Chapter 4 - Remnants

If Ulrich had felt awkward, the days after Alana had been ravished by the northern warriors, he felt downright awful now. He couldn’t even begin, mustering the strength to converse about the incident that night. To be fair, he wasn’t even certain how he felt about it himself. He’d be lying, if he denied that he had lusted after her for a long, long time. He’d also been lying, if he claimed, that the wild and somewhat alien sexual encounters of the past few days hadn’t kindled his arousal further. On the other hand, there had been such fundamental changes in Alana’s personality, that he barely recognized the innocent, teasing girl he had set out with. It wasn’t that he blamed her for what happened, of course he didn’t. But up until last night, he felt like her biggest challenge was coming to terms with what had happened. He wasn’t so sure anymore. Along with the uncanny physical changes, she had undergone some significant psychological ones. She had been unrecognizable, after he had pulled that thing out of her. And while on a basic physical level, he had enjoyed finally getting his dick inside her, he also felt like whatever he had fucked, hadn’t been Alana. They had gone to sleep early that night, not saying another word. 
Normality had re-emerged slowly the next day, cautious and heedful.. And yet, her changes appeared to be progressing. Her inky colored veins had spread over most of her body, as far as Ulrich could see. Her eyes had taken up a more reptilian nature, her pupils had narrowed and her gaze shifted erratically. Her cute, round face had narrowed, he thought. Other changes demanded more of his unwilling attention. Her feminine curves had kept swelling to such a degree, that they filled out the formerly loose dress, leaving little of her voluptuous form to the imagination. Walking beside her, he frequently had to tuck his growing erection under his belt, as he watched her large curvaceous tits jiggling as she walked. Or seeing how the dress, which had stretched tighter around her waist, flared to hide her bulging ass. Her swollen, purple nipples had formed conspicuous tips through the thick fabric, a sight that she didn’t bother hiding with her furs, which she had discarded, complaining about the heat. The heat! Snow had been falling every day now, the icy northern wind blowing over the increasingly flatter steppes, as they inched closer and closer to their hometown. 
Ulrich wondered what would happen, once they set foot in their village. The first question would be how they had fared with the invaders. Had the force moved south and torched it along with every other village on their way to Praag? Had they butchered everyone, or taken them as slaves? Had their families managed to escape? Ulrich did not have a single clue to any of these answers. There had been no signs that they had followed in the footsteps of an army. They also hadn’t passed a living soul, so there was that…


As they sat a few paces off the main road one noon, quietly eating some of their last rations, they heard voices from the road. Sitting at the edge of the forest, they quickly retreated into the guarding shadows of evergreen pines.
Ahead of them, a small procession trudged along the dusty trail. There were at least a dozen people in the group and Ulrich heard the voices of women and children among them. As he felt reasonably certain that they would not be hostile, he stood up and hailed the leaders of the precession.


“What are you doing?” he heard Alana hiss behind him but chose to ignore her.


As the travelers acknowledged him, a few of the men approached them with stern looks on their faces.


“What are you doing out here, lad?”, one of the older fellows asked him, not unkindly.


“We’re on our way to Gradsk, have you…” he trailed off, as he saw the expression darken on the men's faces.


“We’re from Nereditsa.” he was searching for words for a second, then decided to ask: “I gather you know of the barbarian hordes, that have come from the north?”


Ulrich nodded and the speaker scratched his neck uncomfortably.


“Wait, so you’re fleeing north… What happened? Are they going to besiege Kislev City?”, Ulrich asked.


Ulrich and Alana were still north of Praag, heading westwards, away from the mountains. Nereditsa was a larger town, not far south Gradsk. The refugees should have been fleeing south, assuming the invading army was moving towards Kislev City. There was another point that was unclarified in Ulrich's mind. 


“What about Praag?”


“Kislev’s villages are burning…” one of the men that hadn’t yet spoken, answered his question.
“We’re not fleeing north, we’re trying to reach the dwarf holds. The hordes are tearing through the countryside. There aren’t enough of them to besiege the city though I believe. But Kislev and Praag have shut their gates and they’re not letting anyone in or out. There’s rumors going around. Words of a dark sickness that grabs a hold of people and turns them. Not like the usual plagues, something else…” he trailed off.


The old man that had greeted him first, stepped forward, caringly laying a hand on Ulrich’s shoulder. 
“We came through Gradsk on our way here… I’m afraid, those savages, Tor punish them, they didn’t leave much of the towns in their wake…”


Ulrich felt deep sorrow overcome him. He had been realistic about their prospects, but after their past trials, he now realized how much he longed for his family's stoic affection and guidance. The speaker read his expression, adding:


“Look, there weren’t many… bodies in the towns. We’re heading into the mountains after we heard the countryfolk to our north had done the same. You’re welcome to join us…”


Behind him he heard Alana step out of the underbrush, reading the interaction as safe enough to engage. She didn’t say anything as she stepped up to them, but the men did throw her a greeting nod. Ulrich couldn’t help but see some of their eyes lingering on the visible outline of her full bust, clearly stretching the fabric of her worn dress.


And so, the weary travelers joined the group, heading back in the direction they had come from for a few leagues, before they would take an eastern route, into the forests of eastern Kislev first and then to the safe holds of the dwarfs later. After Ulrich and Alana had told a shortened version of their experiences, one that left out most of what Alana had endured, they listened to stories of the destruction left by the chaos host. Ulrich heard that there had been mostly disorganized bands of northern barbarians, but among them were quite a few forsaken and touched warriors, men that had been granted blessings of the dark gods, leaving most of their humanity behind. This of course, reaffirmed some of their own experiences. Ulrich noted the suspicious looks Alana garnered from many of the group, despite having covered up the more distinctive ‘changes’ on her body.


As they walked along the road and the not-so-distant wall of forested green approached closer and closer, one of the travelers approached Ulrich. Her white robes marked her as a priestess of Shalia.
She had dark hair and was middle aged. Kind eyes met Ulrich’s gaze as she quietly spoke:


“My name is Merida, of the followers of Shalia… How is your companion fairing? She seems very quiet…”


Ulrich pushed his lips in a thin line, having feared the question and being uncertain what to disclose if someone asked details about the past days.


“It’s been hard for her…”, he spoke quietly, looking towards Alana’s back, ensuring that she didn’t overhear the conversation.


“You know… there have been many incidents of…” The priestess trailed off, evidently searching for the right wording. “... encounters with some of the barbarians. The servants of the Reveler have been… spreading a sickness of sorts…”


Ulrich kept quiet, being uncertain how others would react if they knew the full extent of Alana’s changes… corruptions? 


“They’ve forced themselves on a lot of young women…”


Ulrich felt a sigh of discomfort leave his lungs. He still remained quiet though nodding along, intrigued to see where the priestess would go with his story.


“I stayed at the temple in Kislev city for a while, our beds were overfilled with women and girls, fighting this… dark spirit that had been planted inside them…”


“How?” The question encouraged Sister Merida, leaning in more conspiratorial, vigor returning to her words.


“It’s the demon’s seed that changes them… if unattended, they will lose themselves entirely. But there is hope for your friend. She’s still in the early stages I believe. She must not … climax …” the priest’s cheek took on a dark red color as she continued. 
“See, it’s much like the seed of a plant. The dark gods plant it, but it can only grow if it receives water and nutrition. Strong arousal, a climax in particular, will help the plant grow. If you deprive it of that, it will shrivel up and die…”


This time it was Ulrich’s turn to blush.
“She’s… uhm she’s…”


“Determined?”


“Yep…”


“In the temple, it was sufficient to lock them in a chamber for a few days, tied to the wall. Obviously, it won’t be quite as easy out here, especially while we are on the move.”


“There’s something else…” Ulrich added, after she finished.
“She’s got something on her leg. It… uhm… it inserts itself…”


Merida’s look darkened.
“That’s a first… I can have a look at it if you like.”


Ulrich pondered on that. The sisters of Shalia, whose profession was fighting disease and suffering wherever they encountered it, had many tools to fight the corruptions of the dark gods. He knew he needed help, if he was going to save Alana from whatever had befallen her. The wildcard would be Alana herself. He had no idea how she would react, her mood swings had become unpredictable, and she seemed very disengaged to anything Ulrich had brought up.


“Let me talk to her…”


He quickened his step, catching up with Alana. He grabbed her arm, signaling her to wait, as the group pulled past them. She didn’t seem angry or aggressive at that moment, so Ulrich felt a glimpse of hope arise.


“Alana, the priest… I think she can help you…”


Alana’s eyes stared at the ground. Her shifting expression betrayed an internal fight that raged within her.


“Ok.” She finally whispered. “Just, do it quick… don’t tell me what’s going to happen. I’m not sure, I’ll be able to…”


“I know. Just trust me, ok?”


Alana’s eyes narrowed a bit at those words. But eventually something of her old self returned for a moment. Ulrich even thought he saw gratitude in her glance.


“Ok.” she breathed, her voice almost giving out.


And so, Ulrich dared to hope for the first time in a while. He began formulating a plan…

