Harnessing Magic

Alarm bells were ringing around the Palace of Embers, as two assailants climbed over the walls and fled into the darkness. Soon the whole City of Maidenvale was alight with the torches of the city guards. In the non-human slums near the palace, 2 figures in dark outfits hide in the shadows to discuss their next move.

"You should have just let me kill him!" angrily whispered Xeriat taking off her mask, allowing her deepest black hair to cascade down her blazing red face, her horns neatly protruding out the sides.

"We went to send a message, not start a war" replied Yrlissa, slowly pulling her mask off so her blonde hair could delicately unfurl down to halfway down her back.

It is rare to see a lower Daemon and a High Elf getting along, let alone running a heist together, however under the rule of King Tyrus the fourth, magic users of all varieties had found themselves attacked and persecuted like never before and unlikely alliances had to be formed to strike back. The magical resistance decided to send its two most talented thieves to the king's castle with the mission to steal any magical artefact they could find, and to leave a dagger in the king's headboard to let him know he wasn't safe. They got the dagger in the headboard just fine, nevertheless a guard was able to raise the alarm after catching sight of Xeriat and Yrlissa. Even worse in the struggle both of their masks had come off and now they had to retreat empty handed and without being seen as they were sure the town guard would be passing round a description of the attackers.

"OK Yrlissa, if we're going to be extracting ourselves earlier than usual, who was our contact?" Xeriat spat. She usually worked alone and tonight had strengthened her resolve never to work with a partner again.

"We were going to be snuck out by a mirage caster named Dea. She lives around here somewhere," Yrlissa chimed pulling out a piece of paper with Dea's details on it.

Eventually Yrlissa and Xeriat wound their way through the non-human slums to find themselves outside Dea's house. Dea lived in a combined house and stables, where she ran a delivery business. As Yrlissa and Xeriat walked in 2 donkeys began braying at them and a large lady in brown robes emerged to welcome them.

"You must be with the resistance, you're early, please come in, we will be sneaking you out shortly after dawn so we need to prepare." Yrlissa and Xeriat walked inside.

"I'm afraid sneaking us out will be more difficult than first thought, we were seen, so we're going to need more comprehensive disguises." Yrlissa confessed while Xariat huffed in the corner.

"That is troublesome" Dea replied. Daemons and high elves aren't common around here but they aren't unheard of and I had gotten you papers, but if you were seen we're going to have to go with plan B." Yrlissa tried to contain her anger at Xariat while thinking about how today was going to be a long day.

"City guards have been getting better and better at countering magic, used to be I would craft you a mirage disguise, walk with you through the gates and away you went. But now at each gate in the city they pat you down, if your clothes and hair don't move perfectly with their hand movements they notice you are being miraged and the crossbows start firing." Dea explained.

"Then just be better, move our clothes and hair with their movements!" Xeriat snapped impatiently.

"Isn't a mirage caster in the world who can react that quickly. We then just turned people invisible at key parts of the journey, far more draining and so more risky as if the guards saw me with veins bulging out of my head through effort they would know there was someone invisible within line of sight. They then cottoned on to this and now have a constant mist of water in front of the gates, anyone I turn invisible would disturb the water and once again it's crossbow time."

"Why are you wasting our time giving us your life story" Xeriat interrupted, getting even more impatient and angry by the moment.

"Because how I'm sneaking you guys out is not exactly how you would want, and I want to preface your objections with the guarantee that there is no alternative." Dea responded, rising from her chair.

"Please Dea, just tell us what we need to do, we trust you." Calmly chimed Yrlissa, de-escalating the situation.

"Fine, they do all their checks on humans, so far they have yet to do any checks on my Donkey's. I'm afraid you 2 will have to pull my cart through the town while keep a mirage on you to look like beasts of burden." Yrlissa's face when stony white while Xeriat overflowed with anger.

"You mean we have to walk around on all fours dragging your fat ass around the city!" Xeriat exploded.

"Yes" Dea replied awkwardly looking at her feet. "Also, as I am going to be miraging fur, you're going to need to tie your hair up and you can't be wearing any clothes either."

"So not only are we going to be harnessed up, we're going to be naked as well, screw this I'm fighting my way out." Xeriat decided.

"You're on this mission for your stealth not your magic, you're a mid-level pyromancer in a city of witch hunters, we need stealth." Yrlissa pleaded.

"Well I'm not getting harnessed up naked like some bondage whore!" Xeriat bellowed.

"In which case you have until dusk to come up with a better plan" Yrlissa responded, calmly taking a seat next to the cart to wait until morning. Xeriat sat fuming to herself, she was indeed a cauldron of rage but that didn't mean she was willing to go into certain death, she spent the night planning and asking Dea the occasional question but at no point could she come up with an alternate plan. As the sun rose over the horizon Dea and Yrlissa looked expectantly at Xeriat, she screamed with rage and with a flick of her wrist burned off the black outfit she had been wearing exposing her red body to the shock of Yrlissa and Dea.

"I take it you have decided to go with Dea's plan?" Yrlissa smirked, she began to undress, trying to remain a picture of calm despite feeling a deep sense of embarrassment about what she was being forced to put herself through.

"So are elves naturally hairless down there or do you shave?" Xeriat jibed, trying to throw Yrlissa off guard.

"We actually cleanse ourselves regularly which involves the removal of hair, the real question is why you have metal sticking through your..." Yrlissa trailed off unwilling to be so crude as to say the word.

"Nipples" Xeriat yelled, helping Yrlissa to finish the sentence. "No cultural significance little elf, I just happen to like having nipple piercings."

Eventually the 2 thieves stood naked in the barn as Dea began to measure them up with her eyes and ready the illusion. Xeriat worried her more than Yrlissa, her breasts we're more ample and likely to swing outside a tightly constructed mirage, whereas Yrlissa, although taller, was more slender and her perky breasts were small enough to not cause any problems. Eventually Dea asked them to get on all fours and put on the donkey harness.

"Couldn't you just mirage on the harness?" Xeriat demanded.

"I'm afraid I don't have any way of getting my cart to move without 2 donkeys pulling it, the harness is not aesthetic it is practical" Xeriat somehow grew even redder as Dea began to attach the leather straps to her. Dea had ordered the straps from a Tanner that works with Donkey's for the avoidance of suspicion but had made some alterations to make them fit humans, the straps pulled tight against Xariat's chest causing her breasts to bulge outwards, the back then extended upwards to allow 2 straps over the shoulders. Xariat was almost beginning to feel comfortable in the leather ensemble, despite it stopping at the waist leaving her bottom half completely exposed, when Dea attached the final shoulder strap in place and a bridle fell down over Xariat's face.

"Hell fucking no!" Xariat yelled.

"Don't worry." Dea responded. "You don't have to put that in your mouth, it's just suspicious to ask a tanner to make you a donkey harness without a bridle." She pleaded, trying to calm down the Daemon who looked inches from burning her house to the ground.

Now that Xariat was harnessed up it was Yrlissa's turn. Dea found she had to pull the harness tighter to get it around her slender figure, and it didn't help that Xariat spent the whole time making jeering comments that made the delicate elf feel more self-conscious every time her straps were tightened. But at the very least Yrlissa didn't squirm and complain as much as Xariat.

Once they were harnessed up Dea took them over to the cart. She handed them each a couple of tools of her own design. There was a pair of gloves that ended in a ball with a horseshoe on the end as well as a couple of horseshoes on straps to be strapped to the lady's knees.

"I'm sorry, I can't mirage sound, these will make it so as you walk there will be a clip clop to go with your pace." Dea apologised, Xariat and Yrlissa barely complained any more and got down to business attaching the gloves and knee pads so this could all be over as soon as possible. Then with blushes covering their entire bodies, Xariat and Yrlissa got down on their hands and knees in front of the cart as Dea began to lash them to the reigns and secure them to the cart.

Once firmly attached to the cart, Dea proposed a quick test drive to make sure everything was perfect, she got onto the cart, murmured a few words to place up the mirage, and asked Xariat and Yrlissa to pull the cart to the end of the barn.

As they got to the end of the barn Dea had her head in her hands. There was still a lot to fix.

"Ok so firstly you need to keep your feet tight against your bodies, every so often I saw a foot protruding out of the Donkey's butts. Secondly you can't drop the gloves like that, Yrlissa you left your hoof back over there. Finally you need to sway your head less as the bridle kept breaking the sides of the illusion as it swung across your face." Dea sighed.

"How about we strip you down and you pull this heavy ass cart?" Xariat snapped.

"I think what Xariat means to say" interjected Yrlissa trying to calm things down. "Is that we are trying our hardest here, these problems need better solutions than just telling us to try harder."

"So what would you suggest?" Asked Dea.

"Ok so it is very difficult to walk on all fours while constantly keeping your legs tucked in so how about we get some rope and tie our ankles to the top of our legs. Next, these gloves simply won't stay on, there's nothing for our hands to grip to, so how about we run a thread around the wrist of the glove so we can tie it onto our hands. Finally we need to sway our heads because pulling the cart is hard, now I know you promised Xariat that she wouldn't have to, but I think the only solution is to tighten the bridle around our heads, even if that means us taking the bit in our mouths."

Xariat practically went green as she heard Yrlissa's solutions. She squirmed and raged but was unable to get up and strangle Yrlissa while she was still strapped into the cart. Eventually she calmed herself down enough to sulk.

"Whatever, just do it, I want to be out of the stupid city already." Dea began to implement Yrlissa's suggestions, even taking a bit of joy at tightening Xariat's bridle so, the smooth metal bit sliding into her mouth preventing her from moaning any more.

Yrlissa watched as Dea quickly finished her adjustments to Xariat and moved onto her. She blushed at the thought of Dea getting a good look at her exposed bottom as she went to tie her ankles. The rope she used to tie her ankles to her upper leg was coarse and Yrlissa found herself grateful that Dea had tied it quite tight as it meant it would rub less as she walked. As she tied on the horseshoe gloves Yrlissa gave them a solid wiggle for good measure, they weren't going to fall off until Dea untied them once they were done. Finally she felt the straps surrounding her head begin to tighten and the metal bit began to press at her mouth. As demurely as she could, Yrlissa opened her mouth and felt the metal cylinder slide in, she bit down and felt the cold unyielding metal clank against her teeth.

After one more practice run across the barn Dea announced that they were ready to fool the guards, Yrlissa and Xariat felt a deep sense of dread as the barn doors were open, and the two of them clopped out onto cobblestone streets and into the morning sun.

The morning wind was brisk and the 2 spellcasters felt every breeze on the exposed skin surrounding the leather straps. Yrlissa wanted to look to Xariat for reassurance but every time she turned her head there was a very convincing donkey walking to her side. She kept telling herself that should be more reassuring but deep down she was more worried about the feeling of exposure than getting caught and a friendly face would have helped with that.

Xariat and Yrlissa quickly noticed that Dea was pretty well known in the community, every 5 minutes or so another local would stop to chat and Dea, unwilling to break character, would indulge them a chat while Xariat and Yrlissa would sit and seethe at their predicament.

Before long they approached the first checkpoint. The city guards had set up blockade on the way out of the non-human slums to check nobody was trying to sneak out the assailants, Dea felt the pace slow as her donkey's nerves started to show and to keep them moving she tapped them both on the rump with her riding crop. Yrlissa understood what was going on but was sure that the moment they were free Xariat would take her eyebrows for that one. She then pulled on the bridle to bring the cart to a halt in front of the guard.

"Morning Johmas, what's going on here then?" Asked Dea.

"Mornin' Dea, some spellcasters broke into the castle last night." The guard began.

"Those scum got in the castle? I hope our king is OK" Dea interrupted, maintaining her well-crafted reputation as the last person who would help magic users.

"He's fine, the guards saw them heading into the slums so we're searching everyone on the way out. So where you going with an empty wagon?" Xariat and Yrlissa tensioned, Dea was now being questioned and they had to trust her to get them through.

"Doing a job helping a merchant move supplies to and from a wedding down in Erbium." Dea replied without hesitation.

"You know the drill Dea, I got to throw a bucket of water on that, make sure no magic users are invisible on the cart." Dea climbed down from the cart and stood between Xariat and Yrlissa to watch as it got doused. Next she stepped towards the guard knowing that he would have to pat her down.

Once the formalities we're over Dea began to get back on the cart when the guard stopped her.

"One more thing" he interjected, leaving a heavy tension in the air. "The king now demands all animals in the slums wear silver collars, prove they're not a shapeshifter." Xariat and Yrlissa froze in panic, silver famously repels magic, not only would they be powerless but also they would be exposed. Dea also panicked but was much better at hiding it.

"You think I would let 2 spellcasters pull my cart, donkeys are better than witches, they actually work and they don't scheme. Anyway I know rules are rules, I'll buy some silver collars with the takings from this job." Dea said, trying to get away.

"No need." The guard replied removing 2 collars from the bag, "the king knows times are tough and has paid for the collars out of his own pocket."

"Tough on spellcasters and kind to common folk. How did we end up with such a wise and benevolent king?" Dea exclaimed taking the collars from the guard, even though she was wearing riding gloves Yrlissa saw the donkey next to her wobble a little and a deep sense of worry crossed her mind. The guard did not take his eyes off Dea, it was clear he would not let her pass without witnessing the silver collars being put on the donkeys.

Just as Dea was reaching down, a loud dwarf on the other side of the barricade began to swear at the guards, turning everyone's heads. In the confusion Dea dropped the silver collars and with a whirl of her hands and a few words she adjusted her spell.

Suddenly Yrlissa and Xariat could see each other perfectly, in their eyes there was no longer a mirage cast over them, before they could scream some words appeared in front of them.

"Don't panic, I have expanded the mirage. This way I can put the silver collars on you without breaking the illusion."

Yrlissa and Xariat stared at each other in panic. They had been able to detach themselves from what was happening so far but seeing another, trussed up and naked on the public streets brought back to them how precarious the situation was. They were so lost in the situation they didn't notice that the dwarf had been dealt with, and Dea was once again approaching them with the collars.

The collar felt cold around Xariat's neck. Not just cold from the metal but it radiated cold throughout her body, neutralising her pyromancy. She then watched as a similar collar was placed on Yrlissa and her link to magic was also severed. The guards didn't seem to react so they assumed Dea's expanded mirage had worked. They felt a great release of fear as the guards waved them through, but deep down they realised they were in even more trouble, as if they were caught now they were completely helpless.

Pulling the cart on all fours was starting to become exhausting for Xariat and Yrlissa, sweat began to trickle down their bodies from the effort and they began to look more dishevelled. Yrlissa wanted more than anything to bite down on her bit, but the unyielding metal hurt her teeth so her mouth was kept open, a steady trail of drool now beginning to trickle down her breasts. However nobody had noticed them yet, as far as the citizens were concerned they were 2 ordinary donkeys and it wasn't long before they reached the city gates, one final test before they were outside the walls and once deep enough in the forest they could once again regain their dignity.

Once again they were halted by a guard, however it became clear this a captain of the guards, and more importantly he was not familiar with Dea and so would give her a harder time than the softy at the last checkpoint.

"Halt! Why do you seek to leave the city?" The captain demanded.

"My name is Dea, I operate Dea's transport and deliveries, I have a job in Erbium, should last the day and I will be back in the evening." Dea replied.

"Very good, please step aside so we can check your cart." The captain requested. Dea stepped off and Xariat and Yrlissa froze, this was their last test, all they could do now was pray nothing went wrong. Dea made small talk with the guard about how much she hated magic users, occasionally even helping the guard check aspects of the cart he had forgotten that she knew wouldn't yield results. Even Xariat respected how good she was at handling guards, even though she had to be put in this humiliating position to witness it. Soon the checks were done and Dea was about to leave when a runner from the castle approached the guard and he signalled for Dea to wait while he received a message.

"Dea, could you step into my office please?" the captain asked.

"Sorry mate, I'm running late already. Tell you what, I trust the city guard and waive my right to privacy so you can talk to me out here." Dea expertly responded.

"Fine, after last night's attack the king has announced that anybody leaving the city be questioned on their whereabouts last night." The captain stated.

"A smart move, we don't want magic using scum using any trickery to escape. Last night I was at home all evening, there's a fresh pile of dung outside the front that shows I was cleaning out the barn." Dea retorted with a practiced certainly.