12 The Great Shaman

The slow clap sounded like a soft thunder as the old kobold who now looked like she could pass for Leaf Dancers sister, "How did you figure it out?"

Xing Lei slowly caught his breath lifting his gaze to the old kobolds, "The whispers. Not the first time I've seen a public mass influence. Certain individuals use it to sway opinions or get their way against true public reasoning."

The Great Shaman laughed and stepped off the ledge dropping down onto the platform, paying Gruck little mind as she strode past the bloodied kobold to stand before Xing Lei, motioning to the spear in her chest she cocked her head, "Would you mind?"

Xing Lei reached forward and tugged on the spear, sliding it free of the others body. Resting against its support he eyed the Great Shaman warily before she continued, "So why did you resist? Every chieftain has wanted the same things, power, women, glory. They're yours for the taking once you establish yourself over the old chief."

Xing Lei shrugged, "That's the key point, I DON'T want to be chief. I want freedom and safety for me and mine. Can't have that with Gruck and Grull breathing down our necks, or the scheming of Whisperer or the old Great Shaman."

The other kobold chuckled tiling her head, "You speak as if I'm past tense Dull Scale, as you've seen your little stick isn't a threat to me and you don't strike me as a poison user."

Xing Lei shrugged, "Because the Great Shaman IS dead already, it's only now to convince you to let us go... Mistress."

Hearing the revelation of that title Fleet Spears eyes widened in shock, the Great Shaman was the Mistress? How was such a thing possible? The Mistress was a great and powerful being, why do all this for Zing Lee?

The Great Shaman laughed hard throwing her head back, "As I guessed, so amusing. When did you figure it out and what gave it away?"

Xing Lei smiled and shrugged, "Again not my first time meeting a heavenly beast that had a mortal form, and the only one who saw through me at birth was you so it just stood to reason you'd stand behind the new amusing element rather than continue with Gruck. As for when I had realized, when you tried to take over my mind. By the way, could you undo whatever you did with Leaf Dancer," Glancing to the side where the younger huntress was practically writhing against the stage in heated desire to attract his attention, having caught his eye the female squealed softly as an involuntary climax ripped through her body and she collapsed to the ground. "Whatever you did is killing her mind, I knew before she was attracted to me but this is simply destroying her."

The other smirked and crinkled her nose a bit, "I see what you mean, sadly though there's nothing I can do. Her cure is you my amusing childe, the aphrodisiac she is infused with will only be sated by you. So in truth, you denying her, is in fact, you destroying her."

Xing Lei sighed, "Very well I'll do what I must. But our freedom?"

The other kobold struck a rather revealing pose, the old robe slipping to reveal a slender, yet curvaceous form that no true kobold could possess. Rather Xing Lei found the Mistress tended to resemble a bit of Fleet Spear's figure, liberally enhanced by Alustriea's. "Are you sure I can't tempt you to become chief my amusing childe? The rewards will certainly, as they say, rock your world..."

Xing Lei nodded, "I'm sure, while I have no qualms about helping my birth place or its Mistress, I won't stay here forever, it's too small a pond for two big fishes. We would ultimately come to impass."

Giggling the seductive kobold yet not kobold turned and skipped away, bouncing over to Gruck and smiling down, a delicate hand caressed his shallow cheek before she gave a light slap. That simple move saw the kneeling kobolds body slump forward, blood erupting from a now headless neck. The head itself flew out to shatter wetly against the ledge. With a spring in her step she leapt from the platform back to the ledge on high, her small body expanding, tearing through the shaman robes as the body increased in length and mass, a pair of great wings erupted from her back as her neck became more serpentine. The great dragon turned on the ledge, its yellow eyes staring at Xing Lei as it unleashed it's full majestic aura upon the tribe.

The host of watching kobolds slumped to their knees, prostrating themselves before their goddess, their Mistress. However there were exceptions. Leaf Dancer was still muddled in her lust, other than feeling pleasure she was in no shape to recognize what was going on at any true level. Beside her Fleet Spear had fallen to her knees but instead of prostrating herself she looked to Zing Lee, in her eyes this young blood had stood before their Mistress and conversed as equals, maybe loving him wasn't a bad choice.

Hardly as composed as the kobolds or as admiring of Xing Lei as Fleet Spear was, Alustriea slumped to the ground as the dragon fear washed over her. As a young adventurer she was nowhere near prepared to face a dragon, so her mortal body did the only thing it could do in the face of an apex predator... her legs turned to jelly and her bladder promptly evacuated itself. Embarrassment colored her cheeks feeling the warm wetness staining the robe above and behind her thighs but the fear gripped her heart like a vice, it was all she could do to not pass out.

The only other one was Xing Lei himself. In the face of the dragon fear he neither knelt or succumbed to the fear. He stood tall with spear set. His eyes met the dragon's and stared into that alien gaze, ready to die but if such would be the Mistresses decree he would go down fighting on his feet rather than on his knees.

The dragoness herself reigned in her aura and swept her head down staring at Xing Lei. "Amusing. Are you sure you don't fear me childe?"

Xing Lei shook his head, "It is not an absence of fear, I respect your power and position as a true dragon, as a heavenly beast. But if your answer is to slay or enslave, I will face you on my feet. I may only last a fraction of a second longer than Gruck, but despite fearing I would fight with my last drop of blood."

The dragon's laughter rolled outward. Lifting a large, clawed paw it waved towards the outside, Amusing. "Very well Xing Lei, I grant your freedom. I will select a new chief and consort from Grull's troops, as for the hunters we shall wait and see. As far as you and yours, this remains your home, if I have need, I shall summon you. Work against me or ignore my call for aid and best hope we never cross paths in future. Gruck's ending will be a sweet reward should I get my claws on you in displeasure."

Turning the dragon began to shrink, a very naked humanoid lizard sauntered back towards the rookery paying the tribe no more heed than it would a nest of ants. Xing Lei however slumped against his spear, breathing slowly. Between her influencing his mind to resisting her crushing aura he barely felt he had any bones left in his body, turning he staggered as Fleet crashed into him and wept softly, leading her down the platform, he helped the fiercely blushing Alustriea up before picking Leaf Dancer up in his arms. Fleet Spear frowned but she knew this problem needed fixing. Especially so when the writhing twisting Leaf nestled against Leis chest and softly whispered, "I don't want to be a pet. Please just kill me, don't make me suffer..."

Xing Lei hugged Leaf and shushed her gently leading the trio back to the hunter camp, life of the tribe was slowly restarting, while they were in essence leaderless, the meeting with the Mistress had been a huge boon to their morale regardless. New leaders would come and life would continue for the tribe. As the four neared Fleet Spears hut, Xing Lei turned to Alustriea.

"I need to cure Leaf Dancer, you are welcome to join us Alustriea, but with all that's happened I understand this might not be the best time to address things between us all."

Blushing all the hotter Alustriea chewed at her lower lip, part of her wanted to share this with Xing Lei but still she shook her head, glancing from Leaf Dancer in his arms, to Fleet Spear firmly glued to the side she really didn't want such a thing with Xing Lei to be shared or seen by others. Slowly shaking her head with tears in her eyes she whispered into a choked sob, "I'm not ready yet Xing Lei."

Smiling he turned and pulled the elf close, giving her thighs a hug and ignoring the scent from her damp robe, "I understand, and were it not for Leafs life depending on this I'd prefer to wait, but if I do she may only find peace in death."

Stepping away from Alustriea and nodding to Fleet, the three kobolds disappeared into the former head huntress' hut. Turning and hurrying away Alustriea grimaced at her own weakness, she wanted what the others would now have but the mix of her pissing herself coupled with sharing his bed with not just one but two other females riled her elven sensibilities. Rushing to her hut to strip off the soiled robe she quickly slipped into the tub to wash the foulness from her legs, scrubbing at the pale but lustrous flesh in anger, not at Xing Lei, but herself. Feelings of being left behind again flitted through her mind, first her family. Then her friends. Now one who might be more than that.

Sighing sadly she pulled her hair from her face and stared upwards, what could she do? She wasn't experienced, hells, the goblin had nearly taken her first time! All the others seemed experienced, like this would simply be another form of training, but to her she still held that dream deep in her heart of giving all she was to her fated one, sure the scales were a bit of a revelation but in place of shining armor she figured it was close enough...

The more she tried to superimpose the dream of her fated prince charming over the image of that strong kobold, the more her mind became muddled, her feelings jumbling between what she grew up hearing versus the reality. Sinking into the tub the elf's face grew more flush as she thought about what if she had the nerve to invade that hut...