The air was warmer on the other side of the mountains as January reached its mid point. Ian spent the time surveying the Goat King's domain, assessing its strengths and weaknesses, pondering how they could help him in the future. There was a fairly narrow coastal plain, where Winter was moderated by a warm ocean current. The great seaport of Cashawm was nearby, but that was not his goal at that time. Ian had to find a lost sanctuary for a clue to the next part of his journey.
He was only halfway down the mountain path, going through a defile when he heard laughter off to his left. When the defile broadened, he saw a track bearing off that direction, sloping downward and away from the coast. The air seemed more humid, denser, and Ian's curiosity led him away from his route.
The rocks grew slippery and moss grew on the mountain face as he descended. The laughter grew louder with each twist and turn along the way, and the steamy air had a slight sulfurous twinge. At last the trail widened on a small pool, the water smoking slightly from the surface, where five women seemed to be playing in the water. A huge vine dominated the wall of the mountain behind the pool, with huge greenish yellow leaves. The women's skin was light blue green, and the pattern of their skin hinted at scales. Their hair was dark red, luxuriant, and wild; their nails were black; and their eyes had slit pupils like a reptile's. Their bodies were buxom, nicely rounded, with large purple nipples.
He touched the water and found it too hot. If he had to enter it, instinct told him Kadosh would protect him from the heat, but there was no reason to risk it. His brooch was quiet, so these weren't servants of Melanthalia. The water play looked innocent and even exciting, so Ian sat on a nearby rock to watch.
The vines were around his ankles before he noticed them, sliding up his calves and almost circling his knees. He tried to leap to his feet, but the grip was too strong and he fell over, landing with a thud. A shriek from the pool told him the women noticed his presence. He tried to use Kadosh to beat and pry the restricting vine from his body, but was unsuccessful: he couldn't get it to change to a form that could help him without it endangering himself at the same time. Either that, or his weapon wouldn't save him from his own inattention.
Soon his arms were pinned to his sides with his back flat on the ground, and the head of the vines reached above his head to touch Kadosh. It contacted the wood gently in greeting, pausing almost shyly, then stroking it tentatively as if seducing a lover. The feeling he was getting from Kadosh was rather strange: unafraid, relaxed and inviting. A sloppy pattering of feet told him the lizard women were running up to see what was going on.
"Kha'du? Greelet na thlinka? Padop?" The leader of this group was standing in their midst at the front, her arms akimbo, steamy water dripping from her skin. "What the hell are you doing here?"
"I'm passing through, that's all. Heard your laughter on the trail and wanted to see where it was coming from?"
"No human has ever found his way to our playpool before. Perhaps you'd like to play with us?"
The other women giggled at the idea, and Ian noticed they all had long tails that ended with an arrowpoint. His grandfather had mentioned that race in his stories about the wide world, but Ian must not have paid much attention that day, for he remembered nothing about them. One licked her lips, and revealed a mouth full of triangular pointed teeth.
"I think we should play with this one for a while, then take him to see our queen," the leader said. "Any human man who comes through our territory and is stupid enough to be caught deserves what he gets. It's bad enough humans are ignorant of our language...hey, wait a minute, you answered me there? You a wizard?"
"No, I'm not."
"And?"
"And what?"
The leader smiled viciously, and gestured to her followers. "A smart one, too smart for his own good. Take the staff from him, and move around the bend: let's see if that's the source of his magic." One of the others darted forward shyly to snatch Kadosh and disappeared up the trail. "Still understand me, manchild? We're going to play with you, only you won't think it play. We'll need to move aside some of those bits of cloth you humans insist on wearing. The last man we caught screamed himself to death. Of course, we might be kind if you'd tell us the source of your magic."
Another acolyte grinned and shuffled forward, grasping at Ian's midsection. She grabbed his belt and stared at him for a minute, questioning, before ripping it away through the clinging vines. After seeing no reaction, she pulled the front of his trousers down, revealing his manhood, and squealed with delight. She looked at her leader, who nodded gravely, and sent the sharp end of her tail to trace the contours of his scrotum. A giggled, another questioning look, and a sharp smack as her tail landed a slap across his cock. The followers giggled at the sound and danced a little bit in excitement.
Ian was surprised it didn't hurt. The lizard women would have been more alluring if he wasn't bound, but their shapes were appealing, especially their breasts. He didn't understand that: lizards shouldn't have them at all. The only deduction he could make from his training was they were magical creatures.
