Barbaric Behaviour

"That's fine, less mess for us to clean up afterwards." Bhador replied.

"Next, as my guards are outside the town limits with the ability to contact my superiors, I am confident that no harm will befall me within the town. So any thoughts you may be having of providing me with an escort, entourage, or any other word you can find for babysitter, need no longer plague your mind. Simply allow me to magically scan and seal the house you have provided and then your need to oversee me is over for the night." I explained.

"Thrommtin can be dangerous at night..." Bhador began to protest.

"So can I." I firmly replied, putting an end to the matter.

"Alright then." Bhador agreed, "Well, as I seem to have been relieved of a lot of my hosting duties tonight, I will show you to your house, and then retire to the town hall, awaiting a marvellous day of discussion tomorrow."

Bhador and his retinue turned to leave, Commander Stillstar gave me a look that told me he did not approve, but then ordered his troops away to a defensible location outside the town limits, where he certainly would not be a witness of what was to come. I picked up my chest of clothes and carried it all the way to the allocated house, despite the chivalrous pleas from Bhador's troops to take it for me.

...

I had never known a tavern to close simply because the barkeep got tired and decided it was time for him to go to bed. In fairness the tavern was dead. There were a few slavers passing through town and a couple of the overseers who still had enough attachment to empathy to want to drink away the echoes of screams that rattled around their mind after a day of subjugation. They drank hard and quick, not much for conversation, then once they had departed I was left for an hour talking to a bartender who said precisely three words to me and it felt like that was three times more than usual.

Thrommtin was a very functional town. The only house I saw was the one I had been allocated in the vicinity of the large town hall building where Bhador lived and official business was done. Everyone else simply had living arrangements bolted on to their vocation. I had scanned the streets on my walk to the tavern and I saw blacksmiths, armourers, leatherworkers, and even chefs, all closing up their business for the day to retreat to the bed in the back room. Now I stood alone on empty streets with my deviant plan in mind.

Next door to the tavern was a smelter who would make large metal parts for the various machinations and devices that surrounded mining. I had made a point to talk to him before heading into the tavern and as I hoped, his forge was large and needed to generate incredible heat. Not only did this mean that it never had enough time to cool and completely go out, but also that it was away from his house for safety reasons.

I opened a small hatch on the side and saw the swirling orange inferno as a waft of heat escaped. I had taken off my jewellery in preparation for my plan, but considering the intensity of the red hot coals, I was certain that I probably could have followed through even if I had brought them. I steeled my resolve and repeated my plan to myself in my head.

'You are going to take off your clothes, put them in the forge, and then you will be forced to walk across town and back to your house naked.'

I thought things through for a second, but decided I should probably double check I was definitely alone before I went through with my plan. I glanced around the area, it all seemed calm and quiet, but just to be on the safe side I casted detect magic and had a look around.

Dwarves are not regular magic users, at least not in this part of the world, so a single magical artefact in the void of magic that was my surroundings stood out like someone trying to hide a lit firework under their shirt. I looked over to the source and saw a well camouflaged dwarf, crouched in an alleyway with a small magical bronze spyglass held to his eye.

He barely had time to react as I rushed over to him, knocking him over. Before he could get up I reached down his trousers, grabbed his balls and squeezed them, taking charge of the situation. I then channelled my magic into a freezing touch in my hand, rapidly cooling his testicles until he mewed with pain.

"I know your mind is probably occupied with the wellbeing of your balls, so let's keep things to simple yes or no questions shall we? I'm guessing Bhador sent you to spy on me. Did he just send you?"

The dwarf nodded.

"If you were to leave now and report back to him that I got blackout drunk then staggered back to the house without incident, do you think he would believe you?" I asked.

He nodded.

"Brilliant. For what it's worth I just wanted to have a look around. There won't be any theft, sabotage or evidence I was unguarded. It will not cause you any problems to go home right now. However, if I see you again on my travels, I will enjoy feeling your frozen balls shatter in my hand, do I make myself clear?"

He nodded and ran.

I figured if he had sent more than one spy, this one would have been less cooperative and certainly wouldn't have been as eager to leave. After all, he would have known he was being watched. Any wavering confidence issues I had with my plan were firmly obliterated by the wave of self-esteem I gained feeling I handled that situation well.

I gave the spy enough time to get far away before walking back to the forge feeling powerful. I removed my dress and my underclothes, chosen for their age and my lack of attachment, and with little hesitation I threw them into the forge. My eyes bulged with the rush of adrenaline watching everything I had on me go up in flames. I took a deep breath in to centre myself within this experience, then closed the forge hatch and turned around to face the empty streets.

Turning from glowing orange heat to dark blue cold night was like stepping from one world to another. Suddenly I felt far weaker and exposed, the weather had been the least of my worries and suddenly a gust of wind whipped down the road and I shivered with cold exposure.

I started by dropping low and pinning myself against a wall to sneak along. I gave myself comfort in my strategies, diving between alleyways, keeping to the shadows of night, confident that I would not be caught if I played this situation smart.

I ducked behind some barrels and slipped, falling onto the ground, my muscles giving into my humiliation leaving my body sprawled on the ground.

In the still dark night I felt so alone.

I got myself up, dusted myself off, and wondered to myself what I needed to do to really put myself out there. I needed to feel the swirl of fear and fury I felt at the inn at the last town if I wanted to feel Jodrolim's will with me again. First things first, I stepped away from the building, no more alleyways and sneaking, I was going to walk down the middle of the road and accept the consequences.

My skin prickled and stomach gurgled as I stepped out into the road. I gripped my bottom hard in my hands, indulging my nerves and living in the horrifying moment. As I walked down the road, there was a rustle that came from somewhere nearby and I felt my emotions begin to bubble up. I rapidly turned on my heels, squinting into the night to try and see the source of the rustling, both relieved and disappointed that there seemed to be nothing to it.

I turned a corner and felt a wave of disappointment that the guest house loomed ahead of me, the town was too damn quiet, that prick Bhador had said it was dangerous but I had simply walked the streets naked and gotten away with it. I needed something to furiously regret, I couldn't just make a rule and follow it, because I felt no fear in an agreement with myself, no rage at putting myself in the situation. The closest I got to what I was aiming for was that moment I first put my clothes in the forge, but because I was feeling so buoyed by dealing with that spy, I didn't get close to the blue mist as I should have. I needed to do something I would not only regret, but be unable to take back.

I turned away from my house and began walking deeper into the town, I couldn't think of something reckless to do right now, but the way I saw it I would find something if I kept looking. Worst case scenario, I would wander the streets until morning and get discovered by the citizens as they awoke.

A mania started to grasp my mind as I walked the streets naked, each shop or building would compete to plant the strangest idea in my mind. I saw a blacksmith with a range of ornate swords and axes, and wondered if I should wake him up and offer to trade my body for one. Then I saw some stables and my mind reeled with thoughts of tying myself alongside the horses. As I ventured further into the town I began to get closer and closer to the mine, I wondered if I could display myself to the slaves, or worse pretend to be a fleeing slave in need of recapturing and correction.

One shop closer to the pit caught my eye and my mind like no other though, it was a metalworks that created shackles and restraints in humanoid proportions, depressingly at home in a town such as this. I saw the greatest array of bad ideas spread out around the workspace and my mind knew it had hit the jackpot.

Using magic to undo locks was the only spell I had learned since my days in the military, it was considered a useful skill for an ambassador to have if they decided that they needed to be a bit underhanded in their mission. To replicate the effect of a key had the unfortunate side effect of creating a loud knocking noise, but using a shrink spell to reduce the size of the deadbolt so it no longer held the door shut was just as effective and quieter. Even with all the owner's expertise in locks, this door was no match for me and soon I was in his establishment looking at the various devices and tools of restraint. The mania that had taken hold of my mind twisted my motivations so the worse a device was, the more I needed to fasten it onto me.

At the back of the shop, on a decorative pillow was a metal collar that confused and intrigued me. Everything else was a mess of chains and awkwardly shaped metal to enact some cruel desire on the poor victim, yet this simple collar seemed to be the pride and joy of this sadistic display, with an obscene price tag to match. I cast detect magic and saw that the collar was saturated with magic in a variety of schools. Clearly this was an enchanted collar, and although I couldn't tell what the enchantments did, I knew that the moment that collar clicked around my neck, they would be activated. This was the mistake I had been searching to make.

I snatched the collar and immediately snapped it around my neck, as it closed I heard the telltale sound of thrumming magic and immediately changed my mind, clawing at where the opening was and only finding smooth metal. I ran out of the door to the shop, into the street. Suddenly I felt my arms pulled behind me by some supernatural force, pinning my wrists together behind my back. I tried to keep running but suddenly my legs felt like they were moving through treacle and could only slowly step forward at a measured pace.

I tried to cast a spell, reversing the spell I used for lockpicking to hopefully enlarge the collar so I could slip it off my head. As I tried I realised that not only were my hands unable to move in such a way to cast the spell, but when I tried to speak the words out loud, I suddenly felt my tongue pulled downwards to dangle out of my mouth, as if attached to a heavy weight.

I had never felt such anger at myself, from childhood elves were always taught to never wear garments you find or are given before someone with detect magic has a chance to look at them. Now, as an adult, my raging lebido had placed an enchanted collar on my neck knowing it would create an ordeal for me. I slowly walked the streets of Thrommtin waiting for my destruction at my own hands, wishing I could just feel some satisfaction before my downfall.

At first I thought the tingling feeling in my body was yet another effect of the collar, but the blue mist that surrounded me and the overwhelming comfort at Jodrolim's presence confirmed that my self-destructive mission had been a success. I strained against my magical bonds with a newfound strength, augmented from the beyond, and still my arms would not budge.

'Why did I think Jodrolim would help with this?' I thought to myself 'I need to think my way out of the device, not use brute force'

I tried to think of a solution but my mind was still so clouded by raw emotion I didn't even know where to begin. That's when I felt a new tingle from Jodrolim, my pussy began to stimulate itself while my hands were still wedged behind my back. All the fear and rage cleared out in my brain as I felt a powerful wave of eroticism at my lover's will turned to my violation. I collapsed in the street, my contorted mouth groaning with a powerful orgasm. When I reopened my eyes, my mind was clear and my lover was gone.

'Fuck.' I thought to myself as I collected myself and got to my feet. 'How do I dispel this collar?'

With my mind now clear, I was able to think through all the angles and figure out the nearest source of dispellment, however I had to control my fury at the inevitable conclusion.

'Commander Stillstar, all military commanders are taught basic dispelling for eliminating enemy weapons and traps.' I thought to myself, dreading the long walk to the camp and the look on the commander's face when I turned up like this. A small rivulet of drool dripped from my outstretched tongue to the ground as I put one foot in front of the other and started my journey.

I had been surely walking an hour by the time I was able to retract my steps to the edge of the town. By then I had left a trail of drool down my body and behind me. I saw the gates I had first arrived at and felt relief my journey was soon to be over.

"Halt! Who goes there?" A voice yelled from the top of the barricades surrounding the gate. I wanted to run or hide, but for some reason I suddenly felt compelled to stop and not move a muscle while a dwarf climbed down a ladder to get real close and examine me. This was it, this guard had me at his mercy, I was going to feel my downfall tonight.

"Explain." The dwarven warrior barked, all of a sudden another wave of compliance washed over me, the collar even released its hold on my tongue to allow me to obey.

"I am ambassador Nyana Springdew of the elven federation." I began, horrified that my first port of call was to identify myself. I felt weak and angry and suddenly I once again felt Jodrolim's presence by my side at my lowest moment. I was being compelled to explain myself, but with Jodrolim's will at my side I felt confident that I could salvage some reputation through using only partial truths. "I investigated this collar out of curiosity of what your slaves go through and ended up falling victim to the foul magic within it. I was seeking passage to my military unit to have it dispelled discreetly and prevent a diplomatic incident, but now I find myself at your mercy."

The moment I finished talking, the magic of the collar once again pulled my tongue clear of my mouth to present myself to my captors.

"Fucking hell!" A second, less professional dwarf yelled upon seeing who his colleague was talking to.

"Calm down Frutnub, this situation requires some tact." My questioner replied. While this did still the dwarf's tongue, it didn't stop him from rushing to his colleague's side to get a closer look at my disgraced state. "Remember how, in your training, we tell you not to even touch unexplained items or garments until someone with magic detection has cleared it? This is why."

I instinctively stared at my feet in shame, but seeing my naked body forced me back into the moment and the blue mist of Jodrolim grew stronger.

"So what are we going to do? Is she a new slave for us now?" Frutnub drooled with enthusiasm, my insides boiled at the thought.

"She says she's the ambassador that arrived yesterday, that's a delicate situation that you better believe is above our paygrade to make decisions about. I say we take her to Magistrate Bhador and let him figure out what happens next." The other dwarf explained. I didn't know if being taken to Bhador was worse or better than anonymously disappearing into slavery but neither seemed appealing.

"Alright then, and I guess you'll be the one taking her?" Frutnub pouted.

"If I trusted you even a little to deal with this situation professionally, I would let you have at it. But until then, get one last good look to remember when you are in your bunk and then go back to your post." the dwarf told Frutnub, and without any sense of propriety or self respect, he did indeed walk a circle around me, taking in every exposed millimetre of my flesh. "Alright, you're coming with me."

The older dwarf walked a few steps ahead of me while I stayed rooted to the spot. He rolled his eyes.

"One last chance before this gets ugly." The guard growled. "Follow."

Another wave of complicity flowed over my body and I began to walk lock step behind the guard. With Jodrolim's comfort I thought through what had occurred and figured out what spell was in play. Alongside everything else, this collar had been enchanted with the command spell, every time I had been given a one word command I had been forced to obey it, this was why I now had no choice but to follow.

The sun was beginning to rise, a sliver of orange lined the horizon and fought through the night to begin to light my world. The streets were not yet at their usual daytime bustle, but there were some early rising eyeballs on my situation. But worse still for my rising fear, the looming town hall getting larger and larger as we approached.

We approached the grand double doors and two dwarven guards snapped to attention, before losing all composure to marvel at me.

"Wake the magistrate and tell him we have a situation with the elven ambassador, I will await him in his office." My professional escort relayed to his colleagues. It took them a moment to pick their jaws up off the floor and open the door so I could be lead inside and word could be sent to Bhador.

I took a deep breath, drinking in the mess of emotions that had been my night, embracing them as I had embraced Jodrolim. I needed to gather strength for what lay ahead and Jodrolim's blue mist swirled around me to stay by my side for the task.

Bhador walked in and I stared him straight in the eye, were my tongue freed I would ensure I got the first words in but instead I simply panted like an out of breath dog.

"When my little guarantee of your safety returned suspiciously early with sparce information, I assumed you had shaken him and wondered how much trouble you could get up to, but this is a whole new level." He monologued as he circled me like a vulture over an already defeated deer. "What happened?"

I tried to explain my predicament as I had done with the guard, but absent a one word command my tongue was not released and I simply embarrassed myself with garbled and gagged words.

"Well that's just embarrassing, but it does give me an idea as to what happened. You didn't happen to, on your late night unsupervised walk, find yourself within a metalwork shop specialising in shackles, south west of the slave quarters?" he asked. I nodded and this brought him a lot of joy. He ordered the guard to leave and closed the door behind him.

"I knew it, ever since you elf cunts started sending ambassadors, all you've been able to talk about is freeing the elf slaves. You were investigating Grunkle's wares to figure out how to spring them without my permission weren't you."

I vigorously shook my head but this did nothing to placate him as he slapped me across the face. His blow was rough but with Jodrolim's constitution I was able to take it without much fuss.