. “W-Where should I grab you then?” “Under the shoulders should work.” said Dagalin. “Um… I don’t think that’s gonna work.” said Faminelli. “Why not?” asked Dagalin. “You see, I could lift you easily with one strand around your belly.” said Faminelli, talking with her hands as well with various gestures to illustrate what she was talking about. “But if I lift you with a strand under each shoulder, I won’t have as much thread, so I can only lift you half as high. Plus, I won’t have much thread left over to anchor Threaddy to myself or to support the both of us. We’ll be a giant teetering tower. I can maybe get us there, but…” Faminelli nervously pulled her jacket over her somewhat exposed breasts. Dagalin crouched down to her. “I think it will be okay.” She pointed to the house. “Look, where we’re gonna lift up from is in the shadows, so nobody should be able to see you.” “You’re sure?” “I’m positive.” Dagalin said with a smile and thumbs up. Faminelli sighed. “Okay, let’s hurry.” The two quickly moved right under the window. “Okay, let me psyche myself up first.” Dagalin wriggled her arms a bit and crossed her legs. She then pressed down on her crotch as she could. After a moment, she let go. The pressure from her desperation was temporarily replaced with numbness. “Ready.” Faminelli nodded. Her jacket unweaved itself and two large strands wrapped themselves right under Dagalin’s shoulders. Four other smaller ones shot back against the ground, giving Faminelli a few extra “legs” to balance on. She slowly lifted up Dagalin to the window, slightly wiggling trying to keep her balance. Dagalin reached up to the lock as she rose, but she stopped just before she could reach it. “Elli! I can’t reach it!” she said in a loud whisper. “I know!” said Faminelli in the same tone, “But… I’m almost out.” Her jacket sleeves were tiny and the hem rose all the way up to just over her nipple, leaving the bottom of her breasts exposed. “I just need a little more!” said Dagalin. “I can almost reach it. Come on Elli! Just for a little bit!” “Okay!” said Faminelli. Her face went red realizing what she had to do. She pushed her jacket even further. The hem rose up again, fully exposing her breasts to the cold night air. She felt her nipples hardened, making her whimper in embarrassment. “That’s good!” said Dagalin. The jacket now only covered Faminelli collarbones and the top of her shoulders. Dagalin reached forward and inspected the lock. “It’s a freakin’ bolt!” she said, trying to undo it. “I know! Sorry, I forgot to tell you. Just try and unscrew it with your hand, it shouldn’t be that tight.” Daglin’s hand spinning the bolt like a top. “It may not be tight but it sure is long.” she mumbled to herself. She toiled for about ten seconds when a cold gust of wind blew through the street. Faminelli shivered a bit, but did her best to maintain her balance. Dagalin however, had the cold shoot straight to her bladder. She crossed her legs tightly up in the air and attempted to hold her crotch. But she realized she couldn’t reach her own crotch. Being raised by the shoulders raised her arms just out of reach of her pee hole. “Shit shit!” she said under her breath. No matter how much she tried, her hands could only stretch so far. She could feel her pee snaking its way down her pee hole. She grit her teeth and squeezed her eyes shut. Her legs were so tight it looked like she was doing a cannonball. But she was still confident. She could feel the wave dying down and her pee receding back into her bladder. That was when the loud roar of a distant crowd startled Faminelli a bit, making her momentarily lose balance. This in turn, shook Dagalin, startling her slightly as well. She gasped as a tiny jet of pee escaped and flowed straight onto her suit. “Stop stop!” she cried to herself, trying to push out the pee that had broken through her defenses. Despite her efforts, a bit more pushed its way out, enlarging the wet spot on her suit. Even more so, a couple drops fell down, landing directly in Faminellis face. It was nothing more than a splash, but some got in her eyes. Faminelli grunted and instinctively moved her hands to wipe it away. This caused Dagalin to get shaken even more. “Elli! Stop please!” she said, desperately trying to hold back the flood. Faminelli froze “Dagalin? I can’t see, I think some water got in my eyes.” she said. “That’s not water, Elli. I’m sorry, but its getting really bad up here. I’m about to lose it!” said Dagalin. Faminelli grimaced. “Ewwww…You peed on my face?” “I’ll make it up to you later!” said Dagalin. “Just try and listen. We’re a bit off the window now. Can you move right?” “I’ll try.” Faminelli shifted Dagalin right. “Now up.” Dagalin rose up a bit. “Yes, perfect.” Dagalin could still feel her pee rightoutside her pee hole. She breathed through her teeth and she rapidly twisted the bolt open. Eventually, the bolt flew off and fell to the ground. Dagalin through the screw down and swung the window open. “Okay, now let me in! Hurry!” Faminelli unweaved the straps around Dagalin and she reached out for the window, pulling herself up. Another spurt of pee escaped as she raised her leg to swing herself inside. She tumbled inside, holding her crotch as hard as she could between her raised knees while rolling on the ground. Faminelli gripped the windowsill with her jacket and hoisted herself in the room. “Dagalin, are you okay?!” she asked, her eyes still closed. Dagalin felt another bead of pee escape her pee hole. “I’m falling apart over here! Please, you have to hurry!” “I’ll try!” said Faminelli. She walked quickly over to a workbench and grabbed a towel on a rack. She quickly wiped her face clean and moved to a lamp, twisting the pedestal under the lampshade so that the jewels aligned with the sigils below them, filling the room with golden light. She saw Dagalin on the floor, lying on her knees with both of her hands clutching her crotch. Her breathing was sharp as she put in her full effort into holding in her pee. “Elli! Please!” she said, noticing Faminelli staring. “Right! Sorry!” Faminelli swept her work desk of various knick knacks. She took a tiny trinket and had her threads shape it into a vaguely zipper shape. “Let try this.” She moved towards Dagalin and tried to apply it to the band, but it was proving difficult with her position. “Can you stand up?” “I-I can try.” Dagalin raised one foot and then the other, being extremely cautious with her movements. Eventually, she shakily stood up on both feet, still bent over trying to hold it in. “Does this work?” “Still a bit awkward, but I’ll try.” Faminelli tried to apply the zipper, but it just wasn’t fitting. “Damn it!” she said, with a hint of frustration. “What’s up?” said Dagalin, raising her leg up as another wave of desperation rushed through her body. “It isn’t working. I said I didn’t know how to do zippers! And it's so much worse when I’m under pressure!” she said, walking over to her desk. “It’s okay. I can wait a bit longer.” said Dagalin in an encouraging voice. However, another jet of pee spurted out. Since she leaked so badly, she couldn’t get her pee to go back inside her bladder, forcing her to hold it directly at the end of her pee hole. She tried to keep her plight silent so that Faminelli could work. A few new streaks of pee snaked their way down Dagalin’s suit legs. After another minute or two, Faminelli raised the zipper piece up to the lamp. “Maybe this.” she said in a quiet, more focused voice. She swung over to Dagalin and carefully aligned the piece with the band once more. This time, it snapped on. Faminelli pulled, but it wouldn’t come down. “Come on!” she said with a frustrated voice, trying a couple more times to no avail. “I-I believe in you, Elli. Just… hah! Keep trying!” said Dagalin. Faminelli was starting to panic. She gave Dagalin a quick glance, noticing that drops of pee were starting to patter on the floor. “One last resort.” she said. She tossed the piece into the garbage pail and swung her closet open. She sifted through many coats, shirts, and pants until she finally found the one she was looking for. Leather pants with a golden zipper. She used her threads to break the zipper piece off the band and brought it over to Dagalin. “Hopefully this works!” Faminelli then put the zipper piece of the band and pulled down, unzipping Dagalins suit like butter. Dagalin smiled excitedly. “Yes!” She quickly maneuvered herself out of her suit, peeling it off her body in record time and kicked it and her cloak to the corner. Faminelli’s face flushed red and she quickly looked away with her hands out. “Dagalin! You’re stripping right now?!” “Yes right now! I’m about to pee all over your floor!” she said, feeling a tiny bit pool up in her cupped hands, “Please, bathroom! Where?!” “Uh uh! Out the door, left, first door on the right.” Faminelli said quickly, still refusing to look at her. “Thanks!” said Dagalin, shooting for the door. “W-Wait! Be careful!” “I know.” she said, cracking the door open just a bit to peek into the hall. After seeing that nobody was there, she dipped into the hall and shut the door behind her. Left, then the first door on the right. Yes! She made it! But something was wrong. She heard the worst noise she could hear right now. The shower was on and someone was humming a song inside. The noise of the stream made Dagalin double over, clutching her crotch as hard as she possibly could. “Come on, Elli! I thought you said they were having dinner!” she said in a frustrated whisper. She gave a sharp whimper as another jet of pee shot directly into her hands. She twisted her body so tightly, her back popped. Nothing was starting to work anymore. “Why are you naked?” asked someone. Dagalin gasped and turned to see a little girl no older than the age of 4 looking at her curiously licking a lollipop. “N-Nothing!” she said in a panic. “Do you have to pee?” the little girl asked. “Uh… yes! D-Do you know who's in the bathroom, I don’t think I can hold it any longer!” She asked, dancing in place while also doing her best to face all her private parts away from the child. “Mommy says that adults don’t pee themselves.” said the child, twisting her torso from side to side. “Stinkin’ kid.” Dagalin said under her breath. “Please answer the question!” “My sister Starvi is in there taking a shower. She always takes at least 30 mimits.” said the child. Dagalin’s heart dropped. “30 minutes?! Do you know how she was in there for?” The child shrugged. “I unno…” Dagalin gave a desperate smile. “Well… I’m just gonna walk this way.” Said Dagalin, walking down the hall and opening Faminelli’s door. Every other step, pee leaked out and gushed out of her fingers, leaving a trial of pee drops behind her. “Mommy also said that we’re not allowed in there.” said the child. “Sorry! Don’t care!” said Dagalin quickly before shutting the door. “Well that was fast.” said Faminelli, using a towel to wipe Dagalin’s previous pee off the floor. . “That’s because I couldn’t go at all! There’s someone in the shower!” said Dagalin, leaning against the door. She raised her leg and held on for dear life. The veil between holding it and losing it was becoming paper thin. “Starvi! Of course! She always takes a shower at this time and takes forever too!” said Faminelli, smacking her forehead. “Do you know how long it will take?” asked Dagalin. “Um… I think another 15 minutes?” Dagalin leaked again, splattering more pee on the floor. “I don’t have 15 minutes!” Faminelli thought fast. She used her towel to wipe up the pee right under Dagalin’s feet then gave it to her. “Use this! Pee into it a little if you have too until I find something out.” Dagalin scrunched up the towel against her crotch as best she could. She crossed her legs, pushed in the towel as hard as she could, and bent over desperately. “I unh! Don’t even think I have 10 seconds!” “What?! No come on, hold it!” “I can’t I CAN’T!” Dagalin’s floodgates opened. Pee burst out of her pee hole, soaking the top of the towel instantly. Her pee splashed against it aggressively, pooling up before the towel could even absorb it. Dagalin sighed in relief and defeat as she let loose, fully giving in and pouring the contents of her bladder into the towel. “Dagalin! I don’t think the towel will absorb all your pee!” said Faminelli. “I can’t though… it’s too late.” said Dagalin, her voice exhausted. “Hungra? What are you doing upstairs?” asked a woman behind the door. Faminelli gasped. “That’s mom! She’ll actually kill me if she sees that I brought someone over! You need to hide!” “Where?!” asked Dagalin, still peeing in the towel. Faminelli took Dagalin by the shoulder and pushed her in front of the closet. “In here should work. Get in!” “W-Wait!” protested Dagalin, but Faminelli used her jacket to push Dagalin inside, quickly shutting the door in front of her. “Why is Faminelli’s light on? I told you guys not to go into each other's rooms!” said Faminelli’s mom. Feminelli gasped and ran over to turn her lamp off, just as her mother swung the door open. “Oh ho ho ho ho!” said the mother, pointing at Faminelli tauntingly. “I knew it. I freakin’ knew it! You couldn’t last a day out there without me!” Faminelli gave a cold sigh. “Hey… mom.” Dagalin listened intently from inside. Her pee slowed down to a trickle before stopping completely. Her lower half was now absolutely drenched in pee, thanks to the towel and the small sopping puddle formed from it. She sighed as she moved her soaking wet towel off to the side, wondering what was going on. “What did I tell you! The real world is dangerous! You’d never make it more than a mile outside of city limits!” the mother continued. “But I found some friends, mom! They were heading here first though through the dragonback mountains, so I wanted to help them here before going-” The mother waved Faminelli off. “Save me the sob story! I won’t believe a word of it!” Dagalin grit her teeth in anger. She couldn’t believe the audacity of this bitch! She would personally give her a piece of her mind if she wasn’t in such a sorry state. Dagalin couldn’t even take herself seriously if she confronted the mother buck naked and covered in piss, that’ll sure give a good first impression. Though, she still did feel bad that she was making Faminelli face this alone. “Look at you. You look awful. Were you crying? Are you hurt anywhere?” asked the mother, reaching out her hand. Faminelli pushed her hand away. “I’m fine mom.” “Good. You avoided any encounter that gave you even the slightest amount of danger.” The mother then strolled over to the window. “You been eating well at least?” “Well enough.” The mother sighed. “You know why I worry, Faminelli? It’s because the adventuring schtick isn’t financially stable. By the time you’re ready to settle down, you’ll have no money, your bones will be brittle, and no one will help you. So you know what I think?” The mother turned around and looked Faminelli straight in the eye. “Give this up. Get a REAL job in the city. Marry a nice man, live a quiet peaceful life. You don’t need to see the world to be happy.” Faminelli scoffed and stepped up to her mother. “I’m just here to pick up some tools. Once I’m done here, I’m gonna go back and help my friends.” The mother snickered. “Your friends? And you’re gonna do it with that dying craft?” “Armor smithing.” corrected Faminelli in an annoyed tone. “The dark lord is dead, Faminelli!” said the mother loudly. “No one needs an armorsmith anymore! All the monsters are pretty much nonexistent anymore and the royal military has pretty much taken care of all the bandits. Who would you even sell to? You can’t make money on this, especially when there are already legendary armor smiths still alive. Even they are struggling to get by.” Faminelli backed away, looking away on the verge of tears. “Give this up, find something real to do with your life. Or you’ll end up like this.” said the mother, gesturing to herself. She then walked straight past Faminelli and stood outside the doorway. “You’ll stay here until you finally come to the right decision.” Faminelli gasped. “Wait-!” she said as she reached out, but the mother snapped her fingers and the door slammed shut. Faminelli turned around and saw the widow shut as well. Both of the exits had the head of a monster jut out from the center of them before covering them in energy barriers. “And put on a shirt for god's sake!” said the mother outside the door. “People will think you’re a whore looking like that!” She then walked down the hall, her demanding footsteps going away. Faminelli groaned loudly in frustration and kicked her garbage pail hard, knocking against the wall before sitting on her bed and shoving her face into her hands. After a moment, Dagalin emerged from the closet. She walked slowly over to Faminelli, grabbing a fresh towel on the way and used it to sit down next to her. “So… do you wanna talk about that?” Faminelli sniffled and wiped the tears out of her eyes. “She’s such a jerk! Why can’t I be who I want to be?” Dagalin then hugged Faminelli’s head tenderly. “Shhh, it’s okay.” Faminelli sobbed a bit before wrapping her own arms around Dagalin. “I know that feeling well.” “You do?” asked Faminelli. “Yeah. You could say I ran away from home too.” said Dagalin, “I was part of a big big family with dozens of members. And one day they… wanted me to do something I didn’t want to do. So I skipped town. Ended up past the mountains in a trade town. That was until I received a letter from my father saying he may forgive me for what I’ve done and has considered letting me pursue my way of life, but I had to see him one last time before he makes a decision.” “Does he ‘worry’ too?” asked Faminelli, her voice cracking. “In a way. But despite that, I know he loves me and I love him just as much. I owe him everything. It's just that he knows some things and he doesn’t know others. I know what I’m capable of and I want to capitalize on it, with or without him.” Faminelli looked up at Dagalin. “So what are you gonna do? Now that you’re here…” “I’m gonna go my own way, despite whatever decision he chooses. And hopefully, I can show everyone that I’m more than just who I was. Like I did with Meliay.” “Who you were?” asked Faminelli. Dagalin let go of Faminelli and scratched the back of her head. “Oh… oops. That’s uh… its own can of worms. What about you though? What will you do?” Faminelli sighed and looked up to the ceiling. “I don’t know. I’m sure mom loves me too, it's just hard to tell these days. The thing is, she always pushes us to be better than her. But I’m already nothing like her. I have my own aspirations and dreams. Dreams that can’t be fulfilled in this city. And who cares if I don’t know what I do will bring me happiness. The important thing is that I try. So yeah, as soon as I’m able, I’ll sneak out again. This time I won’t come back until Mom sees how much of a success I’ve become.” “Yeah!” said Dagalin, high-fiving with Faminelli. The two sat side by side for a minute, contemplating as to what they should do next. Dagalin sighed, “You know what? I’m so freakin’ horny right now.” “HUH?!” exclaimed Faminelli, nearly flying off her bed. Her face was as red as hot iron. “Why would you tell me that?!” “I think in my time away, I’ve become… ‘obsessed’ with the act of holding pee. From discovering Varnspydir powder to what Me, Tyria, and Meliay have been through, I don’t think any of us have made it to a bathroom our entire journey. It’s funny to think about that, and even funnier when it seems like they never made it ever since I was introduced to the group. Now I’m all kinds of ‘frustrated’.” Faminelli smiled and chuckled a bit. “That’s gross.” “I know right?! But if you think about it, since when has anything sexual ever not been gross?” Faminelli laughed. “You’re a menace, Linda.” Dagalin looked at her confused. “Linda?” “My nickname for you. If figured I should call you one too. You gave me Elli, so I think I’ll swap the end and beginning of your name and call you Linda.” “That’s so cool! I never would’ve thought of doing that!” “You’re welcome, friend.” Dagalin smiled and stood up, Faminelli still averting her gaze a bit. “Now then, how do we get out of here?” Faminelli’s smile vanished. “We can’t. Mom put up a barrier on the exits that prevent us from leaving. And since we’re hybrid humans, we’re actually part monster, so she was able to put up the stronger version as well. Ones that humans can’t create. It was a trick that she learned from my eldest sister, who's part of the city guard.” “Damn, thas crazy.” said Dagalin, eyeing the wall. She walked over and pressed her hand against it. She felt the boards creak and bend. “Doesn’t look like it covers the whole wall though.” “Y-You’re not actually suggesting that we break it, do you?” asked Faminelli. “I’d hate to break the house.” “Well, we can’t wait around either.” said Dagalin, walking back over to her suit and putting it back on. “If we wait around for your mom to come around, who knows how much time Tyria will have left. We need to help her now.” “Tyria? What’s wrong with Tyria?” asked Faminelli. “Oh yeah, I guess you weren’t there for most of what happened. You see, Tyria has this curse in which if she pees 10 times, she’ll die. Meliay has more details, so I’d ask her.” “That’s awful! Who would do such a thing in such a weird way?” “I dunno, some perverted witch I would guess.” “Then we have to help her! We have to get out of here!” said Faminelli, standing up. “Then I got just the thing.” Dagalin reached into her cloak and pulled out a bottle that had orange and yellow liquid, looking like a tiny lava lamp. “This little guy will eat through that wood no problem. It doesn’t like water though.” Dagalin’s expression became serious. “Now, last chance. Are you positive you want to do this? I doubt your mom will be super happy that you tore up her house. There will be no going back after this.” Faminelli nodded. “I’m ready. If it means that I can save a life, then I have to.” Dagalin smiled and tossed her cloak to Faminelli. “Cool. Pack as much of your stuff in here as you can and I’ll set this up.” Faminelli went straight to work. She swept her tools into the cloak. Clothes, materials, magical items. Once that was done, she wondered if she could take even more. She put the cloak near her work tables legs, lifted it up, and held it over the cloak and dropped it it. The cloak ate it up no problem. Faminelli was astounded and looked over to Dagalin, who was still setting up her potion. She picked up the cloak and it felt the exact same. She guessed she could take a bit more. Dagalin opened the bottle and orange gas poured out of it. She swirled it a bit and saw it turn green. While she waited, an idea came to her mind and she smiled. She walked over and reached into her cloak, pulling out a bottle of Varnspydir powder. “What are you gonna do with that?” asked Faminelli. “Your sister, Hungra I think her name was, told me something that I’m gonna prove her wrong about.” said Dagalin. She put a tiny amount of powder in a tiny bottle, sealed it up, took out another potion, and poured a drop on it, making it glow with light blue energy. “By the way, don’t go next to that thing, unless you wanna pee yourself twice in a day.” “What did my sister say to you?” asked Faminelli. “Nothin’.” said Dagalin nonchalantly. After a bit, the bottle Dagalin opened earlier glowed an even brighter green. “It’s ready, you got everything?” “Yep, let’s go.” said Faminelli. Her room was now almost completely empty save for a metal bed frame. “Holy shit, what didn’t you take?” asked Dagalin. “This and that.” said Faminelli teasingly, handing Dagalin her cloak. Dagalin smiled and held the green bottle tightly. “Ready?” Faminelli nodded. Dagalin then splashed the wall with the green ooze. The wood cracked and splintered, the ooze eating away at the wood. However, while the wall eroded away, a metal bar holding up a flower pot on the outside wall fell to the ground below, shattering loudly. “Well that’s not good…” “Faminelli! Are you throwing a tantrum again!? Don’t make me come up there!” shouted the mom from downstairs. “She’s gonna come up here anyway!” said Faminelli. “We should go!” She moved to jump out of the hole, but Dagalin grabbed her arm. “Whoa, cool your jets! Unless you want your clothes to be eaten up worse than what those Stars did, I wouldn’t go anywhere near that.” said Dagalin. “What?! But mom could get here any minute!” “Just wait until the ooze turns black.” said Dagalin. The two waited anxiously as the footsteps approached their door. The green ooze got darker and darker. Then, right as the doorknob jiggled, the ooze went jet black. “Now!” Dagalin and Faminelli ran as fast as they could and launched themselves out of the hole in the wall. The mom opened the door, walking straight through the barrier as if nothing was there. “Faminelli!” she yelled, looking around to see the nearly empty room. “Just what in god's name are you doing?!” Dagalin and Faminelli landed on the ground and took off in a full sprint. “Sorry mom! Just wanted my stuff back! We’ll catch up later! Bye!” said Faminelli, escaping into the night. “Why you-!” Suddenly, a puff of yellow powder exploded next to the mom. “What the?!” She waved it away and felt her lower body suddenly go numb. “Oh… oh! Starvi! Starvi, get out of the bathroom, now!” she yelled, scrambling back into the hall. Dagalin chuckled as she ran. The two kept running, as if on the run from the law. --- Dagalin opened the door to the house. Slowly, she creaked it outward, walking in with Faminelli. The room was filled with snores. The two walked over to see that Tyria, Meliay, and Lance were all passed out. Tyria and Meliay took the bed while Lance was on the floor. Meliay got super comfortable with Tyria, embracing her from behind, even nuzzling her head against Tyria’s back. However Tyria was sprawled out, her hand hung off the side of the bed next to Lance’s. So close, yet so far. “Aw, that’s cute.” said Dagalin in a whisper. “But now that I think about it, where are we gonna sleep?” “I brought my bed, we could sleep on that.” said Faminelli. “Oh cool. Since it's yours though, you have to reach in and pull it out. The way it works is that you have to think about what you want and simply grasp it. That’s how I store so much stuff without having to organize it.” said Dagalin. “Really? Let me see.” said Faminelli. Dagalin took off her cloak and held it out for Faminelli to reach into. She reached in and grasped something. Slowly, she pulled out the entire twin sized bed. It unfolded onto the floor softly, somewhat covering Lance, but he seemed unbothered either way. “Here we are.” Faminelli stretched her arms high up and yawned. “My god, I never knew how tired I was today.” “A lot happened.” said Dagalin, flopping onto the bed and letting out a great big sigh. “We got trapped in life water veins, held our pee like our lives depended on it, and escaped you mom. I’d say today’s been pretty productive.” “Really?” asked Faminelli, flopping down next to Dagalin. “Yeah.” The two looked into each other's eyes. Dagalin could swear she could see every detail in her orange eyes. She bit her lip, getting excited. “Welp, goodnight,” said Faminelli, turning over to face away from Dagalin. “Sweet dreams, Linda.” Dagalin was left astounded, to the point where she almost burst out laughing. Faminelli was too precious. Once again she would have to wallow in her own “frustration”. Oh well, she wasn’t one to be so blunt with others. She can handle it a little while longer. Or go crazy, who knows, it was exciting either way. “Goodnight Elli.” said Dagalin, flipping over herself. She closed her eyes and exhaled slowly, letting her fatigue wash away. Until Faminelli decided to say something. “Linda. Am I gonna be okay?” asked Faminelli. “What do you mean?” asked Dagalin. “Going against mom. I’ve never rebelled like that before. It’s exciting, but also scary. I don’t know what’s gonna happen after. Will she forgive me, or… disown me?” Dagalin flipped back over and hugged Faminelli. “Who knows? But I’m confident that your mom won’t disown you. That’s just crazy talk.” “But, she seemed pretty mad.” “She's your mom. She never said she outright hated you. If anything, it looked like she hated herself. I’m sure she still loves you in some way. Love makes people do crazy things. When we meet again, we’ll deal with it then, together.” Faminelli held Dagalin’s hand. “Thank you, Linda. You always seem to find a way to make me feel better.” “Yeah, I kinda do that huh?” “You’re surprised?” “In a way,” said Dagalin, with a warm smile. Faminelli smiled as well and closed her eyes, letting out a tired exhale. Dagalin got more daring and hugged Faminelli even tighter, drifting off into the comfortable arms of sleep herself.

I think the better question is why was it downvoted into the negative?

Chapter 4: Lifewater The sound of squelching, crackling, and slurping ran through the walls. Tyria was struggling to breath as she felt the coarse vines push against her body. Then with one final push, Tyria popped out into open air. The ground beneath her approached fast and she flailed her arms in a panic. “Shiet!” she yelled right before faceplanting right into a shallow puddle of water. She groaned, making bubbles come up from the puddle. She then lifted herself up and gasped. Dagalin was underneath her, smiling. “Hey, at least take me out to dinner first.” she said jokingly. Tyria then heard another squelching noise from above. She looked and gasped. “MOVE!” she yelled, grabbing Dagalin by the shoulders and forcing her to roll over. Tyria’s ax fell from the roof and chopped right into the ground beside them. Dagalin, initially shocked, smiled again and laid down on Tyria as she hugged her tight. “My hero.” she said. Then just a moment later, Meliay came down butt first on Dagalin’s back, crushing her and Tyria underneath and making them both groan in pain. “Fine! I’ll stop making flirty jokes! Just stop hurting me!” Meliay looked around and gasped. “What is this place?” Dagalin and Tyria stood up and looked around. “Whoa.” said Tyria. The place was filled with vines. Yet it didn’t absolutely cover the walls. It weaved along the wall like a giant net. And behind them was a giant wall of light blue water, emanating a similar light to that of soft sunlight. They were stood on a tiny island with one singular tree growing in the center. A ray of sunlight poured down on its leaves seemingly out of nowhere. In front of the island was a set of stairs leading down to a lower area that was just a single strip of land leading to a tunnel. A deep lake of bubbling and fizzing water surrounded the island with wines webbing all around it, creating tiny pools. “No way!” shouted Dagalin excitedly. She hopped her way down the stairs slightly. “Is this a Lifewater Respirator?!” “What’s that?” asked Tyria. “Historians say that the Ancients' world was filled with a huge mass of molten rock. But after they destroyed themselves, all of it cooled down. But once the Balkara Pools showed up, so much residual magic over thousands of years did one of the greatest miracles that people are still trying to understand to this day!” Dagalin turned around and held her hands out, gesturing to the entire room. “The planet is alive! This life water acts like blood and the vines act like veins! It contains so much life energy that it supports itself and all life on the surface with its residual warmth!” “Then what is this place specifically?” asked Meliay. “I don’t think Lifewater veins appear this close to the surface.” “That’s because like every other living being, this planet-sized being needs to breathe. That must be why that hole was up there on the mountain and someone built a well on top of it. So in simple terms, we’re in a giant nose.” “Oh, gross.” said Meliay. “But why would a nose uh… eat us?” asked Tyria. “I… actually have no idea.” said Dagalin, “It was very un-nose like.” Dagalin turned around and ran down the stairs. “But, it’s not everyday anybody sees a place like this! Let’s go check it out!” “Wait a minute!” said Tyria, picking up her sword and following her. “We shouldn’t get separated!” Meliay stayed behind however, sighting something embedded in the tree. It was a stone tablet with a quote inscribed into it. Lifewater has reinvigorated my life more than anyone could understand, and for that I am forever grateful. However, it asked for one thing in return. I accepted the cost and sacrificed my body in order to refuel the life energy gifted upon me. May any future traveler who comes across this sacred place accept this sacrifice wearily. -Ann Kaforous Meliay noticed that there was a shadow in the middle of a neat circle in front of the tablet. Someone was standing there when they were seemingly blasted with a huge amount of energy, leaving an imprint of how they looked with a clean outline of their body on the ground. This shadow was probably Ann. This worried her substantially. What could’ve vaporized Ann in such a way? But before she could think any further, she heard the giggles of Dagalin as the other two girls started to get pretty far away. Meliay ran to catch up with them. “Ugh, it’s getting all humid in here.” said Tyria, tugging on her winter coat collar. “It is warm in here, huh?” said Dagalin. She crouched down and ran her hand along the surface of the water. “So is the water. It feels as hot as a hot tub.” “Well, I’m taking this stuff off. It looks like we won’t need it anymore.” said Tyria. She peeled her wet winter gear off, throwing them to the ground. Underneath, her regular clothes were wet too. They clinged to her body tightly, leaving very little to the imagination as it curved around her breasts and belly button. “There’s water everywhere in this place.” she said with a slight cross of her legs, “This is gonna suck.” “Well I’m gonna make the most of it!” said Dagalin. She stepped back and jumped straight towards the water. “Cannonball!” With a big splash, Dagalin dove straight into the water. Tyria shielded her face from the splashing water. “Hey! Is that even safe?” asked Tyria. Dagalin peeked her head above the water. “Oh it feels so good! It just tingles in all the right places!” “We should stop messing around.” said Meliay, approaching them. “It looks like this place was Ann’s final resting place. I’d like to leave before whatever took her shows up.” “Come on! Take a quick dip at least! It feels so goooooooood.” said Dagalin, sinking back into the water where her words turned into bubbles. Tyria looked at the bubbling water and sighed, taking off her sword sheath. Meliay gave a slight gasp and grabbed Tyria by the arm. “What are you doing?” she asked. “I mean, I am a bit curious.” said Tyria. Meliay hushed her voice. “We shouldn’t trust her anymore. When that thing attacked, I thought I lost you again.” “Well we made it, didn’t we?” said Tyria, also hushing her voice. “And this could be the shortcut Ann mentioned. She isn’t trying to hurt us.” Tyria then held her hand to Meliay’s cheek. “Look, I’ll be okay. We’ve been on edge our entire journey. It won’t hurt to spend 10 minutes doing something fun for once. Just… try to relax okay?” Meliay sighed. “I know how stubborn you are. I won’t stop you, but please try to hurry. Remember your predicament. Every minute will count.” Tyria nodded. “I know. We’ll make it, we have to.” Tyria set down her sheathed sword gently beside the water and untied her shoes, putting them to the side as well. She sat off the side and slowly inserted her feet into the water. The warm fizzing tickled them slightly. Then right as Tyria lowered her knees into the water, Dagalin splashed back up from the water and gasped for air, startling the other two girls. Dagalin coughed as she tried to speak. “Augh! Guess I lost track of time exploring down there. Hehe!” “What was down there?” asked Meliay. “More of the same really. More vines, more water, more light blue jelly, all in the form of tunnels.” “Jelly?” asked Tyria. “Yeah,” Dagalin pointed to the wall. “The light blue substance behind the vines on the wall is actually this super firm jelly stuff, not water.” She then smacked her lips. “Now that I think about it, I don't think I’ve had a drink since we left town. I’m sure this stuff is clean enough.” “Really? With all your sweat in it?” said Meliay. “It’s a giant lake of water, Meli! No way a couple drops would sour it that much.” Dagalin then raised her cupped hands out of the water and drank from them. Her smile slowly faded as she looked at the water in her hands. Tyria grew concerned. “Dagalin? Are you okay?” Dagalin shook her head as if she was coming out of trance. “No! No, it’s just… the taste left me feeling… nostalgic. It tasted just like a soup I had as a kid, a sediment sand crab soup to be specific. I had my first one from… someone important to me.” “Really?” asked Tyria, cupping her own hands and taking a sip of the water. But shortly after taking that sip, she immediately spit it back out, right on Dagalin’s face. Dagalin grimaced, squeezing her eyes shut. “Ah! Why though?!” she said, sinking back below the water. Meliay held Tyria by the shoulders as she coughed out more water. “Tyria! Are you okay?!” Tyria wiped her mouth. “Y-Yeah! It was just hella salty!” Dagalin rose back up from the water. “Salty? What?” “Yeah. But I recognize it. It was the mashed potatoes that Lance gave me when I was still a secret at his house. He couldn’t get any leftovers from dinner to feed me. So when his parents went to bed, he made me some mashed potatoes because he thought it was easy. It came out chunky, somehow crispy, and salty as all hell. But for some reason, I couldn’t bring myself to hate it. It was the first meal I got in a long time that was made just for me. It… meant a lot.” Meliay frowned at this statement. “Does that mean you forced yourself to scarf it down in order to seem nice?” asked Dagalin. “No! I told him how bad it was to his face.” Tyria said with a smug smile. “Though, I did scarf it down in front of him, so he had a hard time believing me. I was a growing girl and I was hungry as all hell.” “You definitely were a growing girl.” said Dagalin, reaching over to Tyria’s breasts. “Stop that.” said Tyria, smacking Dagalin’s hand away. “Party pooper.” said Dagalin. Suddenly however, she felt a rush of adrenaline flow through her body. Her body glowed blue and her hair started to flow as if suspended in water. Meliay gasped. “Tyria! Get back!” she said, grabbing her arm. Tyria however, forcefully pulled it back. “Stop it! It’s probably fine.” “Yeah!” said Dagalin, her voice now with a slight echo. “I’m still me. But I feel so much better!” Dagalin immediately launched herself right out of the water like a jet, startling the other girls. She landed back on the island in the center of the room, jumping around excitedly. “I feel like I can do anything!” she yelled. She jumped high and landed on the outerwall of the room, quickly wallrunning straight ahead while spreading her arms out like a bird. She giggled to herself as she kept going. But suddenly, her aura flickered and then disappeared. Dagalin slowed down substantially and slipped off the wall, splatting onto the water below. Tyria stood up in shock. “Dagalin! Are you okay!?” Dagalin came back up and gasped for air. Her skin was red as it stung from the impact from the water. “I’m good!” she said, raising a thumbs up in the air. “I think the effect just wore off!” “You mean the water did that?” asked Meliay. “What else? My potions can’t do that.” said Dagalin, swimming back. “Then, if we take some of this water for ourselves, we can have superpower potions?” asked Tyria. Dagalin rested her arms on the ground next to Tyria. “Seems like it. I bottle some up right now.” She reached into her cloak and knocked a bunch of empty mason jars out of it, all of them floating up into the surface. “Are you sure?” asked Meliay. “You yourself said that having this much magic affect you comes with a sacrifice. What are we sacrificing this time?” Dagaline shrugged. “I unno.” “Then we shouldn’t be drinking this! We could be giving up years of our lives with this stuff!” “I disagree.” said Tyria. “As much as I would like to live as long as possible, it won’t matter if we run into a complication. Like, what if we get kidnapped or get our stuff stolen again? We’ll want to use those potions to deal with those issues as soon as possible.” “But… Tyria.” “Either decision is a risk at this point. And I’d rather take the potions for multiple scenarios than not take them to avoid 1.” “Besides, I don’t feel anything yet.” said Dagalin. “Granted, I only drank a tiny bit so maybe I didn’t sacrifice that much. And also, why would a pool of pure life energy take away your life? It just doesn’t sound logical.” Meliay grabbed her head in frustration. “You two, I swear to god. I am actually gonna have a nervous breakdown. We keep taking so many unnecessary risks that I feel like I’m the only one holding the reins of this group. Tyria tried to run straight to the mountains without any supplies, we chased a lead to a potential shortcut that we still don’t even know for sure is a shortcut, and we want to drink miracle potions with seemingly no catch. Power always comes with a price.” “Meliay, I get it, I truly do.” said Tyria. “But that’s just the nature of who we are. We chose to be adventurers, which in itself is a risky occupation. We all knew this. But you’ve been acting weird ever since we left Bofford Town.” Meliay was astonished. “What?! Me acting weird?!” “Yeah.” Tyria sunk lower into the water. “You were always the most level headed of the three of us. Even in the most perilous of situations, you kept a level head and made calculated risks, and you trusted us to execute them. Now you seem like you’re scared of everything.” Meliay looked away, her expression full of thought. Tyria looked up at her. “D-Did something happen?” Meliay walked down the land strip towards the tunnel. “Nothing. I’m gonna scout ahead and see if we can go anywhere. I’m just tired of really weird stuff happening.” Dagalin then heard a bubbling come up from beside her, much more prominent than the fizzing happening all around them. She pointed towards it. “Does that count as something weird?” Everyone else turned to see a bunch of green particles gathering in the water. It all culminated together into one green mass until it revealed itself to be a giant green eye with a thin narrow pupil like a cat. Tyria quickly rose out of the water. “Ew!” she exclaimed, putting her shoes back on. Water tendrils rose out of the pool and grabbed the ground, pulling out an entire watery body. It was no more than a foot tall and had the body shape of a starfish. It noticed the girls. It seemed somewhat shy, touching its arm like tendrils together nervously before waving hi. Tyria stuttered in confusion. “Uh… hi?” The creature cheered momentarily before walking past them. Meliay made extra sure to stay as far as she could from the creature. “What is that thing?” asked Meliay. “I unno.” said Dagalin with another shrug. Meliay groaned in frustration. “Can we please just go?! This place is just giving me the creeps.” “Is it because you’re jealous that Star is cuter than you?” said Dagalin teasingly. Meliay slammed the end of her staff on the ground. “Shut up!” “Did you name it already?” asked Tyria. “Well we aren’t gonna call it ‘the monster’ or ‘the creature’, it just doesn’t fit its personality. “You watched it for less than 10 seconds.” said Meliay with a slight growl. Dagalin lifted herself out of the water. “And I’m sure it would like to have a name if no one gave it one.” She then bent over to pick up her jars and began filling them with the lifewater. Tyria looked ahead at the tunnel and noticed that Star was watching Dagalin closely. Once she was done, she put four in her cloak and held two more out to Tyria and Meliay. “Here you guys go. You guys shouldn’t have to wait on me if you all ever need a boost. Better you have some if you need it right away.” Tyria took a pair of bottles and put them in her side satchel. “Oh, thanks Dagalin.” Meliay however, held up her hand. “No thanks.” she said plainly. Dagalin shook the lifewater jars “But what if-” “No! I’ll make it on my own strength alone.” said Meliay, walking away towards the tunnel. Dagalin sighed and leaned towards Tyria. “This is getting hard Tyria.” she said. “How long until she became your friend?” The two followed Meliay, but far enough to have a private conversation. “Well, it wasn’t from anything we did. She needed me and Lance to do something for her and we became friends after that. That was about a week later.” “Man, one way or another, this journey is gonna be over by the end of next week.” said Dagalin. “I hope Meliay will loosen up soon.” “I hope so too.” The girls made their way to the tunnel. But somehow, Star made it there first and was waiting for them at the entrance. Tyria waved bye. “Bye Star, but we have to get going now.” But instead of letting her pass through, Star got in the way and ushered her back to the room. Meliay walked by without any issue. “Uh, Star? I have to pass. I don’t wanna step on you.” Star shook its head and continued to usher her back into the room. Dagalin took this opportunity to try and sneak past. “Excuse me.” she said in a sneaky voice. But Star zipped right in front of her and blocked her too. “Star, stop blocking them.” said Meliay. “We have places to be.” Star shook its head and continued to block them. “I know we must be the first people you’ve seen in a long time.” said Dagalin. “But we can make time to be friends later.” She then tried to juke Star, but it matched her every move to the tee. “We, really, need, to, get, through!” Dagalin breathed hard and wiped her chin. “Okay, persistent aren’t you? How about this, Tyria? We go at the same time, it can't be at two places at once.” “Sounds good.” said Tyria. “1, 2, 3, go!” Both Tyria and Dagalin both rushed ahead. But in an instant, Star stretched its body along the outer walls of the tunnel, beginning and elastic water barrier. Dagalin and Tyria both crashed into it and bounced back into the room, splashing into the water. Star seemingly laughed at their misfortune, but then Meliay brought out her spearhead. “Isa!” The tip of the spear grew ice cold and she drove it straight through the middle of Star’s body. It gasped and its whole body writhed as its body became ice. “We don’t have time for this. This is bigger than you.” The whole body became ice and Meliay slammed her staff through it, shattering it to pieces. Tyria and Dagalin surfaced and gasped for air. “Okay, that was rude.” said Dagalin. The two of them swam back to shore. Meliay met them in the middle. “Now, how are we gonna get past him.” “I had that handled already.” said Meliay. “I froze it and shattered it to pieces.” “Well that’s mean!” said Dagalin. The girls walked back inside the tunnel. “We don’t have time for this. I did what I had to in order to get out of here.” Just then, huge water tendrils reached around each of their waists, clutching them tightly. Before they could say anything, they were all flung far out of the tunnel and they all crashed onto the stairs. They all scrambled to their feet and saw something forming on the path. A huge glob of lifewater gathered and rose high above them. A giant eye reformed in the center of it and it turned into a giant version of Star. It roared into the air, brandishing its huge white teeth with the size and jaggedness of rocks. “I think you pissed it off, Meliay!” said Dagalin. Meliay grit her teeth and grunted angrily. Star began to approach them, each step it took shaking the whole room. The girls back their way up towards the island. “What’s the plan, Meli? Isn’t this your thing?” “Hold on! I’m thinking!” said Meliay, gripping her staff hard while pointing it at Star. But as it approached, the less ground the girls had to back into. Dagalin was the first to almost tip over the edge. She wiggled and waved her arms, trying to get her balance back. A single pebble fell into the water below, its splash echoing within the room. Just then Dagalin got an idea. She smacked her own head. “Oh duh! Why didn’t we think of this sooner?” She backflipped off the island and dove straight into the water. “Dagalin!” called Tyria, reaching her hand out. But almost immediately after, Dagalin launched straight out of the water. “We’re in a room full of super juice! Use it!” She landed right in front of the other girls and blasted off down the stairs, sliding right under Star’s arm as it tried to slam it down on her. She then jumped in front of the tunnel entrance, waving her hand. “3 swigs should do! Let’s meet back up inside, okay!?” “No! We should stick together!” shouted Meliay. Star turned around and roared at Dagalin, rushing back towards her. “Sorry! Don’t have time! I’ll get back with you guys later!” Dagalin rushed down the tunnel in a flash of blue light. “So you’re just ditching us?!” shouted Meliay. Star crouched down and looked at the tunnel. Its new form was unable to fit in the tunnel, so it refocused on Tyria and Meliay, running back towards them. “Shit!” said Tyria, running towards the edge of the island. “Tyria! What are you doing?!” asked Meliay. “Do you have a better plan?” asked Tyria with her arms out in a shrug. She then dove off the island and straight into the water. “No! Don’t… Don’t leave me!” Meliay shouted. Tyria splashed underwater. Everything underneath looked clear as day. But she had to act fast. She took 3 quick swigs of the life water, each refilling her with memories and salt. Her heartbeat quickened, her body felt so light, and her adrenaline gave her a huge rush. With just one kick of her leg, she shot straight out of the water like a dolphin. Meliay and Star were both surprised at this. Tyria then jumped off the island and landed on the outer wall, running along it towards the tunnel. Star turned around again, running to stop her. But Tyria was already in the tunnel by the time it got there. Star didn’t give up, reaching far down the tunnel with a water tendril. It gained on Tyria as she ran. She saw as it prepared to wrap around her, making her brace. But then the tendril was stretched to its limit and it whipped back. Tyria gave a sigh of relief and continued to run, hoping to find Dagalin soon. “Noo!” said Meliay. Her cry got Star’s attention, now frustrated that it had lost track of 2 of the girls. It rushed full speed towards Meliay, leaping high in the air. Meliay gasped and dove out of the way. She teetered on the edge of the island, trying to keep her balance. Star rose back up, its water tendrils creeping closer to Meliay. Anger welled up within her and she jutted her staff towards Star. “Leave me alone! Galvahoun!” Meliay shot a spiral shot of fire and ice right into Star’s mouth. But Star ate it up like a piece of candy. The attack swirled in Star’s body before it spat it back up at Meliay, blasting her all the way across the lake, slamming her flat against the wall. Meliay groaned in pain, slipping off the wall a bit before grabbing hold of a vine. She groaned in pain as she saw Star stand at the top of the island and eyed her down. She looked down at the lake below her. Though Dagalin’s plan was incredibly reckless, there may not be a better option at the moment. Meliay rolled her eyes and prepped to jump. But then a squelching came from the roof, spitting out a person. “Dranamo!” shouted Lance, diving down with a red harpoon. Star looked up to get a harpoon straight to the eye. It roared in pain as Lance held onto the harpoon for dear life. Green goop spilled all over him as he rode. “Lance?!” shouted Meliay, completely surprised. “Hey! You miss me?! You know, after standing us up on our first big contract!?” shouted back Lance. “But something big came up! I have to find Tyria quickly! I have to protect her!” Lance gasped. “Tyria’s in trouble?” he said to himself. He steeled his resolve and jumped off Star’s face, revealing that his harpoon was connected to a thick wire to a claw he held in the other hand. Lance yelled as he tugged on the wire as he fell, slamming Star straight on the ground. He turned to Meliay. “Get out of here!” “But what about you?!” asked Meliay. “Protect Tyria!” he shouted back. Star began to stand back up and Lance jumped away, tugging his harpoon back to his hand. Meliay sighed, looking down at the lake again. “Please please please don’t sacrifice anything bad.” she said to herself. After taking a deep breath, she leapt off the wall, crossing her arms over her chest before piercing straight through the water with her legs. Lance looked over, seeing what she did. “Meliay? What the heck are you doing?” Just then, Meliay leapt high out of the water and landed near the tunnel. “The water gives you a boost!” she said. “Whenever you get a chance, take 3 swigs and get out of here! I’m gonna find Tyria!” “Yeah okay!” said Lance, sort of confused in the chaos. Meliay nodded and ran straight through the tunnel at full speed. “I’m coming, Tyria! Just you wait!” she said. As she ran, the tunnels became darker and colder and they split into multiple branching pathways. Meliay grumbled slightly as she knew she would just have to guess where Tyria went. After deliberating a bit, she took the very next turn towards an upper level. As she did, she heard Star’s roar echo through the tunnels behind her. A small feeling of worry clouded the back of her mind, but she kept moving ahead, wanting to find Tyria first. --- “WoooOOOoooOOO!” cheered Dagalin, running loops along the tunnel walls with her arms out like a plane. But then her blue aura flickered then dissipated while she was on the roof. “Uh oh!” She then tripped on a vine on the roof and tumbled straight down, falling face first into a small puddle of water. She groaned in pain, creating bubbles in the puddle. She picked herself up. “I wanted to keep going. It was so fun.” She then cupped her hands in the water she fell in and took a sip. After gulping it down, she grew disappointed. “Regular water? How boring.” She flopped on her back and looked at the ceiling. It was dark, but the color of the vines and the jelly were still barely visible. The air felt stagnant, almost unnaturally so. No wind or drafts, just a complete stillness. Dagalin felt a chill flow through her body. It was cold now, made worse by being drenched in water and another familiar feeling. She crossed her legs as her need to pee suddenly came out of nowhere. Standing back up, a sudden realization came across her mind. “Well… I think I know what I sacrificed.” Just then, a roar rumbled through the tunnel, knocking water drops off the ceiling, making it seem like a light rain was occurring inside. “Tyria! I’ve gotta find her! If she pees while that thing is lurking around, she’ll be completely defenseless!” Dagalin started running down the tunnel, making sure to run on as flat a path as possible in hopes of making her need as manageable as possible. --- “Dagalin?!” called Tyria loudly, cupping her hands around her mouth. Her voice echoed through the tunnels, coming back several seconds later extremely faint. “Damn it. All these vines and that jelly stuff must be muffling my voice.” She kicked a puddle of water in frustration. But as the water came splashing down, it activated a sudden realization about her need. She bent down and grabbed her crotch. “Oh my god!” she said with a slight squeal. Though her bladder felt 80% full just a couple minutes ago, it felt like her bladder got topped up in that little amount of time. There was no room left and all that there was to do was to expand. She felt her bladder against her abdomen, becoming harder by the second. “No no! Stop please!” she pleaded as her need to pee kept growing. Eventually, the growth died down. But the need was still elevated. Her bladder was still topped up and she couldn’t remove her hands without risking a leak soon after. She breathed through her teeth and sighed. “Why now?” she asked herself. “This entire experience is gonna suck. I gotta hurry and find someone. Meliay?! Dagalin?! Anybody?!” She continued to call. Her steps were shaky and small. She continued on with one hand on her crotch between her semi-crossed legs and the other along the wall supporting her weight. --- Meliay slid to a halt as her blue aura dissipated. She gave a quick look around the tunnel. “Great, everything that looked the same before now looks the same but darker!” She slammed the end of her staff on the ground in frustration. The shock sent a chill through her body which all culminated in a realization. She subtly squeezed her legs together as she felt the indicator of a need to pee. “Ugh! I don’t have time for this!” she said. “Tyria! Tyria, where are you!?” Her voice echoed slightly down the tunnel. Frustrated, she aggressively walked ahead, her boots splashing harshly against the water puddles. But as she walked, a sudden sound became apparent to her. The trickling of water came from behind. She turned around and pointed her staff in that direction, lighting up its head with golden light. On the floor, water began to flow towards her. At first, it was just a small stream. But then the water began to roar. --- Dagalin and Tyria were both experiencing the same thing. The water level rose and began washing through their feet. The roar of the stream grew stronger and the water level grew rapidly. They all realized what was coming next. “Oh crap!” They all said in unison, unknowingly. A huge wave of water rushed through the tunnel. Immediately, all 3 girls were hip deep in rushing water. They were all easily washed away, struggling to keep their heads afloat. Soon, the water rose all the way to the ceiling. All of them swirled around in the water, each clawing at whatever they could hold onto. --- However, Tyria was in a bigger predicament. She couldn’t spend too much time trying to find something to hold on to as she had to focus on holding her crotch. Her full bladder felt like a ball bouncing around in a box with every twist and turn the water brought her through. She even occasionally bounced against the wall, hurting her immensely and making her control slip away. Then suddenly, one bounce against her lower spine knocked the wind out of her. The bubbles of her breath quickly dispersed in the stream. Tyria started to panic. She couldn’t keep herself safe, hold her breath, or hold her pee all at the same time. It was all too much. The first to give out was her breath. She felt as her diaphragm began to contract, hoping to suck in some air. Tyria tried with all her might to keep her mouth closed, but she could feel her body failing. Then just as hope seemed lost, something tackled her in the water and held her tightly. She was shocked and saw the silhouette of a person. The person then stabbed the wall, halting both of them in place. The sudden stop forced a spurt of pee out of her bladder. She used the last of her strength to hold her pee in. The water tugged overwhelmingly all over her body. Then, she felt the water lowering above her head. “I got’cha! I got’cha!” said a familiar voice. The water lowered and its pull softened until it was nothing but a trickle beneath their feet. The person let go and dropped them both on the ground. Tyria coughed and wheezed trying to catch her breath. “Tyria! Are you okay?!” said the person. They immediately grabbed Tyria’s shoulders and flipped her around, revealing the person to be Lance. Tyria’s eyes widened. “Lance…?! *cough* *cough*!” He held his head in a panic. “Um! I don’t know how to do CPR! I think I’ll just-” He put his hands over Tyria’s sternum. “No! I don’t- *cough*!” said Tyria. But Lance pressed down hard, making her convulse. But even more pressingly, made her spurt out some pee. Lance pressed down two more times and made Tyria spurt both times as well. Then in an act of more than one desperation, she pulled out her sword and jutted it at Lance as a metallic hand, palming him right off her body. Lance fell a ways away from here and rolled around in pain while holding his face. “OW! What the hell was that for?!” “I’m not unconscious, dumbass! I don’t need CPR!” said Tyria. She then groaned and flopped back down on her back. She held her crotch tightly, feeling her control come back as she squeezed the residual pee in her urethra back into her bladder. “Well nice to see you too.” said Lance. He then sat up. “Speaking of which. Why are you out here?! What even is here?! We’ve been talking about a big contract ever since we formed our group! So why did you leave!?” “It’s complicated, okay!” shouted Tyria, throwing her hands up in the air frustratedly. “Do elaborate! Because I had to face the commander of that royal caravan alone, telling him that my teammates aren’t going to show up after insisting for 2 hours after the planned meet up time! Then I had to ask all around town to see where you guys had disappeared! That’s 50 Lyobie that I had to bribe a gate guard with gone! Then after that I had to guess where you’d gone! GUESS! Thank god I got it first try! I had to talk to this guy in town who said he met you the day before, but he wouldn’t stop drooling over Meliay! So by the time he told me which direction you’ve gone, I had to haul ass all the way here, only to see you guys get eaten by a monster well! Then I stabbed this starfish thing’s eye, which made it flush everything here with water! Then as I think I’m about to die, guess who I see sloshing around in the water holding their crotch like she’s a little kid that has to pee! I’m really about to flip after having to remember everything. So please, say something!” “Well if you’d let me speak, I’ll tell you!” shouted Tyria. “First of all-!” --- Meliay swirled around the water expertly. Her staff glowed with golden energy, which illuminated her entire body. She used her levitation and the water's momentum to swim through the water stream as fast as she could. However, the farther she traveled, the more frustrated she got. Every turn and split path only exemplified the complexity of the tunnels she was searching through. Every second of searching only served to raise her anxiety. How long until Tyria ran out of air? How far can she go before she gets lost? Is there even a way out? What if the monster found her first? All her questions came to an end when a huge hulking silhouette seemingly stood within the rushing water like it wasn’t even there. Meliay wasn’t able to react to it fast enough before she crashed straight into them. It was like hitting a brick wall. She hit the person head on, leaving her extremely dazed. The person grabbed hold of her to prevent her from getting washed away from the water. Then, the water began to descend. As it lowered, Meliay fell into the person's arms. The world began to go black. As she tried to stay conscious, she heard one phrase. “Ah crap, she’s gonna be pissed.” Then, the world went completely dark. --- Dagalin swirled around the water, somewhat having fun as she rushed through the various tunnels. It was almost like a roller coaster. She felt excited with every drop and every spin and rode along the stream. But then something strange happened. She felt the water seemingly stop and she drifted through the water until she came to a forceful stop. The water had become still and she crossed her arms with a pout. Then she realized that she also had to breathe. She looked back and forth, but both paths were completely filled with water with pockets of air. With little choice, she swam as fast as she could in a random direction. But as she swam, there was only more water. She kept going until her muscles ached, but there was no sanctuary in sight. She kept pushing on until she couldn’t push on anymore. Her breath was forced out of her in a cough. She curled up and covered her mouth, resisting the urge to inhale and cough again. She squeezed her eyes tight and whimpered, it was getting so hard. She watched as the bubbles rose to the roof and she realized something. An orange flickering light on the roof? A fire? A person? Who cares, she needed fresh air right now! She desperately swam towards the light as fast as she could. Then, she breached above the water, immediately gasping for air. It was so relieving that she struggled to swim for a bit. She coughed and clawed at the sides of the opening. There were vines that she tried her best to reach out to, but they were just out of reach. With one last reach, her hands clawed at the vine, but slipped right off. But before she could fall back into the water, a hand grasped her wrist. “I’ll help you! Don’t worry!” said a feminine voice. Dagalin found herself immediately yanked out of the water by this mysterious person, her body flopping on the edge of the water hole. The person fell on her butt and breathed through her teeth in pain. Dagalin coughed out a bit of water. “Thanks, mystery person.” “You're welcome, other mysterious person.” said the person. They then sighed and sat straight up with her legs crossed. Dagalin eyed her up and down. She had bright brown hair that poofed out to just below her ears. Her skin was a little bit lighter than Dagalin’s and her eyes were as orange as the fruit. She wore a light blue, long sleeve, unzipped, jean jacket that went down to just above her waist. The inside of the jacket had cream colored fur, puffing out slightly at the end of the sleeves, the bottom of the jacket, and the collar. She also wore nothing but white wraps around her breasts under her jacket, tight fitting chocolate brown short-shorts, and black leather boots. However, there was one more aspect that Dagalin noticed. “Whoa! You have cat ears and a tail!” Dagalin said, crawling over with a curious look. The girl scooted back nervously, folding her cat ears into her hair and hiding her tail, both being the same color as her hair and the tail being tipped with bright white fur. “I-It’s not that interesting, is it?” “I think it’s so cool! Hybrid Humans are quite rare!” said Dagalin with a smile. “You think I’m cool?” said the girl, blushing slightly. “Yeah! Super cool!” Dagalin then gasped and leaned away, sitting on her knees. “Oh! Where are my manners? I’m Dagalin Kistral! Nice to meet you!” she said, sticking her hand out. The girl hesitantly shook it. “Faminelli Forcster. Um… likewise.” Dagalin then leaned back, holding her body up with her arms. “So… what’s a girl like you doing around here?” Faminelli held her hands together. “Um… it’s a bit embarrassing really.” “Go on. We all make mistakes in our journey.” Dagalin then held the back of her hand over her mouth as if to hide what she was saying. “And lemme tell you, just yesterday I’ve met some quite lively characters. One is a bit more stubborn than the other, but I’m sure she’ll stop being a pain eventually.” Faminelli chuckled a bit. “Well, if you must know. I left town to become an explorer. My family weren’t… the best supporters. What’s the point of exploring the world if the entire world has already been explored, they said. But I wanted to see the world for myself. You know what I’m saying, right? It’s just so much better to see the world with your own 2 eyes than on a map.” “Oh? Are you one of those spiritual types?” “Yes and no, in a way. But, having started my first journey yesterday, you can see it hasn't really… gone well.” Faminelli said, gesturing around the short room. “Why? You don’t seem to be doing so bad.” Faminelli grew nervous again. “The thing is, I haven’t been able to leave this room because… I can’t exactly swim.” Dagalin’s jaw dropped. “You’re kidding! Then how did you get in here?” “I saw the opening before the water filled up that tunnel. So I hopped in. But now I can’t get out, and it hasn’t lowered since. I set up camp over there.” Feminelli gestured to the corner where her huge backpack was leaning against the wall and a small pitiful fire made of various flaming books. “To be honest… I-I think… I’m gonna die in here.” Faminelli’s voice cracked and tears began to well up in her eyes. Dagalin was a bit surprised. “Whoa whoa! It’s gonna be okay!” She held Faminelli’s hands comfortingly. “I’m gonna get you out of here.” “Y-You will?” Faminelli said with a sniffle. “I can swim so, yeah! I think we have a pretty good chance. Plus, my friends are around her somewhere. I’m sure they’ll be willing to help us too.” “Okay, if you really think so, then I’ll put my faith in you.” said Faminelli. Dagalin nodded confidently and stood up facing the water hole, but then the weight of her bladder pushed down on her pee hole. She crossed her legs quickly and sighed. “Oh, but before I go in, how comfortable are you with me taking off my clothes?” Faminelli blushed fiercely and looked away. “W-Well, if you really need to in order to s-swim comfortably, w-why should I stop you?” “Actually no.” Dagalin unzipped her suit and squatted in the corner far from Faminelli. “I really have to pee and I've been holding it for a bit. So I’ll just do it here so I can be comfortable while swimming.” Faminelli then gasped and held her hands out desperately. “No! Don’t! Stop!” Dagalin had already stripped half her suit off and her pee hole had already relaxed. She dropped her suit and quickly grabbed her crotch, keeping her pee at bay. After getting it under control, she chuckled a bit. “Yeah you're right, I should just pee in the water. I shouldn't leave you with a puddle of pee while you wait.” “No! Don’t pee! Ever! Not anywhere here!” Faminelli said with a bit of a panicked voice. Dagalin turned around bare-chested, flushing Faminelli’s face with another blush as she turned away again. “Huh? Care to elaborate?” “T-There’s a being in these tunnels. It acts as a caretaker or m-more like a white blood cell! If we pee, it will detect it and try to clean it up! Then after that, it will see us and try to kill us… maybe!” Dagalin tilted her head in curiosity. “Wait, this wouldn't happen to be some kind of watery, starfish lookin’ dude would it? Got a great big green eye too?” Faminelli looked back at Dagalin. “You’ve seen it?!” She then looked away again, remembering that Dagalin was showing herself off. “Yeah. It got all big and fussy when we tried to leave the room we came in.” Faminelli half peeked at Dagalin. “You wouldn’t happen to mean the room with the lifewater and a tree in the center, right?” “You know about it?” “Yes, I’ve studied the life water veins thoroughly. I was planning to use them as shortcuts through the lands if I ever needed to and… c-can you please put your suit back on already!” Dagalin sighed with a smile. “C’mon. We’re both girls, this aint nothin’ more than locker room stuff.” She shook her chest slightly side to side. “Just look at me. The more you do, the less awkward it will feel.” “Y-You’re okay with that?” asked Faminelli. “O’course! I’m absolutely comfortable in my birthday suit. I think you should try to get acclimated to it too.” Dagalin said slightly teasingly. “A-Alright.” Faminelli slowly faced Dagalin, making an extra effort to stare straight into her eyes. Dagalin smiled mischievously, knowing what she was trying to do. She pretended to yawn, stretching her arms high above her head and jutting her breasts out. Faminelli’s nerve finally broke and she looked down on Dagalin’s breasts for a brief second before she turned away again, covering her face again in embarrassment. “I’m sorry! Please forgive me!” Dagalin reeled back in laughter. “Haha! Why are you so tense?” “I was raised in a proper household! We never… ‘expressed ourselves’ in such a way!” said Faminelli, speaking into her hands. “Hmm, sounds boring. At least I’m interesting, right?” Faminelli was too flustered to answer. Dagalin zipped her suit back up and squeezed her legs together subtly, feeling her need to pee slightly increase. “Alright, alright, that’s enough teasing. I think I should head out before I can’t hold it anymore.” “You don’t have to go that bad, do you? I mean, how long do you think you’ll last?” asked Faminelli. Dagalin pressed her crotch with her hand. “Maybe another hour or 2.” Faminielli looked down in a sort of defeated way. “Oh, me too I think.” “You too?” Dagalin paid extra attention. Faminelli was squeezing her legs together quite substantially. She had to pee as well. “You found out about that starfish showing up to clean up pee the last time you pee’d, didn’t you?” “Y-Yeah. I really had to go so I squatted in a corner and did my business. But then that thing showed up, berating me seemingly for doing what I did. I was scared, so I ran away before it could chase me. It stayed to absorb the pee into its body, possibly breaking it apart so that it was purified. Then I ran here. But all that running made me thirsty, so when the water rose, I took a couple cups worth. I drank through my bottle like 3 times. And now…” Faminelli crossed her legs. “I’m not sure how long it will be until it finds us.” Dagalin raised her hands in the air and stretched side to side. “Then I think we should hurry. I’ll go scout ahead and look for a way out of here.” “But I still can’t swim!” said Faminelli. “Are you gonna carry me through the water?” Dagalin fished a potion out from her cloak. “Don’t worry, I have a potion that sort of gives you water breathing. We’ll get you out of here even if you have to run along the floor!” Faminelli smiled. “Oh! Thank you so much Dagalin!” Dagalin gave her a thumbs up. “No problem, Elli!” Faminelli gasped. “Elli?” “It’s the new nickname I’ve made up for you.” said Dagalin with a smile. “You like it?” Faminelli held her hands near her chest endearingly. “Yes! I really do! I’ve never had a nickname before!” “It’s cool that you like it!” said Dagalin. She backed up to the waterhole. “I’ll see ya when I see ya!” She then stepped back and fell into the water, wasting no time by swimming in a direction down the tunnel. With each breaststroke, she propelled herself far down the tunnel, swooshing through the water. After a bit, she saw a familiar light. It was daylight! She excitedly swam towards the light, but something was up. A huge blueish-white wall stood the way with the daylight shining just behind it. Dagalin was curious and put her hand up into it. She quickly recoiled back, shocked. It was ice! Was it a way back up to the mountains? How was she gonna get rid of all this ice? These were questions for later as her diaphragm spasmed, indicating that she was running out of breath. She swam back as fast as she could. --- Faminelli jumped and Dagalin surfaced out of the waterhole, gasping for air. “Oh my god! Dagalin, are you okay?!” she asked, offering her hand. Dagalin took it and wiped her mouth. “I’m okay! *cough* Just a bit farther than I would like.” Hope filled Faminelli’s expression. “You found a way out?” Dagalin scratched the back of her head. “Sort of. Do you have any explosives on you?” “...no?” Dagalin sighed and paced with her hands on her hips. “Damn. Then we only got one choice. I have… ‘an acquaintance’ also within the tunnels also. I know she has the power to blow up the ice wall blocking the exit. But in order to find her, I’ll need to leave you hangin’ for a while. You okay with that?” Faminelli held Dagalin’s hands. “Yes! Do whatever you need to do! I believe in you!” Dagalin blushed slightly. “Oh… you’re the first person to ever put their faith in me like that.” Faminelli smiled. “And you’re the first friend I’ve made.” She stepped back and nervously turned her foot on its toes. “Hey, after this, do you wanna… you know… travel together?” Dagalin beamed from ear to ear. “Oh! I would love to! But I have to help a friend with a curse. So we’ll have to go to Garmberland first.” Faminelli’s ears and tail drooped. “Oh…” “Is… that not something you wanna do?” asked Dagalin, concerned. “It’s just that… Garmberland is my home town. So having to return so soon is… bittersweet in a way.” Dagalin put a hand on Faminelli’s shoulder. “Hey. We’re only gonna be there for like 4-5 days, tops. We’ll leave as soon as we can afterward.” Famineli took Dagalin’s hand off her shoulder. “Really?” “Yeah!” Dagalin walked over to the waterhole “Now to find my friends.” “Is it safe? Will it take a while?” asked Faminelli. Dagalin looked back with a smile. “Don’t worry. As long as no one takes a piss, everything should be A okay!” --- A stream of pee petered to a stop. “So this witch that you kicked out of town cursed you to die after you pee 10 times?” said Lance, zipping up his pants. Tyria fidgeted in place, crossing her legs with one hand on her crotch. “Did you have to pee right in front of me?!” Tyria sighed. “ And that was exactly what I said… yes.” “Really?” said Lance, opening his arms out. “And how do you expect me to believe that?” “Well for one, Meliay believes me.” “That’s the only thing you have! You and I both know Meliay would never believe such a thing if it wasn’t real! But… it’s just so out there! Are you absolutely sure that it isn’t something else?” “I’ve died twice already! Why would I lie!?” “Because I was hoping you left for a reason that made sense!” Lance put his hands on his head in frustration and sat against the wall. “I imagined all these scenarios and what I would say to each one. But this? How was I ever supposed to come up with something like that? Its so stupid, petty, and fuckin rediculous. If anything, I almost feel like it would’ve been better if you left because of something I did, or if you just found a better job that you didn’t want me to be a part of.” Tyria sat next to him, still fidgeting slightly. “This had nothing to do with what you did, nor would I ever take a job all for myself. You know this. We’ve been partners ever since I moved in.” Lance sighed and lowered his hands to his side. “I know… I don’t know very much about this magic stuff so… it still feels unreal.” “Magic is connected to all aspects of life. Birth, death,” Tyria rested her head on Lance’s shoulder, pressing harder on her crotch as another small wave came. “*Mmn* And everything in between. I suppose the more I think about it, it makes more sense.” Lance hung his head. “I wish it didn’t.” The two sat in silence for a moment. Tyria tried her best to wallow within the moment, despite her growing need to pee. But then they heard something splash near them. They both stood up at alert, Lance pulling out his harpoon and Tyria transformed her sword into a rapier. Staring back at them was a giant green eye, looking angry. Star had appeared, but was half the size of what it originally was. “The hell?” said Lance, tilting his head in confusion. “I gouged that things eye out!” “It probably used the lifewater to regenerate!” said Tyria. “That same stuff I used to escape?” asked Lance. “Probably,” said Tyria. “Well now it’s nowhere near that stuff. Maybe it will die this time!” Lance threw his harpoon right at Star. But Star immediately jumped out of the way, jumping from wall to wall wildly before lunging straight at Lance. Tyria immediately shoved Lance out of the way. “MOVE!” She then turned her sword into an ax and chopped at Star, cutting its watery body in half. The halves fell past them and turned into a couple of puddles of water. “Did we get it?” asked Lance. Just as he said that, the puddles rose up, each growing an eye each. There were now two Stars. “No!” said Tyria. The Stars approached menacingly while Tyria and Lance backed away cautiously. Then, there was another splash behind them. A huge glob of water fell from the ceiling, splashing down before creating another Star. A sense of dread washed over Tyria. “Uh oh…” More Stars were appearing. From the ceiling, the walls, and the floor. Some approached, others began absorbing the pee puddle Lance left earlier. Just then, a significant wave of desperation ran through Tyria’s crotch, forcing her to grab it with both hands and bend down. “No! Not now! Not now! Please, come on!” She twisted her body and crossed her legs tightly, hoping to suppress the wave as soon as possible. Lance however, wasn’t keen on waiting around. He grabbed Tyria’s arm and pulled her away. “Come on! We have to get out of here!” Tyria panicked as she tried not to fall over and keep her legs crossed at the same time. “Lance, stop! I’m going to pee myself!” “It’s either that or get eaten by those things.” said Lance, gesturing back to the Stars. All of them were running and crawling towards them along the walls. “But *Nnh* Lance! *Mmph*!” Tyria couldn’t hold her pee while running full speed. Though her singular hand pressed as hard as it could, it was like trying to tap up a dam. A spurt made its way out of her pee hole. Tyria gasped and tried harder to get Lance to stop, but he pulled even harder, sending a shock through her body that opened her pee hole enough to force it to constantly leak. With every step now, another gush of pee jetted into her pants, leaving pee droplets as they ran. Then she tripped over a vine, opening the floodgates all the way. Pee rushed out of her bladder, through her panties, and out of her pants, splattering behind them in a trail. Tyria couldn’t focus enough of her effort into holding it, making it feel like she was trying to stop an entire river. “LANCE!” she yelled one last time, breaking out of his grasp. “What?!” he asked, frustrated that they were stopping. Tyria held her crotch and twisted her legs. But the stream had already begun to die down. By the time she held her crotch, there was nothing left to hold. She then looked to Lance. “I…” All in an instant, her eyes rolled to the back of her head and her knees buckled as her entire body fell to the floor. Lance rushed over. “Tyria! TYRIA!” he called in a panic. He held her head, shaking her slightly. “Tyria! Wake up please!” He watched as Tyria’s hand fell limp to the side. Lance gasped and put his ear near her chest. There was no heartbeat. His heart sank. Tyria was actually dead. But he didn’t have too long to dwell on it. The Stars were coming. However, they started to slow down as many of them began to cleanse Tyria’s pee trail. Lance gave them one last look of anger before picking up Tyria’s body in a princess carry and running away. --- Meliay groaned. Her eyes fluttered as they adjusted to the area around her. She was still within the viney tunnels. It was still dark, but now she was being carried by somebody. “Tyria…?” she asked drearily. “Oh, you’re finally awake!” said a deep gruff voice. “What…?” said Meliay, not recognizing it. She looked to her right and got an entire face full of chest hair. She screamed and pushed herself away, but then she fell into a large puddle, submerging her entire lower body underwater. “Augh! What the hell?” “Well that definitely was a reaction. You were almost dry too.” said the person in front of her. Meliay looked up and saw a familiar and unwelcome face. “You?!” Standing in front of her was Steve. He was shirtless with thick leather pants and shoes. His beard was scruffy but trimmed and his hair was shortened. “Oh, you remember.” Meliay gave him an angry stare. “You! You… Who are you again?” Steve sighed. “Come on, we met back at Boford Town. You know, I gave you two the information that person you were chasin’ around town. Neat light show you guys put on by the way. Meliay stood up. “Your name damn it! What the hell is your name?!” She reached her staff but found it wasn’t at her side. “Lookin’ fer this?” said Steve. He held out Meliay’s staff. It looked like a tiny stick in his big meaty hands. Meliay snatched the staff away. “Give that back!” she said before pointing it at Steve. “Now what are you doing here?” “Some guy showed up the same day you guys decided to leave.” said Steve. “Word got around pretty fast that he was looking for you. And after the show you guys put on around town, a lot of people had their eyes on you. They saw which direction you left town and who you brought with you. A lot of people asked that I give you their thanks for convincing that nuisance to leave.” “It wasn’t exactly my choice.” said Meliay, still pointing her staff. Steve moved the tip of the staff away from his chest with his finger. “Do you have to keep pointing that thing at me? I’m not gonna hurt anybody. Nice new staff head by the way.” Meliay forced her staff back. “You still haven’t explained why YOU’RE here. If it’s for the reason I think it is, I swear to god.” “I mean…” Steve shrugged, “I really wanted to see you again.” Meliay grunted aggressively before scraping her staff head on the ground, igniting it with golden energy. “Glettings Bara!” She slammed the staff head into the ground, sending a wave of golden energy through the ground. When it went under Steve’s feet, he was knocked flat on his face, splashing it in a tiny puddle. Meliay walked over to his head and crouched down. “I don’t have time to deal with whatever THIS is. So go home! I am not gonna be some girl for you to conquer! And I am absolutely disgusted that you even think that I would ever give you a chance!” Steve then pressed his hands on the ground, making it shake slightly. He picked himself up nonchalantly and rubbed his chin with a sigh. Meliay backed away, pointing her staff back at him again, shocked that he had received practically no visible damage. “Yeah, I get it. In hindsight, maybe being drunk off my ass wasn’t the best first impression. But I hope that maybe if I can help around, you know, maybe even show you a little more of who I really am-” “Like hell!” shouted Meliay. She got ready to cast another spell, but a large splash got the attention of both of them. Meliay turned around and pointed her staff at the water, only to see Dagalin gasping for air as she emerged from the water. “Oh my god!” said Dagalin in a wheezing voice, “I thought I wasn’t gonna make it!” “Dagalin!” said Meliay, shocked. “What are you doing here?!” Dagalin gasped. “Meli! I found you so fast! Now the next part should be easy!” “Next part?” asked Meliay. “Yeah!” Dagalin rose out of the water and walked over to Meliay. “There was someone else here. They’re stuck in that water tunnel down there and can’t get out because they can’t swim. So I’ll need your help to blow up an ice wall to drain the water, which will help us get out of here too!” Meliay backed away from Dagalin, her expression cold. “Hey uh, w-why are you walking away from me?” “Why should I believe you?” asked Meliay. “What?” asked Dagalin in a confused voice. “Why should I ever trust you?” said Meliay again. “I-I found a way out. Why would I lie about that?” Meliay then pointed her staff at Dagalin, making her back away. “Or, you’re leading me to a trap where you plan to escape and leave us here.” “Huh?! Why would I ever do that?! I’ve never tried to escape even once!” “You could’ve just been biding your time.” Meliay then pounded the end of her staff on the ground. “But let’s humor you. Even if you were trying to cooperate, you’ve been a detriment at almost every step of the way!” “What?!” said Dagalin, throwing her arms out in shock. “Bein’ a bit harsh ain't ya?” asked Steve. “Shut up!” said Meliay, pinching her fingers in the air. “You’re not part of any of this!” She turned back around to Dagalin. “You drugged us and stole our stuff. You made us chase you all around town. And you fed Tyria the idea that coming this way was a good idea!” “But I’ve been trying, haven't I? Please just believe me, I can lead us out of here. If you’d just give me a chance!” Meliay slammed her staff on the ground angrily. “You don’t deserve a chance! You killed Tyria!” That last phrase left the 3 in silence as it echoed slightly through the tunnel. “You killed Tyria. I’ll never forget that day. How she fell to the ground lifeless. How I could no longer feel her heartbeat…” Meliay’s voice grew shaky, but she quickly suppressed her sadness and pointed her staff back at Dagalin. “So many times I’ve been so close to losing Tyria. Even now, we don’t even know where she is. Well no more. All of this is your fault. You are nothing more than a trickster, a thief, a snake oiler! So what you can do now is get the fuck out of my sight!” Dagalin stepped away from Meliay, tears welling up. “Oh…” she said, her voice cracking. “I mean… that did happen. It was a horrid experience that I never ever wanted to happen. But Tyria is still alive, and we can still save her, I wanted to genuinely help. And for a while, I really thought we had something going on. But that entire time, it must’ve been just some sick joke to you. You never intended to be my friend, did you?” Meliay remained silent. “That’s what I thought. You’re just like everybody else.” Dagalin turned around, walking a ways down the water tunnel until she was waist deep. “I get it. No one ever allowed me to be anyone else. Why should I have expected you to be any different?” After a moment, Dagalin dove under the water and swam away. Steve sighed. “That was a bit mean, you know? Looked like you really hurt the kid.” Meliay turned around and walked past Steve. “What part of ‘You are not part of any of this’ do you not understand? Plus, she’s a year older than me.” “Huh, coulda fooled me.” said Steve with a shrug. He then followed her. “Wait! Where are you going?” “Tyria isn’t gonna find herself, is she? I’ve gotta find her if no one else will.” “That girl could’ve helped us.” “I don’t need her help. Nor do I need yours! So leave me alone already!” “Have you no faith in anyone?” “The only faith I need is in myself and my friend. No one else.” “More is merrier as they say. If you really think doing everything by yourself is worth it, be my guest. If anything, I’d hardly call you and Tyria a team at this point.” Meliay grit her teeth and jutted the spearhead out of her staff, swinging it at Steve, who barely dodged it. “You don’t know anything! We’ve barely even known each other for more than a couple hours and you think you can just give me input?! Me and Tyria have been friends for years. I know better than you ever will!” “Sounds like you two are real close.” said Steve, keeping a cautious distance away. “But, how much of that time together have you spent apart? Very little I presume?” “What of it?” said Meliay. “Who are you without Tyria?” said Steve, his expression becoming serious. “What life can you imagine without her in it?” Meliay remained silent, but gritted her teeth in anger. “She’s special to you, isn’t she? More than just a friend. That must be why you’re acting so differently compared to the day I met you. Why you treated that poor girl like nothing more than dirt on your shoe. It begs the question, what would Tyria think?” Meliay was about to attack him again, but another voice sounded out behind her. “Shit shit shit shit shit shit shit!” shouted Lance, carrying an unconscious. Meliay and Steve looked to see him running towards them. Behind him were tons of Stars crawling all along the walls, barking with their wretched wet mouths. “Lance?! And Tyria?!” exclaimed Meliay. “A little help please!” shouted Lance. He then yelped as a Star lunged for his legs, but he jumped just in time to footstool it into the ground. “Now would be good!” Meliay grunted and retracted the spearhead into her staff, pointing its head in Lance's direction. “Leiptra!” Several energy blasts shot out of the staff, zipping past Lance and hitting various Stars, splattering them apart like bags of water. There were more Stars than she could shoot though and the horde barely slowed down. Meliay stopped shooting and instead slammed the end of her staff on the ground. Lance was surrounded in golden energy and got flung far forward, tumbling past Meliay and Steve while holding Tyria’s body close to protect her. Meliay then jutted out her spearhead and stabbed it into the ground. “Mauer Isa!” Instantly, a wall of ice erected from the ground, completely shutting the tunnel off. Several watery bangs across the ice pounded, the Stars trying to get in. Meliay turned around. “How did you manage to piss off that many, Lance?!” Lance quickly crawled over to her. “Nevermind that! Tyria! Something happened to her!” Meliay looked at her and saw that she was unconscious. She quickly knelt by their side and held her hand to Tyria’s face. “She told me of this curse and… I don’t think I believed her enough, a-and I might’ve pushed her too hard-” Meliay then whacked him over the head with her staff. “Lance you goddamn idiot! We wouldn’t be out here if it wasn’t real!” Lance rubbed his head. “Ow! Okay!” He looked at his hand and noticed that there was a tiny bit of blood. Meliay gasped, she didn’t mean to hit him that hard. Maybe she was losing it a little bit. She took a deep breath and calmed down a bit. “She told you she can come back right? How long was she out?” Meliay asked. “I dunno, uh… 30 or 40 seconds?” “That long?! D-Did she tell you about the other thing?” “What other thing?” Just then, Tyria gasped for air and sat up from Lance’s arms. “Tyria! You’re okay!” Tyria coughed. “Yeah *cough* I’m back.” she sighed, “To be honest, I’m not exactly sure if it's a good or bad thing that I’m getting used to this. And, one more thing,” Tyria turned around and slapped Lance across the face. “I told you to wait up!” “I know! I’m sorry! I learned my lesson!” said Lance, raising his hands defensively. Tyria gasped, noticing the blood on his hand. “Oh my god! You’re hurt!” she said, feeling guilty for slapping him. She held his hand concerningly. “Where did they get you?” “What this? Nah, this way Meliay’s handiwork. Guess I made her a little too mad this time.” said Lance, lightly chuckling thinking nothing of it. Tyria stood up and turned to Meliay, looking serious. “Meliay, is this true?” Meliay uncomfortably gripped her staff. “I-I mean… it was just an accident. I didn’t mean to.” “Meliay, he is bleeding!” said Tyria, her voice raising. Meliay looked away guiltily, backing up a little. “I know, I’m sorry. It’s just that… I’ve been through a lot lately and-” “We all have, Meliay! This entire journey has sucked for everybody involved! But that absolutely doesn’t give us the excuse to hurt our friends!” Meliay could not face Tyria, her guilt became too substantial. She was even wondering if what she said to Dagalin was the right thing to do. “Hey uh… sorry to cut your drama short, but I don’t think what’s happening over there is particularly good.” said Steve, pointing at the ice wall. Everyone looked to see that it was now cracking apart. And even more than that, some Stars had passed by it by going through the blue jelly in the walls. “Time to go, yeah?” said Lance. He gestured to Tyria and Meliay, “We’ll fix THIS, later.” Lance began to run, Meliay spoke up. “Wait! Dagalin said that there is another ice wall that way, we’ll be trapped! And I can’t break it because the entire tunnel is flooded.” “Wait, you saw Dagalin?” asked Tyria. “Where?” Meliay looked away guiltily. “Ummm…” “She told her off.” said Steve, “Poor girl looked like she was about to cry too.” “Meliay!” shouted Tyria with a slight growl, holding out her hands as if she was choking air. “I swear, I am going to kill you! What was the point of giving you those 3 friend coupons!?” “Wait, did she dishonor a deal worth 3 friend coupons?!” asked Lance, flabbergasted. “Meliay, what the hell happened? That isn’t like you at all!” Before they could argue further, the ice wall broke apart. All the Stars barked and roared as they poured through the hole. Everyone prepared to face off against them, Tyria taking the front with Lance, turning her sword into a cutlass. But just as one lunged, Meliay couldn’t help herself. She shoved Tyria out of the way and took the attack for her. The Star rode her head, gnawing on her head and tearing it out. “Ow ow ow ow!” shouted Meliay. “Why would you do that, Meliay!?” shouted Tyria, cutting down any Stars nearby looking to drag down Meliay as well. “You know me and Lance take the front! You are making absolutely no sense today!” Meliay tripped over a vine and fell back against the wall. Her staff hit the wall hard, bending the head a bit. “Meliay!” said Tyria, trying to rush over. But too many Stars were getting in her way. The Star on Meliay’s head wrapper around to her face and began biting away, cutting and scraping it up. Meliay desperately tried to push it away, but her hands went right through its watery body. Then suddenly, it suddenly exploded into mist. Meliay gasped, seeing that Steve had punched the Star away. But before she could say anything, he picked her up and threw her over his shoulder. “What the heck are you doing?!” asked Meliay, flustered. “You’re not thinking clearly! I’m taking over!” said Steve. Meliay began slamming her fists into his back and tried to wriggle out. “HUH?! What the heck can you do?!” Steve kicked her staff into his hand, putting it under his armpit. “I’ll show you.” He ran over and scooped up Tyria and Lance in one swoop, holding them near his chest. “I’m gonna get us out of here! You might wanna hold your breath!” Steve then ran towards the water. “Hey! I don’t like being manhandled!” said Lance, slightly blushing. “Suck it up, big baby!” said Steve. “Brace yourselves!” Everyone took a deep breath as Steve plowed through the water. They all felt the water surge through them as Steve kept running full speed as if it wasn’t even there. Meliay was shocked, just who the heck was Steve? His strength was absurd! She looked back, seeing that the Star’s that followed dissolved back into green particles. But even those began to pursue them. She held her hand over her mouth, hoping to not let even one bubble of breath loose. --- Dagalin rose from the waterhole, gasping for air. Faminelli rushed over and helped her out of it. But as soon as Dagalin was able to stand, she threw her arms around Faminelli and began to sob. Faminelli patted her back. “Oh, what’s wrong?” “Y-You’re my friend, right Elli?” asked Dagaling, sniffling slightly. “O-Of course!” said Faminelli, slightly confused. “What happened?” “She hates me! She… She won’t help us! She said all these mean things and now I don’t know what to do!” Faminelli held Dagalin tighter and closed her eyes. “Shh Shh, it’s okay. I know how that feels. If anything, that’s the reason why I left home. But you're not alone anymore. We have each other. Here, sit with me.” Faminelli brought Dagalin down with her and sat against the wall. She then put the hood on Dagalin’s cloak on her head. “Take as much time as you need. And if you need anything, I’ll be right here.” “T-Thank you.” said Dagalin. The two sat for a while, occasionally rocking back and forth together. Dagalin would also break the silence by letting out a sob every once in a while. Faminelli wrapped her arm around Dagalin’s head and let her rest her head on her shoulder. Dagalin brought her knees to her chest and wrapped her arms around her legs, finding immense comfort in Faminelli’s presence. But after a while, a huge splash at the water hole startled them both. Steve shot right out and landed at the waterhole’s edge, shaking the room. He put Tyria, Meliay, and Lance down on the floor gently, each of them coughing. “Oh my god!” groaned Tyria. “I thought I was gonna die for real this time!” “Please don’t joke like that.” said Meliay. Lance sat up groggily. “We need to think of a plan. Maybe if we start digging at the walls, we can dig up to the surface.” Faminelli sat up. “That won’t work, the walls regenerate faster than you can dig through them.” Everyone looked at her. “Who’s this?” asked Tyria. “Oh! Um… I’m Faminelli. I’ve been stuck down here since yesterday.” said Faminelli, looking away nervously. Meliay then noticed Dagalin, looking at her upside down on her back. She remembered the brief conversation they had, Dagalin had mentioned that there was someone she met. Turns out there was more truth than Meliay was willing to believe. She flipped herself over and held her head up. “Dagalin.” she said. Dagalin however hid slightly behind Faminelli’s shoulder. Faminelli looked between her and Meliay and put the pieces together. Frustration grew with her and she stood up, walking towards them. Meliay looked at her, wondering what she was gonna do. Little did she expect for the threads of her jacket to grasp her by the torso and pin her to the wall. “Whoa hey!” shouted Lance, quickly standing up. Tyria did the same. “What are you doing?!” “You!” said Faminelli. “You’re the one that hurt Dagalin, weren’t you?!” Meliay looked at Dagalin again, seeing her curled up in the corner. Her eyes were puffy from recent crying. Meliay felt horrible. She let out all her anger onto her even though there was someone who deserved more blame than anyone. But with no way to confront them, she dumped all her anger on Dagalin. Granted, she deserved at least a little bit of it, but with the way she looked now, Meliay knew now that she went too far. Steve then walked over and put his hand on Faminelli’s shoulder. “Come now. After having a talk with her friends, I’m sure that she knows what to do now.” Faminelli looked into Meliay’s eyes, seeing remorse in them. She sighed and hesitantly put her down, returning the threads to her jacket. Meliay gave a sigh of relief and made her way towards Dagalin. She was nervous and began fiddling with the string of her robe ner her chest as she walked. On the way, she noticed that Steve had her staff. She reached over to retrieve it, but Steve stepped back. “Mm-mm, after.” said Steve. Meliay was hesitant, but she took a deep breath and accepted the condition, willing to talk to Dagalin fully exposed. She stood about 5 feet away from her and looked away nervously. “Dagalin, I…” Meliay stopped. She then went down to her hands and knees, bowing her head. “I'm so sorry!” Dagalin was kind of shocked at Meliay’s sudden shift in mood. “I was just so angry, and scared, and paranoid, and I just dumped all that on you. You didn’t deserve it. Tyria just means so much to me that… that I can’t imagine my life without her!” Steve raised his eyebrow at that statement. “So I ask, can you forgive me?” For several moments, there was nothing but silence. Meliay slowly looked up and saw Dagalin in the same position. Her face was hidden under her hood and legs, only her purple eyes staring at her. “The story you told.” Dagalin finally said, “Was it true?” “The one about the staff?” asked Meliay, “Yeah, why?” “Why tell me about it at all if you never intended to be my friend before?” Meliay sighed. “It’s not that… I mean maybe… It’s just that it was interesting that you asked about it. You were so proud of your cloak and what it could do and I was proud of my staff. I actually found fun in telling you about it. It reminded me of what it was like to actually build it. Countless days of toil and sourcing materials, it’s also the thing I have that I’m most proud of. If anything, I think we really bonded, even if only slightly, over those things. I think that was our first true connection.” Dagalin lowered her legs and tilted her head. “You really think that?” Meliay nodded. “I do.” Dagalin pinched her chin and thought for a moment. “I have an idea. I’ve gone on this journey with you two for two things. To get to Garmberland, and to make friends with all of you. And so far, I’ve only made friends with Tyria and Elli.” She gestured to Faminelli, who waved back happily. “I still haven’t made friends with you. So let’s do something that will cement our friendship going forward.” “What is it?” asked Meliay. Dagalin smiled, walking over and kneeling next to Meliay. “I want… a friend coupon.” Meliay looked at her confused. “What? Why?” “Because, you don’t give friend coupons to people who aren’t your friends, right?” “I suppose that logic is sound.” “And, I want to use it to get back at you one day. Only then will we be even.” Tyria couldn’t help but snort at this, finding it amusing. Meliay hung her head down and sighed. “Fine. I will grant you ONE friend coupon.” she said, holding up her index finger. Dagalin grinned and threw her arms in the air. “Yaaay!” she said, quickly hugging Meliay’s head tightly. “Here’s to being official friends!” “Y-Yay!” said Meliay, slightly less enthusiastically with an awkward smile. Faminelli smiled, looking on with her arms crossed. But then, she heard a yell beside her. She looked to see Lance jumping away in pain with a Star gnawing on his leg. “Sneaky bastard!” he yelled. He took his harpoon and slashed the Star away, making its body turn into water. “Looks like they found us!” Everyone looked at the waterhole. A couple of Stars began to crawl out of it, looking to bite the nearest person. Tyria slashed and Steve kicked some back down the hole before Faminelli walked up to the hole. “Make way!” she yelled, raising her arm above her head. Her sleeve immediately transformed into a giant, super flat panel of thread. She then slammed it on top of the waterhole like a lid. The lid rocked up and down as the Stars struggled to get in. “That should hold them for a while. But eventually they’ll start coming through the walls.” “Why are they even after us anyway?!” asked Lance. “Does a monster really need a reason?” asked Tyria. “They’re not monsters, they’re protectors.” said Faminelli. “They’re like white blood cells in the bloodstream, except they protect the lifewater veins. They clean anything like dirt, random junk, clothes, stuff like that. As long as you guys didn’t leave anything in the tunnels, they shouldn’t be angry like this.” Lance raised his hand. “Uh, does pee count?” “Yes! Don’t tell me you went!” “I did my business like any normal human being! And I may or may not have made Tyria pee herself also…” “Even then, with this many they would’ve cleaned that up ages ago.” Faminelli tried to think. “You guys didn’t throw the first punch, did you?” “We did blast a few.” said Meliay. “There was this huge one that I gouged the eye out of.” said Lance. “Huge?” asked Faminelli, concerned. “How huge?” “Like a building and halves worth.” said Lance. “Fought it in this big ass room full of this water that gave me superpowers! It was so cool, you shoulda seen it!” “...You wouldn’t happen to have taken some of it with you, have you?” “Yeah, is that bad?” asked Dagalin, showing off her six bottles. Tyria showed off her pair as well. Faminelli’s eyes widened. “Well duh! That water is the pure life energy of the planet itself! The cells will protect that with their lives, no matter how much you take!” “Can’t we just give it back?!” asked Meliay. “Too late now! We’re probably labeled as threats that need to be eliminated!” “Then we only have one way out.” said Dagalin. “The ice wall! Meliay, can you swim?” “Well… I used to, but,” Meliay retrieved her staff from Steve. “Getting into a fight with those things bent my staff. It isn’t exactly useless yet, but with it bent like this, it will be hard to aim myself with my levitation magic.” “Then we’ll do the next best thing.” Dagalin pulled out a potion bottle from her cloak. “I’ll carry you there.” “What!?” asked Meliay, surprised. “C-Can’t Tryia or Lance take me?” “We’ll sink like rocks if we went into the water with this armor on.” said Tyria. “And I can’t swim at all.” said Faminelli. With little options, Meliay looked to Steve. “Yeah, I can probably get you there.” he said. Meliay gave him a disgusted expression and turned to Dagalin. “Alright, we’ll go with your plan.” “Oh come on.” said Steve, disappointed. Dagalin then handed her the potion. “This is a water breathing potion, but only kinda. See, this will help you stay underwater for a long time, but you must hold your breath in order to use it. I know it seems counter intuitive, but its just what I was able to create with the limited resources I had. You will still feel like you need to gasp for air, but never succumb to that feeling. The Varnspydir powder will delay that feeling, but it will come around eventually. Relax, focus, and be calm, no matter how much you want to breathe, just hold it and you’ll never drown. But if you do let your breath out, then the potion immediately wears off.” “Okay, I got it. I won’t fail.” said Meliay. She took the bottle and uncorked it, but noticed that Dagalin wasn’t getting one out for herself. “Where’s yours?” “That’s… the only one I have.” Dagalin said, scratching the back of her head. “I’m putting a lot of faith in you. Are you sure that thing still works?” Meliay inspected her staff for a moment before igniting its head on the floor. “Glettings Bara!” She slammed the head into the ground, creating a big crater of slime and vines. “Yeah, I think that should be good enough.” Faminelli grunted as she struggled to keep the waterhole closed. “That’s good and all, but the water is infested with those things. How are you gonna get through all of them?” Dagalin thought for a moment. “Hey, how about this? You remember that potion I used to freeze your staff in place?” Meliay nodded. “Yeah, why?” Dagalin gave a mischievous smile. --- Green particles swirled around under the waterhole like a whirlpool. They slowly rose towards the waterhole, creating new Stars as they emerged out of the water. Then for a split second, the denim lid above the waterhole opened a tiny hole with a potion bottle quickly falling through before the hole sealed itself back up again. The potion splashed under the water, the green particles paying it no mind as they continued to swirl. But the potion emitted a sparkling light, revealing that a lit firecracker was inside. The fuse burned until it detonated the bottle apart, instantly spreading magic across the water. Instantaneously, all the green particles froze in place, vibrating intensely trying to get free from the magic. Dagalin and Meliay dove in immediately after. Meliay sipped the last of her potion on the way down and discarded it in the water. The girls nodded to each other and got into position. Meliay held her arms out while Dagalin wrapped her arms around Meliay’s chest, gripping her breasts tightly. Meliay blushed and slightly protested, but Dagalin rolled her eyes and dragged her through the water regardless. Dagalin’s arm swooshed through the water, tugging at whatever it could to propel the two of them forward. She kicked as fast as she could until her legs felt tight with fatigue. Meliay saw the struggle in her face and decided to help out as well, kicking and paddling as much as she could as well. There was a strange feeling. They were approaching upon a minute under the water and yet Meliay felt like she had only held her breath for about 15 seconds. But as she paddled, a very familiar feeling made itself known. Her crotch area started to feel like static, numbing that general area. Not only was it making it hard to reliably hold her pee, but it spread far enough to make it hard to kick her legs, slowing them down somewhat. Meliay cursed the Varnspydir powder that was used in the potion, but continued to paddle on as best she could. With each paddle, she snuck a clutch of the crotch every so often, hoping Dagalin doesn’t notice. Soon enough, they swam up to the ice wall. Daylight shined through the wall, illuminating their faces. Meliay took a look around. At the edges of the ice wall, the vines were turning brown, dying from the lack of circulation. While inspecting them, Dagalin shooker her shoulder to get her attention. Her face was starting to turn red and had a distressed expression. Dagalin pointed at the wall and made a specific gesture, telling her to blow it up. Meliay nodded and swam up the rest of the way to the wall. As she did so, Dagalin curled up, her breath trying to come back out. Meliay placed her hand on the wall, it was ice cold to the touch and it chilled the water near it. It sent shivers down her spine and her bladder. She squeezed her legs tightly and got her staff out, extending it. --- “How will we know if they did it?” asked Lance. “The water will rush out of the tunnel. That’s when we jump in and run for it.” said Tyria. “Should we drink the water to go faster?” Tyria shook her head. “No, I don’t want to use it unnecessarily. Because what if something bigger comes or what if it's something that I could’ve handled without it and now I have to deal with the di-” She looked at Steve, who had his arms crossed and was inspecting the walls for potential Stars. Tyria leaned close to Lance to whisper in his ear. “I don’t wanna have to pee super badly after drinking it.” “Is that what it does?” asked Lance, also in a hushed tone. “You pee’d! Didn’t you!?” “I mean yeah, but I thought it was any normal pee.” Just then, Faminelli yelped. A Star had bit her leg, biting down with its rock like teeth, scratching and cutting across the skin. “Guys! Help please!” Tyria ran over and bashed the Star away, turning it into mist. But immediately, several more poured out, swarming the two. Tyria thought fast and wrapped her arm around Femanielli and tried to toss her back. But for some reason, she weighed much more than Tyria thought. “Oh! You’re a dense mother fucker!” Tyria yelled and threw Faminelli back as hard as she could near Steve and Lance. Her jacket sleeve reformed itself from the lid as she stood back up. “I know, my jacket weighs about 50 pounds. Thanks anyway!” said Faminelli. “50 pounds! What the heck!?” asked Tyria. But she didn’t have time to dwell on it as another Star leapt towards her. She backed away and bashed the Star as well as two more until they were backed against the wall. Everyone repelled the Star’s to the best of their ability, but more and more kept lining up behind them. “At this rate, even if they clear the tunnel, how are we gonna get out of here?!” asked Lance, clawing away a Star. Steve looked around and saw Stars starting to appear on the ceiling, but there was another thing that got his attention. He grasped a vine on the wall and tugged on it. It was solid and somewhat rigid. He then pulled with all his might, tearing the vine off the wall. “MOVE!” He shouted, throwing the vine on the ground. Everyone else hopped out of the way as the vine slammed down on several Stars, clearing a line to the waterhole. “Jump in! I’ve noticed that they don’t materialize underwater. Stall as long as you can then jump in when you think you can last until the tunnel can be cleared.” said Steve. Faminelli began to panic. “W-Wait! I can’t swim!” Steve then grabbed her and threw her over his shoulder like she weighed nothing. “Then you’re getting a ride.” He then ran on top of the vine, looking to jump in the waterhole. “No stop! I’m not ready yet!” she yelled. “Then hurry up and hold your breath!” Steve and Faminelli both took a deep breath before Steve cannonballed into the waterhole with a huge splash, destroying a couple of Stars on the way through. “Oh god!” said Tyria, unenthusiastically. She turned her sword into a shovel and charged across the vine. “Right now?” said Lance. He quickly groaned and followed Tyria. Tyria scooped and bashed every Star in front of them while Lance stabbed and slashed the Stars coming up on the rear. Then when they got to the waterhole, they both jumped in. The water surged through their ears as they landed near Steve. Faminelli was on his shoulder, covering her mouth with both hands and squeezing her eyes tightly, totally scared of being underwater. But they didn’t have time to think as green particles started the swirl around them aggressively. Though they only felt like puffballs, it was extremely disorienting. Tyria desperately tried to swat them away, praying that Meliay clears the tunnel. --- Meliay’s spear tip clinked against the ice wall, glowing slightly with the heat. But the wall remained intact. Meliay gave a confused look, wondering why it didn’t work. She looked over to Dagalin, horrified to see her desperately holding her mouth closed. Dagalin noticed her looking and gestured to Meliay to hurry up. Meliay nodded and raised her staff over her head, striking the ice again. The staff clinked again, glowing only slightly hotter. She threw her staff down on the wall a couple more times, each not even making a scratch. Then, Meliay heard a whimper from Dagalin. Her body contracted and forced the air out of her lungs and through her fingers, soon followed by her body going limp, floating down slightly. Meliay’s eyes widened, she had to get her magic to work on this next try. She knew that if she said the magic words, that would most likely work. But a lingering doubt hung heavily on her mind. If this didn’t work, everyone there would die. Meliay looked at the wall with a huge amount of resolve, quickly hypeing herself up before shouting, “Glettings-!” As the words bubbled out of her mouth, she suddenly felt like she was about to drown like she had been underwater forever all at once. It was so horrible and suffocating she wanted to cry, but she mustered the last of her energy to mutter the last word. “-Bara!” Meliay struck the ice wall, the spear tip becoming so hot that the water around it was boiling. She pushed with all her might, trying to get the wall to explode. However to her horror, the spear tips heat dimmed and the bubbling stopped. She panicked, thinking all hope was lost. But suddenly, the ice wall glowed with cracks of golden energy. Meliay could barely keep her eyes open at this point, still struggling to even see if the spell worked. The cracks glowed bright and finally imploded on themselves, breaking the ice wall and the water around immediately surged forward. Meliay’s body was so ready to give up already, but she willed herself to swim towards Dagalin and held her tightly, making sure they didn’t get separated. Then after just a moment, the two were jerked to the side and were shot out of a spout, flying high in the air. Meliay gasped for air, feeling her vitality return to her body. Then, they both crashed onto the ground, splattering snow on impact. Meliay coughed, trying to clear the water from her waterway, but then she remembered Dagalin. “Dagalin!” she called, crouching near her body. She pushed her ear near her chest. There was a faint heartbeat, but Dagalin wasn’t breathing. Meliay put her hands over Dagalin’s chest, “Come on! Come back!” She rapidly did chest compressions, stopping occasionally to blow air into Dagalin’s mouth. On the second time around, Dagalin coughed out water and gasped for air. “Oh my god! You’re okay!” said Meliay. “Yeah… *cough* but,” Dagalin then weakly put her arms around Meliay. “I didn’t know you liked me that much already. You wanna keep going?” Meliay blushed, so angry and flabbergasted that she couldn’t get her mouth to say any words. But then the geyser they came out of suddenly sputtered, followed by screams. Dagalin looked up in fear. “Wait wait! I’m sorry!” she said, trying to crawl away. But she didn’t get far before a screaming Tyria landed on both of them. Both Meliay and Dagalin groaned in pain. “Oh my god! Are you guys okay?” asked Tyria. “Don’t mind us.” said Dagalin with a strain in her voice, “We love getting sandwiched while we were in the middle of something.” “Sorry.” said Tyria, guiltily. The geyser sputtered again and two more figures were thrown out. Lance gave a high pitched scream as he face planted a couple feet in front of the girls, splattering snow on their faces. Steve landed on his feet to their side, Faminelli still screaming. “We’re on the ground now, you can stop yelling now.” said Steve. Faminelli continued to scream however. Steve sighed and planted Faminelli on the ground and flicked her head. She immediately stopped screaming and rubbed her head in pain. “Ow! What the hell was that for!?” she said, holding her fist up to Steve. “You were being a drama queen, what else was I supposed to do?” said Steve with a shrug. “Not that!” Faminelli pouted as she looked at the red mark on her forehead. Tyria, Meliay, and Dagalin stood up and looked around. Tyria rubbed her shoulders and shivered. “God damn! It’s cold! And I’m all wet! This makes it 10,000 times worse!” Dagalin held her cloak around her body as she began to shiver. Not only was it cold, but her need to pee seemed to be getting exponentially worse. She crossed her legs and held her crotch with one hand, feeling the shiver of her body as she held there. She looked at Meliay, but Meliay gasped and looked away as soon as she did, seemingly forcing herself to separate her legs. Dagalin smirked, guessing as to what Meliay was hiding. “The hell is this place?” asked Lance, now standing and looking around. The place was surrounded with abandoned, old, and rotting wooden houses. Around the inner area were pickaxes, grindstones, wagons, and empty stables. Meliay gasped. “You don’t think someone found the lifewater vein here, do you? Maybe they tried to harvest it and caused that ice wall to appear there when they dug. But why did they leave?” Tyria began to shiver intensely. She sighed, letting out a huge cloud out of her mouth. “C-Can we talk about this later so that we don’t freeze to death? It’s so cold and we’re being rained on.” Dagalin held her cloak tightly closed, shivering as intensely as Tyria while crossing her legs tightly. “I agree! Fire! Right now please!” Meliay nodded. “Lance and Steve! Can you guys look around and see what we can use as firewood?” “Gladly!” said Lance with a shaky breath. Steve nodded and they both went inside the buildings. Meliay then held her hand out. Her staff popped out of the geyser and into her hand. She walked towards the porch of one of the buildings. “Gather around me. I’ll use my fire magic to keep us moderately warm in the meantime.” She held her spear tip out and it glowed with heat. Tyria and Dagalin stood close, holding their hands close. “Um…” said Faminelli. Everyone looked at her. “C-Can I join in too?” Dagalin smiled. “Well yeah! We’re friends, aren’t we?” Faminelli smiled as well. “Thank you!” “Yeah. You’re practically wearing nothing… uh… Ferri?” said Tyria. “Faminelli.” said Dagalin in a corrective manner. “Faminelli! Sorry, I only just met you like 10 minutes ago.” said Tyria, pressing her palms together. “Don’t worry, I’m sure we’ll get to know each other eventually.” said Faminelli. “What were you doing in the tunnels anyway? Those tunnels were a pretty guarded secret according to our knowledge.” asked Tyria. Faminelli loosened her shoulders. “I suppose I could ask you guys the same thing. But my story goes like this-” As the girls talked, Meliay focused on keeping the spear tip warm. She felt a drip of water fall off her chin and she instinctively caught it on her palm. She gave it a close look and noticed something weird. The drop of water was traveling up her fingers to the tips. Eventually, it formed into a star pattern with a recognizable green eye. Meliay gasped as the drop waved at her and forcefully bit right down on her fingertip. “Owww!” she yelped. “Meliay? What’s wrong!?” asked Tyria. Meliay quickly brushed her fingers, smooshing the star away. “The stars followed us! They’re the size of ants now!” “What?! Ow!” shouted Dagalin, smacking her neck and finding a star there as well. “Hey hey! They’re on me too!” said Faminelli, trying to sweep the stars off her chest. But the stars chewed wherever they pleased. Before she could get them off, the wraps around her breasts gave way and fell to the floor. Faminelli blushed intensely! “Noooo!” she yelled, covering them up with her hands. Dagalin caught enough of a glimpse to make herself excited though. They were incredibly smooth, so round that they perfectly mimicked bowls, and her nipples were hard, probably from the cold. Dagalin almost lost herself in thought of it, but she noticed the sound of gnawing on her cloak. Dagalin gasped and looked to see that Stars were chewing on it. She took it off and slammed it on the ground repeatedly. “Oh hell no! This thing is off limits you bastards!” “Ah! They’re on me too!” said Tyria. The Stars were on her shoulders and chewed through her breast plate strap, making it fall to the ground and revealing her soaked shirt. It wrapped around her breasts so tightly that it left very little to the imagination, especially with how peart the nipples were. Dagalin almost swore she would start to get a nosebleed. “What do we do?!” asked Meliay desperately, holes and tears appearing around her clothes. “I can’t blast you with my magic!” Dagalin then threw her cloak on the ground. “I got something! Stand next to me!” Dagalin took out a potion bottle from the cloak, its glass charged with electricity. She then smashed it on the ground, creating a pulse of electricity that vaporized all the Stars on their bodies, as well as charging their hair with it and making them stand up. All the girls sighed in relief, but Meliay looked back to the geyser. “Guys, I don’t think it’s over.” she said, pointing to the geyser. Everyone looked to see that every drop of water that showered around the geyser was turning into a Star. “Oh my god.” said Tyria in disbelief. All the Stars advanced, barking like little gremlins. “Get behind me!” said Meliay, pointing her staff as best as she could towards the horde. “Spitha!” A jet of flames shot out slightly up in the air. Meliay forced it back down and singed the Stars. But more kept coming from the geyser. Meliay fired as long as she could until her entire staff glowed hot. Eventually, she yelped in pain as she was forced to throw it down in the snow as it began to burn her hands. As it melted the snow around it, the Stars all rushed over it like a vault. “Come here!” said Faminelli. Everyone gathered around while Faminelli raised her arm and her jacket sleeve furled out into a dome that covered them all just before the Stars got there. The Stars immediately piled on and began to chew through the material as best as they could. Everyone inside huddled tightly. “What the hell are we gonna do?” asked Tyria. However, Dagalin began to giggle. Everyone else looked to see that she was enjoying being sat next to Faminelli. Her soft breast pressing up against Dagalin’s cheek. “Can you please take this seriously!” Faminelli yelled. Dagalin snapped out of it and looked around. “Yeah yeah, uh. What do we know then?” “What do we know?” asked Meliay. Dagalin nodded. “Yeah! About the lifewater and why Star is doing this.” “Well, you guys took the lifewater from the special lake, right? And it didn’t want you to leave with it and is now trying to kill us. Probably because we just did the equivalent of sucking its blood. Like lil’ mosquito people.” said Faminelli. “And there was an outline of a body in the lake room.” said Meliay. “Like someone got vaporized. Most likely Ann. That person we heard about at the lodge.” “Ann…” said Dagalin, pondering. “Ann! She was able to leave the room freely right?” “Yeah, because she didn’t take any of the lifewater.” said Meliay. “But what if she did?” said Dagalin, fishing out Ann’s diary from the cloak. “You said there were events, right? Something she was super vague about. Did any of it sound like what we were going through?” Meliay pondered a moment. “Some of it does now, yeah.” “Was there anything that could be hinting towards how she may have left with some lifewater in her possession?” “Oh yeah! There was a tablet in the tree back in the lake room. Apparently she had been drinking the lifewater and in order for her to leave, she sacrificed her body for it.” said Meliay. “So does it like, kill us over time if we use it?” asked Tyria. “No, I don't think so.” said Meliay. Suddenly, a hole appeared in the dome. Faminelli quickly patched it up, revealing a bit more of her bare chest as the material moved. “Can we hurry?!” said Faminelli in a slight panic. “Then what is it?” asked Dagalin. “Do they want the weight of the lifewater in our blood?” “We took like 2 quarts worth! We’d be dead if we gave that much!” said Meliay. Tyria’s eyes then widened. “I know what to do!” “You do?” asked everyone else. “Yes!” Tyria then looked at Meliay. “The mysterious voice gave me a phrase when I died. I didn’t know what it was for then, but I think I know now.” Tyria held out her hands. “I need all the lifewater, do you all trust me?” Everyone looked around apprehensively. --- The Stars were piling up heavily on the dome. Covering it entirely with their bodies, chewing through it as best they could. Then suddenly, the dome furled up like an umbrella, flinging some of them away. But the others only saw opportunity and charged in only to see Tyria and the other’s sat on their knees. Tyria held out her hands. “We’ve come to bargain!” she shouted as loudly as she could. She squeezed her eyes closed, expecting the worst. But nothing happened. She slowly opened her eyes to see all the Stars waiting impatiently. Tyria cleared her throat. “T-Thank you. Um… the lifewater. We… were ignorant of your ways and we understand that we may have upset you by taking it without your permission.” Meliay looked to Dagalin, both giving uneasy expressions. “So, I think it is only right that we make it up to you. Our journey is one of… uncertainty. And we believe that we may encounter threats that we may need help with. That is why we turned to the lifewater. So I ask of you, please let us take this lifewater with us. In return, we offer our bodies!” Faminelli began to internally scream. “Um… what do you mean by that?” she mumbled. Meliay shushed her. “Upon our death, may our bodies be the new fuel to replenish the lifewater we’ve taken.” continued Tyria. “All for the health of our beautiful world. We will remain grateful for this gift and the gift of life that the lifewater gave to our planet!” The Stars turned to each other, seemingly having a conference about what to do. Then, they all faced the girls and nodded. Some Stars recombined together to make Stars the size of snowballs. These Stars then held out their arms, telling the girls to mimic them. Tyria gave a sigh of relief and held out her hand. One of the bigger Stars hopped up on it and walked up to her neck. It closed in and bit down on the side of her neck. Meliay sat up swiftly. “Tyria!” she said. Tyria grunted in pain. “Let them.” she said. “Hold out your hand.” Faminelli hesitantly held her hand out. “If you’re sure.” The other two did the same. The rest of the big Stars came up and hopped on as well, biting each of their necks. On their necks appeared a blue symbol, tattooed onto their body. Dagalin noticed this happening on Meliay and concluded this is what happened to her neck as well. “Aw man, I was actually considering getting a tattoo there.” Dagalin said. The Stars then hopped off their bodies and bowed before heading back to the geyser. They all sat silently for a moment. “So… our bodies will be used to make the next batch of lifewater it seems like?” asked Meliay. “Yeah.” said Tyria. “Sorry if you guys were planning to be buried or cremated when you die.” “I’m in my early 20’s bro.” said Dagalin. “You think I even considered that stuff?” “Fair enough.” said Tyria. All of them stood and watched as the Stars returned to the geyser, but they weren't going back into the water. They were all surrounding it and shoveling dirt into it, hoping to stem its flow. But the dirt flowed back out and fell down on them, destroying a few. “They’re trying to patch the wound.” said Faminelli. “Sucks for them. I’d hate to be on duty for patching a hole.” said Dagalin. “I can help them.” said Meliay. “Are you sure?” asked Tyria. “It’ll be fine. Plus, I’d like to have them more on our good side.” said Meliay. Dagalin then sneaked up behind her. “Aw, come on. Just admit that even though they just tried to kill us no more than a minute ago, you’re still a big softie that likes to help people.” Meliay walked towards the geyser. “First, no. Second, shut up.” “Meanie.” said Dagalin playfully. Meliay couldn’t help but smile slightly. As she approached, the water rained down on her. The pouring, the splashing, it reminded her of how much she needed to pee now. The numbing of the Varnspydir powder in the potion had worn off already, but the diuretic had still filled her bladder to near capacity. She so desperately wanted to cross her legs and hold her crotch, but she refused to do so after the embarrassing display she made of herself in front of Dagalin back in her warehouse. She would just hold it until she found a proper toilet. The Stars noticed her approach and wondered what she was doing. “I can help, if you’d let me.” she said. The Stars looked at each other and agreed, making way for her. Meliay approached the surging geyser, its roar sending waves of desperation through her body. She raised her staff and said “Isa Mauer!” before slamming it into the ground. Instantly, the geyser was plugged up by a giant slab of ice. As the last drops of water hit the ground, the Stars cheered in celebration. The cheering continued while others dug back into the ground, seemingly returning to the lifewater vein. However, some clumped up together and formed a Star that was the original size they met it in. It approached Meliay and held out its arm. “Oh? Do you have something for me?” asked Meliay. The Star nodded. Meliay crouched down and held out her hand. The Star placed its arm on her hand and out of its body came a lifewater wisp. Meliay gasped. “Oh my… um, thank you so much.” The Star bowed and ran back towards the geyser, diving into the ground near it and disappearing. “Meliay! Are you done?!” asked Dagalin, shivering. “Because we’re freezin’ our tits off again!” “Yeah, I’m coming. But look!” Meliay held up the lifewater wisp. Dagalin gasped. “Bring that here! We need to contain it.” Meliay quickly ran over and Dagalin took out an empty bottle, catching the lifewater wisp inside and putting it inside her cloak. “What does that do?” asked Tyria. “This is what I used to revive you back at Bofford Town.” said Meliay. “I think next time I’ll use it if you’re on your last life or if we need you to get up and move quickly.” “Sounds like a plan.” said Tyria. Meliay then recalled her staff and had it emanate heat again. As they gathered, Dagalin noticed that Faminelli was putting her hands behind her back, looking quite uncomfortable. Lance then ran around the corner. “Yo! You guys should see this!” He then inspected them closely. “The hell happened to your guy's clothes?” “Um… those things were pretty hungry.” said Faminelli with a strained face. “But they’re *Mm* gone now.” She twisted her legs tightly. “Oh, okay I guess. But seriously I think you guys wanna see this.” said Lance, hooking a thumb around his back. “Yeah, let’s go see.” said Tyria. “Wait!” said Faminelli. Everyone stopped. “W-When you were looking for firewood, d-did you happen to find a… a bathroom?” “Huh?” said Lance with a confused look. “Why?” “Because-!” Faminelli then gasped, quickly twisting her legs tightly and holding her crotch with both hands. “Because I really need to pee! I’m so sorry! I’ve been holding it the whole time so that those Starfish things wouldn’t find me!” “Whoa okay, uh… maybe then the thing I have to show you has bathrooms.” said Lance. Faminelli waddled forward. “Please! Any bathroom will do!” The rest followed Lance to where he was talking about. Dagalin walked up near Faminelli. “It’s okay, I have to pee pretty bad too.” she said in a slight whisper. Faminelli looked to see that Dagalin was stiff and her legs were crossed. “And don’t look now, but I think our other friend has to go pretty bad as well.” They both took a peek at Meliay behind them, who was uncomfortably rubbing her arm and crossing her legs. But she saw them staring and tried her best to look normal. “See? No big deal, is it?” “I mean, we might be competing for the same bathroom then.” said Faminelli. Dagalin thought for a moment and smiled. “Yeah, you’re right. And that gives me an idea.” she said with a slight chuckle. As they approached, they found Steve overlooking a cliff with his arms crossed. “Well this sure is interesting. The girls gasped as they saw what was just over the horizon. “That’s… That’s Garmberland!” said Dagalin. “Ann’s shortcut must’ve really been a thing after all.” said Meliay. “I just wish it wasn’t full of monsters.” said Tyria. “How long do you think it will take us to get there?” asked Faminelli, twisting her body with one hand on her crotch. Steve pointed to her. “Why is she dancing like that?” “Oh, that’s because she has to pee.” said Lance. Faminelli blushed profusely at this. “Then just go over the cliff.” said Steve. “N-No!” said Faminelli, “I’d never do something so unladylike!” “Plus, it’s cold as tits!” said Dagalin. “Our pee would probably freeze when it comes out, probably our lady bits too.” Steve sighed. “How bad do you have to go?” Faminelli clutched her crotch hard, fighting off a wave. “Really bad.” “Then we have no other choice. I’ll carry you all and we’ll run to Garmberland. We should be able to get there in an hour that way.” “An hour!” asked Faminelli, distraught. Dagalin and Meliay were both uncertain if they could both make it within that time frame as well. “The ground is always free, you know?” said Steve, crossing his arms. “Mm, fine!” said Faminelli. “I’ll just have to hold it!” She approached Steve and he offered his hand. She took it and Steve hoisted her up to his shoulder. “Now, who’s next?” asked Steve. “Next?” asked Tyria. “Yeah, I said all of you, didn’t I?” said Steve. Tyria turned to Meliay. “Are you fine with it, Meliay?” “Free ride?” she said with a shrug. “I don’t care.” She approached and Steve hoisted her to his other shoulder. “Damn, bringing a new meaning to the saying ‘picking up chicks’.” said Lance, impressed with how Steve can nonchalantly hold so many people. Tyria and Dagalin joined soon after, pairing up with Meliay and Faminelli respectively by sitting on Steve’s biceps. Steve crouched down into a runner's stance. “Okay, the Steve express will be departing in 3, 2, 1, now!” He took off running, startling the girls as they tried to keep their balance as well as control their bladders. Lance ran from behind. “Hey! Why are we running?!” “My hour estimate was based on me running full speed. Think you can keep up, short stuff?” said Steve. Lance looked at Tyria, who was holding Steve’s forearm as he ran. He grew a bit jealous and increased his pace. “No problem.” As they ran, Tyria thought of something. “Oh yeah, Faminelli. I don’t think we’ve introduced ourselves. I’m Tyria, and this grumpy face is Meliay.” she said, pinching Meliay’s cheek. “Stop!” Meliay said with a smile. Faminelli chuckled a bit at the sight. Tyria pointed down to Lance. “And that’s my other friend, he’s Lance. And this guy is Steve, some bar guy we met the other day.” “Some bar guy huh?” said Steve. “That’s what I am?” “Well, I don’t know how else to define you.” said Tyria. “How ‘bout you call me a strong guy. Carrying four people at once is a feat in itself, ain’t it?” Meliay scoffed. “I can do that too, you’re not special.” “But… you do that with magic though.” said Tyria. Faminelli chuckled. “You guys are funny. Dagalin told me you guys were on a quest towards Garmberland to help someone with a curse. Do you guys mind sharing?” Tyria gave a nervous chuckle. “Yeah. Something like that. You see, the story goes-” Tyria began to explain past events as they ran down the path towards Garmberland.

Chapter 3: A Stupid Escort Mission Tyria gasped. She was floating in a dark space. Weightless and unable to see anything, she spoke. “Hello?” Her voice echoed within the infinite darkness. As the echoes faded, something responded. “Come hither child, we have much to discuss.” said a beautiful womanly voice. A mirage of warbling images appeared in front of her Tyria was speechless but enticed. She willed herself to move towards the images. --- “Tyria!” cried Meliay, cradling Tyria in her arms. “Oh hell naw! I did not sign up for this!” said the Snake Oiler. She rushed over to the desk and swept everything off of it. She then took off her cloak and laid it flat on the table before sticking her hand deep inside it as if it were a chest. She started to pull out an assortment of random objects and potions. “Nope! That’s not it! Oh, save that for later. Come on, I know I have one!” “What are you doing?” asked Meliay, cautiously reaching over for her staff. “Ah ha! Got it!” The Snake Oiler fished out a very pristine bottle from the cloak. It was a simple clear bottle with a wisp inside shedding various sigils from its body. “Here, take this!” She threw it to Meliay. “What is this supposed to do?” she asked. “It’s a life water wisp! It will revive anyone you use it on! But hurry, it only works a minute after death!” The Snake Oiler explained. “How do I use it?” asked Meliay, hurriedly. “Inscribe her name on the bottle!” “With what?!” The Snake Oiler threw her hands up in the air. “I dunno, anything you have on you! A pen, scratch it in with your nails, use your blood if you have to!” “No, I got something!” Meliay placed the tips of her fingers on the bottom of the bottle and magical streaks of energy laid black ink on the bottle, spelling Tyria’s name. “Now what?!” “Now smash it over her heart as hard as you can! You have to break the bottle on the first go or else you’ll kill the wisp inside and it wont work! If you love her, make sure you make this count!” Meliay grit her teeth and clenched the bottle hard. She raised it high over her head and yelled as she used all her strength to smash the bottle into Tyria’s chest. The bottle shattered to pieces and a huge pulse of blue and white energy swept through the room, knocking even more junk on the floor. The firefly lantern went out, plunging the room in darkness. Tyria immediately gasped for air and her body writhed from the strain. She coughed as Meliay held her close. “Oh thank god, Tyria! You’re okay!” “No…” said Tyria weakly. “Why did you do that?” Meliay held Tyria by the shoulders in front of her and gave her a confused look. “Why?! Tyria, you fucking died! What else was I supposed to do?!” Tyria stood up and backed away from her. “Wait a little longer! I was almost there!” Meliay stood up with her. “There?! Where is there?! The gates of heaven?!” Tyria held her head in frustration. “They were trying to-!” But then she got a good look at Meliay. Through the moonlight coming from the windows, she could see streams of tears going down Meliay’s face. Her expression was distraught and her body shuddered with every slight sob. “I… I really thought I lost you.” Meliay said with a sob. Tyria gave a soft gentle sigh. “I’m… I’m sorry, okay? I’ll try and explain what I saw.” Meliay whimpered as she threw herself onto Tyria, hugging her so tightly as if she never wanted to let go. Tyria wheezed from the pressure, but eventually hugged her back. The two stood there hugging for what felt like a whole minute, slowly rocking back and forth from one foot to the other. “*Ahem* You know… we’re both drenched in pee.” said Tyria. “Shut up.” Meliay mumbled into Tyria’s shoulder. “Lemme have this a little longer.” Tyria smiled. “Okay.” The two embraced for a little while longer. Suddenly, the two heard a loud bang on the desk. They saw that the Snake Oiler had slammed a potion bottle on the desk. Meliay quickly pulled away from Tyria and summoned her staff to her hand, pointing it at the Snake Oiler. The Snake Oiler raised her hands in fear. “Whoa! A bit jumpy today, aren’t we? Relax, it's an ice pack. You know, for this?” She pointed all around her battered face. She then took out a sack and placed the bottle inside, where the whole thing cracked and crumbled into ice chunks. Meliay sighed and retracted her staff. The Snake Oiler placed the sack on her head. “So, I guess that curse was the real deal.” “You’re the one who pointed it out, Snake.” said Tyria. “Well yeah, I didn’t lie about the hex healing stuff. The thing is, people cast joke curses on each other all the time. But the joke will be ruined if the afflicted person knows they’ve been cursed. The human body is able to sense all basic curses. So pranksters like to add veil moss or frost mirror into their cursing mixtures, very common stuff. Very easy to detect. A veil moss curse will make water glow when it comes in contact with skin and a frost mirror curse will make the skin glow in any light other than sunlight. And considering that neither of those things occurred when… you know, all this happened.” The Snake Oiler gestured to the pee puddles and the firefly lamp. “I think whoever put this on you was a little more serious. “You know all this, Snake?” asked Tyria. “Like I said, I dabble.” The Snake Oiler sat down on a nearby chair and sighed. “Why are you calling me Snake though?” “‘Cause you’re a snake oiler!” “I have a name you know! It’s Dagalin, in case you’re asking. And my potions are legitimate! So don’t label me as someone who makes backwater slosh and sells them as miracle cures just because I may or may not have also put a couple knockout pills in them when I sold them to you.” “You what?!” shouted Meliay, advancing slightly. Dagalin sunk into her chair. “Okay! In hindsight, maybe that was a bad idea! That is my B! I learned my lesson! But, let the record show, my products are of the highest quality.” Dagalin said her last sentence with a hint of pride in her voice. Meliay gave an annoyed sigh. “Whatever.” Dagalin threw her hands in the air. “Didn’t that mana potion max out your mana?! How about that revive bottle? All the tricks I used against you!” “Not that!” said Meliay. She then turned to Tyria. “We need to talk, in private.” “W-What for?” asked Tyria. “And where?” asked Dagalin. “You know this is just one big huge room, right?” Meliay looked around and saw the bathroom door open. She took Tyria into the bathroom and looked outside the door at Dagalin. “Don’t even think about coming over here!” She then slammed the door. “Whatever, I wasn’t planning to anyway.” She sighed as she laid back in her chair. A thought came to her. “The hell am I doing?” She threw her ice pack on the ground and went back to her cloak. She pulled out a bundle of white, chalk-like sticks stacked into a pyramid and set it down on the table. She snapped her fingers over it, sparking them and igniting a blue flame on top of the bundle. She then took out an empty bottle, threw in an assortment of ingredients she could find around the warehouse, and snapped the flame again, making it blow out a long stream of blue fire. Dagalin waited patiently as she swirled the bottle above the flame. After a bit, she held her thumb over the spout, shook it, then took a swig. After waiting a moment, her wounds began to heal very slowly. But she was dissatisfied. “Too slow.” she said to herself. She then dove through all the junk in the warehouse. “Come on, I know I have a couple more bottles of the stuff.” She clattered through things until she found what she was looking for. “There you are!” Out from the pile of junk, she pulled out a bandolier of bottles. It held 5 bottles of Varnspydir powder, with one slot missing. She took a bottle and brought it over to the desk. There, she glanced at her nearby measuring tools. “Nah, I’ll just eyeball it.” She popped the cork of the Varnspydir powder and tried to pour it into her potion. But it was clumped together in the bottle. Dagalin grunted in annoyance and gave the bottle an extra hard shake, making an extra large clump go inside. “Oops. Oh well, should be better that way.” She mixed the drink again over the flame and took a swig. She retched, forgetting that Varnspydir powder made potions taste super bitter. She took a deep breath and hyped herself up before downing the whole thing in one gulp. Suddenly, her wounds began to close rapidly. It burned somewhat being helped that fast, but it was worth it. Her nose snapped back into place and her back straightened out to the sound of popping bones. “Hoh god!” she said, tensing up as the pain subsided. “Now for the real test.” She bent down and did a backflip in place. There was no pain whatsoever. “Yes, it worked! I’m da best!” she silently cheered to herself. After the celebration, she wiped her nose and noticed dried blood. “Now to clean that up.” She moved over and crouched over a bucket full of water meant to catch the leaky roof water when it rained. It may or may not have been a couple days old, but she didn’t care. She picked up a towel nearby and washed the blood off her face. But just then, a feeling she was expecting to come made itself known. Her legs crossed instinctively and she felt her lower body start to feel like static. “Uh oh…” --- Meliay slammed the door to the bathroom. There they stood, two girls stood across from each other with barely any space and only a small singular toilet separating them. Tyria scratched her head. “Well, what did you wanna talk about?” Meliay hot straight to business. “What did you mean by what you said earlier?” “That huh?” Tyria sighed. “You remember what I told you when I peed the first time?” Meliay nodded. “You said you had visions pointing you towards Mushroom Falls.” “Yeah. It’s just that this time, it was something different. Someone called out to me in a vision. I think… I think someone is trying to help me!” Meliay’s jaw dropped. “Really?! W-What did they say?” “They said something like, ‘The potion peddler will be a pertinent power in your particular quest. They will-’” Tyria stopped. “What’s the rest?” asked Meliay. “I don’t know.” said Tyria. “You pulled me out before they finished telling me.” Meliay sighed. “Damn. I guess… maybe I did overreact.” “Meliay.” “No. You’re the one that told me 10 times right? And you died and came back once already right? Why would this time be any different? And now you missed out on some important information.” “Melaiy!” Tyria grabbed her by the arms. “I’m thankful that you’re still concerned for me to such a degree. Don’t sweat about it too much. I heard enough to know about what to do next. But, I’m not sure if you’re going to like it.” Meliay sighed, already knowing what it meant. “Do we really have to take her with us?” “I don’t see why not. The voice told me too and they haven’t led us astray yet. And she isn’t very strong. You noticed how she never directly fought us, she spent the whole time running. And despite what she did, her potions do work wonders.” Meliay pondered for a bit. “Fine enough I guess. But how will we convince her?” “She was the one looking for a way out of town right? I don’t think it will be too hard.” Suddenly, the two heard a slight knock at the door. Meliay groaned. “Ugh! What did I say about coming over here?!” “I know I know!” said Dagalin on the other side of the door. “But- *Nnh!* I inhaled the Varnspydir powder earlier too. I need to go pretty badly and I don’t think I can hold it for very long. Can you guys hurry up?” Meliay got an idea. “We… don’t have to convince her right now, do we?” she asked silently. “What do you mean by that?” asked Tyria. Meliay extended her staff and gave Tyria a mischievous grin. “Let’s say we get a bit of payback, yeah?” Tyria smiled at her idea. --- “Come on guys! This is really mean! I have to go really bad now!” said Dagalin, holding her crotch and crossing her legs tightly. She was being hung slightly above the ground with golden energy. Meliay and Tyria watched with smiles on their faces while sitting on a beach chair and loveseat respectively. That sat in front of the blue fire Dagalin made earlier, stripped down to nothing but their underwear. Their clothes sat close to the fire, drying off after the two tried their best to wash off the pee. Meliay fondled her staff as if she were admiring a bouquet of roses. “Don’t worry. I just think it’s fair that we all experience the same things together.” “It’s not fair!” shouted Dagalin, squeezing her eyes shut. “You’re the one that shot the Varnspydir powder and breathed it in!” “But what were you doing with such a substance?” asked Tyria jokingly. “Little girls shouldn’t have such dangerous stuff on them!” “I’m 22! I drank beer until I couldn't stand! I’ve smoked weed! I’ve even *Nnah!* had sex! *Mmnh!*” Dagalin squealed and a tiny wet spot appeared on her crotch. She tried her best to hide it from the girls, but Tyria pointed straight at it. “Look! A little bit came out!” said Tyria with a laugh. “I gotta say, this is actually pretty exciting! I’m shaking in anticipation just waiting for it to happen.” “I didn’t make a show out of your guy’s need to pee!” said Dagalin, who leaked another gush of pee through her fingers. “Don’t lie!” said Meliay. “I saw you giving us googly eyes back then. If anything, you were enjoying it!” “How did you…” Another leak gushed through her pee hole, this time getting a few drops to hit the floor. “I mean, you’re lying! You’re lying! You’re lying! You’re lying!” Dagalin shook around in protest, which only served to weaken her control even more. She gasped and bent over as her pee hole opened slightly, starting a constant trickle. “Guys! Please! I’m not kidding! I am really losing it! Please let me use the bathroom!” Dagalin whimpered as she twisted her body and crossed her legs as tight as she could. But the stream continued to gush through her fingers, occasionally pulsating more powerful spurts. Pee drops started to splatter on the floor like a light rain. “Okay, okay.” said Meliay, “I’ll throw you a bone.” This smidge of hope was enough to inspire Dagalin to clamp her numb pee hole shut, though it was still taking her maximum effort to remain so. “R-Really? You’ll let me-” “I think it's the gravity.” said Meliay with a smirk. “Maybe if I just turned you upside down, you could hold it better.” Dagalin panicked. Her body was slowly being turned upside down. “No! Please don't do that! Come on! These are really my only clothes!” “Don’t you have your cloak?” asked Tyria. “W-Well, yeah.” said Dagalin, her hair starting to point towards the ground. “But the material is like… not great. If I wear it too long without anything underneath, it’ll start to chafe my boobs.” Meliay laughed. “What boobs?! Do you even have anything under that padded armor?” “Ah! Now that is the meanest thing you've said to me all day! My pristine breasts are the perfect shape for B cups! So humble yourself, your boobs dont even compare to Tyria’s!” “Oh ho!” shouted Tyria. “I told you! I freaking told you! Mine were slightly bigger!” Meliay scoffed. “Alright, I’m speeding this up!” She pounded the end of her staff into the ground. Dagalin quickly swung straight upside down. The shock made her gasp and restarted her constant trickle. Tiny dark streaks of pee started to snake their way down the belly of her skin tight suit. “Okay! Okay! I’m sorry! Please stop!” begged Dagalin. Her legs crossed tightly and her hands squeezed as tightly as they could. But now the position was awkward and it felt like her hands weren’t applying any pressure at all. “Nope! You pissed me off! So hurry up and pee!” Meliay retracted her staff into its compact form and she swung it up and down like a wand. Dagalin whimpered as she shook up and down in the air. Each time she went up, her pee would squirt out like an open bottle on a bumpy road. “No! *Mnh!* I can’t! *Hmn!* Hold it any longer! Ah!” With one last high pitched squeak, Dagalin felt her dam break. Pee flowed full force through her suit and hands, falling down like a waterfall over her upper body. It pooled up in her hands and drenched every dry area of her suit with pee, even traveling slightly upward into her thighs as the material absorbed the pee. “Whoa! Look at her go!” said Meliay. “Woooooo!” cheered Tyria, clapping her hands as she watched. Dagalin stretched her head out as much as possible, bracing for what was coming. Streams of pee came out of the suit near her neck and trickled down across her face. She closed her eyes tightly as it came down, soaking her hair and trickling off of their tips. Pee splattered on the floor like a showerhead, pooling up rapidly and spreading far and wide, eventually combining with the two other puddles. “Oh…” said Dagalin in a dejected voice. “This is so gross.” The stream started to slow down and the pee cascading down Dagalin’s body finally dried up. She blew the pee off of her lips and slowly opened her eyes. “Are you guys happy now?” “I’m better,” said Meliay. “Don’t know about happy though.” “What?! What else do you guys want from me?!” “Our stuff for one.” said Tyria. “It’s here! I swear! You just gotta find it!” said Dagalin, flailing her arms about. “I’ll-I’ll even help you guys look!” Meliay sighed. “As long as you make yourself useful.” She waved her staff and the golden energy around Dagalin dissipated. However, she dropped face first into her own pee puddle, splashing her whole face in it. She quickly sat back up and spit out the pee and rubbed her eyes. “Ah! Why though!? Haven’t I been through enough?! I’m sorry, okay! I’ve learned my lesson, I swear!” Tyria and Meliay stood up and began to sift through the junk in the warehouse. “Notice that this is the first time you’ve actually apologized for what you did to us.” said Tyria. “Nuh uh! I said sorry earlier!” “That was for the breast comments.” said Meliay. “The other one was for the actual crimes.” “I just…” Dagalin’s voice cracked. “Could you guys stop already?” Tyria looked at Dagalin. She was sitting on her knees in her own pee puddle, not even an ounce of her suit was dry anymore. She looked like she was on the verge of tears. Tyria sighed. “Fine, I guess you’ve had enough.” “I disagree.” said Meliay. “We shouldn’t be too hard on her, especially if we are going to ‘employ’ her in our plan.” Dagalin raised her head. “Plan?” “We’ll tell you later.” said Tyria. “But if everything goes well, we maybe probably kinda sorta MIGHT take you along to Garmberland. Dagalin’s eyes lit up and she stood straight up, residual pee dripping from her bodysuit. “Really?! You’ll actually take me?!” “She said maybe.” said Meliay. “Make yourself useful and maybe we’ll consider it.” Dagalin quickly saluted, unintentionally flinging pee drops at the other two girls. “Yes Ma’am’s! And while we’re at it.” Dagalin pulled the zipper down from the back of her suit, peeling it off and stripping down to her bare skin. “Whoa! Hey!” said Tyria, turning away. “What are you doing?!” asked Meliay, shielding her face. “Oh my god, who cares. We’re all girls here, right?” Dagalin said. “You two already seem pretty comfortable with each other already. And besides,” she leapt onto the desk and crossed her legs seductively while leaning into her cloak, “We can have some of these.” she said in a sing-songy voice. She took out a fancy wine bottle out of the cloak and popped the cork. “I think we can all lose some stress.” “I don’t really think that’s a good idea for Tyria.” said Meliay. Tyria then quickly walked over and snatched it out of Dagalin’s hands. “Don’t care, gimme.” She held the bottle above her head and gulped it down as fast as she could. The wine flowed so fast that it started to flow out of her mouth. The foam streamed down her chin and slowly crawled down her breasts, slightly dampinging her bra. Meliay looked with wide eyes. Her nose started to bleed slightly from the arousal. But she quickly wiped it away. “I-I sometimes worry that you may be an alcoholic, Tyria.” said Meliay. “Hey! That stuff is expensive! Save some for the rest of us!” shouted Dagalin, trying to wrestle the bottle out of Tyria’s hands. The three bickered into the night, each drinking their fill of the wine. --- The morning light crept in through the windows. The birds chirped and the wind blew gently. There in the warehouse, which was somehow cleaner and messier with everything pushed to the walls, laid Meliay on the floor. She was sleeping and her underwear were both on the verge of falling off her body. She moaned and she turned to a more comfortable position. Then an arm reached around and held her tightly. Meliay smiled, liking the embrace. The arm ran its fingers around her body seductively, tracing around her midriff and breasts. Meliay couldn’t help but slightly laugh. She coiled up, aroused from the stimulation. Then the arm slowly moved under Meliay’s bra and slowly caressed her boob, being sure to run its fingers slowing along her nipples. Meliay chuckled and held the hand caressing her breast. “Tyria.” she said. “Oh? Is that who you think of when I do this?” said a different voice. Meliay gasped and stood up, holding her bra and panties in place as she stepped back. She saw Dagalin laying next to where she was sleeping, wearing nothing but her cloak that barely even went down to her hips. “What the hell are you doing?!” she asked. Dagalin sat up and stretched her arms in the air. “Well good morning to you too, Meli. I just thought we were getting to know each other better.” “That was just straight up sexual assault!” shouted Meliay. “I dunno, you seemed pretty into it at first.” said Dagalin with a teasing smile. “Shut up! You just… caught me off guard!” “Well I would like to know more.” said Dagalin, laying back down and resting her head on her hands, swishing her legs back and forth in the air. “After all, that little outburst yesterday probably has a really juicy story behind it. ‘Tyria, I… I love you!’” Meliay flipped Dagalin over with her foot and grabbed her by the collar of her cloak. “You never heard that! Do you understand?” “Um, I’m not sure its a good idea to bottle up your feelings like that-” Meliay slammed her head into the ground. “DO YOU UNDERSTAND?!” “Yes! Ow!” Meliay let her go and Dagalin rubbed her head in pain. “Forgive me for trying to help out with your relationship issues.” Meliay walked over to her clothes after adjusting her underwear. She picked them up and felt them for any dampness before putting them on. “The hell do you know? We just met you yesterday! Don’t pretend like you know a damn thing about us! If anything, the only reason I don’t throw you out the door is because Tyria needs you for something!” Dagalin looked to the side and pointed. “You mean that Tyria?” Meliay looked over just as she slid her arm through her robe sleeve. Tyria was sitting on her loveseat, sleeping and drooling off to the side. Her posture was somewhat uncomfortable looking and her bar had fallen down her body, exposing both her breasts. Meliay was embarrassed beyond belief. “Oh my god.” she said to herself. “Quite perkier down there than I imagined.” said Dagalin, inspecting Tyria’s breasts. Meliay sighed. “Tyria! Wake up!” Tyria jumped in her seat and snorted. “Huh? Whaaa?” “We overslept. We should’ve got moving ages ago.” “Oh…” Tyria then rubbed her forehead, feeling a lingering hangover. “Augh… we should get going.” She stood up and looked around for her clothes. Meliay cleared her throat and held Tyria’s clothes in front of her. “And for god's sake, try and look decent.” She then threw the clothes into Tryia’s arms. “Uh… yep, got it!” Tyria said Frantically, quickly fixing her underwear and getting dressed. --- Dagalin snapped the end of her suit’s sleeve onto her skin. “It’s good to be back.” she said confidently. She turned around and waved her cloak aside, making it billow in the air. “I wish I could say the same.” said Tyria, holding an ice pack to her head. “I really went crazy last night.” “Thankfully, my ice pack from yesterday never melted. Another showing of my skills as a potion maker.” said Dagalin. “Enough of that.” said Meliay, laying down Tyria’s map. “We have to plan out our next movements. They have to be efficient and safe.” Tyria and Dagalin both stood over the map. “If I pee 9 more times, I’ll die for real?” she read. “So that’s how the curse works.” “Hey, mind your business.” said Meliay. Tyria raised her hand. “No, it’s okay. If we’re gonna take her with us, I think we should have as little gaps in knowledge as possible so we don’t have to bog ourselves down with secrets.” “Look, I know I told you to tell me what was happening because I was your friend. But Dagalin is someone you just met yesterday!” said Meliay in protest, "You can’t trust her with this information.” Tyria sighed. “Meliay, please.” Meliay hung her head down in defeat and groaned. “After kicking a weirdo witch out of our hometown, she was cursed to… not be able to pee more than 10 times or she dies. And everytime she pees, she will die for a short amount of time as a sick ‘reminder’.” Dagalin stepped back, somewhat startled. “Wow… that’s definitely something.” “You don’t believe us, do you?” asked Tyria. “No, I sort of believe you. Sort of hard to discredit you after you dropped dead last night.” “So as a hex healer, do you think you could dispell it yourself?” said Tyria. “Hard to say.” said Dagalin, pondering with her finger on her chin. “I could test to see which ingredients were used to affect you. But I don’t think you have that kind of time.” “What does learning about the ingredients help us do, and why won’t we have enough time?” asked Meliay. “Simple. I learn the ingredients and I can use counter ingredients to dispell some aspects of the spell. But, these days there are so many ingredients that it would take a week to sift through them all. Unless you’re really good at holding your pee or you can go several days in a row without drinking anything, which is unhealthy in itself, I don’t think we can identify them and procure counter ingredients in time.” Tyria then put down her ice pack. “What if I knew the ingredients already?” Dagalin looked at her confused. “How? Without a decent potion maker or hex healer, you wouldn’t be able to know any of them.” “The day that she cursed me, she made me watch in my dreams. She used Plyast Wheat, Syndenelle Seeds, A Crows Skull, the Brain of a Dream Eater, and… my own pee.” “Okay… yeah, alright.” Dagalin started tracing her fingers across the air and mumbling to herself. “No, this isn’t gonna work.” “What, why?” asked Meliay. “You said you could get together some counter ingredients.” “Yes, I did, and I still can. It’s just that dispellling a curse one ingredient at a time will change the context of the curse, which can have huge consequences if not handled delicately.” “What do you mean by that?” asked Tyria. “I mean if I dispell the Syndenelle Seeds, you’ll just die the next time you pee. If I dispell the Crow’s Skull, Tyria will just not be able to pee ever again after her 10th pee, in which she will still die because her bladder will rupture inside her body without getting rid of the pee. A much more painful way to go. I could dispell the pee part, but I would need your pee because it works like an on and off switch. But you know, if you pee, you die. And without any action being linked to the curse, it would mean that you would die if you did 10 of literally anything.” “Then we just get rid of the death part of the curse, which gives us less pressure to counter the others, right?” asked Meliay. “We would need the Soul of a Dove.” said Dagalin. “And unless you got more tricks up your sleeve or an exorbitant amount of money, I don’t think we’ll be siphoning souls any time soon.” Meliay slammed the table in frustration. “Dammit! Then what are we even traveling for?” Dagalin raised her finger. “I wanna ask that as well. What exactly are you looking for in Mushroom falls?” she asked, tracing her finger along the marked path of the map. “There aren’t any ingredients that way.” “When I died the first time, I saw a vision,” said Tyria. “One of a spiraling pool of magic. I’m not entirely sure what it is, but it must be some kind of hint to dispell the curse.” “Spiraling pool of magic?” asked Dagalin, sort of shocked. “You actually saw a spiraling pool of magic?!” “Y-Yes? You seem surprised.” “Only one thing could have that kind of description. A mythical location that any up and coming potion maker would hear about. It’s a Pool of Balkara.” “What is that?” asked Meliay. “A portal to the birthplace of all magic in our world.” Dagalin then fished a book out of her cloak and opened it, tracing her hand along the words. “If you guys didn’t know, our world originally didn’t have naturally occurring magic. From what historians know, the ancient ones used the natural gifts of the earth using weapons that could fire projectiles to slay their enemies from miles away.” “That’s absurd!” said Meliay. “That’s what they thought too,” said Dagalin. “But they found evidence of a weapon that they made that could eradicate an entire city. It was so strong that it even had the potential to poison the very air for miles upon miles, all across the land. And as a result of some kind of government dispute, they employed hundreds or even thousands of these weapons on each other and everyone else got caught in the crossfire. Eventually, the world was poisoned, and all life ended.” Tyria and Meliay silently listened, enticed by the story. “Historians can’t quite agree on the next part. Whether it was from the colliding destructive forces or simply from a sense of pity, Pools of Balkara first appeared around the world. Out from them, the first gods of our land stepped foot upon the barren wasteland. Seeing the destruction, they spread their own magic across the lands. Soon, the greenery grew back, wild life thrived, and the humans came back to walk the earth once more. Because of their gifts, magic became a naturally replicating resource within all living things. And the magic from another world mixed together with old life of this one to create new things. That’s why we have new races, monsters, and demons.” “Okay, the history lesson is nice and all, but how does this help Tyria’s curse?” asked Meliay. “To be honest, I’m not really sure. But the waters contained immense amounts of foreign magical power. With it, maybe we can create a substance that can cure any curse. There's a problem though.” “And that would be?” asked Tyria. “All the portals were closed in order to hurt the dark lord enough to slay him 20 years ago.” “Was it because he was drawing upon their immense power?” asked Meliay. “No, it was because he was using the waters to create super potions to fund his campaigns. A truly vicious business man. His whole regime was supported so much by that endeavor that cutting him off from it significantly weakened his foothold on his captured territories. Even one of his four generals, Styanar, supposedly stepped down because of this blow. Because of his absence, it was significantly easier to take out the dark lord on that fateful day.” Meliay held her hand up. “Enough. I think I get the big picture. We go to this pool and use the water to create a super cure, right? Simple enough.” “No, not simple enough. Like I said, all of them were closed. They are now history. And there’s never been a recorded location at Mushroom Falls.” “But that's all we have, Dagalin. We have to go there and search.” “I mean, I’m up for it. We can find many of the counter ingredients in the Dragonback Mountains so we can use them as a backup plan. But there’s also another problem. All the ingredients you told me about are all catalysts, you never told me what the base is. Without the base, counter ingredients will only work for a limited time. It will depend on which base, but you’ll practically be on life support your whole life until you find a counter to the base. Are you sure that was all you saw?” “Yes, that was all.” said Tyria. “Then the pool is still our best plan.” said Meliay. She crossed out one more circle on the map and x’d out the 9 and wrote 8 underneath it. “Stock up with whatever you guys can find here, we leave in 20 minutes.” Meliay stepped away and started to sift through the junk. Dagalin slid over behind Tyria’s shoulder. “You know, I always imagined you being the leader of this group. But now I’m starting to think Meli is the leader. You’re not worried about getting overshadowed are you.” “What? No.” Tyria said with a slight laugh. “She's just my friend. And she’s really passionate, focused, and calm.” “Just a friend, is that all she is?” asked Dagalin. She noticed Meliay give a quick angry glance at her before going back to searching for equipment. “Well, my best friend. We have been ever since we met as teenagers.” said Tyria. “Uh huh.” Dagalin then reached into her cloak and pulled out Tyria’s sword. “Here, I found this for you last night after you went a little… you know, girl crazy.” Tyria took the sword from Dagalin’s hands. “Oh, uh, thanks?” Dagalin crossed her arms. “Well don’t seem too enthusiastic.” “I mean, you did steal it.” said Tyria, strapping the sword to her waist. Dagalin sighed. “Yeah that’s fair. Anyway, I’m pretty good to go already.” She started to pull various things out of her cloak, seemingly out of nowhere. “I got food, drinks, potions, potion ingredients, back up weapons, the works.” “Hey, what’s this?” asked Tyria. She fished a red gem out of a crate and showed it off to Dagalin. Dagalin gasped. “No! Don’t touch that!” Suddenly, the gem vibrated in Tyria’s fingers. It flew out of her hand and attached itself to Tyria’s sword on the hilt. Dagalin quickly came in and unsheathed Tyria’s sword, trying to pick the gem out of the hilt. “No no no!” Then, the gem clicked into place and a red aura surrounded the sword. It whirred with power and Dagalin sighed in defeat. “Awwwww!” “What did that do?” asked Tyria. “The Manefestite combined with the Displacium metal your sword is made of. And now, your sword can change into whatever weapon or tool you want.” Dagalin explained with a sad voice. “Whoa really! Lemme see!” She snatched the sword out of Dagalin’s hands and swung it around a bit. “How does it work?” “Touch the Menefestite gem and simply think what weapon you want and it will transform.” “Really?” Tyria pressed her thump on the gem and thought hard. Suddenly, it changed to an ice hook with a metal shing. ‘Whoa, that’s so cool! What else, what else. Uh-” The ice hook then changed to a huge dagger, then a shield. Tyria then got a smile. She turned the metal into a flower. She chuckled as she approached Meliay. “Hey, Meliay. I got you a gift.” She handed her the flower. Meliay took it graciously, blushing slightly. “Oh, thank you Tyria. This means… wait, is this your sword?” “Yeah, I can change it into whatever I want now.” “But what about the memory? Is it still there?” Tyria’s heart sank. She quickly snatched back the sword and changed it back to its original form. She ran her finger across the flat side of the blade. A light shined from it and showed a hologram of a woman. She had brown hair and had the same red eyes. “Tyria. If you’re reading this, then-” Tyria ran her fingers across the blade again and the hologram disappeared. Tyria gave a sigh of relief. “Good, it’s still here.” “Who was that?” asked Dagalin. “It was my mom. She gave this to me just before she died and she left it with a message.” said Tyria. “It's the last thing I have of hers.” “Oh, that’s sweet.” said Dagalin. “I can see why you really treasure that sword.” “Yes.” said Meliay, struggling to pull something under a giant pile of junk. “So do well to not mess with her stuff anymore.” Meliay pulled even harder. “Any more of your antics and we may just be a little less forgiving!” Meliay then pulled a spear out from the junk, making the rest clatter to the floor. “Augh! Can I get a little faith from you?” said Dagalin, crossing her arms. “If we’re gonna travel together, we need to trust each other.” “I trust Tyria, I don’t trust you.” said Meliay, slamming the end of the spear on the ground. “I mean, what are you even going to do with that?” said Dagalin, gesturing to the spear. “It may have a fiery Meteor Ring, but I’ve never been able to get it to work.” “Did you even say the magic word?” said Meliay. “I’m sure that saying please won’t get it to work either,” said Dagalin. “Guys please!” said Tyria, standing between them. “We should stop fighting!” “I’ve been trying, but Meli keeps antagonizing me!” said Dagalin. “For good reason!” said Meliay, snapping the spear over her knee. “I wouldn’t touch you with a 10 foot staff!” “What the hell?!” shouted Dagalin. “That was one of the few things I got legitimately! Sure it may be because I counted cards in a poker game, but that was mine!” “Well, considering its made of Haddonlite metal, and you can’t seem to use it on your own, I think it will have a lot more use in my possession.” Meliay held the spear head over the head of her staff and swirled them around each other. In a flash of light, they combined, turning the head of the staff into an emblem of a flower. Dagalin gasped. “You magic forged my spear? ”MY spear! You still have a debt to pay and this doesn’t even come close to what you owe!” Meliay pressed a button on her staff and the flower emblem split in half as a spear head jutted out with a metallic shing. Tyria then held Meliay back. “Meliay please! Just let it go, okay? She’s gonna work with us now!” Meliay pushed Tyria aside and pointed her spear at Dagalin. “Like hell! Who’s to say that she won’t ditch us as soon as she gets the opportunity? We both know she’s enough of a trickster to pull it off! I say we just leave her tied up here, we get the Balkara water, then come back and force her to make the cure!” Dagalin held her chest as she talked. “Is that all I am to you? The trickster of a local town wanting nothing but mischief? I am a person, Meli! I am more than that, I assure you!” Meliay held her spear tightly and jutted it just out of reach of Dagalin, making her flinch. “The name is MELIAY! I am not your friend! You will always be a nuisance! And you need to stay out of my way!” Meliay pointed the spear head at Dagalin’s head. “Spitha!” Dagalin gasped and ducked to the floor just as a huge jet of flames fire from the staff head. It surged through the air and quickly scorched the wall. “That's enough!” said Tyria. She turned her sword into a sickle and clawed Meliay’s staff out of her hands. The staff clattered to the floor, extinguishing its flames while its spear head glowed red hot. “What?! Tyria! You’re taking her side!?” shouted Meliay. Tyria placed her finger on Meliay’s lips. “No! Shh! Let me talk first!” She stepped back and took a deep breath. “All this arguing is a huge waste of time! Meliay, please try to give an ounce of trust for Dagalin. She told us where our stuff is, she helped you revive me, she even gave us information about the curse, I think she learned her god damn lesson. If you both need space. Dagalin will travel in front, I will take the middle, and Meliay can take the rear. You guys are stressing me out so much and I can’t even take my morning pee! So will you both please chill the fuck out and can we just go already?!” Meliay and Dagalin were stunned. Tyria’s display reminded them of why they were on this journey to begin with. Meliay sighed and recalled her staff, retracting it into its compact form. “Fine. I will wait outside.” Meliay stormed through the door and slammed it behind her. Tyria was breathing heavily. She walked over and helped Dagalin up to her feet. “Hey, are you okay?” Dagalin looked away. “Why do you trust me?” she asked in a sad tone. “Maybe she’s right, you know? I haven’t been anything else. I’ve survived on the streets by conning, stealing, and lying. I’ve had to my whole life. Why do you think now would be any different?” “Dagalin.” said Tyria. She sat Dagalin down in a nearby seat. “It’s because I believe in people’s ability to be better.” Dagalin gave a slight gasp and looked up at Tyria. “My friends back home taught me that. I learned that for myself at one point too. You remind me of myself back when I was little. I had to survive on the streets myself for a while too. That was until someone found me and decided to help me out.” “Was that Meliay?” asked Dagalin. Tyria chuckled. “No. She didn’t show up until much later. It was actually a friend of mine called Lance.” Tyria smiled as she reminisced. “Well, more than a friend. A… a crush.” Dagalin gasped at the revelation, covering her mouth with her hand. Tyria held a finger over her lips. “Shhh! Don’t tell anyone, okay?” “Oh ho ho! I promise!” said Dagalin with an excited smile. Tyria sighed. “Anyway. Lance was a quirky little boy back then. He met me with, how do I put this, not entirely ‘pure’ intentions.” “Oh come on! Don’t tell me you got lovestruck by a boy looking for pretty girls.” Tyria chuckled and playfully pushed Dagalin away. “No! Let me finish!” Dagalin laughed as well. “He saw what kind of trouble I was getting into and saw it as an adventure. It was a pretty boring town so he musta thought it was exciting. At first, he competed with me, trying to steal stuff before I could get to it. That was until, you know…” Tyria held her head up prideful and brushed off her shoulders, “I kicked his fuckin ass!” “You didn’t!” said Dagalin, surprised. “For real! I did it two more times too! And I guess he got tired of getting beat because one day he asked to work together. I, reluctantly, agreed. And that day, we made off with so much stuff than we knew what to do with. I assumed that the stuff we stole would be the stuff we kept to ourselves. But he wanted some stuff I had, and to be honest I wanted some stuff he had too. So he suggested we trade and barter. Simply business. But then he started giving gifts, no catch. Simply because I was his friend, he said. It was so weird to me that somebody would care for me like that back then.” “Wait a minute.” said Dagalin, “You were surviving on the streets, right? Did something happen to your parents?” Tyria grew mellow. “I… ran away. My father broke after my mother died and he took it all out on me. So at age 9 I declared that I was running away and never coming back. And I never did. I ran to the nearest town and slept in the rain under the floorboards of the porch of a local tavern. I ended up in Kinida. My new hometown. 2 years later, I met Lance. Then a year after we met, he asked for my backstory too. I told him what I told you. That was the first time I saw him without a smile. It was unnerving. This joyous and mischievous boy that reveled in adventure, suddenly not who he was anymore. I thought I scared him away. I apologized, I even tried to cheer him up, I was so scared of losing him, my only friend. But do you know what he said?” “What?” asked Dagalin in a whisper. Tyria combed her hair back with her fingers, somewhat imitating him at that moment. “He said ,‘Do you wanna stay at my place?’ I was shocked. I never thought he would ask something like that. Of course I said yes. We went to his place and sneaked in through his bedroom window. His room was a mess when I first saw it. But he stammered about, trying to clean it up the best he could. He even threw out all the toys in the closet so he could make a bed for me inside. We feared that his parents would disapprove of me since I was pretty infamous in town. No one knew he was involved in our schemes since he was more on the stealth side and served as a distraction for me to steal things. I won’t say it was a clean transition, though.” Tyria laughed to herself. “Like, there was one time where I was able to take my first proper shower in years without having to drench myself in rain. He showed me all these washing products and how to use the shower, something I didn’t have at my old home. But he forgot one thing. After I was done, I put on a towel the way I heard him describe one time before. But the way I put it on was the way boys are supposed to wear it. So I went inside his room, all bare-chested.” Tyria and Dagalin laughed heaps. “You shoulda seen his face! It was redder than a demons!” Tyria sighed and calmed down. “I didn’t even last a month before I got caught. But his parents were super welcoming. They taught me etiquette, how to cook, and how to choose and wear girly clothes as I had been wearing Lance’s hand me downs. But despite that, we continued our antics. We planned our heist, we executed it, got chased by angry adults, got away and reaped the rewards at home, then angry adults would show up at our house, Lance’s mom would apologize and give the stuff back, she’d scold us, we’d laugh in private, then repeat. It was like that for a while. But then we decided to steal from someone we absolutely shouldn't have. Can you guess?” “No way!” said Dagalin. “Don’t tell me that was Meliay!” “The very same. We heard that she was having a birthday party. And we were psyched! You see, she’s the daughter of some local nobel class people. And knowing nobels, there had to be cake at that party. We wanted some as it would’ve been the first time we would’ve tried one. And then, we got caught. And Meliay did a lot more than just yell at us. She threw us in her personal dungeon.” “You guys were enemies when you first met too!” said Dagalin, holding her face in surprise. She then crawled onto Tyria’s lap and got up in her face. “How did she forgive you? How did you become friends? How can I make friends with her like you did?” Tyria pushed Dagalin back by the face. “Calm down there, Dagalin. I’ll save the rest of the story for Meliay to tell you.” “What?!” said Dagalin, sitting back down. “You have to tell me! There’s no way she’ll tell me anything! Why?!” “To motivate you.” said Tyria, pointing up with her finger. “You see, I can believe that you can be better all I want. But in the end, nothing will change until,” Tyria pointed at Dagalin’s heart, “You believe you can be better.” “Me?” asked Dagalin, somewhat confused. “Remember what you asked. ‘Why do I trust you?’ In the grand scheme of things, my response doesn’t matter. It all comes down to you. As long as you think you are making a difference, as long as you think you can be better, that’s all that matters.” “Really?” asked Dagalin, her eyes full of hope. “Yeah, for sure. And if you keep at it, I’m sure Meliay will come around and she’ll tell you her half of the story. But only if you continue to be your better self and to believe in it.” Dagalin smiled. “Yes! I will try! Thank you, Tyria!” The two hugged and laughed with each other. Outside however, Meliay was leaning on the door, listening to their conversation. Her eyes were heavy in thought. --- The sun was now high above the girls as they traveled on the path towards the Dragonback mountains. Dagalin traveled up front, Tyria took up the middle, and Meliay headed up the rear. Though they traveled together, they each stayed about four feet away from each other. The tension in the air was so thick that she felt like she was wading through water completely submerged. And the last thing she wanted to think about was water. Her morning pee urge had gotten substantially worse since they left. Who knew it would’ve been so bad to ignore the morning pee. Tyria tried to think of something else to break up the tension. “So… uh, Dagalin. I noticed that you don’t wear shoes. How do you do that without getting your foot coated in dirt?” Dagalin rubbed her nose. “Hehe! You wanna know my secret?” She bent down and looked through the space between her legs. “It’s a concoction I made when I couldn't stand stepping on pebbles anymore.” She then jumped up with a twirl. “Being a street survivor, I found it hard to acquire footwear. Particularly unlucky with them I guess. Anyway,” She took a potion out of her cloak and splashed a bit on each foot. “A slash of this stuff and it feels like I’m wearing shoes and it keeps them clean as a bonus too! Plus, I tried shoes before. But they just didn’t have the same feeling as running on my feet, you know? I can just move a lot better without them and all that.” “Oh that’s cool. Do you think you could sell that?” asked Tyria. “I tried once. But adventurers are sticklers for their full armor sets. I guess I don’t blame them. This stuff doesn’t give them any boosts like armored boots will.” “Ohhhhh!” said Tyria, acting extra interested. She gave a glance back at Meliay, who was staring back at her. “I know what you’re doing.” Meliay said in a whisper. “I’m not gonna. Someone has to be cautious.” “Oh come on!” Tyria whispered back. “She’s still trying! Can’t you try too?” “No” Tyria groaned. She then sighed, her expression becoming unamused at the thought of the thing she was about to bet on. “I will give you… 1 friend coupon.” Meliay stopped walking. “Really? Me just talking to her will grant me 1 friend coupon?” Tyria stopped as well. “Yes! I really want this to work! I believe you and Dagalin can get along. So can you at least try a little bit?” Meliay pinched her chin and pondered. “Make it 3 and I’ll do it.” Tyria gasped with such a high voice that her voice cracked. “3?! Do you know how crazy that is?!” “Do you know how crazy talking to that thug is?” asked Meliay. She then continued walking, going past Tyria. “No coupons, no deal.” Tyria writhed her body around, holding her head in frustration as she groaned. She then ran and caught up with Meliay. “Augh! Fine! 3! 3 god damn coupons! Anything you want! I will do it those 3 times!” Meliay looked at Tyria. “Promise?” “When have I ever said no to a friend coupon?” said Tyria. Meliay sighed. “Fine, I will humor you for the time being. Deal.” “Oh thank god. Just don’t ask anything too crazy, okay?” “Of Dagalin or of you?’ “Both!” Meliay couldn’t help but smile a bit. “Alright, no promises on that front though.” “Thank you!” said Tyria. Meliay took a deep breath. “Hey uh… Dagalin?” Dagalin looked back. “Y-Yeah?” “That cloak of yours. I find it pretty interesting. How are you able to pull any item you want out of it?” Meliay asked. Dagalin gave an excited gasp. “Oh! You noticed! It’s one of my favorite things I own! Here, lemme tell you about it!” She then somersaulted backwards until she was walking beside Meliay. Meliay discreetly held the button to her extendable spearhead on her staff. “It all started when I was little, there was this man-” Meliay took a sharp breath. “Oh my god…” she said with a slight hint of regret. --- The roar of a waterfall filled a cavern. A huge hole in the earth showed the forest peeking in from above. Sunlight beamed down from the clear sky. The girls splashed around in the underground lake below where a waterfall poured into, bathing their bodies. Their clothes were placed neatly on a mossy rock near the edge of the lake. “Haaaaah!” said Dagalin, splashing water high above her head. The water dripped down her skin in tiny little beads. “Finally, a shower! I can finally wash the pee out of my hair! It’s been feeling pretty waxy all day. Anyway, that’s how I transferred the enchantment of a bag of holding to my cloak.” “And you did so just because you thought it would be cool?” asked Tyria, washing between her breasts with a foamy soap. “It’s practical too! I don’t have to reach into a bag to get my stuff! I can just reach behind me! Like a pocket shelf!” “And why did you have to include the parts about this apparent father figure of yours?” said Meliay, rubbing her soap on her arm. The foam cascaded down her midriff in streams, pooling up and dripping down from her crotch and wrapped around her legs. “I mean, he got you the cloak off a ruined tarp from an abandoned shop. Then he just kinda disappears from the story after that.” “I kept it a secret from him. It was the first gift I got from anybody so it means a lot to me. He may think I threw it away after I got proper clothes, but I refitted it into a cloak. A super cool cloak!” “And I was just interested in the properties of the cloak. I didn’t need all that story with it.” said Meliay coldly. “Oh come on! But that’s like a third of the appeal! One for the application, one for the story, and one for how damn sexy I look in it!” “That last one is subjective.” said Meliay. “Oh bullshit dude! What about your staff? I’m sure you’re proud of the story behind that.” Meliay crouched down into the water, rinsing her body off. Her pussy was clearly exposed underneath the clear water, waving around in the refracted light. “Well-” “Guy?!” said Tyria in a sort of panicked voice. The two looked over to see her grabbing her crotch with one hand and dancing in place. “I just realized how badly a need to pee and a waterfall mix together! Can we hurry?!” Meliay and Dagalin both quickly washed their bodies. “Yep got it!” said Dagalin. “We’ll be out of here as soon as possible!” said Meliay. --- “I am the daughter of some pretty renowned staff makers.” said Meliay. The girls were now all walking down a path between a bunch of dark green pine trees. Sunlight barely peeked through down on the path. “But for some reason, I couldn’t get it right whenever I tried to make a staff. It wouldn’t work, it’d work too much and shatter the whole thing to pieces, it wouldn’t cast the right spell, the whole gallery of disappointment.” “Then is this one your first successful one?” asked Dagalin, pointing at Meliay’s staff as she used it like a walking cane. “No, this one was the result of years of training and honing my skills.” she swung it around to show it off. “This is staff 167. My latest and greatest creation. It’s name is *sigh*... Chris an’ the Mum.” “Chrysanthemum?” asked Dagalin. “No. The literal words ‘Chris and the mum’.” “Pffft! But why though?” Meliay pointed her staff at Tyria. “You have that one to thank for that.” Tyria looked back and shook her hand with her thumb and pinky pointed out, sticking her tongue out like a rockstar in the process. “You still suck, you know that!” said Meliay. Tyria laughed out loud and continued walking on. “Funny name aside. Why did you let her name it that?” “Between us three friends, me,Tyria, and Lance, we have a friend coupon system. We use them as bargaining chips if we ever really want something from someone, that way we can always get something we really want back from them. I gave her one back when I just became her friend to cover up a certain ‘incident’. Then she always saved at least one until I made the staff, where she used it to name the staff herself. And, here we are.” “Did you have any that you used on Tyria?” asked Dagalin. “I did once, but…” Meliay thought back to the day just before her 18th birthday. The sight of Tyria’s body on full display in her bed is still fresh in her mind. The giggles and moans echoed in her mind. “That was a very special day that’s only for the two of us to know.” “Whooooa.” said Dagalin, immediately guessing as to what kind of day it was in her head. “How did you and Tyria become friends anyway?” “Nope!” said Meliay. “Huh?” asked Dagalin, confused. “Nuh uh!” “Wha-! The heck you mean ‘nuh uh’?!” “I don’t wanna tell you.” “Come on! We had such a nice thing going! What if I told you another story of mine? One that is very personal to me.” “Shoot, anything to pass the time.” “Then you’ll tell me how you and Tyria became friends.” “I may or may not.” “Better than nothing! So, let me tell you about how I became and potion/hex healer-” --- The girls were now climbing an incline. The trees grew sparse, the air became cold, and snow started to appear on the sides of the path. “-that’s when I decided that I needed an edge over my competitors! Something that can really sell my… you know, ‘misguided truths’.” “You mean your cons?” asked Meliay. Dagalin raised her arms defensively. “Hey, you said it, not me!” “I said what they really were. You continuing to dance around the issue proves that you knew what you were doing was wrong.” “Okay, conning! Fine! Anyway, the point was that everyone was selling custom blends that do different things. People were making mana potions that also increased speed, health potions that also increased strength, strength potions that also made you invincible for one hit. Me? I just had to use whatever I could get my hands on. That’s when I found something. A cart of Varnspydir powder crashed near Bofford Town, the town you guys met me at. I snuck out there and managed to grab 6 bottles. But that stuff was everywhere in the air when I collected them. So when the people who owned the cart came back, I hid somewhere nearby. But I didn’t know what breathing that stuff did to people yet. So after like 10 minutes of waiting for my opportunity, I needed to pee really bad. I thought I had just lost track of my need and kept waiting. 5 minutes later, pee came gushing out and I couldn’t do anything about it. The cart owners heard the pee trickling out of my suit and chased after me. I got away of course, but I did not have a good time for the next couple days. When I got back to my warehouse, I had to pee super bad again and peed my suit again before I could make it to the toilet. I was humiliated. I had to move around town at night butt naked to find a wash rack I could ‘commandeer’ to wash my suit. When I eventually did find one and started washing, I had to pee again, so I peed in the person's flowers. I felt so bad. Then on the way back, I barely made it back in time to use the bathroom proper. I spent the next day sitting in my warehouse sitting near the bathroom. I couldn’t do anything because I breathed so much of that stuff. Of course during that time, I found out what Varnspydir powder did. I was unamused. But during that time, I got so bored. So I decided to make it a game. I held it as long as I possibly could between each bathroom trip. My longest during that time was 2 and a half hours. I was having fun. That was when I realized that… I lik-” Dagalin caught herself. “Actually, you know what, maybe I’ll keep that to myself.” “Suit yourself.” said Meliay, half paying attention. “Guys look.” said Tyria, holding her hand up in the air. In her palm, she caught a single snowflake. “It’s snowing.” Meliay and Dagalin looked up to see that it indeed was snowing. It all fell slowly around them. It all felt so surreal, like being caught in a dream. “A thought just occurred.” said Meliay. “Do we have winter clothes?” “No. Shoot, why didn’t I think of that?” said Tyria. Dagalin gestured to her suit. “This is all my clothes right here.” “Ugh, then this trip is about to get real uncomfortable really fast.” said Meliay. Tyria pointed down the road. “How about them?” she asked. She pointed at an old log cabin near the side of the road. “Do you think they’ll lend us any?” “I hope so.” said Dagalin. “I don’t have enough potions to keep us warm for the entire trip across.” --- The girls walked up to the cabin, their breaths now fogging up in the air as the temperature began to drop. On the door was a sign, with another, redder, sign underneath. “Welcome to Ann’s Dragonback Mountain Range Expedition Service Lodge.” read Meliay. “WADMRESL? What a stupid acronym.” said Dagalin. Tyria then shushed her. Meliay continued on. “We are happy to announce our 50th anniversary in service. For a limited time, we are offering a free marked map that will guide travelers across the Dragonback Mountain Range. Fully annotated and detailed with specific instructions and landmarks to guide even the most dimwitted of travelers. Here’s to another 50 years.” “Well how nice of them.” said Dagalin. “There’s more.” said Meliay. “We regret to inform you that we will be suspending services indefinitely until we can find our dear Ann. She has disappeared and we are all worried for her. I hope she is still safe, god rest her soul. Her loving husband, Jax.” “Oh… now I’m sad.” said Dagalin. “There’s a date on it too. This sign was placed here about 5 years ago.” “So no one’s been home for a while.” said Tyria, rubbing her shoulders from the cold. She then rubbed her legs together. It felt like her need to pee was rising faster in the cold. “I don’t think they’ll mind if we look around.” Tyria made her way inside. Somehow it was colder inside than it was outside. The shock made Tyria have to hold her crotch momentarily. “Damn it!” she mumbled. “You okay Tyria?” asked Meliay. “This cold is making me need to pee more. Is there a place where we can light a fire?” asked Tyria. Meliay spotted a fireplace. She popped her spearhead out and pointed her staff at the wood inside the fireplace. “Spitha!” A jet of flames shot out of the spearhead momentarily, igniting the wood and startling Dagalin. “A warning would be nice!” said Dagalin. “Get used to it. I’m gonna look for winter clothes. Tyria, you stay here and try to get warm.” said Meliay. “Way ahead of you.” said Tyria, crouching near the fire. Meliay then went to inspect the other rooms. Dagalin looked around the main lobby, finding a rack of papers. She blew on them and the dust blew off in a giant cloud. “Look! I found the maps they were giving away for free!” She took one and opened it up on the table near Tyria. Tyria looked it over. “We gotta pass three mountains. Two of which are connected to the middle one with rope bridges.” She then spotted some little subtext under each bridge saying, ‘Built and maintained by the Ann expedition team!’. Tyria’s confidence dropped a little. “If they’re still there.” She looked over it some more, tracing lines and connecting them to trails barely visible because of the snow. “Okay, seems simple enough.” “How long do you think this will take?” asked Dagalin. “If we’re lucky and the weather never gets bad, I’d say about 3 days.” said Tyria. “Damn. That’s a while, and you already have to pee. How many times do you think you’ll have to go?” “I don’t want to think about it. I’d just like to go as fast as possible.” Meliay called from the other room. “Guys, I found something interesting!” She walked back into the lobby with three sets of winter gear. One red, one blue, and one black. “By the way, here you guys go.” Meliay gave the red and black gear to Tyria and Dagalin respectively. Tyria then noticed that she was holding a book. “What’s that Meliay?” asked Tyria. “Ann’s diary.” Meliay said. “The last entry is really… ominous.” She cleared her throat and began to read. “I feel it. My time is coming. I must head out to the well tomorrow if I want to rest in the place I wish to. I’m sorry, my dear husband Jax, my 25 year long secret will leave you unable to say goodbye. I just cannot even tell you about it, I must keep it safe. But do not be sad for my passing, be happy that we happened to begin with. Look back to our happy memories until you are finally ready to join me in heaven. Your loving wive, forever and always, Ann Kaforous.” “Ooooooh… now I’m really sad.” said Dagalin. “There’s a bit more. The word ‘well’ was underlined and there is a frantic and angry scribbling beneath the entry saying ‘There’s nothing there!’, also underlined in great frustration.” “Whoever wrote that must’ve tried really hard to find her.” said Tyria. “You don’t think whatever’s out there will come for us, will it?” asked Dagalin. “No.” said Meliay. “I skimmed the rest of the entries. It’s not like some thing, it’s a place. Supposedly she stumbled upon it when scouting for a possible underground route that could get us to Garberland in just a few hours. Looks like she found it, but she didn’t describe where it is or what it looked like. She even said something happens in those tunnels, but she calls them ‘events’. She was so worried about people finding this that she made her descriptions super vague.” “But she did find it, right?” asked Tyria. “Do you think we can use it?” “But Tyria, whatever was there, lured her there to be her final resting place. Who’s to say if it won't take over our minds and make us die there too?” said Meliay. “I’d rather take that risk than risk going through mountains where the weather can get bad and bridges can be collapsed. There’s a reason a trade route hasn’t been established through this mountain range. Only lightly packed adventurer groups come through here if they don’t wanna go to the northern cities and take a ship into Garmberland. That would take a week in itself.” “I still don’t like the unknown.” said Meliay. She started to put on her winter gear. “Dagalin, do you happen to have a potion that can help Tyria hold her pee?” “Uh… I do actually.” said Dagalin, somewhat surprised herself. She fished out two bottles from her cloak. “I was experimenting and I managed to create two different ones. One will close your pee hole shut for about an hour, but taking it while you’re just about to lose it will make it hurt like a motherfucker. Not enough to kill you, I’m sure. But don’t expect to last any more than that singular hour. And the other will basically shut down your kidneys. You’ll start to feel like absolute shit after a while since there is no waste being filtered out of your blood. This one will also last an hour, but at the end of that hour, I was forced to make it so that the potential pee you would’ve made in that hour will fill your bladder at 10x’s the rate. Or else you would still feel like shit for a long time after that hour while your kidneys play catch up. So say if you would’ve made 300 milliliters of pee in that hour, which is like 50 milliliters every 10 minutes, you will fill your bladder with 300 milliliters of pee in 10 minutes after that hour. But the feeling of your blood getting cleansed of that waste all at once will be euphoric, it feels really good lemme tell you.” “How many do you have?” asked Meliay. “Uh…” Dagalin sifted through her cloak. “One of each.” Meliay sighed. “Then we’ll have to use them wisely. Let’s head up the mountain.” Tyria stood up, putting on her own snow gear. “I still think we should find the route. If we can get to Garmberland in a couple hours, think of how much time we’ll have to search Mushroom Falls.” “Even if we could take it, we don’t even know where to find it.” Meliay threw the book down on the table, making its knitted cover fall off. Dagalin took notice and started to peel it off. “Ann said it was in a well. Where are we gonna find a well in all of these mountains, Tyria?” Tyria looked down. “Yeah… you’re right. It could be anywhere and we don’t have time to look.” Dagalin then snapped her fingers. “Yo uh, what’s this?” she asked, pointing at the now exposed cover. Meliay came over and saw markings on it. It was a circle that said home. An arrow pointed away from that circle towards another circle that was blank. “What does this mean?” asked Meliay. Dagalin bounced around excitedly. “Oh oh! I think I know! Lemme see that map!” Dagalin held the map over the book cover on top of the table. She then took out a bottle and slammed it down. The bottle glowed with blue light. Dagalin swished it around to increase its intensity. “Back before I was stuck in Bofford Town. Someone taught me how to read these secret maps.” She put the bottle between the map and the book cover. “This will make the paper see through and now we can see the book cover. Now we just need to line this up with something.” “Where would home be?” asked Tyria. “The lodge we’re in, duh.” said Meliay. “Let’s try it.” Dagalin found the ledge on the map and aligned the markings to it. “Huh, if this is accurate, then it's just up the hill, no more than 2 miles from here.” “Well there we go!” said Tyria with a clap of her hands. Meliay gave her a concerned look. “I still don’t like it.” “Well I don’t like having to waste a ton of pee-lives going across this mountain range.” said Tyria. “Let’s just go check it out real quick, and if we can’t find anything, then we can just come back here since it's so close. Barely any time lost. How about you Dagalin? What should we-” “Secret tunnel!” Dagalin said, throwing her arms up in excitement. Meliay sighed. “Of course…” “Now then, let’s go find that secret tunnel!” Dagalin said, pointing her illuminated bottle towards the door. Tyria gasped. “Meliay, your clothes!” Meliay looked down to see her bare body seemingly being exposed in a hole in her clothes. She quickly covered herself up. “What the hell!” she said in surprise. “It’s happening to mine too!” said Tyria, trying to cover her breasts and pussy. Dagalin laughed. “Oh yeah, I forgot! This light can make clothes see through also. You see it's a concoction made in the great war meant for quick identification of where wounds on soldiers are without having to take off their armor. That’s pretty neat, right?” Tyria calmed down and lowered her hands. “I-I guess?” Dagalin held it over to Tyria, revealing her body. “Yeah?” Then over herself, twisting her chest slightly in a seductive way. “Yeah?” She then held it over to Meliay. “Yeah-” Meliay smacked it out of her hands, smashing the bottle on the ground where the light diminished. “Awwwww.” “Enough messing around, let’s hurry up.” said Meliay, walking out of the lodge. Tyria and Dagalin watched her go out. “Your friend is no fun, you know that?” Dagalin whispers to Tyria. “Oh I know all too well.” said Tyria. “Come on, let’s go!” “Oh wait! I didn’t put my gear on!” said dagalin. She frantically tried to put the winter gear over her head while at the same time tripping over herself trying to get the pants on. Once she finally did so, she took the diary and stuffed it in her cloak just in case --- The girls made their way up some stone stairs, outlined with big rocks on the side. The cold wind began to pick up a bit. It chilled Tyria cheeks to the point that they started stinging. “We’re almost there!” said Dagalin, leading the pack. Once she was over the last of the stairs, she stopped in place, seeing something ahead. “Well that’s… weird.” “What’s weird?” asked Tyria. Once she made it up, she saw it. “Oh… wow.” Meliay then made it up. “Oh my god.” There was a well in front of them alright, but it was the thing growing out of the well that creeped them out. Thick green and luscious vines were pouring out of the well and slithered away from it. A sweet air was pouring out of the well, leaving a slight fog “What… is that?” asked Tyria. “Nothing good.” said Meliay. “I say we leave before we fuck around and find out.” “No wait!” said Dagalin, crouching down to inspect the vines. “I think I’ve seen this before. It was… it’s um… it’s…” Dagalin rapidly snapped her fingers. “Damn it! It’s right on the tip of my tongue!” “We don’t have all day for you to figure this out.” said Meliay in an annoyed tone. “I'm pretty sure it isn’t dangerous. But if only I can remember what it's called! Maybe we can still go down it.” “No thanks.” said Meliay. “Yeah… I kinda don’t wanna either.” said Tyria. “It tends to be common sense to stay away from scary plant holes.” “Guys come on! What if this is the shortcut Ann mentioned?” said Dagalin. “The book also said there was supposed to be nothing here.” said Meliay. “Maybe Jax knew this plant was here, but there was still nothing it led to.” “Okay, maybe you’re right. But at least let me check first. Just to make sure once and for all.” “Then by all means, you first.” said Meliay. “You’ll see.” said Dagalin. She looked inside the hole and noticed that it was pretty small. “I’m gonna need to take my snow gear off for this. My slender body should be able to fit right in!” She quickly threw her snow gear off her body. Feeling the drastic change in her body temperature, she shivered, rubbed her limbs together, and took several breaths before- “He----ou guys----re?” shouted a voice. “Huh? Did you guys hear that?” asked Tyria. “I did.” said Meliay. Dagalin gave a shivered sigh. “I swear to god! Let’s hurry up and figure out who so I can stop freezing my tits off! Freakin’ blue balled me!” The three decided to peek over the side of the cliff. Unbeknownst to them, a couple of vines raised out of the well, ominously pointing towards the girls. The girls saw a single person down by where they were. He looked like an ant due to the height. “Who is that?” asked Dagalin. “-re--yo----ys----her!” shouted the person. “I have no idea.” said Meliay. “I can’t tell from this high up.” “-e--nee---o---alk! Co--ba--!” shouted the person again. “WHAT?!” shouted Tyria as loud she could, cupping her hands around her mouth. The person visibly looked around in frustration before putting their all into their next shout. “COME BACK!” “Come back?” asked Meliay. “Wait, you don’t think it's Jax trying to warn us, do you?” “It's not dangerous!” said Dagalin. “Maybe it's because we’re trespassing?” Tyria then had a massive realization. “No wait! Meliay, didn’t you hear that signature rasp in the back of their voice? It’s-” Suddenly, vines sprung forth and snapped onto Dagalin’s body, wrapping themselves tightly. Dagalin looked up unamused. “Okay, I just ask the two of you that if I somehow make it out of this, you will not hold it over my head for the rest of my life, okay?” She was then suddenly jerked back and held over the well, scaring the daylights out of the other two girls. “Help me!” Dagalin shouted before being forcefully tugged into the well, disappearing in one quick slurp. “DAGALIN!” shouted Tyria and Meliay. They both ran over to the well and looked down it, but it was filled with so many vines that they couldn’t see Dagalin anywhere. Tyria grit her teeth and acted purely on instinct. She drew her sword, turned it into an ax, and chopped at the vines. “Tyria! What are you doing?!” asked Meliay. “Give us back our friend you damn monster!” Tyria shouted. She then swung her ax and cut one of the vines clean off. The well gave a very loud and wet roar as the vines writhed around in pain. Another vine whipped out and grabbed Tyria by the abdomen. It wrapped so tightly that it absolutely crushed Tyria’s bladder, making her forcefully leak into her panties before she could react. “Oh shit!” she quickly said while clutching her crotch. But then the vine held up high and forcefully forced her down the well also with one big slurp. “NOOO!” shouted Meliay. She ignited the end of her staff along the ground and raised it above her head. “GLETTINGS-!” A vine whipped around her ankle and pulled her aside, making her fall face first into snow. It then raised her high again, getting ready to stuff her down the well too. “No! I won’t let you!” Meliay shouted. She extended her spear and slashed at the vine on her leg the best she could. She almost got through, but two more vines grabbed her by the arms. She tossed and she screamed as the vines threw her down towards the well. Before she was forced in, she saw an upside down glimpse of someone reaching out their hand to her before she was slurped by the well. Her vision was replaced by darkness and vines.

Q&A For Zentou and His Stories Hey all! I just wanted to leave a quick Q&A post for anyone interested about me or the stories I write. This is because I don't have any introductory posts, I don't wanna leave an author's notes anywhere in stories, and I don't wanna seem like a random robot guy pumping out stories with nothing else to say. Please feel free to ask about: - My work process - Possible ideas for new stories - The stories I have - If you'd like me to write for an omo project of yours - My omo Preferences - and pretty much anything else unless I say no If anyone feels this is in the wrong "place" please feel free to let me know and move it

Chapter 2: Secrets & Snake Oil A slight wind blew through the small sand dunes as Tyria and Meliay entered the edges of the desert. Tyria was breathing heavily, sweat was dripping down her face like a river, and she kept up with a jog, trying to go as fast as she could. Next to her was Meliay, walking beside her. She was super frustrated with Tyria’s continued antics. “Tyria!” she yelled. “Just walk! You’re just making yourself unnecessarily tired!” “I’ll… eventually… outrun you… you’ll see.” Tyria said between gasps of breaths of air. “Oh for the love of-” Meliay grabbed the stick at the side of her thigh and extended it into a full length staff with the sound of a sharp snap. She then used the head on Tryia’s feet, tripping her face first into the ground. Tyria was too tired to be angry, instead opting to just groan annoyingly into the ground. “What the hell is your problem, Meliay?!” she said in a muffled voice. Meliay crouched down next to Tyria’s head. “No, what the hell is YOUR problem?! You don’t just go ditching a mission you’ve been looking forward to your whole life! Please, just tell me what is going on!” Tyria remained silent for a moment. “It’s nothing.” she mumbled. Meliay scoffed. “Unbelievable.” She made a couple paces in front of Tyria, trying to think of what to do. While she did, she observed that Tyria still only had her hip satchel for essential things. It was no bigger than a regular bottle of water. “Did you even pack properly for where you’re going?” Tyria didn’t answer. “Hello? Earth to Tyria!” “Sure is.” said Tyria, directly into the ground. Meliay groaned and grabbed her own head in frustration. “How long are you gonna stay down there?” “Until I feel like it.” Tyria then held her arms at her side, creating a tiny dirt angel in the process. Meliay was fuming, but then something came across her mind. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. As she exhaled, she felt her anger wash away. She then knelt down by Tyria’s head once more, using her staff as a support. “Tyriaaaaa? I know what you’re doing now.” “What?” said Tyria, thinking nothing of it. “You’re trying to annoy me enough to leave. You know me well enough to know that I hate bratty kids, like the one you’re acting like right now. But I’m here to tell you that it’s not gonna work anymore. You’re stuck with me, end of story.” Meliay then patted Tyria’s head in a taunting way. “Well, I guess I’ll just lay here until you go away.” “Augh…” groaned Meliay, tilting her head up into the air. “Fine then, you wanna be that way? I’ll just have to start doing things my way from now on.” Tyria gasped. She then shot straight and ran in the opposite direction of Meliay. “No no no no no no!” Meliay slammed the end of her staff on the ground, creating a golden light sigil. Tyria kept running, but then she felt her body float up into the air. Meliay had cast a levitation spell on her, preventing her from running away. This did not deter her however, as she tried to run away by flailing her legs in the air. Meliay sighed and pulled Tyria towards her. “If you’re gonna keep acting like a brat, I’m just gonna carry you everywhere. And I know I can because I know your counter-magic still sucks.” “Oh yeah? Watch me!” Tyria closed her eyes and concentrated. A faint blue sigil appeared on her palm. It spun and spun until Tyria grunted, thrusting it at Meliay. The sigil broke into pieces and fluttered around Meliay. Meliay pretended to gasp, but then immediately looked back at Tyria, unimpressed. “You never practiced like I told you, did ya?” said Meliay. “I’m sure I would’ve gotten to it…” said Tyria, guilty pressing her index fingers together. “Whatever.” Meliay turned around and began walking back towards the forest, floating Tyria along with her. “Wait, where are you going?” asked Tyria. “I’m heading towards the nearest town. The direction you were going in has no towns in sight for several hundred miles. And from the looks of it, you’re not anywhere close to being sufficiently prepared to make any journey in that direction. So, we’re gonna head to town and buy supplies first. After that, I’ll make my guess as to where you were going and head in that direction. Unless you want to be generous and at least tell me where you were going?” “Not a chance!” said Tyria. “Then we’re heading to town!” said Meliay, pointing her arm in the direction of the forest. “All ahead full, Captain!” Tyria flailed in the air. “No! Stop! You have to let me go! I have to get where I’m going fast!” “And we will, but we’re gonna prepare first!” said Meliay trudging along. “In the meantime, why don’t we play a game? I’m gonna spout out some random scenarios and you’re gonna tell me if I get them right or not.” Tyria crossed her arms and looked away. “Hmph! As if I’ll tell you if you got the right answer!” Meliay chuckled. “So there is a right answer?” Tyria gasped and covered her mouth. “N-No!” Meliay laughed out loud as they continued walking. --- Some time later, Melia and Tyria were walking down a forest path. “How about this one? You were actually transported back here from 30 years in the future and the place you were going has a specific event in which you will finally be able to harness enough power to be able to go back to the future. And you didn’t want to tell us because you didn’t want to say goodbye to your dear friends?” “No!” said Tyria. “Damn… I’ll keep trying.” --- Even more time later, the two were walking across a stone bridge. A river ran right underneath it. “Uh… how about? You had a long lost brother that you thought was dead and you were off to the land of the dead to save him. You were told this by your mother, but she was cursed to never speak the truth so she turned into a monster and you had to fight her off. And because of that, you don’t wanna take your friends in hopes of sparing them the pain.” Tyria picked at her fingernails with her thumb. “No…” she said in a bored tone. “Hmm, maybe I should be less specific.” --- A significant amount of time later. The two found themselves in a large shallow cave. A waterfall flowed loudly at the entrance. Meliay made her way up the shady path behind the waterfall. Beams of sunlight poured between the cracks and shined on the waterfall, creating rainbow mist. “I got it this time. You’re actually caught in some kind of infinite time loop and the solution to solve it is over where you were heading. However, you were never gonna solve it because you decided to omit your friends in this attempt.” “No!” said Tyria, throwing her hands up in the air. “Can you stop guessing already?! I figured out that you were just stealing the plots of various books you’ve read about 30 minutes ago!” Tyria growled and crossed her arms and looked away. The flowing waterfall sprayed its mist everywhere, sprinkling on Tyria’s skin. A shiver went down her spine as her body temperature went down. But more concerningly, it gave her the first tiny reminder that her need to pee was starting to rise. Though only the tiniest smidge of need, it still scared her. “Do you think you could hurry up?” asked Tyria, rubbing her shoulders. “I dunno, are you gonna run away again?” “No! It’s just… the waterfall is making me cold.” “Aww, you poor baby! I’ll make sure you’ll get taken care of as soon as we get to town.” Tyria grumbled once more and crossed her arms again, impatiently waiting. --- Meliay and Tyria moved down the path again. This time being a paved road made of stone. They had to be close now. Tyria awoke from her pseudo nap and looked around. She noticed Meliay breathing heavily and leaning on her staff quite a bit. Tyria smiled. “Heeeey, I noticed that you haven’t been guessing for a while. Could they be because of something? Hmmm?” “Nothing.” said Meliay, panting. “Ooooh! You must’ve used up all your magic! Now you have to use your physical stamina!” “Shut up!” “Oh! Does it get worse when I do this?” Tyria then flailed around, shifting her weight as much as she could. She felt herself move this time and Meliay lost her balance for a moment. “Ah ha! It does! Then I’ll just do this! And this!” Tyria then shifted her weight one way, then the other, pushing around Meliay in the process. Meliay gritted her teeth and pounded her staff into the ground. “That’s enough!” The golden light surrounding Tyria doubled in intensity and she was forced into a plank-like position. “Ugh! You are so uncool! Do you know how uncomfortable this position is?” “Then stop messing around or I’ll shut your mouth too.” “You and I both know doing this will take twice as much stamina. You won’t won’t last much longer.” said Tyria with a smug grin. Meliay looked ahead and saw something. “You wanna bet?” She then took off running. “Huh? That’ll just tire you out more!” said Tyria. But then she saw what Meliay saw. There was a traveling merchant just outside of town. “Oh no. She said under her breath.” --- As they approached, they saw the shopkeep sitting out front. Her skin was on the darker side and her hair was black and extremely short. She wore a skin tight suit that went from her neck all the way down to her ankles, with some gray padded light armor woven into her outfit around the chest and shoulders. She was barefoot, but despite that, her feet looked pristine and untouched by dirt or soot. She was reading a book. Meliay noticed that her eyes danced around the page and she was rubbing her reading arm as if she was slightly cold. “Hello.” said Meliay. The shopkeep jumped and tossed her book through several items on display. “Oh! Um, can I help you?” she asked, trying awkwardly to look like she never lost her composure. “I’d like a mana potion, the biggest one you have.” said Meliay. “Yes!” said the shopkeep, pumping her hand. “Finally, my first business of the day! I’ve been waiting so long!” “Huh? Business is usually good here in Bofford.” said Meliay. “Unless… you’ve been set up in front of the west gate all day?” “The town’s people said this was the gate with the most people coming through. But, I haven’t seen anyone yet. Must be a night caravan or something.” the Shopkeep said in a somewhat airheaded way. “I’m pretty sure they lied to you because this path goes nowhere except the desert.” The Shopkeep put a hand on her chest. “Ahh!” she said with a high pitched squeak. “Now why would they ever do that?” Suddenly, Meliay grunted. She gripped her staff hard. The Shopkeep noticed that Tyria was struggling to get out of her constraints. The yellow energy began to flicker as she tried. “Um… the mana potion please.” said Meliay. “Okay!” The Shopkeep went into her cart and shuffled around with bottles. “So what are you here for, huh? You bringing in a bounty?” “More like a stubborn friend.” said Meliay. “You’re stubborn!” shouted Tyria. “Good one.” said Meliay, unamused. “Ah ha! Here we go!” The Shopkeep came out holding a strange blue potion battle. “That will be 350 Lyobie please.” “350?! That‘s so much for such a tiny potion! Plus, it doesn’t even look like a royal standard potion.” “You would be right, dear customer!” said the Shopkeep, swishing her finger to her sentence. “For you see, I made a house blend that is sure to perk your mana reserves right up to full with as very little liquid as possible. However, the ingredients are quite expensive, hence why the price may be higher than usual.” Meliay looked over the labeless bottle. “And you’re sure it's safe?” “I drink it everyday, so don’t worry about a thing.” said the Shopkeep, waving away Meliay’s question. Meliay sighed. “Fine.” She began to fish out coins from her satchel. “No! You can’t do the deal!” said Tyria. “Please, I have to get out of here!” The Shopkeep frowned. “Aww, you heard her miss. I’m afraid I can’t sell you this potion.” Meliay looked at her confused. “What?” The Shopkeep then placed her hand on Meliay’s shoulder and bent over laughing. “You shoulda seen your face! Ha ha! Of course I’ll still sell! Not like she’s in any position to make any demands!” “I-I’ll pay double!” said Tyria. “You don’t even have that much on you, Tyria.” said Meliay. “Plus, if she took that deal, I would’ve paid triple.” “Ugh! How are you so rich and cheap at the same time!” Meliay grunted and tossed the coins at The Shopkeep, to which she caught and quickly pocketed while giggling. Meliay took a sip of the potion, then immediately choked on it and spit it out. “Damn!” she said, wiping her mouth on her sleeve. “This stuff’s strong!” “The taste is usually pretty intense for people the first time.” said the Shopkeep, tilting her head endearingly. “I can offer you a potion approved by the royal standard.” “No no, I can handle it.” Meliay hyped herself up and quickly downed the whole potion in one gulp. In an instant, Tyria could feel the golden light tighten up around her body. “Oh great…” she said defeated. Meliay coughed into her sleeve. “Augh! That is the best and worst thing I’ve ever drank!” The Shopkeep then picked up a pen and clipboard. “Ok, then how would you rate your experience?” “Um… it’s good. Really good. Especially for an intermediate mage like me, it felt like it could’ve filled my mana to the max and beyond. Tastes awful though. So unless I was going on a super serious mission, I think I’ll stick with royal standard potions.” “Oh poo…” said The Shopkeep, writing down what Meliay said. “That’s always been a problem with this brew. But I appreciate your input.” The Shopkeep put down the pen and clipboard. “Small, compact, and strong, great for long and strenuous missions! As long as you can handle the taste.” “Right… uh, well thanks. I’ll see you around.” The Shopkeep then moved up to Meliay before she could leave. “I should tell you though. As a mage, I’m sure you know that increased magic densities require a sacrifice be made.” “And… what exactly did I sacrifice?” asked Meliay. “Oh, nothing too bad. Just that it has a bit of a diuretic effect. About the same as a whole cup of coffee.” “Ha! That’s nothing! I drink one of those early in the morning everyday!” said Meliay confidently. “Okay, just thought you should know. Have a nice day!” said the Shopkeep, waving goodbye. “See ya.” Meliay went on her way. But the Shopkeep gave a look at Tyria, to which she was trilling her lips in boredom. The hair on back stood and she gasped. “You!” the Shopkeep said, pointing at Tyria. “You bear a mark, you are cursed!” Tyria’s heart sank. “Uh, no I’m not.” she said. “Yes, you are.” said the Shopkeep, doing a wave of her hand in front of her.“Hold still, I have one last concoction I think I can give to you.” She then went inside her cart. Meliay waited and eyed Tyria suspiciously. Tyria grinned nervously, trying to look like she didn’t know what she was talking about. “Hey, Shopkeep.” asked Meliay. “Just how do you know Tyria has a curse?” “Oh, because I dabble a little bit in hex healing! Being someone who makes custom blends, I also delved into concoctions that can resist curse and hexs. Maybe even outright get rid of them!” Suddenly, they heard the sound of glass breaking. “Oh… I’ll clean that up later. Ah ha! Here!” The Shopkeep came out with a green wine bottle. “Heck yeah, I can go for a drink.” said Meliay. “No! Not for you! I just didn’t have a regulation bottle to put this in.” She held it out in front of Tyria. “This concoction should do it! But, you’ll have to down the whole thing. Are you okay with that?” “How do you know this will even work?” asked Meliay. “I’ll have you know, I’ve set up my own hexs and curses in a controlled environment. And only half my test subject died.” “WHAT?!” shouted Tyria. The Shopkeep bent over laughing. “I’m kidding! I got you again, ha ha!” She laughed for a bit longer until she realized they weren’t laughing. “*Ahem* Tough crowd huh?” “Well, I am. But she isn’t. Though, I doubt she’s in the mood.” said Meliay. “Anyway, just drink this and your curse should be rid of you in an instant.” said the Shopkeep. Tyria thought for a moment. “H-How much?” “Oh for you? It’s in the house. You’ll be the first life I save with this.” “Didn’t you say you cure curses with this before?” asked Meliay. “Yes, in controlled environments. With relatively inconvenient curses at that. Numb body curse, infatuation curse, pee desperation curse-” “What?!” asked Tyria. “Long story. Could you please let down our friend? It will be hard for her to drink hanging up there.” asked the Shopkeep of Meliay. Meliay sighed. “Fine.” She tapped her staff on the ground and Tyria fell face first into the ground. “Smooth, Meliay.” said Tyria through the ground. “Very smooth.” “If anything, you probably deserve it.” Tyria stood up. “Can I drink it now?” she asked the Shopkeep. “Of course!” The Shopkeep gave the bottle to Tyria. She sighed as she looked at it while rolling it in her palm. Meliay cleared her throat. “So? Do you wanna maybe tell me what was going on if you’re gonna drink that?” “Um… there was nothing going on. I was just going to uh… humor her.” said Tyria with a nervous smile. “Rude.” said the Shopkeep. Meliay scoffed and looked away. However, something strange happened. Her vision became blurry and she found it hard to stand. Her head then started to spin. Tyria then popped the cork on the bottle and took a sip, immediately choking on it and spitting it out. “Oh yes, it contains the same ‘properties’ as your friend potion. Do you think you can drink it?” “I’m gonna have to try.” said Tyria with a determined tone. She spun the liquid in the bottle and held it quickly upward, creating a vortex as it went down her mouth. It tasted awful, but if it was able to rid her of her curse, it was worth it. “Whoa, bit a party girl, weren’t you?” asked the Shopkeep. “Mm-hm.” said Tyria as she drank. The vortex got smaller and smaller until there was nothing left. Tyria dropped the bottle on the ground and gagged. “AUGH! That tastes so bad.” she said, spitting out what was left in her mouth. “My my, this is a surprise.” said the Shopkeep. “You made my job much easier.” Tyria was confused. “What do you mean by that?” she asked. When she looked back up at her, the Shopkeep had a devious grin on her face. This creeped out Tyria. But then she heard something drop beside her. Meliay had dropped cold on the floor, fully unconscious. She gasped and looked down, seeing the bottle drip some liquid. “Shit!” she exclaimed, kicking the bottle away.” The Shopkeep chuckled. “Kick the bottle all you want, Lil’ Miss Tyria. You can’t undrink the concoction.” Tyria drew her sword. “Y-You… Snake Oiler!” Her words became slurred, her vision blurred, her head started spinning, and she started to stumble around. The Snake Oiler gasped. “Is that a Displacium sword?! How lucky, I can sell that for a lot!” Tyria swung her sword, making the Snake Oiler dodge back. She cackled at Tyria’s futile attempt. “S-Stay back! This is mine! It was… a gift!” “Aw! And it comes with a story?” said the Snake Oiler. “Even better!” She moved in against Tyria. Tyria swung, but the Snake Oiler ducked under, grabbed Tyrias arm, and elbowed her in the stomach. Tyria bent over in pain as the Snake Oiler took her sword. “Sorry to cut our encounter short, but you guys have some pretty interesting stuff. I hope you don’t mind if I… ‘appropriate’ it from you guys.” Tyria fell to the ground. “You… bitch.” she managed to say before the world started to go black. --- Some time had passed and Meliay began to stir. She groaned and stretched out her arms with a yawn. The sky was orange with the color of sunset. Meliay gasped. She stood up and looked around. They were taken slightly off the path and laid upon a rock. She felt her side, her satchel was gone. She felt for her staff, that was gone too. “Damn it!” she yelled. She stood up and held her head in frustration. “I can’t believe we got snake oiled!” She then frantically felt all around her clothes for any “particular stains”. After all, being drugged and being put in the middle of nowhere, a young woman can’t be too careful. Luckily, she didn’t find anything and she took a sigh of relief. She then felt a presence. Something familiar was nearby. “That’s right!” she said to herself. She raised her hand into the air. After a moment, her staff came flying back into her hand. “Ah yes!” Meliay kissed the pole of it. “Thank god I got this branded! Oh wait, Tyria!” She looked at the rock and saw that she was laying on the same rock next to her. “Oh, thank goodness.” She held out her hand and covered Tyria with blue energy. Two sigils appeared above and below Tyria, then came to meet in the middle with a blue flash. Tyria’s eyes opened and she groaned. “Ugh, five more minutes please…” she said groggily. “Wake up!” shouted Meliay angrily. “We got snake oiled!” Tyria gasped and stood straight up. “That’s right!” But suddenly she bent over slightly. Her bladder had become somewhat swollen. Turns out that drink was still a diuretic after all. She fought the urge to place a hand on her crotch. After all, Meliay was watching. “No! Not now!” Tyria said under her breath. “What was that?” asked Meliay. Tyria shot upright and raised her hands defensively. “Nothing! I didn’t say anything!” The sudden movement made her urge shoot up just a little bit and she couldn’t help but raise her leg and twist ever so slightly. Meliay groaned and slammed her staff on the ground. “Alright! That’s enough of the bullshit, Tyria! I’ve tried as a friend to let you tell me what was happening on your own. But now I just had all my shit stolen because you couldn’t just fess up. You’re lucky I just branded my staff so she couldn’t take it since it only works when I hold it.” Tyria was a bit scared. She backed away slowly, lowering her hands cautiously. “Okay, in the grand scheme of things, maybe I’ve been a little bit of a dick.” “Maybe?!” “Okay! For sure a dick, alright? But please, let me just assure you that there is nothing wrong. I’m… I’m gonna be okay.” Meliay sighed. “You’re a shit liar, you know that?” she said with her arms crossed. She then walked over and got right up in Tyria’s face. “One last time, Tyria.” she said softly. “Are you in danger?” Tyria was on the verge of tears. Her lip quivered and her voice started to wheeze. She turned away. “I-I’m fine. I told you.” Meliay gave a disappointed sigh. “Why did you have to say that?” Suddenly, Tyria’s body was covered in energy chains, freezing her in place. “Hey, what are you doing?!” said Tyria. Meliay walked up in front of her and sat down on the rock they had been laying on. She stared daggers into Tyria, crossing her arms and legs. “We are not moving from this spot until you give me a real answer!” “What? I told you my answer already! Plus, I did this earlier and that didn’t work!” “Yes, you did. But do you want to know what the difference is? We got snake oiled, all of our stuff is stolen except my staff, which means if we don’t move fast, you may never see your precious sword ever again!” Tyria was shocked, almost betrayed. “Meliay… please, you wouldn’t let that happen.” Meliay gave a disheartened sigh. “You backed me into a corner, Tyria. At this point, I have to do what is necessary. Why won’t you believe in your friends, Tyria? What about this whole thing has got you so fucked up?” “I-I can’t!” said Tyria, sputtering her words at the verge of tears. “Y-You’ll never believe me!” Meliay stood up and hugged her. “There, we’re already one step closer. Now just tell me what’s happening. What do you think I won’t believe?” “I… uh…” “Tyria please. No one would be having this reaction if whatever affected you isn’t real. And there’s no way you’ll ever let that sword go. It was the last gift your mother gave you before she passed. Only your ears can listen to the story stored in it. And if that bitch sells it to some chump who breaks it, that story is lost forever.” Tyria gave a quivered breath. “So please. Believe in your friends, believe in me.” Tyria closed her eyes and tears fell. “Okay… Okay.” she said in a scratchy voice. “Y-You know the witch we kicked out of the village the other day?” “The one that set up hexs all over town that was making everyone need to pee really bad?” asked Meliay. “Yeah. In my sleep, she cursed me in my sleep. She made me watch her do it in my dreams. She… she made it so that if I ever pee more than 10 times after that day, I would die.” Meliay stepped back, her mind trying to process all this. “You don’t believe me, do you?” Meliay quickly looked back at Tyria. “No, no, it’s just… Have you been able to verify this… curse? Are you sure it wasn’t just… a bad dream?” “The witch built in a reminder. Everytime I pee, I’ll die for a couple seconds. I found out in the tavern when I had to pee worse than I ever had before. I went pee, and I died right there in the stall when I finished. My heart stopped! I couldn’t breathe! It was like something sucked the life out of me! It was… horrible!” “Okay… alright, uh… then, where were you going?” “The Mushroom Falls. There was a vision I had. A hint. It told me to go there. There’s this magical whirlpool inside that should supposedly cure me of my curse. I don’t know if I should drink it or jump right in, but I just know it's there.” Meliay was stunned. She turned around slowly, still trying to process what was told to her. “Meliay? Meliay, do you believe me? Meliay, look at me, please!” “That fucking psycho hexing bitch!” she said angrily. She yelled and she slammed the head of her staff into the ground, causing a wave of golden energy to cascade through it like kicked up water. “I knew she was weird, maybe even sick, but this shit?! No! She’s a monster!” Meliay pounded the end of her staff on the ground, releasing Tyria from the chains. She then turned around and grabbed her by the shoulder. “I may have expected a lot of things, but definitely not this. But if you truly think that you are in danger, if the way how is a stretch for me, I will help you anyway I can. I promise.” Tyria’s eyes filled with tears. “Meliay… Maliay, thank you!” She threw herself onto Meliay, sobbing loudly into her shoulder. Meliay, ran her hand down her head comfortingly. “Shhhh, it’s gonna be okay. We’re gonna fix this. Together.” “Uh-huh!” Tyria said, still sobbing. She backed away and wiped a tear from her face. “Yeah… alright.” Meliay smiled endearingly at her. “Now, let’s go get your stupid sword.” Tyria half laughed. “A joke from you? That’s new. Thanks Meliay, I feel a bit better now.” “Plus, I have a little secret of my own I need to tell you.” said Meliay. “Oh? What’s that?” “I… kinda have to pee.” Meliay said, crossing her legs. “Turns out those drinks were diuretics after all.” “Ha! I uh… kinda need to pee too.” “Then we’re in this together. Let’s get this done. I’ll use my magic to transport us to the town, that’s probably where she ended up. That does bring up a question though. Your pee will come out eventually. Will you just hold on for as long as possible or go as soon as you see a bathroom?” “I’m gonna hold on for as long as possible, then go into a private area with no people so that I can… uh, die in secret. Yeah, I didn’t think too much about it.” Meliay smiled. “Then let’s hurry, the sooner we get your sword, the sooner we can move at our own pace.” “Right!” said Tyria. Meliay slammed the end of her staff on the ground, engulfing them both in golden light. They floated over the path towards the town and blasted themselves forward, taking off like rockets. As they flew, Tyria worried slightly, squeezing her legs together as they flew. --- It was almost night time by the time they got to town. They floated towards the center of the shopping district and landed softly. As Tyria landed, she shivered. It wasn’t clear to her what was better, managing her desperation in the air or the ground. Meliay noticed her concern. “Don’t worry, we’ll try and get this done fast.” Tyria nodded. “Okay first, let’s ask around and see if anybody knows who she is.” Meliay pointed at a nearby tavern. “Then after that, make back at that tavern to discuss our findings.” “You got it!” said Tyria, pumping her fist. “And be careful. There will be some… “unsavory” people attracted to young women wandering around at night.” Tyria waved away her concern. “You worry too much! Plus, these hands should be enough to handle any average person.” Meliay looked at Tyria’s stance. “You’re pee dancing.” Tyria gasped and tried to stand up straight, but couldn’t help but keep her legs squeezed together. “Just try to avoid any unnecessary conflict. We shouldn’t take any chances.” Tyria sighed. “Alright… Let’s go.” The two split up and began to ask around for the snake oiler outside of town. --- “That brat?” said one bystander. “I’m sure everyone in town knows about her. We try our best to warn everyone, but we would’ve never expected for anyone to go through the west gate.” --- “She makes some good shit, lemme tell ya. Though it tastes like shit too. It's a shame really. That girl wastes her talents being a petty thief.” --- “Oh I know her all too well.” said the resident Barkeep. A stout old lady. “She came around about 6 months ago. At first, I didn’t think all too much about it, but then things started getting stolen. You’d think that wouldn’t be all too surprising for a trade town like this, but she was different. She would prance around at night, taunting her victims by yelling into the night sky about her ‘accomplishment’.” “So does that mean she’ll be prancing around tonight?” asked Tyria, crossing her legs tightly behind the counter. “Hard to say. She just kinda does it whenever she wants. Could be today, could be a week from now. Though the strange thing is that lately, she’s only been targeting women. Then after prancing around about her achievements, their items are returned one way or another. I think she’s actually after something else from these women, enticing them to stay by stealing their stuff. But that’s just an old theory of mine. That’s about all I know.” “Okay, well, thanks for your time.” The barkeep nodded and went back to work. Tyria sighed and sat at an occupied table. Time seemed to move so slowly. Her need to pee was slowly increasing and it was making her count every second. A wave came and she closed her eyes and exhaled sharply, crossing her legs tightly while bouncing up and down as her bladder fought for relief. Suddenly, Tyria was startled by a pounding to her left, making her almost lose a leak. She bit her lip trying to stay composed. “Ugh, well today has certainly been enlightening.” said Meliay, twirling on her staff into the seat across from Tyria “Everyone tell you the same thing?” asked Tyria. “She’s not new, she’s a showoff, and she steals peoples stuff.” said Meliay. “Half of that stuff we practically already knew.” “You seem more frustrated than me.” “Well that’s because-” Suddenly, the two of them heard drunken laughing behind Meliay. She closed her eyes and sighed in an annoyed way. “Oh my god….” “Heya there, good lookin!” said a big drunken man, he slammed his arms on their table, leaning on them while he looked at Meliay. “You never gave me an answer back there *hic* and I was just wondering-” “No!” Meliay said sternly. “Ah come on. You two are the talk of the town, going around asking all sorts of questions about that lil *hic* nuisance. People are thinking you’re the mafia, but not me! Not lil’ old Steve! Mafia are more subtle, secretive. If they wanted to deal with their trash *hic* they’d have done it already. You two are real passionate, strong women who want to get back what was stolen on their own terms. I like women like that.” “Will you just leave us alone already?!” shouted Meliay, standing up angrily. Steve laughed and fell onto the table. “Well if you like us so much, are you able to provide any information on this snake oiler?” “Tyria?!” said Meliay, surprised she would even give him the light of day. “I mean, did you even ask at least? We should consider all our options.” Meliay sighed and sat back down. “Tell me what you know… Steve. And maybe, and that is a very BIG maybe, I will humor you.” Steve fist pumped flat on the table. “Yessssh!” He then sat straight up and got straight to business. “You see, I’m part of caravan- er, more like a group of friends, that is traveling across the land in search of all kinds of exotic women to make our wives.” “Gross.” said Meliay. Tyria shushed her. “No! We’re not like other guys! We look for soul, we look for competence, we look for love! No easy going city showoffs for us. Ha ha!” “Can you hurry up with your life’s story please, we’re in a hurry.” said Tyria. Meliay nodded in agreement. “Of course! *hic* That girl has been trying to get in contact with every caravan, adventure groups, even just a traveling buddy to escort her out of the town. Me thinks of three things with this kind of behavior. 1 *hic* She’s scared of something out there and wants protection. 2, she needs to get out of here quick and needs someone that will make her trip easier. Or 3, she wants to make easy pickings off someone while traveling to another city to expand her operation. And considering that she wants to go south to Garmberland, everyone is sure that the 3rd reason is the most likely.” “Interesting.” said Meliay, pinching her chin as she thought. “Alright Tyria, I have a plan.” “You do?” asked Tyria and Steve at the same time. “Yes. We’re gonna put up a flier saying that we’re seeking a third party member. Saying we’ll meet up in a secluded location. Then we capture her and make her tell us where our stuff is!” Tyria nodded. “Simple, effective, straight to the point. Let’s do it when you’re ready.” “Yesh!” said Steve, throwing his hands up in the air. “When do we start?” Meliay gave a disgusted grunt. “YOU aren’t a part of any of this.” she said, trying to push him off the table. But Steve was so big that Meliay just pushed herself back. Steve stood up, disappointed. “Come on, I gave you what you wanted. *hic* At least let me see this to the end.” Meliay stood up with him. “No more! It is miserable being around you!” she said, poking his chest like it were a sword. “Your hair is a mess! You have an untrimmed bush for a beard! Your clothes are stained with who knows what! You absolutely reek of alcohol! And you’re fatter than any farmer's pig that I’ve ever seen! Just generally a really bad time to be around!” The tavern “ooh’d” at Steve’s belittlement. Steve’s face grew serious and he downed the rest of his drink. He took a breath and burped. “It’s not fat *hic* …It’s power.” He said with one last smirk. Meliay scoffed and pointed the tip of her staff at his face, extending the staff right into his face. With a loud metallic WHACK, he feel to the floor. The tavern cheered as his body rocked the whole building on impact. “Strikeout Steve strikes out once again!” One patron shouted. “Damn, can’t believe I lost that bet!” “Better luck next time, ay buddy!” The tavern was roaring with laughter, bringing a whole bunch of attention that Meliay didn’t want. “Let’s get a paper and be done with this. I wanna get out of here as soon as possible.” “O-Okay.” said Tyria. They both got up and headed over to the bar counter. Meliay picked up a blank piece of paper and set it down in front of her. “Don’t you need a pen?” “No, I’ll just inscribe what we need with magic.” said Meliay. She placed her finger tips at the bottom of the paper. Blue energy started to swish around the paper, having straight ink streaks appear. Tyria watched as Meliay worked. In the constant drone of voices and music in the tavern, she tightened her legs again. Another wave made her need known. She sucked in air through her teeth and tried her best to hold it in with just her legs. But she could feel it pushing its way through her body. The pressure increased and her bladder started to ache. She tried and she tried, but it was too much. She was forced to quickly hold down on her crotch with one hand. Her breathing became labored as she bottled up her desperation. After a bit, the wave subsided, and Tyria gave a sigh of relief. Tyria cautiously took her hand off her crotch, hoping that another wave wouldn’t start. She sighed, tired of anxiously waiting around. She pointed to the Barkeep. “I'll take a shot, your strongest please.” Meliay looked at her surprised. “Are you sure?” “I really need something to take the edge off.” Meliay sighed. “I’ll take one too.” “You got it.” said the Barkeep. She took a bottle and quickly filled up two shots before sliding them over to the girls. Meliay sipped her shot conservatively, but Tyria downed the whole thing in one shot. The drink was so much stronger than she was expecting. She coughed hard, making her lose a tiny drip of pee into her panties. “Shit!” said Tyria. She crossed her legs, but the need felt the same. She took a deep breath and focused on not losing it like that again. Meliay heard what happened and quickly finished up her drink and the flier. Meliay then pinned it to the questboard before coming back and patting Tyria on the shoulder. “I found a spot in town where we can meet earlier. Let’s head there now.” “Yeah, okay. I just hope this works fast or not at all. I’d hate to chase her while losing it.” “It’ll work, trust me.” Meliay held Tyria’s hand and started to lead her out of the Tavern. As they went, Steve looked at them from the ground. “What a woman.” he said before laying back down and sleeping. But just as the girls went through the doors, a hooded figure entered right beside them. They moved between the patrons without drawing much attention until they got to the quest board. They skimmed over all the listings until they found Meliay’s flier. “3rd party member needed,” they read. “Considering any and all races, skill levels, and mannerisms.” The hooded figure raised their head, revealing partially that they were the Snake Oiler. “Yes! Maybe I can finally get out of here! I won’t be trapped anymore! Where? Where?!” She read it again. “The alley behind the cool Ramen place on Fusard street? Aw hell yeah! They even have taste!” She then quickly made herself out of the tavern. “Just you guys wait, I’m coming!” --- Tyria and Meliay sat on a couple crates in the middle of a small alleyway. Meliay took a deep breath and leaned against the wall, but then a sudden realization crossed her mind. “Aw shit!” she said. “Huh? What? Did we forget something?” asked Tyria. “Yeah. I forgot to go pee.” said Meliay, squeezing her legs together. She rubbed her hand over her stomach. “I think I’m starting to feel it in my bladder” Tyria couldn’t help but chuckle a bit. “The cool and focused Meliay forgot to use the bathroom herself? What a blunder.” Meliay laughed a bit herself. “Shut up! I was just so focused on your thing that it just… slipped my mind.” “It’s just as much your thing as it is my thing. She stole from both of us, remember?” “I guess you’re right.” Melia sighed and snaked her hand down to her crotch, holding it. “You’re pretty comfortable already.” said Tyria. Meliay crossed her legs over her hand. “Needing to pee is pretty far from comfortable.” “No, I mean holding yourself like that. I’d never do that in public.” “Well, we aren’t in public, are we? Let yourself be comfortable. We’re friends after all, and we’ve definitely done much weirder stuff with each other.” “I guess you’re right.” Tyria placed a hand over her crotch and held it. She sighed as she was slightly relieved of the pressure. But then she laughed out loud. “Weirder things, that’s right!” “What?” asked Meliay with a smile. “Remember that time when we were just a stone’s throw from our 20’s? We had the wildest sleepover the day before your 18th. We visited, we fooled around.” “Oh my god, Tyria! Stop!” said Meliay, hiding her face with her free hand, smiling embarrassingly. Tyria leaned towards her, doubling down on her speech. “Your room was a mess! There were clothes strewn everywhere! We saw each other fully in the flesh for the first time! Did all those stupid poses and tried to paint them even though both of us couldn’t paint!” Meliay lowered her hand and smiled at Tyria endearingly. “I remember.” Tyria smiled back. She spoke more softly and intimately. “We even decided to see what it was like to kiss another woman. That session must’ve lasted for hours.” “It was a bit more than kissing, Tyria.” said Meliay, blushing. “You do remember!” said Tyria, happy as can be. “Then after all that, we cuddled each other as we went to bed on the same bed. But we still couldn’t go to sleep as we were too busy exploring each other. Heh, I’m sure I can trace your body from memory alone.” “You were so warm while I was cold. You really warmed me up in that bed.” “Yeah! And you were so cold it turned my boobs into daggers!” Both of them laughed hard, but both stopped abruptly, suddenly remembering their desperation. Tyria cleared her throat. “And then the next day, we celebrated your birthday. The manor was full of people and servants. The only people we knew were each other, and lance but he doesn’t count. We never separated that whole party. Then the time came… and I went home. Everything returned to normal.” Meliay became conflicted. Her thoughts became clouded with a question and whether or not to ask it. She took a deep breath. Considering Tyria’s situation, she decided to spill it. “Why uh… why did we… you know, stop there?” she asked sheepishly. Tyria sighed. “It was a super fun day, one of the best I’ve ever had. But, for some reason, it just didn’t feel right. It was… what’s the word? Passionless?” Meliay remained stoic, but this stabbed a hole right through her heart. “Like, how friends do weird shit for the sake of doing weird shit. It was fun to experiment with each other. But I think for a while now that I’ve decided that it just isn’t for me.” The two were silent for several moments, crossing their legs periodically. “Meliay?” asked Tyria. Meliay snapped out of her trance. “Yeah, cool, uh… good for-” “I’m scared.” said Tyria, her voice cracking. Meliay softly exhaled and listened intently. “I want to keep going. I wanna see what other kinds of weird shit we’ll do. I wanna see who we can become! We haven't even started our stories yet and now I have… this.” Tyria gestured to her whole body. “At this point, I’m not even sure if I have more than a week left at this pace.” Meliay sighed, stood up, and hugged Tyria. “We are gonna get through this, Tyria. I promise. This is not where your story ends. Count on that.” Tyria hugged her back. “Thank you, Meliay. Oh thank you. You’re the bestest friend anyone could have.” Meliay silently nodded. “Hello? Is anyone here?” asked a voice. The girls gasped. “Already?” asked Tyria in a hushed voice. “Get ready!” said Meliay. The two split up and hid the best they could. “Hellooooooo?! Y’all said you guys were meeting up here!” After a moment, the snake oiler they were looking for stepped in. She was wearing a tattered brown hood over her regular attire. She was also holding a bowl of ramen and slurping up the noodles as she spoke. “I’m her to apply for that 3rd party member you needed.” She paused. “I was also wondering if you guys were heading south. Specifically to Garmberland?” She slurped some more ramen waiting for someone to answer. “What? Did someone get here before me?” She sighed. “I knew I shouldn’t have gone for some ramen.” The snake oiler turned to leave, but then an energy wall blocked her path, startling her. “Glettings Bara!” shouted Meliay, her voice echoing through the air. The snake oiler saw her approaching. Meliay dragged the head of her staff along the ground, igniting it with golden energy before slamming it into the ground. “Oh crap!” said the Snake Oiler. She jumped out of the way just as the staff sent a wave of destructed energy through the ground with a metallic ting. Meliay then hurriedly pointed her staff at the Snake Oiler and Tyria came out holding a crate over her head. “What are you gonna do with that?” asked the Snake Oiler, pointing at Tyria. “Bash your head in for a start.” said Tyria, angrily. The Snake Oiler wiggled her fingers in the air. “Ooh, so scary.” she said with a smug smile. “Shut the hell up, bitch!” said Meliay, advancing on the Snake Oiler until the head of her staff was up against her neck. “Where the hell did you take our stuff?” The Snake Oiler shrugged, “Who knows? Maybe it's already gone.” “What?!” shouted Tyria. The Snake Oiler snickered. “Honey, you have to understand. Holding onto contraband is just bad for business. I got rid of it as soon as I could.” “Yeah, well that’s not good enough!” shouted Tyria. She then shoved the corner of the crate as hard as she could into the Snake Oiler’s stomach. “You’re gonna lead us to whoever you sold it to or is where your story will end!” Melaiy gave Tyria a worried glance. Why would she use her inspiring words as a threat? The Snake Oiler wheezed. “Okay! On the note that you guys might be slightly serious, I would maybe probably help you.” As She talked, she silently pulled a bottle out from under her cloak. “But unfortunately, I have better things to do than to help a couple little lost girls find their precious little toys!” “How dare you!” shouted Tyria. The Snake Oiler held the bottle over her head. “Ta ta!” She slammed the bottle into the wall, creating a thick black smoke. Tyria and Meliay both stumbled back, coughing from all the smoke. Meliay thought fast and slammed the end of her staff on the ground. The black smoke instantly blew away. “She got away!” said Tyria, trying to suppress her cough. “I’ll find her!” said Meliay. She pointed her staff up into the sky and flew up. High above the buildings, she could see everywhere. From the corner of her eye, she saw something slip into the shadows. “Got you!” Meliay pointed her staff up to the sky and a huge beam of ice shot out. Her eyes glowed yellow as she focused on her target. “Ispirenga!” She threw her staff downward, hurling the beam straight down. “Oh shit!” shouted the Snake Oiler. She dove out of the way, but felt her feet get blasted by the cold. “Ah! That’s cold!” She inspected them and saw that they were covered in frost. She pulled out another bottle and poured it on her feet. They glowed with orange energy, warming them up enough to rid them of the frost. “She’s in the north east!” shouted Meliay down to Tyria. “Okay! I’ll meet you there!” shouted Tyria. Meliay nodded. Foot pedals sprung out near her staff's head and she stepped on one while diving straight at the Snake Oiler, staff first. Tyria ran out of the alley but then felt a huge wave of desperation. “No! Not now!” She doubled over and crossed her legs. Her hands were glued to her crotch as she felt her pee make it a tiny amount down her urethra. “Come on, come on!” She looked over and saw Meliay slam onto the roof that the Snake Oiler was on, exploding the tile into pieces as her staff dug in. The Snake Oiler backflipped away from the attack. “Hey! That’s someone’s house! Hope you can pay for that!” said the Snake Oiler, tauntingly. Meliay was hyper focused now, unwilling to play her game. She tore her staff out from the roof and pointed it at the Snake Oiler “Leiptra!” A string of golden energy blasts shot out. The Snake Oiler yelped and quickly threw a bottle at her feet. When it broke, it created a big could of hardened foam that soaked all the blasts, breaking apart like rock with each hit. The Snake Oiler dived off the roof and used a grappling knife to hook onto a high building and swung away. “You are so boring! You know that?” she yelled as she swung. Meliay growled and leapt after her. Tyria couldn’t just stay behind and watch. She used her anger to absolutely force down her wave of desperation, so much so that her body slightly cramped. The pee went back into her bladder and her desperation was momentarily replaced with aching from the effort. “That should work.” she said to herself. She then ran off as fast as her bladder would reasonably let her. The Snake Oiler landed on a long stretch of roof with Meliay landing not too close behind her. She thrust her staff ahead of herself like a spear and a blast of spiraling energy shot her forward. Before the Snake Oiler could react, she was pounded on by the head of the staff, flying away in a tailspin from the golden blast. She fell face first onto the roof tiles and rubbed her back with her butt in the air. “Ow! That really hurt!” “Good!” said Meliay. She swung the staff like a polearm, making the Snake Oiler roll away to dodge. She jumped up to her feet, backpedaled from two more swings of the staff, then took a quick swing of another potion. As Meliay swung again, the Snake Oiler ducked under the attack and spat the potion back out on Meliay’s staff. Meliay groaned in disgust before trying to swing again, but her staff didn’t move. It was glowing with red energy, stuck in the air and unable to move. “How was that?” said the Snake Oiler, proudly. “I locked your toy in space time! Pretty clever, huh?” “You know what, yes.” said Meliay. She then jumped over her suspended staff and drop kicked the Snake Oiler in the stomach, knocking the wind out of her. She then whipped back around and used a counter magic sigil on her palm. She grabbed the staff and the red energy broke like glass. “Clever won’t beat me though.” Meliay then swung around and swung her staff across the air, sending a slash beam towards the Snake Oiler. She gasped and hopped off the roof into the alley below. When she landed on the ground, she sighed with relief. “There you are!” shouted Tyria. The Snake Oiler looked to see that Tyria was at the end of the alleyway, her hand on the wall as she breathed heavily “I’m not through with you yet!” “Well I sure am!” said the Snake Oiler. She ran as fast as she could down the opposite direction. Then Meliay yelled as she came down with her staff primed to strike the ground. “Glettings Bara!” shouted Meliay as she struck the ground. The Snake Oiler jumped on the wall as the energy wave passed through the ground, wall jumped one more time, then footstooled Meliay’s head before diving away again. She then ran across some scaffolding and knocked it down, blocking the path between her and the girls. “Ha! Can’t get me now, huh?” said the Snake Oiler. Suddenly, the debris glowed orange, wiping the smile off her face. The debris exploded with a red hot fire and the Snake Oiler was thrown back. Meliay and Tyria both stared at her from the flame, looking threatening. “J-Just who are you guys?” The Snake Oiler struggled to her feet and pulled out another bottle. But something was wrong when she inspected it. “What the heck, why do I have this on me?” Tyria and Meliay continued the chase. Meliay saw the bottle in the Snake Oiler’s hand and she pointed her staff at it. “Leiptra!” she shouted. She shot a golden energy blast and broke the bottle in the Snake Oiler’s hand. The bottle exploded into a bright yellow powder, engulfing the area in a yellow cloud. “Augh! Why would you do that?!” said the Snake Oiler, breathing in some of the powder. As Meliay and Tyria ran through it, they breathed some in as well. “You don’t get to ask questions!” said Tyria. She yelled as she sprinted full speed ahead of Meliay. She threw herself at the Snake Oiler, hoping to tackle her to the ground. But the Snake Oiler grappled away up towards the roof. Tyria pounded her fist on the ground. “No!” Townspeople started to gather, wondering what all the noise was about. “I guess that little thief pissed off the wrong people.” “Serves her right, if the Royal Guard weren’t gonna do anything about it, better these girls do something.” Meliay ran up behind Tyria and looked up, seeing the Snake Oiler get away. She looked around and saw a man with a sword in its sheath. “Sorry sir, I need to borrow that!” She slammed the end of her staff into the ground and the man’s sword was surrounded in golden energy. “What? Hey!” His sword flew out of its sheath and spun like a frisbee right at the Snake Oiler. She looked back and gasped, curling up in a ball as she braced. The sword didn’t go for her though, it cut the grappling hook in half. “Awww! But that one was expensive!” she said as she fell onto a lower roof, rolling as she landed and continuing to run. Tyria stood up and got an idea. “Throw me. Meliay, throw me!” Meliay slammed her staff again. “Got it!” A giant sigil appeared in the air. Tyria stood upon it as it aimed directly at the Snake Oiler. “Go!” The sigil launched Tyria into the air like a rocket. She yelled as she flew, thrusting her arms out like an animal pouncing. The Snake Oiler was only able to give a quick glance before she was absolutely tackled up into the air. Her body folded in half from the sheer force as Tyria grappled onto her tightly, unwilling to let go even an inch as they tumbled through the air. As they came close to landing on another roof. Tyria screamed as she threw her hardest punch into The Snake Oiler’s face. The force of the punch went through her face onto the roof, springboarding them both back into the air. Now they were on a crash course straight into a wall. But Tyria didn’t care. She swung one last sucker punch before they crashed into the building, cracking the infrastructure. Tyria crashed on her side and fell straight to the ground. The Snake Oiler clipped her back right on the edge of the roof, causing an audible crack in her bones as she bounced slightly ahead of Tyria. As roof tiles fell on Tyria, she quickly got back up and brushed them off, stomping towards the Snake Oiler. The Snake Oiler was now scared for her life. She tried to get back up on her feet, but a huge pain made her bend over. “Ow! My back!” She looked again, Tyria was approaching quickly, her eyes forever than any adversary she’s ever seen. The Snake Oiler turned around and began to limp away, but the pain was too much and she couldn’t move like she used to. In one last ditch effort, she reached out to the people around her. “Help me! Pleas-” Tyria grabbed her shoulders and threw her to the ground. The townspeople only looked on, unwilling to help. The Snake Oiler groaned in pain as Tyria sat on top of her, grabbed her by the collar bones, and slammed her face into the ground a couple of times, breaking her nose and splattering blood on the ground. Tyria then forced her to turn around and began to choke her. “Of all days, you just had to pick this one!” said Tyria, in a growling voice. “My treasure, my memories, my last gift from my mother! It's gone because of you! And now you made me waste what could be my last week alive chasing you around like it's a game?! No! You don’t just get to walk away!” The Snake Oiler’s vision began to blur as she struggled to breath. She had no idea that this person was one so traumatized to the point that would start getting choked out because of it. She whimpered and gasped what she could, desperately pushing away Tyria’s face. But then, she noticed something. “You’re… *ACK*- crying…?” she said. Tyria gasped. She had a momentary lapse in judgment as she took her hand off the Snake Oiler’s neck and wiped a tear off her face. The Snake Oiler gasped for air, wheezing as she clawed at her neck. Tyria looked at the tear in her hand. This feeling. It held all her frustrations. Her memories, her friends, her future. All will disappear in a very short amount of time. And this Snake Oiler, she is costing her this precious time. She was livid, wondering if this Snake Oiler could have stalled long enough to have her fail at her quest. The thought was too much. Tyria gritted her teeth in rage and let loose another punch into the Snake Oiler’s face. Then came another punch, then an elbow, then a headbutt. Meliay ran up behind her. “Tyria! What the hell are you doing?!” Tyria ignored her and continued on. “Tyria, stop!” she yelled, throwing her staff down and trying to pull her off. Tyria pushed her away and continued. “Tyria! That’s enough!” she shouted, throwing herself in between the two. She took a couple blows to her body before shouting, “Don’t be like him!” Tyria gasped. Her punches finally stopped and she leaned back in horror. She looked at her hands, now peppered with blood. Her breathing got heavy as she started to hyperventilate. She then looked at Meliay, looking like a lost little girl. Meliay nodded comfortingly. “I’m gonna get you out of here, okay?” Tyria nodded with a shaky breath. Meliay reached for her staff and pounded the ground. Both Tyria and the Snake Oiler were both raised up into the air with golden energy. The townspeople began to bicker. “Damn, I was hoping to see a show.” “Why did they stop? She deserved it didn't she?” “She got off easy. I personally would’ve done more.” All these comments reached the ears of the Snake Oiler. She looked down sadly, having thought she had gotten used to these comments. But they still hurt all the same. Her lip quivered and she tried to speak. “S-Southeast-” “What?!” asked Meliay sternly. The Snake Oiler yelped as she raised her hands defensively. “I-I’m sorry! Your stuff is in a warehouse in the very southeast of town, bordering on the wall! The key is under a doormat! I-I’ll lead you there!” “And how do I know this isn’t just another trick of yours?” asked Meliay. “It’s not, I swear! You can find it, take everything, and I’ll shut the fuck up forever! Okay, I got it! Please don't hurt me anymore!” Meliay pondered for a moment. She looked at the Snake Oiler, seeing her sputtering the blood coming down from her nose. “Fine.” Meliay rose from the ground and blasted off down the street. As they flew, the Snake Oiler gave worrying glances at Tyria. But upon further inspection, she noticed that Tyria was looking at the ground, looking absolutely dejected. It made her wonder why Tyria was acting this way, but those questions would have to come later. --- A door creaked open into a messy room, stacked tall with boxes and junk. The door got caught on some junk on the floor, stopping it from opening all the way. The door slammed into the junk a couple more times before someone outside groaned in annoyance. Suddenly, the door burst open with golden energy, breaking and knocking down everything in the way. “That’s my stuff!” said the Snake Oiler. “Shut… up!” growled Meliana. “Mm-hm, got it!” the Snake Oiler zipped her mouth closed. Meliay walked inside and looked around, floating in the Snake Oiler and Tyria behind her. She found a desk with a firefly lantern. She flicked it, illuminating the area. “Okay, Tyria, sit here and get some rest, okay?” said Meliay. Tyria nodded. Meliay set her down on a chair gently. “And… what about me? I told the truth.” said the Snake Oiler. “You-!” Meliay swung her staff. From the junk, a rope came out and wrapped itself around the Snake Oiler’s body. “Get to shut up!” She then finished by wrapping a cloth gag around her mouth. She then dropped the Snake Oiler on the ground, making her moan in pain. Meliay then turned to Tyria. She knelt down beside her. “Tyria, are you okay?” she asked calmly. Tyria shook her head. “Tyria. I know the last day has been incredibly stressful, for all of us. But never, even in the face of death, should we ever lose ourselves. We have to be able to live true to who we are. Or else, will be disgraced in death. I’m here. I’m here to help you. Live by who you are, not by being engulfed in your emotions. Okay?” Tyria solemnly nodded. “Yeah.” Meliay sighed. “Alright. We’ll resupply with the stuff we can find around here, then we’ll continue on to Garmberland.” The Snake Oiler’s ears perked up at the name of the city. Meliay walked away and began to sift through the items. Tyria became lost in her thoughts again. What was she doing? She was actually about to kill that girl. She remembered back to an argument she had with her father. “I’ll never be like you!” she shouted as a child. She slammed the door and never went back home. Sometime later and a little bit older, she found herself around a table with younger versions of Meliay and Lance. They had their hand on top of each other in the center of the table. “Here’s to our new party!” she cheered. “Cheers!” the other two cheered, all raising their hands in celebration. Then Tyria remembered all the bandits they’ve captured and turned in. Some were simply lost and needed rehabilitation. Others were less than savory and chose to be locked up. But the important part was that they got a choice to change, to be someone else. “To be better.” said young Lance. Tyria found herself sitting on the edge of a cliff looking at the sunset over their town of Kinida in the distance. She was resting her head on his shoulder endearingly. “We have to be better than those around us.” said Lance. “For if we aren’t the ones to set an example, the cycle of violence continues. Revenge begets revenge, you know what I'm saying?” Tyria playfully pushed him away. “You’re so cheesy, you know that?” “Whaaaat?” he said, laughing as well. The memories echoed into silence. All there was now is the soft light washing over the dried blood on her hands. Then another feeling washed over her. She shifted nervously in her seat. It felt like her crotch was going numb. Her nether regions all felt like static and though her desperation felt the same, she could feel her pee snaking its way down her pee hole. “No! Stop!” she said to herself. She stood up and bent over desperately, clutching her hands on her crotch as hard as she could. But her muscles were not working the way they were supposed to. They felt weak and fatigued. Her pee immediately squirted out into her panties, making her double over. “Oh god!” The pulsed out of her pee hole. A spur, a leak, another spurt. It just wouldn’t stop. Eventually, it quickly spilled out into her pants, creating a sizable. “Ah! No… why?!” said Meliay. Tyria looked over to see that she was in the same predicament. She dropped her staff and held on to her crotch tightly. The front of her dress had a slowly growing wet patch. As it grew, pee seeped out from between her fingers. It also streamed down her legs, snaked its way through her stockings, and splattered on the floor. “M-Meliay!” Tyria called. Meliay looked over and saw what Tyria was going through. “Oh my god! Tyria, can you hold it?!” she asked. Another spurt burst out of her pee hole into her pants. “Nooo!” she squealed. Meliay tried to make her way over to Tyria, but had to stop in order to close her own pee hole. Try as she might however, she could only shake with effort as another spurt made its way down to her feet. “What’s happening to us?” she asked. “There’s no way we could’ve lost focus for that long!” “Varnspydir!” said the Snake Oiler. Meliay jumped and backed away from her. In doing so, a huge torrent of pee splattered on the floor before she was able to stop in. “Ah! How did you get out?!” “Oh, well you may use magic to tie me up, but you tied it like a shoelace and so it was easy-” “I don’t care!” shouted Meliay. Tyria then yelped and her wet patch grew once more. A couple of drops hit the floor. “What is happening?” “Oh! That would be the Varnspydir powder you blew out of my hands! It’s a spider species that lives to the north in city sewers and outside unmaintained outhouses. They coat pee on their webs from any animals, demons, humans, whatever they can get their hands on in hopes of attracting bugs with the smell. And to increase that chance, they secrete aromatics from their bodies that induce a diuretic effect and numb the urethral muscles in hopes that things pee near it. To use for their webs and such.” Both Tyria and Meliay bent over again, holding their pee as it spurted out of them. “A-And what you shot out of my hand was a pure concentrate of that aromatic, which is like 10x’s more potent! We all breathed it in and so that’s why this is happening!” the Snake Oiler finished quickly. Tyria twisted her body as another spurt escaped her body, dripping onto the floor and extending the wet spot to just above her knees. “Stop! Please! I can’t pee yet!” Meliay shuddered as another spurt of pee splattered near her feet. “A bathroom! Is there a bathroom for Tyria?!” “Huh? Why? It’s not like-” Meliay recalled her staff to her hand and pointed it at the Snake Oiler. “Bathroom! Where?! Now!” The Snake Oiler raised her hands defensively. “Okay! Geez! There’s uh… one in the back corner! But there’s a bunch of stuff in the way-” Meliay swung her staff, immediately knocking everything out of the way with a large clattering sound. “Or you could just do that.” she said with a disappointed sigh. Meliay opened the bathroom door and there it was. A toilet, plain and simple, though covered in a lot of dust. Meliay point to it. “Tyria, go, it’s all yours!” “But Meliay.” she said, trying her best to quell another spurt. “What about you!?” Meliay tried to stop another spurt, but muscles became so weak that she couldn’t reduce it down to anything less than a constant trickle. “Mmmm! Don’t worry about me! You’re more important! Just go!” Tyria nodded. “Thanks!” She waddled her way past Meliay, who was now using her staff pole to push against her pee hole. Twisting and turning desperately trying to get her trickle to stop. Tyria made it a few more steps, each one having another drop of pee fall into her pants. But then, due to the poor lighting, she stubbed her toe on something solid, causing a shock of pain to rock her body. “Ow!” she yelped. The sudden shock made her lose what little control she had and then she now had a small constant trickle. She held, she crossed her legs, she twisted and turned, nothing was working. “I don’t think… I can make it!” Meliay’s pee hole continued to gush around her staff pole. It was in such a way that the Snake Oiler could see under her raised skirt. The pee pooled up in her plain white panties before spilling out around the staff. “Oh… wow…” she said in a shaky voice. Just then, Meliay lost focus of where her hands were and she pressed the button that retracted her staff into its compact size. “No!” she yelled as it fell out of her hands. It clattered on the floor and Meliay fell to her hands and knees chasing after it without thinking. The sudden shock from her falling to the floor broke the dam. She felt her bladder jiggle as the pee spurted out hard from her pee hole. She immediately used her hands to hold her crotch. Her face down on the floor, her butt in the air in full view, her legs crossed, the pee gushed out like a fire hose. “No! Stop! A proper lady doesn’t do things like this!” she said. She squeezed her eyes tight and breathed through her teeth. But it was all over. The pee flowed straight through her fingers, creating a huge puddle as it pooled up at her knees. “I think potion concentrate doesn’t care whether or not you’re a proper lady.” said the Snake Oiler, completely enticed with the sight before her. Tyria looked back. “Meliay!” she said, seeing her lost battle. Tyria was more determined to make it this time. She grit her teeth and took a step forward. The trickle then grew twice as strong, emptying slightly fast now. Pee drops were now constantly falling down from her pants down near her feet. “No! I… can… make… it!” She took one more step. Suddenly, all her control was lost. The pee gushed out of her pee hole, splashing against the inside of her pants pretty loudly. Waterfalls of pee streamed out of her pants and formed a puddle under her feet. Despite this, Tyria kept fighting to hold it in. “No no no no no! I can’t pee! I can’t pee yet! Not yet!” The Snake Oiler looked at her confused. “Why? Just let it out, you already lost.” “I just can’t! I need to stop by any means necessary!” said Tyria in a strained voice. She started to do ridiculous things. She arched her back, she hopped up and down, she even unbuttoned her pants to stuff her hand directly onto her pee hole. But nothing even slowed it down. It gushed around her inserted finger and came out all the same. The sight from Tyria almost swept the Snake Oiler off her feet. She could see Tyria’s red panties, entirely darkened from the wet pee. And she was so close to seeing what was under Tyria’s pussy. She jumped up and down while biting her lip. Eventually the streams slowed down to a trickle until there was nothing left for the girls to lose. Meliay groaned in embarrassment as she sat up. Her mage robes were completely soaked all the way up to her shoulders, probably from her laying in the puddle as it grew. “T-Tyria?” she called. She stood up, letting residual pee fall from her body and clothes back into the puddle. She was still fighting. Holding on with her hand completely still and shivering. Though, the pee still trickled into the puddle below her. Eventually, her bladder lost everything and flattened out. Tyria finally gave up and gave a sigh of relief. She looked up at the two people in front of her. “Meliay.” she said simply. Then, as one final pee drop fell from her pants onto the puddle, her expression became blank. “Tyria?” asked Meliay. Just then, Tyria’s eyes rolled to the back of her head and her knees buckled. She collapsed into her pee puddle with a splash, completely gone. “Tyria!” cried Meliay. She slid over to her side and held her in her hands. She held her hand on Tyria’s face. “Tyria! Come on! Stay with me! I’m still here!” The Snake Oiler was shocked. “Wait, what?! Did… Did she just up and die?!” Meliay continued to cradle her body. She was on the verge of tears and her voice began to crack. “Tyria, please come back! Please! I need you back! I… I love you!” Tyria’s body remained lifeless.

Chapter 1: The Curse Tyria drew her sword and pointed it at an old witch. Tyria was 23 years old, slightly dark skinned, and had freckles along her cheeks. Her subtle red hair was tied into a ponytail and came down to just below her ears. Her fierce blue eyes cut daggers into the witch. She wore a dark green shirt with blue pants and black bear fur boots. Her armor was small and polygonal and was colored cream with yellow highlights on the edges. “Now leave this village and never come back! You mischievous hexs have no place in this town!” The witch had grey, wrinkled skin. Warts plastered her face and her pupils were as black as night. Her limbs were boney and she seemed to be only wearing a sack on her torso. Her hair was patchy and gray. A true bottom dweller. “You have no proof that those were even my hexs! It could’ve been any other witch!” the witch said, flailing her arms about, making the sound of popping joints. “That’s not what the townspeople think!” said Tyria, “The shopkeep saw you wandering around where the totem was found, no one else is talented in the magic arts as much as you are, and no one else would make that hex do the thing that it did unless it appealed to a specific taste! One that the townspeople say that you specifically have!” “I’m a resident of this town too, you know! You can’t kick me out! I’ll sue!” Tyria then closed in fast and held the sword at the witch’s neck. “You can’t sue if you’re dead.” “So you admit what you’re doing is wrong!” Tyria pushed her word deeper against the witches neck. “Don’t push it.” she said in a threatening voice. The witch growled. “Augh! Fine! You win! I’ll leave!” “Good.” Tyria said with a smile. She then sheathed her sword and swung around on her hell, walking back into town. “Find some other town to prey on!” The witch grunted and hobbled down the path. She walked until she was about a mile out of town. “Me, place hexs around town. Psssh! Lucky guess, bitch. Stupid adventurers. Ever since the dark lord has been slain, my hobby gets harder to sustain since there are so many new novices to take on the small fry.” The witch grunted again. She swung behind a tree, popped a cork off a glass bottle and took a swing. “Ah yeah, that’s the good stuff.” She placed the bottle down on the ground and began to levitate in a meditation pose. Her eyes flashed open with yellow light shining out of them. “Let’s get a quick fix in before I move on to the next town.” In her mind, an overhead view of the town appeared. As her eyes moved, so did her vision of the town. Specific people were highlighted in yellow, to which she eagerly approached and observed. But her enthusiasm quickly waned as she scanned them. “Tch, 46%.” She moved on to the next person. “37%” Then the next. “Ohh, 56%. Maybe I can watch this one for a bit and-” Suddenly, her vision faded between reality and her potion vision. “No! Come on! I just need a little more time!” She quickly picked up her potion and drank what little remained. She then tossed it aside after realizing it was empty. “Damn it! It’s been so hard to make more of these potions. That was all I had left!” She took a deep breath. “No, I must use this time wisely. The tavern should work, I’m always able to find subjects there.” The witch focused her vision on the tavern, where she saw a promising sight. “Yes! A line! I might finally be able to get some good action here!” She moved in close to observe the people. All of which were waiting patiently outside of a bathroom. The witch’s enthusiasm faded again. “The highest here is 64% full! And she’s at the front of the line! Are there no more risk takers in this town.” Suddenly, the witch felt the hairs on her neck stand up. She sensed a significantly powerful need. “Oh, and who might that be?” She turned around to see who had just entered the tavern. “Oh, you…” The witch said in great disappointment. It was Tyria. Tyria walked over to the barkeep to talk business. As she did so, the witch watched in earnest. “To think you were 87% full in front of me. Impressive of you to keep a front like that. Less impressive that I wasn’t able to see through it. God, I must be losing it at my age.” “Yo, barkeep!” shouted Tyria. A small girl over the counter turned her head. “Coming!” She lifted her dress and ran over to Tyria. “So, any news?” “I managed to find the hex, destroy it, and kick its creator out of the town. All in a day no less.” said Tyria, nonchalantly picking at her fingernails with her thumb. “Whoa! That must be why business has been running so smoothly lately!” said the barkeep. “So the hex is affecting the townspeople now?” The barkeep shook her head. “Nope. At least, I don’t think so. No accidents today! When that hex was active, I’d be cleaning up the floor at least 10 times a day! Some of them were even… my messes.” “Well, glad to see everyone making it on time.” “Yeah. It will take another couple days before we know for sure. But everyone’s been extra cautious the past few hours. Everyone’s sick of being publicly humiliated so I assume they go at the first sign of need.” The witch groaned at this statement. Tyria subtly crossed her legs. “Speaking of need.” The barkeep clapped her hands together. “Oh yes, you need your reward, I’ll go fetch it for you!” She ran off behind the employee door. “That’s not what I-” Tyria sighed. She waited patiently on the bar, leaning her body against it and she subtly bounced in place, feeling her need to pee catch up with her. “We’ve reached 90%!” said the witch, still looking through her potion vision. “Come on! I need you to lose it so I can get my revenge!” Then, the barkeep came back out the door. She dropped a small sack of coins on the table right in front of Tyria. “Here ya go! 1000 Lyobies, as promised!” Tyria leaned in for a whisper. “Yeah, thanks. But there was another thing.” “Oh?” “I’ve been running around town all day and I kinda need to pee. And the line there is looking pretty long. Do you think-” The barkeep held her hand out. “Sorry ma’am! But employee bathrooms are for employees only. Company policy.” “Well, does company policy prevent you from letting me have next in line?” The barkeep thought for a moment. “No, I don’t recall a rule like that.” “Then maybe-” “But I’m sorry! Even if I could, it would reflect poorly on me and the business to have favorites.” “Oh, but what if I-” Tyria put a Lyobie coin on the table, “did this?” The barkeep quickly snatched the coin and inspected it. “Shame on you, Tyria. Exploiting my greatest weakness.” “Will you make a show of it?” “That will cost extra.” Tyria sighed as she pulled another coin out of the bag. The barkeep caught it and giggled. She jumped on top of the bar while pocketing the coins and shouted, “Attention ladies, gents, and everything else in between!” The whole tavern looked at her and fell silent. “As you know, our town has been plagued by a hex that has afflicted everyone with a curse. Everybody became prone to a particular need and were publicly humiliated for not respecting said need more than they reasonably had too. This did not stand with us! We came together and called upon our resident adventurer to dispel this hex and to oust the individual responsible.” The barkeep gestured to Tyria. “Our very own Tyria Yanah has rid us of such mischievous behavior!” The whole bar cheered. “Booooooo!” sad the witch to herself. “As a special thanks, she will be given priority to the services of the tavern. Be nice now everyone!” finished the barkeep, winking and making an OK sign with her hand. The tavern rejoiced in agreement and continued on with their days. “Thanks for the show.” said Tyria, exhaling somewhat worriedly. “Now the bathroom.” “Yes yes, I know. You’re really an attention hog, you know that?” said The Barkeep, getting down from the table. “Follow me.” The two went down the hall towards the bathroom. “Special privileges?!” said the witch. “Right when I was so close to seeing something good! I swear that, Tyria. You won’t get away with this!” But then a thought came to her mind. “Wait a minute. I won’t let her get away with this! Yes! I have a plan!” She exited her potion vision and ran back over to the empty bottle she tossed, spit in it, swirled it around, then drained it. “Yes! You don’t get to take away my pleasure without suffering the consequences! I’m coming for you, Tyria Yanah!” The witch pulled out two more potions. One was black and the other blue with yellow swirls. She drank the blue one and focused. Tyria Yanah. She had been holding it for quite some time, but her poker face was formidable. The witch imagined the need she must’ve been in. The swollen bladder, the focus she must exert, the feeling of slight relief with every subtle cross of the leg. The witch exhaled slowly and opened her eyes. Darkness. “Oops, I didn’t make a teleportation potion to the void again did I? What is it labeled as? Augh! I can’t see, maybe if I just-” Suddenly, the witch stumbled into something. She seethed in pain, jolting back only to hit another thing. Then, the sound of crashing glass and metal sounded out as she got buried by all manner of dark objects. Outside, Tyria and The Barkeep were walking down the hall when they heard crashing coming from a nearby broom closet. “What was that?” said the Barkeep, moving to investigate. “It’s probably just rats or something.” said Tyria, “Could we please just hurry?” The barkeep put her fists on her hips. “Hmph! How dare you insinuate that I don’t keep proper pest control in my establishment!” “So you made the company policy?” “Uh, w-we don’t gotta talk about that!” The Barkeep moved swiftly to push Tyria along. “Plus, you’re getting a free ticket to the front of the line, aren’t you? Best hurry!” As they left, the broom closet door opened. A floating black potion, seemingly being drunk by nothing, was completely emptied in the air. “Let’s hope this invisibility lasts. It’s been a while since I’ve attempted something like this.” She followed Tyria down the hall, making as little noise as possible, throwing the empty potion back in the closet. As Tyria and the Barkeep entered the bathroom, they found a familiar face. She had very bright skin, long and straight blonde hair, and a beauty mark just under her left eye. Her green eyes were bored and her full expression even more so. She wore a blue, frilly, mage dress with white aprons over it, the sleeves coming straight and true to her wrists. The dress only came down to just halfway down her thigh, leaving enough of her thigh exposed to house a little rod of some kind on a belt strap. Lastly, she wore snakeskin boots along with some black knee high stockings. “Meliay?” asked Tyria. Meliay looked at them. “Hey, I hope you don’t plan on cutting!” “Well… yeah, that’s exactly what I’m planning to do.” “Then, no!” said Meliay, crossly. “Sorry, Meliay. But Tyria has received special privileges for ridding the town of the hex. And all she asked was that she be allowed first in line for the next bathroom stall.” said The Barkeep. “Ugh, how much did she pay you? I’ll double it.” The Barkeep bounced excitedly. “You’ll pay me 400 Lyobies?” “What?! Augh, I don’t care that much.” Meliay then shoved Tyria to the front of the line. “Just don’t take too long, okay?” “And why would I ever want to disappoint you?” asked Tyria, giving her a smug face. Meliay groaned in annoyance. Then almost on cue, a toilet flushed and a girl came out. “See ya.” said Tyria, moving to occupy the stall. She quickly moved inside then closed and locked the door. She leaned against the wall and took a huge sigh of relief. She held down on her crotch tightly. “Oh, thank god I didn’t have to use my hands that entire time.” she said silently to herself, “This is probably the worst I’ve ever had to go. Being right next to that hex must’ve amplified its effects.” Tyria quickly undid her belt and pulled down pants and her white and pink trimmed lace panties. Sitting on the toilet she felt her bladder quickly empty into the bowl. The relief sent shivers down her spine. “Wow, that felt way better than I expected.” From nearby, the witch waited for Tyria to finish. But then she noticed another stall opened up. The flush of the toilet reminded her that getting the resource she needed wasn’t going to be so easy. “Blast.” she said to herself. She exited the bathroom and went into the Tavern’s main area. There she saw a huge man carrying a large mug of beer, looking pretty sloshed already. “That should work.” She moved in close and gave the man a shove, knocking him into a table full of customers and spilling his drink on a couple of them. “Hey!” One of them stood up and shoved the man back. “Why don’t you watch where you’re going, dumbass!” The man in his drunken state listened to no reason and swung at the customer without warning, punching him in the face. The other customers stood up and tried to stop him, but the commotion triggered a chain reaction, causing the whole place to erupt into a bar fight. “Oh no!” said The Barkeep. She quickly left her post and ran back to the bathrooms. “Now’s my chance!” said the witch, following close behind. Tyria had just strapped her belt back to her waist and moved to flush the toilet when The Barkeep barged in and slammed on her stall door. “Tyria! The bar erupted into a fight! Please help!” “Oh okay! I’ll be right out!” Tyria adjusted the sword at her hip and hurried out. “Meliay, your help would be greatly appreciated too!” “I'm in the middle of something, I’ll join you two in a bit!” With the stall door still open, the witch moved in and quickly scooped up a sample of the toilet water and moved back out before the next person in line took the stall. “Ugh, gross. She didn’t even flush.” The witch heard her say as she left. She began to silently cackle, excited at what the future holds. The power of Tyria’s pee, in the palm of her hand. 10 minutes later Tyria and Meliay tossed two more customers out of the Tavern doors. The streets were getting dark from the coming sunset. “If you wanna fight! Take it outside!” said Tyria. “Stop disturbing the peace.” said Meliay. The two went back inside, now with half as many people. It was so silent that it was almost eerie. “Hey you two.” said The Barkeep, resting her head on her hand on the bar table. “Thanks for kicking out half my business.” “You’re the one that asked.” said Meliay. “It’s a joke.” said Tyria. “Though I suppose you wouldn’t know as you don’t really tell many of those.” Meliay gave her a stare. “By the way,” The Barkeep poured a shot and gave it to Tyria, “That nice man over there would like to give his compliments.” The three looked over and saw a man just as he quickly looked away. He took a swig of beer, trying in the most suspicious way to look less suspicious. While they looked, the witch closed in and put a yellow tablet inside the drink. It quickly dissolved into nothing. She cackled silently some more before making her exit out of the tavern. “Boys, am I right?” asked Meliay. “Yep.” Tyria drank the shot in one gulp and slammed it on the table. “Let’s go deal with it.” The two walked over and sat down at the table. The man continued to drink with his head turned away. He was a slightly lighter skin than Tyria. His brown hair was combed neatly to the side and his yellow eyes occasionally darted back and forth between the girls. His armor was a full body leather armor, with some yellow stitching to give it more flair, the same as his eyes. He wore a white shirt underneath and black pants. His shoes were fancy, black leather polished boots. Ones usually reserved for the upper-class. “Lance?” she asked. The man turned away slightly further. “Laaaaaance?” Tyria asked again in a sing-songy voice. The man turned even farther. Tyria then slammed the table hard. “LANCE!” The man coughed on his drink and finally turned to them. “Tyria, Meliay? I didn’t see you guys there.” “Uh-huh…” said Meliay, unamused. “So, any news?” asked Tyria. Lance leaned in close. “The best news. I managed to see the guild master aaaand-” “Annnnnd?” asked Tyria. Lanced slammed a document on the table. “Our first big mission out of town! We’re finally gonna get out of here! All three of us!” Meliay picked up the paper and looked at it, impressed. “Wow, you actually did it! For someone like you, that’s real impressive.” “Yeah, I’m kind of a big deal.” said Lance, picking his nails with his thumb. “So, does that mean I’ll finally get a smile out of the steel-faced lady?” Meliay then shoved the paper in his face. “Don’t push it.” The paper fell back down on the table, Lance’s expression not changing one bit. “Classy.” he said. Tyria then picked up the paper. “30,000 Lyobie! That’s a lot for people like us! What’s the job?” she asked. “Royal escort.” said Lance. “Princess is going to visit a neighboring city and they want us to scout ahead for bandits. Should be simple enough.” “Yes, real simple.” said Meliay. “Yaaaaay!” cried Tyria. “We got our first real mission! I wonder what the outside world looks like!” “Hopefully not more forests.” said Lance. “It’s nice and all, but it gets boring to look at after a while.” “What do you expect out of a little town like ours?” asked Meliay. “Something else, anything else.” said Lance. Tyria slammed the paper on the table. “When?” “6 am tomorrow.” said Lance. He then pointed at the two of them. “Don’t be late! You know how pissy the royal guard gets with late adventurers.” Tyria snickered. “Heh, you said piss.” “I mean it! And stop being so childish!” “Like you’re one to talk.” said Meliay. Lance zipped his lips at Meliay. “Zip it steel-face! I want this more than probably the two of you combined. This is my chance to finally rise up and become a hero of the people.” Meliay crossed her arms. “The dark lord is dead already, not exactly something you can be anymore.” “Well, I should be able to be a hero for someone. Being someone’s personal hero seems cool in its own way, dontcha think?” Tyria stood up. “I’m gonna head off to bed then. I’ll see you guys tomorrow.” Lanced raised his hand at her. “W-Wait! Do you think that maybe after the mission, we could you know… catch a jousting competition together? Maybe drink some tea?” Tyria pondered for a moment “Hmm, I don’t know. Maybe I’ll consider it depending how well the mission goes.” “O-Oh, the mission will go great! For sure, 100%. Nothing bad will happen now till the end of the mission! Yep! Mm-hm!” “Uuuuh, cool!” said Tyria. She gave Lance one last smile before walking off. The two at the table sat silent for a moment. “Smooth dude.” said Meliay. “Shut up, steel-face.” said Lance in a defeated tone, resting his head on his arms. As Tyria passed the bar, she tossed The Barkeep a 100 Lyobie coin. “I’m taking room 11.” The Barkeep saluted her. “K-O!” Tyria walked up the stairs and towards her room. As she opened the door, she couldn’t help but smile. “Hm, Lance, you dork.” She thought that had become a cute guy compared to when they knew each other as kids. She flicked the land on the nightstand, illuminating the firefly bulb and filling the room and a subtle golden light. She took off her armor and hung it on the wall, then changed into the room provided pajamas. Flopping down on the bed, she thought about the mission. “We have a big day tomorrow. I’m so excited!” she said to herself. She closed her eyes and drifted off to sleep. After a while, out from the darkness of her subconscious, she found herself in a tattered shack. “Huh? Where am I?” she asked herself. “Ah, how nice of you to join me, Tyria Yanah.” said a creepy voice. Tyria rubbed her eyes and saw that the witch she banished from the village, looming over a bubbling cauldron full of boiling water. “You!” Tyria reached for her sword, but found nothing except the pocket of her pajamas. “What?! Where’s my sword?!” “You will not be needing that today. I was never one for violence anyway, as you can tell by today's events.” “What are you planning? Are you gonna hex the town again?!” “Why would I pursue a plan that hasn’t worked with you there. No, what I’m gonna do here is much more personal.” “But why me?” “It didn’t have to be you. But call it a hunch when I believe that you will be able to bring me everything I desire.” “What?! I’d never help you do anything!” “And that is where you will have little choice, girl.” The witch pulled out an ingredient. “Plyast Wheat, to represent the time spent on our very own Earth.” The witch dropped powdered wheat into her cauldron, turning the water into a magical blue color. “Stop!” Tyria tried to grab the witch, but her arms phased right through her. “Syndenell seeds, representative of the ears of humanity!” The witch dropped 10 seeds into the cauldron, causing green spots to appear in the mixture. Tyria looked for a way out. She found a door and bashed through it, only to find that she had entered the exact same room. “How do I get out of here?!” “Crow’s Skull, for the inescapable reminder of death!” The witch dropped the skull into the water, having the blue water combine with black swirls. “Are you planning to poison me?!” shouted Tyria. “No, something much better.” said the witch, paying little attention to her. “Then lastly, the most important part.” The witch pulled out a yellow bottle. “The release of the subject, Tyria Yanah!” “The release…? Wait! Did you manage to get some of my pee?! I know you had some weird hobbies but that’s just gross!” said Tyria with a disgusted expression. “So says you. But to me, it is beautiful.” said the witch. She then popped the cork on the bottle and poured it delicately into the cauldron, turning all the colors gold. “Now finally, the brain of a dream eater, to represent transfer within the world of falsehoods and memories.” She pulled out a brain and plopped it into the cauldron, letting gold color swirl with pink streaks. “Just what are you planning! I swear if you hurt anybody, I will strike you down for good!” said Tyria. “Relax, I said I was not one for violence. This gift is entirely for you.” “What?!” The witch began to chant. “From this day forward, let it be known that after the 10th release, may death come to dear sweet Tyria Yanah. And after each release, may she be reminded of the consequences of ignoring this affliction. All hail Pissect Holdarahma, and thank you for granting this gift. Amen!” “Just what are you-?” Suddenly, the fumes from the cauldron sprouted out like tentacles and grabbed Tyria by the limbs. The curled around tightly against her body, disheveling her shirt and pants, revealing a lot of skin. She blushed in embarrassment and tried her best to escape, but to no avail. “Try to keep still,” said the witch, “This will all be over soon.” Tyria’s eyes widened and the tentacles tightened their grips. The witch began to laugh maniacally as she watched. They curled around her chest, having her breasts extra accentuated against her tight shirt. The even went inside her clothes, curling around bare legs and inch closer to her crotch under her panties. Tyria was red like a beet. “This… is… so… sick!” The tentacle curled tighter, finally squeezing the breath out of her. The witch then suddenly stopped laughing and slammed the side of her cauldron. “Hey!” All the tentacles looked at her as if they had heads. Tyria peeked through one eye while gritting her teeth. “This is amusing and everything, but I ain’t got all day!” the witch said, waving her hand around what was going on. “Hurry up and do what I made you for. I want to be ready for tomorrow.” The tentacles all hung down sadly. “Does this mean you’ll let me go now?” asked Tyria. The tentacles looked at her, then each other. The witch laughed maniacally once more as all the tentacle rushed to her face, forcing the gas into her mouth, nose, and eyes. The laughing got louder and louder and the world became black. Tyria then woke up in a cold sweat. She breathed heavily as she sat up on her bed. Looking around, the room was filled with the morning light. She calmed down as best she could, taking one shallow breath at a time. But once she calmed down, her focus was switched to something else dire. She needed to pee, badly! Much worse than yesterday. “Oh my god!” Tyria said while grasping her crotch as she felt the pee heading down her urethra. She quickly stood up and danced around. Bending over, twisting her legs, clasping both hands on her crotch as hard as she could. Finally, the wave began to fade, but she was still very much desperate. But at least she was able to walk now. “I gotta go to the bathroom!” she said to herself. She quickly shuffled to her door with one hand between her legs. She opened it and looked both ways down the hall. No one out. Good, that meant she could walk with both hands on her crotch without getting weird looks. She closed her door and went down the hall, making every step carefully. The pressure was strong, nothing like has ever felt before. It was almost like someone pressing down the rubber stopper of a syringe. Tyria entered the main area. The place was still closed, meaning that she could walk through with her hand on her crotch. She hurried as fast as she could, but halfway through, she felt another wave. “No no no no!” She had to stop and clench herself tightly. She felt the pee traveling down her urethra, forcing apart her muscles. She danced even harder, hoping to force it back a little longer. After a bit, the pee traveled back into her overfilled bladder, feeling like filling a balloon close to bursting. She took a few quick breaths before making the rest of her way to the bathroom. Upon entering, she gave a tiny yelp as she quickly moved her hands away from her crotch. There stood one girl, who had clearly just woken up, standing in front of the sinks. Tyria in her desperate frenzied mind thought it would be appropriate to start small talk. “H-Hey.” she said. The girl turned to her with a bored expression and said, “hi…” before turning back to the stalls. The two waited for what felt like a couple minutes, with Tyria shuffling ever so slightly to conceal her desperation. Suddenly, another wave came, much stronger than the last two. It immediately reached near the end of her pee hole, making her start screaming internally. She crossed her legs as tightly as she could, making them shiver with strain, but it was to no avail. The wave was too strong to handle with just her legs alone. She needed her hand, but she didn’t want to pee dance in front of this girl. The pee was coming closer and closer, until… a toilet flushed. After a bit, another lady left the stall and began washing her hands. The girl in line took the stall. Then just as the lady washing her hands left the room, Tyria went into full panic mode. Crossing legs, hands pressed on crotch tightly, her entire body doubling over to keep every ounce of pee inside her body. “Come on! Stop, stop, stooooop!” she quietly squealed. Despite her best efforts, a tiny drop managed to snake its way out of her pee hole, dampening her panties slightly. Luckily, the wave stopped pushing, but she couldn’t force the pee back into her bladder anymore. She had to hold and dance full time to have any chance of making it. Why did she need to pee this badly? She only had one shot of beer before going to bed. It couldn’t have caused this. Was it something else? Maybe the hex was still active. But no, then it wouldn’t just be her. And what was that dream of the witch? Sure, dreams didn’t make sense all the time, but this one felt real. What did she mean by the 10 releases? And why would she die if she fulfilled each one? What was this affliction she was given? All these questions made Tyria lose focus. The pee petered out and leaked all over her panties. Tyria gasped and held on for dear life. She didn’t make any sudden movements as she stood still, holding her crotch, crossing her legs, shivering with strain. Then, the toilet flushed. The relief being so close made Tyria leak again. It felt so close to dampening her pajamas, and out of everything, she didn’t want to pay the laundering fee. The girl from before popped out from the stall unexpectedly, startling Tyria. She tried her best to act cool with her hands at her side and legs only moderately crossed. The girl looked at her weird and exited the stall. Tyria moved to take the stall, but as she took a step forward, another leak got out. So forcefully that she could hear it stream into her panties. She hoped beyond hope that the girl didn’t hear it also as she entered the stall, closing and locking the door quickly. She quickly pulled out every trick she knew to hold in her pee. Her legs twisted around each other twice, she arched her back to give her hands as much pressure as possible, and she clenched her teeth, feeling as if clenching every muscle would help hold it in. It was of no use. A single drop came out, making Tyria curl up a bit. Then another drip, making Tyria curl up some more. Then there was a spurt. Enough pee escaped to have a wet spot appear on the pajamas. No matter how much she danced, she could feel the rest on its way. “No! Stop!” she squealed. The big one was coming. She could feel her urethra expanding to let it all out. She then looked at the toilet. It was all or nothing now. She ripped her pajamas and panties down, spurting a bit more pee on the floor before finally planting herself down on the porcelain throne. As the pee rushed out of her, she felt the fatigue and stress wash away from her body. She sighed and breathed heavily. This relief was nothing like she ever experienced. It was kind of… exciting? No, that didn’t sound right. She couldn’t quite think of the word for it. But one thing was for sure, it felt good. Tyria peed for what felt like a 1 minute and 20 seconds. As the stream petered out and the last few drops hit the water below her, a strange shrill began ringing in her ears. Her vision became fuzzy and her head started spinning. All of the sudden, her body collapsed on the toilet. Fully limp, she felt as her heart stopped beating and the world around her started to warp. A vision came to her head. The south of town, the mountains, a city, strange woods, waterfalls, then a strange whirlpool glowing with blue magical energy. “The mystic waters will relieve any and all.” said a chorus of mysterious voices. Tyria was whipped back to her body and she gave a huge gasp. She curled over and started coughing into her fist. She felt her heartbeat revving back up and she felt like she was about to throw up. She quickly flushed her toilet, put her pajamas back on, then burst out and looked at herself in the mirror. She was as pale as a ghost and sweating a stream from her head. She continued to breath hard as she tried to fully grasp the situation. She turned on the sink and splashed her face with water, then splashed some down on her pants for good measure, maybe it would look like she spilled a drink or something. After a bit, she had to get out of there. She walked quickly out of the bathroom and made her way through the main area of the Tavern. There she ran into The Barkeep, groggily making her way across the room. She stretched. “Hmmm-Mmm! Hiya, Tyria. How are you today?” “I-I’m fine!” she said sporadically before heading back upstairs. “You sure? You kinda look like hammered shit.” “Uh… bad stomach. Should be good now.” “Okay, if you say so. See you later, I guess.” “Mm-hm.” Tyria made her way down the hall and back inside her room. She went over to her armor and ripped open her travel pack, pulled out a map, and placed it on the table. She took out her pencil and marked her hometown, Kinida. This is where she is now. Then she drew a line to the nearest mountains south of Kinida, The Dragon Back Mountains. Then drew a line to the nearest south city of the mountains, Garmberland City. Then she looked everywhere for waterfalls. “Waterfalls, waterfalls. Come on!” Her pencil wandered the map until she came across something interesting. “Mushroom falls.” she said. It was a tourist destination that she always dreamed of going to. A huge rock pillar sprouting up to the sky in which a large volcanic underwater body sprouts directly from the center of it. It’s full of hot sediment, so as the geyser spews, the larger the rock formation gets over the years resembling a mushroom as the water rolls off the side. Tyria hastily marked it with her pencil, labeling it as her destination. Next was to put into words what happened. “I went pee, and… I think I died for a little bit.” she said to herself. The phrase still shocked her a bit. “That curse must’ve been true. Curse that witch!” She drew ten circles at the corner of the map and crossed off one of them. Then she wrote while saying, “If I pee 9 more times, I will die for real.” She looked at her map, somewhat shocked. The situation didn’t feel real. It was frightening her to her core, yet it also felt really stupid. “I’ll die if I pee 9 more times?! That’s just ridiculous! Just what is this stupid witch into?!” Tyria looked once more at the mushroom falls and wrote next to it, “Cure???”. She may know the history of the mushroom falls, but a magical blue whirlpool? She’s never heard of that before. But based on the vision she had when she died, that was her only chance. “No more drinks, no more water. I’ll need all the time I can get.” She quickly stripped off her pajamas, put on new panties, and put on her armor. She quickly made her way out of the Tavern. Just as she barged through the front doors, a voice called out to her. “So you made it, Tyria.” said Meliay. “Much earlier than I expected too. Shall we head off. Tyria hesitated. She couldn’t tell Meliay that she was cursed by such a ridiculous spell. Oh yeah, if I pee too much, I’ll die! Sounds so stupid even just thinking about it. She had to get out of this. “S-Sorry, Meliay. I can’t. Um… something came up and I’ll have to head south.” she tried to explain. “Huh? What came up?” “Something… real bad. I have to head south immediately. Hopefully I can make it in time.” Meliay got serious. “Tyria, I know something is up. You can tell me, I’m your friend.” “It’s just… something very personal. N-Not even I know the details that much.” “Stop avoiding the truth!” said Meliay, shaking Tyria by the shoulders. “I’m not an idiot, you can tell me!” “S-Stop!” shouted Tyria, shoving Meliay. She then backed away quickly. “L-Look just… split the Lyobie 15,000 to 15,000. I can’t make it.” “What?! Tyria!” “DON’T follow me!” Tyria turned around and walked away quickly. She felt herself on the verge of tears. Of course she would love to Meliay to help her on her journey. But with how ridiculous the curse was, there was no way Meliay would believe her. Plus her pride also somewhat got in the way for the curse’s same ridiculousness. Meliay would hold this over her head for the rest of her life. Tyria came back to reality, hearing footsteps beside her. She looked to see Meliay walking at her side. She jumped away and pointed at her. “Hey! I said don’t follow me!” “Well, I don’t listen to people who are clearly distressed and need help.” said Meliay, crossing her arms. “I don’t need your help!” said Tyria, quickly walking away. Meliay was quite taken aback. “Wow, okay…uuum.” She ran to catch up with Tyria. “I told you to stop following me!” shouted Tyria. “I will as soon as you tell me what’s going on!” “Nothing is going on!” “Then why are you leaving?!” “Nothing!” Tyria went into a slight jog. Meliay quickly caught back up with her, also in a slight jog. “Tyria, seriously? You and I both know I’m the better runner.” “Shut up!” Tyria went into a run. Meliay ran up to her side, not even panting. “Come on Tyria, tell me what’s up.” “You know Lance is gonna take all the Lyobie all for himself.” “He can have it, friends come first.” Tyria growled and broke into a full sprint. “Just stop following me, okay!” Meliay caught up with her in no time. “I’ve read too many novels to know you’re hiding something. Just tell me what it is and we can approach this problem together.” “I’ll call the guards! I’ll have ‘em take you in for stalking!” “The town's too small, so all the guards know us at least somewhat personally. Good luck trying to get that to stick.” Tyria closed her eyes and held the side of her head. “Augh! Just leave me alone!” “Never!” shouted back Meliay. Tyria started to yell as she ran, heading straight towards the south gate, off to adventure!