Author's Note: Okay, this story has nothing to do with 
anything else I've written to date. It was written as a
gift to my editor, actually. (And I believe that I'm 
still owed lunch from her husband due to the kickback
he received from the gift) All the names of people and 
places have been purposely changed, or left somewhat 
vague due to copywrite fears in the future. Although
I have no immediate plans to write further adventures
in this world that are of an adult nature, I am writting
a novel that takes place in it and didn't want to have
problems in the future. Thus, I'm sorry if there's some
vagueness here and there. Also, I'm running a D&D game
that takes place in this world, hence the main character
is one of my PC's, her player having requested this 
story a while back. Anyway, I hope you all like this,
even if it's not what I normally write. I look forward
to your imput, good or bad!


Delia's Side Quest

By 

Nikolai Mirovich 


The mornings were always the same in Starfall. Beginning an 
hour before Etamin's light painted the western horizon a 
crisp pale blue, the air within the crater turned terribly 
cold, as the last of its heat finally leached away into 
what little was left of the night. 

Even as the sun rose, its golden rays warming the other 
villages and towns along the jagged teeth of the Schtauffen 
mountain chain, Starfall still had a few hours before 
Etamin would bring its blessing down upon the small, fenced 
in gardens of the villagers and the stunted grasses that 
their few livestock grazed upon.

It was this deep chill that had awoken her for the forth 
night in a row that she'd slept outside. The first having 
been spent in the comparative luxury of the village's 
recently constructed inn, but the nights since had been 
spent in the small tent she'd brought with her from Hallow-
Vine By. That place seemed so far away now, and Delia half-
wondered what had possessed her to leave safety of the 
temperate plains and rolling hills of her homeland for this 
harsh, mountainous wasteland.

Shivering in her sleeping bag, the halfling woman brought 
it up over her head and held the opening tightly closed. 
With winter only a week away, the mornings were likely to 
only get worse, and Delia wanted to enjoy sleeping in while 
she still could. But between the cold, and the sounds of 
people moving about outside, some issuing orders that 
echoed throughout the village, and others dealing with 
hungry livestock, Delia barely managed an extra half-hour 
of dozing.

Grumbling every curse she could think of, the halfling 
finally slipped quickly from her sleeping bag and grabbed 
up the fur-lined cloak she'd made with her own hands not 
many days before. Closing it around herself tightly, the 
warm grey fur of the worg she herself had slain helping to 
keep the woman's diminutive body warm, Delia shuffled the 
short distance to the exit and peeked out the tent-flap.

Sure enough, there was the occasional movement from the 
other dozen or so tents set up on the east side of the 
church where her other traveling companions more than 
likely dozed peacefully. They were more experienced than 
Delia, and better acclimatized to the cold, but the woman 
did her level best not show how green she still was. It was 
bad enough that most human's seemed to mistake her for a 
child, especially with her preference for more comfortable 
fitting armour that all but concealed her womanly bosom. 
The last thing the halfling needed was to be teased about 
being wet behind the ears.

With a heavy sigh, she checked to make sure her bootlaces 
were secure before heading off behind the church, following 
the inner wall of the crater that Starfall resided in until 
she came to the front of the Honoured Guest Inn.

The building had been built into mountain itself, as 
building space in the land was forever competing with 
growing space, but was no less inviting for being at least 
something of a cave. Standing on her toes to glance into 
the window, and cursing the people of the area for being so 
tall, Delia made sure that they were open for business; 
breakfast in particular, before tackling the heavy oak 
door.

As it did every morning, the door resisted with all its 
might, the frost having partially sealed it, but with both 
hands on the curving wooden handle, Delia managed to yank 
it open after a moment, giving a passing farmer a dirty 
look as he almost made to help but didn't quite make it.

"I'm not helpless," she muttered under her breath as the 
door's frozen hinges creaked and crackled, the woman 
feeling a little bad about it only as the smell of fresh 
bread touched her nose and the warmth of the hearth warmed 
her bones.

Being careful to pull the door closed behind her against 
the non-existent wind, Delia hurried over to a table near 
the roaring fire in the Dwarven designed hearth. As she 
waited for the barmaid to take notice, the halfling glanced 
up at the snarling, bestial head mounted above it. The 
creature appeared reptilian, except that it's scales seemed 
more like flat shards of shale, and the large, round black 
orbs it had for eyes somehow just didn't seem to be 
ornamental. 

Delia had noticed the creature the first night she'd been 
in Starfall. The night she'd decided to treat herself to 
warm bath and an actual bed after the near fatal encounter 
with the worgs along the trade route. Like anyone else, 
they had to get ready for a long winter as well, but in the 
end, opposable thumbs had ruled the day. 

Now, however, the woman took the time to really look at it. 
The creature was probably more than three times her size in 
life, and its snouted maw could have easily have snapped 
her in two. The little placard beneath it read, "The 
Falling Star Beast. Slain in the spring of 0998."  

Delia shuddered as she read it, thinking about what such a 
creature must have done to the village four months shy of 
two years past. But her reverie was interrupted as a tall 
woman came up to her at last, dragging the halfling's 
attention away from the monstrous mounted head.

"Just breakfast for ya, then?" the human woman inquired a 
little wearily, rubbing a bit of sleep from her eye before 
glancing at the creature above the hearth as well and 
giving a small laugh, "Or are you just here for the pretty 
scenery?"

Delia spared the Falling Star Beast another glance. 
"Breakfast would be great, lass," she agreed with a firm 
nod, "But there ain't nothing pretty about whatever the 
heck that used ta be."

The barmaid breathed a heavy sigh, her dark eyes seeming 
distant for a moment. "Oh, that's very true," she agreed 
almost wistfully, "But many are the memories that come with 
it, and not all of them are as bad as ya might think. What 
is the loss of our milking cows and a nightmare here and 
there when you think of all that those brave men did to 
save us."

"Brave men?" the halfling inquired, curiosity momentarily 
overcoming the rumbling of her stomach, the barmaid nodding 
with a still wistful smile.

"Oh, especially that bard they had," the tall woman 
chuckled to herself, the innuendo not lost on the halfling 
who blushed a little as she hid her face behind her long 
auburn curls for half a moment, "But yes. They came shortly 
after we were attacked by that freakish thing. A gargoyle, 
I think they called it. Slew it after only a few hours and 
saved us all. They didn't stay long after, but it was no 
more than a month later that they came back with pair of 
industrious Dwarven men intent on helping us expand the 
village and a heaping pile of gold they insisted on simply 
giving us for all the trouble they claimed to have caused 
us!"

Delia's eyes widened at the story, shaking her head awe at 
such generosity. "That would explain why I hadn't heard of 
Starfall before last summer," she agreed, "And all of the 
new construction."

The barmaid sighed heavily, shaking her head in bemused 
dismay. "Yeah, but with all the comings and goings we've 
had lately, especially with winter coming, we've had to 
deal with new problems."

"Anything I can help ya with?" Delia said automatically, 
wincing at how overeager she sounded, and deciding to blame 
the often over zealous leader of the group she belonged to 
for it.

The barmaid shrugged. "Oh, it's just that my uncle 
Albrecht's cat ran off last night," she replied, looking up 
at the ceiling as if for guidance, "He's convinced she's 
still about somewhere, but he doesn't seem terribly willing 
to look for her. Seems more apt to lay about mope around 
about it. If you ask me it's those goblins we have trouble 
with every so often?" The woman shuddered as her voice 
trailed off. "So, breakfast then, right? Okay, it'll be a 
few."

Delia watched as the woman turned and walked away, stopping 
off at a few other tables on her way to place the order. 
"Hm. I could probably get a cat back from a few wee 
goblins," the halfling pondered quietly to herself, 
glancing at the gargoyle once more, "Can't be any worse 
than that thing. Ah well, I'll be sure ta tell the boss 
when she gets up."

***

After finishing what she could of the all too hearty 
traditional breakfast, Delia paid the barmaid and staggered 
to her feet, her hand held to her stomach. "I've got to get 
out of this kingdom," the halfling muttered to herself, "it 
was good, but I feel like I've swallowed a stone!"

Looking around to see if anyone else from her troupe had 
come in for breakfast yet and had either not seen or worse, 
chosen to ignore her, Delia stood for a moment and waited 
for her breakfast to settle. Deciding not to wait for them, 
the halfling made to move for the door, but just then, she 
noticed the cook come out of the door to the kitchen.

The burly man's graying hair was still a bit of a mess, and 
his eyes had dark circles under them. He slouched somewhat 
as he spoke to the barmaid, who shook her head helplessly 
and gave him a wane smile before going back to work.

"I'd bet Whackety that's the uncle," the halfling pondered 
quietly to herself, patting the coiled ancestral whip on 
her hip, the fact that Delia was one day going to be the 
first of that particular 'ancestral' line never really 
seeming to bother the woman, "Ah well, might as well see 
what I can find out."

Taking her time, Delia walked across the carved stone floor 
and up to the long wooden bar. By the time she got there, 
the barmaid was long gone, and the cook was wiping his 
hands on his apron unconsciously, readying himself to go 
back to work.

"Excuse me, sir!" the halfling called out over the 
cacophony of voices that had formed over the course of half 
an hour as other travelers came in or came downstairs for a 
bite to eat, the woman having to jump up a bit, waving her 
arm to get his attention.

Frowning for a moment before looking down over the broad 
expanse of his stomach, at last spotting the small woman, 
the cook gave her a bit of a frown. "Sorry, kid," he said a 
dismissive wave, "but I've got work to do. Talk to Yolanda 
if you need something to eat."

Delia glowered darkly up at him, biting back a string of 
curses. "It ain't about food," she managed, the man's shins 
looking like a good place to lodge her boot, "I heard you 
were missing a cat. I just wanted to see if I could help."

The man's eyes widened and a hopeful smile crossed his 
face. "Really?!" he all but exclaimed, his dark eyes alight 
with joy, "My, my niece, she won't believe me that my poor 
Klara went and got herself stuck down one of those old rat 
tunnels they dug out when they built the inn. Helps keep 
this place warmed up, ya know."

"It's prolly a lave tube," the halfling pondered aloud, 
tapping her chin thoughtfully, "Do ya have a problem with 
rats as well?"

Albrecht grinned. "Not since I got Klara," he said proudly, 
"But I can't think of where else she could have gone. And 
my niece, she actually thinks the goblins got her! Bah! 
Everyone knows goblins are afraid of cats!"

Delia smirked at the comment, sizing the man up as she drew 
a conclusion as to why he hadn't gone searching for the cat 
himself. "She might have been with kittens," the halfling 
suggested, "Cats do tend to want to be alone when that's 
about to happen."

"I suppose," the cook replied with a helpless shrug, 
"Really, I've been too busy to notice that sort of thing. 
My own fault, I guess."

"Well," the halfling woman replied, deciding that the man's 
guilt would make up for the 'kid' remark for now, "I could 
always take a look for ya. Assumin' the tunnel isn't too 
narrow."

The man brightened a little more, a hopeful grin spreading 
across his aging face once more. "Really?!" he said for the 
second time, belief obviously having a hard time working 
its way into his mind, "I, I could pay you, if you'd like. 
Free room and board for week! How does that sound?"

Delia sighed, her hand going to her stomach again as she 
imagined herself becoming tremendously lazy after a week of 
not roughing it. "Well, how about you pass that offer along 
to someone who can really use it?" she suggested, adding 
quickly, "myself and my friends won't be her for longer 
than another day or so. Since the direct path south isn't 
safe anymore, we're heading west to take the Gruenbury 
pass, so we'll have to head out before the snow really 
hits."

Albrecht nodded sagely, he'd heard about the destruction of 
the complex pulley system that allowed travelers to descend 
swiftly from the high cliffs at Fort Stellung after it'd 
been attacked by southern barbarians. Delia, however, 
wasn't about to add to this information by mentioning her 
own party's being partially responsible for the destruction 
of what was something of a National treasure.

"Well, I wish you all the best of luck," Albrecht replied, 
his hands clapping together, a habit of all merchants that 
signalled it was time to get down to business, "but if I 
could, the tunnel is just off the kitchen."

Delia nodded and quickly followed after him, Albrecht's 
lumbering gait making up for his long stride and allowing 
the much smaller woman to keep up with him without much of 
a problem. Once through the door, they entered into the 
squarely constructed kitchen, lit mostly by lanterns as it 
was too far away from the outside to have windows carved 
into its walls.

The room was fairly crowded, with several long tables in 
the middle for preparing food, and warmed by the three 
ovens. The small handful of people working there all seemed 
to be related, and barely spared Delia a glance as they 
spoke rapidly in their native tongue, their swift work not 
the least bit inhibited by their discussion of the latest 
gossip. 

"It's in the second storage cupboard," Albrecht murmured 
softly, giving a nod an aging woman who was up to her 
elbows in pierogi filling and was more than likely his 
wife, "we don't keep anything edible in there, so we never 
thought to seal it up. My mistake, I guess."

Delia simply nodded as the tall man pulled open the wooden 
door, revealing stacks of metal pots, boxes of extra 
dinnerware and several brooms and mops. Squinting into the 
gloom, she could see the hole at the far end, the dust on 
the floor broken quite recently by small, feline footprints 
that had been disturbed when someone had dropped a box on 
the floor too heavily near it.

"Alright then," the halfling said with a determined nod, 
mentally measuring the rounded hole and deciding what she'd 
be able to bring with her just in case, as well as making a 
mental note about just why it was they called it a dungeon 
'crawl', "Give me ten minutes to get a few things together, 
and if your cat's in any danger, I'll have her out of there 
in a few more."

The cook seemed greatly pleased by this, and let Delia 
hurry off once again before returning to his daily tasks, 
merrily setting to work on the few dozen cabbage rolls it'd 
been his duty to put together for the dinner rush that 
night.

"She's not going down that hole is she?" his wife inquired, 
rolling out a humongous ball of dough, "You know what they 
say about the tunnels."

The man sighed heavily, shaking his head at his 
superstitious wife. "The gargoyles were taken care of. The 
goblins live on the other side of the mountain, and the 
ratkin live at least three miles straight down," he assured 
her with a heavy sigh, receiving a still pensive look, "Oh, 
and those adventurers took care of those zombies in the 
mines last week, and no one's seen or heard from that black 
pudding that ate that troll in at least a month?!"

***

Delia returned ten minutes later with what few things she'd 
need, and a note left back at her tent just in case 
something unforeseen happened. Armed with the long dagger 
she'd acquired in her journey thus far on the off chance 
that there really were rats in the narrow passage, a folded 
burlap sack in case the cat proved to be in a dangerous 
place, yet refused to leave it, a glow-rod for light and 
less bulky clothing beneath her cloak, Delia put on her 
most confident expression before seeking out the cook once 
more, hiding the gnawing nervousness she felt and hoping 
she wasn't forgetting anything essential.

The halfling found the burly man leaning over to look into 
the hole once again while still staying to one side of it, 
muttering to himself quietly as Delia's quiet footsteps 
were more than drowned out by the noise from the kitchen.

"Find anything?" she inquired brightly, startling the man 
and making him jump a bit, nearly hitting his head on the 
low ceiling as he dropped the stack of wooden bowels he was 
holding, the sound of their clattering against the stone 
floor causing a few curses to issue from the other room.

"Oh, I was just listening, hoping to hear Klara," Albrecht 
replied worriedly, wiping the nervous sweat from his brow, 
his wife's pessimistic superstition beginning to get the 
better of him as he glanced nervously back at the dark 
tunnel, "Or maybe those kittens she might be having?"

Delia shrugged in reply, not entirely hearing him as she 
stepped forward and did some mental calculations one last 
time, sizing up the entrance to determine how easily it 
would accommodate her stature.

"Nothin' ta worry about," she assured, the woman's voice 
echoing a little as she stuck her head in and touched the 
nearby dust motes, indeed finding a faint trail that marked 
the passage of a cat, "She can't have gone too far, and if 
she's in any danger I'll bring her back."

The man nodded as Delia came back out with a wide grin that 
was meant to seem confident reassuring, as well as to 
dispel any last moment doubts. Halflings were used to open 
spaces, not narrow tunnels, but Delia didn't feel overtly 
claustrophobic as she looked inside again, this time taking 
a glow-rod from her belt to get a better look. 

Invoking the command word, the smooth sphere at the end of 
the quartz rod burst into a soft white light no brighter 
than a torch, reflecting off the walls and showing that the 
tunnel sloped easily down and to the left a few meters 
away, but still maintained a constant size.

"Well, good luck then!" Albrecht commented as Delia at last 
took off her furred cloak, draping it over a wooden crate 
before making her way into the tunnel.

"I shouldn't be long," she called back, finding ample room 
to crawl forward without scraping her back at all, her 
voice still echoing eerily down the tunnel.

As the man left, Delia sighed and put the rod sideways in 
her teeth, knowing that the undignified method would be 
easier that crushing her fingers under it every time she 
moved. With the glow-rod closer to the middle of the 
tunnel, it also lit it up a longer distance, making Delia 
feel a little more confident about the whole situation.

"Ah well, it'd be just my luck if the cat got out an hour 
ago and I'm just wasting my time," she chuckled quietly to 
herself, moving forward at an unhurried pace, keeping an 
eye out for the unexpected and soon finding that the 
sloping downwards tunnel eventually vanished into darkness.

Pausing for a moment to look for signs of passage, Delia 
found the rounded tunnel to be free of dust, its walls 
seeming to become smoother, almost melted the further she 
progressed. 'Yup, lava tubes,' she thought to herself, 
checking the angle of the slope to make sure she could 
easily climb back up, 'Good thing this place ain't been 
active since before there were people to notice!'

Satisfied that the incline was passable, the halfling woman 
shuffled carefully along, finding the path slippery, but 
easily navigated once she took off her gloves and used the 
flat of her hands to control her slow decent. 'No sense 
sliding straight down into a pit-trap or something,' she 
thought, recalling a cautionary tale from her childhood, 
'Or straight into the cat?'

It took only a few minutes to reach more level ground once 
again, but what Delia encountered there caused the woman to 
frown with annoyance. "Who in Alethria designs theses 
places!" she exclaimed, spitting the glowing rod out into 
her hand, shaking her head at the additional three tunnels 
that branched off from the small, spherical chamber she'd 
found, "You'd think that lava would just flow in a single 
direction, not decide to just branch off into three just to 
confuse the heck out of a poor halfling lass-!"

Her voice echoed loudly down all four of the tunnel as 
Delia cut herself off, blushing and glancing about to see 
if anyone or anything had heard her, feeling rather foolish 
for overreacting. "It prolly just hit an open area," she 
reasoned, moving into a sitting position and finding the 
headroom to be just enough to be comfortable before 
glancing around, "then just went out through the softest 
spots in the rock."

Shrugging to herself, satisfied with the probable 
explanation, Delia leaned forward, pushing the glow-rod 
into the darkness of each of the unexplored tunnels in 
turn. Each seemed to be pretty much like the others, 
smoothly rounded, free of debris or any visible signs of 
passage, leading off into the darkness. To make matters 
worse, each was uniformly silent, as though the mountain 
itself were holding its breath.

"Well, I guess one tunnel's as good as any other," sighed 
Delia, holding the glowing rod in her teeth once again 
before getting back on her hands and knees and choosing to 
crawl down the central passage way.

***

After only a few meter's, however, the tunnel began narrow, 
and Delia found herself dragging her small body along with 
her forearms more often than not as the lower ceiling made 
crawling normally a non-option.

"Ye'd better be down here somewhere, kitty," the woman 
grumbled almost coherently, making a mental note to wrap 
the glow-rod in something the first chance she got as her 
teeth ached from the unnatural strain, "Cause if the next 
tunnel's this narrow, you can just stay down here!"

Delia struggled along for another ten minutes, until the 
tunnel narrowed a little more, its rounded edges causing 
the woman to have to squirm forward uncomfortably until she 
finally gave up, breathing heavily as she looked ahead into 
the darkness with annoyance. 
 
"I don't think a cat'd be able to go much further than 
this," she reasoned, knowing it wasn't true, but unwilling 
to get stuck. Wiping her brow as the close quarters and the 
exertion made her sweat despite the wintry conditions 
outside, Delia took a deep breath and started pushing 
herself backwards.

But as she moved, something caught the woman's attention on 
the edge of her hearing. Pausing for a moment and listening 
carefully, Delia glowered at the tunnel ahead. "You've got 
to be kidding me!" she grumbled, hearing the distant sound 
of a cat meowing piteously echoing up the tunnel, past 
where it narrowed dangerously.

Waiting a few moments to make sure that it wasn't her 
imagination, Delia heard the cat again, its call more 
insistent, almost pleading. "Alright then," the halfling 
muttered, adjusting the glow-rod a bit, "I'm coming. But 
you'd best be in imminent danger, lass, or I ain't gonna be 
pleased if I get stuck half-way down this tunnel!"

Moving carefully, her arms tucked under her, occasionally 
having to twist her legs awkwardly, Delia moved onward, the 
endless monotony of the tunnel wearing down on her nerves 
as much as the claustrophobic conditions. She was pleased, 
however, that the narrow tunnels didn't bother her as much 
as they could have. She did have to smile, however, as the 
commonsense advice her uncle had once given her of "Don't 
stick your head in a mason jar!" came to mind suddenly.

While the tunnel was still wider than that, it wasn't far 
off, and the further she went, the more Delia began to 
wonder just how it was she was going to move back along it. 
However, just as the woman was about to give up once again, 
the tunnel began to widen up ahead. Feeling heartened and 
knowing she could probably turn back around given a little 
more room, Delia struggled forward quickly, the light 
giving her tantalizing glimpses of what lie ahead.

"Almost there," the halfling panted, relieved to find she 
didn't need to tuck her arms under her chest uncomfortably, 
lifting herself up a bit as the tunnel sloped down and to 
the right, "it can't be much farther than this!"

But as the tunnel sloped further, the incline becoming more 
dangerous, Delia felt something strange against her hands. 
The tunnel felt strangely greasy, the walls shimmering 
slightly as she hesitated to stop, hearing the cat's 
yowling echoing up to her.

"Hold on!" she called back distractedly, pushing against 
the sides of the tunnel as the going became more slippery 
and potentially more treacherous, "I'll have ya out of 
there in no time!"

But even as she pushed against the walls for stability, the 
slippery substance soaked into Delia's clothing, and coated 
the palms of her hands, conspiring to eliminate all 
friction. Her green eyes widening, the halfling felt 
herself starting to slide forward involuntarily, her boots 
too smeared with the peculiar substance to allow the woman 
to stop herself simply by pressing her feet against the 
walls.

"Well this was a might foolish of me!" grumbled Delia as 
she found herself sliding forward, at last rolling on to 
her back in hopes that the cleaner side of her clothing 
would catch along the rock and hold her in place long 
enough to think.

Luck wasn't on the halfling's side, however, as the back of 
her tunic merely wiped up the clear goo, leaving a clear 
trail behind her, leaving Delia's body even more slick and 
slippery as she slid all the faster down the now spiralling 
tunnel.

As her speed increased, Delia had the presence of mind to 
take the glow-rod out of her mouth before putting her arms 
before her head to protect it, the woman clenching her 
teeth as she slid round and round the downward spiral until 
it straightened out again and the angle increased sharply.

Refusing to scream, Delia closed her eyes and felt the air-
pressure change as the tunnel opened wider a few moments 
later. The woman then felt herself slip sideways, her body 
careening along what must have been a fairly open area 
before she went into a half-controlled roll.

Without thinking, Delia tucked in, her hindbrain knowing 
how to take a fall even if it took the rest of her mind 
half a second to catch up. Unfortunately, as she opened her 
eyes, Delia was just in time to see the light of her glow-
rod vanish from sight, the sound of the quartz bouncing off 
granite several times before rolling into the darkness 
disheartening her.

Before she could react further, however, Delia came to a 
sudden stop against something that couldn't have been 
stone. It had some give to it, and halted her movement 
without being breaking any bones or suffering any real 
bruises.

Unable to see, Delia closed her eyes for a long moment, 
waiting for the world to stop spinning before rolling onto 
her back from her side and waiting a moment longer to catch 
her breath. Opening her eyes at last, more out of habit 
than anything else, the woman sat up and tried to her best 
to take in her surroundings.

Beneath her, the floor seemed solid and flat, free of the 
slippery substance that had been so obviously used to make 
the tunnel treacherous enough to trap trespassers lower 
down. Reaching her arms out in all directions, she couldn't 
feel the walls or ceiling, but the air was warm, with a 
slight breeze to it. Listening carefully as her ears 
stopped ringing, Delia's heart began to race as she 
realized where the warm breeze was coming from.

Somewhere in the darkness, she could hear quiet hissing 
sounds, as though a hundred serpents made their home there, 
yet where courteous enough of guests to remain fairly 
quiet. But the sound of breathing that Delia could hear, 
sounded far too large to be any normal snake. It sounded 
far larger. More than likely larger than a halfling.

Gritting her teeth, Delia bravely struggled to her feet and 
quickly found her footing, choosing to meet her fate head-
on. Reaching to her belt, however, the halfling woman's 
heart sank in her chest as her small hand closed over empty 
air. Somewhere along the way, the long dagger she brought 
had been lost. Reaching with her other hand, Delia gulped 
down her nervousness, remembering that she'd left Whackety 
back in her tent for safekeeping, as she'd reasoned that 
the narrow tunnel would be no place for a whip.

"Alright then," Delia told the darkness determinedly, 
clenching her fists and bringing them up before her, "Bring 
it on!"

As if in answer to her challenge, a loud hiss filled the 
cavern, giving Delia some idea of its dimensions, and 
realising it was indeed quite large. Hoping she hadn't made 
yet another foolish mistake, the halfling listened for a 
moment to the sound of what seemed like a long, uncoiling, 
scaly body and the odd sound of a long, forked tongue 
flicking out at the darkness, tasting the air.

A heartbeat later, though, and a pair of seemingly huge, 
reptilian eyes appeared in the darkness, their 
bioluminescent glow seeming as harsh as the noonday sun 
after so long in the dark, causing Delia to gasp as she 
shielded her eyes.

Fully expecting what must have been an enormous serpent to 
strike out at her, Delia prepared to lunge to the left 
where she was sure the glow-rod and probably her dagger had 
landed, but the huge eyes, the size of saucers simply 
stared down at her from what must have been at least nearly 
six feet in the air for a long moment.

Narrowing her own eyes, Delia became more accustomed to the 
light, and once more took her defencive stance, the cavern 
around her slowly coming into view as the twin glows cast 
it in a dim amber twilight.

What she saw made the halfling woman's heart race. All 
around the enormous, ten-foot high cavern were what must 
have been hundreds of snakes, their scales done in odd, 
twisting patterns that would allow them to blend more 
easily with their surroundings. 

The serpents seemed to take little notice in the woman, 
instead slithering about the various artefacts that all but 
littered the room. Heaps of glittering coins were piled 
haphazardly here and there, partially covering various 
weapons and suits of gleaming armour that making perfect 
places for the smaller snakes to dwell within, decorated 
much of the room. But where the obvious treasure hoard fell 
short, there were also piles of fine silks that would have 
been a rainbow of colours had the yellowish light not 
washed out all others, as well as furred cloaks and thick 
quilts and rugs, both of which had been woven into 
beautiful patters that wouldn't have looked out of place in 
a nobleman's keep.

But it was the serpent whose phosphorescent eyes lit the 
room that drew most of Delia's attention. With the better 
half of its body coiled loosely upon the floor, and the 
rest towering imperiously over the small woman, the 
halfling judged that the giant snake was at least twelve 
feet long, and almost as thick around as her thigh. Its 
long snout hung partially open, and she could see its twin 
fangs glisten in the light, it's foot-long tongue flicking 
out to taste the air between the every so often. 

But once more, it was its eyes that compelled Delia. 
Staring up into them, the woman felt her legs begin to give 
out, making her want to sit back down, yet she defiantly 
remained standing. Her breathing still heavy from the 
exertion and the uncomfortable warmth of the room still 
causing her to sweat a little, Delia tried to utter a brave 
challenge to the beast, but found her voice catching in her 
throat, her limbs refusing to obey her commands.

More angry than afraid, the halfling realized what it must 
be like to be a mouse before viper, paralysed by its eyes, 
unable to flee, unable to fight, simply waiting for the 
inevitable strike of the serpent's poisonous fangs that 
would end it all so quickly.

The bite never seemed to come, however, as Delia's legs 
finally gave out, and she felt herself sitting back down on 
the ground, only this time, the hard granite was covered by 
one of the thick fur pelts she'd seen, this one formed into 
a blanked or perhaps a rug. Strangely unable to question 
its presence, Delia found herself feeling rather light-
headed, as the world around her seemed to become blurry, 
difficult to focus upon. Only the snake's eyes seemed truly 
real; the only things that really mattered as she felt the 
presence of the other serpents near her were the twin amber 
orbs glowing in the warm, comforting twilight.

Delia slowly exhaled the breath she'd forgotten she'd been 
holding, the large serpent looming closer, it's tongue 
flicking out towards the woman and coming within inches of 
her without actually touching. Half wondering what had 
caught the snake's attention, the halfling glanced to 
either side of her, her head almost too heavy to lift.

It surprised Delia how calm she felt then, smiling to 
herself as dozens of small serpents slithered towards her 
prone body, crawling across the dark fur of the floor 
covering towards her. Feeling perfectly at ease, her senses 
swimming dreamily, the woman merely smiled to herself, 
giggling softly at the sensation as the tiny snakes 
slithered across her body, some being so bold as to slither 
up her sleeves and pant-legs.

Feeling their cool scales brush against her skin, Delia 
gasped, her back arching as her eyes fluttered closed, the 
sensation sending a pleasant tingle through her body. 
Without thought of protest, the halfling remained as still 
as she could, suddenly concerned about pestering the 
curious serpents into leaving. 

Instead, Delia wet her suddenly dry lips, her body 
quivering as she felt several of them slipping under the 
collar of her tunic, their long bodies dragging across her 
chest, weaving around the rise of her bosom almost 
teasingly, avoiding the more sensitive skin almost 
intentionally.

Opening her heavy lidded eyes, Delia looked up at the 
significantly larger snake as its smaller kin slithered 
higher along her legs, some partially coiling themselves 
and moving strangely, almost caressing her skin as others 
moved higher. The largest of their number simply watched, 
however, as Delia looked into its compelling amber eyes 
once more, the woman lifting her hand to the snake, a 
sudden longing to touch its scales filling the halfling's 
mind as the snakes that slithered atop her clothing began 
finding began finding other places to slip inside, seeking 
the warmth of her body.

As those within her tunic worked with those outside to pull 
the bottom of the garment out from its place, tucked into 
Delia's pants, the enormous serpent came closer, it's body 
arched high into the air, with its coiled tail moving it's 
length closer to her at a slow, steady pace.

Catching her breath as two snakes slithered up each of her 
inner thighs, their underbelly scales brushing against her 
skin in a winding pattern, Delia felt the large one's 
tongue upon her hand. Cursing her gloves, the woman's eyes 
remained fixed upon the image of the snake's thick forked 
tongue wrapping about her hand before sliding slowly off, 
her glove inching slowly away from Delia's spread fingers 
with surprising ease.

Her breathing becoming ragged as she felt more snakes 
slither up, under her top, their flickering tongues soon 
caressing her hardened nipples as their bodies entwined and 
twisted their slithering way across her skin, Delia smiled, 
giving a small nod as her glove finally dropped to the 
floor.

The large snake's eyes turned to the faint sound of the 
glove hitting the rug for the briefest moment, and Delia 
caught her breath, suddenly recalling that snakes could 
easily sense even the slightest vibrations. Blushing, the 
woman was certain that it could sense her heart racing, her 
body trembling as his slick; soft feeling tongue touched 
her bare fingers at last.

Letting it caress her hand for a moment, Delia moaned 
softly, nibbling her bottom lip as she felt one of the 
snakes brush its head against her undergarments, the gentle 
caress causing her to unconsciously part her thighs in 
instinctive hope of giving it more room to manoeuvre. The 
snakes that wound their way up her legs responded almost 
immediately, and the halfling woman soon felt several long, 
slow caresses against her womanhood as each of them took 
turns slithering up one leg, and down the other, their 
bodies brushing against Delia's labia first one way and 
then the other as the serpents slithered from one pant-leg 
to the other.

Seeming somehow satisfied with the results, the largest of 
the snakes lifted its head, its tongue pulling away from 
Delia's hand, leaving her with a feeling of longing as she 
reached up with both hands to hold it once more. The snake, 
however, seemed to have other plans. Bending at the middle, 
its pointed nose nudged Delia's belt buckle significantly, 
its bioluminescent eyes looking up at her in a way that 
simply could not be denied.

Nodding slowly, breathing through her mouth as serpents 
wound about the base of her breasts, spiralling their way 
across them before slithering over top of her nipples, 
their entire body lengths taking turns that seemed to go on 
for hours, Delia hastened to obey the silent command.

Her normally nimble fingers fumbling, it seemed to take 
forever for Delia to unbuckle her belt and undo her pants, 
the garment feeling suddenly confining as the air in the 
room seemed to increase in temperature. Hastily lifting her 
bottom off the floor what seemed like an eternity later, 
Delia squirmed to free herself of her pants, pushing them 
halfway down her thighs before the sensations she felt 
caused what strength she had to all but evaporate.

Staring down the length of her body as best she could, the 
halfling woman caught her breath once more at the sight of 
so many snakes slithering along her short, athletic legs. 
As one, they slid across one another, weaving intricate 
patters as their shiny green scales caressed Delia's skin, 
their long bodies seemingly mingling together in places as 
they wrapped around her legs, occasionally giving the woman 
a gentle, teasing squeeze as they moved about.

Looking back up at what must have been their leader, Delia 
gave the serpent half a smile and a slow, reassuring nod as 
she bent her legs at the knees before going back to 
watching them for a moment. Her sinewy lovers took the 
motion as the encouragement it was, occasionally slithering 
their way up towards Delia's knees before coming back down, 
their flickering tongues teasing her inner thighs before 
gently bumping their heads against her still concealed 
womanhood and dragging their long bodies across the now wet 
undergarments the halfling wore.

Delia's body then let out an involuntary shiver, her 
fingers curling to take up handfuls of the furry floor 
covering as the woman felt the largest serpent's tongue 
touch her once more. The flat, forked appendage slid slowly 
up her leg, the snake's eyes looking intently into Delia's 
just before her head dropped back, aching for its touch.

The twin ends of the snake's tongue slid higher then, 
caressing Delia's skin every so often as it slipped over 
the backs of the smaller serpents, catching her here and 
there before sliding down the length of the woman's thigh.

Delia caught her breath as the serpent's tongue stopped 
short of her womanhood, instead licking its way back up her 
opposite thigh, the halfling opening her eyes and 
struggling to form words of protest, wanting desperately to 
demand that her lover not tease her so, but the halfling 
woman found it too difficult to speak as one of the smaller 
snakes poked its head under the waistband of her 
undergarments.

Staring wide-eyed at the ceiling, her body quivering with 
anticipation, Delia could feel the serpent's scaly body as 
it slithered along, its body curving as it moved to slide 
across her womanhood at an angle before pushing its head 
out the leg hole of the comfortable fitting garment. As it 
slid forward, Delia closed her eyes, feeling the warmth of 
her own wetness against her skin as it collected along the 
snake's underbelly. 

As the serpent neared the end of it's length, Delia 
expected it to simply slither away, but the woman gasped in 
delighted surprise as it twisted around and pushed its way 
back in via the opposite leg, slithering back across her 
once more.

Pushing her elbows back, Delia found the strength to sit 
halfway up, giving a concern look of apology to snake that 
rolled off her chest as she did so, it's fellows wrapping 
slowly around her to for better support. Watching them for 
a moment, Delia caught her breath once again as a 
particularly long snake wrapped itself fully around her, 
it's head reaching a reasonable distance past its tail as 
it slowly spiralled its way higher. 

Fascinated by its peculiar movements, Delia watched as its 
head came around her once before vanishing beneath her 
tunic, its scales dragging across her naked skin again and 
again, its kin making room for it as until its head finally 
came up from around and slithered across her bosom, 
stretching the material as it went. Delia moaned softly, 
struggling not to close her eyes as the serpent's entire 
length slid across both her breasts at once, dragging her 
nipples to one side as it went, teasing her to the point of 
near delirium as its movements lifted the halfling woman's 
top higher up her chest.

Refusing to lie back completely, lest she harm one of her 
reptilian lovers in the process, Delia let her head fall 
back, her upper torso supported by her forearms, her long, 
curly auburn hair tumbling behind her. As her whole body 
trembled, Delia could feel the smaller snakes everywhere. 
Caressing her skin, licking her teasingly, their bodies in 
constant motion, their soft, glistening green scales 
warming to her touch.

Closing her eyes tightly, panting for breath as the 
sensations became more and more overwhelming, Delia felt 
something brush against inner thigh, and moved her legs a 
little further apart. Finding herself desperate for 
release, the halfling woman let out a soft, whimpering moan 
as she felt a heavier serpentine body rest a portion of 
itself against the base of her right thigh, another portion 
of it partially entwined about her left ankle as it moved 
forward.

Now panting heavily, Delia hardly noticed as the snakes 
upon her body began moving differently. Working as one, 
they pushed Delia's tunic higher, and the woman soon felt 
warmer air upon her suddenly naked bosom, followed by 
something moist and flat dragging across her breasts, one 
at a time.

Opening her eyes, struggling to lift her head, Delia 
gasped, nearly falling back as she saw the enormous snake, 
pausing in its quest to coil around her, licking its long 
tongue back and forth across her breasts, its touch soon 
easing off so that it merely brushed against her nipples.

Noticing her renewed attention, the serpent let out a soft 
hiss, its tongue flicking in and out before brushing gently 
against the side of Delia's face. Signing softly, Delia let 
her head fall back slowly, smiling as she felt the 
serpent's tongue lightly caress her lips before winding 
down around her chin and tracing across her neck. The 
halfling woman then felt the serpent's muzzle brush lightly 
against her skin before slithering down over her shoulder 
and across her back at an angle.

Her body shaking with the effort required not to fall back, 
Delia gasped as she felt her lover wind its way underneath 
her right thigh, its nose brushing against her womanhood as 
the snake that slithered beneath her undergarments 
slithered out at last, and several of its kin clasped the 
bottom of the wet cloth carefully in their fangs before 
pulling it away.

Opening her eyes, Delia caught the gaze of the large snake 
once more as it patiently waited, the smaller serpents 
pulling down the last barrier between them and Delia's 
womanhood as it watched. Then, as her undergarments stopped 
at about mid-thigh, Delia's eyes widened, and the large 
snake dropped his head, moving under the confining garment 
and rearing up slightly, its amber eyes intent on the sight 
of the halfling's womanhood.

Knowing what was to come, Delia nodded quickly in what she 
hoped was an encouraging manner, her dark green eyes only 
partially focusing on the serpent as its long, forked 
tongue slipped out again, brushing against her stomach and 
dragging a little lower before retracting once more. 
Moaning helplessly, the halfling woman let out a lingering 
chuckle as she dropped her head back once more, slowly, 
carefully moving down onto her back as best she could, 
while still leaving room for her lover. 

Delia then found that she needn't have bothered over much, 
however, as her back pressed against the thick length of 
the serpent's body, its hard muscles giving little give 
beneath her weight. Still resting against one forearm to 
steady herself, Delia closed her eyes as she felt the 
serpent's tongue at long last drag up the length of her 
exposed labia, its width easily covering her completely, 
and coming away more moist than it started.

In its wake, the air felt comparatively cool, and Delia 
gasped, her body wriggling against the light chill as the 
snake slowly dragged its length downward, slithering across 
the woman's body and coiling itself between her thighs. All 
the while, the serpent continued its chosen task, calmly, 
almost patiently licking at Delia's womanhood, the 
halfling's small hands half-caressing the sides of the 
snakes head as it did so for what seemed like an eternity.

When at last the serpent was settled comfortably, and Delia 
found herself once more lying in a comfortable position, 
her back resting once more flat against the thick, brown 
fur of the rug, the woman once more opened her eyes to look 
down at her serpentine lover.

As their eyes met, Delia gave the snake what she hoped was 
an approving smile, the woman's body shivering despite the 
warmth of the room, her skin craving renewed physical 
contact. The serpent obliged the silent plea, its tongue 
changing its path, instead pushing its end slowly into 
Delia's womanhood, causing the halfling to gasp even as the 
nimble appendage slid back out teasingly.

Swallowing hard to regain at least some semblance of 
rational thought, the woman gave her lover a quick, almost 
frantic nod as the snake stared questioningly back at her, 
its unblinking eyes seeming filled with suppressed desire. 

With her permission gained, the snake's tongue slid between 
Delia's labia once again, moving cautiously further before 
wriggling inside her, causing the halfling woman to gasp as 
her fingers curled against her lover's soft scaled skin. 
With words failing her, Delia felt herself squirm 
instinctively, her body craving more of what her lover had 
to give as the serpent's tongue slid back and forth gently, 
exploring the halfling's inner contours with silent 
approval.

But as the snake leaned further foreword, Delia suddenly 
felt his tongue curl easily, its movements unhindered as 
the length of the warm appendage pressed wetly against her 
clit. Her eyes flying open, her hands shaking as she 
struggled to keep her head up to watch, Delia caught her 
breath as the snake's long, flat tongue began to 
rhythmically rub gently against her clit as its end pushed 
deeper inside of her. All the while, the serpent's hot 
breath panted against the woman's naked skin like the 
gentle caress of an attentive lover, its fangs not seeming 
nearly as frightening despite the close proximity.

Letting out a small laugh of disbelief, Delia let herself 
fall back once more, closing her eyes as the waves of 
sensation became too much to bare. Panting for breath, the 
woman soon heard the sounds of her passion echoing off the 
cavern walls, her cheeks flaring red with mingled 
embarrassment and ecstasy. As the snake's tongue dragged 
back and forth across her clit, its end twisting and 
writhing as it penetrated her, Delia suddenly felt a wave 
of passion wash over her.

With barely a moment's warning, an intense tingling shot 
through her body, instantly overwhelming the pleasant 
sensations the snake and its minions had given her, and 
making them seem trivial by comparison. All at once, 
Delia's body tensed, her hands dropping to the rug as her 
fingers grabbed up fistfuls of the thick fur rather than 
harm the one who was bringing her such joy. As her lungs 
forced out nearly every ounce of air in them in one 
prolonged moan of ecstasy, Delia's body trembled, her inner 
walls clenching as the sweet wetness of her passion met the 
serpent's tongue, nearly pushing it back out if not for the 
snake's persistence.

As Delia's cry of passion reached its peak, the smaller 
serpents began to slither off of her, their small scales 
dragging across Delia's skin, somehow finding just the 
right places to move across to intensify the sensation as 
they made way. As her cry abruptly ended, and Delia gasped 
huge lungfulls of air, the halfling pushed herself closer 
to the largest snake, her hips moving of their own 
volition, every so often jumping slightly and pushing the 
wriggling tongue ever so slightly further.

Her body still shaking, Delia soon found that she couldn't 
feel the floor beneath her anymore, a pleasant, floating 
feeling filling her mind and body as the friction of the 
snake's tongue became momentarily more soothing than 
passionate. All but forcing her eyes open, the still 
panting halfling woman stared down at her serpentine lover 
and did her best to smile, her muscles seeming unwilling to 
respond as she longed to hold the snake for a time.

Seemingly understanding the halfling woman's needs, the 
snake's tongue retracted, causing Delia's body to shiver as 
it slid out of her and vanished into its mouth. Breathing 
heavily, Delia somehow found the strength to lift her 
hands, beckoning to her lover as the serpent lifted its 
head and slithered forward, its underbelly scales dragging 
across her skin, its flank lightly touching her clit as it 
slid past, the snake's body twisting as it went. 

The serpent's tail then wound lightly around Delia's right 
leg, its tongue flicking out once again, brushing against 
her nipple before its head slithered between the woman's 
breasts, before changing direction yet again to slide over 
Delia's shoulder. Lifting her head slowly, the halfling 
then felt her lover slither behind it before coiling back 
around to look down at her, giving Delia a warm, 
comfortable headrest as they watched one another intently 
for a long moment.

Smiling appreciatively up at the serpent, struggling to 
form words of thanks, Delia suddenly felt a warm feeling 
spread through her as the snake's lower body suddenly began 
to rub gently against her womanhood. Her eyes widening, 
Delia felt herself blushing once again as her body 
responded, her arms finally finding the strength to move, 
the woman touching the snake's long body, her hands holding 
it, her fingers caressing its scales fondly.

Staring intently down into her eyes, the snake found only 
approval and desperate passion as Delia found herself 
moving with the serpent, her hips bucking a little as she 
moved them, the snake's warm underbelly scales wet with her 
continuing desire rubbing a little more insistently as 
Delia's serpentine lover encountered no complaints to its 
actions.

Her hands moving up and down the length of the serpent's 
back, feeling its strong muscles beneath its scales, Delia 
moaned softly, her body craving more than she feared the 
snake was able to give. Watching it through heavy-lidded 
eyes, the halfling tilted her head back obligingly as her 
lover's tongue flicked out again, dragging slowly across 
her neck, up to her ear, tickling it lightly and causing 
Delia to laugh just as something unexpected rubbed against 
her soft skin.

Letting out a small gasp, Delia's dark green eyes widened 
as she felt something far warmer than the snake's bright 
green scales rub gently against her naked womanhood. As her 
body shivering with sudden nervous anticipation and renewed 
excitement, Delia barely dared to move, the object seeming 
to slide out of the snake's underbelly, lengthening and 
rubbing itself against her labia, dragging itself slowly up 
and down between them.

"You- You're-!" the woman managed before an embarrassed 
laugh escaped her lips, Delia never having considered the 
snake's gender, and now that it was most unmistakably male, 
she couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed for not 
having considered the possibility, as well as being 
intrigued despite a sudden nervous shudder that shook her 
small body.

Attentive as always, the serpent paused in his movements, 
watching Delia carefully, his member resting unmoving 
against her skin, its intense warmth spreading through her 
pleasantly like an unanswered question. Taking a deep 
breath, Delia could only nod, words failing her once more, 
and closed her eyes happily, her body quivering as the 
snake's length slid up, over her clit, slowly sliding back 
and forth several times as though to both excite Delia and 
give her a change to change her mind.

Feeling her senses almost screaming at her, Delia gave her 
lover a quick nod, a muffled whimper escaping her lips as 
she gritted her teeth, the woman determined not to appear 
desperate despite the sudden empty longing of her body. 
Only then as the snake's lower half lifted slightly, the 
end of his member sliding slowly down to the midway point 
of her labia, did Delia once more lie completely still, 
their eyes locked on one another as the snake paused, 
waiting for some last moment change of heart.

"P-please?" Delia whispered, her words barely audible, and 
more than likely unheard by her serpentine lover, but the 
intuitive serpent had no difficulty in interpreting the 
subtle movement of her lips. 

Taking a deep breath and letting it out slowly, the snake's 
lower half moved inperceptively closer, the rounded end of 
his length pressing against her labia for a moment longer 
before they slowly began to part around it. As the halfling 
woman inhaled sharply through her mouth, the sensation 
spreading through her, the snake paused once more, leaving 
Delia's small body shaking beneath him for a long moment.

When she at last calmed somewhat, the snake pushed a little 
more, Delia's inner walls parting slowly and wetly before 
the end of his serpentine member, pausing once again as 
Delia inhaled, letting the breath go raggedly. 

Swallowing down her nervousness, Delia nodded again, 
refusing to close her eyes as the snake pushed himself 
forward once more, his slow, serpentine patience bringing 
him further than before, but once more stopping as Delia's 
reaction began to intensify.

Forcing herself to calm down, Delia smiled up at the snake 
fondly, her hand moving to caress the side of his snout as 
he watched her reactions carefully. Seeing that he intended 
to stop the instant his movement caused her even a hint of 
discomfort, Delia felt her heart beat faster, her fondness 
for the gentle serpent growing as she pulled him a little 
closer.

"Thank you," she whispered softly, brushing her lips 
against the end of the snake's snout before giving him a 
gentle kiss, and letting him begin sliding inside of her 
once again.

Concentrating on the sensation, Delia smiled as she felt 
him inside her, her wet inner walls offering only token 
resistance as she relaxed, letting the snake's uniformly 
shaped member slide in a little further. Nodding her 
approval, beckoning him to fill her as best he could, Delia 
nibbled her bottom lip, the snake pushing slowly deeper, 
moving so gradually that the woman marvelled at his 
patience, even as hers began to dwindle around the edges.

Soon, however, the serpent changed his tactics, pulling 
back with equal ease and slowness, causing Delia to look up 
at him with sudden concern, her hands gripping the snake's 
body tightly. Her lover almost seemed to smile bemusedly in 
reply, his tongue flicking out teasingly as he slid himself 
forward once again, pushing a little deeper than before.

Delia gasped at the sensation, feeling a little embarrassed 
about her own eagerness and concerned that the snake might 
abandon her suddenly. Closing her eyes and sighing 
contentedly, the halfling squirmed a little as her 
serpentine lover slid back once more, never fully leaving 
the warm, wet friction of her womanhood before sliding 
himself forward, pushing at last to his limit, burying 
himself inside Delia. 

Opening her eyes part way, Delia held her breath for a 
moment, her body quivering at the realization, squirming 
slightly upon the serpent's hard shaft. "D- don't move?" 
she whimpered, closing her eyes and holding him closer, 
riding the wave of the pleasant sensations as the snake 
obeyed Delia's request, the halfling's legs moving to 
become entangled with the snake's tail, desperate to hold 
him as closely as possible.

For what seemed like forever, Delia remained nearly 
motionless, breathing softly through her mouth as her body 
quivered, inadvertently causing her clit to rub against the 
scales of the snake's underbelly at the same time. The 
sensation alone was nearly enough for her, but Delia's body 
craved more. She knew that the sensation she felt, the one 
that easily pushed away any lingering doubts in her mind 
about what she was doing, would only take her so far. That 
soon the nerve endings that were simply humming with 
excitement would be screaming for more in a matter of 
moments.

Her eyes opening fully, Delia took a deep breath and wet 
her lips as she looked up at the snake, his patient 
expression still seeming amused, with a spark of intense 
arousal in his amber eyes. Nodding slowly to him, Delia 
felt her body jump as her serpentine lover began to slowly, 
but rhythmical move his lower half, barely leaving the 
halfling's womanhood each time he penetrated her, easing 
her into the sensation a little at a time.

Moaning softly, Delia lifted her head once more and the 
snake met her half way. Kissing him softly several times 
around the end of his snout, the halfling did her best to 
move with her lover, accepting each slow plunge with a 
pleasant shiver that shook her entire body, the warmth of 
him inside of her enough to cause Delia to break out into a 
sweat. 

The snake hardly seemed to mind, however, his pace 
building, increasing slowly, always purposely one step 
behind Delia's desire, letting her set the pace. As the 
warmth of the woman's body increased, the snake merely 
pushed his body closer, curving his length across her, both 
to increase their contact, as well as to share in more of 
Delia's warmth.

As their mutual pace quickened, Delia dropped her head 
back, her long auburn curls fanning out around her as she 
rested against a portion of the snake's back. Panting 
heavily, almost insistently, she could feel herself 
reaching her peak once again, the wonderful friction of the 
snake's smooth, scaleless member against her inner walls 
enough to make her want to scream, but somehow Delia hung 
on to her voice, not wanting to scare him.

The calm serpent didn't seem to mind any of the sounds that 
escaped the halfling's lips, however, and instead pushed 
himself harder, reading Delia's expression easily her hips 
bucking against him. Flicking out his tongue at her, using 
it to caress her from neck to earlobe, the serpent's member 
suddenly seemed to swell slightly inside of Delia.

Her eyes going wide with realization, the woman's 
expression become desperate, her building passion almost 
too much to contain as she gave him a frantic nod. In 
response, the snake increased its pace, sliding swiftly, 
but gently in and out of Delia as the pressure seemed to 
build between them. 

Then, as the halfling woman arched her back, her mouth open 
wide in a long, barely suppressed exclamation, the serpent 
bowed his head, his tongue swiftly sliding across Delia's 
bosom, teasing her hardened nipples as his own passion 
became too much to contain.

Barely holding her eyes open, Delia looked desperately up 
at her serpentine lover, her body trembling as the edges of 
her vision became fuzzy, her desire on the verge of 
overwhelming her. The snake responded with a knowing 
glance, his body quivering as much as Delia's as suddenly 
the halfling woman felt him let go inside of her.

As his intense warmth filled her, Delia felt herself pushed 
over the edge. Her arms and legs threatened to flail about, 
and if not for the snake to hold onto, she would have had 
little to keep her in place. Even as he continued to plunge 
in and out of her, Delia feeling him fill her again and 
again with his serpentine seed, and the perversity of it 
only pushed the halfling woman further over the edge. 

It's perfectly safe, a portion of her mind tried to tell 
her, but Delia was far from caring. All that mattered was 
the intense sensation of her orgasm as she desperately 
bucked her hips back against him, riding out every last 
second of the long, drawn out sensation. 

When at last she was able to realise that the gasping moans 
that echoed through the cavern were her own, Delia tried to 
focus her eyes once again, quieting as she breathed heavily 
and clung desperately to the snake.

Inside her, the snake's orgasm had apparently past, but his 
body still quivered atop her own. Delia didn't mind at all, 
however, and snuggled him closer happily. Kissing him 
softly as the snake's head came up towards her face once 
more, Delia chuckled softly, rubbing her cheek against his 
affectionately.

"Thank you," she whispered, rotating her hips slightly as 
she felt him inside of her, still hard but not as thick, 
the snake's member spent, but not entirely.

The serpent let out a soft hiss in response, his body 
relaxing against Delia's still tingling skin, the halfling 
woman closing her eyes happily. 

For a long while, the two lay together on the furred rug, 
Delia drifting in and out of consciousness, as the snake's 
member seemed to take an eternity to retract back into his 
body, never quite loosing its turgidity. When at last it 
left her entirely, Delia let out a tiny gasp, the feeling 
of sudden emptiness leaving her both saddened and satisfied 
for the moment it took her to completely loose 
consciousness? 

***

Delia murmured softly as she rolled over in her sleep, a 
frown slowly crossing the woman's small features as the 
floor beneath her felt cold and hard, not at all furry and 
warm as it had been before. Opening one eye, the world was 
once more plunged into complete darkness and nothing at all 
could be seen. Frowning, Delia sat up and shook out the arm 
she'd been resting her head upon. Glancing around 
habitually, the halfling cursed herself for being silly. No 
light, was no light.

Reaching blindly for her belt, Delia's hands patting the 
various articles affixed to it and breathed a sigh of 
relief as she found that nothing at all was missing. Not 
even her long dagger. Then, as Delia's small hand clasped 
upon the cool crystalline surface she'd been looking for, 
the halfling breathed a heavy sigh of relief, the dark not 
being her favourite place in the world to remain in. 
Pulling the clear quartz rod off her belt, Delia whispered 
the command word and the room was filled with a suddenly 
light that nearly blinded her again.

Squinting and blinking quickly, Delia's frown deepened as 
she glanced around suspiciously. The room she'd been in 
when she went to sleep had been larger; filled with lost 
treasures, artefacts and of course, snakes. Delia blushed 
at the last, but quickly realized where she was.

The chamber had four passages, one sloping sharply upwards, 
with three leading away from it, deeper into the mountain. 
"What the-?" she began before a peculiar sound touched her 
ears.

Turning completely around, Delia was surprised to see a 
large black cat, laying upon her side with several small, 
equally black, kittens blindly fighting over who would be 
fed first despite the lack of need for actual competition. 

The mother cat looked up at Delia all too knowingly and let 
out a soft meow. It wasn't questioning, but sounded more 
like a statement, and something in the sound made the 
halfling blush.

Looking down, however, Delia was once more surprised to 
find herself fully clothed. Blinking loudly, she glanced up 
at the cat once more, but Klara was suddenly too busy 
licking a perfectly clean shoulder to pay the woman any 
mind, opposable thumbs or not.

Sighing heavily, Delia sat down and took stock of what was 
missing as she went over her memories of what had happened. 
Finding nothing out of place, she did, however, feel the 
stress of the last few weeks conspicuously absent. Her 
joints felt a little weak; her stomach told her that lunch 
was way over due, and there was a not entirely unpleasant, 
but still odd sensation about her womanhood.

Blushing, Delia leaned back and carefully slipped her hand 
inside her pants. As her fingers touched her labia, she 
jumped, the still over-sensitive skin reacting instantly. 
Breathing rather more heavily once again, Delia tentatively 
slid a finger along the line between them, and felt 
residual moisture as her body shuddered.

Quickly sliding back her hand, Delia rubbed two wetting 
fingers together and glanced back up at the cat. "So? It 
did happen, didn't it?" 

Klara spared her the barest of glances before lying her 
head down, obviously having nothing more to add, and having 
no more patience for silly bipeds. 

Sighing heavily and smiling to herself, Delia glanced back 
at the tunnel she had crawled through in search of the lost 
cat. "Well," she told herself, because obviously the cat 
wasn't listening, "whatever happened, at least it was a lot 
of fun. And I found the cat alive and well."

Turning back to the feline, Delia decided it would be best 
to leave her where she was until the kittens were old 
enough to wander off on their own. "I'll be back for ya'all 
later," the halfling promised with a grin, "Just be careful 
not to go down that center tunnel there. I don't think 
snake's are as hospitable to cats as they are to 
halflings."

Chuckling to herself, Delia set off back up the ascending 
tunnel to tell Albrecht that all was well, and to enjoy the 
complimentary, and very much filling lunch that was sure to 
follow the good news?

THE END

Copywright 
Nikolai Mirovich (Wraith@Flashmail.Com)
December 2003



