Gareth yawned and sat up, looking at the sun going down through the curtains. They’d all decided to get some sleep after planning out their next moves, if everything went to plan they’d be up all night. He started lacing up his boots, causing the orc next to him to stir awake. He rolled his eyes and smiled at the goofy grin on the enormous green woman’s face, Lessie had said to give her WHATEVER she wanted… although cuddling him while he slept hadn’t been what he’d expected her to request.

…

“Hold on to this,” Gareth said, tossing Ghorza the ruby necklace as they walked down the stairs into the inn’s main hall.

“You don’t think you should have it?” The orc asked curiously, putting the necklace on.

“If, when, the time comes, someone needs to smash the ruby,” he explained, “and I’m not sure what size I’ll be then.”

“Gareth!” a squeaky voice called.

The three of them turned to see Mircalla, now in a powder blue doll’s dress and standing between Cassie’s splayed hands. The vampire’s pale skin and red eyes stood out easily from the colored fabric, and as she sprinted to the edge of the inn’s bar counter Gareth noted with some amusement that there was even a matching blue bow tied in her hair.

“I-I changed my mind, I think maybe I should come with you-“

“Show them your dance!” Cassie said eagerly.

“I don’t want to!” the vampire pouted.

Cassie sighed, holding a small sewing needle up to the tip of her finger, “if you don’t show them the dance, I won’t feed you.”

The vampire licked her lips, then with hesitant and embarrassed movements began lifting the dress and doing a joyous little jig while the Holstaur clapped time.

“Twirl!” Cassie called, “and kick HIGH! Like that!”

“Wow,” Sky whispered, “and you worried Cassie wouldn’t be able to handle her.”

“Good luck!” Cassie called as the three of them left.

Mircalla watched as the door of the tavern ominously closed, leaving the vampire alone with the grinning Holstaur. She couldn’t’ even bring herself to turn around as she heard the cheerful humming and the sound of Cassie opening the box again.

“I-I am a fearsome predator of the night,” she insisted to herself, letting her fangs drop slightly, “entire villages fear the mention of-“

Her fangs reflexively retracted back into her mouth as Cassie slammed a carved wooden doll onto the bartop next to her. It was a carved male holstaur, with a pair of what looked like blue overalls and a goofy grin crudely drawn on his face.

“Biff here was one of my favorite toys growing up,” Cassie said with a fond smile, “and now he’s finally going to get married!” Mircalla’s eyes went wide as the giantess handed her down a doll sized white wedding dress.

“That human better come back,” she muttered to herself, slowly slipping out of the blue dress.

…

Moving through the city was a lot easier at night than it was during the day, and at this point the three didn’t even bother to disguise themselves as they walked towards the palace. The only caution they needed was avoiding the long line of carriages rolling towards it, likely carrying the assembled nobles and dignitaries. Almost all of the city watchmen lined the street, and the bodyguards of the various nobles eyed the shadows warily.

The palace was a large gothic stone structure, originally built as a massive lone fortress which the city had grown alongside over the years, and right up to the very walls itself. It wasn’t a single building so much as it was a ringed complex, with multiple structures along with the central keep, long since converted from a fortress into a luxurious and decadent mansion.

Gareth had never been inside, but he’d spoken to those who had. As they walked along the streets circling the palace they eventually came to the far side, away from the main gate. As Gareth had been told there was a much smaller entrance here, maybe only wide enough for a single cart to go through. Tonight, it was barred and watched by a pair of guards with muskets over their shoulders and swords at their sides.

“That’s our way in,” Gareth said quietly, watching from the shadows.

“On it,” Sky whispered back, and a moment later the pink blur was off. Gareth and Ghorza watched as the Pixy flew in the familiar circular pattern, raining gold dust down and quickly reducing the two guards to panicking lumps in their own collapsed clothes.

Gareth sighed and closed his eyes, feeling his own clothes slinking over his skin as the pixy returned and began applying the same magic to him. He arched his back slightly, causing his shirt to fall perfectly around him, rather than trapping him. His eyes shot open as someone kissed him, and he looked up at the head taller form of the pixy as she leaned back up to her full height with a giggle.

“Why don’t you ever shrink me to the same size as you?”

Sky frowned, “I’m just taller than you, wouldn’t it be weird to make you the same size?”

“You’re-“ he started, then sighed, realizing the pixy was teasing him.

…

Flying into the fortress was trivial, nobody was watching for a pair of six-inch intruders, well six and five inches. Sky simply set him down by the barred rear gateway, and then took off again to retrieve the shrinking antidote. She returned moments later, struggling to fly down to him as she held a vial that she could only barely get her hands around.

“Thanks,” he said, forcing the stopper out with both hands. He tilted it and began drinking, and a moment later he was tilting it back with one hand as he shot back up to his full size. The bar holding the door shut was heavy, but Gareth’s found it easy enough to dislodge.

He pushed the door open and sighed to see Ghorza, pinning the two shrunken human guards under her bare foot.

“Let them up,” he said, rolling his eyes.

“But they love it!” Ghorza teased, “tell him how much you love kissing green feet humies!”

“W-We,” one of them started.

“Ghorza!” he snapped, “they’re just trying to do their jobs.”

“Fine,” the orc muttered, “I was just teasing ‘em.” She opened a small burlap bag and reached down for the shrunken men, tossing them inside and pulling the drawstring closed. “Should we just leave this here?” She asked, ignoring the tiny cries for help and struggles inside.

“Maybe on a table inside or something,” Gareth replied, “If everything goes well, we can come back and fix them later. Do you have my clothes?”

“Lots of orcs fight naked,” She said, leering even as she tossed his things to him, “just saying Gareth, you’ve got the body for it.”

…

Countess Bathory sipped a glass filled with a dark red liquid the guests would think was wine, allowing her other arm to be hooked by the Emperor’s as the reigning ruler of mankind’s largest nation escorted her through the thronging crowd of nobles. The guards seemed nervous at being told to stay so far back, and it made her smirk. As though she’d let anything happen to him! In a way, he was probably safer than he’d ever been, she almost wished some petty human assassin WOULD try to approach her toy.

The sycophants eagerly bowed and tried to introduce themselves as they walked. This was the first time she’d appeared with him in public, and doubtless the humans would want to know the identity of this beautiful woman who their emperor was openly courting at such a prestigious event. She basked in it, enjoying the whispers and speculation.

This was entirely unnecessary, her ego running wild, but she relished it. What was the point in power if you didn’t take time to stop and smell the roses? She fought down a laugh as she saw one particularly thorny rose, standing above the rest of the crowd.

“Phoebe, sister-wife of the Lamia Queen!” Countess Bathory said with a false pleasantness as she looked up at the towering snake woman. Phoebe was far from the only non-human at the party, but aside from a delegate from the Amazon isles on the far side of the hall, she was probably the tallest, struggling to keep her tail coiled near herself to avoid tripping other guests.

“Countess Bathory,” Phoebe replied, her voice dripping with hatred.

The Lamia smiled, she had to, and has her own red eyes met the countesses her fists clenched so hard her knuckles turned white. They’d met already, but the countess was forcing her to play along with this. It had been trivial enough to force some of her own blood down the Lamia’s throat, and to her delight and Phoebe’s horror they’d confirmed that a Lamia could, in fact, carry the curse of vampirism.

“You look a little pale dear,” the countess said, jokingly offering her blood red cup upwards, “perhaps something to lift your spirits?”

Phoebe’s slitted eyes dilated slightly, but then she sighed, “We don’t eat things that talk,” she whispered, closing her eyes. “It’s in The Rules.”

“I must admit, I’m impressed,” the countess drawled, “you’re the first freshly turned vampire I’ve ever met who has refused a feeding… your willpower is to be admired, though you know if I order you to do it you’ll obey.”

“No,” Phoebe whispered in horror, “T-The Rules-“

“No is right,” The countess mused, “I think it will be more fun to watch you succumb to that particular failing on your own, and you WILL once you get hungry enough… but for now, remember what I told you? Repeat it back to me.”

“I will kill Gareth Von Berger the next time I meet him,” she said, a mix of rage and sadness in her voice.

“Good girl,” the countess laughed, allowing the emperor to lead her away, “and chin up darling, at least you don’t have to get used to having fangs!”

…

“Now what is this about?” Gareth muttered.

The three of them were hiding behind something he thought was a storage shed, watching a dozen of the black robed vampire women preparing a massive cauldron, and what looked to be… stadium bleachers? He’d seen them erected for tournaments before, but what could the vampires need with those?

“Okay,” Ghorza said excitedly, “let’s run out there and chop them up!” She hefted her axe and grinned, “I rubbed it down with garlic and some holy water from that humie temple across the street.”

“Do you think that will work?” Sky asked curiously.

Ghorza shrugged, “the axe works!”

“Good enough I suppose,” Gareth muttered, cocking his pistol, “just make sure you get the hearts.”

They were about to break their cover when the massive doors of the palace opened. Gareth gasped as he saw the distinguished face of the man on every coin in the empire, Sarmatian the Great, arm in arm with a buxom redhead in a sparkling crimson dress. Behind them the confused party guests were being herded outside by equally confused guards. The assembled vampires seemed to back away from their construction project, leaving seating and standing room for the approaching dignitaries.

“Outside my friends!” The emperor called, a faraway look in his eyes, “Everyone please, join me outside! I have an important announcement, and none of you are going to want to miss it!”

The three heard marching from overhead and looked up on the castle walls to see them being crowded with hundreds, thousands, of young men. The entranced captives were led, smiling, by vampires shepherding entire columns of them, walking backwards and reminding everyone to keep staring at their eyes.

“I suppose we don’t need to guess which one is in charge,” Gareth muttered, looking at the redhead in the sparkling dress. The mysterious woman’s eyes briefly flashed red, imperceptible except to those who were looking for it.

The crowd was growing confused, anxious, and the murmuring grew louder as everyone looked up at the ranks of men on the walls. Some were curiously glancing back at the emperor’s guards, who had been ordered by the man himself to remain back.

“Can everyone hear me?” The emperor said, seeing the crowd nod and murmur agreements he smiled, “And everyone can see me up here? Even those in the back?” the same reaction came, and the emperor clapped his hands together happily, “Good, everyone, please pay close attention to a special announcement from my paramour, the Countess Carmilla Bathory!”

There was even more murmuring at the name, and she smiled as she handed her wine glass off to a thrall and triumphantly walked up the stage, her scarlet heels clacking on the wood loud enough that everyone in the courtyard could hear. The name would confuse them, she’d expected that, her county seat had passed to another family a good century after she’d began her un-life. Idly she wondered if any of her descendants were in the crowd, but not for long.

“Everyone,” she said, fighting the urge to fall to her knees under the exertion of entrancing such a large crowd, “Look into my eyes,” she began, “Look and see-“

A gunshot rang out, and although it shocked her more than hurt, the countess stumbled back from the lead ball’s impact, falling to the ground. The trance was broken, and the crowd suddenly erupted into panic.

The vampires leapt into action, dozens of them throwing back their cowls and revealing themselves, seemingly coming out of the woodwork like hissing demons to corral the frightened noblemen.

“Damn, I missed,” Gareth said loudly, walking up to the stage with Ghorza on one side and Sky fluttering on the other. He threw the pistol to the ground, he wouldn’t have time to reload it anyway, instead drawing his long saber.

The emperor blinked, “W-What’s going on?” he mumbled, “Who are-“

“Vampires your majesty,” Gareth explained, fighting down a boyish giddiness at talking to THE emperor, “they’re trying to-“

“YOU!” Bathory snarled, instantly levitating to her feet. Her claws were extended, and her ears elongated. There was no hiding her nature now, and she seemed to glide towards them with a screech that revealed her fangs.

“Where’s Phoebe,” he shouted, holding his sword defiantly in front of him even as the monster advanced, “by the gods if you’ve hurt her-“

“Why Gareth,” the vampire snarled, “she’s right here!”

He frowned, “what do you-“

A nine-foot Lamia leapt like a coiled spring out of the crowd, her green hair and tail flailing behind her as her fangs aimed at his throat. He was knocked from his feet, tumbling as the Lamia easily coiled around him, his sword clattered to the stage as he struggled to keep Phoebe’s mouth from closing around his neck.

“Phoebe!” he breathed, struggling as she coiled around him, “S-Stop it!”

“I can’t!” She said, tears in her eyes as she reared back to attempt another strike.

The Countess straightened, taking a look around. The human was locked in battle with the snake, the orc was surrounded by vampires, swinging her axe wildly as she whooped battle cries and tried to keep the bloodsuckers off her. There was a sudden flash of gold, but before the pixy reached her she raised a claw, and a bolt of red lightning slapped the creature out of the sky, causing the pixy to squeal in pain as she fell smoking to the wooden stage.

She sighed in annoyance, “You’ve all ruined what was supposed to be such a wonderful evening.” She looked to her vampiric thralls, struggling to use entrancement to keep the crowd under control. There was no more time for drama, her big speech would have to wait until they were all turned… probably tomorrow night, gods what a disaster…

“Minions!” she shouted, removing a ring from her pocket, “Tell them who they love!”

She slipped the ring on, feeling the slight hum of an enchanted artifact taking effect. The Lover’s Ring, enchanted by a goddess who had fallen in love with a mortal long ago… the tale had a tragic ending as Countess Bathory recalled, but the fate of the original owner hardly mattered.

“You are madly in love with Countess Carmilla Bathory,” her servants repeated, their words echoing as each vampire brainwashed her crowd of prisoners into blissful and one-sided love.

“I accept this love,” The countess said, repeating the ancient vow, “and will fight with the strength of those that love me!”

Thin white lines, like beams of candlelight, spun out of the assembled crowd, the power of their love reaching her and shooting up her spine like lightning. She grinned the warmth of that love let her move the world, shaping herself into what she needed to be.

The stage creaked under her increasing weight, her red hair blowing back as her head rose higher and higher above the assembled crowds. She laughed as she rose above the courtyard trees, the castle walls, the very sky itself seeming to swoop down to meet her as she grew.

Ghorza took one look at the state of the battle and rolled her eyes angrily, she’d really hoped to have the glory of this battle for herself, but though she’d reduced five of the creatures to dust with powerful swipes of her axe, her side was clearly losing this fight. This seemed, to her at least, to be that “point of no return,” which the human had mentioned. With a growl she reached for the red gem around her neck, and crushed it to pieces.

…

Severa sipped tea from a cup the size of a small washtub, thumbing a page in a spellbook set beneath a large magnification apparatus, allowing her to comfortably read it. She hadn’t planned anything but reading for the evening, simply waiting for a potential summons.

“Anything!?” Lessie shouted, crossing her arms, her snakelike tail tapping the ground nervously.

“No,” Severa said with a small smile, “you’ll know if they use it… perhaps it all went well? And they don’t even need me? maybe they’re celebrating right now?”

“I don’t think so,” Lessie said, glaring at a red pentagram appearing in the air over Severa, “T-That’s it, isn’t it?”

“It seems I’m working tonight after all,” Severa said with a small smile, “I’ll see you when I return Lessie.”

“By the hells you will,” Lessie hissed. She darted forward, coiling around one of the hundred-foot Arachne’s spiderlike legs.

“LESSIE!” Severa shouted in shock, motioning with her hands as she controlled the summoning circle, “this is very complicated, and I’m already very large!”

“Then just a little more won’t hurt!” Lessie protested, coiling tighter as Severa lifted the spider leg to try to shake her off.

“You’re a twenty foot tall snake!” Severa shouted, “You’re not just a LITTLE more Lessie!”

Lessie’s eyes narrowed, even as red lighting crackled around them and their bodies began to dissipate, separating into bright red squares that floated upwards into a swirling abyss.

“WWHHAATTT ARRRE YOUUU IMPLYYYIING!” she managed as she disappeared.

“THAT YOU’RE FAA-“ Severa didn’t finish the retort before what remained of the two of them flew upwards, like so many dust particles caught in a windstorm.

…

Gareth rolled in the dirt. He’d managed to recover his sword, but as he held the flat across Phoebe’s snapping mouth he wondered what good it would do him. She grabbed at him with her arms then, squeezing him hard, causing him to cry out in pain as her long tail whipped around. It coiled around him with such strength and speed that it shocked him, even with all the enchantments. He gave a shove, managing to throw those fangs away from his face, and he used the moment’s respite to push down as hard as he could, trying to slip out of the massive snake-woman’s coils.

He tumbled to the ground again, scrabbling away in terror as Phoebe tossed his bent sword over her shoulder, those slitted red eyes focusing on him. The speed and ferocity amazed him, and he knew that, if not for Severa’s magic, he’d be a broken pile of bone and gore already. Even with it he worried that was how this would end. Was she always capable of this he wondered? Was she always holding back, being gentle with him despite this overwhelming power?

Bathory stood over her brainwashed love slaves, having reached a truly colossal height that rivaled the keep itself. With a chuckle she extended a single finger over the large cauldron her minions had set up earlier, pricking it with an outstretched claw from her other hand. She squeezed the finger, slowly dribbling her blood in the cauldron, filling it completely.

Standing up to her godlike height she smiled, “Now, if everyone could just form an orderly line, you’ll all get a drink from this cauldron and then-“ she frowned, looking at the red pentagram crackling into existence overhead.

A flurry of red squares seemed to fly out of the swirling portal in the sky, landing on the far side of the courtyard in the last remaining open space in the palace complex. The countess watched curiously, then her eyes went wide as they assembled themselves into another creature, rivaling her in height, an eight legged monstrosity, with a flailing tail! No, that wasn’t a tail, that was…

“Oh, what fresh hell is this,” the countess asked angrily.

“DAMNIT LESSIE!” the gigantic Arachne shouted angrily, looking down at an oozing green stump where one of her more spiderlike legs had been. “I told you! Too much weight!” With a snarl the Arachne began muttering an incantation, and there was a crackle of green light as a new leg seemed to grow in it’s place.

“I’m going to ignore that,” the full-grown Lamia said, coiling her red tail under herself as she regarded their surroundings. She smirked at the Arachne’s furious expression, then frowned as she noticed that none of the humans around them seemed to notice that a twenty-foot-high snake-woman and a titanic Arachne had dropped right into their midst.

“Hmm…” Severa said, looking over the scene, her eyes landing on the giant vampire across from her, “I’m guessing you dabble in some sorcery?”

“I ponder the unknowable,” The countess sneered, “a mere mortal like you could never-“

“That’s the Lover’s Ring, it looks like you had your minions trick all of these people into thinking they loved you, and now you’re using that extra strength and size to produce enough of your blood to curse all of them,” Severa said, rubbing her chin, “Seems like a lot of unnecessary steps, but I suppose I can dissect it later, maybe there’s a reason you didn’t just use a duplication spell?”

“It doesn’t duplicate magical effects you scuttling cockroach!” the countess sneered, lightning crackling at her fingertips.

“Lessie,” Severa said in a calm voice, “find the others, break the entrancements.”

“What?” Lessie snapped, “no more playing around, Severa, turn her to dust!”

One of the massive spider’s legs made a chitinous sound as it roughly kicked the giant Lamia, tossing her away with an indignant scream as the first magical lightning bolts arced out at them. A shield of light and stars appeared inches from Sevara’s face, protecting her even as smoke billowed from the barrier and beads of sweat dotted into existence around the Arachne’s eyes, eyes that went wide as her shield cracked. With a shout Severa leapt backwards, hundreds of feet in the air. The lightning exploded as it hit the wall behind her, causing dozens of the entranced humans to fly limply.

“LESSIE!” Severa shouted, throwing her webbing through the air and catching the dumbly smiling men, “break the entrancement!” She landed delicately outside the city walls, towering over the houses and causing screams of panic as the people of the city realized the enormous creature in their midst.

“B-But Severa!” Lessie tried to shout.

With a sigh Severa muttered another enchantment, a dagger of green light seemed to appear from nowhere, slashing lightly across the giant vampire’s cheek. Lessie watched in horror as all of the entranced men had the same scratch appear on their own.

“It’s the Lover’s Ring Lessie!” She shouted, “If she goes, THEY go! They have to not be in love with her!”

“A GIANT ARACHNE IS ATTACKING THE CITY!” Someone screamed. A few people even impotently fired gunshots at her, causing her to grunt in annoyance as they bounced off her skin.

“I hate cities,” she muttered, spinning webbing around the taller buildings as the countess became a bat big enough to blot out the moon, a bat that flew towards her shrieking like a demon.

…

Gareth limped in a circle around Phoebe, a musket he’d stolen from a guard gripped in his shaking hands. He bled from a wound on his shoulder, and with a snarl he brought the rifle’s bayonet up, dipping it in the toxic mixture before snapping it back to attention in a crisp move that would have made his drill sergeant proud.

“Gareth,” Phoebe said, tears spilling from her red eyes, “you’ve got to… you’ve got to do it.”

She hissed as she leapt at him, and the world seemed to slow again as it had on the beach so long ago. He saw everything, had time to comprehend the rich smell of woodsmoke rising from the city as the countess and Severa battled, the slight crunch of the garden pebbles beneath his feet.

Lessie charged at him like a monster out of myth, every horrible image of the deadly snake women he’d ever been told or believed, looming over his frail human form as she came down on him. Her arms were wide open, a foolish move. Recklessness? Or did she have just enough control to give him the chance? He brought the bayonet up, aimed it directly at her heart, hearing his own beat like a slow drum as that tidal wave raced towards him.

They made eye contact and, for a brief moment, he could swear she smiled, realizing what he was doing.

With a scream of rage and sorrow he angled the bayonet up, and it went harmlessly over Phoebe’s shoulder, not even scraping her skin as she wrapped around him like a vice.

This was it; he had no more tricks and every muscle in his body ached from the fight. Air left his lungs as she squeezed around him, and his face went purple.

Suddenly the coils felt… looser? He’d never been so happy to realize he was shrinking, and he cried out in triumph as the massive coils slipped over him, the crushing force simply rumpling his discarded clothes as he climbed his diminishing body higher. He leapt for a ground that was only five feet away, but looked more like fifty.

“GOTCHA!” Sky shouted, her hands hooking under his armpits as she buzzed across the courtyard like a diving falcon.

Gareth spared a look over his shoulder and gulped in fear as he saw the giant form of Phoebe barreling after them, fangs outstretched.

“Go faster!” he screamed.

Sky grunted a swear, and with a flourish they passed through a cloud of gold dust. She pulled him to her chest as he got lighter, becoming a giantess in her own right as she held him gripped tightly in a hand that was as large and powerful as Phoebe herself.

…

Lessie slithered to the stage, barreling over the zombiefied humans and almost casually knocking away a vampire who jumped in her way. It creaked as she hefted herself up on it, but otherwise held. She looked nervously around, many of the vampires had their thralls under control, continuing to repeat to them how much they loved the Countess Bathory.

“I wonder,” A vampire hissed as six of the creatures approached her, “does cold blood taste as good?” they laughed as Lessie regarded them nervously. She was big, but despite the body of a monster she had never cared for fighting, deciding long ago that it was one of the things she just wouldn’t be doing as Matriarch and now queen.

There was a green blur as an orc covered in cuts and bruises leapt in front of her, “RIGHT, WHO’S NEXT?!” She bellowed, clanging an axe against a splintered shield.

“Orc,” Lessie said, “I hate to ask, but can you keep them away from me for a few minutes? I have an idea.”

“Just a few minutes?” The orc laughed defiantly, “Take all the time you need,” she eyed up the approaching vampires, “This is the most fun I’ve had since coming to this city!”

Lessie tried to ignore the brawl that ensued a few feet away from her as she hefted herself up to her full height, towering over the crowd.

She blinked a few times and took a deep breath, “LOOK INTO MY EYES,” she said in a loud voice that was just short of a shout. She forced herself to stay upright as the link was made with dozens, hundreds, thousands, of minds at once.

“You love the Countess Carmilla Bathory,” the vampires repeated, attempting to force their enthralled humans back on task.

Lessie grimaced, it was like playing tug of war against a dozen others, her forked tongue flickered across her lips as she fought back.

“No,” she said, keeping her voice up, “gaze into my eyes,” she repeated in a seductive voice,” gaze into my eyes and know the truth…” Black spots appeared at the corner of her vision as she began weaving the mental net, hoping to snare the human minds away.

…

Arthur was a simple palace guard, and although he knew it was wrong, he was no match for the entrancement of the vampires. He fought it, as he was sure the others in the crowd did, but it was no use.

“I love the countess Bathory,” he said, and it was true, he did. He loved her luscious hair, that lithe form, those enchanting red eyes…

“Darling,” a sultry female voice called from the stage. He gazed up and felt himself sucked into a pair of slitted green eyes as the serpentine figure slowly moved her hips back and forth. “Why do you repeat that trollop’s name when you know you love me?”

“You love Countess Bathory will all your heart,” another voice started, and for a moment he thought he might, but then the towering Lamia chuckled softly.

“Don’t waste another breath on her lover,” the Lamia said warmly, “I want to hear my name on your lips, say it, say you love Queen Lessie,”

“I love Queen Lessie!” Arthur repeated happily, and a thousand other voices echoed it with him.

“NO!” one of the vampires shouted angrily, “You love-“

“Let’s go away lover,” Lessie said, her voice dripping with lust, and Arthur gasped as it seemed the world faded away.

…

Arthur was on a cushion, and… was he naked? The sounds of an exotic faraway jungle echoed outside of the tent he was in. Braziers burned, causing a sweet smelling incense filled his nostrils, making him lightheaded. He leaned back on the cushion and sighed happily.

“You look comfortable” Lessie’s sultry voice called. He looked up to see a wall of glittering ruby scales surrounding him as the voluptuous Lamia hefted herself over his form. “Don’t speak,” she whispered, a finger going over his entire face and gently forcing him back down to the pillow, “not until the end.”

She leaned down to him, her forked tongue flickering out over his entire body, tasting him and lingering on his erection, causing him to gasp with pleasure and her to giggle. Those giant hands folded underneath him, lifting him off the cushion and towards her, even as she rose higher, the long red tail coiling beneath her.

“You find me beautiful, don’t you?” Lessie said smugly, “you’re putty in my hands… feel yourself getting smaller, your will eroding away... and you love it, don’t you?” She giggled slightly, “you know it’s worth it, letting me fill every one of your senses, your very mind, all to get to be with me.”

He gasped as her hands, which coiled around his back, now stretched, seeming to consume him. As she’d said he WAS getting smaller, and soon her hands were cupped around his form like a bowl as he shrank into their warm embrace.

“Good,” Lessie whispered, those slitted eyes going wide, “don’t fight it, just let it happen. Let your size and strength slip away like sand in the wind.

The Lamia’s red hair fell around her face like waterfall sized curtains as her massive face loomed over his diminishing form, blocking even the low light of the burning braziers and leaving him face to face with nothing but those glowing green eyes. He watched in awe as they seemed to grow ever larger as all that he was poured into the Lamia’s loving embrace, her fingers around him like mountains now as the sun and the moon were replaced with those gorgeous green eyes.

“You want me,” she whispered, her voice like the wind, “you need me, you LOVE me!”

“Yes!” he shouted, “I love you Queen Lessie!”

“And in return let your goddess shower her lover with blessings,” Lessie replied in a husky and amused tone.

Arthur cried out as tendrils of pleasure raced along his body, meeting at his erect manhood and instantly driving him to a powerful orgasm that caused his back to arch against the massive Lamia’s hands. She giggled sweetly as he rolled in her palms, the pure bliss simply too much for him to comprehend as his climax came and went.

“All done?” she said sweetly.

“Yes Queen Lessie,” he whispered, his muscles too weak to stand.

“Good,” she said, drawing her head back and letting the torchlight fill his vision again. He watched, limp as he was drawn towards those massive breasts, the scent of jasmine and sweat billowing off of them as the giant snake-woman’s palm tilted, causing him to tumble down into a waiting pair of breasts large enough to swallow up him and his entire world.

As he made contact with the soft and inviting flesh he bounced slightly, rolling towards the dark crack between her breasts. With a final sultry laugh the Lamia’s finger guided him in, pressing down on his back as he was forced deep into that warm and waiting abyss.

“Sleep,” She whispered, “and dream of me.”

…

Arthur, and thousands of other men, along with the few women present, swayed, and then fell to the ground, a happy smile on their faces as they fell into a deep and pleasant sleep.

Ghorza and the vampires paused their battle, those who had been charged with keeping the humans entranced looked at the unconscious bodies around them in panic, then angrily up at the Lamia on the stage.

“What did you do to them?” Ghorza asked in awe.

“I had to make them fall in love with someone else,” Lessie said, rubbing her aching and sweat covered forehead, “Lamia are experts at seduction, these bloodsuckers never stood a chance once I was able to get in.” She smirked, “they’re all going to need a change of underwear when they wake up, and-“ she winced in pain, “too many,” she moaned as the headache rocked her, “I-I think I need a glass of cool water… and to lay down.”

“Uhh,” Ghorza began uncertainly as the dozens of vampires, previously entrancing the humans, converged on them, “you might have to wait a little bit.”

…

Sky flew along the wall, her buzzing wings aching as she pushed herself to go faster than she ever had before. Gareth was the size of a doll as she hugged him eagerly to her chest, keeping him from tumbling away as she zipped inside an open window.

There was a crack of broken glass and splintered wood as the Lamia dove through the window with a hiss. Like a hurricane Phoebe bellowed down the hallway after them, crushing furniture and tossing aside a servant foolish enough to stumble into her path.

“NO!” Sky cried out in horror as she came around the corner and saw a dead end.

Hugging Gareth tight she spun around in the air, hoping for a window, a crack in the wall, anything, but all she saw was the gaping black maw of the Lamia flying towards her. Before she could react that serpentine tongue had darted out, wrapping around her and Gareth tightly and drawing them in so fast that the only thing they had time to register was the snap of Phoebe’s jaws closing behind them.

…

Severa deflected spell after spell as the enormous Vampire battled her across the Imperial City. The Countess was certainly an adept sorceress, and a powerful physical combatant, as the stinging claw wounds across Severa’s back could attest. Still, Severa would have eagerly taken her on, if not for the enchantment tying her to the captive men. As it was all she could do was defend herself, and increasingly the poor humans caught in the crossfire.

“Why are you even here?” The countess laughed, hurling black fireballs that Severa deftly sent flying harmlessly into the starry night sky. “Look around you, listen to the screams! You’re on the wrong side Arachne!”

Severa gritted her teeth, her needlelike fangs visible to the panicking crowd that was surging down the street away from them. The vampire cackled madly, pushing a bell tower over, hoping to crush Severa beneath the massive stone structure. With a grunt she spun her webbing even as she stepped aside, pulling the thread tight to keep it from falling and crushing the screaming throng of humans below.

“All they see is two monsters fighting,” The countess mocked, walking towards her, her booming foosteps echoing as she stepped through the rooftops of the human dwellings. “Even if you win, you’ll still just be another monster-“

“Spare me,” Severa snapped, letting her anger get to her, “you chose to be what you are, and so did I!”

She groaned, pulling the stone tower over in full, away from the trapped people. She panted and tried to raise a shield, but it was too late. The vampire was on her, leaping through the air and bringing Severa to the ground with a furious kick. Red lightning flew from her fingertips as she crippled the spider-woman.

“Was it worth it?” she sneered.

Severa blinked away the pain, futilely attempting to move her legs. She swore when she realized she couldn’t, and if she took the time to heal herself the vampire would…

She blinked all of her eyes, smiling as she realized that those long thin strings from the Ring of Lovers had disappeared.

“About time Lessie,” she muttered. She took a deep breath and began an incantation, circling her fingers slowly as she ignored the pain. Overhead a golden circle of sparks appeared, circling the city walls as Severa the Arachne poured all her remaining energy and will into this final spell.

The countess laughed as she recognized the chant, “Scrying?” She mocked, “oh, want to see the faces of your friends one last time? Whatever dismal hovel you call home perhaps?”

“No,” Severa whispered, grinning as the scrying circle above them lit up, showing her the thing she desired most to see, “A sunrise.”

The vampire’s eyes lit up in horror, her head shot up, giving her just enough time to hear the hiss of the scrying portal shimmer into focus, bathing the entire city in the beautiful light of a beachfront sunrise hundreds of miles away.

Severa looked up at it, smiling as the waves crashed against the sand and the Countess Carmilla Bathory disintegrated into ash with a bloodcurdling scream in the rays of a bright morning on some faraway shore, rays that bathed the entire city in a warm glow for a full five seconds before the portal snapped closed again, leaving the Countess and all of her vampiric followers as nothing more than smoking piles of ash.

…

Phoebe’s eyes flashed, the red color disappearing. She blinked, realizing that she no longer hungered for blood, nor for Gareth’s death. Relief washed over her, and she collapsed to the floor, the exhaustion of the chase overtaking her as the last of the unholy vampiric strength flowed out of her body.

The sounds of screams from within her mouth caused her eyes to go wide. Quickly opening her mouth, she stuck her tongue out, and blushed in embarrassment as she realized Sky and Gareth were still wrapped up in it.

“Thorry,” she said, her mouth curving around her tongue, “I’m bath to normal guyth, thee?” she hissed.

…

Ghorza blinked as the sun flashed, turning all of her vampiric opponents to ash before her eyes. Adrenaline still pumping, she looked around as the courtyard went still.

Finally, she grinned widely, “I win!” she shouted, “songs must be sung of this day, you all saw how I-“

She looked around, realizing that all the humans and other dignitaries were still collapsed on the ground, asleep. The vampires themselves were just smoking piles of dust, and she kicked one idly with her feet, scowling when she realized they’d be leaving no trophies behind. She’d so wanted a fang necklace too… She turned around, hoping the Lamia Queen had seen her fight, but Lessie was passed out as well, the stress of enchanting thousands of minds finally catching up to her.

“Damnit,” Ghorza muttered, “no trophies, no witnesses, it’s like I never even fought an army of vampires!” she roared angrily.

EPILOGUE

For the Imperial authorities, it took a full day of interrogations to determine what exactly had happened. The emperor himself seemed to confirm the statements from Gareth Von Berger and his party, and soon the capital was filled with gossip and speculation over the whole matter. The Emperor hoped to silence this with an official statement, confirming the basic facts of the affair, but it didn’t seem to be enough.

Severa and Lessie had nowhere they could easily stay within the city, so the City Guard had escorted them to a large farming estate near the edge of the metropolis. For Gareth’s part, he was finally allowed a room in the palace with his friends, though he, Ghorza, Sky, and Phoebe spent the first night in a dungeon while the authorities tried to piece things together.

It had been the Emperor himself who had come to get them out, causing Gareth to almost faint in shock. A pair of Imperial aids had given him a crisp new military uniform, complete with a fresh rank and set of medals he wasn’t sure he recognized. Finally, the Emperor had dismissed them, sending them to find lodgings for the rest of the party as the two men walked the corridors of the palace alone.

“Well Gareth,” Emperor Sarmatian said with a smirk, “it seems you’ve AGAIN saved an entire realm, mine this time.”

“I-It was duty, and an honor your majesty-“

“Stop with the your majesty stuff,” the Emperor said with a chuckle, “you’re technically a foreign monarch now, or prince consort anyway… we’re practically peers.”

“Ah,” he said, shifting slightly, “I suppose, if you say so your- if you say so.”

“Now then,” he said, “let’s talk rewards, what can the most powerful man in the world do for you and your friends?”

…

It was another week before they finally left the Imperial City. At Gareth’s insistence, the Emperor had led a procession of nobles out to speak to Lessie, treating her as a true foreign queen and dignitary. A number of beneficial agreements and recognitions were made regarding her faraway swamp Queendom, and the Lamia Queen couldn’t be happier.

Severa had asked for a number of books on magical theory and history, filling an entire wagon with her listed requests which the Emperor had ordered delivered to the farm where she and Lessie stayed.

Sky had simply wanted an unlimited tab for the week they were in the Imperial City, and soon a small army of drunkards and screaming fans were following the Pixy as she shimmered through the streets, announcing which tavern she’d be at that night.

Ghorza had wanted a statue of herself, cast in bronze, depicting her slaying several vampiric assailants. She’d been ecstatic at the initial drawings, and then infuriated when she realized there was no way to take it with her. Hoping to make her happy, the emperor had told her it would stand as tribute in the Imperial Garden forever, which seemed to console her, along with a freshly made axe from the imperial forge.

Gareth and Phoebe hadn’t wanted anything but some peace and quiet, and as he was coiled once more in the giant Lamia’s grasp, the two of them watched the puffy white clouds pass over the city from the tower where their room was.

“Ready to go home husband?” Phoebe purred in his ear, her strong arms hugging him to her towering form.

“Three weeks by road,” he muttered, “well, we had to leave sometime, I suppose.”

With Severa and Lessie with them a return by sea was impossible, so the whole party would be making the trip back to the swamps on foot, or scale he supposed. For his part the Emperor had promised a retinue of knights would ride ahead of them, making whatever accommodations were possible and avoiding panic when the larger members of the group were spotted.

He forced his way out of Phoebe’s grasp and stretched, “The others are probably already down at the edge of the city waiting for us.”

“Let me just make sure I didn’t forget anything,” Phoebe said, reaching for their travel packs.

“Forget anything,” Gareth muttered. His eyes went wide suddenly, “Oh, uh, I need to make one last stop on the way out of town.”

…

“And it’s hey-ho to the bottle I go, to drown my sorrow and fight my woe!” the tiny vampire sang, dancing and twirling in a tiny pink doll’s dress across the counter of Cassie’s bar. She leapt, spinning in air, causing the dress and the girly pink ribbons in her hair to flourish around her as she landed in a split, continuing the song for the cheering crowd of bar patrons.

“Wow Mircalla!” Cassie said, “aren’t you glad we agreed you should dance for everyone? They seem so happy!”

Mircalla fought to keep a smile on her face as the men tossed coins across the bar to the giant Holstaur, who obliviously picked them up and dropped them in a small purse. How could the cow-woman think this was fun for her? She wanted to scream! She was a VAMPIRE by the gods!

She flinched slightly as the inn’s door opened, letting the late afternoon sun in, though it was far enough that it didn’t sting her. Her eyes went wide, and she smiled eagerly as she saw Gareth Von Berger walk in, looking around for the bar’s owner.

“Cassie?” he called.

“GARETH!” Mircalla shouted, leaping to her feet and running to the edge of the bar, “I felt it when you defeated the countess, you’re back for me aren’t you?” She fell to her knees, “PLEASE say you’re back for me!”

“Oh, here to pick her up?” Cassie asked, “that’s too bad, we were having so much fun.”

“I think so Cassie,” he said with a smirk, “sorry, but I think it would be best if I took her with me.”

“Oh thank the gods,” Mircalla said, shooting a quick glance back at the Holstaur.

Cassie’s ears drooped, and she waved goodbye sadly, “Goodby Mircy, I’ll miss you!”

“Yeah whatever,” the vampire said, looking up at Gareth as he unscrewed the lid on a jar. “You’d better remember human, I’m the teeth of the night, and if you don’t grow me back you’ll spend every night terrified that-“

“Get in the jar,” Gareth said, holding it up to her, “or maybe I’ll just leave you here?”

Mircalla gulped, leaping into the jar without another word. Gareth tightened the lid and began wrapping the glass in a series of dark cloths, blocking the light from reaching it. He shoved it deep into his backpack, sealing the top tight. With one final wave at Cassie Gareth rejoined Phoebe on the street.

“What are you going to do with her?” Phoebe asked curiously, tilting her head curiously as the squeaky voice of the angry vampire echoed from the bottom of Gareth’s backpack.

He shrugged, “Honestly? I have no idea.”

…

Phoebe and Gareth journeyed through the city together, joined at the first gate by a hungover and crookedly flying Sky, who almost immediately plopped into Gareth’s pocket and fell asleep. Evidently, she’d made the most of her final night of drinking on the Emperor’s coin.

Lessie and Severa greeted them with smiles as they reached the edge of the city, and Gareth was surprised to see Ghorza, hefting an axe over her shoulder and waiting for them.

“You’re coming too?” He asked.

She shrugged, “I don’t have any other plans, and you seem like a fun group.”

“We’d best be off then,” Gareth said, laughing. “Anyone have anything else they need to do first?”

“No,” Lessie muttered, sparing one last look at the city as they set out, “I… well maybe it’s nothing, but I had hoped to make sure that all of those humans were okay… I’ve never delved that deep with entrancement before, and minds are so delicate, I just hope there weren’t any side effects.”

“They’ll probably be fine,” Gareth said, “I mean, if they WERE having issues… We’d probably have heard about them by now, right?”

…

Smorkle’s Print Shop was in a dingy run-down part of the strip of businesses on the dockside, nestled between a tavern where men got stabbed most nights, and a whorehouse that even the scurviest sailor knew to avoid. Anyone in the city would have rather been seen going into either of them over Smorkle’s.

The pudgy man proprietor was often rumored to have goblin blood, but the truth was that he was simply startlingly unhealthy due to his poor diet and lack of sunlight. He stroked his greasy beard as he saw one of his regulars come in, Hanna the sea-elf captain always wore a heavy cloak with a hood pulled over her eyes. Smorkle knew that this shop was half the reason she even docked here, and he did his best to sate her appetites.

“Hanna,” he greeted.

“Keep your voice down!” she hissed, laying coins on the shop counter. “D-Do you have any new books? Something where a stupid sexy human gets kidnapped by Lamia, no an entire NEST of Lamia!”

“Of course,” he said with a smarmy grin, “let me see-“

The door barged open and a trio of well-dressed nobles walked in, “This must be the place,” one said, “you there, shopkeep! Do you sell… pornographic works?”

Smorkle licked his lips nervously, “Why sir, these are artistic renderings of-“

“Lamia,” the noble said breathlessly, “with glittering red scales, I’ll pay a high price for any works you have with one.”

Smorkle blinked, “Why uh, of course-“

Another group of men barged their way in, shoving the first man out of the way, “Is this the place with the Lamia artwork!?” A man in even finer clothes and decked in gold jewelry shouted.

“Yeah,” Hanna and Smorkle said in shock together.

 Murmurs of excitement filled the shop, the wealthy man plopped a bag full of coins on the desk, “I’m here to commission some! Clear your shop’s schedule, you are working for me personally!”

“Now wait a minute,” another man shouted, “that’s not fair!”

Hanna inched nervously towards the exit as the verbal argument became physical, and for the first time in a long career of peddling sleaze Smorkle shouted for someone to call the city guards. The sea elf fled through the door, cursing the insanity of the humans every step of the way.