== VORTEX QUEST 1-5 ==
== CRAWLWAY SLAUGHTER ==
The crawlway was a collection of space-bending shortcuts. Points that were a dozen miles apart on the 'surface' of Jheyr'Udd, were connected by leisurely minutes in the complex tunnel network in defiance of physics.
Goro had felt crammed in the demonic fortress and not looked forward to a serious cave system, but the crawlway surprised him.
Mostly wide enough to drive a jeep through, sometimes narrowing to a corridor, occasionally widening to the size of a house, the tunnels were often interrupted by holes in the ceiling that let light in.
Stretches of shimmering gems and glowing mushrooms swirling in patterns around the tunnel walls were supplemented by the occasional lantern pointed at signage-cairns.
It could have been picturesque, if not for all the skulls -- from naturally formed rock ones or real bone speared at forks to mark territory.
The crawlways were well utilized along the main routes. Gnomes rushed along the edges like furry avalanches. A chained Croc was dragged along by two hellions in full armor. Tumorous, sloshing bloodvarks -- a mix of cow and elephant and blood bags - were hurried along by the whips of lizardmen. A Sleuthken sniffed the area with its hyena-like snout, seeking chameleon slugs which were then speared by its handler Kobold, the plump slugs-on-sticks filling bags on the cow-sized creature's hunchback.
The yellow-scaled slaver the demigods had kidnapped led them, clad in only a loincloth and wooden jewelry. The four avatars of heaven were naked. Nobody paid enough attention to a gaggle of slaves to notice the dick cages.
"What's your name?" Chay asked their 'guard', once more looking up from the red book he kept checking.
"Vnvn'Rlaaa'ee," the Kobold said with a fanged-smile.
It meant Black Tear. Maybe a poetic way of saying 'drop of blood'? Goro was neither a poet nor a linguist but the dinos didn't seem overly subtle.
Chay kept his finger on a sketch in the book. "So Black Tear, why aren't you leading us directly through the Darkfoot Passage?"
"Too dangerous. Lisks are nesting there now."
The leader's eyes narrowed. "Didn't see any warnings at the fork."
"Pathwriter Customs is slow in these lower parts. Maybe there's already been a Clearance Expedition but I'd be surprised."
Chay didn't respond so Goro figured it was true. The Thai guy with a thick ass seemed able to read people magically well. Goro stayed ready to punt the slaver into the ceiling anyway.
"Aaand," Chay started again, "why aren't we taking the Frontfang Bridge?"
"Claimed by the Grubslurper clan. Do you have the obols to pay for passage? Didn't think so."
Chay shrugged. "We could try talking our way past. But fine, keep leading."
Goro shuffled his mark of madness around. It slid on his skin anywhere he willed it. He kept it on the inside of his thigh when they passed other creatures, but made it roam his body otherwise. He liked it on his neck, looking like a thug.
Xane was practicing illusions and juggled flames. If somebody passed the group, it was his 'job' to have a dick covering his aegis and walk up front. Now he was wearing an illusory backwards baseball cap.
"Hey wizard," Chay said with a flick to the mage's neck. "Keep it subtle, you're making people notice us."
"Sorry," Xane said and turned the baseball cap into a crown with a smirk. "Better? Hehe."
"No."
"Fuck, whatever bitch." The crown vanished. "I'm getting stronger though. See here." An orange butterfly sat down on *either* round, striated shoulder. "I can make two motes now."
"That's *not* subtle," Chay said. "But congrats on the power-up. I think we're all growing."
Goro grunted and gave Xane an affirmative punch between the shoulder blades. He was glad to have a familiar face with him on this adventure of heroic nudity.
They passed another line of six naked human slaves, half of them scuffling and drooling, the others more alive. All were hunky and bald or buzzed, some were covered in marks from slave-driver whips, but looked otherwise healthy.
Goro had long noticed how diverse the slaves were. Their demigod gang would have stood out for being all East Asian if it wasn't for their different levels of tan. Having long hair made Goro stand out the most.
"Black Tear," Chay said. "Where do humans come from?"
"The Reapers." The triple-horned dino made it sound like a grocery store around the corner.
"How?"
"I... don't know. We just buy and sell them."
"Where are the chicks?" Xane asked.
"Huh?" Black Tear made.
"Females slaves? Naked humans with tits, horny for a rescuer? Hopefully just as athletic as the males there."
The Kobold shrugged. "These are what our Reaper gives us."
"I'm so horny," Marcus said, once again, mostly to himself.
"Shut up," Goro said, which made Marcus flinch.
The massive Japanese hunk sighed. He should probably play nice. "Me too. Just... don't remind me."
Marcus gave him a thumbs up and made a mouth-zipping gesture.
Goro was swimming in horniness like he never hadn't, not even during sex. Every round rock looked like boobs, every crack in the wall like a vagina begging to be humped. He was going to rape the first pussy he saw -- he'd find a way, aegis be damned.
He expected the others to feel the same but nobody broached the subject because nobody wanted to acknowledge that they had all just rode dick and would do it again. Goro was fine with that. He was still perfectly straight. He'd keep fucking pussy for the rest of his life once the abyss was beaten. But he was no stranger to playing with his ass and right now, he'd do what it took to get relief.
Chay kept needling Black Tear for information, while reading in a different book.
Goro grabbed one of the books from Chay's bead net and flipped through. Maybe this tomb could teach him how to activate arcane weapons.
"Chapter Seven: Arcane conversion through Ether-conductive unipolarity matrices" sounded promising.
The berserker moved his tattoo to his left forearm, which seemed to help holding the book steady without effort. Maybe this way he'd stop craving a cumshot with every step.
===***===
A long flight of stairs upward ended outside, at a path along a cliff face, many miles from their entrance point. The aurora far above shone onto a field of stalks swaying like ocean waves despite a lack of breeze.
The cliff edge was secured by chains on iron spires, leading to a narrow staircase spiraling maybe half a mile up to another cavern.
There was also an elevator platform of dark wood, hanging on slack chains that lead all the way up. It was flanked by abandoned guard posts.
On the elevator was a huge hamster wheel and a head-sized garnet in an array of cables.
"Typical," Black Tear said. "Nobody here, so we can use the cargo lift, but the gem is empty so we can't."
