I
o0o
The silence of the cavern was peaceful rather than foreboding as Alice stepped carefully along the ground. The walls were interspersed on occasion with bioluminescent crystals growths in warm shades ranging from magenta and scarlet through gold to chartreuse.
There was something within this cavern that she had to discover. A great treasure awaited her. She was on an adventure into the unknown, to claim this happiness.
Alice carried a staff that was smooth along most of its length, and ornately wrought with copper wire and gemstones at the top. Clad around her body was silk, velvet, and leather, from the cap that perched jauntily on her head to the light boots she wore on her feet.
Ordinarily, such an adventure would have companions, but Alice was alone in the cavern, letting the glow of the stones lead her way deeper into the recesses of the mountain. After a time, the trickle of water broke through the silence, and Alice followed the sound to an underground pool. She paused at the edge, testing the water with her staff. The rock had worn away, leaving a gently-sloping bank with which one could easily descend into the water. She knelt and dipped her fingers under the surface.
She studied the space before her. The ceiling was so high that it disappeared beyond the light of the rainbow crystals. The water stretched out before her, reflecting the crystals dotting the walls. Her gaze moved along the shoreline as she assessed her options. Further down the water, she saw moss-covered rocks, the lifeforms glowing green, blue, and indigo. It was very soft to the touch, but she wondered what sort of dangers might lurk in such a place like this. As was the cliche in movies, books, and games, beauty often was nothing more than a veneer for danger or evil.
She looked down at herself to see what she might have that would aid her in her quest. A belt held several pouches of varying sizes, but she was quickly interrupted in her search.
"Greetings," she heard someone say. She turned around to see a tall figure silhouetted by the glow behind him. Her eyes moved along his lanky robed form, registering the mass of tentacles that originated from his head. Two long ones reached to his knees, and the rest only extended to his navel, or where she thought his navel might be
She stiffened at the sight of the Illithid, or mind-flayer, whatever these beings called themselves. His skin was a muted green-blue, and his long fingers were steepled in front of him, emerging from a pair of dark sleeves.
She took a step back, shifting her staff in front of her. "Who are you?" she asked politely.
"Sogoth," he replied. "I have been waiting for you, my dear." He took a step forward.
"Why? Are you here to help or hinder my quest?" she asked.
"I am the end of your quest. I have what you seek."
She raised an eyebrow. In the soft lights of this cavern, his eyes appeared like dark pools of nothing. He took several more steps forward, and she found herself unable to move.
"You seek happiness, and it is what I will give you."
"You won't eat my brain!"
He paused before chuckling softly. "No, those you speak of live in a realm of fiction. What I offer is much more... mutually beneficial." He reached down, running his fingers along the front of his robes. "I offer you much more than any mortal male could ever give you. Be my consort, and know contentment to the end of your days."
She stared at him, noticing the way his tentacles moved, writhing gracefully with a life of their own as he closed in on her. She glanced down at his groin area, registering the fact that she was indeed curious as to what lay under that fabric.
One of his longer tentacles gently hooked around the arm that held her staff before winding around it. She tried to pull back, but his grip was inexorable, the smooth appendage now securely wrapped around her forearm and wrist. As she tried to pull free, he closed in on her, and several tentacles wrapped around her shoulders and middle.
"Think of these tentacles focused on only one thing -- your pleasure," she heard him hiss as he caught her other wrist with his hand. "Our kind places great importance on the pleasure of our mates." A tentacle tightened around her chest, tautening the material over her breasts.
She stared up into his eyes. The fabric on her legs slid up her thighs as a tentacle found its way under the hem of her skirt. As she felt the appendage slither up her thigh, her loins tightened in anticipation, suffusing her with a warm tingle that snaked in tendrils up her belly and down to her knees. A quiet whimper slid past her lips, and she twisted around in his embrace.
"What did you imagine awaited at the end of your quest? A pile of gold?" he asked as the tentacles slid along her body, ensnaring her further. "Can gold warm you at night, and pleasure you?"
She gasped softly as the tentacles pulled her closer, bringing her body in contact with his own. Something strained under his robe, against her thigh. Instinctively, she ached for it, and squirmed against him.
"Then prove yourself," Alice challenged. A thick purr rumbled from his throat as he tightened his embrace, wrapping an arm around her. A tentacle reached its destination between her legs, sliding against the thin material that covered her most private parts.
