I followed the river for some time. My senses were on high alert as I reached out to feel the leaves, the grass and the breeze. All was well here, and I couldn’t detect the magical stain on the forest like before. I narrowed my eyes and reached to sense the magic on the wind.

Silver lines of trailing dust were invisible to the naked eye, but anyone with a drop of magic in their veins could sense it if they tried hard enough. In between the lines of silver I saw black lines, and red ones. These off coloured ones didn’t follow the natural flow, instead heading north, following the river.

“A mage. Could be a warlock, or a wizard holding up in the goblin cave,” I mumbled. I kept following a game trail that was close to the river and mentally ran over what I knew. “Probably someone conducting an illegal experiment, and they are disrupting the nature spirits. So if I can stop them, then the forest will return to normal.”

What was more alarming was the forest around here was perfectly fine. This meant the mage knew damn well what they were doing and purposefully gathered mana from further away so it wouldn’t disrupt the area around their lair. Cheeky.

This quest was making far more sense now. The mage must have scooped up the bracelet because it probably had a bit of magic to it. I could feel my steps getting quicker, and my heart started to race.

It would be more dangerous, but this meant there could be a treasure hoard of magic items now. A few trinkets no matter how weak could typically fetch a gold piece each, and if I was lucky enough to get a big haul I might even be able to afford to rent my own home. No longer would I have to stay at over priced inns, I could have my own bed, my own place of respite.

For some reason the first thought I had was of a stand in my bedroom to show off the family sword, and a bed with me and a certain redhead in it. I slapped my cheek and shook the intruding thought. I knew elves could have a habit of lewd thoughts, but this was unlike me.

A branch snapped and I grabbed an arrow instinctively. I scanned the area around me, my senses strained. I was between several large oak trees, the high branches soaking up all the sunlight leaving thin rays to touch the ground. This left only hearty shrubs or tufts of grass on the ground. There was open ground, trees flanking it and I was dead in the middle. A perfect place for an ambush.

Something dripped off the branches above me and I shot an arrow into the sky. Blue gunk raided down and splashed onto my face. I backed up against a tree and wiped it off my cheek. For a second I felt my heart beat stop as panic was about to set in, but then relief flooded my veins.

The blue gunk was a sticky slime that dripped off my fingers, it was slightly warm, water based and carried traces of magic. I knew what it was before the words left my mouth. “Slimes, and ones crafted by this mage no less.”

Regular slimes and oozes that came from deep underground were far more dangerous, their acidic bodies dissolving metal, flesh and bone on contact. ‘Mage slimes’ as they were known were far easier creatures to deal with. Typically made to collect resources and take them back to the owner, their watery bodies didn’t damage equipment.

Fwump!

Three fat slimes that reached up to my chest crashed down in the middle of the clearing and I let out a strangled cry. Their bodies might not dissolve me and they were slow, yet I wasn’t looking forward to how they normally attacked.

I kicked off the oak tree and apologized just as a slime launched itself towards me. It impacted the great woody brother of the forest and shook the ground from the force of its impact. I began backstepping and firing arrows into the large blobby bodies, watching my arrows sink into them with little effect.

“Damn it,” I swore. I tucked my bow away and drew my swords. “How about you take me to your leader instead.”

The slimes stopped and stood still for a few seconds. They of course couldn’t understand me, and I have the vague sense they were watching me intently. I shook one of my swords and the closest slime started to quiver. A tentacle came out of its body and it shot forward, trying to wrap around my sword.

I pulled back too slowly and the tentacle grabbed the crossguard. I struggled to pull away and hacked at the slimy appendage with my other blade, severing it. I huffed and backed up, sticking out my tongue. “My swords you stupid slimes.”

My boot hit something jiggly and my hair stood up on the back of my neck. A tentacle shot out between my legs and tried to grab my boot, the blue appendage moving with surprising speed and agility. I kicked off the ground, doing a front flip and easily evaded the new threat. However, when I regained my footing I looked around me and paled. I was completely surrounded.

The slimes moved in, cutting off any hope of escape and for my overconfidence I was now in the thick of it. I swung the swords around in me in wide sweeping arcs, trying to force them back and find an opening. I was outnumbered and out limbed as more and more tentacles came off the slimes. I hacked, slashed, and swore but it was no use, there were too many of them.

I felt one tentacle snap around my ankle, and I knew the gig was up. I was hoisted up and felt more sticky appendages wrap around my hips, giving them a squeeze. I cried out in alarm and was silenced as one tentacle was reaching towards my neck and missed, plugging my mouth. I let out a confused sound and felt more and more wrap around my body.

I looked down through the translucent blue tentacle wiggling in my mouth to see some of the slimes were untying my laces. I let out a cry as I felt something warm and sticky slid up my leg. It twisted down, flipped the tongue of my boot and the slimes tore off my boots. The slime with them put it on the top of its head and picked at my long socks, before moving on to tug on my pants.

I shook my head no and felt myself get hoisted up higher. I was completely off the ground and with my arms pinned I was unable to resist as my swords and scabbards were taken away. My belt was undone by agile tentacles and dropped onto the earth. I shivered with a mixture of fear and pleasure as one of them went down the front of my pants, and plunged down between my thighs.

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The sudden warmth and rubbing between my legs made me slam my thighs together, but it was no use. I couldn’t stop them as they stole my pants! They were brand new too, and I groaned thinking about how much they would cost to replace. My padded armour was torn away, same with my bracers, my bow and my quiver. I screamed out and tried to wiggle out of the grip of my tormentors as I was robbed blind. My low cut shirt was dribbled with slime from the tentacles and became see through, and without the support of my armour my breasts bobbed around freely without restraint.

I felt a groan of pleasure build up at the back of my throat as the tentacle in my mouth reached around to tap my teeth, probably looking for fillings. I tried to bite down to teach the bastard a lesson, and the pressure made blue gunk come out of the tentacle. I coughed as hot sticky slime ran down my throat and I squeezed my eyes shut wondering what the hell was going on.

My old cloak and daggers were dropped onto the ground, along with a few supplies from my bag. I felt one tentacle slither up from the hem of my shirt, between my breasts and tug at my amulet resting between them.

I mentally shouted at the slime, calling it a bastard for stealing a woman of her religious beliefs. The slime didn’t care and undid the clasp, stealing away the last gift I had from my mother. I felt a tear build up in the corner of my eye as I saw my family sword get plucked out of my bag.

With the slimes seemingly pleased with their haul they dropped me on the ground and one of them shot out a spray of thick, syrupy goop that coated my arms, chest and hips. The mixture hardened in seconds and I was now stuck and defenseless. The slimes holding my gear in their appendages fled the scene, going north.

I spat out the slime in my mouth and smacked my lips tasting vanilla and blueberry. I filled that away for later, focusing on the now. I struggled against the bonds holding me down, and swore to the sky.

“Hey!” chipped a small voice beside me.

I saw a family of crows hiding in the bushes nearby, their shattered nest a stone's throw away. I saw a freshly broken tree limb beside it and followed it up to the sky. One of the slimes must have broken it when they launched the ambush.

“Are you okay little forest friends?” I asked.

“We should ask you the same thing! The nasty slimes keep breaking our nest to steal our shiny things. If we free you will you get rid of them and return to us with things?” asked a crow, hopping towards me.

His mate followed and bobbed her head. “Bring us shiny and silky smooth things. We will free you, and help you return our things!”

More crows arrived and picked at the sticky goop around me. The crows were accurate and gentle, not even breaking my skin as they pecked away in a feeding frenzy. I wasn’t about to tell them mage slime probably wasn’t good for them and instead relaxed waiting to be freed.

As the final strips were torn away I was able to break free and throw the goop off me, slamming it onto the dirt. The crows feasted and I stood there shivering. My shirt was ruined, and I cupped my breasts into my hands. They filled my palms nicely and peeking out between my fingers were my raised nipples on account of all the teasing they had endured. My bottom half was bare and I could see dripping from my pussy was blue slime mixing with my own fluids.

“They stole my panties too?” I asked dumbfounded. “Bastards!”

What was more alarming was how excited my body was at the moment. I never knew I might have been into something like that and wondered if the slime had an effect. I looked around and gathered my gear, quickly pulling my cloak around myself to appear decent.

The crows helped me and soon I was left with my scraps. I had two worn daggers, my belt, my bag, bedroll and of course my cloak. Everything else was missing and when I felt like I was about to scream one crow hopped up beside me to land on my shoulder. He let out a muffled squawk and I took a vial from his beak.

The sedative from Rhast was intact, and I looked at the greenish liquid inside the thick glass vial. It was a common type used by hunters to knock out beasts of all kinds, including bears.

“If it can put a bear to sleep it can put some perverted mage to bed too,” I hissed between my teeth. I pet the crow on my shoulder and whispered a thank you to him. After re-arming myself as best I could I crouched down and started to draw in the dirt. “Now here's the plan…”

…

The crows dashed off into the sky. They would be my eyes and ears as we got close to the lair of the mage. Once the slimes headed off on another expedition the crows would drop buttons or lost coins onto the ground and lead them far away. Then I would rush into the lair, avoid any traps, and knock out the bastard holding up in there.

The trees around me rustled, not used to such excitement. They wished us well, and apologized for not leaping to my defense. Of course the oaks had excuses, they had to make sure not to wake sleeping baby squirrels or dislodge their deep roots. I waved them off and said it was fine. Such a disruption to the forest could spell disaster, letting the darker magic in and making everything worse.

I walked the rest of the way to the lair, following the advice of a crow for the best way to get there unseen. My thigh high socks squelched in the muck and I felt my eyes twitch. The awful sensation of muddy water running between my toes made me even more furious, and I tried to think of a way to get out of murdering the mage instead.

“Come on Willow, on one hand he probably has a bounty and hes worth more alive than dead,” I mumbled.

“Elf okay?” asked my guide. He tapped his magnificent yellow beak into the ground beside me and squaked. “Sorry, I thought this was a better path.”

“It’s alright, can’t expect you to know the ground when you fly,” I said, calming his woes. “Just get me as close as you can.”

The crow led me along a crisscrossing network of trails. I could see buried in the mud were old traps, simple things like rope bags to snatch up animals, tripwires and dart traps. However I also saw newer works, rune stones placed between broken cobblestone roads from old trade routes. A tell tale sign of a mage not wanting to be disturbed.

My guide called for me to halt and I crouched down low in the bushes. I had to fight to keep my composure as long grass tickled at my legs and hips, sending signals of bliss up my spine. My body begged me for release, to take some time to relieve myself before continuing. I Ignored it, telling it to behave, I wanted revenge. The only thing about to be released was this mage from all the blood in his body.

I spied ahead a cliff face rising out of the river as the ground became more dry and the elevation rose. The cliff was part of the foothills at the edge of the region and they eventually gave way to beautiful sights of the mountain range on the horizon. Back down around me was a dry spot around the cliff, and a mouth leading down to the earth below. The carved out entrance was the work of goblins, either picks or explosives, and I strained my ears to listen.

The slimes exited the entrance to the lair and started heading west. Just as planned they surged ahead, picking up fallen bobbles dropped by the crows. When the slime's attention was focused on loot collection, a crow swooped past them. Around his neck was a makeshift necklace I had put together, and the slimes gave chase.

Now all that was between me and prey was the lair’s entrance. I thanked my guide, cracked my knuckles and snuck towards the cliff wall. I threaded myself between dried bushes and my sock feet were whisper quiet on the dried cracked ground. I couldn’t help but grin, they wouldn’t even know what hit them.