This story contains: The female character more or less taking a dominant role (I wouldn't hazard to call it fully femdom, but read on and you'll see what I mean), male anal play/penetration, and tail fucking (related to that second one).
~*~
The creatures who inhabited the deep places of the world tended to hoard things—valuable things. Caelan wasn't entirely sure for what reason given the reclusive and typically non-spending nature of such beasts. But he had little interest in looking too far into it. Whatever it was helped to keep his coin pouch—and subsequently his stomach—full as he went about his travels, and that was all that mattered.
He was a wanderer, dedicating his time to seeing as much of the world as he could and never staying long in one place. It suited him quite well, but as could be expected, it wasn't a life that paid consistently. At least not if one wasn't willing to scour for odd jobs or risk life and limb while looting treasure-packed monster caves. More often than not, the latter presented itself as the only option—and the quite frankly more lucrative one.
Caelan stood at the top of a shallow ravine, looking down at the small stream running through it and into the mouth of a low-roofed cave entrance. The cavern was one of many in the area belonging to Solveig the Silent; a creature known to thieve from the towns surrounding the dense forest.
Only three townsfolk had ever seen her as she had earned her title for a reason. She came into human settlements taking the form of a dense, cold fog whose wispy tendrils pick-pocketed and stole into homes with ease. It would be in and gone within only an hour at the most. The only proof of Solveig's existence were those few sightings of a large, humanoid figure slinking back into the woods moments after the fog had cleared.
She never harmed a soul (save for the odd missing livestock) and was more of a local nuisance than anything. Until the day she became more than that, no one would dare to call a hunt lest they risk provoking such violence themselves. People simply learned to start hiding priceless family heirlooms beneath their floorboards at night to save them from disappearing under their noses.
Solveig had been up to her thievery for decades and, as far as stories told, no one had successfully stolen from her hoard. A few had gotten close only to have the treasure trove enveloped in fog and vanish before their eyes, appearing for another would-be thief in a different cave. The collection of coins, jewellery, and other precious items was said to be extensive. Caelan would be foolish not to make an attempt.
He slid down into the ravine, landing inches from what would only be ankle-deep water. It had been a little while since the last rain, so it was an optimal time to explore this particular cave. A quick walk along the stream brought him to the cave's mouth. Peering inside, he saw nothing but inky, damp blackness stretching far beyond him.
Caelan dug into his pocket for his light crystal. As he stepped forward out of the nearly faded light of day and into the cave, it began to give off a pale blue glow. The walls glistened and Caelan put his hand to one of them, following it further into the unknown abyss.
The journey was slow as the footing proved to be slightly perilous. He kept encountering unavoidable patches of loose stones that would crunch and shift under his feet, colliding with his toes and audibly skittering off into the darkness. Caelan suppressed hisses of annoyance whenever it happened. He hoped for the sake of stealth that things would smooth over as he delved deeper. But perhaps this was simply the common nature of Solveig's caverns and that had been the downfall of all the past attempted thefts.
Caelan pressed onwards, his eyes straining in the minimal light. His only company were the sounds of dripping water and his own breathing. The cave wall was cool under his hand, becoming colder as the temperature dropped the further he went.
He was forced to abruptly stop as he came to what looked like a sudden drop. Kneeling next to the lip, he saw that the edge was sharp and decidedly unnatural. Like it had been meticulously carved. Puzzled, Caelan brought his light crystal down to the floor and saw that there wasn't a drop at all. There was solid stone just half a foot down. He stood and stepped onto it, seeing the light glinting off a similar ledge beneath him. These were stairs.
Caelan had heard of such places before; abandoned underground temples left around the continent by a long-gone, forgotten race. He could bet that creatures like Solveig would be quick and happy to make use of them. Deciding it as the best place to start his search, Caelan began his descent.
He carefully felt out every step, mindful of what thousands of unmaintained years could do to the structure. It was hard to tell for certain, but it felt like the stairs spiraled down through a column of some sort. At least he wasn't closed in by tight, claustrophobic walls. But the thought of the chasm of indeterminate depth to his immediate right also made his stomach flip.
Two more things became apparent as Caelan crept lower: he was starting to hear running water, and the stairway was growing lighter. He was even able to pocket his light crystal as he reached the bottom. Glad to be on wide, solid ground again, he found himself near a small archway through which light was pouring. Caelan stepped in and had to suppress a gasp of awe. For a fleeting moment, he believed that he had fallen, knocked himself unconscious, and slipped into a concussion-induced dream.
Before him was a sprawling cavern lit up with likely hundreds of light crystal deposits growing in radiant clusters from the floor, walls, and roof. The remains of intricately carved pillars and other ancient structures lay scattered in ruins all around; beautiful despite the decay. Water flowed in from two points at the farthest end of the cave, splashing into a dark, glistening ring surrounding a raised area at the center.
It was breathtaking. Truly a place where one could stand and almost feel the history of it etched into the walls. But the far more enticing sight was the immense pile of treasure sitting unguarded in the middle of the water ring. Caelan had found Solveig's hoard.
He looked for any sign of the creature. She didn't seem to be there, but that didn't mean that he could let his guard down. It was more or less a simple, straight shot to the hoard; definitely the easy part so far. However, Caelan still took things slow, pausing to duck behind rocks and check his surroundings. His heart was in his throat for equal parts trepidation and excitement. He may have procured luck where it had eluded those before him.
A last traipse over a bridge crossing the water brought him to the feet of the magnificent hoard. The stories had been true; years worth of treasures, countless and surprisingly well-kept. It was almost like their keeper took time to polish each piece of her collection. But Caelan had no time to marvel. He took out the empty pack he had brought and started shoveling handfuls of coins into it.
Caelan's frantic motions were halted when his attention was caught by a particular item. He dug it out of the pile and held it in his palm. It was a very handsome golden pendant inlaid with a single large, shimmering emerald. He turned it to admire the exquisite cut of the gemstone before slipping the chain around his neck.
Such a prize would fetch a decent sum if he didn't decide to keep it for bragging purposes; the first successful theft from Solveig the Silent. It had honestly been a little too easy given how it had been built up for him, but he wasn't about to complain. With a smile and satisfied nod at the sight of the pendant sitting safely against his breast, he reached out to the hoard once more—but he froze.
There was a shift in the pile a mere few feet in front of him. Coins clinked down the slope along with a multitude of loose gems. A silvery grey, scaly head upon a long neck emerged. The face resembled a human caught between a transformation into a snake—though still erring on the side of reptilian. Caelan's breath remained caught as Solveig settled into stillness, heaving a great sigh as her eyes stayed closed—asleep.
Swallowing hard, Caelan put his pack over his shoulder slowly stood, wincing as his loot jingled audibly. He paused, biting back a curse, but Solveig didn't so much as twitch. With steps as light as a creeping insect, he walked backwards away from her. When he figured he was at a safe distance, he scrambled behind a large boulder to breathe.
Caelan panted, closing his eyes and letting his head fall back against the cool stone. He kept an ear out, expecting to hear the sound of Solveig crashing out of her hoard and racing after him. Sure, she had never hurt a human, but none had ever taken from her before—would that fact of her character remain when the anger of being thieved took hold?
Silence reigned, but Caelan's eyes snapped open as a significant chill crept around him. A thick fog curled about his ankles and then rapidly billowed in front of him. Before he could process what that meant, a crouching but tall figure emerged from thin air. Solveig, her bright green irises like beads among her black sclera, regarded him with interest. A sharp grin spread out over reptilian features.
"What have we here?" she questioned, her voice carrying a slight rasp.
