Alden’s hands were tied to Leila’s big and pinky toe, although the bindings were hardly needed anymore. The humid, sticky sweat had his front properly plastered to the middle of her left sole, keeping him encased in its hold as it stepped on him again and again throughout her walk. Grass, bushes, twigs, Alden’s backside met it all. The duality was best felt on his head. The left side of his face scraped through the forest bed while his right side had been taken captive by the warm adhesive hold of her foot flesh. Whenever Leila’s left foot rose, the forces tugged his head down, but the sweaty marriage to her foot wouldn’t let him part an inch.

The feeling of his stained paints was a constant reminder to the embarrassment he’d gone through. Leila hadn’t paid any attention to him this entire time, going on just as she would have without Alden under her foot, speaking to her little sister. Alden regretted kissing her toes and surrendering to lust. Holding onto pride would have mattered. Then, he would have been trampled by this sole meaningfully, as an adversary receiving Leila’ full, dazzling attention. Even now, as the trampled him during her walk, this could have been an extension of their flirtatious exchange, and she might still think about him. There might have been a twist of the foot, a cheeky comment. Now, it was nothing, considering him unworthy and pathetic, and she walked as if any other piece of dirt was stuck to her foot.

Alden was beginning to lose consciousness from the continuous stomps. He heard voices, unsure if they were real from a crowded place they’d entered, or if he was going insane. Alden was trampled into gravel, then packed soil, the clear contours of a path. The voices were high above him, from other giants, and suddenly they were dulled. They’d entered a room of some sort, though it didn’t insulate as well as walls should. A tent, perhaps.

“Welcome back, Leila,” a woman’s voice said.

“My little sister got herself into trouble, Lady Hex, so it left me with an errand to attend to.”

The woman, called Lady Hex, chuckled. “Ah, family.”

“But something caught my interest.” Her left foot turned up, presenting the sole and Alden stuck to it. “A rogue mage who attacked my sister. Belongs to a guild, but not any that I know. He won’t say who he is. I thought maybe you or Big Bertha could fix that.”

“Is he strong?”

“Surprisingly. I don’t think he’s reached his art because he surrendered before using it, which doesn’t make sense for his strength. A lot of questions around this one.”

The bindings came off Alden’s arms, though he still had to be peeled off Leila’s sole. He was dropped between them, all the energy beaten out of his body. He recognized Leila from her stature, but not Lady Hex, both looking down at him.

“I’m…” Alden groaned and writhed to the side. “I’m not someone special.”

“Then why not tell us, boy?” Lady Hex’s toe flipped him back so he faced them, noticeably colder. “There’ll still be a price to pay, for attacking one of us.”

“She was—” Alden stopped himself. He wouldn’t win the argument there. “I’m Alden Oakwell. My guild is called the Tailglows.”

“The Tailglows?”

Leila shrugged. “Couldn’t recognize the symbol either. What’s your errand, Mr. Alden Oakwell, the foot lover?”

“I was on my way to the Ruins of Addrar, said to be a rare artifact there. That’s it.” Alden’s grimace loosened, the tension and pain getting better. Leila’s piercing eyes were on him, trying to find more. Lady Hex had dark hair falling over her shoulders pinned with flowerheads. Long necklaces of odd gems hung from her neck, clinking as she moved. She was older than Leila, in her forties, with thin and prominent features.

“Hold on,” Lady Hex said. “Oakwell… Oakwell. It can’t be, the son of the great Gerard Oakwell?”

“No, I’m not.”

“Who’s that?” Leila said.

“They said the Great Mage Gerard had a son who never reached his art. The Artless, they called him, unloved by the gods. Some believe it was a curse within a blessing, that Gerard drained the talents of his future generations.”

Leila drew a few circles on her chin, nodding. “That makes sense. His base magics carried a mean strength, but he never used his arts. Seems he doesn’t have it, and never will.”

Alden couldn’t help but laugh. The world wouldn’t stop reminding him.

“So, if his dad’s a great mage, maybe we could ransom him?” Leila said.

Alden grunted for their attention. “My father wouldn’t lift a finger to save me. You’d do him a favor if you got rid of me.”

“Poor little you,” Lady Hex said, pouting in exaggeration. “I’m afraid we’ll have to explore those options anyway. I’ll put him with one of Big Bertha’s dogs.”

Leila was about to turn around and leave. But before that, she cast a glance at Alden. “Hearing that he’s the Artless is too fitting. From what I saw, he’s pathetic. See that stain on his pants, Lady Hex? He licked my toes to get there.”

“Oh my.”

“Yeah, I know. Didn’t take long for his true colors to emerge. Now it turns out he’s famous for being a failure. Some people were just made to be at the bottom.” Leila raised her foot over him. He could see the yellow imprint on the sole where he’d been. She brought it tauntingly near, then scrunched her toes. “Goodbye.” With that, she took that beautiful foot away from him and left the tent.

“A striking young lady, she is,” Lady Hex said. “But if she considers you unworthy of her attention, she won’t turn half an eye your way. That might be the last you’ll see of her.”

“And why are you telling me that?”

“Because I know you’ve been smitten by her. Every young man is.”

“Whatever.”

“Oh well.” Lady Hex bent down and reached for him. “Let’s see what we’ve got here.”

***

Alden was stripped naked, his arms tied together behind his back. Not only were the wrists bound together, but his forearms too, limiting the movement of his arms and rendering him unable to summon his magics. Lady Hex took Alden to her own tent. It smelled exotic. Leaves of the dark green bitterseed and purple laivee existing in the same room left a turmoil of smell, an acrid pungency intermingling with an occasional sweetness. The shelves had concoctions Alden didn’t understand, a few of them sizzling with an arcane instability.

“Are you sure that mixture should be left like it is?” Alden said, indicating with his chin towards a vial filled with yellow goo. It growled, shaking, tumbling to one side as if someone had shoved it aside but never failing to find balance again.

“Don’t mind that.” Lady Hex took Alden to a stand. She tied him to the top beam, letting him hang among the dried herbs. “Now, one of Big Bertha’s dogs will come to help me out. I want some of that magical sweetness.”

“Seeing as my arms are tied up, I’m afraid I can’t show you much.”

Lady Hex smiled. “Your arms will stay tied.” Her index finger settled on his throat. “You won’t need to play a part in this.” The fingertip stroked downwards. Alden shivered. The tip rubbed two circles around his nipples, the thumb joining to give him a bit of a pinch. Lady Hex bit her lower lip, her nails yellowing from the strain as she nipped harder. Alden writhed away from them, bending like a fish in water. A yelp broke out of him.

“That’s right, boy,” Lady Hex whispered. “I wouldn’t have any problems getting it out of you.” She released with a tug, his chest left with a reddish hue. Her index trailed down his abdomen, sneaking in under his manhood. Lady Hex brought his balls and manhood up, letting them rest on top of her fingertip. “You’re a bit sticky here, must be from the happy incident under Leila’s foot. Luckily, you can just produce more, can’t you?”

“What do you want?” Alden tried to keep a straight face. “Other than wasting time trying to get a bounty from my negative reputation?”

“A mage’s seed is a very potent ingredient. From a mage’s point of view, being the Artless is quite a detriment. But from an alchemist’s point of view, there might be possibilities. The only mage who can’t reach their art. Who knows, there might be something special in that body of yours.”

The tent flaps parted as someone entered. A lady came in, leading another giant by the hair who was crawling on all four. She wore nothing. This naked, crawling giant had to be one of the dogs they kept mentioning. The girl was thin, dirt and soot smearing both her pale skin and her blonde hair.

“Here she is,” the woman said, throwing the crawling giant’s hair forward. It was long and frayed, blanketing her face.

“Well then, girl,” Lady Hex said, “I heard good things about you from Big Bertha. This tasty little mage is your reward.” Lady Hex tapped her on the back of her head, urging her forward.

She flicked her head up, casting her hair aside. The girl, or dog as they referred to her, had large blue eyes which stared rather aimlessly. She had a sweet face, round cheeks and a small nose. Her shoulders were drawn up, radiating meekness.

Lady Hex slapped at her hair, making it puff towards Alden. “Get it out of him. But you’re not drinking any of it, I want it. Do you understand?”

The girl nodded, then crawled towards Alden. The aimless air of her expression vanished as she set eyes on him, those large innocent eyes inquisitive. “Hi,” she said, a melodious voice made to sing lullabies.

For lack of a better option, Alden said, “Hello.” He peered to his side, seeing Lady Hex shuffle through a cupboard, glass vials clinking. “You don’t seem to be doing too well here.”

The girl moved closer, her nose brushing up against Alden’s stomach. A fresh sweep sucked into her nose as she sniffed him, likely catching the scent of his seed. “You smell nice,” she said, voice soft and low, and Alden felt as if they stood bunched up in a tight room, all intimate. “They’re not very nice here. But don’t worry, I’m nice.” With that, her lips came together and put a kiss on his manhood. Alden blushed. The softness of her lips was one thing, the delicacy with which she treated him another. This did not belong here, here in this band of mercenaries and clans and depravity out in Wessfarrow. Her kisses, ongoing and moving over his torso, was a treatment for royalty.

“You’re…” Alden put his head back as her lips were at his collarbone. “You’re kind. Too kind for this place.” His manhood poked onto her chin. “Why are you doing this?”

“There’s no one normal to be friends with here,” she whispered, pulling back slightly and pressing her lips together. Those eyes were on him with a strange absence, as if she were daydreaming right after speaking a word.

“I can agree to that. What’s your name, and why are you here?”

“I’m Claeri, I—”

A hand whacked her right across the cheek, throwing Claeri to the ground with a whelp. The sudden impact made Alden twitch where he hung.

“You’re supposed to milk him, not talk to him.” Lady Hex put her foot on Claeri’s back and shoved. “Up with you.”

Claeri’s long hair was thrown over her face, lying there like a harmless, innocent thing, a quality it seemed only Alden paid any attention to around here. Claeri picked herself up. She parted her hair, revealing the reddened cheek. Owing to her pale skin, her blemishes were easily shown.

Lady Hex grabbed a tuft of her hair and yanked her back towards Alden. “Today, princess. And don’t you dare swallow any of his seed, I’m collecting it.” She let go of Claeri and brandished a thin glass phial.

Claeri returned to Alden’s body. She kissed his manhood once, then ducked to have her face underneath him. From thereunder, she poked her tongue out, slipped it through between his thighs and picked at his scrotum. Alden shivered; her loving lips had moved him towards the edge, and now she needed only to shove. The tongue did the shoving, stroking along the shaft of his manhood, back and forth, pressing it against his abdomen. She played with it.

Alden gasped again, squirmed, and Lady Hex brought the glass vial and put its lip against the tip of his manhood. He spurted right into it. Claeri’s tongue moved behind his scrotum, applying force towards his balls to wring more out of him. When Alden thought he was done, another couple of drops came. Alden’s whole body relaxed as the orgasm subsided, wilting forward as much as his bindings allowed.

“There we go.” Lady Hex dragged the tip of the vial up along his shaft to get as much of it as she could. She turned toward the cupboard.

Claeri put her lips over his lower torso, all his skin within their embrace sucked inwards. Her tongue drew up over his slack manhood.

Alden groaned. “No, please. It just hurts now.”

She let go. “Sorry. I just wanted to see if there were any drops left.” Her eyes regarded him with concern. “Didn’t it feel good? I didn’t mean to…”

“No, it’s fine,” Alden panted. “It felt good, don’t worry about that.”

Claeri smiled, stole a glance at Lady Hex who was still busy, and just before she turned around, Claeri stole another couple of kisses, setting his suspended body to a light sway. For all his ungrateful existence, Alden had never received such loving attention. It left him ambivalent. He wasn’t sure if he should be happy or dejected over this turn of events.