Gabe’s POV

We all go to the Mayor’s office as we have been summoned to do. The Messenger leads the way and then stands beside the door. It is a grand office, all oak furniture and soft leather. We stand before the Mayor. I’m holding Carly up in one hand so she can see him. I give her an encouraging smile. She’s unusually subdued. She was very frisky on the way here, wanting to be carried, petted and stroked by each of us in turn, but she’s quite still now, gazing solemnly at the Mayor, her flattened green face (a flattened green face is all she is now, after her transmogrification) is impassive. The Mayor addresses us: “Magic Maiden and aspiring warriors. An enemy threatens Coltbridge. Lord Shriek, another of the Dread Disciples. A member of that accursed sect of undead villains who plan to purge all life. You six lads will clad yourselves in armour and ride into battle with the Magic Maiden leading you. Her powers will be invaluable in defeating this terrible enemy.”

Carly interrupts. “But what about the safety of my handsome guys? They’re not trained warriors.”

The Mayor replies to her: “They have been schooled in weaponry and the art of battle, like all Coltbridge lads.”

“So we have!” says Jandar.

Carly quivers slightly in my hands as her brown eyes flicker towards Jandar and then back at the Mayor.

“But they’re still just boys, my special boys, so pretty and gentle…”

I’m trying to remember, was Carly this blunt before she was transmogrified into a green and flat disembodied face?

The Messenger adds: “The Magic Maiden is worried about her boyfriends.”

Carly wiggles and twitches in my hand, glaring at the Messenger.

Jandar looks at Carly. “We’ll be fine.”

Carly quivers in my hand. I turn her slightly to get a better view of her face. Her bottom lip quivers. “I just don’t want anything bad to happen to any of you. I love you all so much.”

The Mayor harrumphs. “Magical One, this is the way of things in our city of Coltbridge. Young men must fight whenever they are needed. This rule is inviolate.”

Carly quivers and compresses her lips. Then she sighs. “I understand… But I still don’t like it. Please… Promise me you’ll all be careful.”

I cradle her round, flat, limbless green body in my arms and she gazes up at me with soft brown eyes. “I promise,” I say, and boop her on her shiny green nose.

“The rest of you too, please promise me…” says Carly.

So each of my brothers takes his turn at cradling her in his arms and promising her he will be careful and booping her on her shiny green nose. She quivers visible while she is being passed around, her lip quivering and her eyes bright with emotion.

We clad ourselves in armour and select fine swords. The Mayor says that Lord Shriek is lurking in the ruined tower in the Murky Forest. We set out. The sun is bright overhead. Carly’s perched on my shoulder, or rather, she kind of drapes her disembodied green face over my shoulder, but even though she no longer has any limbs, she is able to grip me so she doesn’t fall. I can feel her quivering like a flat, green jelly.

“I hope this won’t be too dangerous…” she murmurs.

“Oh all of us young men could be killed,” says Eldrin airily. “I doubt anything can hurt you though.”

Carly wriggles in annoyance. “Noo! I won’t let you get killed, I won’t!”

“Don’t worry,” I assure her, and I pluck her from my shoulder and hold her up so we are face to face and then kiss her on the lips. Carly quivers and deepens the kiss. I boop her green nose and she grins, quivering so much that she’s flapping in my hands.

We are now at the edge of the Murky Forest. Carly wants us all to kiss her for good luck before we go in. We pass her around, all kissing her lips and nose, making her quiver in delight. “I love you all so much,” she says. “Please be careful in there.”

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The forest is dark and eerie. We enter cautiously, the dense foliage blocking out the sun, so everything is in gloomy.

Carly ripples as she clings to my shoulder and murmurs in my ear. “It’s so dark… Something’s not right.”

We move deeper into the forest and come across a large clearing full of old ruins. The stone blocks are crumbling and some are split by tree roots.

“This must be it,” murmurs Carly in my ear. “This is where Lord Shriek is hiding. Put me on your shield my love.”

I take Carly and place her on my shield. She is able to stick to my shield shield like it was made for her. “This is perfect! I can help keep watch now!”

The door of the ruined castle is guarded by two animated skeletons with rusty cutlasses who brandish their weapons threateningly at us. Carly is still attached to my shield and asks me to hold her up so she can deal with the skeleton guards. I hold up the shield, wondering what she intends to do. She opens her mouth and spews disruption bolts at the skeletons, smashing them into fragments of bone. Of course, she was able to use Disruption magic after Judge Distortion attacked her. She somehow was able to mimic and create her own version of his spell.

“Take that, bonies!” she says grimly. “You don’t get to threaten me and my guys.”

We enter the castle and explore. The whole place as an ancient, fusty reek. Suddenly a glowing ghost leaps out of the shadows.

“An ice demon! Don’t let it touch you!” says Jandar.

“Hold me up, my love,” Carly urges.

I hold up the shield with Carly on it to block the ghost. She sucks up the glowing form of the ice demon. Her green cheeks bulge and then she spits out a cloud of sparks. “Woah! I just chewed that demon up!”

“Awesome!” says Eldrin. “You are formidable indeed.”

“Aww, shucks.” Carly blows him a kiss.

We continue exploring the castle until we find a large throne room. Lord Shriek sits on a crumbling throne laughing maniacally. He’s just like the legends say. A hideous, semi-decayed humanoid with eyes that glow red from within like burning coals. There’s a circlet of black metal on his head.

“There he is!” Says Jandar.

“Let’s get him!” says Eldrin.

“Hold me up, love,” says Carly.

I raise my shield.

Lord Shriek opens his mouth spews out a concentrated shockwave that misses us all, but hits the stone wall, causing a small explosion and a massive dent. “Whoa! He’s stronger than I thought!” says Carly.

“What do we do?” I ask.

“I have a plan,” murmurs Carly. Then she calls out: “Shriek! You can’t get me you doofus!”

Lord Shriek notices her and spews out a concentrated shockwave, but she sucks it up, causing her cheeks to bulge, before spewing back a triple combination of shockwaves, disruption magic and ice powers that hit Lord Shriek’s head, making it explode into a mass of putrid slime. His crown clatters to the floor. “Ha! Take that you creep!” says Carly.

Lord Shriek’s body falls off the throne and slimps to the floor. “We did it!” says Carly. “We actually beat Lord Shriek!”

“Where did you learn to cast such a magical bolt?” asks Eldrin.

“Good question,” says Carly. “I guess I absorb every magical attack I’m hit with. Then I can copy it.”

“You are truly the heroine of the hour,” says Jandar.

“How about kisses for the heroine of the hour?” says Carly, puckering her lips. My brothers pluck her from my shield and pass her around for kisses from us all. She quivers in appreciation of each kiss. “Mmmm, I could get used to this!”

When it comes to Jandar’s turn she writhes and moans in ecstasy. “Mmmm… that feels incredible…”

Glor picks up the crown of Lord Shriek by hooking it onto his pike. It’s time to go back to the Mayor and report out success. I put Carly back on my shield. She’s quivering in my hands, clearly exhilarated by our victory.

00O00

Back in the Mayor’s office the Mayor himself greets us cordially as we assemble before him and dump the crown of Lord Shriek at his feet. I hold Carly up in both my hands so she is at eye level with the Mayor.

“Thank you, heroes,” says the Mayor. He gives each of us 100 gold pieces.

“Wow! That’s a lot of gold,” says Carly.

I remember all too well how Carly and her mother always struggled to make ends meet.

“And you, Magic Maiden, you deserve a special favour,” says the Mayor.

I interrupt. “Carly needs help getting back to her human form,” I say. The Mayor turns to Carly. “Of course. You must be looking forward to being a young lady again and doing ladylike things. Sewing. Sleeping in your own quarters.”

Carly wriggles a bit in my hands and when she replies she sounds cautious. “Um… I don’t know. I mean… being human again sounds nice, but what about my powers? And will I still be able to sleep with you guys?”

The Mayor gazes at her impassively. “If you were human, you would not be allowed to sleep with a crowd of men. It would not be proper. As it is, you have no lady parts, so that rule does not apply to you.”

Carly quivers slightly. “I don’t want to lose my magic powers or have to give up sleeping with all of you. Being human would be boring.”

“Don’t you want to have arms and legs again?” I demand.

Carly does not answer and instead asks me a question. “Can a human lady kiss any guy she wants?”

The Mayor replies for me. “That would not be proper. But the rules do not apply to you in your current form, as you have no lady parts. Now… about restoring you to your old self…”

Carly interrupts. “No thanks. I like being a green disc. It allows me the freedom to kiss and be kissed by any guy I want without rules. And I love being stroked and caressed like this.”