Editor's note: this story contains scenes of non-consensual or reluctant sex.
*****
Gerrim strolled down the busy dusty road of Skarrivan, sidling around clanking tinker's carts and dancing musicians without even breaking his stride. Though his pace was springy and cheerful, his back ached from a long, long day's walk—and a very heavy backpack. He was very much looking forward to setting the latter down and lying back in a soft bed.
It was hard to be in a bad mood about it, though. The people of Skarrivan were so
friendly
. He couldn't help but return every smile, and his face was getting sore from it.
Skarrivan was a large town, by Western Plains standards—positioned right by the river, this town had been able to thrive where other baronies had been forced to squabble over water and food like bandits in the wasteland—but everyone here seemed to know each other. They showed a familiarity with each other that made it feel more like the little village Gerrim had grown up in.
Gerrim returned a passing milkmaid's smile. She giggled, blushing, and hurried on, leading her sleepy-looking cow after her. Of course, while everyone had smiles for him, pretty ladies and gentlemen always seemed to smile the brightest no matter where he was. Gerrim cut a striking figure—at nearly six feet tall, with bright brown eyes, a muscular, powerful build, ruddy brown skin and prominent dimples, he tended to get along well with those looking for a good time.
Not that he ever indulged, of course. Gerrim grinned at a couple of shepherds and adjusted the cowl of his cloak formally, enjoying the attention as the two young handsome men observed his departure. One of them whistled, and Gerrim felt his cheeks glowing like embers.
No, the Toxin Rangers encouraged abstinence, or at least waiting for marriage. Sex was a perfectly fine thing, of course, as long as it happened behind closed doors, and you never talked about it or practiced it too eagerly. And as long as you weren't... well, playing around too much with the wrong sort of people.
Okay, so the Toxin Rangers were a bit puritanical. Gerrim adjusted his brass mushroom clasp. And maybe a little... normative. But Gerrim was only twenty, and fresh to the order. He tried not to make waves by flirting with too many cute boys in front of his teachers. And he
did
like the idea of waiting til marriage.
And girls were cute, too, anyways.
No, flirting was all fun and games, but Gerrim had no intention of fooling around. Not anytime soon, certainly. Ranger work was no joke. Especially not today.
He trotted over to a stall. The owner, a plump middle-aged fellow with a long black beard and weak eyes, smiled broadly over his wares of melons and grapes. "Good harvest, stranger!"
"Good harvest." Gerrim shook the man's hand. "Gerrim."
"Tarkin." The farmer returned the handshake eagerly. "We often see visitors, but rarely Rangers. What's brought you out to our quiet little town, friend?"
"My first assignment." Gerrim proudly flashed his badge. "Apparently, Skarrivan's got a reputation for being quiet, and the Toxin Rangers think it would make a good base of operations if we set up a cabin in the Plains. Good, um..." He noticed Tarkin's face cloud over for a moment. "Good safe place from which we can keep an eye on river traffic. Lot of unpleasant people around here. No offense."
"Hm. No." Tarkin nodded carefully. "No, there... the indulgent diplomats are a big problem. But honestly, Skarrivan might not be the best place for you."
"Oh?" Gerrim blinked.
"It's. There's quite a lot of trouble around here." Tarkin coughed. "Lots of... of, um..."
"Are you saying that Skarrivan
isn't
safe?" Gerrim kept his voice low. He glanced over his shoulder, wondering if Tarkin was afraid of being overheard. Nobody seemed to be paying them any heed, but you could never be too careful. The Toxin Rangers did have powerful enemies among fey and mindweavers.
"No, no!" Tarkin said quickly. "We are very safe in Skarrivan. It's a wonderful place, and you're very welcome here. We'd love to have a Toxin Ranger set up shop."
"Well, I'm just scouting around." Gerrim shrugged. "If it seems like a good spot, I'll send in word. Maybe I'll get assigned to the cabin, if I'm lucky, but I'll probably be accompanied at first by someone more experienced."
"Ah. Yes." Tarkin smiled. "Well, I hope you like what you see." His expression was clear again. "We get a lot of travelers, and a lot of people like it here. The Rangers might find it a good town to set up in. Be nice to have someone around to keep an eye on—"
Behind them, a door slammed.
Tarkin looked up sharply, and following his lead, Gerrim spun around. He blinked.
Without any clear signal, everyone all around seemed to be in a sudden hurry to clear the path. Carts were careening to the alleys, or just parking on the side of the road—some even blocking doorways. A few people were hurrying into their homes, while others just wheeled their stalls back a little bit and cast their eyes downwards.
A wide space had been cleared in the middle of the road leading up to the castle, as though a stampede of cattle was bound to run through at any moment.
"Odd." Gerrim frowned. Was it closing time? People weren't all leaving, they were just...
moving
. He leaned over and peered up the road, but he didn't see any kind of procession or carriage.
Someone gripped his hand. Gerrim spun, reflexively reaching for his knife before he saw that it was Tarkin.
The man's eyes were wide. "Behind the stall!" he hissed.
Gerrim blinked. Very quickly, a few thoughts ran through his mind.
One: Tarkin was acting very strangely, and seemed oddly afraid of the Rangers. Perhaps he was a mindweaver, and this was a trap.
Two: Tarkin seemed afraid of
something
, and judging by the odd road-clearing, he was probably trying to warn Gerrim of something.
Three: Anything worth nearly crashing your haycart for to avoid was probably worth avoiding until he knew more.
Gerrim hurried around the side, swinging his backpack from his shoulders, and ducked behind the stall and beneath the counter. His heart was racing.
What in hell was going on?
Tarkin hurried back into place, scooting up his stool—forcing Gerrim to hurry back and press against the far side of the stall. It was dry, splinter-friendly wood, and the ground beneath was dusty. But it wasn't too dark.
There was a convenient knothole in the front of the stall.
Again, choices ran through Gerrim's head—risk of knowing versus not knowing, the chances of whatever was out there having some kind of passive visual hypnotic effect...
He pressed his eye to the hole.
The rookie Toxin Ranger stared in shock. A slight whimper of confusion slipped out, earning him a light warning kick from Tarkin. He just... didn't understand.
Two women were coming down the road from the castle.
One was rather short; petite, yes, but busty. She had long strawberry blonde hair and bright blue eyes—a common trait in the Western Plains—and wore a comfortable blue-green sundress. A pair of bright sapphire earrings dangled from her ears. Her lips were painted bright red, her eyes deeply shadowed.
She was gorgeous, perfectly-dressed, her hair perfectly styled. Obviously wealthy. And she radiated power. Confidence. Her eyes flitted over Gerrim, and his heart stopped—before remembering that she couldn't see him. Could she?
She glanced right over the stall, her gaze imperious, perfectly confident in her power, her control. It was so casually arrogant, that expression. As if nothing could ever, ever challenge her.
That arrogance was especially remarkable because there was no
way
she was a day older than twenty-three. Gerrim had been taught a general respect for his elders, but this woman... he couldn't imagine her showing respect to
anyone
. She strolled through the town like she owned the place.
And then he noticed the woman in front of her, and his jaw dropped.
The woman ahead of her, who had to be in her early thirties, had long, wavy dark hair and big, pretty brown eyes. Very pretty. There was something oddly appealing about this eyes, which looked very calm. Very glossy. Sparkly, almost.
One could get lost in eyes like those.
That is, if her tits weren't hanging down and swinging with every step as she crawled forward, eyes cast meekly to the ground as the leash the blonde woman held tugged at her collar and caused the little brass cowbell on it to cling softly. She seemed to whimper every time the bell rang. Unluckily for her, the bell kept bouncing against her massive, almost holstaur-level tits. Her tits were visibly dripping with milk.
Gerrim started in wonder at them, even as he mentally noted,
Nurselily extract. Daily dosage. Holstaur's kiss to get them to that size—it doesn't usually grow around here, so it might be imported. Applied every full moon, of course.
He licked his lips as the women drew nearer, the smell making him feel a bit woozy.
Um. Mummywort. That smells like mummywort tea's effects. Causes being milked to inflict orgasms, gives the scent and... taste of milk... aphrodisiac, um...
... um, pleasuring... feels good...
... smells good...
Gerrim's sluggish mind worked just quickly enough to wet a rag with crystalbloom sap and press it to his nose. The cool, minty, acrid smell helped clear his head as the whimpering woman crawled past, and he remembered to lean away from the hole just as she glanced towards the stall.
A hypnotically tempting effect,
he finished belatedly.
She's been well taken care of.
"Oh, hi, there," said a girlish voice. Gerrim nearly started into hitting his head on the top of the stall, before realizing that the blonde woman was addressing someone else. "I haven't seen
you
in a while. Lucky for you I went for a walk today, huh? You're a
cuuute
one, aren't you?"
Gerrim craned his neck to see through the hole who she was addressing—one of the young men who had catcalled Gerrim earlier, a big, muscular fellow with curly blond hair wearing nothing but a simple vest.
He towered over the petite blonde. He seemed terrified. "Um... thank you, Baroness."
She giggled, and again, Gerrim almost jumped as he heard and felt three knocks on the stall top. She was patting it. A moment later, a shadow moved over Gerrim's view, and he heard the burly fellow sit down obediently. "There's no need to be so bashful," she teased. "Like, I know I'm the hottest girl you've ever seen, and you probably pump yourself to sleep every night thinking about me, huh?"
"Y-Yes, Baroness."
Gerrim watched her face light up with glee. "Oh my
gods
, you just admit it!" She leaned in, and Gerrim saw her breasts flushing with excitement. "I like you! So honest about how big a
perv
you are."
Gerrim stared in shock. What was this? The reports from Skarrivan hadn't said
