You can read the post and see Orcus across the editions on Dump Stat

Due to the length of this post, statblocks have been moved to the comments. Spoilers in 5e for Out of the Abyss adventure

Thanks to the TV series Stranger Things (2016), everyone knows Demogorgon. But what about the other original demon lord, Orcus? Arguably the more famous of the two demon lords, Orcus has never been a creature that any hero in their right mind has gone looking for.
Originally a vile mortal whose dastardly deeds resulted in his death, his soul then manifested upon the Abyss as a larva, and the long trek to demon lord began. Slaving away throughout centuries under the cruel command of ancient, and now dead, demon lords, he eventually managed through sheer will to evolve from a larva, to a mane, rutterkin, nalfeshnee, and finally a balor. Unhappy with just that, Orcus conquered the 113th layer, becoming the great demon lord we know today.
Ruling from the Abyss, Orcus lived, died, and was reborn as an undead god. Not bad for an overweight demon that was banished from Dungeons & Dragons in the 1980s. A being of immense power, not only is this creature virtually unstoppable, but he wields a wand bearing his name that can obliterate you with a touch. How has this magnificent lord of evil changed throughout the editions?

OD&D

Orcus’ beginnings start in Supplement III: Eldritch Wizardry (1976) and let’s start with the obvious; you don’t screw with a demon lord. Orcus was everything you pictured when you thought of a demon lord and then some. Incredibly obese, Orcus is over 15 feet tall with a goat faced head and ram horns. His body is covered in thick and tough goat hair, and from his back are two large bat wings with a long serpent-like tail with a poison-tipped spike on the end. While his arms were human in shape, Orcus’ legs were that of a goat, and if we had to guess, he probably smelled like a goat too.
Orcus is the prince of the undead and could summon many of these creatures at will. A prince among demons doesn’t get its hands dirty unless it really wants to, so Orcus could summon wights, wraiths, specters, and even vampires to do his bidding. Unfortunately for you, that probably entails killing you and your friends slowly while he watched with glee. If Orcus kills and decides he wants to torment you a bit more, he could mock you in death as he can cast speak with the dead, which is just adding insult to injury.
If undead wasn’t enough, probably because you heard that he is the prince of the undead and brought along a cleric for good luck, he can also summon demons. While he only has an 80% chance of summoning a demon at the best of times, well, demons were no joke and even that feels a bit too dangerous for us. If he even just summoned a type III demon, they had a minimum of 8 hit dice, had armor classes ranging from 4 to -4, and a variety of abilities by type that included darkness at will, immunity to nonmagical weapons, powerful fear spells, and the ability to polymorph, all on top of its normal attacks. There is no mention of a maximum number of times per day Orcus may use this ability, leading us to believe you could be fighting several different demons for as long as Orcus desires, or until you killed Orcus which is… well…
Now let’s say you somehow manage to take out all of the Demon Lord’s minions and get to fight the big guy himself. His natural defenses are incredibly formidable, as Orcus was highly resistant to magic and had an armor class of -6, which means you aren’t hitting him unless you had a +3 or greater weapon. If you think those items are rare in the 5th edition, they were nearly impossible to find in the earliest editions. As you were trying to figure out how to draw blood from Orcus, he was probably using one, if not more, of its special abilities. Those abilities include a ton of spells like feeblemind, polymorph, lightning bolt, wall of fire, animate dead, and far more.
If you are still feeling confident by the end of your turn in a fight with him, well you won’t feel confident for much longer. Orcus wields a powerful obsidian wand with a skull on top, which is known as the Wand of Orcus. Unless you were a godling, a demon lord, or some other massively powerful creatures, which you never were in this edition, you should just give up now while you still have your soul. A single touch from this instrument of destruction renders the creature dead at the very least and annihilated into a small pile of ash at the worst. It had other powers in case you were worried, like allowing Orcus to heal himself or even to move at double his normal speed. Who needs a sword when you have an artifact of insane power that you named after yourself?
Now Orcus, like other demon lords, did have one weakness. Their souls were kept in small amulets that protected them from permanent death. Of course, this also makes them quite vulnerable, sort of. First one must find the amulet which was incredibly hard since it was often hidden in plain sight, could look like anything, and was non-magical. Orcus was known sometimes to wear his around his neck, but it was not required, as it was for the lesser princes. If you managed to possess the amulet, you had control over Orcus for a maximum of 24 hours, after which you lost all control over them and you better be quick in destroying it. If you destroyed the amulet, it would banish Orcus, or the demon prince it belonged to, to the Abyss for a whole year. Which doesn’t really seem like a long enough time for you to live out the short remainder of your life for demons are rarely the forgiving type. Regardless of how you used the amulet or if you destroyed it, Orcus would remember you and plot your demise. You could offer up an incredible bounty of riches and lavish Orcus with flattery of the highest praise and then, just maybe, Orcus may only kill you in 10 years or so.

Basic D&D

There is little mention of Orcus in this edition, but he does finally show up in the BECMI Immortal Rules Box Set (1986). Orcus gains a huge number of names in this edition, like The Goat, Master of the Dead, Lord of Darkness, or the Black Prince, and even Masauwu, the Legendary Guardian of Death. He is a 4th level Eternal, putting him a step below Demogorgon, although many consider him to be Demogorgon’s equal. Along with Demogorgon, Orcus ruled the sphere of entropy. What is the sphere of entropy and what is a 4th level Eternal?
Four spheres govern almost all of existence, those sphere being: matter, energy, time, and thought. The fifth sphere is called entropy, and it serves as a balance for the other spheres. Entropy in the real world is the absence of order or predictability, leading to the gradual decline of everything into disorder. For our purposes, the sphere of entropy is the name for any changes leading to reducing the essence of the other spheres. Basically, everything eventually ends, and the whole process is the domain of the sphere of entropy. Our demon-filled sphere takes what the four Spheres give or create and breaks it down and destroys it. No wonder it is filled with demons.
A 4th level Eternal is just one of the rankings in this book and helps the reader understand who is more powerful between creatures. In this example, Orcus is only a 4th level Eternal, whereas Demogorgon is a High Eternal, or a 5th level Eternal. Only a few experience points above Orcus. There are other classifications, like Empyreal, Hierarchs, and more, just know that there are only six levels above Demogorgon, and seven above Orcus, until you hit max level in this ruleset.
Orcus remains the same in appearance, although looking at the picture of it in the text, we think he may have lost a little weight… and his wings. He stands 15 feet tall, remains a chunky goat-like humanoid, with two great curled ram's horns, human arms, and goat legs. While it no longer has giant bat wings on its back, the stats give him a fly speed, so maybe now he soars through the air like Superman. His tail is much deadlier as those who are stung by it, and fail their saving throw, lose 1 Hit Die forever and with that, every power, ability, hit points, etc. that comes with it, Orcus then gains that power if he is down any points.
Orcus continues to reign over all undead mortals and even has a few Immortals who follow him. Since he is a demon, he gains a long list of abilities, which doesn’t change from the previous edition and are about what you might suspect. Resistance to magic, speak any language, regeneration, moving between the different planes of existence, and more. Also, Orcus has all the standard abilities and immunities of other demons, but he’s also immune to poison, paralysis, turn to stone, and fear. Orcus can even polymorph into pretty much anything, like a goat. You’ll still need a +3 or better weapon even to scratch him, but you’ll probably have one by now if you're also an immortal and your DM has decided you have to fight this horrible creature. Finally, Orcus can choose to summon demons, undead, more undead, maybe a few of his immortal followers, and more. If you’re brave, or stupid enough, to search out the Lord of Darkness, be prepared for a long and arduous fight.

AD&D

Orcus appears in the Monster Manual (1977), and his title is now Demon Lord and Prince of the Undead. He is shown the proper respect, recognized as the most powerful of all the Demon lords in existence, in your face Demogorgon. While there are very few changes, we are given a bit more detail, which is worth reviewing.
Orcus is so powerful that the text talks about how he can lazily slap people around, and still kill them in a blow or two. Or if someone, probably you, have annoyed him enough he can begin trying and just obliterate you with punches and might even use weapons if he gets bored with punching the wizard’s head off. Once he decides he wants to relax, he can just use his tail to inject you with poison, and unless you make your saving throw with a hefty penalty tacked on to it, you just die. Poison in 1st edition, for monsters, was a save or insta-death affair, so Orcus isn’t unique in his incredibly potent poison. To put some perspective on it, if a fighter is hit by the poison, they just need to roll a 7 or higher on a d20, clerics require a 6 or higher, while magic-users and thieves need a 12 or higher or they get to make a new character.
If you still feel pretty confident that you’ll survive messing with Orcus, probably because you are a fighter and have hundreds of soldiers under your command. Well, Orcus doesn’t care too much about your hoard of level 0 soldiers as he can summon undead minions like skeletons, zombies, shadows, and vampires. To top it all off, he can still bring in demons to help kill off everyone in case the undead decide to take the day off.
The wand of Orcus is shown off in the Dungeon Master’s Guide (1979) where it is described as the ghastly weapon of Orcus. It allows him to travel the planes and so long as it is in his hands, he can boop people with it and immediately annihilate them… unless they are gods, demon lords, or other powerful beings.
In module H4 - The Throne of Bloodstone (1988), Orcus is the focal point in the series’ culmination though his priests and temples have been a focus through the previous three modules in this series. This specific module is recommended for characters levels 18-100. Yes, level 100. You’ve pretty much ascended to godhood at that point, and it’s a good thing too since you'll be traveling to the Abyss, fighting hordes of demons, and taking on Orcus himself. Your primary goal is to steal his wand and return with it to the Seven Heavens of Mount Celestia. First, you must find a portal in the citadel of a creature known as the Witch King, then travel to the Abyss, find your way to Orcus’ castle on the 333rd level, and then you can finally meet up with Orcus. Along the way, you may run into just about any demon lord you can think of, from Jubilex to Graz’zt to Lolth. You can even meet up with Demogorgon, who might help you with your quest since he’s been locked in a war with The Goat for over 100 years. You’ll find out that Orcus has captured Baphomet, has a tarrasque for a neighbor, and lives in a stupidly big fortress made of bones. Orcus’ stat block is adjusted in its fortress, and let’s just say it’s not to the player’s benefit. It is a bit ridiculous that, even with all his enhanced abilities that the module states that Orcus won’t use his wand, since you know, a single touch kills you. But that’s ok since he still has a plethora of other ways to kill you, like slapping you to the ground and then stabbing you with his tail over and over.
In Dragon Magazine #42 (October 1980), we are presented with Orcus’ favorite horse, Hacamuli. It is actually one of the many messengers of the Demon Lord and it appears as a pale, gaunt horse covered in flies and pestilence. Its eyes are black as night, and those that gaze are drained of three levels of life, we can only assume that these are the most intense puppy dog eyes.

2e

Things get weird in the 2nd edition. Demons and devils were banished from the textbooks in the wake of the Satanic Panic of the early 1980s. In response to this issue, the writers at TSR simply removed the creatures that could be associated with hell, satanic rituals, and demon worship. When demons and devils did make their return, they were called the tanar’ri and the baatezu, respectively. This doesn't mean that Orcus disappeared forever, as the excitement eventually died down and Orcus, along with other demons and devils, slowly crept their way back into the game.
Orcus makes his glorious return though it takes far longer than it should, especially since Demogorgon rises in 1992 in the Monster Mythology book. The Lord of Darkness has a rough start and doesn’t show up until Hellbound: The Blood War (1996), and it is announced that Orcus had been slain by Kiaransalee, a drow demi-goddess of undeath. Later, it is confirmed in On Hallowed Ground (1996), that Orcus is dead and it covers the 113th layer of the Abyss, which is called Thanatos, the Belly of Death. The description of this layer mirrors that of the 333rd layer of the Abyss mentioned in the H4 module from the 1st edition, and so it has had a slight number change. Of course, Kiaransalee is still the undead drow goddess to blame as she dispatched the former Abyssal lord of the undead, casting him into the Astral Plane, and taken over his lands of Thanatos.
It’s not until The Great Modron March (1997) that Orcus begins his epic comeback, but that is all hushed up in the background, with even the DM being left partially in the dark until the next adventure is released. In Dead Gods (1997), we get the entire story of his death and resurrection, and it is a lengthy saga of revenge and trickery.
Orcus was for sure killed by Kiaransalee, who proceeds to take over Thanatos, kill his followers, and hides the Wand of Orcus in a place where she thinks it will never be found, the bottom layer of Pandemonium in a bunch of unreachable stone. Orcus doesn’t remain dead and comes back as an undead godling, taking up the name Tenebrous. Tenebrous plots and schemes to take back Thanatos, but must first begin plotting as he is now incredibly weakened by his brush with death. Eventually, he discovers the Last Word, a declaration that has the power to destroy gods who hear it. The one final item Orcus needed to complete his comeback was his wand. In the process of hunting for the wand, he kills the supreme modron, Primus, and unbeknownst to the other modrons, takes up his position as ruler. He then forces the events that lead up to an early modron march detailed in The Great Modron March adventure anthology, and during this march, the modrons discover the two drow who hid Orcus’ wand. The character’s role in this adventure is simple, find and destroy the wand before Tenebrous catches up to you and kills you. Seriously, Orcus isn’t given a stat block, the DM is just told that if Orcus finds the party before they destroy the wand, he kills them, end the adventure there, there is no fighting Orcus even when he is so weak that a demi-god is stronger than him, that even weakened, he can kill any mortal that would face him.

3e/3.5e

Orcus first appears in the 3rd edition of the Manual of the Planes (2001), and the return of Orcus, or should we say Tenebrous, is expanded upon a little further. When under the moniker Tenebrous, Orcus killed rival gods using the all-powerful Last Word. Orcus found and restored his wand, which allowed the demon to begin a resurrection spell with the help of a faithful servant, the half-ogre Quah-Namog. As adventurers do, they found out about the ritual, swooped in at the last second, and stopped the ritual from being completed. While Orcus did not return at full strength, the ritual was enough to bring him back to life. Besides, the drow deity that originally evicted Orcus from Thanatos is now missing, with many presuming she is dead. Some believe Orcus has now returned to Thanatos and rules it yet again, though very few people are willing to travel the Abyss to find out, and far fewer would ever return from such a trip.
In the text Book of Vile Darkness (2002), Orcus continues his glorious return and the book confirms that he has retaken Thanatos and rules in the city of Naratyr. Of course, there is no rest for the Lord of Darkness and he is immediately back at war against Demogorgon and Graz’zt, attempting to take over their realms and destroy them with his massive army of undead and demons.
While some may know him as the Prince of the Undead, Orcus hates the title, mostly because he hates the undead and sees them only as tools. It probably doesn’t help that many view him as undead-adjacent and he doesn’t like to remember how that one time he got so lazy that someone was actually able to kill him. Intelligent undead, like liches or vampires, won’t worship or venerate Orcus due to his hatred, but that doesn’t bother him in the least. Compared to the other demon lords, Orcus gets the most worship out of all of them, normally from cultists also looking to use undead for their ends and to get some of his power for themselves.
Sometimes, Orcus will relinquish his wand, referred to as a rod, to the world, allowing his cultists to wreak havoc across the world. After a year or two of this, the wand probably switching hands several times, Orcus will call back his wand, and probably the soul of whoever was holding it last so that he has something to play with back in the Abyss. Of course, if you do get this wand, it is quite powerful so we can understand why some people might look at it and think that that was their key to ultimate power and not a way to get Orcus interested in your soul.
The wand of Orcus acts as a powerful mace when wielded in battle, when it touches mortals or weak creatures from the Outer Planes, then it has the chance to immediately kill them. Even the wielder of the wand is in danger as Orcus can just decide that anyone touching his wand right now should die, their soul ripped away and handed to the demon prince who hates to share his toys. Also, the wand can be used to cast a few spells all focused on pain and death, like abyssal might, clutch of Orcus, and other strange spells.
Orcus has legions of followers, priests, and cultists that worship it. Two of the most powerful are the priest Quah-Nomag the Skull King and Orcus’s primary enforcer, the vampire Kauvra. You may recognize Quah-Nomag as the individual that resurrected Orcus, and we aren’t sure whether to thank him or curse his name. Now, if you are captivated by the power of Orcus, you can become a worshipper and gain access to the prestige class Thrall of Orcus. The Demon Lord grants these followers special powers like carrion stench, demon wings, death touch, and the ability to summon greater undead. Is it worth giving up your mortality to Orcus? Probably not, but you’ll never know until you try.
Orcus gets a little bit more information in Libris Mortis: The Book of the Undead (2004), and some of it is even a bit surprising. Orcus gets a lot of worship, especially from demons and necromancers, sometimes even undead that he hasn’t yet subjugated, and is thought to be far closer to ascending to true godhood than any other demon. While Orcus isn’t the most powerful of the demon princes, with Demogorgon thought to be more powerful, that hasn’t stopped Orcus from amassing followers and we’d be shocked if Orcus didn’t send passive-aggressive notes to Demogorgon talking about how he feels so divine and god-like, or maybe Orcus isn’t as petty as us.
In addition, we also find out that while Orcus hates the undead, he also despises the living equally. He views most creatures with revulsion and loathing, only seeking to spread misery and destruction to others all to ensure his increase in power. Despite his utter disgust at creatures, he still pulls in that worship and has temples that span the multiverse. Strongholds of the undead, warring nobles, and even entire tribes of orcs pledge their allegiance to him, which probably means we just need to get to know Orcus, that he isn’t that bad when you get to know him.
Our final book, Fiendish Codex I: Hordes of the Abyss (2006) updates Orcus to 3.5 edition, though much of the demon lord’s abilities remain the same. Orcus’ constant battles against Demogorgon and Graz’zt are given a bit more detail, only detailing the fury that Orcus feels for them. While his primary enemy is Demogorgon, who we are constantly reminded is a bit more powerful than the Prince of the Undead, Orcus really covets the vast empire that Graz’zt controls. This leads Orcus to drive his undead forces deep into the dark prince’s realm while using more subtle means of subterfuge and assassination when battling Demogorgon. Orcus may seem like the least powerful of the three, but his vast empire of loyal followers on the Material Plane dwarfs that of the other two. He uses them to help grow his power and influence, supplying him with a constant supply of undead creatures and sacrifices.
We are also provided with a detailed description of Orcus’ realm, Thanatos. It’s not a vacation spot, as the sun never appears, and the land is covered in gray clouds in a black sky. It is cold and desolate, with moss and fungi as the only plant life. Countless undead minions occupy the plane, traveling in packs on their eternal quest for flesh. You can travel to such wonderful places as the City of Straight Curves, Everlost, The Final Hills, The Frozen Sea, Orcusgate, and many others, but none of these places are bright and shiny places. Of all these places, it is the sprawling city of Orcusgate that attracts the most creatures. Demons comprise most of the population, as they are drawn there by the gate of fire connecting Thanatos to the Pits of Pazunia on the first layer of the Abyss. They are the top demons of Orcus’ cult, holding sway over access to the gate and using it themselves to travel throughout the Abyss to do Orcus’ bidding. Mortals often arrive here but quickly depart for Lash Embrar, a city ruled over by the Skull King Quah-Nomag which is quite far from Orcusgate since Orcus is tired of how self-important Quah-Nomag is getting, it is also much more hospitable to living creatures. All of this, along with the fact that the official name used on the travel brochure is Thanatos, the Belly of Death, makes it a place you don’t want to go unless you truly have to.

4e

Found first in the Monster Manual (2008), Orcus rises in prominence and even graces the cover of the book. You don’t get that privilege if you aren’t the mightiest of the demon lords, and in fact, Demogorgon had to wait until the next Monster Manual. This fat-bellied goat demon gets a cool new title, The Blood Lord, along with the Demon Lord of Undeath and the Demon Prince of the Undead. It’s a strange combination of titles, but we’ll try to explain if we can. If you’re alive, you enrage the Blood Lord because of your very existence and it brings Orcus nothing but suffering and agony for you to be alive. If you are undead, this also causes Orcus a great amount of agony and can only be pacified when he destroys and drinks the blood of his victims. He’s a complicated demon lord, but that’s why you just have to love him.
Looking at his powerful wand, the skull that graces the top of it is now pulled into question. There are two stories behind the possible victim whose skull adorns the top of the obsidian shaft, the first being that the skull belongs to a dead god of virtue and chivalry. The god didn’t die of natural causes, but by the hand of Orcus, who probably lopped off its head, flayed the skin from it, and set it atop the wand. The second story is that the skull is that of a mere human hero, but that must have been one big-headed human since the skull is giant size. No matter the truth, The Blood Lord took the good power from the skull and twisted it into an evil that can kill any creature it touches.
In addition to the information on Orcus, we also get to look at his minions and servants. The Aspect of Orcus allows Orcus to summon a minor version of himself and to send to his followers to help in their endeavors. As for servants, Orcus has several mortal followers that are willing to serve him like the Deathpriest Hierophant, Deathpriest of Orcus, and Crimson Acolyte. The Hierophant is the most powerful of all Orcus’ priests, who can project a vision of death into the mind of its target and invoke the name of Orcus to hurt you while healing any undead around. Deathpriests have mastery over necrotic energies, while the Acolytes wield bloodstained scythes and aspire to the ranks of the Deathpriests. All these servants are members of the various cults of Orcus on the Material Plane, congregating in graveyards, tombs, and other scary and haunted areas. There are several cults, each with their own symbols and icons, although robes of black and crimson are one thing they all have in common. That, and the blood sacrifices they perform in the name of their lord, Orcus.
If you’ve ever wanted to visit Orcus, for some reason, and wish to journey to Thanatos, the Manual of the Planes (2008) provides plenty of information on what you can expect. Ash-gray clouds, blackened skies, hordes of undead thralls, and lots of demons are hallmarks of these lands and little changes from what is revealed in the previous edition. Though Orcus has abandoned his Orcusgate city for a more remote location called Oblivion’s End where his fortress, Everlost, towers over a large desert of powdered bones. This land is rather inhospitable, much to our surprise, and unless you are hoping to curry Orcus’ favor, there isn’t much here beyond Orcus and his elite soldiers.
Orcus’ obsession with the destruction of Demogorgon and Graz’zt is reduced to a dull simmer as Orcus has now set his sights on bigger targets, like the destruction of the Raven Queen and her control over death. This hatred comes to the forefront in almost all of the adventures in this edition. The adventure series is broken into 9 modules starting with characters at level 1 and eventually culminating to 30th level, all the while the party is facing off against the forces of evil, which often, but not always, involves the cult of Orcus who are trying to help him ascend to godhood and kill the Raven Queen. This series involves the heroes jumping across the multiverse, journeying into the Abyss, the Shadowfell and the Feywild, fighting dragons, undead, and more. The main focus of the later adventure, in the E series modules which contain E1 - Death’s Reach (2009), E2 - Kingdom of the Ghouls (2009), and E3 - Prince of Undeath (2009), has the party attempting to foil Orcus’ plans. They must first break the siege against Letherna, where the Raven Queen resides, fighting against Orcus’ elite demons. Eventually, they attract the wrath of Orcus and must deal with his powerful exarch, Doresain the Ghoul King. After that, they continue messing with Orcus’ plans before they finally stop him from destroying the Raven Queen and stealing her godhood.
In The Shadowfell - Gloomwrought & Beyond (2008), Orcus’ relationship with the Raven Queen is further defined and it is revealed that Orcus is constantly trying to send spies and secret cultists to the Raven Queen’s realm to undermine her. Orcus controls huge swaths of the Shadowfell, and the shadar-kai are a constant enemy as they are loyal to the Raven Queen and see anyone who worships the demon prince as only worthy of death. To help his plans move forward, Orcus offers large rewards to any who can kill the shadar-kai and raven knights, and even greater rewards to those who bring them back alive so that Orcus can torture them.

5e

Orcus is first mentioned in the Monster Manual (2014), but no stat block is provided and we only get a few paragraphs, much like all the other demon lords. Described as the Blood Lord and the Demon Prince of Undeath, his hatred of undead creatures seems to have lessened considerably as only living creatures not bound or controlled by him are anathema to his existence. It’s nice that he has finally gotten over hating everything, and now just hates most things. Sadly, little else is revealed about him beyond ghouls and wights seem to like him.
The next drip of information comes in the Dungeon Master’s Guide (2014) which shows off his home in the Abyss, Thanatos. Still described as a horrible place, much of what is written is from 4th edition and is covered in tombs, mausoleums, and more across its landscapes, and that Orcus’ lair is still in Everlost in the wasteland known as Oblivion’s End. This book also contains the Wand of Orcus, a powerful artifact that has a magically enlarged skull, cause we guess there were no giant skulls available when Orcus was working on his art project, and it is actually rather lame. Sure you can cast a bunch of spells from it, like blight or finger of death, but its power has been shrunken considerably. It can no longer kill with a single touch, though if you pick it up and attune to it, it has the potential to kill you outright. You can summon undead with it, and for the first time, it has sentience and wishes to help Orcus’ goals, though it only acts like it likes the wielder, feigning devotion to whoever wields it. There is also some information on the skull Orcus uses on top of the wand, that it is the skull of an ancient hero and that his soul has been imprisoned by Orcus somewhere.
Orcus finally makes his true appearance in the Out of the Abyss (2015) adventure, but as a minor character only, and is immediately killed in a cut scene by Demogorgon. His only purpose in this adventure is to fight Demogorgon at the end, wounding it so that the adventurers have an easier time to kill the demon lord, and is crushed beneath the tentacles of Prince of Demons. It’s a horrific tragedy for Orcus, but at least he gets a stat block at the back of the book that is quite respectable for such a powerful and well-known being. While there is some lore written in there about him, much of it is similar to what we already found out but we do learn that he actually makes his lair in the fortress city of Naratyr, found on Thanatos, and it is surrounded by a moat fed by the River Styx. Seems like, in 1 year, Orcus decided to move from Everlost and Oblivion’s End and head back to his old stomping grounds of Naratyr, this time with a large moat.
In Mordenkainen’s Tome of Foes (2018), Orcus finally gets a bit more juicy information, and we can finally start getting his perspective on stuff. We learn that Orcus isn’t hell-bent on the destruction of the world because he hates everything in life, but because he hates all life. To him, life is noisy and messy, that it scratches at his finer sensibilities like a rat scratching through his mind. He just wants the quiet that accompanies death, and we think deep down inside each of us, we can understand that. Aren’t we all just looking for some peace and quiet?
We also get a bit more information on his cultists and those who understand what it is like to live in a cruel, living world. Orcus is revered by individuals who see the gods as the problem, that they can take away the life from loved ones and do nothing to stop death. Orcus is an attractive option, one that can offer them a respite from dealing with the pain of death through undeath. He offers to bring back those who die to undeath, and while it might be a mockery of life, it is far better than the gods who do nothing but sit there and force people to pay hundreds of gold to return the dead to life.
Those who are especially vulnerable include grieving parents, siblings, and others who have recently suffered a great loss. Those who spread his name are rewarded and are granted portions of his power. Those who just spread his name are rewarded with being transformed into ghouls or zombies who serve in his legions, while his favored servants are the cultists and necromancers who murder the living and then manipulate the dead, emulating their dread master. While it might seem a bit greedy that the Blood Lord already has countless ghouls and skeletons under his command, that the only reward he offers is to be turned into more of his mindless legions, for some, undeath is just the peace and quiet they were always looking for.
Orcus might have been misunderstood since the beginning. He is a powerful demon prince of undeath, but not only because he hates all living creatures. It’s because they are noisy and unclean, that their lives cause him physical pain. He only hopes to turn all life into undeath so that he can finally live in a multiverse of peace. The destruction of suns and stars, the destruction of light in the darkness, all these things will eventually end, and then, and only then, will Orcus finally have the rest he so rightfully deserves.

Past Deep Dives

Creatures: Aboleth / Beholder / Chimera / Couatl / Displacer Beast / Djinni / Dragon Turtle / Dryad / Flumph / Frost Giant / Gelatinous Cube / Ghoul / Giff / Gnoll / Grell / Hobgoblin / Kobold / Kraken / Kuo-Toa / Lich / Lizardfolk / Mimic / Mind Flayer / Nothic / Owlbear / Rakshasa / Rust Monster / Sahuagin / Scarecrow / Shadar-Kai / Umber Hulk / Vampire / Werewolf / Xorn

Class: Barbarian Class / Cleric Class / Wizard Class

Spells: Fireball Spell / Lost Spells / Named Spells / Quest Spells / Wish Spell

Other: The History of Bigby / The History of the Blood War / The History of the Raven Queen / The History of Vecna

Sexy Space Babes is the creation of BlueFishcake, and I am writing in the SSB universe with their permission.
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“Hold on- You drive like a crazy person!” I honestly thought I was gonna die as uncle Bill tore between the trees in a truck that was, honestly, almost too big for the road.
“I know!” Uncle Bill jerked the wheel hard as… I don’t know it was some fucked-up alien tank or what- whatever it was, it had a hell of a suspension, rolling over rocks and logs with barely a bump.
And just like that, we were out of the strip of woods, and back on the road. This time, across the guardrail, the ground dropped away in a steep hill.. And coming up was another checkpoint. “Hold onto something!” uncle Bill yelled as he slammed on the gas.
Some of the Shil’vati soldiers scattered; others opened fire before running for it as the truck smashed on through. One bounced off the hood before flopping to a stop in the middle of the road. The crab tank thing, on the other hand, slammed right through as well.
Well that was enough for uncle Bill. He hit the brakes, spinning the truck around and gunning it right towards the tank.
“What the hell are you doing?” I yelled as the tank got closer and closer. “What the hell are you-” At the last moment, uncle Bill jerked the wheel, zooming to the left of the tank. The driver must’ve been distracted; the 8-wheeled vehicle busted through the guardrail with a quick swerve and rolled down the hill.
Uncle Bill skidded to a stop, and we observed the wreck below. The chassis was badly bent, and a fuel line must've been broken or something; a fire had started.
"We should probably get going." I could imagine what would happen once the fire spread.
"Yyyyyyyup…" uncle Bill got back in the truck. I followed as the fire started to smell. Whoever was still in there was probably done for.
Uncle Bill must not’ve had time to observe, because he turned back around and drove the other way.
It was then that I saw the dashboard. The Check Engine light was on, and the gas read less than a quarter tank. More like an eighth tank.
“Dude, I think you need to get gas.”
Uncle Bill looked at his gas gauge. “No kidding. Guess I wore out the old girl.” I could almost imagine my uncle him giving his truck a pat on the hood like a horse. The image made me chuckle.
“What’s so funny?”
I explained exactly what I was imagining, and was treated to a hard breath out of uncle Bill’s nose. “Ok, now. Know where to find a gas station?”
“Ok, yeah… let’s see, that’s Misery Lane there… make a left, then a right on Poplar road, and it’ll take you to the gas station just off Ninety Seven.”
“The Gas 'n' Grill” That old place had been my first job… probably uncle Bill's first job too. We both knew exactly how to get there. And what do you know? We got to the gas station perfectly fine… except even from all the way up the street, we could see it was crawling with Shil’vati.
“Shit. Um…” I pinched the bridge of my nose. This was a bad idea.
“Hold on- see that car there?” There was a red car right on the edge of the property. I could get there from the truck.
"Yeah?"
"You ever siphoned gas before?" Uncle Bill rooted through his bag and pulled out a plastic tube.
"I- uh- uh- I mean-" truth be told? I had never done that, and uncle Bill knew it.
"Don't worry, I'll keep them away from you! Just go get the gas. Here- take this." He pulled a set of radios out of the bag. I took one.
Alright…" I grabbed the hose and the jerry can and hopped out. Uncle Bill got up in a tree with the rifle.
"Any chance of taking the shotgun?" I figured it was worth asking, but uncle Bill shook his head.
"Not near a gas station."
Well, I guess with that, I was off. I ran to the parked car fast as I could before sliding to a stop.
"Alright. Thread the tube into the gas tank." I did as the radio said- pop open the gas cover and thread the tube down. I stuck one end in my mouth and sucked.
And spat the gas back into the can soon as I could. That shit was vile! It was like… steamed carrots… but spicy. I gagged long after the gas left my mouth. With a shudder that slowly calmed back down, I sucked some more- and what do you know? It wasn't as bad the second time.
Unfortunately I heard uncle Bill on the radio. "I think you've been spotted. Hold on- I'm gonna kill two birds with one stone!" A shot rang out, and I could see soldiers taking cover and looking around.
A little while later, uncle Bill spoke up again. "Had to change position. Keep sucking, this distraction won't last forever- shit! They saw me talking on the radio! Run! Run!"
Well that did it. I bolted, mentally cringing when I heard one of the Shil'Vati yelling. With that fate awaiting me, I ran through the door, diving behind the counter… which turned out to be a bad idea. I was cornered. Looking around feverishly, I grabbed the first thing my fingers closed on- a meat cleaver. Someone upstairs must've been looking out for me.
But I couldn't celebrate for long- I heard the alien coming. Uh- where to go… I wouldn't fit under the table- perfect! I tore open the fridge, throwing out the stuff inside before climbing in, stepping over sacks of frozen fries. It was a big walk-in fridge, ok?
And not a minute too soon; the alien was in the kitchen. She- yeah, with curves and boobs like that, the masked alien was most definitely a she- reached her hand under the tables and in the fridges, obviously looking for that pesky insurgent as she said something in a singsong voice. I didn't need a magic alien translator to know she was saying something like "come out, come out, little alien!"
My heart just about stopped as I saw the hand. The alien reached in, feeling around for the light switch. It was only a matter of time till she found me.
I had an idea. Let's see… what was a nice heavy swing in here… ah! I picked up a massive sack of jalapeño poppers and swung it, smashing the soldier's arm against the wall. Fast as I could, I swung the cleaver in my other hand, cutting off the top half of her hand. Her fingers and a good chunk of the hand behind the knuckles fell, dangling by a shred of skin. The tip of her thumb fell to the floor, splattering bright blue blood everywhere.
It took a moment for the Shil'vati to start screaming, almost as if her brain needed a bit to process this. When she did start, though, she sounded surprisingly human. I could imagine the tears as I heard her crying. I felt awful. When we'd been cat-and-mousing around the kitchen, she'd been the big scary alien I had to avoid at all costs.
Now she was an injured girl, probably younger than me, screaming and crying in pain.
"Let her keep screaming," uncle Bill said on the radio. "The others'll come to help. And now you can run."
Good idea. I got the hell out of there soon as I could. Even as I GTFO'd, I could see some of the others running in to help their hurt friend. I don't know if they saw me- a few gave chase. Yeah, they saw me as I burst through the door.
"Drop to the ground," uncle Bill ordered over the radio. I did as he said, and two shots rang out. I would later come to understand that nothing but larger bullets and maybe armor piercing bullets wouldn’t get through Shil'vati body armor, but at the time, I was just mystified that the soldiers weren't dead. They were just clutching their wounds and groaning. I figured uncle Bill had aimed to leave them alive. How nice of him. A few more shots rang out as I crawled away to the car.
"Just… fuckin' keep shooting while I get the rest of the gas!" I yelled into the radio. And that I did. I gritted my teeth, ignored the taste of the gas, the moaning of the Shil'vati soldiers, and my heart racing, and, well, slowly but surely, I got it! Soon there was a decent amount of gasoline in the can.
When I got back to the truck, I went to fill the tank straight away. Little as the tank read, it wasn't going anywhere else otherwise.
"Do you know what you did?" Uncle Bill asked, making me jump a little. Where'd he come from?
"What did I do?" I asked as I braced myself for a "don't get yourself backed into a corner like that" speech.
"You pulled off a decent bit of thinking on your feet and got yourself out of trouble."
Did I? I suppose I did.
"That's gonna come in handy if we ever have to fight the aliens. The- uh- what're they called? Shil'vati?"
"Yeah." I poured in the rest of the gas. "But you helped me out a bunch."
"Suppose I did. But don't you ever let yourself get cornered like that again, ok? That's how your dad died."
I dropped the jerry can. Uncle Bill had been… let's see… my dad's older brother's best friend growing up. He'd also been the first to let mom and I know about the guys cornering dad in an alley and beating him to with an inch of his life. He wound up dying in the ICU.
With that delightful thought, we got back in the truck and drove off.
"There's a bunch of cabins all through the woods," uncle Bill explained as we pulled off the road and made our way into the woods. "Some of these places are really elaborate, too. Generators, sheds with 4-wheelers…"
I wasn't listening. My mind kept going back to the soldier I'd mutilated. "Can we pull over real quick? I think I'm gonna throw up."
Uncle Bill pulled to a stop and I stumbled out. Soon as my head was out the door it came loose, the vomit stream narrowly missing the truck. I hadn't had anything to eat today, so after the first few splatters I just dry heaved.
Then I felt a hand on my back. "It doesn't really get easier."
Well that was a relief.
"You just get numb to it." Uncle Bill sat me down.
Well that was a relief.
"I can't stop just… fuck… when I was in that fridge, she was just some alien soldier I had to fight off… but then I felt guilty, like I saw her as a person. God, I don't know what to think anymore." I could feel the nausea again.
"Hold onto that feeling," uncle Bill said. "Feeling guilty means you're still human. But there's no use worrying either. What's done is done. All the guilt in the world won't bring back the dead." Something about the way he was saying all this made me think he still regretted some of the things he did.
"But right now we just have to concentrate on staying alive- hold on. You hear that?"
I didn't hear anything. Was I going deaf or something?
"I think they followed us into the woods."
Captain Rishi was not having a good day. All morning, she and her troops had been dealing with insurgents, with, admittedly, poor results. First, there had been an incident with an old man and a boy. From what she'd seen, private Creyxh'd had her arm pulled into their vehicle, then the window had closed on her. That little incident had left her where she was now, explaining why insurgents now had Shil'vati weapons.
"From what we're hearing, Captain Rishi, those under your command are unable to deal with two insurgents?" General Vreeh, and most of the high command, had expected this to be an easy conquest.
"No, it's not-" Rishi was fucked, and she knew it.
"Not even females! Males! For the Empress's sake! Males! An elderly male and one who's barely of age! Captain Rishi, if you are unable to deal with two males, perhaps you'd be better off somewhere else. The Icebox, perhaps? Or-"
"We're dealing with them as we speak!" Rishi elected not to mention the incident at the fueling station until later. The same two insurgents had stolen a container of the explosive liquid the people of this world used as fuel- and left half a bomb squad in the hospital in the process. One had even had her hand so badly mutilated the rest of the thing had to be amputated and fitted for cybernetics. Captain Rishi was not looking forward to explaining to the girl's parents why their baby was now missing her right hand.
"We're chasing them into the forest," Captain Rishi explained. "We've sourced a few Reex handlers." The reex was a useful animal with a hell of a nose. They'd sniff out the insurgents.
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Hi all,
I thought I would share my profits for Matched Betting Extra Place Horse Racing for Jan 21. January 2021 has turned into my best month of Matched Betting since I started way back in Summer 2018. This months profits are roughly £4,707. A life changing figure for many and a great figure seeing this is achievable on top of a full time job. Matched Betting is the only decent side hustle I have actually found, compared to doing hundreds of boring online surveys...yuck! (Unless you are a good business person / have 5 lodgers / lots of family money etc.) To see some of my other Matched Betting profits you visit my site: https://cashontheside.co.uk/
I will be investing some of my profits this month in ETF/Shares and putting into house improvements like a new drive way. In addition with Cheltenham horse festival coming up in March, I will be increasing my bank to cover liabilities.
The bulk of my profits came from Extra Place racing, large underlayed winners and BOG (best offer garuntee). Variance was certainly on my side this month and I must have had at least 10 large winners which won upwards of £1600 pounds per bet. As I underlay my bets I made more profit than If I had fully layed of the bets. About 5% of these profits came from low risk casino. After you have completed all welcome offers...in Matched Betting. Ep's become a gold mine...and I truly recommend them to anyone.
Some more of my bets this month illustrating underlayed bets and ep:
https://cashonthesidecouk.files.wordpress.com/2021/02/winnings4.jpg
https://cashonthesidecouk.files.wordpress.com/2021/02/winnings.jpg
https://cashonthesidecouk.files.wordpress.com/2021/02/another-winner.jpg
​
Images of one of my bets illustrative of Best offer guarantee: https://cashonthesidecouk.files.wordpress.com/2021/01/136707133_10159536662702922_8507610622687908137_o-1.jpg?w=544
For those who are starting out on their Match Betting journey in 2021 these sort of figures are achievable to you once you have experience….unfortunately this will not come overnight! I do put a lot of time into it..between 2-5 hours a day, 7 days a week sometimes. For the average person you could earn at least £500 a month.
To learn more about Match Betting please visit my article Boost Your Income with Matched Betting. Alternatively you can start an Odds Monkey free trial where they will teach you step by step and give you the calculators you need: odds monkey trial https://www.oddsmonkey.com/affiliates/affiliate.php?id=64754(affiliate) or www.oddsmonkey.com. (non affiliate)
To those with a little more experience who want to learn about Matched Betting Extra Places you can visit my guide here Extra Place Match Betting tips here or I have copied and pasted it all below.
For those with Matched Betting Experience - my guide and tips to Extra Places:
What is Extra Place Matched Betting?
Extra Places can be a very lucrative technique to learn. Extra Places are available for us to do pretty much every day, increasing the appeal. Extra Place Offers are available to all customers. This means that even if you get gubbed with a bookmaker, in most cases, you can still make money with them by Matched Betting on their Extra Place Offers.
Extra Places are considered an advanced reload offer, as they not risk-free. However once you have gained some experience on more basic horse racing offers, you can start to take advantage of the lucrative profits available. It may sound complicated but as soon as it ‘clicks’, it becomes simple. Essentially we are taking advantage of the bookies and exchanges paying out if the horse you have backed comes a certain ‘place’ in a race e.g. 4th.
Extra Places combined with additional offers such as BOG (Best Offer Guarantee) can mean additional profits. For example, you back a horse at odds of 15 and then the starting odds move up to 23. If that horse wins you win an extra x8 on your bet. You can see some real life scenarios I found of Extra Place combined with BOG below. Depending on the size of the underlay, profits below would range up to £3,000+

What is a ‘place’ in horse racing?

Quite simply a ‘place’ is the position the horse finishes a race in. For example if a horse wins a race it comes 1st, if a horse comes 2nd its 2nd. In some races with a large number of horses some bookies will pay out if a horse finishes the race in 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th position. Horse Racing festivals such as Cheltenham or Ascot are particularly well known for this.

What is an ‘Extra Place’ in horse racing?

Now we’ve understood what a place is in horse racing you may have probably already guessed what an ‘extra place’ is going to be! An ‘extra place’ is where the bookies add one (or more) additional places to their standard place classification on a particular race. For example they may offer to ‘pay 7 places on a race’ instead of the standard 3 places. The ‘extra place’ in this instance cover 4th, 5th, 6th and 7th.
What are my Extra Place top tips?

1. Some of my biggest profits have come from big underlayed winners and BOG. I typically underlay most of my bets by about 20% sometimes more. If you are starting out I would underlay on the place only by about 10% to play it safe until you learn more.
2. Don’t bet on more places than a bookmaker is offering. E.g. If the bookmaker is offering 4 places don’t bet on more than that.
3. Whilst your learning, take horses on implied odds of at least 12 or more on a match of 80%+.
4. Look to keep qualifying losses down. E.g. for £100 profit, £5 ql.
5. Please note, the best odds are typically found between 10 minutes up and to race time. You have to be quick on your ‘toes’…learn to walk before you run etc. Start out on easy horse racing officers before doing extra places.
6. You will need a bank of at least £1000+ for your exchanges, ideally more. The more you have the more of the field you can cover. You can do EP with several hundred in your exchange but you won’t be able to make bigger profits.
7. Be consistent, don’t take risks, don’t chase your losses and learn from matched betting extra place forums.
8. Keep the Odds Monkey up throughout the day...and check for good matches.
9. Use Bookies Boosts to increase your odds and matches.
10. Do not give in to your fear of missing out on offers…Tomorrow is another day.
11. Have at least a dual monitoscreen setup. It is important to be able to see exchange, books and calcs.

How do I find Extra Places offers?
I use the the Odds Monkey Extra Place Matcher to find the best opportunities for profit. The Matcher is explained in the below video.
https://youtu.be/oOKAdiSJidg
I am also a regular visitor of the active Odds Monkey community forums. You can sign up for an Odds Monkey free trial today here today https://www.oddsmonkey.com/affiliates/affiliate.php?id=64754 www.oddsmonkey.com (non affiliate). Odds Monkey provide you with the all guides, calculators etc. I have been a member for over 2.4 years now.
Feel free to get in touch or ask below if any questions.

Lufu was shaking as she walked up the spiral stairs from your bedroom, her legs weak and stomach fluttering at the love making she had just experienced. She paused at the top of the stairs and caught a glance of herself in the mirror. Her makeup was running and her lipstick smudged, traces of cum still lingering on her partly exposed chest, and her legs still quivering from her intense orgasms. Pulling down her leggings ever so slightly, a line of dark marks were forming, leading down from just above her waistband to her pussy, still swollen and wet. She could hear voices rounding the corner and she hurried up the stairs to her own room, but not before a flash of purple hair turned the corner and caught sight of Lufus wild hair, ruined makeup, her shaking legs, and the faint smell of cum floating around her. A faint smile crossed the face of the woman with purple hair before ascending the stairs after Lufu. Watching quietly as Lufus slim ass swayed from side to side, she took a bold step and grabbed it from behind. Lufu jumped forward before turning around. Her expression went from indignified to humorous as she saw who it was.
'Jesus Melly, don't do that you'll give me a heart attack!' On the stairs below Lufu was Angelmelly, grinning to herself as she winked at Lufu. 'Oh come on Kath, you love my little surprises. Certainly didn't mind it last time.'
Kath looked at the ground as she blushed furiously as she put a finger to her lips. 'Not so loud dummy, you want everyone to hear?' 'You weren't so pressed about being quiet last time were you now? I don't think there was a single person that day who didn't hear us scissoring like that.' Melly said as Kaths face turned an even deeper shade of red.
Taking a step back, Melly noticed how flustered Lufu was, and not because of her own actions. She put two and two together, the messy face, shakiness and the heavy smell following her, and a slight dampness to her leggings gave her a clear idea of what she'd been up to. Kath, having recovered from her embarrassment tipped her head to the side and beckoned Melly to follow. She obliged and joined her side.
'So, who was it then?' Melly said to Lufu. 'Emm I don't know what you're talking about Mel, nothing happened.'
'Yeahh, sure.' Melly paused a moment before grabbing Lufu by the chin and tilting her head up before locking lips with her, tongue reaching inside her mouth and feeling Lufus fight back against it before giving in and letting the kiss deepen. Melly pulled away after a second or two and licked her lips.
'Oh Kath, that sweet and salty taste on your gorgeous lips, who's cock have you been sucking today honey?' She leaned in and raised her knee to Kaths pussy that started to heat up, and get almost uncomfortably sensitive as Mellys knee rubbed along her slit. Bringing her hands around she grabbed Lufus ass and pulled their hips tight and bending her neck around to nip at Lufus ear. 'Wanna pick up where we left off honey?' Melly felt Lufu shake as she slid her leg slowly out from between hers, and gently took her hand and let Lufu guide her to her room. As soon as the door shut, Melly dropped her shorts and bikini top, before rubbing her fingers along her perfect tits, playing with her nipples, sucking on them and moaning from her own efforts. Removing her lips from her round breasts, she sought out Lufu only to find a trail of clothes, leading towards the bathroom and the sounds of gasps and a soft wet slap could be heard from within.
Melly walked over and opened the door, finding Lufu perched on the bathtubs edge with her legs spread, pussy pink and dripping, fingers deep inside her own tight slit. The smell of cum only intensified as she spread her pussy lips, revealing her sensitive area that begged for attention. Taking her time, Melly strode slowly over, watching as Lufu pleasured herself with four fingers in her pussy and those on her other hand wrapped around her perky tits, fondling and pulling at her nipples. Melly bent over and put her lips to Lufus pussy. Before she got to work, she noticed thick sticky cum was flowing from Lufus pussy and said to Kath, 'So you gonna tell me who this mysterious guy who seems like he's hung as a horse is?'
'Make me' Lufu stated, challenging Melly.
Mellys eyes were drawn down to Lufus pussy, dripping with her own cum and someone else's thick white jizz. She dropped to her knees and stuck her tongue inside of Lufu, extracting a moan from the gorgeous brunette. Cum flowed from her pussy and trickled into Mellys waiting mouth, the taste driving her insane as she sought more, driving deeper inside Lufu in search of cum. Her hole was spread wide as Mellys slim fingers entered Kaths pussy over and over, pulling more thick cum from inside her, and into Mellys waiting mouth. She decided to change up her tactics, and let her cum soaked hands find her own aching pussy and push hot, sticky cum inside her snatch. It felt amazing as she felt a complete strangers cum enter her pussy alongside Lufus. Feeling that she was about to cum, Melly stood up and turned. She backed her ass up onto Kaths face and lowered her ass so it was just over Lufus waiting lips. Spreading her pussy wide, she let it leak and spread the mixture of juices onto Lufus face, and she had to cover her mouth to stop herself from shouting Kaths name as she came, tightening around Lufus fingers that jackhammered inside her pussy.
Her legs gave way and she sprawled to the floor, pussy still occasionally spraying cum as tiny orgasms shook her body. Her mind was spinning and she lazily rolled onto her back and let herself relax. Her relaxation was interrupted when pussy was spread back open and a hungry tongue joined by a pair of soft lips locked against her slit, and she felt the last of her cum get pulled into Lufus mouth, and with that Kath moved along Mellys body, tongue feeling her way up past her toned stomach and towards her perfect tits. Her hands grasped Mellys breasts and ran her hands gently on them and played with the perfectly sized lumps. Her eyes found Mellys and she moved closer, face only inches away. She leaned in close and whispered 'Fuck me Melly. Make me cum against that slick pussy of yours.'
Shivers ran down Mellys spine as she grabbed Lufus ass firmly, feeling her cheeks squash under her grip when she pulled her in closer so that they were now grinding their wet pussys against each other. They both started slow, enjoying the sensation as it slowly built up, soon making them rub faster and harder, wet slapping sounds accompanied by soft breathy gasps as skin met skin and soft pink flesh was rubbed all the right ways. It started to get frantic as Lufu neared her orgasm. Pulling Mellys leg close to her and swinging her leg over her shoulder, Kath began to bounce and sway her legs against Mellys, feeling the pleasure bubble within her. Her eyes rolled as Melly forced her hips upwards to lock with Lufus, and draw out the orgasm she had been building.
Kaths eyes rolled as she let go of Mellys leg and feverishly rubbed her pussy, spraying Melly in a short stream of her fluids. 'Oh Melly, I'm cumming! Ohh fuckkkk, finger me hard baby.' Wasting no time, Mellys fingers found their target and fingerbanged Kaths sopping cunt, and watching as her eyes closed in bliss. Lying back down opposite Lufu, Melly slowly rubbed her own pussy, relishing the sight in front of her. She stood up and left a now dozing Lufu on the bathroom floor. Before leaving, she draped a towel over her and kissed Lufu. 'That was real fun honey. But I need something more, substantial, more filling. And I know just where I can find it.' She stood up and walked out of Kaths room, fully naked and feeling more alive then she had in so long. She felt her ass bounce as she descended the basement steps. No light was to be found as her feet hit the cold concrete floor of the basement. A half built home gym stood off to one side, a kitted out recording setup to the other. And on the far wall, curtains partitioned off where she knew her pleasure was to be had. Only soft purple lights gave her any sight as she neared the velvet walls of the private bedroom. The curtains felt good against her bare skin and she took a moment to relish the feeling of soft fabric against her supple body. She took a breath and threw the curtains open, just to find your sleeping figure sprawled over the bed, a thin sheet your only piece of modesty to be had. Lifting the sheet and preparing for what was to come, Melly took a breath before looking at the shape of your limp dick in the darkness, easily five inches even though it was soft. Her breath caught as her hand wandered to its base and tried to wrap around it, a two handed job she found out. She took one hand away, and with that she threw away the sheet.
And what greeted her was not your sleeping body, but just pillows and rolled up blankets. Irritated, she threw the sheet back over the bed and went to storm out of the room. She walked past the bathroom and was met by the sound of running water, and sounds of water dripping and splashing as if it were running off of someone and falling to the floor.
She crept to the bathroom and cracked open the door. And her eyes found your body immersed in steaming water.
You could still feel Lufus fluids staining your dick and your face as you washed it all off under the hot water. You stretched down to pick a scrubber up from the floor, and you felt small pinching feeling on your back. You turn and look at your back in the mirror. Sighing and chuckling to yourself you admire the red lines that Kaths fingers had carved into your back, evidence from your hard session. You thought you heard the bathroom door creak but ignored it. It creaked again and when you turned to look properly, and before you was a gorgeous figure; thick thighs leading towards a set of curvy hips and a seductive dip towards a tight slit, and from there a slim stomach towards perky tits, and a stunning face with a wild purple mane flowing to her shoulders.
Her lips curved into a cheeky smile as she put her hands around your shoulders and raised one leg and wrapped it around your waist, pulling your bodies against one another. 'Oh em, hi, you are in the shower, I am the shower my shower actually. Who are you again?' You were completely confused as she didn't say a word, just moved her hands along your back, crept down along your shoulders and wide chest, feeling each ridged ab beneath her prying fingers. She lifted her head and with her chin barely brushing yours, she nipped your ear and whispered, 'hmmm, that's not important honey, but you can call me Melly. What's important right now is this' she said, hands going down to feel your dick stiffening under her grip. She leaned fully against your chest, feeling the heat rush towards her pussy as your thick cock pressed harder and harder between her thighs, throbbing as she rubbed her legs up and down its length. You looked down at the gorgeous woman in your grasp and felt around until your hands found her ass, full and round as your spread it open and rubbed your dick along her pussy as she got wetter and wetter. She dropped to her knees and for the first time saw how big it actually was. At least 13 inches, balls the size of walnuts dangling, heavy and full. She could barely fit her hands around it as she felt along its thick length and each vein was hot and pulsing under her hands. She was suddenly apprehensive about taking the whole thing, her mouth wasn't physically big enough to take it all.
'You sure you can handle this Melly?'
This set her off and she grabbed the base, almost painfully, but her fingers wrapped around your cock felt so good, and her other hand was massaging your balls as she took in every moan you let out. She let her tits fall either side of your cock, and grabbing shampoo from the shower wall dripped it over your dick and lubed it up as she gave you the best titfuck of your life. The hot and soft feel of her breasts sent you into heaven and she played with the tip, tongue flicking over your slit and gently blowing on the sensitive head. She lifted her hands away from her tits and started to bounce, hands behind her back and mouth sucking on the tip, breast bouncing wildly with your cock snug in the middle, twitching and throbbing as you felt your orgasm rise. Back pressed against the wall, cum poured from your dick and splattered onto her chest. She grinned as she pushed her tits together and greedily cleaned her chest, tongue bringing cum into her mouth and swallowing like a good slut.
She stood up and kissed your chest, nipping at your collarbone as she did so, teeth sending shocks along your body. She stepped back and turned, showing off her ass as she pushed it up against you. Shaking her ass she grinded against your cock, still hard and ready for more. Her moans floated to your ears as her body quivered, pussy dripping now and begging for attention. 'Ohhh, fuck. I need that cock inside me honey. Fill me with cum and make me squirt.'
She bent over and spread her ass cheeks, fingers spreading her pussy wide. It was a light shade of pink, fluids coating the sides. But there was another hole that looked even more inviting, her asshole was a tiny hole, winking slightly as her pussy quivered, inviting you in. 'So honey, you gonna put that monster inside me or not?' She opened her legs even wider and gasped as you rubbed your dick gently between her legs. Enjoying the feeling, you raised your hand and brought it down across her ass, leaving red handprints on her pale cheeks. Over and over you spanked her bouncy ass, watching as it jiggled with each hit. Her moans echoed within the shower and your cock was leaking precum as you rubbed your tip around her asshole. Melly began to say something but was cut short by heat and pain blossoming inside her sensitive ass.
'Ohhh, what the fuck are you doing, that fucki...' her protests were cut short as you pushed past the first five inches and buried eight inside of her, drawing moans from her lips and making your dick throb, each vein pressed tight against her walls. Grabbing a bottle of conditioner, you opened it up and slathered your cock and her bouncing ass in conditioner, turning the whole experience into a whole new level of pleasure.
Her lubed up ass gave into the overwhelming pleasure and she began to move, her hips thrusting back into yours, slapping her cheeks against you, each thrust sending waves of pleasure through your body. Her ass was hot and tight, squeezing around your dick as you started to pick up speed. You were thrusting furiously now, balls slapping against her thighs and fluids dripping down Mellys thighs, a mixture of conditioner, precum and Mellys slick cum running down her legs. You grabbed her arms and twisted them behind her back, dominating her as she took your dick balls deep and loved every inch of it. Holding her arms with one hand, you slid the other onto her throat and gripped gently, making Melly shake as her head went fuzzy and she was lost to the sensation. Bringing her close, you pushed her head to rest on your shoulder and bit her collarbone, eliciting whines from the gorgeous woman before you.
'Mmmm, honey I'm gonna cum, fuck my slutty ass harder, make me scream!' You dropped your hands from her arms and throat, moving them to her hips and taking a hold. Bracing her hands against the shower wall, Melly shook as you pounded away at her, legs shaking and tongue plank out in delight. Ohhh, oohh fuck. Fuck me harder honey, make me squirt all over, harder harder!' Her moans drove you insane and you smashed your huge cock into her and with one last deep thrust, you felt her legs buckle and her insides shake as she came, cum leaking as she squirted on the floor. You slid your cock out of her and looked at her ass, ruined from your efforts. The shower was running and in the steam and water, her body was flushed red as she rode ot the last of her orgasm. Sitting down with your back against the wall, your still hard cock begged for relief, and you slowly stroked as you watched Melly still shaking and gently playing with her pussy. She was laying on her side, and you started to pump harder as she felt herself up, hands bouncing her breasts and fingering her slit.
She giggled and looked at you wanking to the sight of her 'ohhh, like the view do you?' Your only response to this was a moan, as you shot hot sticky ropes of cum onto her face, leaving strings of cum dripping onto her tits from her chin. She got to her knees and looked at the mess you made, before stepping over to you and joining you under the shower head. After a minute or two of just enjoying the post sex glow, you stood and offered her a hand, her hand joining yous as you pulled her up. You washed the cum from her body, running your hands over every part of her. Supple breasts were treated like gold, each getting fondled and washed with care, the same going for her shaven clit, shaved and tight. Her long purple hair was plastered to her back and hugged her thin body perfectly. She turned and gave the same treatment to you, hands feeling tight muscles and smooth hardness all over. She took a dollop of shampoo to her hands and lifted them to your head, scrubbing your hair clean. The warm water was running between the two of you as you shared a kiss and stepped out of the shower. A towel was produced from the hot press in the bathroom and you rubbed Melly up and down, drying her and then letting her do the same as you.
You kissed her once more before giving her a cheeky slap on the ass as she departed from your company. You flopped down onto you bed and flicked on the wall lights, letting shades of green diffuse into the space. The sound of claws on concrete got your attention as a dog leapt up onto the bed beside you. He yawned and put his head onto your leg and stretched out across the bed.
'Christ Alfie, your hardly a big dog and yet you manage to take up half the bed. What I'll do with you when you're older and bigger I have no idea' you said scratching his ear and running a hand along his back. His breathing slowed and he fell asleep, head now beside your leg and curled up at the foot of the bed. You let the days events float away and you drifted off to sleep.
The next morning you were sitting in the Dining room of the Click house, eyes drifting between the TV, something Cray was saying, and some other growing noise in another part of the house. The chat show that had been on was interrupted by emergency news, and all attention was turned to the screen.
The newsreader was reporting on an apparent virus spreading through Asia, and officials were worried about it spreading to Australia. Cray bumped a hand against your arm and you turned to look at him. 'Now what do you reckon that means for us guys goin to Pax west in a few days? Surely it won't stop us from going.'
'I'll be honest with ye Cray mate' you said back to him, 'either you go and it's all fine, or you don't get to go. I'd say it's well worth the risk.' He thought about your words for a second and processed them. 'Yeah, your right. No point wasting time though, cos if this disease thing is gonna get in the way of us going we best get a move on and beat it.' He stood up and walked away, turning and looking over his shoulder at you 'Best I tell the guys to start packing now then.' 'You do you dude, doesn't matter to me anyways, not enough clout my ass.' You replied, mumbling the last part under your breath. Cray pouted at you and in the most childlike voice he could muster said, 'Awwww, is the widdle baby upset he doesn't get to go to Paxy Waxy?' You lobbed a pillow over your shoulder as he jumped up the stairs out of the way. You finished watching the news and cleaning up from breakfast, just in time to hear footsteps storming down the stairs. Liv turned the corner, eyes a mess and hair looking like a rats nest. She said nothing, deciding to pull out a stool and sit at the counter, head down on the marble surface. She didn't move until you shoved a cup of coffee under her nose and managed to rouse her.
'More Elliott trouble hun?' She blanked you until the mug was half empty and she felt like answering. 'Unfortunately yes, I happened to catch him in the act of taking dick pics in the bathroom and I can guarantee they weren't going to me' she said with defeat in her voice. You walked behind her and wrapped your arms around the mess of emotions in front of you. You put your chin on top of her head and thought out loud to her. 'Now what can we do to take your mind off of this shitty situation hmm? Got any interests?'
'I stream, sing and take pictures of things. And that's all that comes to mind right now.' You went over to the couch and stretched back out onto it, feeling Alfies fuzzy ears ticking at your fingertips. Liv went to the seat opposite and sat, steaming mug still in hand. 'You into photography? I never knew that.' 'Yeah, I've done the odd bit and always wanted to get seriously into it but never had the right amount of time, motivation or convenience all at once. If there was some opportunity to dive into it I would but I just don't know enough to do so.'
You smiled without saying anything, making confusion visible across Liv's features. 'What's the big grin for?' You sat up and replied to her 'If its opportunity you're looking for I have that and you'll have all the time in the world when half the house is at Pax this coming week. Theres a contest on internationally for the best use of snow and it seems theres some coming in New South Wales in the next few days. So I say we make the most of it and go there, stay a few days and take some pics. Her foul mood had vanished by the time you were finished speaking, and she was giddy at the opportunity presenting itself.
'Yes, absolutely I will do that. When's it to snow this week? Doesn't matter don't answer that, it's gonna snow soon so heres the plan, I'll book us somewhere to stay and you start packing while I do.
Her excitement was palatable and overflowing to you at this point, mind racing and getting ready for the trip that was to come.
So, that's that chapter done now, hope he enjoyed it. As usual, upvote and comment thoughts, what you wanna see next and anything else

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Table of Contents
Chapter 21 l Chapter 22 l Chapter 23 l Chapter 24 l Chapter 25 l Chapter 26

Nite - 2 Months Ago
Rezzolina landed outside of her condo’s balcony, looking in to see Serren busying himself in the kitchen.
Serren was cleaning some spoons and mixing bowls, apparently having just put something into the oven. A few pots sat on the stove simmering with various broths and vegetables that Serren had been cooking.
Rezzolina took a deep breath, smelling the food. Her stomach was in knots, her mind racing with the tragic news she would have to explain to her little brother, Serren. She tried to prepare herself as she entered the apartment.
Serren turned to Rezzolina, “Oh, Rezza! Did you find o-out…?” Serren trailed off as Rezzolina stood by the glass doors of the balcony.
Rezzolina looked to Serren, trying to hide her emotions but unable to do so. She approached Serren slowly, “Oh, Serren. I did find out what you wanted to know about Yuki. But you’re not going to like what I have discovered.”
“Oh… no… Yuki!” Serren gasped, his hand moving to his snout as tears welled up in his eyes. “No! Please, this can’t be!”
Rezzolina stopped in front of Serren, holding his hands in hers, “We got confirmation from the Dei Angel’s that something happened that forced Shuttle Goodwill to launch early. They confirmed that the angel on board…” Rezzolina took a deep inhale through her nostrils.
Serren shook his head, “No, Rezza, No!”
“...did not survive,” Rezzolina said, her voice shaking as Serren fell forward, clutching Rezzolina tightly and he buried his snout into her shoulder. “Oh, Serren…” Rezzolina sighed as she held him tightly, tears leaking from her eyes as Serren’s love and loss over Yuki crashed into her.
Serren pushed away initially, "No, she's not dead! She can't be! I felt that she was in trouble, not her death!"
Rezzolina moved to hug Serren again, "I'm sorry Serren, but it's true. I know you can feel me, can't you?"
Serren’s sobbing grew as Rezzolina held him tightly.
Rezzolina heaved a sigh, tears leaking from her own eyes, “Serren, I promise you, I will stay by your side this time. Alright? We’ll get through this together.”
“Why?” Serren sobbed, “Why do they always die on me?”
“Oh, Serren,” Rezzolina ran her hand down Serren’s neck as the pair sank to the floor slowly. “I think the women you choose are too adventurous for their own good.”
“I love her, Rezza,” Serren cried, looking up to her, “I love her so much.”
Rezzolina dried his eyes and tried her best to force a smile, “I know she loved you,” Rezzolina turned from him, “but I wish she didn’t leave to go to Dei.”
Serren sniffled, “She had to go. She had no choice.”
Rezzolina turned to Serren, giving him an incredulous look.
“You didn’t feel the love she had for her child,” Serren defended, “the love she has for her child. I wanted it, Rezza! I want a son so badly… I wanted a child with Allia as well. But now? Now I've lost my chance at having any children!” Serren sobbed.
Rezzolina hugged Serren tightly, rocking him back and forth, “Serren, I feel your desire, but… a child doesn’t make or break your life.”
“It would make mine!” Serren protested, “I know you have given up on having a child, but I haven’t!” Serren got to his feet, turning from Rezzolina.
“Serren,” Rezzolina was about to argue, but backed off, feeling Serren’s pain, “I’m trying to help. Don’t push me away, okay? Even if you try…” Rezzolina forced a smile, “I’m not going anywhere."
Serren turned to Rezzolina, tears still streaming from his eyes, “...you promise?”
Rezzolina opened up her arms, “I’m here for you like I should have been before.”
Serren rushed to Rezzolina and hugged her tightly.
Rezzolina hugged him back and heaved a heavy sigh, looking up to the ceiling, “If you can see us now, Yuki, I hope you’re happy with the decisions you’ve made.”
…
Dei
Cleo took a deep breath, inhaling the scene of her lover, who held her close in his arms. She relaxed in his arms, nuzzling her face against his shoulder as she felt his wings pull her tightly.
The pair were naked, following a night of passion the likes of which Cleo had never truly felt before.
“Good morning,” Lucifer whispered to her.
“Good morning,” Cleo responded sweetly, relaxing in his arms. “You’re still here?”
Lucifer chuckled, “Yes, I wasn’t going to leave before you woke up.”
Cleo looked up to his face, “So, you are going to leave?”
Lucifer smiled, “In a way, I cannot remain in this body for long. But I will leave Kaelen in your care,” his hand moved to her cheek, “So that I can come back to you again.”
Cleo nuzzled her cheek against Lucifer’s hand and she shivered pleasurably, “About what I said, or at least, how I said it. I’m sorry-”
“No, you’re not,” Lucifer laughed, “And that’s fine. I hope I have managed to make it up to you.”
Cleo rolled her eyes, kissing his cheek, “You’re on the right path… but you’ve got your work cut out for you,” Cleo smiled mischievously, “I’m very demanding.”
Lucifer smiled, kissing her softly, “I’m well aware.”
“So, breakfast or…?” Cleo asked.
Lucifer frowned, “I’m afraid I’ve lasted as long as I can for now. I’ll return another time.” With that, Lucifer laid his head down, “I do love you, Persephone.”
Cleo frowned as Lucifer closed his eyes, and seemingly went to sleep, “...Lucifer?” she gave him a shove.
His form shifted, but he did not wake. Lucifer had left Kealen’s body behind, resting fitfully in Cleo’s bed.
Cleo smiled softly, “Okay when you get back then, you’re all mine.” She got to her feet and padded her way to her phone, picking it up quickly, “Maybe Mr. Trueman will let me take care of Kaelen,” she said to herself as she placed a call.
It rang a few times before Malik answered the line, which was unusual, “Trueman Manor, whom may I ask is calling?”
“Malik? It’s Cleo. Hello,” Cleo said pleasantly.
Malik’s voice hitched, “O-Oh! Ms. Walters how… I'm so glad that you called!"
“Is Reginald there?” Cleo asked.
“Mr. Trueman? O-Oh…” Malik hesitated.
“Is everything okay, Malik?” Cleo asked, her concern growing as she spoke.
Malik was silent for another few moments before he confessed, “Mr. Trueman, sadly, passed away late last night.”
Cleo gasped, “Oh my Guardian!” Cleo felt her cheeks redden as she realized who the Guardian was and that she was literally, just in His arms. Furthermore, Kaelen was now with her as well. “Malik… where’s Kaelen?” Cleo asked.
This question caused more sputtering from Malik, “Y-Young M-Master Kaelen? W-why in his room, of course,” Malik lied.
Cleo turned to her bedroom, looking to Kaelen’s sleeping form, “Is he now? Because, Malik, last night Kaelen came to me.”
“W-What?!” Malik gasped.
“Kaelen’s in my bed, as we speak,” Cleo stated.
Malik hesitated once more, “I… I don’t know how to explain it, Ms. Walters, but I think that Kaelen was not Kaelen when you saw him last night.”
“I know who He was, Malik,” Cleo sighed, “Malik, can you bring his life support equipment to me? I’ll take over his care, in the meantime.”
Malik cleared his throat, “I’m… afraid that Young Master Kaelen’s estate, and his power of attorney, was gifted to his current caregiver.”
“Isn’t that you?” Cleo asked.
“No… someone else,” Malik confessed.
“Who?” Cleo asked sternly.
…
Inside Mimi’s club, recently renamed 'Heaven', she smiled softly as she laughed with multiple high profile angels in the exclusive VIP lounge.
Mimi was just finishing introducing Jasmine to a rather well dressed young man who was grinning at Jasmine lecherously when Cleo walked straight to the VIP area.
Cleo stood there for a moment or two before clearing her throat softly to gain Mimi's attention, "Hello, how are you today, Mimi?"
Mimi turned to Cleo with a bemused grin, “Jasmine, do what you do best and make sure Mr. Smith has everything he needs,” Mimi placed her elbow on the table inhaling from her obsidian cigarette holder, “I have some matters to attend to," she said as she blew smoke in Cleo's direction.
Mimi stood up and walked past Cleo, "Follow me," Mimi said as she pointed ahead of her. Cleo followed behind as she walked into a back-office slowly.
Once the door closed, Cleo glared at Mimi, “So when were you going to tell me you had your hooks in Mr. Trueman’s estate?”
Mimi grinned, sitting behind her very clean oak desk, “Oh? Who said it had anything to do with you, Persephone.”
“I do, right now,” Cleo demanded tapping her fingers on Mimi's desk, “You kept this from me!”
Mimi’s grin didn’t diminish, “Is there a problem with having more than one option? Also, my plans with Trueman and his little tomato were in play long before you came to me with your offer of getting into The Scale. I did not work as hard as I did, as long as I did, to place my bets on a single horse,” she removed her cigarette from her cigarette holder, slowly unscrewing a cap at the end. “Granted, you were the best option. I do rather enjoy being the central ‘Head’ of Cerberus.”
“But you also have your name as Kaelen Trueman’s caregiver. Giving you control over the Trueman estate,” Cleo accused, hiding the fact that she knew Mr. Trueman had died.
Mimi tapped the cigarette holder onto her desk, a light blue powder slipping out from around the edges, “It’s true. I was not hiding that from you maliciously, my dear. Should your plan have failed, Trueman was my next ticket up,” Mimi explained as she took a business card and tapped the powder into a pair of lines, “Oh, I’m being rude… would you like some?” Mimi said as she rolled up a Ł100 Lumen bill, offering it to Cleo. Mimi did this as she removed the mouthpiece from her cigarette holder.
“No,” Cleo snapped.
“More for me,” Mimi grinned, shrugged, and quickly snorted the powder up through her cigarette holder. She inhaled deeply, and shivered, “Mmmm,” Mimi moaned and shivered as she replaced the cap on her cigarette holder. “That’s better,” Mimi stated more energy in her voice.
“What are your plans with Kaelen?” Cleo asked.
“The tomato?” Mimi scoffed, “Well, I'll likely place him in some hospice, he won’t be my problem anymore.”
“I want him,” Cleo stated.
“Pardon?” Mimi asked, lifting her eyebrow. “I know I just sniffed a little Diamond Emotion, but it sounded like you wanted Kaelen.”
“I do,” Cleo said simply.
“Why?” Mimi asked curiously, frowning, “I worked too hard to get Trueman’s trust and be the vegetable's caregiver. What do you get out of the little vegetable? Do you know what I have had to do for that old fart?” Mimi said, frowning, “That is my money when the old bat kicks the bucket, I earned it, Cleo. I worked hard for it!”
“I don’t want the money,” Cleo said calmly, “I just want Kealen.”
Mimi got to her feet, sniffing a few times as she approached Cleo, “I feel like you’re hiding something from me. Why do you want him and none of the estate?”
Cleo locked eyes with Mimi, “I want him. That’s all I’m going to tell you. The rest is none of your business. Just know he will be very well taken care of,” Cleo said simply.
Mimi hummed to herself for a moment, “Fine, fine, fine,” Mimi shrugged, “If you want Kaelen the Vegetable, then so be it. I couldn't care less.”
“And a portion of the estate you get goes to Kaelen’s continued care,” Cleo bartered.
“Sure,” Mimi said, “That won’t cost much in the grand scheme of things.”
“Good, I’ll send the paperwork over to you,” Cleo said as she turned on her heel, “Oh, by the way, Reginald is dead.”
…
Deepsight
Yuki limped along inside the massive ship of Deepsight, marveling at the new features and fresh signs of ongoing construction, “This is a ship?! It looks like a space station.”
Captain Jessie grinned, “It’s both, actually!” He boasted as medical staff assisted the crew of Shuttle Goodwill, and Thomas, out of the shuttle.
Yuki noticed that, while not what she was used to on Nite or Dei, there was actually gravity here, though it was substantially weaker. “I… can’t help but notice I’m not floating all over the place.”
Captain Jessie nodded, “The ship is built as a spiral inside, basically the deeper in you go, the less gravity. Outside decks are standard G-Forces, while on the central decks it’s a bit weaker.”
“And the whole ship spins at the same rate,” Yuki said with a grin, “That’s amazing!”
Briggett looked around, “It is amazing, but I thought that Deepsight wasn’t in travel condition?”
“For the primary mission? No, not yet,” Captain Jessie laughed, “It’ll be decades before the ship has proper hibernation chambers, self-sufficient hydroponic gardens, and the capability to produce livestock,” Captain Jessie chuckled, “we aren’t going to be getting Longvertis up here anytime soon… so there are many challenges before we can leave our solar system.”
Yuki sighed, “I wonder if I’d still be alive when the shuttle left.”
Tarrabetha turned to Captain Jessie, “Captain Jessie, sir?”
“Yes?” Captain Jessie smiled wide at Tarrabetha.
“The goal of Deepsight is to seek out new planets and colonize them, right?” Tarrabetha asked.
Captain Jessie nodded, “Correct, we’d have a crew that would rotate in and out of active duty every ten years or so relieving the other crew and allowing them to go back into hibernation.”
“Are you looking for a Navigator?” Tarrabetha asked.
Briggett frowned, “Tarra?”
Thomas looked to Captain Jessie, “Or a communications expert?”
Captain Jessie laughed, “Certainly!”
Issla frowned, “Tarra, why would you want to leave us?”
Tarrabetha frowned, “I… I killed someone on the shuttle,” she gave everyone a mournful look. “While all of you were pleased enough to help me feel better about it… I can’t get it out of my mind. How can I go home after doing such a terrible thing?”
Thomas frowned, “Tara-”
“Tom,” Tarrabetha shook her head, “You don’t have to come with me.”
“You kidding?” Thomas laughed, “Tara I left my home for you, you think I wouldn’t follow you when you did the same?”
Tarrabetha smiled and hugged Thomas, “Oh, Tom!”
Yuki smiled at the pair, heaving a heavy sigh, “I guess we should get ourselves back into shape… how far are we from Nite?”
“We’re making an about-face now,” Captain Jessie explained, “So we’ll be back within the orbit of Nite’s moon within four months, then you can head back to the surface of Nite, which should take a week or so.”
Yuki grinned, “Then I’ll be home to see my Serren.”
Captain Jessie gave an odd look to Yuki, “So, I do have to ask, what are you, exactly?”
“I’m sorry?” Yuki asked.
“You’ve got Niten wings and horns,” he said, motioning to her head, “But your scales look… odd.”
Yuki sighed, “I’m a Dei angel, I’m just…” Yuki rubbed her stomach, “I guess altered.”
Captain Jessie gave her an odd look but shrugged, “Well, I’ll tell the Niten Command Center about your good fortune.” He turned to the medical staff helping the crew of the Shuttle, “Let's get them moved into lower decks and we’ll slowly move them up to the outer decks to get them back in shape.”
Yuki sighed, “More physical therapy,” she lamented, “Yay,” Yuki said with a sarcastic tone.
...
Dei
Cleo looked over the tubes and medical equipment that was linked up to Kaelen as Malik finished plugging everything in. “All set?”
Malik smiled, “Yes, Master Kaelen is comfortable and should be fine too, well awaken, again”
Cleo smiled, “Good.”
Ipswella’s voice called back from the kitchen, “Dinner is served!”
Cleo and Malik left the bedroom, and Ipswella smiled wide at the pair.
“Smells great, Ipswella,” Cleo complimented as she made her way to the table.
“I suppose I should take my leave,” Malik sighed.
Cleo frowned, “Malik, where do you plan to go?”
“Oh, well,” Malik sighed, “I have a decent reference from Mr. Trueman and I’m sure from you as well, Ms. Cleo. I’ll find myself in strong employment once again.”
Ipswella looked hopefully to Cleo.
Cleo smiled, “Malik, you know neither Ipswella nor I have the expertise to care for Master Kaelen, and to be honest the only other one who did is… well let's just say she’s no longer interested.”
Ipswella clapped happily, “I agree Ms. Cleopatra!”
“Are you certain?” Malik said, excitement in his eyes.
“I’m certain, yes,” Cleo smiled, “Besides I’ll be very busy with business going forward, and as such, I’ll need someone here to make sure Kaelen’s needs are met.”
Malik beamed to Cleo, “Then I shall do my best, Ms. Walters.”
“Cleo is perfectly-” Cleo was cut off by her phone, “And there it is…”
“Scale issues, Ms. Cleo?” Malik asked.
Cleo turned to Malik, her eyebrow raised as Malik showed a bronze pin on his lapel. “A thousand feathers,” Cleo said simply.
“For a single Scale,” Malik bowed.
Ipswella was confused as she watched the pair exchange the code phrase.
“I’ll have to ask you to initiate Ipswella,” Cleo said as she looked at her phone, “I need to take this.”
Malik and Ipswella each bowed as Cleo left the room.
“Persephone,” Cleo said pleasantly on the phone.
“So you’re going by that full time now, Cleo?” Sorjoy asked.
“Do you not go by ‘Sorjoy’?” Cleo asked.
“Fair enough,” Sorjoy caved as he continued, “Come upstairs: the Nite have made contact with the Shuttle and they are furious.”
Cleo sighed, “I’ll be right there.”
With that, Cleo ended the call and made her way to the specialized elevator leading to the top floor of the building. Within moments she was at Sorjoy’s office, heading into the main office.
Cleo passed a blue female angel sitting at her desk, much to her shock.
The blue angel shot to her feet and bowed low, “Good evening!”
“What’s going on?” Cleo asked as she walked into Sorjoy’s office, not returning the greeting to the young woman.
Sorjoy moved to the office door and promptly shut it, “I felt that you being my assistant any longer was an insult to both you and the Scale, as such I plan on making you our new COO.”
Cleo turned to Sorjoy, shocked, “You’re what?!”
“I’m sure you can handle it,” Sorjoy smiled, “Besides, it allows me to take a seat on the board and properly run the day to day operations of the Scale, as you requested.”
Cleo shot Sorjoy an agitated look, “I do not like surprises, and while I appreciate this, talk to me first next time,” She snapped.
Sorjoy laughed off her anger as they approached the red phone.
Sorjoy unmuted it and cleared his throat, “This is Sorjoy and Persephone, from Dei.”
Gallor’s voice followed four soft taps on his end, “Gallor and Rezzolina, from Nite. Good Evening.”
“And Good morning,” Sorjoy responded.
Rezzolina’s voice clipped in quickly, “This call isn’t to exchange pleasantries,” Rezzolina hissed.
Cleo sighed, “I understand, I assume I’m speaking to Rezzolina?”
“Yes and you’re Persephone,” Rezzolina stated, “I want to thank you for working quickly with us to ensure we had everything we needed to recover Shuttle Goodwill. Currently, Deepsight has confirmed with us that they have the crew of Shuttle Goodwill and one Dei Angel by the name of Thomas.”
Sorjoy and Cleo both gave each other confused looks.
Cleo spoke first, “Was there a man by the name of Azrael Palma onboard?”
Now there was silence on the other end.
Cleo turned to Sorjoy, “Is there a delay?”
“Not at the moment,” Sorjoy confirmed, “It’s an optimal time for a call, likely why they made it.”
Four taps were heard, “The… uh… Angel you’re referring to, was he a… uh… did he have… a… position of authority of some sort?”
“He was the Commissioner of the Police here in Seraph City,” Sorjoy explained.
There were four taps, followed by another four taps and exasperated breathing.
“Settle down, Gallor!” Rezzolina could be heard in the background, “Get a drink, I’ll handle this.”
“I-I’m sorry, Erik,” Gallor said as he could be heard wandering off.
Cleo frowned, “What happened to him?”
Rezzolina’s voice soon came over the phone, “The other Dei angel onboard, apparently was killed. I would arrange for his remains to be sent back but… well…”
Cleo’s frown had vanished and was now replaced with an odd, almost maddened look of joy.
Sorjoy took over, “Well, what?”
“The crew members were forced to eat him, to survive,” Rezzolina reluctantly.
Cleo reached out to the phone and muted it before she burst into hysterical laughter.
“Cleo?” Sorjoy said, looking to her concerned.
Cleo’s laughing was soon followed by tears which flowed freely. She placed a hand on the desk and another over her eyes, tears continuing to stream down her face as her laughter continued.
“Cleo you’re… scaring me,” Sorjoy confessed.
Cleo turned to Sorjoy, her hand removed from her eyes, “He’s dead! And they ate him!” She slipped down to a crouch by Sorjoy’s desk, shifting between overjoyed laughter and a strange sort of relief mixed with guilt as she realized her abuser of many years was gone.
Sorjoy was unsure of what to do in this situation, but crouched down with her, “I’m not a fan of him either but… why are you… laughing and crying?”
Cleo looked up to Sorjoy, “You wouldn’t understand,” she managed before she dried her eyes, “I… I can’t explain it. He’s gone. Finally gone.”
Sorjoy lifted an eyebrow at Cleo’s manic response to this news.
“Persephone? Sorjoy? Did the connection drop?” Rezzolina asked.
Cleo got to her feet and steeled herself quickly, “What about Thomas and Yuki?”
“Well, Thomas is healthy, for the most part,” Rezzolina heaved a sigh, “But Yuki… wait…”
“Something wrong?” Cleo asked.
“Hold on… If the dead angel was the Commissioner that was eaten… Thomas is the stowaway Angel…” Rezzolina was clearly working something out in her head.
“Yuki is not here, Rezzolina, she would have to be on board the shuttle,” Cleo confirmed.
“I need to make a few calls,” Rezzolina said, “I’m sorry for the loss of your Police Commissioner!”
“We’re sorry that this event happened,” Cleo said before the line cut off.
Sorjoy looked to Cleo, confused, “What was all of that about?”
“Something tells me there have been some communication issues,” Cleo thought out loud. She dried her eyes, “I don’t know what came over me before, by the way, sorry for the theatrics there.”
“Palma did terrible things to you, Cleo,” Sorjoy said, “I’m pretty sure that was a logical reaction.”
“Not for me,” Cleo sighed, “By the way, we need to discuss this COO position,” she glared at Sorjoy.
Sorjoy smiled at Cleo, “I suppose we do, don’t we?”
…
Deepsight
After a month onboard Deepsight, Yuki and the rest of the crew had begun to settle in.
Yuki was more than fascinated with the inner workings of the massive ship.
She found herself constantly asking Captain Jessie multiple questions, almost to the point of driving the Captain up the wall, but his patience was legendary.
“The ship has a Magnetosphere?!” Yuki said, enamored by the concept.
Captain Jessie laughed heartily, “Two, actually, a bow and aft, to simulate the north and south poles of NIte.”
“That’s how you protect from interstellar radiation? No heavy shielding?” Yuki asked.
“No,” Captain Jessie gave another laugh.
“Can I…” Yuki took a deep breath, “Can I see how it’s generated?”
Captain Jessie gave Yuki a confused look, but continued to smile, “I suppose a little look couldn’t hurt.”
Yuki clapped her hands together excitedly, “Oh, thank you, Captain!”
Captain Jessie chuckled as he led Yuki down a hallway. As they moved through the rounded walls, Yuki could feel the floor’s curvature increase and the gravity decrease as they traveled along.
“The magnetosphere generator is towards the center of the ship,” Captain Jessie pointed out and they soon reached a point where they were floating, “I’m sure that makes moving around easier for you.”
Yuki gave him a nod, “Yes, it does,” Yuki sighed, “Physical therapy is a pain in the ass… more so when you’re pregnant.”
Captain Jessie gave a nod to Yuki as he glanced at her belly bump, “I do have to say, for an egg it seems a long time to carry it.”
Yuki sighed, “I don’t lay eggs, Dei give birth.”
“I keep forgetting you’re a Dei Angel, sorry,” Captain Jessie chuckled, “It's probably the horns and the tail.”
Yuki sighed. On top of her other strange additions, she had sprouted a stubby tail. Nothing as large as any of her Niten Dragon companions, but still a tail about slightly longer than half a meter now swung back and forth behind her, blue, like the rest of her Niten features.
Yuki had also discovered that her fingernails had grown black and hardened. The tips had even begun to grow sharper over the past couple of weeks.
“Am I going to turn into a complete Nite…? Will these changes stop?” Yuki thought, her tail swishing back and forth excitedly, “Do I want them to?”
Yuki did note that her face had not transformed into a muzzle nor had she grown sharp teeth or gotten taller. Her feet were still, well, feet, rather than the large claws the Niten Dragons sported.
The horns were a new challenge, of course. Yuki found she had to mind doorways more often and there was that one time she nearly closed a hatch on her tail.
Finally, Yuki and Captain Jessie arrived at the Magnetosphere Generator.
Yuki’s eyes widened as she looked at what was basically a giant gimbal rotating around a large sphere.
“That’s an electromagnet in the center, so we can turn it off or turn it up if we’re encountering heavy solar radiation,” Captain Jessie spoke loudly over the steady hum of the large machine. Large rings spun around a central sphere slowly, and as one passed another seemed on its way to pass again.
Yuki looked to her clothing, noticing that nothing was being drawn towards the magnet, “Is it not on?”
Captain Jessie chuckled, “It is,” he beamed to Yuki, “A Magnetosphere doesn’t need to have a strong magnetic pull, it just needs to generate a large field. This isn’t going to suck the metal off your body,” he laughed reassuringly, “Though this close some radio waves do get distorted.”
“That’s just-UGH!” Yuki gasped, her legs clenching together as she felt a gush of fluid slip from between her legs, “Oh… Oh, Guardian!”
“What is it?” Captain Jessie asked, concerned as he felt Yuki’s panic.
“I-I think, my water broke!” Yuki shrieked.
“Your what broke?” Captain Jessie asked, clearly confused.
“I-I need to get to the medical bay! M-My baby is coming and it's way too early!” Yuki shouted.
Captain Jessie grabbed Yuki’s hand and led her out of the inner spiral of the ship. The pair began to slow down as the gravity increased.
Yuki was staggering along as a contraction hit and sent her to her knees.
Captain Jessie didn’t hesitate, quickly scooping Yuki up and rushing her towards the medical bay, “No need to worry, you and the baby will be just fine,” Jessie tried to comfort her as he rushed through the hallways, “Out of the way!” he shouted.
Yuki held on tight as Captain Jessie ferried her through the brightly lit steel corridors and eventually to the medical bay.
“Her baby is coming!” Captain Jessie shouted.
“Early!” Yuki added, sweat drenching her face.
A male doctor and a female nurse rushed over to Yuki and brought her to a medical bed.
The male doctor, a yellow scaled Niten Dragon with orange eyes put a large paper mask over his mouth while the nurse, a grey-skinned Niten Dragon with light green eyes, rushed to pull out a medical journal of some kind.
Yuki was breathing hard as the doctor looked her over.
“Her pulse is elevated,” the doctor looked to her face, “Did you hurt yourself?”
Yuki glared at him, “I’m pushing out a kid!” she snapped.
The grey nurse soon rushed over, “Dei Angels give birth, they don’t lay eggs,” the nurse winced, “It’s apparently a very painful process.”
The doctor turned to Yuki, “I guess we’ll see what’s going on down there,” he said as he cut off the lower half of her flight suit, and spread Yuki’s legs a bit further apart.
Once off, the doctor looked down to see that there was a small head pushing against Yuki’s vaginal passage.
The doctor promptly fainted.
“Doctor Tress?!” the nurse shouted as she rushed over and checked at what the doctor had seen. She sighed, “Men.”
Yuki gritted her teeth, “Something really doesn’t feel right!”
The nurse frowned, “Okay, I… I think I see why,” she slipped on a pair of gloves, “...I’m very sorry miss, but I’m going to have to manipulate the baby.”
Captain Jessie leaned over, trying to see if he could spot what was happening out of curiosity.
Both Yuki and the Nurse glared at him.
Yuki screamed, “This isn’t a show!”
Captain Jessie backed away quickly.
The nurse reached between Yuki’s legs, and soon she furrowed her brow in concentration.
Yuki winced as another contraction hit her.
The nurse flinched, “Ma’am, you need to hold back on that, if at all possible!”
Yuki grunted in pain, “It’s the only way the baby is going to come out!”
The nurse grunted, “Ma’am, your body is designed for a child with a round head… the child’s snout is catching on your vaginal wall. I have to gently tilt its head up so that the baby can exit snout first,” she argued, “I can’t do that if you’re pushing him against the vaginal walls!”
Yuki growled in pain, “J-Just hurry up…” Yuki gasped as she tried her best to not push as another contraction hit, “P-Please.”
The nurse now had both of her hands inside of Yuki as she turned the small infant inside of her, “Come on little one… just… tilt up a tiny bit…”
Yuki gritted her teeth and gasped in shock as she felt all the pressure vanish from her lower back.
“Yes!” The nurse shouted, “The head is out!”
Yuki gasped, sweat drenching her face, “I-Is the baby okay?”
“Now I need you to push, Ma’am, the baby should be clear!” the nurse instructed.
“F-fuck,” Yuki cursed and gave a hard push, then gasped as the infant was forced out of her.
The nurse took the child in her arms and looked to the umbilical cord, confused as to how to handle this as she held the tiny, crying infant, “Uh… something is still… attached.”
Yuki looked up as the nurse held up the crying infant, “The cord? C-Cut it,” Yuki gasped.
“A-are you sure?!” The nurse frowned, but reached for a pair of medical scissors, cutting the cord. She saw it was bleeding, and quickly pinched it. “Okay,” she stood up, “From here, I know what we can do,” she said as she rushed the child away.
“W-wait...w-where… my baby!” Yuki shouted, wincing as she tried to sit up and follow her.
Captain Jessie rushed to the nurse, “Nurse, where are you going?”
“This infant is like a premature hatchling!” the nurse explained, moving the small crying and underdeveloped infant to an incubator. “This, I know how to handle,” she said as she placed the child inside.
The nurse worked to settle the child and slipped a feeding tube into the baby’s snout, taping it to the top of the tiny child’s face. The nurse then placed a breathing tube into the other nostril and closed up the incubator.
The nurse returned to Yuki, looking down at the passed out doctor. She sighed and got out a bit of smelling salts.
Doctor Tress jolted up, shaking his head in confusion, “What happened?”
“You fainted, Doctor,” the nurse shook her head.
“My baby,” Yuki gasped, “is it okay?”
The nurse helped Doctor Tress up to his feet, “I am sure he will be,” she looked to Doctor Tress, “Perhaps you should assess the premature hatchling, Doctor?”
“R-Right! Right!” Doctor Tress rushed to the incubator.
The nurse turned to Yuki, “I’m sorry Ma’am, but the child was hatched, er, came out prematurely.”
“W-well can I see him?” Yuki smiled weakly, “Him, right?”
The nurse nodded, “Yes, him.” She helped Yuki out of bed and into a wheelchair, “I’m Abby Nermal, by the way.”
“Thanks, Abby,” Yuki winced as she settled into the wheelchair and Abby began to push Yuki towards the incubator, “Yuki…” she trailed off before smiling to herself, “Misho.”
“Thought up a name yet?” Nurse Abby asked as the pair moved to the incubator.
Yuki looked down and smiled.
Laying there, wrapped up in soft cloth sheets, was a tiny little Niten Dragon, with red skin.
It’s tiny horns looked like small white nubs and it’s head and stubby snout seemed to take up the vast majority of his body mass.
“No,” Yuki smiled warmly, “I want to wait to talk to his father about that.”
The little child opened his eyes and Yuki felt a shiver run down her spine.
Despite his red skin, the child’s eyes were bright, clear, and piercing.
An Icy Blue.

So, as a quick background, I have been playing RSHR for over a year, I have so much time involved in making records, racing, breeding, training, selling, repeating etc. I have bought a gold package and a premium offer horse. I even started a second game on a different device to experience the "new" updates (and a different platform). I have plenty of patience and logic, I've made excellent progress in the mobile-game without spending absurd amounts of money (I've seen claims of hundreds spent!). I have discovered personal preferences of doing things in the game a certain way in order to achieve desired results. I've received and shared tips that have helped the game be more enjoyable! The biggest thing I have a hard time with is the "cost" of time, in the mobile game.....
My take-away: This game does not "reward" long-term players. I've never understood why so many players restart their game before, but it just dawned on me, today (sad, I know). Because it is no longer fun after a certain level. I was guilty of thinking that they just weren't persistent enough, until my own recent misfortunes but...
Based on the recent replies I have received from "support", it's fully intended to be that way.
While the update that separated Chapter Goals from Prestige Level was a DEFINITE move in the right direction, the unfortunately exorbitant wait times & costs continue to turn off so many would-be long-term fans! Why would they (devs) not want to strengthen their long-term player base?
I really think they are counting on players buying that first offer horse (the $4.99usd offer) over and over again.... yet fail to make similar offers available later in the game!!
Anyways, just venting some frustration, it feels like a Monday, even though it's Thursday! lol

:edit to add:

Since I can't add pictures in comments, I found a like minded player (and it's not the first!) who posted a similar problem in the Official FB group! (names removed for privacy)
This player is SO spot on!!
This is the problem faced by all mobile-platform players, I really don't think the dev's thoroughly tested/investigated the top end of the game when converting it from console version.... And if they DID, then it's definitely crappy that they intentionally make it nearly impossible (even if one pays real money) to be successful in the high levels. Why on EARTH would you do that?

This is quite a long read so buckle up, each part has 2 or 3 chapters and there are 3 parts to the story so about 9 chapters all together all of which will be atleast this long. Enjoy!
Prologue
Part 1: The Chosen
Creed
Sir Astor Creed rode on horseback through the woods with only one thought on his mind. He had to get to the village and stop the massacre. He had been riding for hours now and his body grew weary with exhaustion. He kicked his horse again hurrying her. He knew she could take it, she was the best mount a man could ask for.
Wether riding into battle or venturing across the lands, Margo was dependable, rock solid and at times downright extraordinary. She had been with him for most of his life and she had never failed him, not even once.
As he rounded the corner Creed saw a sight that he knew he would never forget for the rest of his days. There was a battalion of the royal army, the most trusted and experienced knights of the king, lighting torches and hurling them through the windows of the cottages in a small fishing village. There were villagers running in the streets, screaming out for their loved ones.
The members of the royal army, maybe 50 or 60 of them, rode on horse back, trampling innocents in their way. Creed saw a young boy fall beneath the hooves of a warhorse and watched in horror as the boys skull was crushed by the horses stomping hooves.
He kicked Margo again this time with intensity and they lurched forward full speed into the fray. As he approached, several of the royal army members called out to him to stop, but he had not come this far and done this much just to be stopped by these men.
They might have been experienced knights but he was Sir Astor Creed, the kings most trusted advisor and right hand man. The greatest knight in all the lands as some called him. Creed was a humble man, even with all of his accomplishments and accolades he still just saw him self as a soldier, a grunt in the kings army.
He felt as if the only reason he had been raised as high as he had was because he and the king had grown up side by side. He had been the kings squire as a boy when he was just a prince, only two years older then Creed. They had formed a bond, not unlike brothers, and had been at each other's side ever since.
They had rode to battle together, defeated army's together, they had even ended a rebellion when they were only young men. Since his coronation however, the king had been a different man. As it usually does power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. The prince that he had known was gone, only the king remained and Creed held no love for the king.
The royal army saw him approach and turned in shock. They would not of expected him, he was last seen months ago when he escaped his execution. As the light fell over his face he saw recognition dawn on their faces and heard weapons being drawn.
One member launched a spear so close that creed heard it cutting through the air as it whizzed by his ear. Several arrows scattered the landscape as Margo weaved in and out of them at top speed as only she could. Creed unsheathed his sword, the metallic sound echoed back to him as the members of the royal army did the same.
Creed launched from Margo’s back and tackled one of the nearest Knights to the ground. He knew he was ridiculously out numbered but he could not let these men kill any more innocent people, he was the only one who could stop them. He stabbed the man in the heart with his sword as they fell, impaling him into the ground. He landed roughly on top of the mans corpse and had to immediately roll to avoid being trampled.
He leapt to his feet pulling his sword from the ground and slicing off an approaching members arm. He screamed in pain as blood squirted from his shoulder painting the cobblestone path red. Creed had no time to react, he was surrounded on all sides by hostile men, incredibly trained men at that. He ran through the battalion slashing and ducking and blocking, killing many men. He saw villagers cowering under the wreckage that had once been their homes and felt another surge of anger towards his adversaries.
He jumped out of the way as a mace came flying from overhead missing him by inches. He reached down to his hip and extracted a dagger and threw it end over end as hard as he could in return. It was a direct hit, straight into his right eye. The knight screamed in agony as he fell from his horse and was trampled by his own men. There was nothing for creed to do, he knew he was fighting a losing battle.
He was exhausted from the long ride and he was only one man. He fought valiantly but he could never defeat this many men, this was a fools errand yet his honour would not allow him to leave it lie. He had to defend these people, he had sworn an oath. He got slashed by a passing spear on his left shoulder, causing him to cry out in pain and miss a step in his current battle. It was all the other man needed as he spun, slashing creed’s sword arm and across the front of his body.
Creed fell too his knees as his sword clattered down to the ground in front of him. He picked it up but was Immediately kicked in the back by yet another member of the royal army. His head collided with the path as he felt the breath flood from his chest. Creed knew this was his last dash, his run of good luck had come to an end. The royal army all dismounted surrounding him, swords drawn. As they approached Creed suddenly had an idea, it was crazy, but just maybe it could save his life.
The royal army were laughing as they approached, sure the battle was over and that they had won. Just as they closed in on Creed, he rolled on his back and pulled his fingers too his mouth, whistling as loud as he could. The soldiers moved a little quicker towards him, not knowing what was coming next. Just as one of the royal army reached down to pull Creed off of the ground, Margo burst into action.
She galloped from out of nowhere rearing on her hind legs and kicking a nearby soldier in the face with such ferocity that he sailed through the air collided with a nearby cottage. He lay in the ruin, unmoving and surely dead.
The soldiers turned their attention to Margo, trying with everything that they had to bring her down. She was too fast though galloping in and out of ruined and burning cottages, dodging everything they threw at her and kicking the occasional soldier. Creed leapt from the ground and several nearby soldiers, noticing this, turned back to him ready to attack.
Before Creed could even raise his sword, Margo galloped over and booted the closest man in the chest with her hind legs sending him flying into his companions knocking six of them to the ground. Creed didn't hesitate launching onto Margo’s back, throwing another dagger at a nearby soldier as he did, killing him. Margo galloped lightning fast through the village, leaping over corpses and burning wreckage as she went.
Creed held on for dear life as spears, arrows, chunks of wood, and any other objects the remaining members of the royal army could get their hands on came flying passed them. Margo got clipped on her right flank by an arrow but it didn't even slow her. Creed spun around on her back and saw that only 10 or 15 men remained. He knew that at least 4 or 5 would have to return to the kings palace and relay the news of the attack, even more would surely follow him, the massacre was over.
He patted Margo on the head thanking her for her help as she sprinted even faster straight for the ancient mountain. The royal army would pursue them but she knew she had a lead on them now. They would never follow her where she was going anyway, they just had to make it to the mountain.
As Creed saw where they were headed he tried to turn Margo but she was stubborn. She galloped on at top speed straight for the one place that Creed never thought he would go. They were headed towards the Jungle of the Damned...
Raymond
Raymond Skurt was a lonely man, and that was exactly how he liked it. He had been alone his whole adult life and most of his childhood. Raymond had never been a fighter. He would much rather spend his days curled up in bed reading then out on some battlefield risking his life.
He was not a coward, he would fight if it was necessary, but he preferred to just stay clear of the fight and mind his own business. Raymond was a mute. He had not uttered a word since he was 14 on one fateful day at his fathers homestead.
He had been hiding in the attic reading his favourite book for the umpteenth time when his twin brothers Duke and Chad burst in out of breath. Raymond's brothers were much older then he. They were already men at this point, roughly 18 years old.
They had always picked on Raymond for his tentative ways. They would often drag him from his hiding places and make him there practice dummy in the training yard belting him with wooden swords and lashing him with whips. Raymond did not like to hate, but if he hated anyone in this world it would be the twins. They approached Raymond smiling and grabbed him roughly pulling him too his feet.
He remembered feeling helpless as Duke grabbed him, squirming, by the scruff of the neck and tossed him over his shoulder like a bag of manure. Raymond kicked and screamed but his brother was just too strong. As they left the attic he stopped resisting and let himself be carried, knowing there was no point in resistance. Chad walked by Dukes side smiling wide as they headed to yet again harass their younger brother. As they rounded the corner both brothers lost the colour in their face and Duke dropped Raymond roughly to the ground.
There, striding towards them, was their father with one of the most important looking men Raymond had ever seen by his side. He wore plum coloured robes and many golden chains. He didn't know much about royalty or citizens from the royal city, but Raymond was certain this man was a lord. He got too his feet dusting himself off and saw his father grimace as he noticed Raymond was there.
Raymond’s father had always been ashamed of him as a son. He was a smith, one of the best in all of the lands, and he had hoped Raymond would follow in his footsteps. Once he had shown no joy in battle or training, Howard Skurt had brought Raymond into his business as an assistant, hoping he would have a hand at smithing. Unfortunately however Raymond had shown no skill in being a smith and with that his father had given up hope and basically disowned him as a son.
Howard and the lord approached the three boys, conversing with one another as they did. The twins bowed low to the lord but Raymond, not knowing the usual courtesy when addressing such a man, hesitated a second too long. Raymond realised his mistake and quickly bowed hoping that the lord hadn't noticed. As the two men drew close enough however, he heard his father apologising to the man. ‘He is a simple boy my lord,’ he heard his father say, ‘ he knows not proper courtesy please forgive me for his stupidity’.
As they got closer Raymond noticed that the lord was quite young, younger even then the twins, only slightly older then himself. He felt awkward watching his father address this boy with such fear in his eyes, like he was addressing the king himself. ‘I forgive you Skurt but the boy must be punished,’ he heard the lord reply, making his blood run cold. ‘Of course my lord, whatever punishment you see fit,’ he heard his father reply, his voice unusually high, ‘he has always been a disgrace’. He emphasised his point by spitting on the floor inches from Raymond's face.
Raymond felt an uncontrollable rage, one he had never felt before that day nor a single day since, boiling in his stomach. His father had treated him like dirt for too long. Raymond sprung too his feet with a scream startling both his father and the lord who took a step back, a look of fear on his face. Raymond ran screaming not for his father, but for the young lord. He would prove to his father he was not a disgrace, he was planning on attacking this lord and showing his father he was not a coward.
He approached the lord screaming, flailing his arms like a raving lunatic. The lord back peddled so fast he tripped over his own feet falling to the floor. ‘GAURDS!!’ He screamed as Raymond got close, preparing to dive for the man cowering on the floor. As Raymond reached out his arms, preparing to wrap his hands around the lords throat, he was grabbed roughly from behind and hoisted into the air.
The lord regained his feet and smiled as Chad, holding a flailing Raymond in the air out of reach, slammed him against the stone wall. Raymond felt his head crack against the hard stone and instantly felt the warm blood trickling down the back of his neck. His head spun and all of the anger that was coursing through him disappeared, being replaced by fear as he saw the hopeless situation in front of him.
Chad held him with his forearm up against his throat choking the air from his lungs. Duke stood behind him, a smile on his face, ready to inflict some damage of his own. The lords guards came racing down the corridor and withdrew their weapons, surveying the scene. Howard stood off to the side, a look of mingled anger and shock on his face staring at his son and shaking his head. The lord dusted himself off and with a great smile pulled a dagger from his belt as he approached Raymond.
Over the years Raymond had blocked most of the next part out. All that he remembered was the lord asking why he did what he did. When he didn't respond he had tortured him, slicing him with his dagger in front of his father and brothers. None of them lifted a finger to help. Eventually the lord had removed his tongue saying that if he wouldn't talk today then he would never talk again. When Raymond thought back to that day now he couldn't remember why he didn't talk. Why he didn't just tell the lord why he had attacked him. It didn't matter now.
Raymond had run away as soon as he was healed. He stole one of his fathers horses in the night and escaped while his family slept. He rode until he found this small village half a world away from his fathers homestead on the side of the ancient mountain. It was a place of legend, one that it was told harboured a great evil. At the peak of the mountain sat the jungle of the damned, a cursed place from which men never returned.
Raymond had never heard those stories, more intent on burying himself in his books then hearing the stories outside in the real world. He had settled in the little village and lived a simple life. He could no longer speak but he could still work and he worked hard in the fields to keep himself fed. He spent his free time reading or fishing down at the lake, life was peaceful. Raymond closed his book and put out the candle on his window sill.
He yawned and stretched his arms wide as he walked across the room and dis robed, preparing for bed. As he fluffed his pillow he heard a noise outside his window that made him glance out. He saw smoke rising from the base of the mountain, someone had set a fire down in the fishing village off the lake. Raymond thought that maybe he would go down there in the morning and make sure everything was ok.
The noise Raymond heard was getting louder, it was a noise he hadn't heard in some time. The sound of hooves on pavement, moving quickly this way. Travellers rarely ventured this far up the mountain. Raymond didn't know why, he assumed it was just too far out of the way, it was for this reason that Raymond had settled here in the first place. Less travellers meant less chance his father could ever find him.
Raymond walked back across the room and put his robe back on securing it tightly as he made for the front door. He was a curious man and he wanted to know who was coming up the mountain, something told him it was important. As he opened the front door Raymond saw the last thing he ever expected to see.
A man in full armour, the best armour Raymond had ever seen, rode into view. He slowed to a canter and dismounted beside a horse trough sticking his whole head in and drinking deeply. The horse walked up beside him and began to drink as well. Raymond stood at the door of his cottage watching, his mouth hanging open at the sight.
It wasn't the man that interested him, it was the horse. He looked back to the man in the trough and felt a burst of courage flow through him. He didn't care who this man was he had Raymond's horse, and he wanted her. By the end of this night Raymond vowed to himself that he would have Margo back...
Eliza
Eliza Wolfe scurried around her room collecting her belongings at breakneck speed. She shoved everything she needed into her pack and scoured the room for anything she might have missed. A tear trickled down her face as she picked up the dagger she had hidden under her mattress and tucked it into a hidden sheath in her belt. It had been her brothers, the last thing he had ever given her before his death many years ago. Eliza was not what you would call a proper lady. She was a beautiful young women with shoulder length brown hair which framed her pretty face. She had always been a gorgeous girl but she had never wanted to be a lady, not in the proper sense of the word.
Her virtue remained intact and even though she had spent almost half of her life in prison, she felt as if she would still be a virgin even if she hadn't. She did not want to be a wife nor a mother and the thought of any man inside of her made her sick to her stomach. She was happy spending the rest of her life without knowing the touch of a man if it meant she never had to be a mother or a wife.
Eliza had always wanted to be a warrior. Despite her size and unassuming appearance, Eliza was blessed with the skill of an archer. She was a natural, from the first time she picked up a bow she had shown great skill. She had trained, wether alone or with her brother for years now and her skills had become incredible. She could out shoot even the best of her fathers archers and her brother had always told her she was the best natural archer he had ever seen, and he had seen plenty.
Eliza's father did not share her enthusiasm for archery. He was a high lord in the kingdom, Lord Edmund Wolfe, son of the last wolf king Hector Wolfe and he would not have his daughter wasting her time on some archery range. He had always wanted Eliza to be a lady, to take some man in marriage and father him some grandchildren. With her brother dead she was his last hope for any male descendants to pass his seat to. If he were to die right now the seat could be claimed by any other high lord.
By the rules of the lands women were not fit to sit on a lords seat so Lord Edmund demanded from Eliza the one thing she would never give him, children. As Eliza packed the last of her belongings and secured her pack to her back she thought back to the day years ago that had started these events in motion. The day her whole life changed. It was the day after her brothers death and Eliza was grief stricken, hiding in her chambers. She was only 13 years of age but she had the heart of a lion. She feared no one, but her brothers death had shaken her more then she ever could of imagined. Her father had come to see her to explain that they were surrendering to the king.
The prince and his men had made short work of her brothers rebellion, catching him and his men from behind with a sneak attack. Despite all of that however, her father being the coward that he was, was going to bend a knee to the king. Eliza was incensed, she told her father she would not bow to the man that had her brother killed. Her father had called her a stupid child and slammed the door as he left her chamber, locking her inside. Eliza had been furious, trashing her chambers and destroying her possessions. After some time she began to calm and had come up with a plan.
For years Eliza's father had been locking her in her room from time to time. When she wouldn't comply to his orders or when she would get caught practicing at the archery range. She had escaped many times and she knew exactly how to get out and back in without getting noticed. She would not let the man who ordered the death of her brother just go on living like it had never happened, even if he was the king. She had loved her brother more then she had ever loved anything in this world and the king and his son had taken him from her.
She demanded justice and if her father was too much of a coward to administer it, then she would. She rushed to the window with a plan forming in her mind. She had to get close to the king without being recognised. She knew that if her father saw her he would have her taken back to her chambers and locked up, this time for real. She had only one chance and she wasn't going to waste it. As she climbed down the vines which grew along the out side of the castle walls Eliza knew exactly what she had to do.
She knew her father and she knew that he would not simply bow before the king. He would go above and beyond to prove his loyalty, he would hold a tourney and have the kings men face off against his own. The ‘Wolf Pack’ as her fathers soldiers were collectively known were skilled, fiercely trained warriors, but they were nothing compared to the members of the royal army. The tourney was more or less her father sending his own men to die to appease the Kings wrath.
As Eliza clambered the rest of the way down the wall and jumped down to the ground she saw people making their way towards the stadium in enormous crowds, proving her theory about the tourney. She knew she had to conceal her identity if her plan was to work so she pulled the hood of her cloak up to cover her face as she made her way through the swelling crowds in the streets towards the armoury. Eliza was determined to right the wrongs committed against her family and nothing would get in her way, not even the royal army.
As she got closer to the armory she noticed more then a dozen members of the royal army standing guard around the front door. They wore robes of plum which hung around gold plated armour. Engraved on the chest piece was a purple crown surrounded by bright orange flames, the symbol of the royal family. Every member had the visor down on his helm making it impossible to make out their faces. They all stood completely still like sentries observing the crowd as they passed searching for any kind of disturbance.
Eliza pulled her hood a little tighter at the sight of them and veered off in the other direction heading for the rear door. As she approached she found it unguarded which she had expected. She was the only person in the world who could get through that door, even her father didn't have a key. Her brother had stolen it years ago and given it to Eliza so that she could go down and practice archery without having to explain herself to the wolf pack.
She approached the door and moved the stack of crates her and her brother had placed there obscuring view of the door. She fit her key into the rusted old lock, doing her best to keep out of sight and silent. She managed to slip through the door without being noticed and headed straight for her bow which was hidden in the far back corner of the room behind a rack of maces.
After retrieving her bow and a full quiver of arrows she continued to the next room where she knew the armour was kept all the while making sure her footsteps were as quiet as possible. She saw her normal leather archers armour on the rack on the left but continued past it knowing that her father would recognise her in it. She instead chose a full set of low weight metal armour from the rack usually reserved for soldiers in training.
She adjusted it as tight as it would go but still it hung loosely around her thin body. The armour, being designed for a young man, hid all of her womanly shape from sight and as she picked up the helm and pulled down the visor she felt sure that she would not be recognised. She looked exactly like a young warrior and no one, not even her father, would see through her disguise so long as she did not lose her helm.
She quietly sneaked back out of the rear door locking it behind her and re-joining the now dwindling crowd. Everyone in the city and many people from other parts of the kingdom had come to see the great Wolfe dynasty bend and break under the foot of the crown. Most of the people and combatants were inside the stadium, taking their seats.
Eliza had been to many of these tourneys throughout her life and she knew that the archery competition would be the first event. It was the only event in the tourney where no one would be killed, it was more a matter of pride then anything. Eliza headed to the back gate of the stadium with the rest of the warriors and competitors, praying she would not be discovered. To her relief the stadium guards waved her through, proving to her that her disguise was working.
She was ushered in and bustled over towards the other archers who all looked at her oddly. It was customary for archers to wear leather armour, especially in a tourney, as it was lighter and easier too manoeuvre in. Wearing a helm also was not only risky, it was down right stupid if one wanted to win, her line of sight being majorly affected by the visor. Eliza wasn't in the tournament to lose however and she did not need her entire line of sight to beat these men. A horn sounded and the archers were all shoved forward by the guards.
Eliza joined them and was ushered out onto the archery range where she took her place in front of a target side by side with the other archers. The tournament began and Eliza quickly earned the respect of the crowd with impressive shots each round, every one in the bullseye. Even with her visor down Eliza outshot every man in the tournament with ease eventually being declared champion. The crowd went ballistic jumping to their feet and cheering louder then Eliza had ever heard a crowd cheer for an archer. She bowed low to the crowd, a sign of respect, and they roared even louder.
After a minute or so the king stood to his feet and the crowd slowly fell silent. He signalled to his guards to bring Eliza forward and they ushered her silently towards the podium where the winners were declared champion by the king. She looked up to where the king stood and saw her father sitting beside him. His head was down, he looked like a broken man. On the other side of the king stood the prince.
His long unkempt hair hung in curtains around his face. Eliza thought he might have been a good looking young man if he cut his hair and shaved the peach fuzz from his face but the prince had a look on his face that made her resent him even more then she already did. It was a look of smugness. This whole tourney was held in the honour of a victory that the prince had achieved, a victory over her brother. She boiled with rage as she stood there in front of them, the two men that she hated most in this world. Two men who if Eliza had her way would soon be dead. The crowd finally silenced and the king raised his hands to address them.
‘ladies and gentlemen, I present to you the victor and new champion of archery, I ask now that he please remove his helm so that I can look upon the face of the finest archer in all the lands!’ He finished his declaration and sat back down on his throne, clearly not really caring who Eliza was. The prince however had not taken his eyes off of her since she had taken her first shot in the tournament. She could feel his anticipation as she slowly reached up, grasped her helm and pulled it from her head, throwing it too the ground.
A loud gasp spread through out the crowd as they all saw her long hair fall down from underneath the helmet. Several people even recognised her, she heard her name being whispered throughout the crowd. She took a step forward on the podium as the king, regaining some interest, stared down at her from above. She knew she only had one shot and she would surely be killed as soon as she took it, but it was worth it to get revenge for her brother.
Eliza turned to the king, her heart beating so fast in her chest she thought it might explode. ‘I am Eliza Wolfe, descendant of the wolf king and rightful heir to my fathers seat,’ Eliza began, the crowd growing silent at her words. ‘I came here today and deceived you all for two reasons,’ she continued as her father looked up with fear in his eyes, silently begging her not to do what he knew she was about to do.
‘The first reason was to prove to the king and to the people of all the lands that women are not second rate and with the right training they can not just be equal but even better then some men’. She heard a disapproving murmur spread throughout the crowd at her words but she also saw several women nodding their heads in agreement. ‘ the second reason,’ continued Eliza steadying herself, preparing for what was surely her final act, ‘was to avenge my brother’.
At these words several things happened in a matter of seconds. Members of the royal army burst in from all sides and began to run for Eliza, determined to stop her at all costs. Eliza reached back and drew an arrow and notched it with surprising speed aiming directly for the Kings heart. She was tackled to the ground as she let the arrow go, praying that her aim was true.
She looked up as she was roughly slammed into the ground and saw her arrow sailing straight for the king who had a look of utmost fear on his face. At the last possible second a young knight who Eliza had not noticed before stepped out from behind the king and slashed the arrow in two just as it was about to pierce the Kings skin. Eliza felt defeated as the members dragged her too her feet, blood dripping down her lip from the impact with the ground. The young knight stared down at Eliza with a look of mingled pity and understanding.
She didn't quite understand that look, ever since that day she had thought about that look and what it had meant. The events that happened after she took a shot at the king had surprised her more then anything else in her entire life. The king had laughed once he had regained his composure. Instead of killing her right there and then or having her hung to set an example he had declared that she would be imprisoned until she was of age to marry when he would marry her to his son the prince. He knew that having her killed was what she expected, this was her worst nightmare.
Eliza would much prefer to have the crows picking at her dead flesh then have the prince lay a single finger on her. In the years that passed the king had died and the prince had taken the throne. He had never once called on Eliza or tried to get her to marry him, he had no interest in her what so ever. So he left her to rot in her fathers prison cell for almost 10 years, always keeping a watchful eye. She had tried to escape several times from her cell under her fathers castle but had always been prevented by the royal army who now inhabited her fathers city. That was of course until tonight.
She had finally escaped, avoided the members and snuck back into her chambers. She knew she only had minutes to gather her things and leave before someone realised she was missing. She climbed down the vines on the side of the castle as quickly as possible, praying she would get to the stables without the alarm being raised. As she reached the ground she saw a small group of approaching royal army members and hid in the brush as they passed.
She noticed one of them had a bow and full quiver of arrows on his back. She knew it was risky and that she would be better off making a run for the stables, but she also knew that if she did not have a bow when the alarm was raised, she was going back to her cell. She crept up behind them hoping to steal the bow before they had any time to react. These men were constantly vigilant however and as she crept closer one of them spun around with a sword holding the tip directly too her throat.
The other two men spun around as well and smiled in delight at the sight before them. None of them seemed to recognise her and we're pleased simply because a pretty young women was at their mercy. Eliza hated her self for what happened next, but in a desperate situation one must act desperately. She slowly, with a smile started to unbutton her bodice, revealing her breasts underneath.
The member lowered his sword ever so slightly as he took in the sight before him, the other two moved in a little closer. As they approached Eliza turned her attentions too the man with the bow. She stroked his cheek and allowed him to fondle her, giggling as he did like some whore in a tavern. She kissed him full on the mouth as the other guards began running there hands all over her. She pulled back from the kiss and quickly extracted her brothers dagger from her belt hiding it in the palm of her hand as all three men started pulling at her clothes breathing heavily as they did.
Eliza let them work, holding the dagger tightly in her hand waiting for her moment. Just as the last layer of her clothes fell to the ground Eliza spun around digging the daggers tip into the throat of the man behind her. The other two watched in shock as their friends neck opened up like flood gates and blood poured down over Eliza's arm and on to the ground. Before either of the other men could react Eliza burst into action.
She threw the dagger straight into the shoulder of the man with the bow distracting him and making him cry out in agony. She then smashed her elbow into the bridge of his nose shattering it and removed an arrow from his quiver as she left him laying in a heap on the ground. She launched at the third man with the arrow stabbing it as hard as she could straight into his eye sending him too his knees screaming in agony. She stood over them, three members of the most elite fighting force in the world, dead or dying at her feet.
Her naked body was covered in blood and as she approached the man with the bow he looked up at her with a dying look, fear beyond any fear Eliza had ever seen before. ‘Who are you?’ He whispered as she leaned in close extracting her dagger. ‘I am vengeance’ she whispered back as she plunged the dagger directly into the mans heart. He stared back silently coughing and gurgling up blood and then eventually he remained still.
Eliza withdrew her dagger just as the rain started to pour. She stood, naked covered in blood in the pouring rain and couldn't help but smile. She would avenge her brother, if it was the last thing she ever did...
Part 1, Chapter 2
Part 2 Chapter 1