[Reviews - 5]
-
Table of Contents [Report This]
Printer Chapter or Story
- Text Size +
Warning this story contains adult content so if you’re a minor don’t read it or if adult content involving sex, violence or super powerful women offends you don’t read it either. This story was written with input from Supernaught whose real name I haven’t inquired about.

The author namely me can be emailed or contacted on yahoo messenger at: happiest_in_shadows@yahoo.com . Reviews are welcome


Annette felt a little strange as she walked towards her home. She liked her new armor and she was impressed by the fact that despite wearing boots and gloves she seemed to still be able to since the world around her. It was just that even with the magic inherent in the armor’s make up allowing her to remain as sensitive as normal it was strange for her to wear an entire suit of armor.

She realized on her way home that this was due in part to it being a shot to her ego. Ever since those enchanted arrows had started bouncing off her skin she had been on something of an ego trip and very eager to declare she needed no protection from such attacks. Now she was covered in more armor then ever before as if there was something for her to hide from.

For the time being she would just have to swallow her pride though. As if she were to take off the armor then she would break the connection it was trying to establish. Then she ran the risk of outgrowing the current suit. Even with her close relationship to the guild and being on such good terms with it she knew to request a new suit of arcanon armor would be entirely out of the question.

At least she could take some comfort in the fact that her body was still her primary weapon. With that thought Annette seemed to relax considerably. Stopping for a moment she looked around the surrounding area until she noticed a tree no taller then two meters tall. Walking over to the sapling Annette raised her foot and moved it over the tree so that the bottom of her soul just brushed the top of it. An amused giggle escaped her and Annette brought her foot back without actually crushing the plant.

Turning her attention back to the road Annette once again began to make her way home. The terrain had changed a lot since she last made her way through it. Annette gave her head a shake and went to correct herself. It wasn’t the land that was changed she had just grown so that everything seemed different. It had been more then ten years since she became self aware and she still forgot that at times.

It was a rather strange even for Annette to realize that she wasn’t entirely mistaken when she thought the lands had changed a few miles down the road. A few miles before she reached Maxwell’s territory she was surprised to find a guard station along the road. The little structure was somewhere between a fort and a watch house though Annette felt it leaned more in the direction of a watch house.

Annette could have just walked on by the station. It wasn’t like any of the people inside were coming out to meet her. However, as she neared it Annette couldn’t help herself. She had to know just why the structure had been set up.

Bending down Annette gave the main gate to the structure a few light flicks with her finger. Each time her finger would touch the door it would be forced inward a few centimeters as if it was being struck by a battering ram. “Hello is anyone in there?”

Annette waited a few moments before she spoke up again. “That was a rhetorical question. I can here you so come on out unless you want me to pull the roof off.” Annette heard some shuffling inside and murmuring. It took a moment but she soon realized they were deciding who should go out and confront her.

The young soldier immerged from within the structure. While he could tell from the pounding on the main door and the fact that the entire structure was only two fifths as tall as the giantess at most he still felt safer inside. His lack of any real rank meant he had to be the one to go and speak with the giantess. “How may I help you?”

“You’re going to have to speak up even my ears aren’t that sensitive.” In truth Annette heard what the soldier said perfectly. She just felt like giving him a hard time.

Taking a moment to build up his nerve the soldier practically shouted his next question. “How may I help you?”

Annette couldn’t help but giggle. She could tell that the volume of the soldier’s voice was due more to fear then anything else. “I was wondering why there is a fort here.”

“The fort is here to help protect this road from bandits.”

Annette straitened up and for a few moments scanned the road. “I am not stupid and I do live here. This stretch of road is hardly of any major significance especially enough to warrant a border line fort being built on it. Now tell me the real reason it was constructed.”

The guards knew of the giantess that lived in Maxwell’s domain. They even knew Annette’s name and that she was on good terms with Maxwell. This was the exact reason why they didn’t want to tell her the actual reason the fort was constructed.

“Okay I am going to make this simple for you. Tell me why this was built here or I will eat you, destroy the fort and eat everyone inside.” Annette watched as the color drained from the soldier’s face. Clearly he didn’t like the idea of telling her the truth. “Oh and it had better be believable.”

“Tension has been rising between Maxwell and the surrounding leaders. This fort was put here to monitor the traffic from and to those lands governed by Maxwell.”

Annette gave a nod. “Now was that so bad?” Straitening up Annette let out a bit of a sigh. She knew when Maxwell left things weren’t going well after all that was the reason she went to learn from the Luvarians. At least a war had started while she was gone though the fort was a bad sign even if the one she encountered was a small one.

The soldier could hardly believe that he was alive as he watched Annette walk off. From everything they heard everyone believed that all the installations on whatever road she traveled would be leveled.

Annette gave a sigh. She could have taken out the little fort easily enough but in a few weeks it would be even easier and more fun. Of course the little soldiers would have made nice snacks but that had draw backs as well. The construction of the fort most likely meant that a war was on its way but hadn’t started just yet. If she were to just destroy one of the forts then go to her home it would start the war even sooner.

************************************************************************

“She is back? We may have a chance now.”

“Are you joking it is because of her this whole mess started. If she had just stayed away maybe things would have just cooled off.”

“Those war mongers are just after the land. She is just an excuse.”

“Has she grown larger?”

“You men worry too much. Just look at her I bet that young lady could trample an entire army under foot.

“She isn’t that big.”

“I bet the young Lord already has a plan to get us out of this trouble.”

Annette had become use to being looked upon even in Maxwell’s domain. However, as she walked through the country side she had never had so many people take such interest in her. They kept their distance but she could see them peeking out from their homes or trying to sneak a look while appearing to work in the fields. She could also hear their conversations.

As Annette listened to the civilians’ conversations she felt like getting involved. However, she knew that if she did then they would most likely quit talking and at the moment she was more interested in hearing what they said to say then giving her opinion on the subject.

What Annette quickly learned about the little people was that some flat out blamed her; others saw her as a protector; still others were relying on Maxwell’s leadership ability to see them through the trouble. Most of their opinions varied amongst those threes or where some combination of one of two thought patterns

Annette for her part wasn’t entirely sure what the main cause of current events was. She knew that Maxwell’s family had their fair share of enemies and he hadn’t done anything to improve his standings by allowing her to take up permanent residence.

Was her making her home in his lands really enough to cause a war though? It was true that her presence caused a slight shift of power even early on. The fact that she was still growing in strength, size and ability also meant that the power shift had become greater with time. Perhaps they feared her growing too large and allying herself with Maxwell.

There was also the matter of the extra income she represented. Annette may have worked for money but spent only a very small portion of what she earned. The vast majority of the income she would have gladly donated to help Maxwell out.

What sounded like an explosion could be heard from over a mile away as Annette brought her massive hand up and quickly smacked her forehead. She had forgotten to tell Maxwell he could make use of her savings in preparing his lands for an attack.

************************************************************************

Maxwell gave a sigh as he looked out his window. His meeting with the surrounding Dukes and Lords had gone the way he expected it to. Sadly that wasn’t the way he wanted it to go. His spirits were at least lifted whenever he heard several massive impacts as if foot falls. Annette was perhaps the only person he knew of that one could hear coming up the road to his estate long before one actually saw her.

Despite being able to hear Annette coming Maxwell was quite surprised when she rounded the corner. It was the first time in four years that he had seen Annette wearing a complete suit of armor. As she neared he also realized she was somewhat larger then what she would normally be given her regular rate of growth.

Annette giggled when she saw the surprised expression on Maxwell’s face. “Unless you want me to tear out part of the wall I suggest you stand on the window seal or at least lean out a bit.

For a moment Maxwell was surprised. He was used to Annette’s more enthusiastic side especially whenever they had been separated for such a long time. This feeling of amazement and concern only lasted a moment as Annette flashed him an enormous smile and quickly picked up the pace. Those massive foot falls become far more rapid as Annette’s broke into a light sprint.

Annette could not only hear the effect of Annette’s steps but he could fill them as well. Each time she would take a step her boots struck the ground with such force that the sunk in nearly a meter deep. The force of the impacts were enough to cause the estate itself to shake at least they seemed to be. These little vibrations were nothing though compared to when Annette leaped into the air easily jumping over the main gate and landing what must have been at most fifteen meters from the tower he was in. She was so close that for a moment it looked as if her breast might demolish the tower when she straitened up.

Maxwell jumped back whenever Annette straitened up. She had grown so large that her breast where now level with the window. When he looked out the window all he could see was Annette’s massive armored globes.

Annette gave an amused giggle and took in a deep breath and thrust her chest outward. Thankfully the armor had been designed with her in mind and she could feel several of the links shifted to accommodate her change in position. Her massive breast pressed against the side of the tower causing the solid stone to crack due to the material that covered her chest and her breast’s mass.

It was soon clear to Maxwell that his assumption that Annette was somehow remaining calm was very much false. Indeed he could tell that she was in a very frisky and playful mood. This wasn’t surprising considering how much she had grown while she was away. She was like a little girl and a doll when it came to her size increases thus always eager to show it off.

It was hard for Annette to keep herself from giggling. She could feel Maxwell’s eyes on her chest and felt certain she had his undivided attention. At last she was no longer able to hold her excitement in and was forced to step back in order to avoid pressing her chest more firmly against the window and possibly destroying the wall.

As Annette stepped back Maxwell couldn’t help but smile. “It is good to see you to Annette.” He was a bit surprised though when his view of her was suddenly blocked by three of her massive fingers working their way into his window. He suddenly remembered what Annette had said about him coming to the window.

Carefully Annette slipped three of her fingers into the window. She didn’t really mind destroying the wall itself she just didn’t want to collapse it inward. Once she had her fingers positioned she proceeded to pull them outward. It was as easy as pulling her fingers through a sand castle if not easier.

The sound of shifting stones met Maxwell’s ears before he could even try to convince Annette to stop. A moment later he heard the stones crashing to the ground as Annette easily tore an opening with a radius of two meters in the wall.

Now that Annette had an opening large enough for her to work more of her hand into she quickly reached in and wrapped her fingers around Maxwell. She was careful not to crush him but she did it quickly enough and got a good enough grip that she felt certain he couldn’t escape.

Maxwell was used to being picked up by Annette especially after they had been separated for a long time. However, this was the first time she had torn away part of his home to do so. Of course it was the first time such a thing was required of her to get her hand inside. He wasn’t upset over the loss of the chunk of wall though he hoped that it didn’t rain until they had time to seal it up.

Despite not minding the loss of the wall Maxwell resolved to tease Annette about it for a while. At least that is what he thought he was going to do before he could speak though she lifted him to her face and pressed her lips against a good portion of his upper body including his head.

Being kissed by Annette had always been an enjoyable experience, one that seemed to grow more pleasant as she grew larger. Despite Annette’s size and endurance her lips were a delight to the touch, pleasantly soft at first and becoming firmer as one pressed deeper. As her wonderful warm lips covered his face Maxwell found himself unable to speak. The only thing that seemed to change as Annette grew larger was that more of ones body got to enjoy the wonderful sensation.

Annette finally removed Maxwell from her lips. “I missed you.”

Maxwell had by now forgotten what he was going to say about the wall. “I missed you to.”

“So what happened while I was away?”

“I met with the local leaders and well things didn’t go well.”

“I figured that out already. So tell me what happened.”

Maxwell gave a nod. “Okay I suppose I’ll start at the beginning. Shortly after I left I had to travel to Duke James’s estate. I expected several of the surrounding leaders to have gathered there instead I found that they all had gathered there.

I had hoped to get down to business but James decided to have a feast in order to show everyone involved that there was no ill will.” A low chuckle escaped Maxwell.

“Was the food any good?”

Maxwell blinked a few times as if unsure if he had heard Annette correctly. At last a chuckle escaped him. “I suppose it was but it is hard to enjoy a meal when in poor company. I would prefer a simple snack of fruits with one that is more pleasant to be around.”

Annette gave a giggle and gave Maxwell another kiss though this one was far quicker then the first. “Well go on what happened after dinner.”

“The next day after everyone had slept James finally got down to business. He spent the majority of the day expressing his concerns about giants as a species. It was of course a build up to talking about you.”

“How did the other guest take it?”

“They agreed with him of course. At least they agreed until he expressed a concern for my safety.”

Annette’s eyes widened for a moment. “Excuse me I don’t know if I heard you correctly. Did you say he expressed a concern for your safety?”

“Yes and the people that lived in my domain. He went into this rather lengthy speech about how wonderful it was of me to take you in while you were small. At least for a while then he began to express concern about your growing size though and that you had and the Luvarians had tricked me.”

“Well isn’t that considerate of him.”

“I tried to explain that I had been informed of the risk but he pushed my arguments aside like he was dealing with a child. I wanted to cut his head off then and there.”

Annette gave a giggle and kissed Maxwell. “I am glad that you didn’t.”

“They got onto the subject of what would happen whenever you outgrew your home here and wanted more space to roam in. That bastard actually hinted that you had been amassing so much gold over these years to start a war in order to take my land and theirs.”

“So when did he call for the forts to be built and war?”

“He didn’t. Despite my efforts no one would listen to me. Once he was done he had all the others so fearful and excited that they took over for him. They started talking about you having to leave my land and the kingdom as a whole. Then someone mentioned that you might come back for revenge if forced out and that you and the Luvarians may be seeking a home kingdom of your own.”

“So now they want me dead?”

“Yes. They suggested that I should help deliver you up and had the nerve to suggest it would be for my own good.”

“I bet James loved this.”

“I have no doubt that he did but he did a great job of hiding it.”

“Why did he do that?”

“Once everyone was truly scared and excited” Maxwell stopped when Annette held up a finger.

“Wait excited about what?”

“They were excited about the idea of looting your home.”

“What made them so excited about that?”

“Annette you have amassed more wealth then the entire kingdom does in a year.”

Annette gave an amused giggle. “You little people really are lousy at raising funds.”

“I believe I am going to get back to the story now. After they suggested that I help lead you into a trap I refused. At which point they began to turn on me. They accused me of working with you in order to over throw the entire kingdom. I tried to calm them and prove that I wasn’t however they began to talk about invading while you were away so they wouldn’t have to fight two enemies at once.”

“You didn’t lie and agree to turn me over did you?”

“No. I didn’t lie.”

“You mean you intend to turn me over?” Annette gave a slight giggle when Maxwell sighed. “I am sorry I’ll quit teasing.”

“After the conversation had got somewhat heated James finally stepped in and called for them to be reasonable. He actually argued for my case and managed to convince them to calm down.”

“So what is going on with the forts?”

“He got them to calm down but somehow while doing so he made them even more certain that they had to remove you. However, before a war gets underway they want to appeal to the King himself and see what his opinion in the matter is.”

“So until then they set up watch houses?”

“Yes. They also cut off ever trade rout except those going from James’s land.”

“Why did they leave one open?”

“The others didn’t but James refused to back down and insisted that those through his land would remain open. He said to blockade someone’s land was an act of war which he wouldn’t commit to without the King’s approval.”

“How did you respond to that?”

“I swear. I began to wonder if everyone in the meeting had forgotten that he had not only called it originally but he was also the one that turned the directions of giants and what threat they posed. After a few days I was sure that they had.”

“So what about James’s decision to keep the trade routs between your land and his open?”

“I couldn’t very well reject the offer. However, I haven’t made use of them and have tried to discourage the practice.”

Annette gave a slight giggle. “I wonder if it was an attempt to make you funnel funds into his domain.”

“It could have been.”

“So let me see if I have everything. You meet up with James and the surrounding leaders, he gets them all fired up about the threat I pose to you and everyone else. After you try to defend me they turn on you. After they have turned on you James tries to act like he is the voice of reason but whatever arguments he uses to try and calm them aren’t nearly as effective as those that upset them.

Now you’re surrounded on all sides and the only person that seems willing to help in the least is the one that caused the problem to begin with. You won’t accept his help but you won’t officially reject it either since that would probably cause an already dangerous situation to explode.”

Maxwell gave a nod. “It isn’t exactly a pleasant situation to be in. Of course I wasn’t caught unprepared. While I never unexpected this exact sequence of events to take place I knew that something would happen one day.”

“So why haven’t they attached yet?”

“They were waiting for you to return and to see what I would do. They felt that perhaps upon your return I would see what they consider to be reason.”

“And now that I am back?”

Maxwell gave a sigh. “They’ll speak to the King about the matter. I swear one thing is really eating at me.”

“What is that?”

“James seems to be putting a great deal of energy into making sure that I have plenty of time to prepare. He has an ulterior motive.”

“Do you have any idea what it is?”

“I could speculate on the subject but I would prefer not to.”

“Okay well now that I know what is going on. What do you plan on doing about it?”

“So far I have fortified every major position that I can but I have a problem.”

“You’re surrounded and even if you gave every farmer in the land a sword and a shield there is no way that you could sufficiently fortify every location? Hey wipe that stunned look off your face.”

“Um sorry” Maxwell took a moment to take on a less insulting expression. “You’re right there is no way that I can protect every location from an attack on all sides. I have done what I can and tried to situate what soldiers I do have into what I believe to be the most advantageous defensive network.”

“You don’t look happy about that.”

“I’m not.”

“I doubt that you’re going to get any allies since I am living here. Just my presence is going to give a negative impression.”

“In order to get here anyone would have to come through the surrounding lands which means they would most likely be wiped out before the armies could form into an effective unit.”

“Ah that is sweet.” Lifting Maxwell back to her lips Annette gave him another quick kiss. “Thanks for saying that to make me feel better but I know this situation is largely because I am here. Even if they had wanted to attack you long before now they couldn’t have justified it and formed into an effective union if you hadn’t let me live here.”

“Annette this isn’t because of you.”

“Then what is the cause? What was James key argument?” Annette grinned and gave Maxwell a few minutes to think but eventually she spoke up again. “See. I know that this has a lot to do with me. So here is what I want you to do. I want you to send out some messengers and recruit some mercenaries. Now I know you probably did this on a smaller scale but I doubt your budget allowed for you to recruit many. So I want you to use some of my money to put together a solid defensive force.”

“Annette, are you going to help defend these lands if they are attacked?”

“Of course I am.”

“I don’t want to make use of the money that you earned.”

“Well if you don’t want to you don’t have to. I’ll just get in touch with the Luvarians. I may not have anyone I could send out to recruit mercenaries but I wonder what size of a golem army I could purchase from them. Dang it now I wish the store house in the nearest guild hall hadn’t already been cleared out.”

“Annette I don’t want you spending your money to defend my land.”

“Hey it is my home. Mm maybe golems would be a better choice. I don’t know how mercenaries would respond when they learned they would be fighting beside a giantess.”

“While I appreciate your concern aren’t you worried that the guild will be swept up in this as well?”

Annette gave a nod. “They sure will be and that reminds me. You’re going to need to write a letter to the Luvarians.”

“Write a letter to them why?”

“You mentioned that it was suggested the Luvarians and I might have deceived you. That would indicate they may target the Luvarians as an organization. You see you have more allies then you realized.”

“I don’t want to use a tyrant’s army.”

“So you would be happier sending human soldiers off to die instead of expendable golems?”

Maxwell couldn’t help but sigh. “No. I would prefer if none of my soldiers had to die over this.”

“Okay. So before I go and start talking golems with the Luvarians I am going to need you to write that letter. You can be honest but if there is a way to say something more negatively then expressed at the meeting I recommend you do so.”

Maxwell gave a sigh and Annette held her hand level with his officer. After a moment he stopped off her palm and through the opening she had tore only moments earlier. “This is all moving quite fast but then again now that you’re back I don’t know how much time we have.”

“That is why you should get to writing.”

“Just what type of letter is this anyway?”

“Oh that is right you don’t know. The Luvarians already suspect something is going on. Actually they seem to be certain something is going to happen. In fact they are so certain that something is going to happen that they have positioned two of their elite mages in the nearest guild hall to make sure their holdings are kept safe.”

“So what do you suggest I say?”

“I don’t know. What do you normally say to someone with whom you have a common foe or threat?”

Maxwell gave a nod. “Okay I believe I know what I need to say now.”

Annette waited for Maxwell to set down at his desk before she reached back into the opening. She proceeded to take hold of the back of Maxwell’s seat and lift the chair and him back out the opening. A moment later she picked up his desk as well. “It’s a nice day outside.” Setting down Annette placed the chair and desk atop her massive right thigh.

“I hope you’re going to put my desk and chair back.”

“Sure though you may want to look into having that opening fixed.”

“I’ll have it sealed up later.”

“Oh I wouldn’t do that if I were you. I mean you know if you do that it is just going to get tore open again.”

Maxwell gave a slight chuckle. “Now why do you say that? Okay I’ll have a larger window put in that can even be opened from the outside.”

“That’ll work.”

As Maxwell wrote he couldn’t help but relax. He knew that the situation was still dangerous and he didn’t actually know if the Luvarians would help out though he knew Annette would. Still, as Annette’s massive shadow engulfed him he couldn’t help but relax. “What do you believe will happen after I send my proposal for an alliance to them?”

“They’ll give me a discount on golems most likely since I am a member myself and you are a previous customer in need of help. After that they’ll send their counter alliance proposal.”

Maxwell couldn’t help but give Annette a surprised glance. “What do you mean counter alliance proposal?”

“The Luvarians are a business. They’ll offer you a certain amount of materials in exchange for. Let’s just say they’ll want to make use of certain human resources once this is all over.”

“Would you mind telling me just what kind of uses they would have for such resources?”

Annette gave a shrug. “Human test subjects for various experiments and they’ll want to lay claim to certain corpses as well.”

Maxwell grew silent and leaned back in his seat for a moment. He knew the Luvarians reputations and he knew they weren’t considered the most moral of guilds. In fact they were far from it. “They are days I wonder how I ever came to know you.”

“Is something bothering you?”

“I don’t mind doing business with the Luvarians but to be honest a good deal of their practices disturb me.”

Annette bit her lower lip for a moment. “Maxwell there is something I need to tell you.”

It was easy for Maxwell to recognize the change in Annette’s voice. She had something to tell him which had her worried. “What is it Annette.”

“I suppose you noticed that I grew a little more then normal while I was away.”

Maxwell gave a nod and could easily see were the conversation as going. “What did you have to do to speed up the process?”

“When I eat the flesh of a live form that has magic potential such as humans I grow more quickly then normal.”

Maxwell took a moment to respond. “So you ate people?”

“Yeah, I did.”

Maxwell gave a shrug and returned to his letter. “I swear Annette you scared me for a moment.”

“Maxwell I am not joking.”

“Annette dead is dead. It isn’t the practice of killing that bothers me. Even the idea of using humans for experiments doesn’t bother me a great deal. It is the fact that necromancers often trap a soul between life and death that bothers me.”

A relieved sigh escaped. “I was worried you wouldn’t approve or worse.”

“You plan on adding humans and other sentient species to your diet don’t you?”

“Yes, I do.”

“Well I believe you’re mature enough to know who it is okay to eat and who you shouldn’t eat. How did you find out about this though?”

“It happened while I was taking care of some bandits. I captured a few of them to toy with and well you know I like to try new things whenever my increased size allows for it.”

“So you decided to find out how people taste?”

“Yeah, I don’t really know what brought it on though.”

“It could have been you responding to an instinctive desire that up until that point you subconsciously felt would be too much trouble to fill. Then again it could have just as well been the same impulses that lead you to try and step on someone.”

“So about these people that supposedly I shouldn’t eat.”

Maxwell couldn’t help but chuckle. “What about them?”

“I take it that they include your soldiers and the people that live in these lands.”

“I would appreciate it if you didn’t eat them.”

“How do you feel about prisoners?”

“Well it would beat being used as a test subject especially for necromancy.”

Annette gave a slight giggle and licked her lips. “Maybe I should have trashed that fort I saw when I was coming here. Then I wouldn’t have to wait for a chance to satisfy my hunger. Are you really okay with me actually eating people?”

“I believe that I am but I can’t be certain. You’ve always experimented with what your greater sizes and strengths allowed you to do though. I knew that this would happen if you ever grew large enough.”

“Mm I guess I did have all the warning signs.”

“So should I send someone to deliver this letter or are you going to do it?”

“Well you did say you don’t know how much time you have. I’ll be the one to take the letter.”

“You haven’t been home yet have you?”

“No. I only got back a short while ago and I came strait here to visit you.”

“Should I have a snack prepared for you?”

Annette shook her head. “No thanks.”

“So why don’t you tell me about how you received pure arcanon armor?”

“It was a gift from the guild. It is a thank you for bringing the substance to their attention.”

************************************************************************

“How many times is he going to read that?” Annette glanced down at Jahnah who currently set on the edge of the tower’s window.

“I believe this will be the last time. He wants to make sure he didn’t miss read anything before sending the letter on to Hellik and including his own opinion.”

“Well while Dehvess makes certain there is no mix up in the communication maybe you and I could talk about me purchasing a few golems.”

Jahnah gave a nod. “We could but I don’t believe you want to do that.”

“Why wouldn’t I?”

“The golems may not cost you a thing. From what I read it seems Maxwell has no desire to keep the golems.”

“What?”

“The letter makes it clear that he has no desire to keep the golems as a permanent force. It does however mention a desire to purchase some golem armor.”

“I swear I am starting to believe Maxwell has something against golems.”

Jahnah couldn’t help but giggle. “Well it is clear that he has something against golems less advanced then yourself.”

“Yeah you’re probably right. Why do you think that is? He referred to them as the tyrant’s army.”

“Well because that is what they are for the most part. Just think they are mindless unquestioning dolls with little purpose other then to kill people or stand watch. You have no fear of betrayal and they never show mercy to your enemies. The only danger is that someone finds a way to replace you as the one the golems obey and then has them go against you. Only the very paranoid and more often then not moderately insane require such devices.”

“You had better be talking about the more primitive golems.”

“I am. The more advanced golems have far grander purposes after all. They can serve as protectors but they are too difficult to produce to serve as a standing army.”

“I suppose that is why he has interest in buying golem armor but not golems. You seem very together today.”

Jahnah gave a shrug. “I am.”

“So tell me what type of golem do you prefer?”

“The more advanced ones of course. The others are instruments of imposing order after all. I prefer a more chaotic setting.”

The women’s attention as drawn away from their conversation when they heard Dehvess opening a desk drawer, a moment later he took out two sheets of paper and began to write.

Jahnah gave a giggle. “Are you only going to read it three times Dehvess?”

“I was only going to read it twice but you two kept talking and I couldn’t focus so I had to read it an additional time.”

Jahnah gave a giggle and stuck her tongue out at Dehvess before turning back to Annette. “So what were we talking about?”

“We were talking about golems and why Maxwell called them a tyrant’s army.”

“Let’s talk about something else now.”

Annette gave a slight shrug. “Is the subject beginning to bore you?”

“Yes it is.”

A giggle escaped Annette. “Well at least you’re honest about it. So what do you want to talk about?”

“Have you told Maxwell that you have acquired a taste for the flesh of sentient species?”

“Yes I have.”

“Oh he must have taken it well. You don’t seem at all depressed.”

Annette gave a nod. “He didn’t exactly jump up and down and praise me for the discovery but he didn’t seem to mind either.”

“Oh that is wonderful news. Have you asked him to empty out the dungeons for you?”

“Mm no I can’t say that I did. I hadn’t really thought about it.”

“Annette you are preparing for a war. There is no need to go to battle starving.”

“I have to agree with you on that. I’ll have to ask Maxwell about it whenever I get back.”

“Of course this is further going to hurt Maxwell’s image.”

“Um say that again?”

“Oh Annette you know allying with the Luvarians never helps anyone’s image and even if he doesn’t keep the golems the fact that he used them in war time will put him in a bad light. Then you take into account that he has allied with a giant and one that enjoys eating people no less it is going to hurt his image.”

Annette couldn’t help but look a little shocked. “Dehvess something is wrong with Jahnah. She is being a downer that is your job.”

Both Annette and Jahnah noted Dehvess flinch when Annette teased him. A moment later he turned around in his seat and faced the women that by now were giggling uncontrollably.

Annette held up her hand though she couldn’t stop herself from giggling right away. “I am sorry.” A few more giggles escaped Annette. “That was entirely uncalled for.”

“So that is the appreciation I get for trying to help you?”

Jahnah didn’t try to stop giggling even as she stood up and walked over to Dehvess. Bending down a bit so that she was more level with Dehvess’s setting position she wrapped her arms around him. “No this is the thanks you get for helping us out.” With that Jahnah quickly tightened her grip and leaned forward so that she pulled Dehvess’s face into her cleavage.

Dehvess had only been pretending to be upset by Annette’s teasing. He knew that many felt he drained the life out of a room and even knew that it tended to be true. Still as he found his face pulled into Jahnah’s ample cleavage he knew that even if he had been upset that would have melted away. When she let him up he knew that he couldn’t have held a stern face even if he wanted to. “Well suddenly I feel very appreciated.”

Jahnah gave an amused giggle. “So what kind of letter are you going to send to Hellik?”

“I plan on telling him that” Dehvess was silenced when his head was pulled back down into Jahnah’s cleavage.

“I said what type of letter I didn’t ask for details. Ohh.” Jahnah gave a slight moan whenever she felt Dehvess try to speak. Her breast muffled his words so she couldn’t hear what he said but it felt nice and she hadn’t been expecting it

. Annette watched as Jahnah shifted a bit rubbing Dehvess’s face against her breast. She waited a few moments before speaking up. “So are you going to let him tell us what type of letter he is sending? Also I think he is having trouble breathing.”

Dehvess took in a deep breath of air when Jahnah finally released his head. If he had found it nearly impossible to wear a frown before now he couldn’t have removed his smile. “The letter is a positive one.”

Jahnah gave a nod. “Is there anything negative in it?”

“I did list a few concerns but I also listed simple solutions to those concerns as well.”

Jahnah gave a nod and gave Dehvess a kiss on the cheek before walking back to the window seal. “Personally I believe Dehvess should just read the letter and you and he should go speak with Hellik yourselves.”

Annette blinked her eyes a few times. “Why don’t we just do that?”

Dehvess didn’t bother turning around to answer Annette’s question. “This is proper procedure. Also when you write a letter it forces you to think about everything you wish to say so that you are clearer then when you speak. At least that is what it should do.”

Jahnah turned to Annette. “The vast majority of people send letters and before you learn spells powerful enough to teleport or gain the ability to travel fast enough you do. Then you take into consideration that old habits are hard to break and you find that sending letters form a comfort zone.”

Annette couldn’t help but blink. “I thought you said you didn’t now why they send letters.”

“I don’t and neither does Dehvess. What he gave was his opinion on the situation and that is mine.”

“Why did you ask if you already had an opinion on the matter?”

“I didn’t have a serious opinion on the situation until after Dehvess was finished speaking.”

“You just said that to take a hidden stab at those who prefer order didn’t you?”

Jahnah gave a slight giggle. “That doesn’t make my points any less valid.”

Dehvess just shook his head as he finished up the letter. He then proceeded to fold it over the letter Maxwell had sent and placed them both on his desk. “Jahnah, would you mind giving me a hand?”

“Sure.” Walking over to Dehvess Jahnah gave him a few moments to begin the teleport spell before she placed her hand over his and began to chant herself. Dehvess would actually be controlling were the letter was to go while Jahnah was supplying the energy. This kept it from being draining on Dehvess due to Jahnah’s greater supply of energy and it made sure it would arrive due to Dehvess greater control.

Jahnah removed her hand from Dehvess’s once the letter was gone. “Well then Hellik will find that waiting for him and can send his response.”

“So what should I do?”

“It shouldn’t take Hellik more then an hour to respond to the letter. You can just wait around here.”

Annette gave a nod. “It would be kind of pointless for me to run home only to have to turn around and run back an hour later.”

Dehvess who had been setting the majority of the time gave a slight sigh when he stood up. “How long did it take you to run here?”

“I would say two hours.”

“That is impressive even if a giant was your size they couldn’t match that speed.”

“Yeah but I have always been fast for my size. It is just now my size is at least twelve times taller then your average human and nearly two thousand times the volume.”

Jahnah gave a slight chuckle. “I just realized they are even more reasons not to simply teleport to where someone is.”

Annette glanced down at Jahnah. “What are they?”

“The energy drain is one reason. It takes a bit out of me to teleport from guild hall to guild hall and we even have specially constructed rooms for that.”

Dehvess gave a nod. “That is true but you lose a lot of energy during the process.”

“Yes but that is due to my particular method of teleporting since I have the energy to spare. You on the other hand must use a more efficient method.”

Dehvess gave a nod. “What would the other reason be?”

“Guess.”

“Huh?”

“I want you to take a guess.”

“Well teleporting a small item does save a considerable amount of energy. Teleporting with Annette might be impossible due to her mass and resistance to magic.”

“Would it be so bad even when my guard was relaxed?”

“It would still be difficult due to your mass but not impossible in that case.”

Jahnah gave a giggle. “That is just another way of saying that it cost too much energy to constantly do.”

Dehvess gave a nod. “There is also the limitation that one must either know where they are teleporting to well, be able to see it or have something guiding them. If they don’t they could teleport inside of a rock.”

Annette gave a slight giggle. “Okay I see why you don’t teleport to speak to Hellik.”

Jahnah gave a nod. “It isn’t like it would speed the matter up after all. At least not enough to be worth the energy drain.”

Reaching through the window Annette gave Jahnah a quick tap on the head. “Okay I get the message.”

Jahnah gave a slight giggle and stuck her tongue out at Annette. Dehvess for his part couldn’t help but chuckle. “Well since we are done talking about the merits of teleportation spells and I have sent Hellik the letter I believe that I will get back to work. Would you like to join me Jahnah?”

“I believe that I’ll keep our guest company.”

“Fellow guild members that just spent several months with us don’t count as guest.”

Annette couldn’t help but wonder. “What do you plan on doing?”

“As you know Hellik left Jahnah and me here to protect the guild holdings. With that letter sent I suspect things may become busy. I want to make sure all our test data is properly recorded and stored away incase we are forced to delay them or transfer them to another guild hall.”

“And you wanted Jahnah to help you with that?”

Dehvess couldn’t help but chuckle. “You do have a point there.”

“Oh now I definitely won’t be helping you.”

“I’ll check on you two in forty five minutes. If Hellik sends a reply before then you can come and get me Jahnah or Annette could just tap the side of the tower a few times.”

Jahnah and Annette waved as Dehvess proceeded out of the room and out of their sight. After a few moments Jahnah turned to Annette. “So are you looking forward to the war?”

“I always think battles are fun. On most levels I am but I really don’t like the idea of my home land being torn to bits. I may not know many of the people there but I don’t wish them ill and would prefer if they weren’t harmed.”

“Ah that is sweet of you.”

“Well they may not be my friends but they seem to have accepted me to a limited extent.”

Jahnah proceeded to give Annette a stern look and set up slightly. “Well I hope you don’t like then more then us.”

Annette couldn’t help but giggle. “No my loyalties haven’t changed all that much.”

“Oh so your loyalties have changed and just how have they changed?”

“First Maxwell, then the guild, then myself, then my servants, then the people of my homeland and last my clients.”

“How could you let someone come before the guild that helped give birth to you?”

Annette rolled her eyes. “So if Dehvess left the guild you would choose to stay with it?”

“Of course not but we are talking about you and your short comings.”

Annette gave a slight huff. Leaning down so that her head was close to the window she puckered her lips and sent a quick burst of air into the room. The force of the wind was actually enough to nock Jahnah off the window seal. “Everyone has their priorities and I have mine.”

A slight giggle escaped Jahnah as she was sent tumbling into the floor. A moment later she set back up and leaned on the window seal as Annette spoke. “That is true one must have their priorities. So you must be quite fond of Maxwell.”

“Yeah I am.”

“Have you shoved him down your top yet?”

“No.” A slight giggle escaped Annette. “I have only recently grown large enough for that.”

“So when are you going to try it?”

“I don’t know.” As Annette spoke she soon realized she was beginning to blush.

“I recommend doing it whenever you get back. Just pick him up and shove him right between your breasts.”

“Like you did Dehvess’s head?”

“You shouldn’t do it exactly like I did Dehvess’s head. You should probably do it feet first.”

Annette couldn’t help but giggle. “Maybe I’ll take that advice though is hardly seems appropriate at such a time.”

“What are you going to wait until there is a battle going on?”

“No.”

“I know you could do it shortly after eating some people. That way he might be able to feel you growing around him of course you would have to eat quite a few people to cause a noticeable change.”

“I believe that would kill the mood.”

“Do you really think so?”

“Yes I do.”

Jahnah turned her head to the side for a moment while a curious expression appeared on her face. “I don’t know. I admit I never ate someone but love making seems to be more enjoyable after draining the life force out of someone.”

“Is that because draining the life out of the person makes Dehvess try harder or are you just on a buzz?”

“Oh I am on a buzz there is no doubt about that but he seems to enjoy the extra pep. Of course I don’t always tell Dehvess what I have been up to just before and you wouldn’t have to tell Maxwell that you had just snacked on a few people. Sure Dehvess always figures out what happened after words and since you told Maxwell how you make yourself grow more I am sure that he would figure it out eventually as well. That said do you really expect him to be thinking of such things during the actual event?”

“You do have a point.”

“Of course I do. So when are you going to try it.”

Annette gave a slight giggle. “I don’t know. Do you know of a bunch of people I could snack on?”

Jahnah proceeded to point past Annette. “There is a town in that direction.”

“Very funny I am not going to just go and eat a bunch of villagers who haven’t done anything to provoke me.”

“Oh fine but your letting your code of conduct get in the way of a lot of fun.”

“You seem a little different then normal.”

“It’s the thought of the approaching conflict. To be honest I am surprised Dehvess isn’t more depressed.”

“Huh?”

“You know that I am primarily a chaos mage. Whenever events are moving towards chaos I get a slight increase in ability and a rush. This is normally accompanied by horrible levels of happiness, depression and every emotion you can imagine in between. Dehvess gave me enough order to keep me on the happy end of the spectrum for a while.”

“Wouldn’t the order of the military help Dehvess?”

Jahnah shook her head. “The chaos of war can easily over whelm the order especially when you have multiple armies attacking you each seeking their own gain.”

“So Dehvess is weakened by it?”

“He’d be strengthened if the world around him was more structured. It really depends on the way the war seems to be going. Someone is causing a lot of chaos.”

“Is it me?”

“You’re one of the sources but you’re not the source. I get the feeling that someone is making sure events don’t go smoothly. I have a feeling there is going to be a long series of blood conflicts.”

“Mm, are you the source of the chaos?”

Jahnah gave a delighted giggle. “I am one of them but once again I am not the one I am sensing.”

“So who is the one?”

“I can’t tell but I can say that this won’t have any easy path to victory. Just consider that you’re fighting more then one opponent. It isn’t as simple as marching on a single city.”

“So this makes you more blood thirsty?”

“Yeah but that is the necromancy acting up. Every necromancer in the land should be sensing that a great deal of life will be released soon.”

“How does that work exactly?”

“Annette, can you tell when it is about to rain?”

“Sometimes I can make a good guess.”

“I can’t explain the details it is just a feeling that one gets after they have become attuned with a certain magic aspect. The more attuned you get the more sensitive you become.”

“So you can since it when events are moving towards chaos? Does that mean it is going to happen?”

“No. The clouds can give all the signs of rain and then move right over head. At times it seems like something is going to happen then it doesn’t also just because things move towards chaos or order doesn’t mean it is for the reason you believe it to be.”

“Like you’re expecting a war and get a storm instead?”

“Yes or you’re expecting a piece agreement and instead everyone is killed in the case of order.”

Annette gave a giggle. “I suppose killing everyone is one method to bring about order. So if you get a buzz whenever you feel things moving towards chaos what happens to Dehvess?”

“He becomes more intense. His focus gets sharper and his drive increases as well.”

“So do you crash after the chaos has died down?”

“It depends on how quickly it dies down. If the result is a huge bloody battle that leads to the fighting’s end immediately after. Yes I tend to crash. I tend to feel exhausted for a few days after words.”

Annette was about to comment when she felt a slight rush of energy and saw a slight distortion appear above the desk. A moment later what appeared to be a letter appeared though it was far thicker then Annette expected. “Jahnah it looks like you have a letter.”

Turning around Jahnah walked over to the desk and picked up what was actually two letters. “It seems Hellik sent some orders to the guild as well as a letter to Maxwell.”

“Should I get Dehvess?”

“Yes. Would you like to see what the letter to the guild has to say as well?”

“Sure. I am a Luvarian to.” Turning around Annette moved over to the tower Dehvess would most likely be in. Reaching down she gave the bottom portion of the tower a few light taps. Each time her knuckles struck the side of the tower the entire structure would shake lightly. After the tenth time Annette moved back to the window she was looking into while speaking with Jahnah. “That should get him.”

“I was kidding about tapping the guild hall.” Dehvess sighed as he walked into the office where he found Jahnah waiting with a letter while Annette peeked into the window.

Jahnah grinned as she noted the tired expression on Dehvess’s face. “You see as the world moves towards chaos he looks more drained.”

“Huh?” Dehvess gave his head a quick shake. “While the up coming chaos may drain me slightly I still have plenty of energy.”

An amused giggle escaped Jahnah. “An order mage never has plenty of energy.”

“Only when speaking with a chaos mage, anyway the drain the up coming chaos causes is only superficial.”

Jahnah gave a nod. “Just enough to make you look like you should be in bed.”

“So going by the disturbance I assume that you have news.”

Jahnah held up the still sealed letter from Hellik. “Here are our orders I assume.”

“I can’t help but wonder. This is my first time dealing this closely with a military event planned by the guild. Does it normally respond so quickly?”

Dehvess turned to Annette. “It depends on how much information we have on previous situations. We learned of this when you came to visit us after all so we have been preparing and making plans for what to do incase of various situations.”

“So I imagine Hellik already met with the high ranking guild members and discussed the situation.”

Jahnah gave a nod. “Yeah he did.”

“Why wasn’t I told about this?”

“The same reason the entire guild wasn’t informed. It isn’t really there concern.”

Annette stuck her tongue out at Jahnah. “I suppose it wouldn’t have affected anything if I had known the guild was already making plans. Since it sounds like you made a few contingency plans based on how I may react. Dehvess I just noticed you seem a lot more drained then when you left the room.”

Dehvess nodded his head in agreement. “It is because of that letter.”

“Do golems affect you the same way human soldiers do?”

“No, you affect me far more then a human soldier due to the power you possess. If you’re speaking about the mindless puppets we sell it depends on if they remain in control or not.”

“Why do you get along so well with Jahnah then if chaos makes you feel drained?”

Dehvess glanced at Jahnah for a moment. “Despite the fact that chaos weakens order and order weakens chaos. The two need one another in order to exist. If you have absolute order or absolute chaos they will both lead to the same end and that is death.”

“So you either die a slow orderly death or go up in one big explosion in either case?”

Jahnah gave a giggle. “Yeah that is what it amounts to. It’s why I had to put my studies of chaos on hold until I learn enough order to keep myself under control.”

While Jahnah and Annette spoke Dehvess took a seat at the desk. He knew that the energy drain he felt was superficial as he had said but he still felt it. “Jahnah, would you mind removing the protective seal on the letter?”

Jahnah gave a nod and took the letter from Dehvess’s hands. She then placed her fingers over a solid crimson seal that held it shut. There was a slight spark of energy and the seal seemed to melt away so that it could be opened. She then handed it back to Dehvess. “Read it and give us the short of it.”

“Thank you.” Dehvess took the letter from Jahnah and opened it up. Leaning back into the seat he began to carefully read.

“I thought you said his focus was hindered by the approaching chaos.”

“It is but he is still more focused then me. When the world moves towards chaos it sure doesn’t help me concentrate.”

************************************************************************

Jahnah glanced over at Dehvess when he set the letter down. She could just hear him sighing. “Is it bad news?”

“No, I just feel tired.”

“So what are we suppose to do?”

“Well it doesn’t have any orders for Annette however it does have orders for the rest of us. We need to store all out documented golem research, place a protective spell around them and transfer them to the main guild hall. We are to cease golem research for the time being and have all incomplete golems moved into storage. The completed ones are to defend the guild hall

We need to choose someone to run things while we are away and to work on defensive steps. You and I are to meet up with a group of golems and over see their movement to Maxwell’s land. At that we are to deploy the golems as needed. It also mentions something for Jahnah and me.”

“So does that mean you two will be working with me?”

Dehvess gave a nod. “Yes. We’ll be working with you. We have further instruction as what to do whenever Maxwell accepts Hellik’s terms of alliance and what to do if he doesn’t.” Dehvess proceeded to pick up the letter Hellik had sent for Maxwell and gave it a slight shake. “This is to be delivered as quickly as possible.”

Annette extended one of her fingers through the window. “Give it to me.”

Dehvess started to stand up when Jahnah took the letter from him and placed it on Annette’s finger. “There you go.”

Annette pinched the letter between her fingers and withdrew them through the window. “Well then I am going to get back to Maxwell and give him this letter. Will you two be here in five to nine hours?”

Dehvess gave a nod. “It is going to take some time to gather everything up as instructed. We should still be here.”

“Okay then I will go ahead and deliver this letter then come back. One question though. What did Hellik say to do if Maxwell didn’t accept the agreement?”

“In that case we would withdraw those golems that weren’t purchased and store them in this guild hall until the war was over if the alliance was rejected entirely. They are some aspects of the agreement that are negotiable.”

“Okay. I’ll see you two later today.”

************************************************************************
Annette glanced down at Maxwell who was taking his time reading the letter. “Well what do you think about it?”

“It’s financially generous.”

“That means that ethically something is bothering you.”

Maxwell didn’t respond right away but took in a deep breath and closed his eyes. It was at least a minute before he opened them again. “Okay.”

“What is okay?”

“Okay I am ready to do what I have to do. The main item I was having issue with refers to prisoners captured by the guild itself.”

“What does it say?”

“It says that I shall in no way attempt to secure their release. I can only begin to guess what the guild has planned for such people but I imagine it involves being test subjects.”

“I would have to say that is more then likely.”

“I’ll just have to live with that. I’ll write a letter of agreement.”

Annette gave a nod and lifted Maxwell so that he was level with the gaping hole in his office wall. “I’ll deliver it once you’re done and the alliance will be official. Does it say anything else?”

“Yeah but I imagine you’re wondering about things that really stand out. It states they’ll want some land in order to build an additional guild hall. It seems that they want to expand more.”

“That seems a little peculiar. I don’t really see anything here that would make it worth building a guild hall. They know that you dislike using golems so they can’t expect you to buy any. Plus after allying with you it isn’t like anyone will trust them.”

“I suppose they like the idea of having an agreement where by I can never attempt their removal for any other reason short of an outright attack.”

“Ah yes they have lost quite a bit of money whenever the local opinion would change and they’d be pressured to move.”

************************************************************************

Jahnah grinned as she removed the last of the protective spells around the container. Before she actually opened it she turned to Dehvess. “What do you suppose it is?”

“I honestly don’t know.”

“It is kind of strange for Hellik to send us something without informing us what it is.”

“These are abnormal times for the guild and everyone involved.”

“What do you mean?”

“Have we ever had a guild member like Annette before?”

“No we haven’t but it isn’t like this is the first time we have made a business move such as going to war with an ally.”

“Hellik and Maxwell haven’t even met and spoke about the event face to face once and now Hellik is sending a small army of golems to back him up.”

“I believe that we are helping Annette more then anyone else.”

Dehvess gave a nod. “I can see that. We have never had a guild member with the same type of potential she does.”

“So what do you think is in the box?”

Dehvess shook his head. “I just said I don’t know.”

“Think and know are two different things.”

“Jahnah you know that I don’t like to guess.”

“Then take into consideration what you know about current events and Hellik then make an educated assumption.”

Dehvess gave a sigh and started to reach over in order to open the container himself when Jahnah blocked him. Clearly he wasn’t going to get to see what was inside until he took a guess. “I believe that it will be related to magic somehow.”

Jahnah couldn’t help but frown. “Well of course it is related to magic.”

“How do you know that?”

“I don’t but it is very likely.”

“Well then open it and let’s find out. You didn’t say how vague my guess could be.”

************************************************************************

“Annette was these grips built in intentionally?”

Annette glanced over at Maxwell who was currently setting atop her right shoulder. His right hand was currently holding onto a slight raised part of her armor while his feet fitted into other holds. “I believe that it was. This armor was designed so that it wasn’t just for the battle field.”

“So you won’t be able to take it off for quite some time?”

“I can take it off to bath but that is it. Oh and by bath I don’t mean the long soaks that I enjoy.”

“You must really like this armor to sacrifice those.”

“I do. Believe me I do.”

“Thanks for giving me a lift by the way. I couldn’t normally check every position in one day.”

“It isn’t a problem and I prefer you being with me rather then traveling alone. So who are we meeting next?”

“Graendithas he’s in charge of guarding one of the borders.”

“Graendithas? Mm I believe that I have heard you mention that name before. He is a half-elf isn’t he?”

“Yes he is. Currently he’s in charge of guarding the eastern forest.”

“So do you expect to learn anything? So far it has been a whole lot of nothing.”

“I wouldn’t say a massive build up of soldiers and fortifications all around is nothing.”

“What I mean is there hasn’t been any moves to actually attack as of yet.”

Maxwell gave a slight nod. “I believe that someone is looking for a little action.”

“Guilty as charged. However, I would like for Jahnah and Dehvess to arrive with the golems before any serious fighting started. Even with my new stature I don’t like the idea of taking on an entire army.”

Maxwell gave a sigh. “You know there is one thing I don’t like about your new armor.”

“What is that?”

“I can’t give you a kiss on the neck.”

Annette gave a slight giggle and lifted Maxwell from her shoulder. “Well then on the lips will just have to do.”

Maxwell closed his eyes so that he could focus entirely on the feeling and warmth of Annette’s lips being pressed against his body. Even with Annette’s fingers firmly holding him against her lips he found himself attempting to lean even more into the embrace. As Annette kissed him he returned the favor by kissing as much of her upper lip as he could while using his hands to massage even more. “I missed this. I didn’t realize how much until you lifted me out of my office.”

Annette had to wait until she was finished and had pulled Maxwell away to respond. “Yeah, it was tough to spend so much time away from home and even tougher to spend it away from you.”

Maxwell rubbed the outside of Annette’s gauntlet as she held him in her right hand. “Let’s hope that we won’t be separated for quite some time.”

“Oh there is no hoping to it. I don’t believe I am going to be returning you to your home tonight.”

“So am I going to be with you then?”

Annette gave a quick nod. “I have spent the last few months worrying about you. Now that I have you back in my hands I don’t plan on letting you out of my sight for quite some time.”

“Mm I wish I had been told that earlier. I would have told everyone that if they need to contact me they should send a messenger to your home.”

“You can still tell Graendithas and he can have messengers sent out. He isn’t the last person on our inspection either is he?”

“No we have two more locations to check.”

“You really are under staffed if we only have two more stops.”

Maxwell gave a sigh and nodded his head in agreement. “That tends to happen when dealing with multiple opponents each one possessing a force equal to your own.”

“Well I am sure the equality is only in numbers.”

“Of course I have you. That has to bring up the average a great deal.”

Annette couldn’t help but giggle. Once again she brought Maxwell to her lips and pressed him against them. “I don’t know if your soldiers would appreciate you saying that. It may be bad for moral.”

“I know but it is the truth.”

‘Thank you.” At last Annette returned Maxwell to her shoulder. “You know I just realized something. Do you believe that you could use my armor to bolster your spells?”

“It is possible but the last time I tried to experiment with arcanon you were dead set against it.”

“That is true but once Jahnah and Dehvess arrive they could give you some pointers.”

“I hope they don’t charge me for the lessons.”

Annette rolled her eyes for a moment as she tried to suppress a giggle. She failed to do so and had to cover her mouth to keep from laughing. “The funny thing about that is. Now that you mention it I worry that they might but I don’t believe they will.”

Maxwell gave a slight chuckle and patted Annette’s shoulder pad. “That is quite a group you belong to.”

Graendithas’s ears picked up on Annette’s approach long before anyone else in the fort. He had seen Annette before and even spoken to her briefly though he hadn’t seen much of her. Due to his own request he was kept away from the majority of the heavily populated areas and spent most his time patrolling the wooded sections of the country.

At one time he had kept watch of the forest around Annette’s home but upon her arrival it had been deemed unnecessary and he had been moved.

At least he assumed that it was Annette. He didn’t know of many giants that were quite as large as her. Resolving to be on the safe side he turned to the nearest soldier. “Go tell everyone to be on alert and ready all spells casters and crossbow men.”

“I believe that we are expected.”

“That is good. I would be upset if I had to talk to Graendithas about being prepared.” Maxwell was somewhat surprised when he heard Annette sigh. “What is it Annette?”

“It isn’t anything important or to be exact it isn’t anything that can be helped at this exact moment.”

“Still, you can tell me what it is.”

Annette pointed at the fortification she was approaching. “While I was away I learned to feel life force. At least I can feel it fairly well. Going by what I can feel and felt at every fortification you really have your troops stretched as thin as they can be.”

Maxwell gave a nod. “If we weren’t surrounded things would be different. They just aren’t enough people to maintain every fortification though. The only upside to this dilemma is that every location has more then enough food for the soldiers within.”

Annette gave a nod and noted someone standing on top of the main tower. She instantly recognized him as Graendithas considering that he was one of the few half elfs around he was exceptionally easy to recognize.

Graendithas gave a quick hand sign to the defenders not to fire. Now that he could see Annette he recognized her and while he couldn’t see Maxwell very clearly he had a good idea that it was him riding on top of Annette’s shoulder.

Annette was a bit disappointed whenever she came to the fort and found that the walls were too high for her to simply step over. The pout on her face was slight however even a slight pout for Annette was very noticeable. “What is the matter Annette?”

“I was hoping that I would be able to just step over the walls. I suppose I am just going to have to be glad they look sturdy.”

Graendithas waved down at Annette and Maxwell. As he looked down at Annette he realized that had she been standing right next to the tower it would have only been a head taller then her.

Maxwell glanced up at Annette. “Would you mind setting me down in the court yard?”

“Why would I do that when I can just set you atop the tower?”

Maxwell gave a slight chuckle. “Okay then would you mind setting me on top of the main tower.”

“Sure.” Annette held her hand level with her shoulder and allowed Maxwell to climb onto it. She raised her thumb so that he would have something to hold onto and help balance him as she lifted him to the tower.

Due to the distance from the tower and the tower’s slight height advantage Maxwell wasn’t quite level with the top when her arm was fully extended. Walking over to the edge Graendithas reached down and helped Maxwell up the wrest of the way. “So how are you doing Max?”

Maxwell didn’t mind that Graendithas chose to refer to him by a nick name. He had grown quite use to the half elf’s behavioral pattern over the years. Plus while no one would know it by looking at him Graendithas was twenty years older then Maxwell. “I am doing better then I have been for a while now.”

Graendithas glanced over the side of the tower at Annette. “I can see why. Welcome back missy.”

Annette couldn’t help but stair at Graendithas. It was probably the first time in her life that she had been referred to as missy. She didn’t know if she liked the nickname or not and probably wouldn’t know until after the shock wore off. “Thanks shorty.”

Graendithas gave a slight chuckle. He was actually quite tall by human standards but he had to admit that compared to Annette he was short or down right tiny to be exact. Giving Annette a slight wave he turned his attention to Maxwell. “I sent a messenger to you around three hours ago. I have some news. I suppose he’ll just have to make a wasted trip.”

Annette could easily here the conversation and a playful grin formed on her face. “I don’t know. I could go catch him if you would like.”

Graendithas could only imagine how the messenger would respond to a giantess chasing him down. After only a few moments of consideration he turned to Annette. “That would be appreciated. I am sure he would be thankful that you saved him so much time.”

Annette gave a giggle. “Well then Maxwell I’ll be right back.”

Maxwell had began to chuckle the moment Annette had suggested she go and retrieve him. When he had realized that Graendithas was going to ask her to carry through with her offer he had found himself unable to contain himself and was now openly laughing. “That was just mean.”

“How is it mean? All I am doing is saving him a trip.”

“That may be true but you just guaranteed him one of the worse scares of his life. So what message was he bringing me?”

“We captured a few scouts.”

“So we are getting that much closer to an all out war.”

“It would seem that way but I don’t imagine they’ll try to send the main force through the forest with so many nice open paths to choose from.”

“Why do you believe the scouts were in the forest?”

“It is hard to say. Like I said there are plenty of other routs to take. The forest is one of the more difficult ones.”

“Have you managed to get any information out of them?”

Graendithas gave a slight sigh. “I just sent a messenger a few hours ago. What do you believe the odds of me having time to interrogate them are?”

Maxwell gave a nod. “Sorry that was a pretty stupid question on my part. How many did you capture?”

“We captured five of them alive. Would you like to see them?”

Maxwell walked over to the side of the tower which faced the direction Annette had walked off in. “How dirty are they?”

Graendithas couldn’t hide the curious look on his face. “They are pretty filthy. What are you think of doing?”

“Annette told me something interesting when she came back. I want you to take them and have them cleaned up very well. Then I want them taken to the main court yard and set on some carpet.”

“I don’t know exactly what you have in mind but I have a feeling that it’ll be good so I’ll wait to see.”

“Graendithas, how do you feel about torture to gain information?”

Graendithas gave a slight shrug. “If it saves the lives of my men I don’t have anything against it. You’re not thinking of regular torture though. I am going to go and get the scouts now. I want to see what you have in mind, not be told.”

Annette couldn’t help but giggle as she carried the two figures back towards the fort. One of them was a rather healthy war horse whom she had to carry around his mid section to prevent it from trying to jump out of her hands. The second was the messenger whose heart she could feel beating wildly even after she assured him that she had no intentions of harming him.

The messenger’s plight amused Annette so much that she had to take a longer time going back to the fort then she did leaving. “You know for someone that is supposed to get the message through no matter what you seem awfully nervous. I thought you’d be braver. Then again I suppose fear would encourage you to run faster so maybe one doesn’t really want nerves of still in their mail carriers.”

The messenger didn’t say anything. He had been making good time and planned on trading his tired horse for a fresh one the moment he came to another fortification. Then he had heard and even felt what seemed to be the entire earth shaking. A moment later he had been scooped up off his horse before he could even turn to see what had over taken him. For a moment he had actually thought a wyvern and swooped down and seized him.

Of course he had screamed. It was a perfectly natural response. His fear was so great that he only realized it couldn’t be a wyvern when he found that he was no longer being lifted into the air. This had allowed him to realize the hand holding him was humanoid and that whoever had taken hold of him was actually speaking to him. This hadn’t done anything to calm him down though.

Annette hadn’t actually given the messenger time to calm down. Shortly after scooping him up she had retrieved the horse and proceeded to make her way back towards the fort. She knew that it would help him calm down if she stayed still and gave him time to reorient himself but she was enjoying his panicked struggle too much to allow that. It was somewhat mean but she felt his panicked screams and struggles were truly amusing.

As his nerves calmed the messenger had remembered what the giantess had said when she first began to walk back towards the fort. At the moment he had been too scared to realize what her words meant though he did understand them. He was still quite nervous about the situation but when Annette spoke to him about his nerves he was at least able to understand her. If he hadn’t been so frightened he would have commented.

It was easy for Annette to tell that something had changed while she was away. She wasn’t certain just what that change was but she could since the activity that was going on behind the gates. When she looked towards the tower Annette suddenly quickened her pace when she realized that Maxwell was no longer waiting atop it.

“Maxwell where are you? Are you inside of the fort?”

Maxwell remembered what Annette had done to his office and given the tone of her voice he realized she may do it again. Realizing that if he didn’t want a hole in the fort he had best respond now he turned in Annette’s direction and called out. “I am in the court yard right now. There is no need to tear down the wall.”

Annette breathed a sigh of relief. As she relaxed her mind was brought back to the tiny figures in her hands and she looked down at them. The messenger was franticly trying to loosen her grip. It only took her a moment to realize why and she quickly relaxed her hand. “Sorry about that.” Bending down Annette set the horse down first but she kept her hand on it. The passenger came next. When he started to run away she quickly grabbed him again. “Get your horse so it doesn’t run when I let go.”

After the messenger had time to calm his horse Annette released the animal and proceeded over to the gate. “So what are you doing?”

Maxwell gave a slight sigh. For a moment he considered chastising Annette for being over protective but decided not to. He simply couldn’t get the words to come out of his mouth since he knew her behavior was only showing her concern. Her behavior did make him wonder if her increasing size was beginning to make her see him as helpless and needing protection.

When Annette had left she had been protective. However, she had left him at his home and not seemed concerned. Upon her return and after her accelerated size increase she seemed far more protective and for some reason he didn’t believe it was due to the approaching war. He had proven to Annette that he was not only skilled at melee combat and he was proficient with elemental magic as well.

The only thing that he could think of which would explain her sudden increased level of concern was the fact that she had grown so much larger and faster then normal. Perhaps her increased size and strength caused him to look much smaller then he normally did and even though his abilities hadn’t actually diminished they had in comparison to Annette.

Annette noted the thoughtful expression Maxwell’s face and held her tongue so that he had time to think. However, in the end he stayed in this thoughtful state for a minute too long and Annette had to speak up. “So what are you doing?”

Maxwell gave his head a quick shake as Annette’s question snapped him back to reality. Looking up at Annette he pointed over towards the five men that were currently setting atop a few mats. Their bodies glistened a bit due to the cold water that had been used to wash them off a few moments earlier. “The message Graendithas sent was that they had captured a few scouts. We’re getting to question them now.”

The five scouts looked up at the massive giantess who was currently looming over the wall. The fortress wall only reached up slightly over her crotch making it look very fragile and her massive shadow covered the vast majority of the court yard. At first they had thought the guards were preparing them for interrogation by dowsing them with cold water. Now as they looked up at the massive giantess they weren’t certain what was going on.

Annette’s massive presence distracted the five of them so completely that they hadn’t even heard Maxwell say they were going to be questioned. If it hadn’t been for their restraints they would have tried to run for it despite the guards that surrounded them. Even with the binds they still attempted to scoot backwards when her gaze fell upon them.

Annette looked down at the five tiny figures. She could tell that they had just received a thorough but very rough cleaning. They were all shivering and surprising it wasn’t entirely due to fear. Their skin was a bright red apparently where someone had scrubbed too hard and except for their restraints they were entirely naked. “Oh am I going to be helping with this inquisition?”

Maxwell gave a nod. “Given our current situation I believe that it is important we strengthen our forces as much as possible. These men can help with that one way or another. They can either provide useful information or you can eat them and that will accelerate your growth and strength increase.”

Annette gave an amused giggle and looked back towards the five men who had just lost the majority of the color in their skin despite the rough cleaning. “Mm” Annette parted her lips just enough to let her massive tongue come out. Slowly she traced it over her bright red lips leaving a trail of saliva that glistened in the sun. “Just remember you said useful information. If they don’t have any then I get to eat them.”

It was a tense moment for Maxwell but he gave a nod. “Yes, that is what I said. Graendithas, I want you to tell me everything you know about their activities and what might be being planned. We can’t have them getting out of this by giving up information you already acquired.”

Graendithas was silent for a moment then a slight chuckle escaped him. “I don’t know what would be worse, leaving them in a dire spider web until they gave up the information or were eaten or this.” Graendithas glanced up at Annette for a moment. “Well no feeding them to the spider would be worse.”

“So you have no objections?” Maxwell couldn’t help the relief in his voice. He wouldn’t go back on what he said but he hoped that Graendithas wouldn’t decide to leave the army over it.

“I can’t say that it is any worse the being beheaded from a death view point. Of course I have to wonder if the young lady plans on killing them before eating them.”

Annette gave a slight giggle and glanced down at the scouts. “I can’t say that I do.”

Looking over his shoulder at the scouts Graendithas gave a slight shrug. “I recommend you each start trying to remember everything that you can. Now where should I begin?”

A soft giggle escaped Annette. She could tell that Maxwell was conflicted by his decision but felt it was the best course of action. The report Graendithas was giving didn’t truly concern her but she paid close attention none the less. She wanted to make absolutely certain that the scouts didn’t try to pass off information that had already been given simply by putting it in a different form.

It pleased Annette to no end whenever she realized that Graendithas wasn’t just giving a matter of fact report. He was also taking the time to talk about what he believed was going on and what it could possibly mean.

The scouts had started by talking amongst themselves at first however as the conversation went on between Maxwell and Graendithas they grew silent. The half elf had far more information then they believed and with every fact he gave or theory he and Maxwell discussed they seemed to lose even more hope. None of them dared to lift their gaze towards the towering giantess that loomed over the wall.

They could feel Annette’s gaze and as the conversation grew longer and the details more focused her presence seemed to grow all the greater. The water had long since evaporated from their bodies and the heat seemed far greater then the day warranted. Several of them realized why the guards had taken them outside and cleaned them off. It was in preparation to serve them as a snack. These thoughts only seemed to make the heat even more oppressive

Annette listened to the conversation very careful but she kept her eyes on the scouts. Every now and then her massive tongue would flick out and play along her lips. As time wore on she couldn’t help but want to get closer to her food to be. “Maxwell I hate to interrupt but may I come over the wall?”

Maxwell glanced up at Annette. “Sure but you don’t know if you can eat them yet. They may have some useful information.”

Annette gave a slight giggle and winked as Maxwell. “I am not that worried. Now I recommend bracing yourself the wall is to high for me to step over and I don’t believe it could support me climbing over it. I am going to have to jump.”

Graendithas whom had been calm during the entire time Annette had been there suddenly seemed very concerned. “Wait. No, don’t just jump into the court yard.”

Maxwell gave his head a sudden smack. “Damn that was stupid of me. Annette a lot of this structure is actually underground. It isn’t all earth under us and you might destroy some of the underground sections if you landed in the wrong part of the court yard.”

Annette gave a slight sigh. “Is there any section that I could land on?”

Graendithas quickly scanned the court yard. “It doesn’t run under the whole of the court yard but you can’t just jump down into it without knowing where to land.”

Annette gave a nod. “Do you know the layout?”

“Well I know it pretty well but I never had someone wanting to jump over the main gate with your mass missy.”

Maxwell gave a nod. “There is an easy way to find out at least.” Bending down Maxwell placed his hand on the ground and began a slow chant. As he did so Annette could see wisp of earth magic beginning to move from him and into the earth. The spell wasn’t very powerful however it was highly precise and took a few moments to complete due to the precision.

“So what did you find?”

Standing up Maxwell walked over to a weapons rack and took out one of the spears. He then walked over to the northern wall and began to draw a massive line with the bottom of the weapon. After this he walked back over to where he had been setting with Graendithas. “You can land right there.”

“Okay now I recommend that everyone braces themselves.”

Maxwell, Graendithas and everyone else present expected Annette to get a running start. They were surprised when she went from standing behind the wall to leaping over it with what appeared to be a slight hop. The actual jump seemed to happen extremely quickly however Annette’s mass did nothing to speed up the effects of gravity so that the action of landing seemed quite strange.

They could actually see Annette’s body accelerating as she fell towards the earth. They saw the motion of her legs as her feet met the ground and they bent to dampen the impact. The impact which she struck the ground with was far greater then what anyone but she had expected. It wasn’t simply due to her greater mass but the greater speed she had been falling at.

Maxwell remembered what had happened when Annette had leaped over to his home upon her return. He should have known to do a better job of bracing himself but as the shockwave from her landing was sent throughout the area he found his footing destabilized.

Graendithas quickly reached out and took hold of Maxwell preventing his fall. “Maybe you should have asked her to take off that armor. I believe she may have shaken some of the structure loose.”

Annette gave a giggle as she straitened her legs and took a moment to look around. Several of the guards had been knocked to the ground but as far as she could tell no one had been injured. The first person she checked on was Maxwell at which time she saw him being steadied. “I said that you should brace yourself.”

Maxwell gave a nod. “Yeah and I knew that you meant it. I just didn’t expect such a powerful shockwave.”

“Well then please continue with your discussion.”

Graendithas gave a slight chuckle as Annette walked over to the prisoners. “I swear you’re as bad as a child. Missy suits you perfectly.”

Maxwell couldn’t help but laugh when Annette stuck her tongue out at Graendithas. “Yes definitely.”

Before she moved to the scouts Annette turned towards Graendithas and Maxwell entirely. “I swear not many people have the nerve to speak to me the way you have. You’re alright but I can’t help wondering. What made you think that I wouldn’t just kill you for calling me missy?

Graendithas gave a slight chuckle. “I have spent a long time learning to read body language. Plus, I have heard about you and surely you wouldn’t eat one of Maxwell’s buddies just because he called you Missy.”

“Oh. So you relied on your friendship with Maxwell to protect you initially and responded to my reaction after words?”

“Of course one doesn’t survive by being stupid and reckless.”

Annette gave a slight giggle and turned her attention back to the scouts. As she neared the guards around them scattered once the area was moderately clear she proceeded to set down and extend her legs to either side of the group. She then proceeded to lean forward so that her face was just above the group.

The wall had appeared fragile compared to Annette so very fragile. However, even though it appeared fragile it still had served as a barrier between them and the giantess. Now that thin veil of safety had been torn away and the found themselves within the giantess’s grasp.

As the scouts squirmed Annette couldn’t help but make fun of the event. She wanted to see how much fear she could cause them without actually touching them. Earlier she had teased them by allowing her tongue to play along her lips once again she made use of the tactic, this time she leaned over the group so that he could look up at her massive face.

The scouts fear seemed to only make Annette’s hunger grow. As her appetite increased the amount of saliva she began to produce began to increase. This could be seen every time her tongue would trace a path across her lips. What had been a thin trickle that was only visible whenever the sun would glint off her lips was now very noticeable.

As Annette traced her tongue over her lips she could feel the saliva building up. On one such pass she actually felt a tiny drop of saliva roll of her tongue and fall towards the group at least it was tiny from her perspective. As the men looked up at her face they saw the droplet the size of a watermelon roll of her tongue and fall towards them. The fact that even setting she still loomed around eleven meters above them gave them a second or two to actually watch it fall.

The saliva was denser then water so that it didn’t bust quite the same. Instead it seemed to ooze and poor over the scout it landed upon for just a moment before bursting. The heavy mixture struck the man with enough force to nock him to his side and several of those setting near him nearly toppled onto their sides as well.

Maxwell knew what Annette had been doing the entire time. This didn’t mean he was prepared for the scouts to suddenly start screaming. Worried that Annette may have already decided to eat one of them he quickly turned around to find her hands no where near the group however he did notice the liquid that drenched them.

An amused giggle escaped Annette even as she looked up and saw the expression on Maxwell’s face. “I didn’t touch them.”

Graendithas rolled his eyes as he already realized what had happened even without looking “A young girl drooling over candy.”

Maxwell gave a slight chuckle and covered his forehead for a moment. At last he once again brought his gaze to look up at Annette who by now was back to taunting her potential food. “Yes, she sure likes playing with her food an awful lot. So is there anything else I should know?”

Closing his eyes Graendithas leaned back and covered his ears for a moment so that he could focus on what they had been talking about. After a few moments he shook his head. “No I believe I have all the facts and reasonable speculation out of the way.”

Annette glanced over at Maxwell upon hearing the good news. “Hey just because one has good information does that mean the others get spared? You two spoke for so long that I really am hungry.”

“No. They each have to give some type of useful information.”

Annette gave an amused giggle and looked down at the scouts. She then brought her finger down and proceeded to press it to the one that appeared to be the most physically fit. Pressing her fingernail into the man’s stomach she forced him onto his back and proceeded to push down until he screamed out in pain. When she removed her fingernail there was a bright red spot where her fingernail had pushed down. “I hope that you don’t know anything. You look absolutely delicious. You are so nice and lean.”

Maxwell glanced over at Graendithas. “So in what order should we question them?”

Graendithas glanced up at Annette then at Maxwell. “Let Missy decide.”

Maxwell gave a nod. “Okay Annette you get to decide on what order we are going to question them.”

Annette quickly clapped her hands together as she realized she’d most likely get to choose who she got to eat based on what order she picked them in. “Can you guess who is going to be the very last person to get asked?”

“So which one is it going to be?”

************************************************************************

“What is the matter? You look tense.” Annette glanced down at Maxwell who currently set atop her right knee. Currently he, Annette and a few others were waiting along side a dirt road.

“I hate that we had to use this road.” The road Maxwell spoke of ran through James’s domain and was the road the golems were currently being marched down.

Annette gave a sigh and gently rubbed her finger against Maxwell’s back. “The guild resolved that it was the most reasonable rout to take since it is the only one that isn’t closed off.”

“James is going to send messengers to the king and the surrounding lords and dukes.”

“We all know. He even went and told the guild that he would have no choice. The golems are going to be here before the word to prepare to attack can get out though. The messenger and the armies are humans. The golems can move all night and day if they have to.”

“I am sure the messenger will take his time as well.”

“The fact that he is giving you time to prepare after starting this mess really has you worked up.”

“I am doing him a favor or to be more precise I am being forced to do him a favor. I don’t know what that favor is but I know there is one.”

“Then after this is over with you can require him to do you a favor.”

Maxwell gave a slight chuckle. “I imagine that keeping his lands open for this long would count as that favor.”

“Ah but have you forgotten? He started this which means he either needs to repay a favor or he wronged you.”

“I like your way of thinking.”

Annette gave an amused giggle. “Though I have to admit I am grateful that he is sending so many snacks my way. I was surprised that none of the guards left when you offered them the chance to leave the court yard.”

“That was Graendithas’s handiwork.”

“What did he do to them?”

“He does a good job of weeding out those with weak stomachs. I’ll leave it at that.”

“Oh come on give me an example.”

“Do you remember the comment he made about dire spiders?”

“Yes.”

“He keeps one stored in a well reinforced room of the fortress. He has used it to encourage bandits hiding in the forest to talk. Of course he has an uncommon hatred for bandits.”

“Ah.” Annette turned her head to the side. “They should be here within an hour do you want to go and meet them?”

“I am not going to cross over into James’s domain.”

“Someone’s ego has been hurt.”

Maxwell gave a sigh. “I know. I just can’t bring myself to cross into that snakes land anymore.”

“Mm I wish I could kiss it and make it better. You know you’re not the one being played though. You’re the one that sees through everything that is going on.”

“Am I? I sure hope that I am however that doesn’t change the fact that I have no means of stopping it. I can’t even ask you to kill him. He hasn’t actually given me a reason to do so and it just means those soldiers under his command would go to others.”

“You can still ask me to kill him.”

“You just want his soldiers to attack so you can eat them.”

Annette gave a giggle. “Maybe but that doesn’t change the fact that you can ask.” Maxwell gave a sigh and patted the armor that covered Annette’s leg. “You’re not going to ask me to attack him without better justification are you?”

“No I am not.”

“Even if he keeps fanning the flames so that everyone else attacks you?”

“The desire to attack was already there as were their suspicions. James just decided to make use of them.”

“Okay I am not going to pretend to understand your reasoning. I’ll just go along with your decision for the time being.”

“Killing James won’t make things any better and at the moment it would just make things worse. Even if I had asked you to kill him before hand it would have ended up with the same outcome.”

“Mm if only I was bigger. You wouldn’t have to worry about taking on more opponents then you can handle. Have you planned how you’re going to station the golems?”

“Yes I have. I was hoping that you would help me with something once they are here.”

“What is that?”

“I tried to strengthen my defenses as much as I could but like you noticed before I have few troops. I would like it if you would carry as many golems as you could to a few locations that have the most desperate need for reinforcements.”

“I’d be glad to but you’ll have to come along. Someone has to tell the golems who their commanding officers are.”

Maxwell gave a nod and looked towards the road. “Is that them?”

Annette glanced over the road and gave a nod. “That is them. It is kind of hard to tell that they aren’t human from this distance isn’t it?”

“Yeah if one doesn’t notice their coloring” Maxwell continued to watch as the humanoid shapes grew closer. As more rounded the binds and came over the hills the entire road seemed to serge forward as the clay warriors grew closer. “There motions are so static though.”

“Every last one of them is made the same. Their legs are all the same length and move the same amount. So yeah each ones motion is a perfect replica of the last ones. If you figure out the flaw in one of them you know the flaw in every last one of the same series.”

“I imagine knowing the flaw and exploiting it are two different things.”

“Yes it is.”

“From here I would say the flaw in the general combat golems is they are slow.”

“Pfft.” Annette couldn’t help but giggle. “Yeah they are slow. They can only run slightly faster then your average human wearing heavy armor. You won’t be getting any of them on horse back either.”

“You’re speaking relatively aren’t you?”

“Yes I am, if everyone was so much faster then them that they were easily beaten they would never sell and I would have to have a few words with the Luvarians for sending junk.”

“Do they have junk models?”

“They call them vintage. Basically they are inferior golems that are no longer in production.”

Maxwell gave a light chuckle and started to comment when he saw something that silenced him. “Annette, is that a golem?”

“Huh?” Annette glanced back towards the road and what she saw surprised even her. “That isn’t a golem. That is Jahnah?”

“I thought you said she was a chaos mage.”

“She is.”

Jahnah could easily see the stunned expression on Annette’s face. “Hey. I hope we are here in time.”

Annette didn’t respond right away. Instead she continued to stare at Jahnah while trying to figure out what was going on. As she looked her over Annette tried to see exactly what was going on. At first she assumed that Jahnah was using an illusion spell however despite her efforts to focus and see through the illusion there was absolutely no change.

At last Annette noticed something that she hadn’t seen before. “Where did that tiara come from?”

Jahnah gave a giggle. “It is just a little something made by the Luvarians.”

“You’re using a very powerful polymorph spell.”

Jahnah gave a giggle as she finally drew close enough to Annette for their height difference to become apparent. “That is right. This is something developed through the guild’s studies of arcanon.”

“The metal allows you to fuse the energies of all those crystals together. I am surprised you can control it though.” Annette could hardly believe her eyes as Jahnah neared her. Even if she had been standing her head would have most likely only come up to the underside of Jahnah’s breast.

“Well the arcanon still doesn’t let me control it. That is his job.” Reaching into her bra Jahnah took her time removing a tiny object from her cleavage. Dehvess didn’t know if he should be upset with Jahnah or just happy about were he had spent the majority of their journey since she had tried on the tiara.

Annette retrieved Maxwell from her knee and proceeded to stand up. “That tiara must pack a lot of energy. Why aren’t you wearing it Dehvess?”

Dehvess blinked his eyes a few times. “I don’t like jewelry for one thing and for another thing my body couldn’t contain so much energy.”

Jahnah gave a giggle and stepped a bit closer to Annette once she had stood up. “However due to my training in chaos magic I can handle a nearly unlimited amount of energy running throughout so long as it is the right type.”

Annette’s expression changed from shock to a smug grin. “But you can’t control it which means to reduce you back to size I just have to take him away.” Annette moved to grab Dehvess only to have Jahnah snatch him away.

Jahnah gave a giggle and waved her free hand just in front of Annette’s face. “No you don’t little lady.”

Annette gave a playful chuckle and stepped back so that she could see Jahnah’s face. “So can get you get larger?”

Jahnah gave a quick nod. “I can if Dehvess here lightens up on the strangle hold he has on the energy.”

Dehvess couldn’t help but snort. “You may be the one that allows the energy to flow but I still have to regulate its use so you don’t get too much or too little other wise the spell will break.”

“Not that I want to see Jahnah even larger then me but why don’t you just keep it from dropping too low and give her the crystals maximum?”

“Because it would incinerate me in order to control the energy I have to learn how it behaves. It doesn’t help that I have to convert raw energy into a form Jahnah can easily use either.”

“So what is the crystals’ maximum?”

Jahnah gave a shrug. “As of yet we don’t really know.”

Annette gave a slight shrug and lifted Maxwell up so that he could get a better view. “Maxwell I would like you to meet two of my fellow guild members. As I am sure you already realized the big on is Jahnah and she is currently cheating to bolster her size and her accomplice in cheating is Dehvess.”

Jahnah bent down so that she could get a better look at Maxwell and held Dehvess up. “Please to meet you Maxwell. We’ll be helping to protect your territory and guild interest.”

Maxwell gave a nod. “I am pleased to meet the two of you. So what are your functions in this matter?”

Dehvess proceeded to step out onto the ends of Jahnah’s fingers so that he was closer to Maxwell. “The golems are yours to command for the time being. We’ll cooperate with you as well but we aren’t your subordinates.”

Maxwell gave a nod. “Well then perhaps I could ask for a favor right now.”

Jahnah gave a nod. “Go ahead.”

“They are a few weak points that I feel the need to strengthen as quickly as possible. I was going to have Annette carry a few golems to these locations. Perhaps you would be willing to assist in this?”

Jahnah gave an amused giggle. “Well we are supposed to transport the golems to their locations though I had hoped that would end at the border. We’ll still help though. Annette and I can make it into a race.”

A delighted giggle escaped Annette. “Did you see the look that Dehvess and Maxwell just gave one another?”

************************************************************************

Immune to weapons that weren’t at least enchanted, nearly immune to swords, spears, arrows and javelins even if they were enchanted it was no wonder golems were feared. It was also no wonder that those whom used them were often thought to be monsters by their enemies. Maxwell found himself looking at a map of his lands.

The Luvarians had provided him with a total of two hundred and fifty golems each one of which was worth seventy experienced soldiers in nearly any situation so that effectively they had provided seventeen thousand five hundred additional soldiers. They had also provided him with two of their elite mages. He had taken the golems and divided them into five main groups which had been broken down slightly further at key locations.

“So this is the defensive layout?”

Maxwell glanced over at Dehvess who was currently leaning over the table. “Yes, since you brought the golems I spread it out further then what it was in order to provide protection for even more people.”

“I can see three routs which would work equally well to launch an attack from. Given the enemies superior numbers I imagine that they will launch them from all three locations at once.”

“Yeah I wish I could say that the attack from the west will be the largest one but I don’t believe that will be the case. They’ll probably reinforce those lands to the east even though they are smaller and either attack with a stronger force from that direction or one that is at least equal to the other two additional attacks.”

“I believe that we should attack the eastern lands before that happens.”

Maxwell turned his eyes away from Dehvess and back down to the map. “You believe that we should make the first move?”

“Like you said that is the smaller of the lands which means it most likely has the smallest military force at the moment. It would be beneficial to destroy them before they can be reinforced.”

Maxwell nodded his head in agreement. “I could ask Annette to attack them and send a few units of cavalry and mages to back her up.”

“Please, don’t thin your defenses any further. I would be happy to go and I am sure Jahnah is itching to try fighting as a giantess. Annette should also come of course. Annette and Jahnah are by far the most mobile forces you have and should things go poorly can retreat the most easily or travel to where they are needed in just a few hours.”

Maxwell gave a nod. “I don’t know if Annette will just allow me to wait here. I am surprised that she didn’t insist on being here while we talked.”

“I am sure she can be persuaded provided you allow her to set some safety measures.”

“Why do I have the feeling that I am going to have a golem bodyguard?”

Dehvess couldn’t help but laugh. “One is if you are lucky.”

Annette set in front of the tower so that Maxwell, Dehvess and Jahnah were at eye level with her. “So you two have decided on a course of action?”

Maxwell gave a nod. “Yes in going with Dehvess’s advice. Annette I want you to attack the eastern lands and destroy as much of their military force as you can. Jahnah, I would appreciate it if you and Dehvess would go along with her.”

Jahnah gave a slight snort and poked Dehvess. “Why even ask? I am sure that a certain order figure already made the decision for me.”

Dehvess couldn’t help but laugh. “Chaos needs control.”

“You’re lucky that you didn’t say controlled other wise I would show you just how difficult that can be.” An amused giggle escaped Jahnah and her mood seemed to lighten. “I would be glad to go.”

Annette couldn’t help but sigh. “I take it that you won’t be joining us will you Maxwell?”

“Someone needs to be here incase events should change else where. However, I am prepared to listen to any safety measures you have to suggest so you can have peace of mind.”

“You kept ten of the golems here didn’t you?”

“Yes I did.”

“I want you to keep three of them with you at all times and you are not to go to a battle field of any kind.”

Maxwell gave a nod. “Okay Annette. I am glad you have enough confidence in my abilities that you only required I keep three golems with me.”

Annette couldn’t help but pout. “It isn’t that I don’t have confidence in your abilities. You’re just too precious to me to want to take any risk of loosing you.”

Maxwell felt himself blush a bit and suddenly regretted his choice of words. “Thanks Annette. I want you three to play it carefully as well. If you find yourself getting injured or worn down I want you to retreat.”

“You’re welcome. I take it you would like us to leave as soon as possible.”

“Yeah, of course they may already be reinforced.”

Annette gave a slight shrug. “I’ll tell you tonight when we come back.”

************************************************************************

Annette tried to keep her annoyance from showing as Jahnah insisted on walking along side of her. She still wasn’t used to having someone her own height coming along for the journey let alone taller then her and on many levels she didn’t like it. “So what is the plan of attack?”

Dehvess glanced at Annette from atop Jahnah’s shoulder. “With only two people to work with I didn’t feel the need to come up with an elaborate plan of attack. I took the time to memorize the locations of several fortifications and ordered them into a list of the most practical targets.”

“That actually brings me to another question. What are we going to do about prisoners?”

“We won’t be taking any. I expect you two to kill everyone that you can.”

“Huh, I thought the Luvarians wanted to acquire test subjects.”

“There will be plenty of time for that later.”

“So if they surrender?”

“Despite your size the two of you don’t have the ability to transport them and I refuse to risk them joining up with other units.”

Jahnah gave an amused giggle. “I am surprised that he didn’t ask us to trample their fields.”

“We don’t have time for that. For the moment I want to focus on the military installations. After the fortifications have been destroyed we can move onto less important targets. Though I don’t truly favor the idea of having you two ruin the fields or any of the land for that matter.”

It only took a moment for Annette to realize where Dehvess’s line of thought had taken him. “You don’t want us to destroy the land because it isn’t the source of chaos and is a resource. You’d just rather if we killed all the people that resisted or supported the resistance.”

Dehvess gave a nod. “I believe it to be the best course of action. Of course we don’t know if it will come to that. Hopefully after they witness what is done to the military the peasants will be less likely to go off to die.”

Jahnah gave an amused giggle. “That is my order mage, order regardless of the cost of life.”

“Mm and is my chaos mage objecting?”

“Of course not I don’t mind being the instrument of destruction, though some part of me doesn’t like the fact that I in causing such chaos I am helping to bring about order.”

Annette couldn’t help but giggle. “Well I am up for it Maxwell did say he wanted us to destroy the military forces. I may as well assume that means entirely.”

************************************************************************

“Dehvess are you alright? I thought I just heard you groan.”

Dehvess gave a nod. “You did hear me groan.”

Looking up Annette was surprised when she saw Dehvess face. “What is wrong you look like you’re in pain?”

Jahnah gave a sigh and proceeded to retrieve Dehvess from her shoulder. “We are nearing the first fortification. He is in pain. The chaos is growing stronger and he is trying to reject it. The chaos you and I are moving the region towards is so great now that it is actually hurting Dehvess.”

“Is he going to be okay?”

Jahnah gave a nod and pulled her top open she then proceeded to slip Dehvess down between her breasts and finally further down until he rested in her bra just under her breasts. “He’ll be fine. Just give me a moment.”

Annette gave a nod and stopped as Jahnah did. She then watched as the chaos mage folded her fingers together and began a light chant. A few moments later she saw several wisp of energy moving around her. As the energy circled her it seemed to flow into her as if she was absorbing it.

Jahnah separated her hands and checked inside her bra. “Is that better?”

Dehvess gave a sigh. “You know you don’t have to put me in here to do that.”

“Oh, shush. Are you feeling better now?”

Dehvess gave a nod and set up. “Yeah I am.”

“Okay you should probably make yourself comfortable.” Jahnah took a moment to blow Dehvess a kiss before she began to close her top.

Annette gave a slight giggle as she watched Jahnah seal Dehvess away. “What was that spell you used?”

“It was a curse.”

“Huh, you mean you cursed yourself.”

“Yes I did though it doesn’t affect me the way it would most people. The curse calls chaos to a person. This would normally cause things to behave in an erratic fashion and more then a few unexplained events however in the case of a chaos mage we can just absorb the chaotic energy for a slight energy boost.”

“So by absorbing the energy you’re keeping it from effecting Dehvess.”

“That is right.”

Annette gave a nod and started to walk again after Jahnah finished shutting her top. “Does he have to be in your bra for it to work?”

Jahnah gave a slight giggle. “No. In fact he only has to be within the general area we’ve used similar methods several times before. Whenever the battle begins to calm down and order returns he’ll cast a second curse on me which doesn’t allow order to come into ones life.”

“Which I assume won’t allow the order to affect you.”

“That is right and by doing so we remove each other’s primary weak points.”

“Can you run with him in there?”

“Oh yes I modified a sections in several of my bras once we arrived. How else would I expect him to get comfortable if I hadn’t?”

“So you were planning to keep him in there?”

“I admit I had few other places in mind but yes. I resolved that near my heart was the best place to keep him and the least distracting.”

Annette couldn’t help but giggle. “I imagine the distraction factor was the primary reason you didn’t put him in the front of your bra.”

“Maybe it was.”

“Well then is he safely tucked in now?”

“Yes.”

“Well then how about we have a little race to the fortification? Just because your legs are longer then mine doesn’t mean you’re as fast as me.”

Jahnah couldn’t help but giggle. “I wonder if that is one of the reasons Dehvess felt the chaos strengthen.”

“Well it would give them less time to prepare and serve our purposes.”

“Yeah and as much chaos as having two giantess attacking would cause I am sure seeing two giantess charging at the same time would cause even more. Okay you’re on.”

Annette gave a nod and came to a stop. “Okay you can say when to go.”

************************************************************************

A yawn escaped from the watchman as he looked out over the road. He was currently standing on one of the walls and even though it was no where near the highest point in the fortress it gave him a very complete view of surrounding area. The position was situated to provide the best view of the surrounding area including the only roads that were easy to pass through within the region.

The position provided a nearly perfect firing range for the mages and archers within the fortress. The only major flaw in the fortress wasn’t its location or design but rather it had seen at least two decades of only minor repairs. It had once stood as one of the major lines of defense for the region but since the kingdom had been formed into a cohesive whole it had only been lightly maintained.

It had seen some repairs since the hostilities had broken out but despite the fortress’s sturdy design they hadn’t had enough time to affect total repairs yet. The watchmen gave a slight shrug and chuckled. This didn’t truly concern him as he belonged to the group that felt the fortress was plenty strong for its purpose despite a few decades of neglect. It wasn’t likely that its walls would see any action at all.

“Son of a bitch” The watchmen quickly retreated from the edge of the wall as he felt a sudden shockwave run through it. A bit of rubble was sent toppling off the less stable sections of the wall but all the main stones stood firm. The watchmen had worried that a chunk of the wall was about to slide away. “Maybe this place isn’t as sturdy as I thought.”

“Hey!” Jahnah’s voice resounded throughout the area. Annette had just leaped into a river they had been about to across instead of leaping over it. Jahnah had been soaked. Annette had to work hard to keep her focus and not slow down as she fought through the giggles that threatened to rack her entire body.

As the watchman calmed down he noticed the wall once again beginning to shake the shaking wasn’t nearly as extreme but it was noticeable. Turning around he moved to leave his post whenever he noticed that the tower leading up to the section of wall had began to shake as well. Indeed as he looked around him he noticed the entire fortress had began to shake.

The sound of what seemed to be several explosive spells going off in succession drew his attention back towards the road. What he saw made his mouth go dry. Everyone knew about the massive giantess that would be fighting along side Maxwell however knowing about Annette and actually seeing her were two entirely different things. His blood seemed to run cold though when he realized there was a second giantess with her.

Annette pushed herself to run even more quickly as they neared the fortress. She and Jahnah had resolved that the wall would serve as the finish line and the first one to brake through would be the winner of their race. She suddenly regretted the brief jump into the river since it had caused her to lose a few precious moments.

Jahnah would have loved to use a spell to speed her up however at the moment she couldn’t do that. She had been able to cast the curse to absorb the surrounding chaos on her but that had been while standing still. Now she was simply drawing too much energy to try and draw anymore through her system. To do so would risk trying to make Dehvess control too much energy which could result in him being seriously injured. She would have to just depend on her altered body.

Annette and Jahnah slammed into the fortress wall seemingly at the same time as the pressed against it though the winner became clear. Annette had been fortunate enough to choose a weaker section of the wall the side having been exposed to the elements more then the one Jahnah struck allowing Annette to press through more easily.

The guard had realized what the two giantess were going to do and dashed into the tower in order to avoid being taken down with the wall. As he saw the two massive figures crashing through it he didn’t believe the wall had even held them back for a tenth of a second. Several massive chunks of the wall were sent flying through the air causing further destruction. The main massive tower was rocked and had an enormous chunk tore out of it when a slab slammed into it.

Annette would have liked to gloat about being the first through the wall but at the moment she had other concerns. As she scanned the fortification she focused her eyes and tried to ignore those figures that didn’t show much mystic energy. A slight flash of light got her attention and she looked towards the opposite wall to see that three mages had begun casting fire spells.

The entire fortification seemed to shake as the giantess advanced on them. The three battles mages still held there ground. They two had seen the giantess charging and while they hadn’t expected them to breach the gate so quickly they each knew that their best chance of survival was to complete the spell. As the red headed giantess reached her gloved hand for them they completed the spell.

The spheres of flame that erupted from the mages hands’ poured into one another forming into an even greater volume. As it struck the giantess’s hand the flames poured forth instead of exploding and covered her hand and gauntlet entirely.

Despite her military training the mage let loose a shriek when the flames vanished only moments later and the giantess’s massive hand continued to advance. Before she even had a chance to move the massive black glove had encircled her and she was lifted away from the group.

It had taken Annette a few moments to identify the mage with the strongest mystic energies in the area due in large part to the energy Jahnah was radiating. As Annette lifted the woman into the air she would have loved to taken some time to taunt her but at the moment she didn’t have time for that.

The woman’s fear had seemed peeked when the giantess had taken hold of her however as she saw where she was being lifted towards it did the impossible and grew even greater. The giantess’s massive mouth yawned open revealing massive white teeth the size of many tomb stones and a tongue that surpassed the largest of serpents she had seen.

“No!” The woman only had enough time to utter a single word not nearly enough time for her to cast a spell before she hit the soft wet surface of Annette’s tongue. The saliva hadn’t even had time to coat her entirely before Annette had turned her head back. The woman was too large for Annette to close her mouth without tearing off some of her body.

There was no desire in Annette to bite down on the woman though. So instead she used the same hand that had just deposited the mage into her mouth to press down on the woman’s feet and relaxed her throat as much as she could.

With no time to cast a spell, no hand holds and Annette’s saliva making her tongue all the more slippery the only thing the woman could do was to scream as she was forced towards Annette’s throat. She felt her shoulders impact with the sides of Annette’s throat and for a moment it seemed like she would be too large to swallow. However, she then felt Annette’s hand pressing down on the back of her feet.

Annette’s throat muscles relaxed for a moment widening the path, the coating of her saliva allowed the woman to move more easily and the force of her hand pushed her inside. Pain shot throughout the woman’s entire body the moment the giantess pushed down. As the bones in her arms were fractured once she was past the opening they were crushed all together as Annette’s throat muscles began to force her down.

As Annette’s throat muscles worked the woman down her feet slide the rest of the way into Annette’s mouth allowing her to close it entirely. The progress of the mage could be seen for a few brief moments as Annette’s throat was made to bulge outward.

The pain only lasted a few moments. The mage wouldn’t have to endure the suffering of slowly being digested by Annette’s stomach acids. While Annette was able to force her down without biting down the powerful muscles of her throat crushed the life from the woman only a few moments after her upper body had been forced past Annette uvula.

The moment the first mage was down Annette turned her attention to the other two whom had been with her. The event had happened so quickly that they hadn’t had time to truly respond and she wasn’t going to give them time. Quickly Annette ceased the two remaining mages in her hand and brought the one with the stronger mystic energy of the two to her mouth.

Jahnah was moderately surprised by how quickly Annette had moved. At first she wasn’t certain just what Annette was doing. While it didn’t take long for Annette to swallow someone it still took much longer then simply crushing them under foot or in hand. When she noted the path of destruction Annette’s charge had left and realized that Annette had went for the first mages she saw the answer was clear.

Filling her belly was Annette’s primary priority. Of course if she was going to fill it then why not make sure she consumed the most nourishing food around? If she had waited until after they finished destroying the fort there would be a good chance a few of the mages would be killed before Annette could eat them.

An amused giggle escaped Jahnah and she decided that she would try to avoid killing the mages and allow her friend to have them. Of course as she watched Annette eagerly choke down the second mage and begin working on the third she couldn’t help but wonder if people tasted as good as Annette made them out to be.

The force of the impact and shaking of the ground had been so great that those who weren’t near a window did not truly have an idea what was going on. Those that had seen what was happening had been so stunned by the sudden appearance of the giantess that it took them a few moments to respond. At last though the alarm was sounded and the fortifications defenders began to mobilize.

As the defenders mobilized several of them encountered a major problem. They had been prepared to defend from a threat outside the fortification they hadn’t expected to find two massive threats inside the fortification.

Jahnah wasn’t used to actually following a plan however at the moment she was making an exception. While Annette had been snacking she had went to work destroying key towers around in order to keep the defenders from coming up through them. This meant many who had intended to use a particular exit would have to take a different rout and they were only a few places they could come from.

Dusting some of the dust from her hands Jahnah made her way over to one of the towers which she had left standing and waited beside it. She didn’t have to wait long before seven soldiers came bursting through the door. “Hi down there.”

At first the group didn’t know where the voice had come from however upon a massive shadow falling over them they got their answer. They didn’t get a chance to retreat though as the moment they looked up the massive foot descended upon them.

An amused giggle escaped Jahnah as she trapped the men underneath her foot. She had been forced to move quickly to make sure none of them were able to retreat back into the tower now that she had them trapped under her foot though she wanted to see what it was like.

Attempts to stand proved futile as the giantess easily pinned them to the ground. As the soldiers struggled under Jahnah’s massive foot, those of them that were in a position to do so released their spears and took out their swords. They then proceeded to drive the weapon up and against her soul.

Jahnah felt the tiny blades tickling the bottoms of her foot though none of them were able to break her skin. The soldiers attempt to either lift or force her to lift her foot only served to amuse her. A few arrows striking the sides of her legs got her attention and Jahnah was forced to step down entirely. The arrows didn’t harm her but they did remind her that she had a job to do.

The archers were nearly blown over whenever the giantess quickly turned to face them. As she turned a bright streak of crimson was left on the dirt, it was the remains of what had once been their comrades. They then saw that massive foot lift into the air once again.

Five of the eight archers were thrown to the ground when the giantess foot came crashing down. Three of them were forced into the ground by the giantess massive foot coming down upon them. As they scurried to climb back to their feet the giantess lifted the heel of her foot but didn’t bring her toes off the ground.

Jahnah had intentionally stepped on as few of the archers as she could within a single step. They had been so bunched together that she had been forced to go for the three on the very edge. As she moved to crush the next one she didn’t bother lifting her foot off the ground entirely but proceeded to keep her toes on the ground and bring the heel of her foot above the closest one.

A delighted giggle escaped Jahnah as she brought the heel down upon the archer. As she moved her foot she moved the rest of her body so that the entire action seemed to be a rough dance move.

As the archers retreated from the giantess they were suddenly halted when she moved her entire body and brought her other foot down in front of them. Before they could even move to use their arrows Jahnah spread her toes and took hold of the nearest archer between them.

Jahnah quickly lifted the tiny figure into the air and moved to deal with another one his comrades. Once again the heel of her foot came down upon one of fleeing archers. Looking down Jahnah was quite pleased to see that while she had crushed the fleeing figure the one held between her toes was still alive though from his shrieks she was certain that she had just crushed his legs.

Using her other foot Jahnah caught yet another one of the archers between her toes and began to move around the court yard. Her steps were slowed by the fact that she tried to move in such a way as to not crush the people she had held between her toes.

He would have screamed if the force of the giantess’s foot striking his body hadn’t nock the air out of his lunges. Each time the giantess would move he would feel the slightest bit of her weight settle atop his legs. If she made the slightest mistake and put too much force down she would crush his legs to past. From the screams of the archer that had been first captured by her toes grips he was sure that is what happened to him.

The giantess’s rapid movements was so disorienting that the archer didn’t have time to realize the goop that covered the bottom of her foot and was coating him was all that remained of his comrades. He wasn’t so far gone though that he didn’t notice when the giantess toes came together and crushed the head of his fellow prisoner.

Jahnah glanced down at her feet and noted the headless corpse she held under her foot. For a moment she didn’t do anything but rub her toes together as if taking a moment to feel the remains. At last an amused giggle escaped her and she promptly captured another defender with her foot.

From afar one might have mistaken Jahnah’s movements for a dance. As she used her feet to guide whatever defenders dared journey within her line of sight. With each step she attempted to crush one and only one of the fleeing soldiers while at the same time holding at least one captive with the toes of each foot.

He had heard the alarm sound and went with the first group of warriors Jahnah had stepped on. However, unlike the warriors he hadn’t charged through the opening and indeed come to a dead stop once he heard the giantess’s voice. The moment he had realized what was waiting for him on the other side of the door he had began to retreat back down into the fortress.

The mage had no delusions about how much resistance the fortress would offer the giantesses if they were to strike it directly however it did offer one thing and that was cover. Now he was quickly making his way down the hallways. He had seen that to go into the court yard meant almost certain death however it wasn’t the only exit to the place.

Drawing her hand back Annette straitened her fingers and slammed them into the ground. The ground didn’t even offer enough resistance to cause Annette’s fingers to bind as she shoved them into the earth and into the fortress’s lower sections. She was grateful for the lessons she had learned from Dehvess and Jahnah as they aided her in finding her snacks.

The impact was heard only moments before Annette’s massive hand came bursting through the wall. The mage went to yell when Annette’s fingers closed around him so tightly that they forced the air from his lunges. Quickly he was drawn up through the opening and into the light where he saw that the giantess had her mouth already opened and waiting.

Annette could feel that she was nearly full and felt that this would be the last mage that she could fit within her stomach. She was actually quite surprised by the number of spell casters that had been located within the fortification. As she brought the limp figure to her mouth she could tell that he was still alive. Her grip and the shock of being snatched out of what he must have thought was safety had only stunned him.

Once again Annette moved to swallow the mage head first however she stopped. All the mages she had swallowed head first had died within moments and while it was true that her throat muscles would crush the life from his body as well she couldn’t resist trying to swallow as much of him as she could while he was still alive.

The mage’s heart nearly stopped as the giantess changed his orientation and brought him towards her mouth. The giantess’s tongue met him before he was even within her mouth. The muscle seemed to wrap around his legs and her fingers released him before was even half way within the void. However, any hope that he might have escape was soon lost as the massive tongue quickly drew him in.

The speed with which Annette pulled the tiny figure into her mouth was so great that he didn’t even have time to take hold of her lips. Despite the lack of breath a cry still tried to escape from his tortured lunges the moment he felt his legs touch against the side of her throat.

A moan escaped Annette as she felt the tiny figures hands trying to take hold of her tongue. He had slipped far enough down her throat that she no longer needed to use her tongue to pull him downward; her throat muscles had a secure enough grip on his legs.

As the mage was pulled further into the darkness he began to grasp at anything. He panic had grown to the point that he didn’t seem to remember that it was the massive muscle of her tongue that pulled him into the void to begin with. Now that her could feel her throat muscles tightening on his legs and working to drag him down further he clutched at the tongue as if it was a savior.

No salvation would be found from the muscle though. As Annette’s saliva made her tongue too slippery for him to get a grip on and even if he had there was no way he could counter act the force of her throat muscles pulling him down. As he slipped further back he felt his hips beginning to make their way down into her throat.

As with the others this portion of his body was too large to simply slide down. The muscles around his hips relaxed widening the passage while those further down pulled. A moment later his hips slipped within the narrow void and the muscle tightened around them. Blinding pain surged throughout his entire body.

Annette could tell that having his hip bones crushed had temporarily taken the fight out of the mage as he grew limp. She would have preferred to taken her time with her meal as she had done with the bandits and scouts but now she had work to do. With her belly full she could focus on dealing away with the rest of the soldiers.

Jahnah gave a giggle when she saw Annette taking a moment to wipe her mouth. “Did you enjoy your meal?”

“It was filling but I didn’t have time to truly enjoy it.”

Jahnah didn’t stop her dancing even while she spoke. “I noticed. It took you less then thirty seconds to force each one of them snacks down. If you were a true member of the giant species I believe that you would have gotten choked.”

“That is an interesting dance routine you have going.”

“I know that it is a little rough but I like to believe that I am working out the kinks. Would you like to dance with me?”

“No thanks. I am a little full and I don’t want to do anything fast paced.”

Jahnah gave a giggle as she spun and stopped just beside a tower. A moment later she thrust her hips to the side striking the cylinder of stone with such force that she sent it toppling over. “Well them maybe after your tummy settles.”

Annette couldn’t help but giggle. “I wouldn’t count on that. As soon as my stomach settles I plan on filling up again.”

“Well aren’t you being a glutton.”

“Hey, I am a growing girl I need to eat a lot of meat. Still, since I am full for the moment I suppose I should give you a hand or a foot.”

“You can leave the court yard to me this is fun. How about digging into the actual structure itself?”

“That is fine with me. I won’t have to move around much.”

“If you find the kitchen or any food supplies try to grab some loafs of bread or something.”

“Is your dancing working up an appetite?”

“Not yet and I don’t want the food for myself. I am a giantess so I want to try eating like one. The food is for Dehvess.”

“You mean he didn’t think to bring any?”

“I believe that he had bigger things on his mind.”

Before she could actually tear some of the fortress away a giggle escaped Annette. “Are you sure you he forgot to bring something to eat?”

“I didn’t see him bring anything; if he did it must be small.”

“I don’t know about that. You might have given him an idea by packing him around in your bra so much.”

Jahnah stopped mid step and blinked her eyes a few times. A delighted giggle escaped her a second later. “Oh I like that idea. It would only require me to make some minor adjustments to the polymorph spell so that I could.”

“So should I forget the bread?”

“Yes you should.”

“You know we could just flatten this place now. It isn’t like there is anything we need.”

“Where is the fun in that?”

“I was just thinking it would allow us to get to the next fortification.”

“We haven’t even been here for fifteen minutes. We can take our time or are you in a hurry?”

Annette shook her head. “Not right now. I need to wait until I have some more room in my tummy.” The stone walls of the fortress’s main structure offered little resistance as Annette easily sunk her fingers into them. A moment later she tore away a massive section of the wall nearly causing the roof to collapse. What she revealed was a group of archers who had been firing through several slits in the walls. “You will all be happy to know that I won’t be eating you.”

Annette took a moment to remove her glove before reaching through the opening and giving the closest archer a flick. The force of the impact collapsed his ribs and sent him flying across the room. Instead of pressing her assault Annette gave the archers a few moments to run. They were two exits in the room not including the gaping hole she had torn moments earlier.

As soon as the first person neared one of the doors Annette gave him a quick flick. This caused the group to come to a dead stop, turn and dash towards the opposing opening. Once again Annette gave them a few moments to near the door before she flicked the lead runner. A moment later those still alive were a mass on the ground as several of them turned to go the opposite direction colliding with those that were less quick to react.

Once again Annette held back her assault and gave the group time to stand up. This time they broke into two separate groups, one running for the western exit while others continued to try for the eastern exit. This was what Annette was hoping for as every time one of the soldiers would get within a yard of one of the doors she would give them a quick flick.

The force of Annette’s finger striking the soldiers was enough to shatter their bones and break their skin. This had the effect of slowly dying the front of her index finger a bright crimson. By only killing one of the soldiers at a time and allowing them to at least control the time they died to a limited extent by only striking them when they neared the door it allowed Annette to draw out the game and give her stomach more time to digest its current contents.

Despite her efforts to draw out the game it only took Annette a minute to clear the room. As she found herself with one last victim left she chose to pin him to the floor instead of simply killing him. The archer must have been too tired to scream as the only response he gave when she pressed down on his back was dead silence. “You know I believed I was full but I think I may be able to choke one last person down. So I have a question for you. Would you prefer if I crushed your stomach and legs then left you to die or would you rather give your life for the far more noble purpose of nourishing me?”

As the archer looked into the giantess’s eyes, saw her massive tongue play across her lips and felt her finger press down on him he wished he hadn’t been the last one left.

“Annette may I try him?”

Upon glancing up Annette found Jahnah was leaning over her. “Do you want to try him?”

“Yes I do. I didn’t want to eat any of the mages since I felt they would serve you better then me. I would like to try him though.”

Annette gave a quick nod. “Well it looks like you took too long to decide what you want. Oh and so you know I wouldn’t have been able to get you down alive. However, Jahnah hear just may be able to get you down.” Annette removed her index finger from the archer’s stomach and picked him up. She then held him up for Jahnah.

Instead of using her hand to take the archer from Annette Jahnah bent down so that her head was level with Annette’s fingers. Opening her mouth up Jahnah leaned forward and took the person and Annette’s fingers into her mouth. Once they were both in her mouth she began to lightly suck on Annette’s fingers and run her tongue along the little man as if trying to make him slippery enough to slide off due to the suction.

It had surprised Annette when Jahnah took her fingers into her mouth. As she felt Jahnah’s tongue playing along the tips of her fingers while lightly sucking on the little man though she just had to play along. Carefully she tightened her grip on the archer to make it more difficult for Jahnah to get him to slide free.

Despite his fear the archer was finding it difficult to call out for help. The shock of seeing so many of his comrades slaughtered was weighing heavily on him, he had yet to regain his breath from the red headed giantess pressing her finger down upon him and the oppressive heat of the other giantess mouth was making it hard to air. Soon he found himself having to deal with another problem as her saliva coated him more and more thoroughly covering his face and making it still harder to find breath.

Jahnah could tell that she was making progress. She could feel the tension in Annette’s fingers as her grip on the man grew less secure. As she brought her tongue against him again and again she didn’t know if she cared for the taste at the moment but she knew that she was enjoying the experience.

The archer pressed his feet against the massive muscle that coated him more and more completed with its saliva. While the giantess that held him had put him in the situation she was also the only thing preventing him from sliding down the throat of the other. So he continued to struggle and try to press himself back into her grip.

At last Annette felt the man slide entirely free from her grasp and she withdrew her fingers from Jahnah’s mouth. She was about to tell her friend not to swallow right away when she noticed a bulge appear in Jahnah’s throat. “You really don’t know how to draw things out do you?”

“Mm?”

“You shouldn’t have swallowed right away.”

“Why shouldn’t I have gone ahead and swallowed?”

“It’s fun to play with them while they are still in your mouth. All well, did you manage to get him down alive?”

“No, my throat muscles squeezed on him a little too hard. What is that grin for?”

“Now I want to see if I can be the first one of us to grow large enough to be able to swallow someone alive and without breaking any of their bones.”

“Do you want to make a contest out of it?”

“If you promise not to specially modify your throat to allow you to do it more quickly.”

“Okay, I promise that I won’t modify my throat in order to be able to swallow people without injuring them. At least in regards to our contest, so what do you want to wager?”

“If I when you have to find me an arch mage to eat, one that won’t get me in trouble with the guild.”

“Okay if that is how you want to play it. If I win you either have to find me a soul stone or an elemental or dragon which I can create a shard that is on par with a soul stone from. I don’t many one of the cheaper shards either; I mean it has to at least be an eight.”

Annette gave a quick nod. “Which means you want one with the energy levels of a young arch mage at least?”

“That is right.”

“What would you say the shards in your tiara are?”

“I would say they are a five on the scale of mystic crystals.”

“I take it you want the eight to replace one of them. It seems that I am not the only one that enjoys being big.”

Jahnah gave a giggle and straitened back up to her full height. “I have to admit that I enjoy it a lot more then being my regular size. They are quite a few advantages. Now I suppose I should get back to my dance partners.”

************************************************************************

“So she can’t put him down for at least forty eight hours?”

“Nope, other wise she may return to normal or at least shrink too much.”

Dehvess couldn’t help but sigh. He had only learned after it was too late how much Jahnah had eaten. Now if he risked leaving her and let the energy flow become unstable she could very well be torn apart by the mass in her stomach. “I swear I am going to make you put a crystal viewing window in your bra or something so I can watch what is going on.”

Maxwell couldn’t help but chuckle. “Well how did the raid go?”

“It went very well. Jahnah and I managed to destroy the seven most important defensive positions in the eastern lands.”

Maxwell gave a nod. “I take it you didn’t leave any of the seven fortifications standing.”

“Nope, we didn’t.”

“We didn’t have the people to man them anyway.”

Dehvess’s eyes widened and he gave his forehead a quick smack. “We could have used those fortifications ourselves.”

“Like I said we didn’t have the people to man them properly. However, I would appreciate it if you three would take at least three golems to three of the locations, the three locations which are most difficult to escape from.”

Annette gave a nod. “And when the army arrives the golems could come up from behind them and trap them. They wouldn’t have anywhere to go and no fortification to run into.”

“That is the idea. I believe we have enough golems to spare considering that the reinforcements shouldn’t be any stronger then a few hundred soldiers.”

“Jahnah and I could also work on narrowing the passage to the fortifications. That way unless they happen to have someone there with a blunt enchanted weapon the vast majority of them should die.”

“I was distracted when Jahnah told me how she wanted to feed me so I didn’t get a chance to ask. How many soldiers would you guess managed to sneak away?”

“I don’t believe anyone managed to escape. You were looking for life energy the entire time weren’t you Annette?”

“That I was.”

“Then it seems likely that few if anyone actually knows what happened to the fortifications and even if they do know what happened to one or two of them. I doubt anyone realizes that seven of them were destroyed at least at the moment.”

“Mm I see your point Dehvess. That should work towards the golems favor during the first encounters. Do you believe that the three of you will be able to conduct another raid tomorrow?”

Annette eagerly nodded her head. “You had better believe it. If previous experience is an indicator I’ll be even bigger and stronger come tomorrow morning.”

Jahnah gave a slight giggle. “She is right. You wouldn’t believe how much she ate. To be honest I don’t know how she forced so much down.”

“My muscles are very good at compacting a great deal of material.”

“I believe Dehvess wants me to work on burning off some of what I ate so that I can put him down. So I’d be happy to go as well.”

“Why do I get the feeling that you’re just going to stuff yourself again?”

“Come now Dehvess it isn’t like there is anything bad about spending so much time on me. Plus if you went too far away from me the chaos me and Annette are causing would begin to hurt and don’t say that it is just pain. I know that it isn’t damaging you but even if you try to be indifferent about it I know you prefer to avoid it.”

Dehvess gave a sigh and placed a kiss on Jahnah’s neck. “I know and I even tend to enjoy myself. It is just a new experience for me. I am sorry that it takes me so long to adjust to new situations.”

Jahnah gave a delighted giggle and took Dehvess into her hands. Bringing him to her lips she gave him a quick but gentle kiss. “It isn’t a problem. So is there anything else?”

Maxwell shook his head. “I believe that will do for now.”

Annette clapped her hands together. “Well then I believe Jahnah and I need to go and get cleaned up.” Standing up to her full height Annette reached down and picked Maxwell up.

“Um Annette what are you doing?”

“Jahnah can’t put Dehvess down so he is going to have to bath with her. I am not going to be the only girl there without a bath toy.”

“Oh don’t worry about it Annette. Dehvess and I’ll wait until after you take a bath it isn’t like you can take very long.”

“Huh? Why can’t I take very long?”

“Your armor is why not.”

Annette grew silent and her eyes seemed to narrow. “Damn it and since I ate so much I have even less time before I need to get my armor back on. Hey wait a minute didn’t you say the armor would form a bond with me?”

Jahnah gave a quick nod. “Yes we did.”

“Well shouldn’t that bond be forming now?”

“It should have started but we don’t know how strong it is.”

“Well then how do I find out?”

“Take the armor off and see if you can feel or see anything.”

Annette grew silent for a moment. “Were you just trying to get the bath tub all to yourself?”

An amused giggle escaped Jahnah. “Maybe I was.”

“Well it didn’t work. Now I am going to take Maxwell and go get cleaned up you can either wait for us to finish or join us.”

“Be sure to check your armor.”

“I will.”

************************************************************************

Annette smiled as she placed her boots along side the edge of the tub. As she had removed the armor she had felt a pull upon herself for a brief moment but there had been no breaking.

“So do you feel the connection?”

Annette gave a nod. “I can feel it and now I can see it. There is no way for me to tell how strong it is though or how far I can go. Still, I believe that as long as I am in the room it will hold and if it does break I can just get closer.” As Annette stood up she could feel Maxwell’s gaze upon her. She could tell that he was getting a truly good look at her so she held her ground for the time being.

Maxwell didn’t even realize that he was doing it but it had been so long since he had seen Annette in such a state that he couldn’t help but examine her. Annette’s feet were truly massive weapons, massive and exceptionally powerful easily capable of smashing their way through the most solid stone and crushing a human underneath them. Yet in comparison to the rest of her they were dainty and wonderfully formed. Amazingly versatile Maxwell had been surprised more then once at how easily Annette could use her toes to pick objects up.

Traveling up he didn’t even realize what was happening when Annette turned to the side giving him a better few of her legs. Her heart shaped calf muscles pulsed with strength and power. The muscle looked to be as strong as steel but Maxwell knew it was far stronger. Annette’s legs were wonderfully muscular though the muscle seemed to flow together with slight raises appearing every so often.

Due to her muscle tone Annette’s thighs looked wonderfully full and very massive. As if they possessed strength that nothing could deny. Her legs muscles flowed together so perfectly that they seemed to poses strength, speed and grace that no serpent could ever hope to match.

Despite her build Annette’s rump was wonderfully full. The muscles of her buttocks were just as toned as the rest of her giving her a very full but firm rear. Annette intentionally did a slow spin giving Maxwell time to appreciate this.

After a moment Maxwell’s gaze traveled further to Annette’s abdominal muscles. The solid plate of muscle was cut into six separate sections with deep cuts between each muscle. Maxwell couldn’t recall ever seeing plate armor that looked as strong as those muscles.

Further up Annette’s breast stood proud and firm. Her massive globes didn’t show the slightest bit of sag despite their mass and the effects of gravity. Yet whenever Annette would step one could see them bounce slightly. Her areola was so massive that Maxwell could have lane on it fully prone and not been able to touch the edges.

Each one of Annette’s massive globes was roughly the same size as her head. With cleavage so very deep that Maxwell knew it could hold a man captive physically as well as mentally. Indeed he imagined if one was to be pushed within the depths of Annette’s cleavage at her current size she could easily suffocate them between her breasts and she was still growing.

His gaze traveled to the side now for the moment avoiding her face. Annette’s arms were not quite as powerfully built as her legs there was however a significant amount of tone. Her biceps could easily be seen even when she relaxed her muscles and became exceptionally pronounced when she would flex. Had she been a normal sized woman they would have surpassed the size of grapefruits when flexed. At her current size they easily surpassed boulders.

As Annette turned to the side and flexed her arm Maxwell took note of her hair. The bright crimson waves seemed to flow down her back. Her hair was chaotic yet it seemed to flow like the ocean waves. At last his gaze moved to her face.

Annette’s lips were a soft pink and rather full. Her eyes were a wonderful blue that seemed brighter then sapphire while her teeth were whiter then pearl so pure that it didn’t seem any amount of blood could ever stain them. Yet to many those wonderful teeth were simply terrifying. Massive gems meant to crush the life from them. “Do you like what you see?”

“I love what I see.” Maxwell gave a slight start when he suddenly realized what he was doing causing Annette to giggle. “I didn’t realize I was staring.”

“That is okay.” Annette finally let herself slide into the water, as she did so the waves generated by her great mass caused Maxwell to bob lightly. Annette leaned forward and brought her hands up under Maxwell. Lifting him from the water she pressed him to the top of her breast before the chill of the air could get to him.

Annette’s attention was taken away from Maxwell for a moment when she heard the door open. “So you decided to join us?”

“Well you did invite us.” Jahnah didn’t waste any time stripping away her clothing. She much like Annette was perfectly comfortable with her body and indeed since she attained her current giantess stature she found she enjoyed showing it off. Then again flames rarely seek to conceal themselves.

Annette gave a slight chuckle as her friend climbed into the water causing the water to rise slightly. When she glanced down at Maxwell Annette was quite pleased to see that he seemed too focused on the massive breast which currently held him aloft to notice Jahnah. Indeed she was well within the water whenever he finally seemed to acknowledge her presence.

“I see that the link between you and your armor is strong enough for you to take it off now.”

“Yeah and it is a good thing to.” As Annette relaxed in the water she wrapped her arms around herself and pressed up on the underside of her breast. This had the effect of making her already substantial bust seem even greater and lifting Maxwell slightly higher.

As she did this Jahnah extended her legs under the water and crossed them. Carefully she flexed her thigh muscles and gently ran her legs together. They were less defined then Annette’s but no less appealing and indeed carried the same smooth strength if in a smaller amount. Her massive thighs just prevented one from getting a full glimpse of her lips.

Both Dehvess and Maxwell knew something what was going on as they noticed Jahnah and Annette altering their poses. Dehvess knew that Jahnah was finicky and didn’t like to hold anyone position for too long. However, he also knew those positions altered between relaxed, sexy, and cute and several other ranges. When the only poses she seemed to be taking on were focused on sexy and cute he was certain something was going on.

Maxwell was having a similar time with Annette. She normally moved him about and would adjust her body to draw his attention to one part or the other. However, she never changed positions so often. As he found himself being lifted and shifted about atop Annette’s breast he couldn’t help his arousal.

The main reason Maxwell and Dehvess didn’t realize what was going on is that neither of them seemed to see the big picture. Dehvess was simply too focused on Jahnah and Maxwell’s attention was held far too firmly by Annette for them to realize just why their ladies were shifting about.

Annette and Jahnah both had very athletic builds however Annette was indeed more developed in terms of her muscles and a fair amount larger when compared to her height. This meant she couldn’t match some of the more subtle moves Jahnah used however Jahnah couldn’t pronounce her features as easily as Annette could.

Removing her arms from the underside of her breast Annette was able to prevent them from returning to their original positions by making use of her chest muscles. Reaching into the water she slipped her massive hands along her thighs and began to lightly trace the contours of her thigh muscles.

Jahnah could make her breast bounce as Annette had done before but she didn’t have enough control to maintain their position as Annette was. So while her thighs continued to move against one another she brought her hands up and crossed them. Her right hand came up and pressed against the front of her left breast while her left hand moved across her abdominal muscles.

Dehvess wasn’t the best at handling unexpected situations and Jahnah hadn’t been a giantess for very long. So when he realized that she was using her hand to message the front of the breast he was currently setting upon he was at a total lost for words and actions.

Maxwell found himself shifting about unconsciously trying to see exactly what Annette was doing. While Annette didn’t cause the same stunned response Jahnah caused in Dehvess his attention was no less focused.

End chapter 4:
You must login (register) to review.

Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. No money is being made from this work. No copyright infringement is intended.