Chapter 5 - A Knife In The Dark
Simon mulled over his conversation with the mayor. He seemed very uneasy about opening a lumber mill but wouldn’t go into detail. Just saying that it would cause trouble that Green Dail didn’t need. But he was practically bowing at Simon’s feet when he brought up opening the mine again. He then noticed that Yui was out and about, so he got into casual clothes and walked down to her island to talk.
“Hey, Yui. Any luck finding out how to break the binding?” He asked, getting down onto his belly to be close enough to hear the tiny woman.
“I have…” She said in a much more dower tone than Simon expected. “…But it’s too dangerous for me to ask it of you.”
“As bad as all that?”
“Indeed. Your great uncle was no wizard, so he gained the power of binding spiritual creaturs from a Fairy King. Del-Mog, to be specific.” She then pointed to an illustration in the book she was reading. The creature looked like a man but with hair and beard resembling a lion’s mane and golden deer antlers with all sorts of trinkets dangling from them on strings. Another noticeable feature was that the man was naked and had a member that made Simon feel very inadequate. “From what I understand, Fairy Kings are like the Asura or Yoki Shogun of my homeland. Chaotic, unreasonable tricksters who set you up to fail in the guise of fair trade. Is that correct?”
“I wouldn’t know, only ever heard the bedtime stories about never trusting faires you meet while playing outside, or they’ll take you away. So where does this, Del-Mog, live anyhow?”
“Funny enough, right next door. His kingdom is the very forest of your valley.” His conversation with the mayor made so much more sense just then. Chopping down the trees that fairies see as belonging to them is liable to get you turned into a frog, and that speaks nothing to the ruin a King of their people could muster. “At some point, your great uncle bargained for an artifact that could bind lesser fay… and all-powerful goddesses, apparently. And now that he’s dead, you’re the contract holder.”
“What is the artifact that he gave Balin?” The tiny goddess shrugged.
“I didn’t see him use it on me, trust me, I would have put an end to it if I knew what he was doing. It could be anything, a watch, a branch, his cock, anything could have been enchanted to serve as a binding talisman.” The little woman then became very uncomfortable. “The only way to break the bindings on me and the Brownies would be to destroy the talisman… Or ask the King to nullify the contract. Both present more danger than I would ever feel comfortable having you risk on my behalf.”
“Well… I…” Simon considered his following action very carefully. The pudgy little man was hardly the bravest sort until earlier that day, he was scared of Voe, and a Fairy King was on a whole other threat level than a prankster spirit. “Couldn’t I just use the talisman to unbind you?” Yui just shook her head.
“Only you can use it, and last I checked, your no sorcerer. And you would either need a member of Dol-Mog’s court or a fully-fledged wizard to show you how to use it. And approaching a powerful fairy with what they might perceive as a stupid question will get you killed if you’re lucky. And any sorcerer you higher as a tutor would probably try and steal it, make it answer to them, then we would belong to that jerk instead.” Yui then got onto her knees. Her head bowed in despair. She then flinched as she felt Simon’s hand wrap around her gently, in as close to a hug he could accomplish given the size difference.
“I accept the risks, though admittedly, I will be looking for the option that presents the least risk.” Simon’s words so moved Yui. She had more or less expected the meek little man to give up when he understood that his life would be at risk. She grabbed onto his pointer finger in as tight a hug as she could give. And being a literal goddess, she was strong enough to hurt his finger a bit as she embraced it.
“Oh, thank you, Lord Bell! If there is anything I can do for you, just let me know! I mean it, a blessing, a bath, a happy ending, ANYTHING!”
“I um… I’ll let you know if I need anything,” Simon said with an awkward smile and a blush. Letting the hug go on for a few more moments before wishing her a good day and heading off. He had a feeling that the next person he was heading to see might be able to help with their problem.
…
Simon followed the directions to the letter, and had arrived at Voe’s lair. The cave entrance was littered with the bones of wolves, bears, deer, and any other dangerous animal, and the breeze wafting out of the cave smelt like the last breath of someone dying of some terrible sickness.
“VOE! CAN YOU PLEASE COME OUT!? I WANT TO TALK!” He screamed into the cave, hearing it echo deep into the mountain. Only to get the response of some rabbit bones tossed at him. “Voe, please, I just want to talk.” He said, much quieter. Seeing as she was close enough to throw things at him, he didn’t need to yell.
“Fuck off, fat man!” The unmistakable voice of the invisible she-beast yelled as she pelted him with more bones.
“I want you to come back to the house!” Then pelting stopped, then he felt something crawling up his back. Turning his head slightly, Simon was eye to eye with the 2ft terror. He could feel her chest pressed against his back as she clung to him, making the poor man noticeably blush.
“Say that again?”
“I want you to come back to the house. You can mark whatever you are most emotionally attached to, and I promise not to get rid of whatever you mark.” The scaly little woman thought on it a moment before moving her very sharp claws to his neck.
“What’s the catch!? There’s always a catch with you humans!” Simon trembled meekly, doing his best not to piss himself.
“No catch! Honest… But if you feel inclined-”
“Aha! So there is a catch! I should do weird things to your butt for lying to me!” Simon then yelped as he felt that scaly tale of hers give his ass a poke.
“No, no, not necessary! You can still mark whatever you want to keep even if you say no… But can you give me, or at least tell me where to find, Balin’s talisman or binding?” There was a moment of silence between the two before Voe scurried around his body to look him in the eyes.
“And what do you plan on doing with it? Let me guess, free those poor little cunts trapped in the house?”
“More or less, ya.” She then rolled her eyes at him like he just said something really annoying.
“How pathetic. You really are just a good little boy, aren’t you?” Voe said like it was an insult. “You have the power to bind beings with more power in their pinkies than you do in your whole body to do your bidding, and you’re squandering it!” She practically spat in his face.
“So your not going to help me then?” Voe then began to shake Simon, almost making him fall over.
“AARRRG! See, you are bigger and stronger than me. So you could grab me by the neck and squeeze until I give you what you wanted! But nooo!” She yelled at him. “Hell, I’ve seen the bite-sized bitches practically throw themselves at you, and you’re still holding back.” She then let go of his shoulders and landed right before him.
“I don’t know what you want from me, Voe. I’m willing to give you something that means a lot to you, even if you help me or not, and you spit it back in my face.”
“I want you to fucking earn that talisman!” The Kobalos said as she pointed at him accusingly. “You short, fat, four-eyed, limp dicked, momma’s boy!”
“ENOUGH!” Simon said, swinging his hand down and slapping her so hard that she hit the ground hard. He went wide-eyed, shocked, and horrified at what he had just done. He never had so much as spoken impolitely to a woman, let alone sent one to the ground with a slap to the head. His first instinct was to see if she was ok, help her, apologies, and beg forgiveness. But he realized that this was the only way she would willingly cooperate, so instead, he moved down to one knee and pinned her by the neck face down into the dirt.
“Struck a nerve, did I?” Voe chuckled as she moved her head to look up at Simon with one eye. Wearing a smug grin as she did.
“Shut up, newt! I tried to be polite, reasonable, even kind to you, and all you did in return was insult me. No more, not without reciprocation, you will give me what I want, or I swear I will sell every last piece of junk you and the old man gathered over the years to the lowest bidder! Do I make myself clear?”
“Hmm, let me think?” Voe said in a playful tone, trying her best to get on his nerves and succeeding.
“Let it never be said that I didn’t try to reason with you.” Simon moved his hand from her neck and pinned her with a knee to her back. He was using his now free hand to grab and hold up her tail, smacking her ass with his other hand. “Do I have to keep going, or will you be a good little imp and give me that talisman?”
“Did you feel a breeze bass by just now?” She said with an evil grin on her face. Earning her another hard spank, then another, and another. Simon didn’t keep track of how many times he struck the Kobalos’s little bottom. What he did pay attention to were the faces she made. The vile little creature seemed to enjoy the punishment, so he struck her harder. Time had no meaning as he paddled Voe, only stopping when his hand started hurting. Her ass was a bright red, and she curled up under him, twitching and whimpering. Simon was horrified at what he had done, standing up and stepping back a few steps, tears forming in his eyes.
“I’m so sorry, Voe…” He half-whispered. She then weakly, painfully, got onto her feet, the pain as evident in her eyes as the smile right under it.
“So you can bite then? Good.” She said in an almost respectful tone. “You will need a little malice to use the thing without hurting yourself.”
“You…” Simon studdered out, it all becoming horrifically clear. “You goated me into… D-doing that… To h-help me!?”
“The talisman of subjugation was made with the worst intentions. You need to be able to show it who’s boss if you don’t want to end up… Well, I actually don’t know what would happen, but it wouldn’t be pleasant for you!” Voe then scurried back into her lair, and after a few moments, she came out with what looked like a dagger made out of some monster’s tooth. “Your talisman, my Lord.” She said, bowing as she presented the cursed thing.
