Warning this story contains adult content so if youre a minor dont read it or if adult content involving sex, violence or super powerful women offends you dont read it either. This story was written with input from Supernaught whose real name I havent inquired about.
The author namely me can be emailed or contacted on yahoo messenger at: happiest_in_shadows@yahoo.com . Reviews are welcome
Hellik could hardly believe what he was feeling as a massive wave of life energy surged throughout the entire complex. He could feel various scrapes cuts and even old scars mending themselves entirely and as he looked around at his fellow Luvarians he could tell that they were feeling the exact same thing. He started to approach the source of the energy but he remembered to the warning to stay away from the source.
What he was experiencing at the moment was only the wind off the fist. He gave a slight jump when he felt something brush against him and looked down at his staff. His eyes widened in ancient shock as he felt the ancient wood once again coming to life. Limbs began to sprout from the bit of tree and what he had felt had been a few leaves from one of the limbs brushing against him.
There you go she is stable now.
Thank you Amalmay we would have lost here if it hadnt been for you.
Instead of responding right away Amalmay ran her hand over the outside of the massive tank that was currently before her. Youve made good use of those notes that I gave you. I didnt actually believe you would be able to try something this advanced.
Well we would have lost here if you hadnt agreed to come and help us once again.
The half-drow woman finally turned her attention away from the tank and looked towards Hellik. This is more advanced then what I would have recommended trying.
Hellik blinked for a moment somewhat perplexed by her words. But you just said you were impressed.
Amalmay gave a slight giggle and turned her head to the side. I am. Do you want to know what impressed me about it?
Hellik was quick to nod his head. Yes. I would be quite grateful.
I am impressed that you were actually able to grow a golem. There is a huge difference between a golem that has been crafted of clay and a composite golem. What is the most complex golem you were able to make up until this point?
That would be the.
Not the name. Just tell me what it was made from.
The internal body is made out of sand; the middle shell is made from steel while the outer is made of stone.
I believed that the notes I gave you would only enable you to better fuse materials together and make a more refined composite golem. Instead you expand upon the concept and actually manage to create an organic life form.
Then what is wrong with our current project?
You shouldnt have tried for a humanoid creation so early. I find it highly doubtful that youll get the results that you intend.
What would you have suggested then?
Well for one thing something that didnt take so long to grow. It is going to take several more years for this one to be born.
Hellik couldnt help himself. What do you mean born?
Amalmay gave Hellik a grin that he wasnt sure he wanted to see. I mean just what I said. Of course you intended for her to be alive didnt you?
Yes. I dont see what could go wrong though. We planned her design very careful.
Did you now?
Hellik knew that Amalmay knew far more about the creation of golems then the entire guild put together. However, he had over seen the plans to create the golem himself and had every calculation checked numerous times. Did you since something that we arent aware of?
Amalmay gave a slight shrug. Be careful not to destabilize the womb. I mean tank again.
Hellik started to respond however he didnt get the chance as a he felt a brief moment of heat and then Amalmay had vanished from the spot. For a moment he was stunned he knew that the sorceress was quite powerful and skilled but to teleport without even speaking a word was hard to believe. At least he knew better then to send anyone to pester her for answers. If she had wanted to answer his question she would have done so then and to press the issue would only annoy her.
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A few years had passed since Hellik had last spoken with Amalmay about the creation of the golem but despite the time he found himself remembering the brief conversation. How could he not? The golems body had finally fully formed and now the only thing was to remove her from the chamber and see what they had.
Dry the tank out. The sound of valves that hadnt been opened since they were installed being turned echoed throughout the room and he heard the sound of flowing liquid. Turning to his side Hellik watched what had once had been life and magic carrying fluids emptying from the tank.
Over the years the liquids had went through quite a change. Once a mixture of green, blues and reds they now came out as a rather chalky looking compound. The substance was on top of being unpleasant to look at exceptionally dangerous. The energies that had once composed them had been drained out and used to nourish the life growing inside the tank. Now instead of giving life the compound would suck magic and life energy out of whatever it could.
Things got worse if the substance was to come in contact with animal life including those humans that didnt have the strength to resist its effect or were overwhelmed. The creature that it came in contact with would first have all its life energy sucked right out of it and whatever magic energy the substance could get. After which there was a chance the person would raise again as a form of undead that even Hellik didnt care for.
The abominations of the substance created couldnt be controlled by any means the Luvarians had ever heard of or developed themselves. They were utterly useless prone to attacking even necromancers and other more valuable undead. Even low price golems could be stripped of the mystic energies that animated them.
The substance had to be carefully disposed of. These thoughts only gave me a greater appreciation for what they had achieved. The golem had held every last bit of the energy the chemicals had provided while it was growing.
Okay now. Open the tank.
A rush of excitement went through everyone in the room as they watched the heavy doors begin to open. The metal was a form of highly magic resistant iron meant to contain what had been growing inside. However, for such a large container the form inside was relatively small. Come out.
The room was silent all except for the sound of foot steps coming from within the tank. What stepped forward could have been mistaken for an Amazon or Valkyrie. Her entire body appeared to be exceptionally fit while her red hair reached down past her waste. She stood at least two meters tall and with arms and legs that looked as if they could take a grown mans head off she was quite an imposing figure.
Hellik had to contain himself as the thoughts of the conversation with Amalmay almost made him laugh. He had been so worried that something would go wrong however as he looked upon the feminine figure he felt confident they had succeeded despite the warning. Of course tests had to be conducted first.
Hellik took a few steps closer to the golem but didnt come within arms length. The first test was a very simple one. Who am I?
The woman looked at Hellik for only a moment before respond. Youre my master.
Hellik couldnt hide his surprise. While they had given a fair amount of thought to the golems humanoid structure they hadnt really considered her voice. So he was quite surprised when her voice came off as soft and sweet as any he had heard before though lacking in emotion. I believe that is time to start the test and see just how well she came out.
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I prefer red it goes with her hair.
I think we should call her blue for the time being. I mean look at those eyes.
Both mages turned to look at the humanoid that had been instructed to research. It had actually been a bit of a surprise when they learned the golem didnt have any class name so the mages to be conducting the research had spent the last twenty minutes arguing over what she should be called until the higher up guild members settled on an official title.
You two can argue about that later. We need to get to work so we can find out if she came out as planned.
The two mages both looked at their college for a moment. Clearly they didnt appreciate their conversation being interrupted. What is the first test?
Were supposed to give her a physical. The two bickering mages instantly forgot their annoyance with their college and were quite ready to work a few moments later.
I have got to say this is pretty strange.
What is?
Looking up the researcher touched the Annettes chest just over her heart. This is the first golem I have ever encountered that has a heartbeat.
Well from what I was told her body is entirely alive and modeled after a humans.
So does she eat?
If you want her at full strength she needs to. If not then energy normally used for other things has to be devoted to keep her body alive.
Well that seems like a waste. What gave them the bright idea to make a golem that needs to eat to use its full strength? What makes her worth all the trouble?
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Hellik carefully looked over the initial evaluation of the golem which the staff had taken to calling red after much debate.
The golem now known as red seems to have the physical attributes we were attempting to achieve. Her skin has the strength of most high quality chain mail and while this is less protection then most golem armors she does not have the insufferable vulnerability to blunt trauma.
We have so far found that she can wield a one handed weapon with a mass of sixty kilograms effectively and can wield a two handed weapon of one hundred and forty kilograms.
Her eyes sight and other senses are easily on par with that of the most members of the fairy races and her reaction time is even quicker then expected.
She does not suffer from the general slow movement rate of less well made golems and her running speed has been clocked at seventy kilometers per hour.
Her physical capabilities are well within what we had hoped to achieve putting her far above or on par with most species in every area.
Hellik flipped back a few pages of the report to take a look at the actual test data. After reading over it for a few moments he continued with the conclusion.
There are a few areas of moderate concern though. It seems that having a truly living body has made red far more vulnerable to magic attacks then we had anticipated. We havent been able to understand just what caused her to be vulnerable in this respect however I assure you that her resistance to such assaults is still quite exceptional.
Further more it has been surmised that this may actually prove to be an advantage as while it does mean she can be effect by magic more easily then other golems she can also receive magic benefits more easily as well.
A second area of some concern come from the golems to actually eat in order to be at full strength. We have calculated that her effectiveness in combat declines by thirty percent when at the point of starvation. This still leaves her quite formidable in combat. This is once again considered to be a fairly minor concern and not to be a major weak point.
There is however two major points of concern one of which may be easily fixed while the other we are not certain of.
As far as raw combative abilities red has plenty however her attacks are unrefined. Given that she has limited durability it would be beneficial if she received some type of combat training. However, the usual methods dont seem work on her given her unique make up so we need to bring in an instructor to train her.
The final concern is that her organic design requires that she sleeps or at least isnt made to be very active for a few hours. The time she actually needs to sleep seems to be fairly limited however we found that over a few days without any sleep her capabilities begin to suffer.
Hellik put the report down once again. He knew of a few skilled warriors which would be willing to train her for a price. The fact that she needed to sleep was indeed of some concern but as the report mentioned there may not be a way to fix such a problem.
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It had been a few weeks and once again Hellik found himself holding a status report on Annette. As he flipped through the pages he skipped those sections dealing with the raw physical performance and into the studies they didnt have time to conduct before hand.
It has been found that like all organic life forms red is vulnerable to certain forms of toxins. This conclusion was reached by introducing various amounts of toxins to her system both enchanted and not. It was found that her resistance to purely natural toxins was far greater then her resistance to those that arent.
It was also concluded that while she isnt entirely immune to toxins she is exceptionally resistant and it seems that resistance goes up. We found after several applications of numerous toxins that each time it required more then the previous in order to make her ill and while we cant speak for all toxins it was concluded that over time she would become immune after encountering the toxin enough.
We recently began to test how quickly red was capable of healing from various injuries. As was expected she healed at a rate far quicker then most creatures found in the natural world.
Hellik couldnt help but smile as she considered this news. The vast majority of golems werent capable of healing themselves and if damaged were absolute nightmares to repair. Closing his eyes the arch mage had to admit that in all honesty the Luvarians hadnt developed a golem that could truly heal itself until reds appearance. Those that were said to be able to heal themselves could only do so in a very limited fashion which requires the damage to be relatively minimal.
This of course meant that no matter how many golems you had they would eventually need to be replaced. It could take hundreds of years but eventually they would be chipped down. The main reason for making composite golems was to make them easier to repair so long as their outer layers werent damaged to badly. Red on the other hand would recover from any damage received on her own if given enough time.
It seemed that Amalmay had been wrong about their calculations. So far red had preformed exactly as planned.
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Hellik could feel the color draining from his face as he looked at the most recent report. It had been over nine months now since they had taken the golem now known as red out of her tank. In nearly every area she had performed perfectly however there was one crucial point that the experiment had hinged on one which would make it financially viable.
Once again he turned his eyes to the report.
It seems that red is incapable of duplicating herself as previously planned.
Hellik read the one line and closed the report. Growing red had taken several years to accomplish which was far too long to make even a golem as useful as her a viable model to sell. They had planned for this though and actually given her the ability to give birth. They even went as far to give her an entirely human autonomy. She should have been able to birth children which would grow to become perfect duplicates of her once every 9 months without the need of another of her kind to mate with.
The idea was to have her birth at least ten children which they would keep. Then from there they would sell the others that they gave birth to after making them unable to duplicate themselves. Now it seemed as if all that had gone up in a moment. Once again Hellik opened the papers.
Despite our previous calculations all of our test indicate that red is not capable of giving to birth to even a degraded form of her.
Hellik knew those that he had put in charge of researching Annette were skilled mages and he trusted their work. Despite this he slowly flipped back in the document and began to read their research methods and findings.
It took several hours of reading the documents but at last Hellik stood up from his desk and walked over to his window. Looking up at the sky he realized that he had read and reread the document so many times that it was now night. Damn she was expensive to make.
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Three years had passed since Reds creation and Hellik had calmed down quite a bit. Their plans might have fallen through but the guild was still developing new types of golems and making a profit. He had taken Amalmays advice and settled for less complex creations then red. The guild still invested extensive time and money into researching living golems but they worked with simpler ones now.
The sound of someone knocking on the door disturbed his train of thought a moment later. Sir Hellik?
Yes come in.
One of the guilds lower ranked mages entered the room carrying a report with him. Sir Hellik I have a report for you.
Hellik glanced down at the heavy stack of papers. The research teams were due to turn in some reports. So what is the report about?
It is about Red sir.
Helliks eyes visible widened as he heard the news. They had continued to research red in an attempt to find out what had went wrong with the experiment. It was fortunate that the golems resistance to magic wasnt absolute or too strong since it meant they didnt have to take her apart to study her. Have they found something? I havent seen a report this long from them in years.
I dont know sir.
Hellik gave his head a quick shake. He had forgotten for a moment that the young mage wasnt actually on any of the research projects. Let me see the report.
The mage wasted no time in handing his guild leader the report.
Thank you. You are excused. Hellik didnt give the mage another thought as he walked over to his desk and set the report down.
As he opened the report Hellik went strait to the conclusions. He didnt know exactly what had been found by on some level hoped it would tell them what they had done wrong. Though he didnt have any hopes of fixing red.
Sir Hellik. Things have changed in regard to Red though I fear not in the way you were hoping. We have yet to discover why Red is incapable of duplicating. We havent found a way to give her any abilities that we had intended she have but she came out missing.
What we have found is that she has traits that we never expected or had any indication that she would have. Also other attributes have begun to show a significant improvement.
Hellik had to stop reading the report for a moment. Amalmay has told him that red would most likely developed in ways that he didnt expect or at least she had hinted at it. He had assumed she had meant her ability to duplicate herself but now he was beginning to understand that her words carried more wait then he had come to believe.
How is this possible? Could she have done something? Hellik quickly shook his head. He knew better then to suspect her. After all she had given them some of her notes in order to help them out. Had she wanted to harm them she could have done a lot worse. Opening the report back up he began to read once again.
First I would like to address the favorable traits we have noticed.
The first would be a decrease in the amount red needs to sleep in order to function properly. We have found that she needs thirty minutes less sleep in order to recover completely then what she did whenever we first began testing. Some how over time her body has improved its over all efficiency so that it does not require as much rest.
The second improvement would be a decrease in the amount of food she actually needs to eat to remain at full strength. We suspect that whatever caused her to require less sleep has something to do with as well. I should mention though that the volume of food she eats has gone up the relative percentage to her weight has gone down though.
The third improvement that we noticed would be an improvement in her over all strength. This was discovered when we decided to use Red to test a serious of new golems. We equipped her with a heavy two handed weapon intentionally selecting one that would be too heavy for human use. After being ordered to attack the golems though Red proceeded to wield the weapon with only one hand.
We calculated that red has more then doubled her strength since her completion. This makes the fact that she needs to eat and sleep less even more confusing since a power increase shouldnt have resulted in a need for greater amounts of energy.
The final change that we have noticed so far is Reds over all has increased. She now stands fifteen centimeters taller then at the beginning. After talking with several of my fellow researcher it seems that this has been going on for quite some time as they noticed her clothes had began to look tighter.
We will continue to evaluate Red and attempt to find out what is happening unless informed we are to do other wise.
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Sir Hellik I regret to inform you that studying Red has become more difficult over these past weeks. There has been a very noticeable increase in Reds resistance to magic and this includes those spells we use to examine her.
Her physical trend as continued in much the same way as our last report however we have noticed something rather interesting.
Red has begun to show signs of emotions. During one of our test Red broke with her standard attack pattern after one of our defensive golems was able to last over thirty minutes with her. Her attacks became more powerful but less refined and she was actually hit.
She has taken damage in previous battles however this time she didnt simply continue her assault in the same emotionless state as always. Instead she flew into a rage and seemed to forget all of her training however her combative style wasnt the same as when she was first made either. It was far more passionate and brutal.
What made this even stranger is that she began to yell. Up until that point she had only spoken when spoken to and the best we could get out of her during a fight was a grunt. During the test we attempted to read Red and found that indeed she was given off all the signs both physical and mystical of raw rage.
We have no idea what is going on Sir.
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Hellik had ordered them to continue their studies of Red to see just what was going on. Now just over a week later he found himself looking at another report.
It has been found that Red is no longer remaining stationary after her testing is done. Indeed she has been moving around the room and examining various items. She hasnt done anything to make us believe this is a hostile action or that she seeks to leave.
The closest thing we can liken this to is curiosity. We have found however that if ordered to do so Red will wait in anyone spot for however long the order was for or until she is ordered by another member of the guild with sufficient authority to move. She only begins to wonder whenever she has no direct order not to do so.
In accordance with advice from the guilds necromancers and elemental users we have halted certain test that Red may find objectionable. We have also begun placing various items in her room to see those of which she pays the most attention to. As of this time we havent gathered enough data to say anything conclusive.
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So Red did this? Hellik glanced at the mages broken arm. It had been broken in two separate places allegedly whenever Red had taken hold of it with one of her hands and moved the section of bone she was holding at an angle.
Yes Sir.
Hellik glanced at the mage with the broken arm, at the researcher and then at the golem girl herself. At first he was going to ask the researcher what happened but quickly changed his mind and walked over to red. Why did you break this mans arm?
He tried to take it away from me.
Tried to take what away from you?
A.. The researcher started to speak but was quickly silenced by a still tongue spell from Hellik
He tried to take my armor away from me.
Do you mean that armor? Hellik pointed to a corner of the room were a crimson suit of full plate armor was currently wresting. As Red was capable of wearing such armor they had been allowing her to wear a suit of it. It had been a surprise to everyone when they found it had been painted red when they forget a can of paint in the room.
Yes.
So you were protecting what belongs to you?
Yes.
Hellik grew silent for a moment as he considered his next question. What makes that armor yours?
They said it was mine after I colored it. Red pointed to a few of the researchers.
Hellik glanced at them for a moment. Is this true?
Yes sir. We didnt say it directly to her but after she painted it we figured it could be hers and we allowed her to keep it in her room.
Hellik stood up and walked over to the armor. Would you attack me if I tried to take it away from you?
No sir.
Why is that?
You have the authority for such things.
Hellik glanced over at the assistant. And he didnt?
No.
You have never been ordered to obey members of the guild with ranks as low as his have you?
No.
What is your rank?
Red grew silent for a few moments as she considered the question. This act alone was fairly surprising. I am unable to answer.
Why is that?
I have no authority to command but not everyone has authority to command things of me. Unless I have been given an order then I have the same authority as the one that gave the order while acting upon it.
Hellik gave Red a pat on the shoulder. That is a good girl.
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Hellik smiled as he looked down at the guilds newest member. She was currently standing in the training yard sparring with a few golems that had been officially listed as unfit for sell and thus rejects. It was a pretty beneficial way to get rid of them. Instead of just pounding the golems back to powder she could train by fighting them. So how is she doing?
She is doing well. Her personality is coming along nicely.
I wonder when she truly developed a will of her own.
It is hard to say sir. She could have had it from the start but it took a while for her to gather enough information to express it.
Has she chosen a name for herself?
Yes she has.
What is it?
She likes the name Annette.
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Hellik gave the papers setting in front of him a light pat. It had been over a decade now though just barely since Annette had made herself known inside the body of what was meant to be a mindless golem. Amalmay was right about the result not being what had been intended but over all he was happy with the results. So Annette is going to be staying with us for a while?
Yes Sir. She fears that there is going to be trouble at her home and wants to prepare for it.
So she is finally ready to start learning to use more then just her base abilities?
That seems to be the case.
Since you saw fit to inform me I imagine that there is more to it then just a member of the guild wanting lessons.
Yes Sir. Dehvess informed us that he would like any information on jobs that would help Annette develop her abilities given over to him.
Is she going to be charging us?
Yes but as the guild is doing her a favor she says she just wants seventy five percent of what the guild would normally pay someone else to do the job.
Hellik couldnt help but chuckle. I swear maybe we shouldnt have started charging her for room and bored so soon after she became self aware? Then perhaps she wouldnt be charging us now. Still, it will be good to have her on active service once again. Have any jobs that would suit Annette or help her develop her skills more sent to Dehvess. He and Jahnah can decide if Annette gets the job or not.
Sir I didnt make any mention of Jahnah.
Shell be there. Her bond to Dehvess seems to be the only thing that can contain her wonder lust.
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As the teleportation spell was finished a wave of energy ran throughout the entire building. Vials that were being heated as well as cooking items began to boil with more vigor, the building seemed to sway slightly and several minds were lit for but a moment with both improved creativity and decreased focus.
Dehvess looked towards the main teleportation chamber. He didnt actually need to see her to know that she had arrived. The order which his energy imposed on the structure and people within it was so close to perfectly counter acted by the chaos of the towers newest arrival that he knew who it had to be. The only thing that kept it from being a perfect balancing act was the distance between the two.
Those within the tower both looked upon Jahnah with fear and curiosity. This wasnt just because of what they heard about her but it was the chaos that made up so much of her being. As humans are drawn to the chaos of a fire but fear its touch so did everyone that saw her respond to her. Their moods switched between fear and curiosity as quickly as any fire may change direction with a gust of the wind.
Her hair was never strait no matter how often one brushed it and indeed it didnt seem to ever settle. Instead with every moment strands seemed to shift, to curl and uncurl appearing as waves on a turbulent sea. Her clothing underwent the same shift effect as everyone that was not of a solid color seemed to move and flow.
It was all too easy for Dehvess to feel Jahnahs approach however he couldnt do anything to predict when she would arrive. Just as it was impossible to truly hope that he would arrive sooner then expected or later it was impossible to know when she would arrive even when her path was strait.
Annette smiled as she watched Dehvess looking towards the towers. She felt like inquiring what he and Jahnah had been up to but knew not to do that at the current moment. As to do so would result in her receiving a rather lengthy list of every little thing they had done since she last saw them. Why dont you go and meet her?
Dehvess gave a nod. That would be helpful there is no way of knowing when she is going to get here other wise.
Annette blinked her eyes as the raven haired figure was suddenly standing beside Dehvess. Looking up she realized that Jahnah must have decided to use a combination of a strengthening spell to bolster her jumping ability and a slow fall spell to take a short cut. It seemed she refused to even allow someone to predict if she would use the stairs to come down or not.
Hello Jah
Dehvess didnt get a chance to finish as Jahnah placed her hands on his shoulders. Red and black energy flicked from her finger tips for just a moment before a surge of energy began to rush out of her and into him.
It took a moment for Dehvess to realize what was happening as he felt the energy coursing into his body. He was able to move his body some whenever the energy weakened for a moment its chaotic nature making its intensity impossible to predict. As he pressed his hand against Jahnahs stomach a steady stream of energy began to move through his arm and into her body.
Annette gave a slight giggle. She should have known better then to expect Jahnah to just give a friendly hello. It was true that she was very much capable of such things but to try and predict her behavior in all but the most vital topics was a complete waste of time.
As Dehvess and Jahnah continued to poor energy into one anothers systems Annette made certain to keep her distance. It was fun to watch though as she found herself wondering just who would win this time. She had seen Dehvess and Jahnah play this game before. He would introduce a steady amount of order into her system while her chaotic energy would fluctuate wildly. Do to energy from Jahnah constantly changing intensity levels she could never guess who would win.
Dehvess let out a sigh as he finished pouring energy into Jahnah and withdrew his hand. The look on his face was no longer as static as before. It is good to see you again.
Jahnah took a few moments longer as she gained more control of herself. The flow of her hair seemed to decrease as did the movement of the colors on her clothing. Her eyes expressed a greater clarity and unawareness then just moments before. Okay that is better. I am glad to see you as well. Leaning forwards Jahnah gave Dehvess a kiss on the cheek. Now I can remember what I was supposed to tell you.
Dehvess gave a slight laugh. What would that be?
Hellik wanted me to tell you that a report of job opportunities suited to Annette will be arriving in three days. Ill be staying here to help with training Annette as well.
Annette approached the two mages once she was certain they were done swapping energy. So do you feel better now?
Dehvess gave a nod. I feel alive.
Jahnah glanced up at Annette. Yeah I am here now. I swear not being able to focus your attention and alternating between extremes of joy, anger, sadness and every other emotion well you feel alive but it is difficult.
Annette smiled and held her hand out to Jahnah who placed one of her hands on Annettes finger. It is good to see you again. How come you never visit me?
Jahnah let out a sigh. I have meant to seriously but every time I try to plan my activities my attention gets swept else where. I spent three hours looking at birds last week when I should have been working in the labs.
A giggle escaped Annette. Well okay. Hey what about you Dehvess you never visit me either?
Dehvess couldnt help but smirk Do you want to see my years schedule?
Annette quickly waved her hands in the air. No. No thank you.
Jahnah gave a giggle and glanced up at Annette. You have grown quite a lot since I last saw you.
Are you sure that I have grown that you havent shrunk?
I swear if you do that to me when my mind is less focused I will show you some of the more destructive spells I have learned.
You mean as soon as you have regained enough of your compose to realize what I did?
You do realize that the moment Dehvess introduces enough order into my mind to counter act the chaos I can remember everything that happened to me?
Yes I do. Of course that can take a while.
Jahnah gave a slight chuckle. That is true. Well then I suppose Dehvess already has you a room prepared?
Yeah I actually spent the night.
Jahnah grew silent for a moment and closed her eyes. After a few moments of organizing her thoughts and sifting through the chaotic fog that use to be her memories she opened her eyes. DAMIN IT.
Dehvess couldnt help but laugh at Jahnahs out burst. What is the problem?
I was given that message a day ago. I got distracted.
Annette couldnt help but giggle. Well it happens.
Jahnah gave a nod of her head. Well then why dont you show me your room Annette? Oh and Dehvess. Is one of the better chambers empty for me?
Dehvess gave a quick nod. Yes. I like to keep one room open for emergencies. Of course I am normally too much of an ass to allow anyone to use a room that is higher then their rank deserves even if it is open.
Jahnah and Dehvesss conversation was put on hold whenever Annette placed her hand down next to them. Would you like to see my room?
Jahnah gave a quick nod and set down on the side of Annettes hand. Come on Dehvess. Lets see what you think about your decorating skills now.
Shaking his head Dehvess set down on Annettes hand and the two of them were lifted into the air by Annette. Believe me I know what to expect. I have scene my room after you put enough chaos in me to balance me out.
Annette grinned down at the two mages as they continued to talk and began to walk towards her room. Jahnah and Dehvess were both rather interesting mages as was as she was concerned.
Jahnah was a master of chaos magic and nearly immune to all attacks from that particular school of magic. However, the magic she used came from within her and in order to become a more powerful mage she had strengthened the chaos inside of herself.
This wouldnt have been a problem but in order to become more capable with chaos magic more quickly she hadnt learned much order magic to balance it out meaning the chaotic side of her nature far out weighed the order to the point that it not only affected her body but her surroundings.
Dehvess was the polar opposite of Jahnah. The order magic he used had grown so powerful that it had over whelmed the limited amount of chaos that was part of his spirit. In order for either of them to become balanced permanently they would have to develop a high enough master of the opposing ones magic discipline.
In both cases they had serious problems. The over whelming amount of order found with Dehvess drastically weakened any elements of chaos. It had gotten to the point that he had a very limited amount of free will left. There was so little that he had actually ceased to refine his order magic until he had learned enough chaos to balance it out. To go further in order at the moment would strip him of his own free will and leave him a mindless puppet with no initiative of his own and end in a slow death.
Jahnahs chaos magic on the other hand had over whelmed the vast majority of order to be found within her. She couldnt focus her mind and her ideas ranged from brilliant to truly idiotic. Her emotions with no order to balance them or tell them where to go were in constant flux. To grow any stronger in chaos without developing the needed amount of order to balance it would result in her burning herself out. Her death would be far quicker then Dehvesss in such a situation but far more violent.
They were not constantly off balance though. They could temporarily balance themselves out by relying on the other. The magic Dehvess had introduced to Jahnahs body and spirit would have stripped most people of their will but given the over whelming amount of chaos inside of her it had only allowed her to take control of herself and stabilized her mind and spirit.
As for the energy Jahnah had put into Dehvess it would have left most people entirely insane. Incapable of holding a thought and with constantly changing emotions it wouldnt be long before then burned out. In his case though it only energized him and restored his freewill to a more natural level.
I see that you tried to anticipate her needs. Jahnah gave a slight giggle when Annette opened the door to the empty storage area. What was to be seen was a massive makeshift bed, a support structure which would have once been used to hold a massive six meter tall golem had been converted into a chair for her. A few other locations had been cleared for her clothing and then nothing else but open space.
Dehvess hung his head low for a moment. I swear you would think that even in my purely order state I would be able to factor in the physiological needs of others. Even if it doesnt apply to me when I am like that I should be able to analyze a situation and take appropriate action for the subjects emotional state.
There was a brief flash of energy as Jahnah placed her hand on Dehvesss shoulder and sent another wave of chaos flowing into him. You were getting overly analytical. With that the woman hopped down from Annettes hand. The spell that she had used to endure the jump from the top of the tower was still in effect so the landing was gentle.
Glancing up at Annette Dehvess had to wonder. Why did you tell me you could use some more life in the room?
To be honest I really didnt feel like having to go through another evaluation and I knew shed be along before to long to liven you up.
Jahnah didnt take long to decide that she didnt like the complete lack of color in the room. Annette if youre going to be staying here we are going to have to get you some better things. I assume Dehvess already has a better bed underway.
Dehvess took a moment to clear his throat. Actually, I factored in how much it takes to make Annette uncomfortable and resolved that more cushioning then what was already there would be a waste of materials.
An amused giggle came from both women as Annette set Dehvess down. Jahnah then turned to the two. Well I cant be too hard on you. I would have either crammed the room so full of things she didnt need that she couldnt actually move in or forgot to have the room prepared in the first place.
Well hopefully now that you two are more balanced I can get this room spruced up a bit.
Dehvess gave a nod. Sure. Ill go and have that taken care of now. Jahnah, Annette and I were just about to begin her lessons. Why dont you two go ahead and get started?
Are you certain? I dont know the lesson plan after all.
My original lesson planned called for testing Annette in multiple areas to see where she needed help. Many of which I assumed that you already mastered but felt it would be best t make sure.
Oh and now you believe that would be a waste of time?
It is amazing how much freewill shortens ones patience.
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So where are we going to start?
Jahnah smiled up at Annette while riding on her shoulder. That really depends on you. What did you come to work on?
I came to work on my magic resistance as well as my senses. It would also be nice if I could improve physically.
What do you mean work on your senses?
I mean my ability to see mystic energy I would also like to learn to recognize life forces.
Oh you want to work on your abilities as a golem then?
Yeah, why do you have that look on your face?
Do you want the accelerated program?
Tell me why you have that look on your face first.
Jahnah gave an amused giggle. What is the matter? You know my loyalties hold true even in my more chaotic state.
I know but I also know you can do some pretty darn rotten things while being loyal. Now tell me why you gave me that look.
Well okay. As you know one way we helped to make you resistant to toxins is by introducing a limited amount to your system periodically. Though it is a good thing you dont actually remember what this process was like.
I imagine that it was quite painful so yeah I am glad I cant remember it.
Your magic resistance works in much the same way. The quickest way to improve it is to constantly use magic attacks that harm you until you develop enough to resist them. Of course they are other methods but the attacks dont have to be injury causing they just have to cause distress.
Annette blinked her eyes for a moment. YOU ARE NOT CASTING PAIN ON ME OR ANY VARIATION THERE OF.
Jahnah was nearly blown of Annettes shoulder by the power of her voice and the sudden action of turning her head. Jahnah burst into a fit of giggles almost the moment the words had left Annettes mouth.
A blush lit up Annettes face as she realized that more then likely everyone within a few miles had her shout. She would have wondered how Jahnah avoided having her ears drums burst but at the moment she was too much in shock. I swear I thought Dehvess had made you sane.
Helping me to control my emotions and focusing my mind doesnt necessarily make me sane you know?
Do you seriously want to try using spells meant to torture people without doing damage on me?
Well it would be the quickest way to help you develop and such spells are one of my strong points.
Id sooner stand around and let someone hit me with lightning spells. They arent as painful.
Well of course they arent. A lightning spell does damage primarily pain is just a side effect. Spells meant to torture do no physical damage but instead devote all their energy to suffering.
Youre about immune to pain arent you?
Well yes I am. Even my senses are affected by my magic when I lose too much order. I can be feeling utter bliss at one moment and then it will feel as if my entire body had been lit on fire.
Annette shook her head. Well I still am not going to let you cast any spells meant to torture people on me. My body heals much more quickly then my mind after all.
Oh very well but you could learn to handle pain better as well.
It isnt going to happen.
So do you want to work purely on endurance or do you wish to try and evade attacks as well?
A shudder ran through Annette just before she gave her answer. As much as I dont like the idea of it I want to focus on endurance. So I wont be trying to evade.
Well then this should be far enough out since I wont need to use any spells that affect the surrounding area.
So you are going to stick with spells that focus on a single target?
Of course you can just set me down over there. The leap spell I used earlier has worn off.
Annette gave a nod and proceeded to remove Jahnah from her shoulder. Walking a few more paces she deposited the mage atop a near by rock and proceeded to step away. Okay what are we going to begin with?
Lets start with the elements since they are what you are most likely to encounter. That and to be honest I would prefer if Dehvess was here before we began to use the truly dangerous spells.
Okay. Well I cant dodge so here I am.
Jahnah gave a slight giggle. I hope I dont make you regret that comment about how quickly your body heals.
You know youre not supposed to try and kill me.
Dont worry I wont.
A sigh escaped Annette and she braced herself. As she watched Jahnah extending a hand towards her she tried to guess just what she was going to be hit with first. More then likely it is going to be either wind or fire magic. She knows that water and earth allow one to rely on their bodys endurance as well as magic resistance more then any other magic.
The grass around the stone Jahnah was setting upon began to shrivel up as all the moisture was removed from within them. The air seemed to heat up as a few wisp of steam seemed to be visible radiating from the ground.
Annette recognized the type energy that moved towards her. A rush of steam formed around Annette as all the moisture that was upon her skin and on the surrounding ground was stripped from the spot however there was a total lack of heat.
How was that?
You just used a water spell to strip the moisture from the air and ground around me. You also took as much moisture from me as possible.
Okay lets try something more complex now.
A shiver ran up Annettes spine. She would continue to try and guess what Jahnah was going to use next but doubted she would have much success after the first guess had proven so very wrong.
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Annette what happened to you? Dehvess blinked his eyes a few times as he watched a rather exhausted looking Annette carrying a rather smug looking Jahnah approaching.
Annette raised her finger and pointed right at Jahnah. Sadistic bitch.
It was silent for only a moment before Dehvess began to shake with laughter. You mean you forgot that?
Jahnah gave a giggle. I prefer to think of myself as an inventive teacher.
Annette grumbled under her breath as she lifted Jahnah from her shoulder and set her on the ground right in front of Dehvess. I really need to go wrest now.
As Annette walked away Dehvess turned to Jahnah. So how did she do?
I believe she did very well. Do you believe that you could stand there limiting yourself to only shielding spells and survive a few hours worth attacks from me.
Um no.
Jahnah stretched her arms above her head. Of course now I am kind of drained myself.
Annette didnt have the energy to appreciate the changes that had been made to her accommodations while she was away. Instead she proceeded over to her bed and proceeded to allow herself to fall into it. The force of the impact seemed to cause the entire surrounding structure vibrate. It was fortunate that in his more order aligned state Dehvess had planned for such an event so the bed held despite the impact.
Moments later she rolled onto her back. Numerous burns, cuts and bruises covered the front of her body. A long sigh escaped Annettes lips and she closed her eyes. She normally wouldnt be going to sleep so earlier but at the moment all she wanted to do was lose consciousness.
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So how are you feeling?
Annette glanced down at Dehvess as he approached her. It only took a moment for her to confirm that the chaos Jahnah had put into his system was still there and allowing him to function normally. Ive healed up.
That is good. I have decided that it would be best if Jahnah continued training you in magic resistance.
It took a moment but Annettes mouth slowly opened up it took a few moments later for her to pronounce a word. Why?
Well in my original plan I was going to be the one training you but I realized last night that Jahnah is the better suited to the task. She will do a better job then I would of preparing you for a wide variety of spells. I on the other hand will help you with your resistance against defensive spells.
What do you mean by defensive resistance?
Magic should be less effective on you then normal all around. A magic barrier should not have any more effect upon you then an attack.
Annette glanced around the room for a moment as if searching for someone after doing this for a moment she once again turned her attention to Dehvess. Could we work on that today?
Dehvess blinked a few times. What did Jahnah do to you yesterday?
Well I wouldnt let her use spells meant to torture people on me. So she alternated her spells so that I never knew what was going to hit me next. I couldnt prepare myself mentally for any one attack.
Ah. That is actually quite smart. That way she is preparing you for any circumstance instead of one.
A long sigh escaped Annette and she stretched her arms above her head. Well that is what I came here for. So when does Jahnah want to begin todays torture session?
She would like to begin thirty minutes after you have finished eating.
So you dont have a specific time planned?
Well agreeing to start thirty minutes after you have finished eating breakfast was the most concrete time period I could get her to agree to. Four hours after your first lesson she wants to stop for lunch and a short brake.
You mean this is going to be an all day thing?
She would like to expend at least eight hours of the day better preparing you against magical attacks.
How long do you believe this should go on?
For however lone it takes you to achieve the level of resistance you desire of course.
Annettes eyes drifted shut for a moment and she took in a long breath of air. Okay I am going to finish up by soup and then head outside. Once thirty minutes are up send Jahnah out and she can get started.
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What are you carrying? Annette glanced down towards Jahnah and in particular her right hand.
Well yesterday you tired me out. I dont believe I have enough energy to keep this up all day relying purely on myself so I brought a little assistance.
Just what is a little?
Holding her hand above her head Jahnah revealed a rather large red jewel. It is just a little stone.
Annette took a moment to examine the jewel that Jahnah was holding up for her inspection. That is an essence gem.
It just provides a little extra energy. You know a little pick me up.
Annette started to grumble but reminded herself that she was the one that wanted this. Of course the little pick me up that Jahnah was speaking of was enough to power a golem indefinitely.
Are you truly committed to this Annette? I know your body improves quickly but you need to decide what level you want to reach and to tough it out.
Yeah I am positive. There is something more important to me then my temporary comfort to gain and things I need to be able to protect.
For a moment Jahnah looked sympathetic at least until she began to draw energy from the gem. At least Annette knew she wouldnt be able to go non stop even with the essence gem backing her up. Essence gems never ran out of energy but they could only produce so much so fast. Just remember that you get a brake today.
What type of golem did you take that from?
It was just a six meter tall, composite siege golem.
Annette would have commented on this if a lightning attack hadnt shot forth from Jahnah and slammed into her. The pain caused Annette to wince and she took a moment to steady herself. Well that one was weak.
Jahnah raised and eye brow as Annette seemed to be provoking her to use stronger attacks. An amused giggle issued forth from the mage and she resolved to show Annette something a little more impressive for the next spell.
Dehvess quickly turned his head in Annettes and Jahnahs direction. A flash of light had just illuminated not just the training area but for a moment had flooded every window of the guildhall with enough light to make anyone that happened to be looking in that direction see spots.
You hurt my eyes. As Annette spoke she didnt have to look to tell that certain metallic parts of her clothing were beginning to melt.
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Hi what are you two doing? Annette grinned as she peeked in through the library window to find Jahnah and Dehvess.
Jahnah smiled up at Annette. Dehvess is reading over some of my old notes on chaos and trying to learn there exact application. I on the other hand am studying his work with chaos and seeing if I accept it.
What do you mean by accept it?
Its hard for me to retain order magic while it is hard for him to retain chaos. The laws and energies we have already accepted as part of our being attempt to reject them on some level. I guess I could explain it like this. When most people try to learn order magic they are basically taming a stream however due to my heavy experimentation and development with chaos I am trying to tame a raging river.
Annette gave a slight giggle. Well I get the metaphor. I was hoping I could speak with you two outside. Would you mind coming here?
Dehvess gave a nod and stood up. Sure.
It took a few moments for the stunned expression to wear off Annettes face. She had expected Dehvess to point out that her talking through the window worked just as well as them coming to her. So it was surprising when it was only a short while later and Jahnah and Dehvess were standing in her hand.
Jahnah didnt look at Annettes face right away. Instead she over looked her body searching for any injuries. You heal quickly that is certain.
Yeah, I actually wanted to talk to you two about my lessons.
What is it?
I believe that my offensive resistance is strong enough. I want to try to work on my defensive resistance now. Would you agree? Annette looked directly at Jahnah.
Jahnah closed her eyes for a moment. I have been using some very powerful spells against you. Indeed the last few weeks you have forced me to quit relying entirely on the stones energy and start using some of my own and the stones to make the spells powerful enough to harm you.
So would you agree?
Whether I agree or not isnt really the question here. The question is do you believe that is good enough? Of course your magic resistance will continue to improve along with the rest of you.
Annette frowned for a moment. Come on youre the mage. Is that a high enough level of resistance?
Is it a high enough level of resistance for what?
A long sigh escaped Annette. Youre not going to give me a strait answer are you?
I have answered you.
Okay you win. I guess there isnt a truly certain answer to that question or at least none that you would give.
Jahnah gave an amused giggle. What did you want to talk about?
I believe that is time I moved on to improving my resistance to magic defenses.
Dehvess gave a slight chuckle. You know we can continue working on your resistance to magic offense while working on defense. All I would need is Jahnah to help out.
Nodding her head Jahnah turned to Dehvess. I would be happy to help you. Is that alright with you Annette or would you like to focus purely on defensive resistance?
Working on both is fine though now I am wondering why we didnt do that from the start.
I thought it would be best if you worked with Jahnah and focused on resisting offensive attacks alone for a while. After all they are your primary concern if I am not mistaken.
That is true. Bending down Annette set Jahnah and Dehvess back on the ground. Well then Ill let you two get back to your studies. I already had my lesson for today.
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Good morning. Dehvess smiled up at Annette as she approached the two of them.
Good morning. Hey you two look smaller then I remember.
Well you have been growing since you got here.
Annette gave a slight shrug. That is true. I guess I finally grew enough to notice the change in perspective.
Ah blast it.
What is it Dehvess?
I should have measured you before the testing actually began. I think I meant to. I would have liked to see if forcing one aspect of your being to improve more quickly then normal would cause the others to improve more quickly or slowly.
Annette gave a slight giggle. I believe this is about normal. You look to be half the size you were when I arrived which means I have nearly doubled in height. Given my usual rate of increase that seems right.
Dehvess gave a nod. It is a good thing we are starting now. If we had waited to long you might have been able to just use raw force.
I dont know about that one. What are you doing anyway?
Jahnah took a moment to answer Annettes question seeing that Dehvess was focused on the task at hand. Well unlike the attack spells I used against you the defensive spells dont need to vary as much at least not until you can force you way through them. These glyphs will keep the spell going as long as it is backed by an essence gem or three.
Annette gave a nod. Well at least it wont be as painful as the offensive resistance training.
Actually, youre mistaken on that point. You see those glyphs inside of the main one? Those are a sort of conditional offensive spell.
What does it do?
Every time you try to free yourself it will hit you with a magic attack.
What do you mean free myself?
Dehvess grinned and stood up. Well defensive spells take on different forms but they behave similarly whether in a bubble shame or formed into bonds around someone. In fact the bonds are the more difficult to deal with since all the energy is concentrated on a single spot around you.
You two just want to practice bondage dont you?
Jahnah gave a giggle and looked at Dehvess. Well he is an order mage. He likes to tie people down. He likes to try and tame chaos.
Dehvess couldnt let Jahnahs comment go unchallenged even while he worked. Oh and you dont like to try and bring out the wild side in things?
Okay you two need to stop right there. I am suddenly very suspicious that youre sharing a chamber.
Dehvess didnt respond and for a moment dared to hope that Jahnah would be quiet but soon learned other wise. You would be amazed how much order magic can help with stamina. He seems naturally inclined to move things at a nice slow pace and draw out the experience.
Annette was silent for a moment but couldnt help but giggle. I guess I should expect a chaos mage to be free spirited.
Dehvess couldnt help but give a slight groan. While I am grateful for the complement Dehvess grew silent for a moment and shook his head. I am not even going to try.
Jahnah gave an amused giggle and gave Dehvess a kiss on the cheek. You and your rules of conduct.
It took a moment but Dehvess finally grinned. Well if you two are quite done tormenting me I believe that we are ready.
Annette started to step back like she had during her offensive training but was stopped by Jahnah. Hold it. We want this to be as strong as possible so you need to stay near the ruins.
Okay. Taking a few steps forward Annette set down so that the ruins were just outside of leg reach.
Are you ready?
Go ahead Dehvess I am ready.
Dehvess and Jahnah both stood up. Taking a few steps back each one of them stood on the center of the glyph they would be activating. Annette was fully expecting them to begin chanting but instead she saw the glyph and stones begin to glow. Okay Annette put your arms and legs together.
Okay. The moment Annettes wrist and ankles touched she felt a slight rush of energy. Now what do I do?
You try to separate them.
Annette gave a nod of her head and attempt to move her legs and arms apart. The moment she did she felt a jolt of electrical energy run through her body and felt as if chains were wrapped around her. I believe the spell worked.
Well then now we can begin the lesson. Annette you feel those bonds holding you. Now the purpose of this isnt to teach you to break them with raw strength it is to teach you to resist the magic all together so that physical ability doesnt apply.
How do I work on that though? All I know is to try my best to pull my legs and arms apart.
That is exactly what you are to try to do but you are not permitted to use jerking motions. Indeed you should only use enough force to cause the penalty spell to hurt you.
Wont I just wear down the bonds energy?
Not with the essence gems maintaining them.
Annette gave a nod and began to try and separate her arms and legs once again. At first she felt nothing however as soon as she had them a short distance apart there was a slight crackle and a surge of electrical energy began to rush over her. Okay now what I do.
You focus on freeing yourself without using additional physical strength. Just remember what it was like whenever you were resisting Jahnahs attacks.
This is going to take a while. She hated it whenever mages gave such answers.
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Annette giggled as she made her way through the snare spell. She had done this before but each time it had been a feat of strength now it was nothing more then her own resistance to the spell making her immune to its effects. How was that?
Dehvess gave a nod. That was good Annette. Youre ability to resist defensive spells and traps are coming along nicely.
Thanks, but I am still having trouble with those glyphs you set up.
At least you dont have to use as much strength break free now since it is no longer as effective against you.
That is true. Why the sudden slow down with the snare spell though?
I wanted to show you that you had indeed improved since you began.
That you have.
Annette glanced down at her leg whenever she felt a hand wresting on it above her ankle but no where near her knee. Jahnah was currently standing amongst the snare spell. The chaos mage wasnt hindered in the least. You little show off.
Come now Annette surely you didnt expect such a low level spell to be able to affect me?
No I didnt. You dont have to rub it in though.
Actually, I didnt do this just to rub it in. Dehvess dont you believe it would help Annette if she had an example to watch?
You mean she should observe one of us?
Well that would work but I was thinking more along the lines of another golem. Of course it wouldnt be exactly the same for her. Jahnah turned her head to the side for a moment. Of course that doesnt mean she couldnt watch us as well.
Annette gave a slight sigh. Here I have the body designed to resist magic and you two can do it better then I can.
That is the benefit of knowledge. Of course with practice you will greatly surpass either of us. Like you said youre the one with the body designed for that purpose.
Well then how about we get back to the lesson. Annette started to take a step however as she went to move forward she felt the spell take effect. She had allowed herself to become relaxed and accidentally let the spell take hold of her.
Jahnah giggled for just a moment as she slammed her right hand into her chest. Once she did the entire world seemed to slow down as she accelerated the time around herself allowing herself to act faster. She was standing next to Dehvess before Annette was even half way to the ground.
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A huge grin was on Annettes face as she slipped the wrist and ankle bands on. Each one of them had a lump within it which she positioned so that it was over her ankles and on the sides of her wrest.
Well you seem happy.
Annette glanced over at Jahnah and gave a quick nod. Believe me I am. Do you know how long it has been since I got to break something?
I would say that it has been a bit over two months.
I would say that youre probably right. I thought when I agreed to take on jobs for the guild at a discount rate that I would get to see a lot of action.
You should have known better then that. Dehvess would never let one of his students leave early. In fact I imagine he views this as more of a brake from your lessons then teaching.
Well I thought once you showed up he would liven up. Doesnt he believe in hands on experience?
Order mages almost always believe in controlled situations for teaching. Of course you have had a lot of hands on experience already.
Yeah so you two are going to be joining me arent you?
Yes but we are only going along to hinder you.
Annette glanced down at the wrist and ankle bands she had just put on. These are meant to create magic barriers right?
Yes but they can do other things which you must resist. We wont tell you win but at any time we may send some energy through the bands and create a snare or barrier spells to trap you. And those arent the nastier things the bands can do.
Just dont get me killed okay.
Dont worry I doubt that would happen even if we made it as difficult for you as possible.
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Be careful with those. Riclamin called down a few of his men who were busying themselves with the crates.
The two bandits didnt each gave a nod and grunted in response. They would have given their leader a more appropriate response but currently they were busy unloading a rather heavy crate.
Riclamin watched for only a moment more before he moved to help the men. Taking hold of one of the corners his additional strength allowed them to easily lift the crate and set it down.
What is in this thing?
Riclamin grinned. Ill show you what is in it. Upon moving to the side of the crate Riclamin went to unlock the container when he found there was a problem. How the hell did you get this thing turned upside down?
What do you mean upside down?
I mean look at the lock.
The bandits took a moment to see what their boss was talking about. After only a moment the group began to wordlessly work on turning the crate back over. Riclamin joined in on the effort though more so to insure that it was done properly this time. I swear if you three werent so sneaky you wouldnt be worth keeping around.
The three bandits gave a slight chuckle. It wasnt the first time Riclamin had said as much to them. And if you didnt pay us so well we wouldnt be willing to help unload the cargo. Our job is to slit throats not to pack boxes around.
A sigh issued forth from the entire group after they managed to get the crate right side up and Riclamin began to look the lock over. Its enchanted. Would someone mind getting me a scroll?
Sure. Ill go get one.
It was only a short while and the bandit returned and handed him the disenchant scroll. Okay, give me a second to remove the protective spell. As he unrolled the scroll Riclamin couldnt help but notice his men backing away from the crate. What the hell are you doing?
Were just making sure that we dont get killed whenever you try and use that spell.
Very funny it was not disenchanting the locks first that caused that accident. Now get your asses back here. Riclamin gave a slight chuckle. If I go up I am not going alone.
Annette more skipped then walked as she made her way down the road. With Jahnah and Dehvess serving as her guides she didnt even have to worry about getting lost. So what was stolen again?
A group of bandits stole some of our golem armor.
Annette grew silent for a moment. I dont remember seeing any of that when I was around but I probably can guess what it does.
Jahnah gave a nod. The name sort of says it all.
Tell me if this is right. It is a suit of armor that grants golem level strength and high resistance to attacks? Given that golem themselves dont tend to wear armor at least not in the normal since it is probably for humans or the like to wear.
Dehvess gave a nod. That is right. Can you guess what its key limiting factor is?
It probably depends on the person wearing it for the armor to function due to a lack of an essence gem.
Riclamin smile as he held up the shoulder pad for his men to see. This is what it was for?
What are we being so careful not to break armor and what makes it so valuable? As the man spoke he picked up the gauntlet to the suit of armor and started to give it a tap with his dagger.
Dont! Do that.
Huh? It isnt like a little poke is going to hurt it.
Yes it will. Right now this stuff is as delicate as a pot.
What? Then what is the purpose? I thought this armor was valuable.
It is but until someone actually puts it on the armor is very delicate. This is a very special suit of armor. It looks a little big for me though. Who wants to try it on?
The group looked at one another for a moment before a particularly large bandit came forward. Ill give it a try.
So how did you lose the armor? Annette had a smug grin on her face when she looked at Dehvess and Jahnah.
Jahnah and I did not lose the armor. A group of bandits managed to get lucky while we were transporting a shipment. That is all.
Annette couldnt help herself and decided to give both Dehvess and Jahnah a hard time. The guild must be slipping if they make such a careless mistake.
Jahnah gave an amused giggle. Just like you did with the snare spell a few weeks back even though it is one of the most basic of trap spells?
Annette smirked. Okay you have me there. We all make mistakes. It still seems odd that you would lose something like that though.
Well the suits we lost werent exactly exceptionally valuable and they have a major weak point in regards to river crossings.
They cant swim can they? And since the human wearing the suit needs air you could easily drown them. What are the suits made of?
The truly valuable ones are made of metals but the ones that were stolen were just clay suits. They are exceptionally easy to damage when someone isnt actually giving the suit energy by wearing it.
So what happened to the client?
We were able to replace the lost shipment and the client got their merchandise. Now we just need to recover the stolen shipment and wait for another buyer.
Arent you worried that it might have been damaged?
Dehvess gave a nod. Yes.
So what are the exact details of my job?
Youre first task is to kill the group responsible for steeling the suits. That is what you are getting paid for. Youll also receive a bonus for every suit you can recover and a smaller bonus for every piece that is undamaged.
Ah and recovering the suits undamaged would normally be near impossible even for the guild.
Youre right about that. We could kill them easily enough but that would damage the suits. The only way we have of recovering them undamaged other then relying on you would be to commit multiple golems. That is if the bandits are using the suits.
How big are the suits?
They are a bit under two meters and a third.
Goody. So I just catch the little pest remove their helmets, pop their heads off and it is done.
Jahnah couldnt help the mischievous grin on her face as she wondered if Annette had already forgotten about the wrist and ankle bands she was wearing.
Boss, are we really going to sell these?
Riclamin grinned as he watched the three of his men that had placed on the golem armor working to unload the nine other additional suits. We may keep a few of them.
These things are incredible. One of the bandits gloated as he easily carried one of the crates over to his fellow gang members. The strength they give is something else.
RICLAMIN, RICLAMIN WE HAVE A PROBLEM!
Riclamin turned to see the lookout quit approaching. What is the matter and what is with all the yelling?
There. There is something headed this way.
What?
Its a giant sir. One larger then any Ive ever scene before.
Riclamin was silent for a moment. I dont see what that has to do with us? I doubt a giant is wondering around for a group of bandits.
Sir the giant has two people on its shoulders. They have symbols on their cloaks the same symbols as on the crates.
I see. I suppose they didnt take kindly to us steeling from them but I didnt expect them to send in a giant. Of course that doesnt mean they will ever find us. Unless someone was foolish enough to run here while not worrying about their tracks. For a moment Riclamins expression changed greatly.
Sir I covered my tracks.
Ah then there isnt really a problem. Still, I suppose would be better to play this safe then sorry. Turning to his men Riclamin began to move throughout their ranks picking out the best fighters. I want you each to suit up.
Why dont we just go and hide for a while? It isnt like they are going to level the entire forest to find us.
The lookouts expression suddenly changed. Something that was noticed by all, When you said it was the largest giant you had ever seen. How big were you talking about?
It was at least fourteen meters.
You also said that she had two people in robes with her. Damn it, the giant must have mages with it. I dont believe that trying to hide in the forest would be a good idea.
Why shouldnt we?
Because this spot is warded against detection spells. That and do you really believe we could move those crates without leaving tracks. Just look at the ground where you have been walking around in the armor.
But if we do confront them then others would know where we are. She is going to leave a trail that is easily to follow.
That is true. Okay you get suited up and everyone else get to packing up. We cant leave until we deal with this giant and the mages. Once that is over with we are going to need to move quickly.
Do you believe we can take a giant?
With those suits it shouldnt be any trouble.
Dehvess glanced over at Jahnah then up at Annettes ear. I believe this is where we should leave you. We can find a nice vantage point well away from the battle and decide when to make use of your handicaps
Jahnah gave a nod. Okay.
Does that mean we are close?
Jahnah indicated the forest. The tracks from their theft had worn away by now or they have covered them up so dont expect to find a physical trail.
Annette gave a nod. I can just hear them out.
Jahnah gave a sigh. I wish we had remembered to bring something to clog your ears. Annette you shouldnt rely on your hearing for this. They have golem armor and theyre probably putting the suits on. You shouldnt have to rely on your hearing to find the suits if they are being worn.
Annette gave a nod and held up her hand for Dehvess and Jahnah to climb onto. Well then I guess I should get going.
Just try to remember what you saw while practicing to resist defensive magic and offensive magic.
As Annette began to move into the forest the first thing her foot came down upon as a small tree. At first she froze in her step and then slowly lowered her foot. She felt the branches press up against the bottom of her foot, the leaves lightly tickling it and then she felt the braking. She felt the weak little branches breaking away first and then her soul touched the more solid trunk. This wouldnt have normally slowed her down but she had to take a moment to enjoy it. That felt good.
Annette didnt normally find simply crushing a small bit of underbrush to be so enjoyable. This wasnt exactly a normal situation for her. She had been enduring Jahnah and Dehvesss lessons for a few months now and it felt good to release some of the frustration that had been building up over that time. It also felt good to be able to use her physical abilities after having to rely on others for so long.
Taking a long slow breath, Annette had to beat down the desire to simply tear apart the entire forest and focus on the task at hand. At first when she scanned the forest she didnt see anything other then the tops of tree however after a moment of focusing she began to notice a faint glow.
The glow Annette saw wasnt that of the energy being released by the golems rather it was something else. After a few moments of focusing a giggle escaped her as she realized it was a spell meant to block attempts to use magic to find the location. Of course even a spell meant to conceal something had to give off some energy.
Well that didnt take long. Annette mused to herself and began to slowly walk towards the energy. She didnt know for certain if the suits of armor were there but she felt confident she would find something. People didnt set up such spells for no reason at all.
Jahnah smiled. Well she already found them but I believe she is a little too relaxed. A brief spark of energy was seen upon Jahnahs finger tips as she sent some energy to the wrist band on Annettes right hand.
Annette was swinging her arms as she went when she felt the energy. Instinctively she resisted canceling out the spells negative effects. A giggle escaped her as she realized what she had done and she looked down at the band for a moment. Jahnah had attempted to have the band cast an acceleration spell on her. While this was normally a good thing the results of it being cast on a single part of the body could be quite painful. Say for instance punching yourself in the stomach when you just meant to swing your arm a bit.
Well that wasnt expected. Dehvess glanced over at Jahnah. I expected she would resist an offensive spell so I didnt cast anything. It was very sneaky of you to use a normally beneficial spell.
Annette grinned as she felt the bottom of her breast pressing against the top of the tree. The leaves and branches scraping against the underside of her breast tickled her slightly. Wrapping her arms behind herself Annette began to swerve to the sides slightly making sure to hit any tree that was chest level with her with her bust.
Well she sure isnt trying to be stealthy. Riclamin glanced over at the dozen men who had suited up in the golem armor. He himself had chosen not to wear one of the suits. His skills were better suited to surprise attacks which the suits wouldnt permit.
It was hard for Annette to keep her focus as she felt the tree branches tickling her. She had to constantly remind herself to try and keep the spell in sight. Just over a year ago she would have actually been looking up at the trees instead of looking down at them. A frown formed on her face when she noticed something. That just wont do.
Walking over to the one tree which was clearly taller then her Annette wrapped her fingers around a bit of the trunk that was just level with her nipples. A moment later she snapped the top of the tree off before she let the tree drop to the ground though she turned in the direction of the glow. Taking aim she gave the tree a slight toss and sent into slamming into the region that the spell enveloped.
Riclamin and everyone in the camp heard the sound of the projectile tearing through the trees. I believe that she is toying with us.
Annette gave her head a quick shake. She couldnt continue wasting time like this or they might decide to run for it. An amused giggle escaped Annette as she realized that would actually be more fun but she needed to get the entire group. The feeling of some wind magic forming on her left wrist got her attention however she realized it wasnt an attack but a communication spell. You know if you would have learned to see people by their life energy as you should be able to. You could have a lot more fun and let them run.
Annette turned towards where she had left Dehvess and Jahnah. Even if she didnt have a communication spell she could easily speak with them. I know you dont have to rub it in. Annettes voice thundered over the whole of the forest. Everyone within it could hear what had been said though no one other then Dehvess and Jahnah new what it was about.
Jahnah grinned and gave Dehvess a nudge. She is fun to watch isnt she?
She isnt very time efficient.
Jahnah shook her head and walked around Dehvess who was currently setting down. Wrapping her arms around his shoulders she leaned against him so that her breast pressed against the back of his head. Come on admit it that on some level even you dont like constant order.
Dehvess grinned and reached up taking hold of Jahnahs wrist. A bit of energy was seen moving from his hand and into her. Of course I dont. How else could I stand being around you?
That is a good point. Jahnah grinned and began to send chaos into Dehvess. Maybe thisll help you enjoy the show more.
As Annette moved closer to the energy she began to try and see through the energy which blocked locator spells. This was proving to be a futile effort as the only thing that happened was the energy became clearer. For a brief moment Annette stopped as a realization hit her. The spell was meant to block locater spells. Of course she couldnt see the energy the golem armor would be giving off.
Curiosity soon took hold of her and Annette hurried to see if she could actually see if something was hiding behind the barrier.
Up until then Riclamin hadnt actually scene the giant and had only been relying on what his men told him. It was only whenever Annette pushed her way through the spell that he saw that it wasnt a male as expected but was a rather busty female. He grew concerned when he noticed that the two mages his men had mentioned werent with her and he was down right perplexed when the giantess clapped her hands.
Annette couldnt help but feel excited whenever the first thing her eyes locked on where the suits of golem armor. Now that she was beyond the barrier she could see them perfectly.
Riclamin took in a swallow of air as he watched the giantesss eyes dart about his camp. He had his men station themselves so to give them something of an element of surprise when she attack however with every stop her eyes made it became very clear. She knew exactly where they were.
Found you. Annette called out in a singsong voice clearly she was enjoyed herself.
One of Riclamins men wearing the golem armor stepped out to confront the giantess. Yes you have. What brings you here?
OH as if you hadnt already guessed. I was sent here to kill those who stole the suits of golem armor one of which you are wearing. Then retrieve the suits with as little damage as possible.
I dont suppose we could talk about this.
Of course not, now come here and Ill pop your head off nice and quick so you dont have to suffer. Annette proceeded further into the camp and started to reach down to retrieve the little man though she expected him to dodge when she felt something take hold of her right leg.
Dehvess chuckled as he used the anklet to cast hand of the earth. A massive stone formation had reached up and literally taken hold of Annettes leg.
Annette realized that she had slipped up and allowed the spell to take hold of her. It was already too late to prevent her from falling as she had been in mid step when he had chosen to cast the spell. However, falling to the ground took her a fair bit longer then it took a normal person to reach the ground due to the greater distance she had to travel. It was easy for her to use her arms to catch herself.
Riclamin could hardly believe what was happening when he saw the giantess falling. He was even more surprised when he looked towards her leg and saw what had taken hold of it. As he remembered the two mages he had no idea what was going on but he wasnt about to let an opportunity pass him by. ATTACK NOW.
The man that had come out to speak with Annette didnt miss a beat as he charged the giantess. The strength increase the armor gave was so great that instead of the armors weight slowing him down it allowed him to move even more quickly.
Annette felt her hand sink into the ground as all her weight settled upon it. Hearing the order to charge she could hear multiple attackers coming in her direction. Reaching up with the hand that wasnt supporting her she easily caught the first to come close enough. She then proceeded to send him flying into two of his allies.
If it hadnt been for the armor the force of the impact would have killed all three of the men. As it was the only thing that happened was they felt a slight drain on their energies and were sent flying backwards.
Annette quickly broke the stone around her leg by shifting her leg a bit. Instead of climbing back to her feet though she pulled her legs under herself so that she was crouched.
The speed at which the giantess had recovered surprised her attackers and for a moment they halted their assault except the three that she had knocked back. Having endured Annettes first attack the three men now felt confident in the armor and moved quickly to regain the offensive.
It was hard for Annette to decide how she wanted to handle her attackers. She could have just crushed them in her hands but that would destroy the armor. Then again she had noticed the slight pulse of energy generated whenever she had thrown the man at the other two. If she could drain their energy then the armor would cease to be an advantage and just be dead weight.
As he neared the giantess the man was confident in his armors abilities. Having seen his three friends had already recovered from being thrown quite a distance he felt certain the suit could protect him from any harm. Seeing that the giantess was now reaching for him he drew back his lance and attempted to impale her finger.
At least their weapons werent actually part of the armor. Annette easily caught the lance between two of her fingers and promptly snapped it in half leaving him holding a much shorter and duller weapon. Leaning forward a bit she gave the bandit a quick flick with her finger.
When he felt the giantesses finger flick him he felt certain that had if not for the armor he wouldnt have just been killed but would have been little more then a spray of blood.
An amused giggle escaped Annette. It was like she was being attacked by hard shelled bugs. They had no real chance of harming her but she could use a little bit of her strength and nock them around. The only problem was that as soon as they realized they couldnt win the fight they would most likely begin to try and run away.
As one of the people charged Annette extended her finger as if to flick him. Instead of doing so she allowed the bandit to swing his weapon at her and blocked the attack with her fingernail. Still smiling she proceeded to ignore her other attackers while she amused herself by making use of her fingernail as a shield.
It didnt take long for everyone wearing the suits to surround Annette and begin attacking her. At first they felt confident that at last they would take her down but after multiple attacks failed to scratch her or even draw her attention their hope was quickly fading.
You know that is some very tough armor you have right there. Annette gave a slight giggle. But I believe I just thought of a way to deal with you. Annette moved quickly and scooped up four of her attackers two in each of her hand. Glancing over her shoulder she dropped the men just under her rear and switched from a squatting position to a setting one.
The men were disoriented by the sudden motion of being lifted so quickly however even they knew they were in trouble when they looked up to see the giantesss rear looming over then. A moment later it began to lower itself. Several of them tried to rise but with everyone trying to get up at once none of them could.
Annette felt the mens weapons and hands pressing against her bottom as she lowered herself onto them. This only served to tickle her and once she certain they couldnt get up she began to lower herself more slowly so as to enjoy the experience. You see that armor may protect you from many forms of magic, increase your strength and give you great defense but it doesnt provide you with any air.
Despite the mass of woman above them those trapped under Annette could hear what she said and began to struggle even more frantically to escape. Being crushed under her wasnt exactly appealing but being smothered was even less so. The armor wouldnt actually allow her weight to kill them.
A delighted giggle escaped Annette as she felt her bottom finally touch down on the ground. Her legs now spread out in front of her forming a massive v. Oh yes I can feel them struggling. It feels rather nice.
The bandits previous hope of over coming the giantess had quickly fled from them and now they only sought to escape as the truth of the situation set in. Annette had anticipated this react though and had intentionally allowed them to surround her.
Riclamin watched as the giantess quickly turned grabbing two or three of his men in each hand before depositing them between her legs. With four of his men currently trapped under her it was only two handfuls for each hand and she was finished.
Youre not going to abandon your friends are you? Annette giggled as she looked down at the group of people between her legs. Still grinning she began to move her right hand over the group.
He knew that the strength increase the armor gave him would allow him to jump over the giantesss leg if he could just make it to her knee. Waiting until the hand had move over him the bandit quickly jumped to his feet and began to run towards his destination.
Annette moved to give the fleeing man a quick tap with her finger whenever she felt a magic impulse. She was still quite weary from the rather embarrassing fall she had when she arrived at the camp so she resisted it with ease. Once she was certain the spell wouldnt be affecting her she gave the fleeing figure a quick tap with her fingernail slamming him to the ground.
Ill tell you what. Take off the armor and I will kill you quickly. I believe that is a fair trade considering how painful it would have been for me had your weapons be able to affect me.
Annette continued to play with the trapped men while for the most part ignoring those that hadnt put on the armor. She needed to deal with them as well but for the moment she was having fun. Every time one of the men would pop up and try to escape she would give him a quick tap with her fingernail and nock him back to the ground.
Youre friends are struggling quite nicely. Mm I like how their little fist and swords tickle me.
Jahnah let out a sigh. Smothering? What a boring way to kill someone it is just so methodical and steady.
I wonder if she is going to remember to compensate for air that might have been trapped under her when she set down.
Jahnah pouted for a moment and gave Dehvess a slight push. I am bored now.
Dont concentrate on the smothering and focus on the game of whack the bandit.
Annette knew that it was Jahnah currently activating the wrist bands. The spells effects alternate widely between hindering and helpful to spells that seemed to serve no other purpose but to distract her. It was actually complicating the process of tapping the bandits down. If she used too much force she would end up destroying the armor and if she used to little she wouldnt nock them down.
Well I believe that your friends had long enough. Rising up a bit Annette used one hand to remove the bandits she had been setting on while the other was kept busy preventing the others escape. She then placed the four smothered figures along the right side of her leg. Okay that is four down eight to go.
Riclamin made his way swiftly through the forest. After seeing the giantess deal so easily with his men he had resolved it would be best to leave. He didnt like that he had to leave his men behind but it would have just been a waste of life to try and fight her. If those wearing the armor hadnt been able to hurt the giantess then there was no way that he or any of his other men could.
Annette easily slipped four more of the struggling forms under her bottom and promptly set down upon them. Well now that is four down and soon itll be eight. That leaves four of you. Are you sure you wouldnt prefer to just remove the armor and have a less painful end?
The giantesss finger moved over the bandit for a moment. She had knocked him to the ground several times now but when he made no move to run she didnt act. Reaching up the bandit removed the helmet and glared up at the giantess. You want this armor? Shit was the dominant thought in Annettes mind the moment the bandit spoke. Quickly falling to one knee the bandit slammed the helmet into his knee the same moment he brought his elbow down upon it.
BITCH! Drawing his sword the bandit didnt stop with his helmet but proceeded to slam the weapon into his own body. Several times he cut himself with his own blade but that didnt slow him down.
Annette started to slam her finger into the humans skull. To shatter it into a thousand bits before she could though she realized this would only give what she had promised a quick death. Instead she chose to try and grab him so that she could make his end fitting such behavior but before she could take hold of him the bandit rammed his own blade into his chest the only bits of his armor that hadnt been damaged being one legging, a shoulder pad and the gauntlet on the hand that held the sword.
Jahnah couldnt help herself. The moment the bandit had began to tear his armor to bits she had burst into hysterical laughter. She always loved it whenever the unexpected arose to challenge order and even though she considered Annette to be a guild member and a friend she was delighted by the bandits response. Oh I liked him.
Annette looked at the body of the bandit for a moment. There wasnt really anything she could do to him at this point. A sigh escaped Annette as she picked up the corpse and deposited it near the bodies of his smothered comrades. She didnt quite feel like setting him amongst the others.
The other bandits let out a slight cry having feared their comrades actions had guaranteed them a painful death whenever Annette reached for them. Instead of picking any of the three remaining men up though she quickly stripped them of their weapons. Just incase you get the bright idea to try and follow your friends example.
After being stripped of their weapons the three glanced at one another. Even with eight of them trying to run away all at once the giantess had been able to keep them all trapped. Now they were down to three. Taking a few steps forward one of the bandits removed his helmet and allowed hit to drop to the ground unharmed. He didnt even see it coming.
The moment the bandit had removed his helmet Annette used her index finger to quickly remove his head. The act was done so quickly that the other bandits took a moment to respond to what happened. Well I did promise a quick death to anyone that surrendered without damaging the armor.
A sigh escaped from the two men and just a moment later they each removed their helmet and set them upon the ground. As with the first bandit Annette gave each of their heads a quick flick. The force behind the action was so great that it didnt just remove the head but destroyed it entirely.
Annette took a moment to look around her before calling out. Well I see that everyone tried to run off and leave me. Dont worry Ill be tracking you down just as soon as I am done with your friends. I believe they have just about suffocated.
Riclamin kept his speed constant despite the giantesss announcement that she would be coming for the others soon. He and those of his men that hadnt been wearing golem armor had all ran off in separate directions and he hoped that all of them knew to stay far away from one another.
The bandits had quit tickling Annettes bottom for five minutes now. Rising up she glanced down at the bodies and proceeded to gather them up. It only took Annette a moment to confirm that they were indeed dead and she set their corpses with the rest of those that had either smothered or removed their armor. At last she stood up entirely and began to search around the area.
Anyone who was currently fleeing the sight of the slaughter had to only look over their shoulder to see that the giantess had finished off those wearing the golem armor. A few cursed quietly under their breath. Surely she hadnt smothered all twelve of them in that time period? Some of them must have decided they would die quickly and not give their fellows more time to flee.
Every human ear in the forest listened careful as they began to wonder in which direction the giantess would go first. Those people moving in whatever direction the giantess chose would either need to hide or give up stealth entirely and go for speed.
Annette took her time evaluating where she believed most of the people would have gone and trying to sense their locations. She knew that golems especially the better made ones tended to be able to detect life force and she was one of the best. The only problem was that as she had a soul she had never taken the time to truly refine the ability.
Dehvess glanced over at Jahnah to find that her eyes had changed to a solid glowing green. How many of them can you see?
I can see all of them of course.
What direction are the majority going in?
The majority are going northeast as they move they are fanning out further and further from one another.
Jahnah give me your hand. I am going to need your help performing a spell.
Shrugging a bit Jahnah didnt bother questioning what Dehvess had in mind but simply offered her hand and opened herself up. What should I do?
I want you to begin casting a spell to alter the weather. I want to generate a thunder storm.
Annette was fairly impressed by how little the forest around her had been disturbed. Her attention was taken away from this though when she looked up into the sky and saw the gathering energy. It took Annette a moment to realize what was going on as she saw the gathering the chaos she also caught site of the order that had been mixed into it. Blast it theyre going to make it even more difficult to track them.
Spinning around Annette tried to focus on what she had felt while examining various magic items. While human life force and magic energies were different the techniques for locating them were somewhat similar. Of course now she had another problem with the storm forming above her. The magic required to generate a truly powerful storm tended to through off her senses even more so.
At last Annette strode off in a northern direction. She wasnt certain it was the right direction to catch as many of the bandits as she could but it was the direction her senses seemed to be telling her to go.
None of the bandits broke their stride when they heard the crack of thunder and heard the rain beginning to fall. Several of them did however alter the way which they had been moving. Up until now the ground had been fairly solid but with the rain coming down some began to run entirely on the dirty and trusted the rain to wash them away others began to leap along the stones, trees roots and other solid objects.
As Annette made her way through the woods she couldnt truly see those that were running from her as she had seen the golems. There was however something telling her to go in that direction. It seemed to be a sort of sent and she tried to focus on this and not rely on the physical tracks.
It was a bit of a relief when the sound of shrubs being crushed and trees being pushed over stopped. Annette remembered the ticklish struggling of the bandits she had set on. She had actually enjoyed the experience and a delighted grin crossed her face as she realized that she had indeed smothered four at a time. Glancing down at her feet Annette bent down and removed her shoes. She then turned and gave them a slight toss. The shoes landed slightly past the bandit camp to insure she didnt destroy the suits of armor.
Giggling to herself Annette once again began to follow the scent or feeling she had but she moved at a far greater pace. She didnt have to rely on it to tell her exactly where the people where after all. Even with the storm covering up their tracks once she drew close enough she could be able to hear them.
Jahnah withdrew her hand from Dehvesss as they finally got the storm going so that they didnt have to sustain it. I like thunder storms.
Dehvess turned his head towards Jahnah and watched as the chaos mage began to sway lightly. The chaotic nature of the storm was influencing her despite the order magic he had used to insure it would remain in that region and not be taken away by a gust of the wind.
Annette was a bit surprised by how far the bandits had traveled in such a short period of time. Considering how much she hunted her own employees for practice she felt she had a good idea how far a humans legs could carry them through the forest. When she did get home she was going to have to encourage them to start practicing in the forest more often in order to give her a decent chase.
The bandit knew the giantess was heading in his direction as her foot steps got louder. At first he hadnt been certain what the sound was as the sound of her exposed feet on the ground was far different from the sound generated by her boots. Once they drew close enough though he knew exactly what they were.
Annette perked up a bit when she heard the sound of a human breathing and moving through the forest. Swerving to the side she began to pay less attention to what she was feeling and focused more on what she was hearing in order to catch up.
At last the giantesss foot came slamming down just behind the bandit. The force of the impact was so great that it actually knocked him into the air. The bandit quickly tried to regain his footing however it took him some time to actually get a firm grip on the ground. As he was beginning to push himself up he felt the giantesss foot come to wrest upon his back.
I got you.
The bandit responded to Annettes taunt by quickly falling to the ground and attempting to use the slippery mud to his advantage and slide out from under her foot. This proved futile though as the moment he fell down on his stomach the giantesss foot lowered with him.
No you dont. You need to become a smear. Annette giggled and considered taunting the little bandit more but realized she had others that needed to be found.
The bandit knew that his weapon wouldnt be able to harm the giantess but he had to try something. As he found himself trapped under her foot he reached for his side in order to get his dagger but before he could even reach his waste Annettes foot came down entirely and crushed him. The entire action took less then a tenth of the second to complete.
Sorry to leave so soon tiny but I cant spend much time with you.
Annette needed to track down as many of the bandits as she possibly could. After all the armor retrieval was only the bonus. Her actual job was to track down and destroy the bandit group and while killing off thirteen of them would harm the organization she felt it was far from destroyed.
Annette took in a deep breath of air as if trying to get the bandits scents. She once again began to focus and look around her surroundings. Her attempt to feel out the first bandit seemed to work but she couldnt be certain if it was just luck or not. The second attempt would give her a better idea of how good she was with the skill. Once she felt confident that she was pointed in the right direction Annette began to move quickly towards it.
Riclamin didnt know how the giantess was locating his men however each time he heard her stop for a few moments he knew that she had managed to capture another one of them. At the moment he was currently heading towards the east and towards a river. After everyone that could escape had done so the group would try to join up again a week later.
Having to kill off each bandit quickly didnt take all the fun out of Annettes game but it most assuredly took a fair amount of it out. Annette liked to flaunt her power and take her time to enjoy the experience. She just didnt have time for this though as each time she tried to feel out the bandits locations the task became more and more difficult due to the bandits becoming more and more spread out and thus the life force less concentrated and harder to notice.
Annette found herself having to deal with quite a dilemma. If she simply went around stomping the bandits whenever she caught up with them then she wouldnt have nearly as much fun but every moment she wasted taunting one gave the others more time to escape.
A resounding smack could be heard throughout the forest as Annettes massive hand came up and she gave herself a quick smack to the forehead. Oh I am just incompetent. Here I am stomping you flat in an instant and not having nearly as much fun as I could. How could I forget that I have hands large enough to hold two or three of you at once? Well no more of this quick death business at least not for the next three or four I catch.
Annette didnt bother saying it as she continued to track the bandits but she also remembered there was a second way to flaunt her power that didnt involve much physical action at all. She could always taunt them by speaking. You know you brought this on yourself. You stole a dozen suits of golem armor after all. Then again I suppose you didnt expect to be tracked down.
Of course I have to give you credit for even making off with the armor. That was a fairly impressive act or should I say feat? Oh and on the subject of feet mine are slowly being coated red. I would have thought all this rain would do a better job of washing it off but I suppose not.
The bandit knew that the giantess had found him but he couldnt stop running. There was no way that he would just surrender especially with her previous declaration. He did have a small glimmer of hope as he realized how much tougher it was to catch a living target then just stab it or in her case step on it. This hope was short lived though when the giantesss hand reached out for him and actually tore through a tree that was in its way.
It was easy for Annette to capture the little bandit. She didnt have time to gloat though but proceeded to quickly remove any weapons she saw on his person as well as any clothing that she felt may contain a weapon.
The bandit screamed out when the giantesss fingers wrapped around him. Then while she was still walking she began to take away every weapon he had on himself. The experience of being disarmed and partly unclothed was made even more humiliating by the fact that she didnt even have to stop or break stride in order to do it.
As Annette removed the bandits belt she took note of the various daggers contained with it. Hey thanks for the idea.
The bandit had no idea what the giantess was talking about when she reached back and use two of the fingers of the hand holding him as well as her free hand to brake off two strands of her hair.
Annette easily held the bandits hands together and used the strand of hair to bind his wrist together. She then proceeded to run the strand through her waste band and leave him suspended by his arms. There we go. I just wish I had brought some rope with me but I guess two standards are enough to hold enough of you little. Mm I cant think of what to call you. Are you just going to be toys or are you going to be treats?
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A huge grin adorned Annettes face as she stripped the golem armor from the bodies of the bandits. She then proceeded to place each suit of armor into a small carrying case that she had brought with them. I think retrieving eleven out of twelve suits of armor is pretty good. What do you think?
Dehvess looked up at Annette. Yes you did a very good job of recovering the armor.
You believe I did a good job of recovering the armor but what about the job as a whole?
I believe you did well enough to warrant getting the full reward even though forty percent of the bandits were able to escape.
Ah did you here that? Annette glanced down at her waste were currently eight of the bandits were tied up. Forty percent of your friends were able to escape with their lives.
So what are you going to do with them?
I am not certain what Ill do with my catch just yet. Ill decide when we stop so that you and Jahnah can wrest for the night.
Annette finally shut the case back up and slipped it into her carrying bag. She then lowered her hand and allowed Jahnah and Dehvess to climb on. After being lifted onto Annettes shoulder Jahnah took hold of some of Annettes hair and proceeded to lean out over the back of her shoulder. For a while Jahnah just looked down at the bandits then finally came back and moved to set down next to Dehvess.
Annette couldnt help but wonder. What were you thinking about Jahnah?
Jahnah leaned over a bit and gave a slight pout. The calm came too soon.
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The calm came too soon? What do you suppose Jahnah meant. Annette dipped what would have amounted to a hand towel in a barrel of wine before reaching into the group of stripped bandits. The tiny figure struggled but couldnt actually escape from her as she had bound their hands and feet.
Annette giggled as she looked at the tiny figure. She then pressed the heavy woolen blanket she was using as a rag to his front and began to clean away the dirt and crime. My goodness youre a filthy bunch you know that? Not that it bothers me. I just like to actually prepare whenever I can take my time doing so.
The bandits still struggled but they had quit begging for mercy quite some time ago. In fact they had quit begging before the hunt was even finished. Hey I just thought of something. Maybe she was talking about you. I mean you had pretty much given in whenever she saw you tied to my waste. Annette flipped the bandit over and dipped the blanket back into the barrel before she started wiping down his back.
Do you suppose that was what it was? Maybe she wanted you to try and plead for mercy so that she could listen to you. You know I bet that was it. While you were still struggling an element of chaos existed but when you gave in and your wills die and you become perfectly orderly.
Annette set the human down amongst his friends and picked up the seventh one. All well. It is kind of a shame that she and Dehvess went to bed I bet she would like what is going to happen soon. Youre a lean bunch you know that? I suppose living in the forest and relying on your stealth and ability to outrun pursuers you have to be.
Will you just quit tormenting us?
A giggle escaped Annette as finally one of the bandits spoke up. How am I torturing you? I am just cleaning you off right now.
Quit mocking me and just kill me if that is what youre going to do.
Annette proceeded to stick her tongue out at the tiny figure. Ill have as much fun with you as I want.
We slit the throats of your fellow guild members quickly.
Guild recruits would be a better way of putting it actually. Had there been two or maybe even one true guild member there you wouldnt have gotten away alive. There you go. Annette set the seventh bandit down and picked up the eighth. The tenderness she had used while cleaning him off and placing him back on the ground was in great contrast to the way in which she had grabbed them. In truth her tender care at the moment only made them more certain she had devised a truly cruel way of dealing with them.
What is the matter? I thought you had more to say.
This is an awfully expensive way to clean us off.
Instead of responding to the bandits comment Annette chose a different path to answering his question. Did you know that I am still growing? I was hardly even five and a half meters tall a year and a few months ago. Now I am over sixteen meters tall. Its is quite a rush to still be growing and one of my favorite activities is to try new things at different sizes.
Such as stepping on a person while they are still standing up or today I found out I was large enough to smother four of you at once under my bottom. Well actually that was yesterday. Now I want to try something different with you. Ah there you are all nice and marinated I mean clean.
Annette giggled when she looked at the bandits faces. You monster.
A delight giggle escaped Annette. Reaching behind herself she undid the clasp that held her clothing in place and allowed it fall over her shoulder revealed her breast and stomach. Come now surely you see this is better then me just killing you. This way your deaths will actually serve a purpose. Now who wants to be the first to journey into my stomach?
Annette let her tongue slip out from her mouth just enough so that the bandits could see the very tip of it. She then proceeded to move the tongue along her lips ever so slightly. Is anyone going to volunteer? You know the offer I made to those wearing the golem armor still stands to some extent.
The bandit that had been speaking with Annette up until this point glanced over at his struggling comrades. Ill go first.
Reaching down Annette lifted the bandit into the air and held him level with her lips. Did you know this is the first time that I actually decided to try and eat a person? Up until this point I just wasnt large enough for it to seem like much fun.
Each time Annette spoke her breath would wash over the bandit in hot waves. Each time her lips would part he could see the moon light glistening off her teeth and he cursed the night for being so bright.
Annette giggled again and let her tongue slip out of her mouth. The hot muscle pressed up against the bandits chin and moved over his face. As Annette drew her tongue back into her mouth she brought the bandit forward so that his head was just between her teeth.
The bandit was able to control his fear as he looked up at those massive teeth each one was the size of a small tombstone. Slowly they came down until the top row pressed against his face while the bottom pressed against the back of his head. He felt the tip of Annettes tongue rubbing against the top of his head coating his hair in her saliva.
There wasnt any resistance to speak of whenever Annette bit down on the bandits head. There was just a moment and a burst then she tasted the bandits blood running over the tip of her tongue. For a moment Annette was entirely quiet as if evaluating what she had just done. Her mouth widened a few moments later and she stuck the upper portion of the bandits body into her mouth.
Annette felt her teeth slice through the bodys muscles, she felt her teeth encounter his bone and crush through them and she felt his insides running out into her mouth. Each major organ, bone and muscle group had its only unique texture and flavor to it.
The bandits watched in horror as the giantess took her time chewing their comrade. A cold shudder ran through every last one of them as they watched her massive body shuddered.
After she finished chewing the upper part of the body Annette carefully swallowed. The force the action generated within her massive mouth was actually enough to pull not only the pulverized flesh entirely down her throat but all the blood as well. Looking down at the seven and a half remaining bandits Annette couldnt help herself. YUMMY. With that Annette opened her mouth once again and shoved the bandits legs entirely into it.
Annette could feel the bandit trembling as she reached down for him. Dont worry youre going to at least get to rest together after all. This time Annette took the time to remove the bandits bonds before lifting him to her mouth. Opening her massive jaws up her tongue once again started out and pressed against the bandits upper body.
If the bandit hadnt been so frightened he might have enjoyed the massive muscle of Annettes tongue slowly licking over his body. The muscle was actually quite soft especially in comparison to the rest of her body as things were he found himself frantically beating his fist against the red muscle as if it would someone save his life.
Reaching up he attempted to press his hands against the giantesss tongue to try and force it away however the muscles constant movement, great strength and the saliva coating it and his hands made it impossible for him to force away.
The bandit tasted somewhat different then the last one. There was something extra to him. Annette assumed it had to do with the different levels of fear each bandit must have been experiencing and their sweat. Whether it was psychological or physical Annette quickly decided that fear made them taste better. Puckering her lips Annette slowly sucked on the tip of the bandits head further coating it with her warm saliva.
Logically he knew it was futile even those that wore the golem armor had no chance of denying the giantesss strength but he wasnt thinking logically at the time. The bandit found her lips easier to push his hands against but they had no more effect on the gate to her mouth then they had on the serpent that rested within.
Opening her mouth up Annette began to slowly ease the bandit inside. She felt his little hands trying to hold onto her lips for a moment and then she felt his fist beating against the roof of her mouth. It only took a moment for Annette to decide that it was more fun having her food still alive whenever she placed them in her mouth instead of just biting off their heads.
The bandit pressed his hands against the roof of Annettes mouth whenever he felt her jaw begin to lower. Despite his best efforts though her massive jaws closed at a steady pace until the light was shut out and he felt her teeth resting on his waste. A moment later blinding pain filled his entire body.
Annette easily sunk her teeth through the bandit once again taking note of the various textures she felt while doing so. She didnt begin to chew after the first bite but rather waited for the bandits struggles and screams to die down. She took her time to enjoy the feeling of his blood pouring out of his body and coating her tongue. After finishing the bandit off Annette glanced down at the six remaining and once again reached for one.
Four more had gone down the giantesss throat since the last one she had actually bit in half. As horrific as that death might have seemed the two after that had been even worse. The giantess had actually taken to bighting of arms and legs before she would even start on the more vital parts of the body. She would bite the leg off and then press her lips to the open wound and wait for the blood to stop flowing into her mouth before taking off another. The most recent one she had actually tried to swallow alive.
Blast it I crushed him. Annette let out a sigh and looked down at her last snack. I guess my throat is to narrow to swallow one of you whole. All well I wonder if I can do it if I trim you down a bit.
The little bandit had by now either realized that screaming was useless or had screamed until he had lost his voice. Lifting him up to her mouth Annette gave his arm a gentle lick. Opening her lips slightly she began to suck on the limb.
The bandit desperately struggled to keep his arm from being pulled into the giantesss mouth but found it to be utterly useless. She wasnt even using her muscles but was simply relying on the force generated by the suction to pull his arm in.
Annette had to keep herself from giggling otherwise she would lose the progress that she had made. Once the bandits arm had been pulled strait by her gentle sucking she closed her lips around his arm and a good deal of his upper body so that he couldnt withdraw it
Despite the soft texture, a hold that didnt even have enough pressure to cause pain and moistness of the giantesss lips they had an exceptionally secure grip. He felt the giantesss massive tongue flicking his arm around while her teeth came to rest just below his shoulder.
Annette easily sank her teeth through the mans arm. For a moment she just held him there letting the blood flow from the injury. However, she knew that she couldnt take to long. As she relaxed the pressure from her lips she reached into her mouth and took hold of the stub that had once been an arm and pinched down to limit the loss of blood.
The bandit was in too much pain to appreciate, hate or even notice how quickly Annette removed his other arm and legs. He hardly even noticed whenever she tossed him into her mouth.
Biting off the persons head first had been the least enjoyable way of killing her victim but as Annette felt the armless and legless core laying in her mouth she resolved that this was a close second. Even if it did make them small enough for her to swallow alive it just wasnt as enjoyable as feeling their struggling arms and legs. With that in mind she rolled the tiny figure over onto her teeth and bit him in half.
I dont believe he would have been small enough anyway.
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Is she still asleep? Dehvess glanced over at Jahnah who had been looking out the window for the past hour now.
She is still in her room.
Nodding his head Dehvess could contain his curiosity no longer. What are you looking at that would hold your attention so completely?
Jahnah didnt answer but proceeded to point out the window forcing Dehvess to walk over to her. At first he couldnt tell what could possibly hold a chaos mages attention for so very long until he noted the wild life.
I would get you some birds for your room but I know you would just set them free or cook them.
Jahnah gave a slight shrug and cast a wind spell on herself. When she began to whistle the sound was a perfect copy of a songbirds whistle. The animals looked up at her for a moment but none of them dared to come to her despite the sweet tune. It isnt fair.
What isnt fair?
The animals dont like me.
Well they dont tend to like fire. Would you like to go and check on Annette? Dehvess was a bit surprised when he saw a sudden release of mystic energy come from Jahnahs hand.
The shadow hand easily took hold of the bird. The tiny creature struggling in protest as it was taken into the air and to Jahnah who quickly closed her own hand around the tiny animal. Do you not like me birdies? Using her free hand Jahnah began to pet the little animal which was franticly looking around those it couldnt do anything else.
Dehvess watched as Jahnah held the bird. The moment the animal looked into her eyes he saw a slight tinkle in Jahnahs and the bird calmed down.
See. The birdy likes me. It just needed to see that the fire could be warm as well.
You mesmerized the animal.
Jahnah turned and stuck her tongue out at Dehvess before hopping up onto the window seal. Giving her legs a quick tap and using a slight spell she jumped out of the fourth story window and landed on the ground. Well come on lets go and check on Annette. Jahnah grinned as she returned her attention to the bird. I wonder. A moment later a bird under the effect of a rather potent strengthening spell left her hand.
Annette felt kind of strange when she heard the impact on the massive outer doors to her room. It actually took her a moment to remember just where she was. Come in. A yawn had half left Annette whenever she froze. The first thing she saw when the door opened was a tiny bird pecking them to the side.
Jahnah gave the bird a quick pat on the head. Okay you go and enjoy yourself while that spell last.
Was that a blue bird that was pecking those doors open?
Jahnah gave giggle and a quick nod. Yes it was.
Annettes mouth opened to say one thing but she quickly changed her mind. That is good I thought something might be wrong with me.
Dehvess entered the room behind Jahnah a moment later. What would make you think something could be happening to you?
Annette gave a slight shrug. Well nothing major. I just wondered if there might have been something up with the bandits I ate the previous night.
Jahnah gave a slight giggle. You seemed to sleep very well last night.
Yeah which is funny I dont normally sleep very much. Annette once again looked out the door. Okay that is weird. I never sleep this late either did one of you cast a light spell?
Jahnah shook her head. No.
Annette scratched her head and set up in her bed when she did though she couldnt help but notice something very unusual. The bed Dehvess had made for her had actually had a little spare room to compensate for the amount she would grow while she was with them. However, her feet were now hanging over the end.
Is something the matter? Jahnah giggled having by now realized what was happening the moment Annette told her what she had done.
Instead of responding Annette laid back down. It only took her a moment to insure that the top of her head was indeed at the very top of the bed. Despite this her feet still stuck out over the edge of the bed. Setting up Annette turned and placed her feet on the ground then looked up at the roof.
At last Annette stood up the whole time continuing to look up towards the roof. Whenever she finally finished she was certain that the roof was closer to her now then it had been the previous night. This wasnt unusual to her as she knew she was still growing what was unusual was how much closer the roof was. I believe the rate at which I am growing speed up a lot last night.
Dehvess gave a nod. It did.
Why?
I imagine it had something to do with your bandit meal.
How is that possible? Eating has never made me grow faster before. Annette turned her attention towards Dehvess and Jahnah. Walking over to them she counted the number of steps it took her to make her way to the door and realized that it seem to have took two less steps then it did upon her arrival. Slowly she set down in front of them crossing her legs after doing so.
How many animals do you know of that have the ability or even the potential to use magic?
Annette wasnt certain where Dehvess was going with this but resolved to follow along. Not many and those that can I dont believe you could really call them animals.
Have you ever tried to eat one of those animals?
I cant say that I ever had the chance. I wanted to try dragon once but those scales would have been tough. Wait, are you saying that eating the bandits had some effect upon me?
It is possible.
Annette glanced up at the roof once again then back down at Dehvess and Jahnah. Would you mind explaining this theory of your in more detail?
Jahnah took a few forward. Just consider what was powering the golem armor. It was the energy of the people wearing the armor. Now consider what your body is and how it was originally made.
As Annette considered this a grin that threatened to split her face in half began to form. Would you mind giving me some details about how it works?
Well I believe at this time that your body processed the limited mystical energy contained within the bandits flesh whenever you ate them. Since the energy in their flesh is quite similar to compounds used in growing a golem. Actually, one of the quickest ways to make those compounds is to start with a human being and tear them down if you dont have a structured process of making the compounds.
So you think this is a permanent increase?
Yes. It seems unlikely that you would lose the energies. Of course dont assume that eating the same number of people is going to have the same effect upon you. It could have far more of an effect depending on how much energy is contained within their flesh and how fresh it is. I doubt that you would get anything from a corpse after a few hours had passed by.
Actually I imagine the fresher the kill the better. I wonder when the energy actually begins to be extracted. I expect that it actually begins to occur within your stomach after all your body was based on the human form so you have any of the same features.
Mm yeah I would have to assume that the energy extraction actually begins inside of your stomach. I bet the fact that they were already dead whenever you swallowed them would have also caused you to lose some energy or more then likely a good deal of energy. Your body didnt have as much time to extract the energy from the flesh as it would have.
Of course I doubt the same amount of energy is going to cause the same amount of size increase. The energy is added into you after all it doesnt magnify how big you get you would probably have to eat at least twenty people with the same amount of energies to get as large of a percent increase as you did this time.
Annette couldnt help but giggle as she listened to Jahnah. She was grateful that Jahnah and decided to explain it to her rather then Dehvess. So is this just a theory of yours?
Jahnah gave a nod. I believe it is a very likely theory though it could have been due to your intensive use of your other senses during your hunt. I imagine that helped you to work a few aspects of your being that hadnt ever really got any attention. That could also explain for your sudden increase in size.
Though I have to believe that more then likely it was because you ate those bandits.
You said that the amount of energy a person had inside their body may have something to do with it. How big do you think eating you two would make me grow?
A huge grin formed on Jahnahs face. That is one thing youll never find out.
OH I dont know I believe that I could take the two of you.
Would you like to try?
Annette lowered her face so that it was level with Jahnah. She then opened her mouth and quickly snapped her teeth back together the sound generated by the impact was like an explosion. Despite this Annette wasnt even able to cause Jahnah or Dehvess to flinch. Hmph you two just take the fun out of it. You know I would never eat a friend still you could at least play along.
Jahnah giggled. Well I am sure you can make those servants of yours jump whenever you get home and give them the news.
Annette gave a slight pout and set up. The moment she did though a giggle escaped her and her smile returned. I just cant get over this. If I had known this before hand I wouldnt have just crushed my opponents. Well whenever I had the time to enjoy myself. This is the first time I have ever really been big enough to eat someone and even now it takes a little time.
Though I bet I could fit more of someone into my mouth now then I could before. You wouldnt happen to have anyone that we could use to test the theory do you?
Jahnah and Annette both looked to Dehvess. To my knowledge we dont have any living prisoners at this time.
Annette gave a slight sigh and shrugged. All well. She then leaned forward and held her hand out for Dehvess and Jahnah to climb on. Come on I want to step outside and see how it feels. I am use to growing but never this much in one night.
Annette moved her hand close to her chest once Jahnah and Dehvess had climbed on to help stabilize them. She then used her free hand to open the doors far enough for her to scoot out. Slipping through the opening Annette didnt waste any time in standing up to her full height.
So how does it feel?
It feels wonderful. I know I didnt grow too much last night but to be able to notice a difference just after one night is wonderful. Turning around to face the building Annette let out a bit of a sigh. I kind of wish I had grown enough to make the top of the door level with my head though. I wonder if Maxwell will notice that I have grown more then normal.
I believe anyone that is use to your regular rate of growth will notice something is off. Of course this means none of the clothes you might have had being made will fit you.
Annette froze for a moment. Blast it youre right and I dont want to have to send a message home asking for larger clothing I want it to be a surprise. Oh crap not even the clothing I brought with me will fit now. I was running out of clothes already.
Dehvess gave a shrug. Ill have some clothing put on express order for you. It isnt the guilds normal business but we know some people.
Annette blinked for a moment. Thanks Dehvess.
You dont have to look so surprised about it. I am not a total ass when Jahnah is around.
Annette gave a giggle. Sorry I didnt mean to look so surprised.
Jahnah giggled a bit. So Annette do you feel different?
Annette grinned and ran the fingers of her free hand through her hair flexing her biceps at the same time. Yeah I can tell that I didnt just grow faster last night. I feel stronger.
I bet youll want to get back to work now that you know how to speed up your rate of growth.
Oh hell yes I do! I do but I know that I cant just yet. I need to work on developing myself a little more before I head home. That and maybe the guild will send some more work my way. Still, would either of you mind if we put my lessons off for today? I want to take some time and enjoy my height increase.
Dehvess gave a shrug. Considering the amount your abilities increased over night I dont believe youll suffer for taking a day off to enjoy them.
Jahnah gave a shrug. Sure go ahead and have fun.
Annette gave a nod and started to set Dehvess and Jahnah down but quickly changed her mind. Instead she turned towards the main structure and began to walk towards it. What floor where you in before you came down to check on me?
Jahnah gave a slight chuckle. We were just in the fourth floor so you wont really get a chance to show of your size.
Well that just isnt any fun. Then again I may be wrong. Grinning Annette walked up to the building until her breast pressed against the side of it. Instead of moving her hand to the window she held is up against the side of her chest. There you go.
Jahnah shook her head. Now youre just making me jealous.
Annette had to keep herself from laughing as Dehvess and Jahnah climbed up onto her chest and proceeded to the window. She grinned as she noted the slight difficulty they had moving across her chest but the fact that the slope remained constant despite the weight.
Jahnah grinned after she and Dehvess were through the window. Well yours may be bigger but mine are firmer.
Annette raised an eye brow. You wish your breast were as firm as mine. Grinning Annette folded her arms behind her head and using her muscle control caused her ample bust to bounce a few times. She was a bit stunned when Jahnah mimicked her.
You were saying?
Annette couldnt help but grin. Impressive. Dehvess does Jahnah wear a bra?
Dehvess couldnt help but give a sheepish grin. She doesnt need one either.
A delighted giggle escaped Jahnah and she gave Dehvess a quick pat on the back. Youre making progress.
Well Ill see you two later I am going to go have a little walk around. See what it is like to have the trees that once were level with my breast only brush against the bottom, get upset at the trees that are still higher then my chest and see how much tighter my night gown as become. Oh and I suspect that you used magic to strengthen your body so you could do that.
Oh and your body isnt a construct?
Annette gave a shrug. Ill talk to the both of you later.
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Annette gave an amused giggle as she looked at her reflection. She had been forced to butcher a fair amount of the clothing that she had brought with her and used the different sections to make herself a rough outfit. It was amazing how growing a few weeks ahead of schedule would throw off a carefully planned clothing routine.
After the night she woke up she found herself being forced to wear the clothing she had planned to wear at the end of her stay. Now that a few weeks had passed that clothing couldnt fit her any longer. She had considered simply going home over a month early and taking some time to relax but when she mentioned it to Jahnah and Dehvess. Jahnah had been quite insistent that she stay.
The sound of heavy combat golems drew Annettes attention away from her the mirror. Setting the solid sheet of shined metal down she made her way outside to see what was going on. What she found was multiple sentry golems escorting a cart as well as Jahnah waiting for its arrival.
With her curiosity peeking Annette made her way over to the chaos mage. What is in the cart?
Jahnah had a smile on her face that told Annette she was up to something. Sorry I cant tell you just yet. It is a secret.
There is a secret that you cant tell me? I didnt believe there was any information I didnt have access to.
Oh it isnt because of your rank that I cant let you see it.
Then why wont you tell me?
Its a surprise.
Annette couldnt hide the look of curiosity on her face. So it is something that would surprise me and warrants high level protection? Annette closed her eyes and considered the options. HEY! Did you get me an arch mage to eat?
Jahnahs smile was replaced by a look of shock for only a moment. Then the smile returned and the chaos mage began to shake with laughter. It took some time for Jahnah to calm down enough to respond. You have a rather one track mind. Of course you have enjoyed growing ever since you became self aware.
I guess that means it isnt for dinner.
Jahnah gave a nod. Youre right. It isnt an arch mage for you to snack on but it is a surprise. Now I want you to go back to your room and no peeking. Ill send someone to fetch you whenever it is ready and until then you are to stay away from the main hall.
Annette considered being stubborn and pointing out that Jahnah had no real authority to tell her what to do. However the fact that she was getting a surprise overwhelmed any arguments Annette could come up with and she quickly retreated back to her room.
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What is taking so long? Annette was currently setting on a massive boulder facing the guild hall. The shipment had arrived in the morning and now it was midday and she still hadnt got her present.
Jahnah didnt bother using a spell to amplify her voice she knew how sharp Annettes ears were. Were the ones doing the work. So grow up and show some patience.
If I could speed up my growth quickly enough I would. That way I could just look over the guild hall and see what you are up to.
Jahnah gave an amused giggle as she looked at their handy work. She and Dehvess had spent the first four hours of the morning enchanting it then having some golems help put it together. Now for the last three hours she had been setting around reading a booklet just to make Annette wait longer.
What business does a chaos mage have telling me to be patient anyway? Annette grew silent for a moment. Still, thanks for working on whatever it is for so long.
Actually Dehvess and I finished a while ago I just wanted to make you wait.
What? Oh that is it I am coming over there to see what you are doing. Standing up Annette actually ran around the guild hall. She didnt want to give time for Jahnah to try anything else cute. What she saw when she made it around the other side caused her to freeze.
Jahnah gave a giggle. Tada it is a new outfit for you one which I believe youll like.
Annette didnt say anything at first but proceeded to step into the testing area were the garment had been put together. The material looked to be silver at first but only at a quick glance if anyone looked longer they could tell it was something different. Annette could see a rather familiar aura forming around the substance as well. Bending down she ran her fingers along the breast section. This is arcanon. Annette couldnt help the surprise in her voice.
Dehvess gave a nod. Yes it is.
What were you thinking? I cant wear this. I will outgrow it in a little while and this stuff is too hard to work with to make it into larger sizes. Not only that but where did you get so much?
Dehvess gave a sigh. We had to make a lot of compromises with the dwarfs and believe me Annette you dont have to worry about this outfit. We learned a lot by studying the dragons scales, claws and fangs.
Annette picked up the breast plate for a moment and felt an odd tug on her being. It feels strange.
That would be the preparation enchantments. Now Annette Jahnah and I are going to need you to open yourself up to the effect of our spells. We also are going to need you to put those on very slowly.
Why?
We designed that outfit based on what we learned from the dragons scales, your creation, making golem armor and what we learned from examining you after body was complete. We aligned it with you as best we could before hand but the final touches must be done while you are wearing it. Please put that piece down.
Annette quickly set the top back down. Why?
It is trying to align with you.
Isnt that what it was meant to do?
Yes but Jahnah and I are going to make sure it does it properly.
So just what will aligning it with me do?
The clothing will become a part of you. Much like the dragons scales grew with the dragon we believe this armor will grow with you. It also has other features as well. Its the only reason the guild was willing to give up so much material.
Annette looked on in amazement for a moment. As the shock slowly wore down she felt her excitement building. A moment later she literally leaped from the ground. She would have run over to Dehvess and Jahnah but the jump put them both within her arms reach. Reaching out she cupped her hands behind both of the mages and lifted them into the air. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
Dehvess and Jahnah would have responded but at the moment they were pressed to Annettes chest and anything they said would have been muffled beyond recognition. It was only after Annette withdrew them that either of them was able to speak. Youre very welcome.
Ill have to thank Hellik as well whenever I next see him. Still grinning Annette glanced back over her shoulder at the clothing. I dont understand though. Why spend so much on me?
You informed the Luvarians about the arcanon and didnt ask for anything in return. There for Hellik decided this would be fitting.
So what should I do now?
Dehvess took a moment to straiten his clothing before responding. First set us down and pick out a piece of clothing. Only put on one piece at a time and take your time doing so. Jahnah and I will work on making sure the armors energies align with yours.
Okay. How about we start with the top then? It already started to bond with me after all.
Sure just put us down on either side of you while you put it on.
Before we begin I have one question. What were the extra abilities you mentioned?
Well as you recall arcanon is very receptive to magic and yet resistant at the same time. We believe that you will be able to alter the materials shape and texture almost at will though it will require you to expend a little energy to alter the shape and texture. You may even be able to alter the mass though that will most likely be far more difficult other then when it grows with you.
Annette had to contain herself when she heard this. Taking in a few deep breaths she slowly turned to face the clothing and set down Annette and Dehvess. Reaching behind herself she took hold of the strips of material, slipped her finger between it and her skin and snapped it. The material which had been relying on the friction between itself and Annettes skin to remain on quickly fell away once the tension was released. Are you two ready?
Dehvess glanced at Jahnah. I am ready are you Jahnah?
Go right ahead.
Annette couldnt help herself and gave her hands a quick clap before discarding the fragments of her torn top. This time when she picked up the top she began to put it on but took her time to notice the details. The metal itself felt far from any alloy Annette had encountered it actually felt warm and soft in her hands as if it was some form of leather she felt certain this was the result of whatever process was used to mimic the dragons scales.
The top itself was hardly proper armor. The upper section of the chest piece was missing revealing a good deal of cleavage and providing a very easy attack rout for someone that wished to get to Annettes heart provided they could aim at a target that high up. Two straps went up the sides of the armor and around her shoulders reaching down the back. The materials of the straps expanded at the top to cover more of her shoulders.
The bottom section of the armor however was far more complete then the top. The material was fitted to the form of her breast and covered their underside while flowing down to cover her stomach as well. As Annette slipped the covering on, she noted something else. The armor for the most part looked as if it had been made from one solid piece of metal except in certain sections.
She took a moment to examine these and quickly realized the section that covered the underside of her breast seemed to be removable. Annette was grateful for this as even if she couldnt adapt the armors shape through mystic means at least she could adjust a few aspects of it.
While Annette fitted the top on, she could feel the material aligning with herself. It seemed to be becoming a part of her. She felt a slight drain on herself then a small rush of energy reminding her that arcanon was to her knowledge a magic amplifier. Any thought of it possibly draining her energy was quickly forgotten and turned to thoughts of it possibly increasing her energy.
The chest piece wasnt just solid plate she quickly realized. Inside of the material was actually what appeared to be an exceptionally fine layer of very flexible and adjustable chain mail.
Okay Annette that should do it. You may move on to the next part.
Giving a nod Annette stood up and stripped away her makeshift panties. Reaching down she lifted a pair of pants from the mixture. Unlike the chest plate this section was primarily mail instead of plate. Only the region which would actually encompass her waste and crotch seemed to be made from plate though within it was the familiar mail. She was quite certain it would be within every major part of the armor.
Just as the top she found that the pants seemed to have certain section which looked as if they could be removed by releasing a few locks. The pants section itself reached down to Annettes ankle and hugged her legs showing off every curve and muscle whenever she would flex. A massive plate on either side of her thighs formed into an oval point with the point stopping just above the side of her knees.
Hold on a minute the extra material is taking time.
Annette gave a nod and ran her fingers over the mail. As she did so she was amazed by how fine the mail actually was. She had seen some very well made mail armor for humans and the links went far beyond what she had seen on the majority of them. Each link seemed to have a diameter of one tenth of a centimeter. When Jahnah and Dehvess finished binding it to her she had to ask. Will these links grow?
Jahnah shook her head. The dragons scales didnt grow after all and they behave the same way. To a limited extent that armor is alive. Youll form more links rather then them increase in size. We wouldnt want them growing to large after all someone could get stuck in them then and at larger sizes they arent very comfortable to lie on.
I imagine youre right about. Reaching down Annette was a bit surprised when she picked up the boots and found some carefully folded mail under it. What is this?
That would be the chest and neck covering. You can attach it to the chest piece.
Why didnt it come attached?
You have no idea how hard bonding that much plate and mail at the same time to you is. Its easier taking one section a time.
Nodding her head Annette proceeded to slide the boost onto her feet. It was clear that her legs would be better protected then the rest of her body but they were what were hit the most often. The boots were of a rather simple design with three massive arcanon straps holding them on. Hey! What do you mean the links arent comfortable to lie on at the larger sizes?
Jahnah finished up the bonding spell and giggled. Well that is what Dehvess said whenever I tried the clothes on to make sure they fit. How do you think we managed to get the materials to fit so well?
Annette gave a giggle. Chaos mages, you cant even stay at a consistent size. Well thanks for helping with the design. Reaching down Annette lifted up the greaves and began snapping them into place. The greaves followed the shape of her leg getting thinner near the bottom and stopping just above the ankle. Several heavy straps wrapped around the back and locked into place.
The greaves had far less material then either the top or the pants which allowed Dehvess and Jahnah to finish quickly. Dehvess took this time to relay some information. Now Annette those bonds are still forming. So the armor will only grow with you while youre wearing it if you go without wearing it for too long youll outgrow it.
You need to give the bonds time to strengthen so the armor will continue to grow even when it isnt on you. Of course then you still need to avoid getting so far away the armor isnt affected. The stronger the bonds grow the greater distance youll be able to travel and not worry about outgrowing the material.
Annette gave a nod and slipped the sleeves on. It only took her a moment to find the spot under the shoulder pads where the sleeves attached and to snap them into place. Nearly as soon as she had finished this she was able to fit the gauntlets on and finally slip on the bit of mail that covered her chest and neck.
Grinning the whole time Annette clenched her fist and shifted about in the armor. This fits very well. I have never had armor or even clothes that fit me this well.
Well this is the first time we have ever enchanted something for your personnel use.
Annette gave a giggle and placed her hand on the top of her head. I have to say it feels kind of strange to be wearing full armor. Well except for my head but that isnt really a problem my skull is plenty thick and just about out of everyones ability to reach now.
We didnt make you a helmet since we knew you would never wear one.
Hey! That isnt true. I wore one whenever I had to fight the most recent dragon.
Would you like for us to try and make you one?
Hell no, I hate wearing helmets. So how long should I wear this each day?
For as long as you can until you believe the bonds between you and the armor has become strong enough to continue to effect one another even after you take it off.
So youre saying I should bath with it.
Dehvess gave a nod. It wouldnt hurt.
Annette gave a slight laugh and lightly tapped the chest plate. Instead of hearing a metallic ring she heard a rather duel thud. It really is like the dragons scales though I have to think it is somewhat softer and probably stronger.
Jahnah gave a nod. We tried but we cant be sure of it.
Placing her hands on the upper section of the chest piece Annette ran her fingers over the plate and down the mail sections. What if it gets damaged?
Jahnah gave a shrug. Like I said it is similar to the dragons scales. If it gets damaged the armor should repair itself of course it will be getting its energy from you unless you shut yourself off. Then the armor wont be able to repair itself or grow for that matter.
Annette gave a giggle. Well after what it took to take down that dragon I dont believe I have much to worry about. Oh. These clamps are they there so I can take off different sections of armor?
Dehvess gave a nod. Yes they are.
Mm so when do we begin testing to see if I can cause the armor to shift forms?
We should wait until the bonds have had time to strengthen before we try altering the armors form.
Annette gave a giggle. Okay. Well then I am going to go and see how I look in my new clothes.
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I cant believe I didnt realize this would happen.
Annette gave a shrug. Dont worry Dehvess it isnt your fault and you were suppose to give the armor to me as quickly as possible so that I wouldnt outgrow it.
Yes, but I was also suppose to continue teaching you for as long as you liked. I didnt stop to think how much the arcanon would bolster your resistance to magic.
It isnt a problem.
Jahnah gave a shrug. You know Annette it isnt like Dehvess and I couldnt affect you with our spells. We would just have to use far more powerful spells then we have been using.
Annette gave a giggle. No thank you. I know what those more powerful spells are like.
But with your armor on you should be able to resist them.
That may be true but I dont really want to have to endure the pain. Plus I am pretty sure the spells you have in mind would even drain you two not to mention the damage they would cause to the surrounding region.
Jahnah gave a nod. Na. You dont have to worry about exhausting Dehvess and me when we work together.
Annette gave a slight giggle. Once again no thanks. Annette carefully laid the last of her belongings in the carrying case she had brought with her. As she did so she couldnt help but marvel at how much smaller everything looked compared to when she had arrived. Even being use to her normal growth rate growing the extra height had through of her sense of perspective a bit. So what are you two going to do once I leave?
Jahnah giggled. Oh I am going to be staying here for a while. Hellik wants me and Dehvess to remain close to you for a while.
Huh? How come?
Annette we are all very glad that you decided to develop your abilities more but we arent stupid. If you come to us seeking training that you have been putting off for so long we know something big must be brewing.
Is my coming to you the only reason you know that?
No I cant say they are but you dont get to know where the additional information came from.
So you and Dehvess will be staying around to protect the guild holdings?
That or to come up with some nice materials.
Materials?
If a war brakes out we are to inform the necromancers of the guild immediately. It would also provide an idea situation to work on flesh golems and a few other things. A sigh escaped Jahnah. Unless a war is going on people just dont understand the need to dig up their ancestors graves and conduct research on them.
Annette gave an amused giggle. Well I dont know how many bodies youll be able to get your hands on if a war brakes out. Annette opened her mouth and quickly snapped her teeth together. There may not be many of them left considering now I know how to help speed up my growth.
I have the strangest feeling that you are not joking about that.
Annette gave an amused giggle and stuck her tongue out at Jahnah. Im not.
Jahnah faked a look of shock. Why you. How could you do something so cruel? You over grown glutton, we need those corpses for research.
End chapter 3
Giantess World
