Several flights of stairs ter, Fenrir turned in at the door his guide indicated with Elmeria in tow to find a luxurious suite. That is, it once had been. The bed still looked fairly comfortable; it was made of stone, but furs were piled high upon it, turning it into quite a cozy nest. The rest of the apartment however was rgely bare aside from its stone furniture, whatever decorations it had once boasted now long gone. On a table stood two high-necked cy pots containing what a quick sniff confirmed to be water. Fenrir quickly drained one, offering the other to Elmeria, who took it gratefully.

  A set of double doors led out onto a stone balcony from which Fenrir could see not only the city below but also the light above. He still wasn't sure what it was made of, as unlike the suns on Earth or Ruyanei, he could look directly at it without discomfort, but he could also feel the heat of it on his fur when he stood under its rays. With a mental shrug Fenrir turned back into the bedroom, where he saw Elmeria examining a carved mural on one wall which he had missed on his first sweep of the room.

  Walking over to stand behind her, Fenrir looked it over. It seemed to be depicting the crowning of an ancient king, but either it was heavily stylized or the king in question was not of any of the races Fenrir had seen so far. He appeared roughly humanoid, but the dimensions were off, his arms and legs too long for the rest of his body with thin, long, almost spiderlike fingers and a face which looked somehow inhuman. The untold years of weathering made details difficult to pick out.

  "What do you think?" he asked, making Elmeria jump, which in turn forced an amused smile from Fenrir.

  "Prick," she muttered.

  "As you say," Fenrir smirked. "But...?" He gestured towards the mural.

  Elmeria shrugged. "He isn't a goblin," she offered.

  Fenrir snorted. "How observant of you. I take it you haven't seen anyone like him depicted in any of your books or histories then."

  She shook her head.

  Fenrir turned back to the mural, trying to glean whatever other details he could. "Well, it's a fairly safe bet that the goblins didn't do any of the stonework we've seen, and that miniature sun-ssh-mp out there also seems well beyond them, so the chances are good that these people are the ones who engineered it all and the goblins just moved in at some point."

  He was about to continue, but at that moment there was a knock on the door and a troupe of goblins entered. Six males carried between them a wooden tub filled with steaming water, three females armed with brushes, towels and other bathing paraphernalia following them. There was also a goblin carrying a bag, out of the top of which poked a bundle of dried herbs. At the rear of the procession the cutest female he had seen yet stepped in, carrying in her arms a bundle of various fabrics.

  Depositing the basin, which was rge enough for even Fenrir to sit in, in the center of the floor, the six males bowed to him and left. One of the three females with brushes now stepped forward, squeaking in Kharovian, "Bath for sir. Sve, too. Sit, we make clean."

  With a wry smile, Fenrir did as he was told, sinking into the bath with a long sigh. The water was hot but tolerable, and after the heat and dust of the pin above it felt wonderful. The goblins gave him little time to luxuriate, however, attacking his fur with hands, brushes, and a strange soap-like cream that smelled very faintly of fertile soil. They were extremely thorough, making Fenrir's eyebrows jump once they got below his waist and one's hands found his balls, needing both hands just to fully cup one of them. She giggled and said something in Gobbish to the other two, which got him appraising looks from all three and- had that been an envious gnce towards Elmeria?

  The one who had him by the balls was reluctant to let go, but thankfully she moved on before Fenrir got an erection. Not that he had any particur objections to sex with these voluptuous little temptresses, aside from the possibility that his cock might well tear them apart, but since he did not know whether such an action might offend his host he decided to err on the side of caution for the time being.

  While he was being bathed, the goblin with the dried herbs had taken Elmeria in hand, examining her wrist carefully. She poked and prodded, turning it this way and that and taking careful note of the dark elf's reactions. After several minutes she nodded to herself, satisfied, and stepped back to wait.

  Elmeria looked at Fenrir in confusion, but he just shrugged. "Waiting to wrap it until you've been cleaned up, maybe?"

  The healer beamed at Fenrir. "Clever one! No good wrap now, bandage get wet. Wait."

  Once done washing him, the goblins gestured for him to get out of the bath. Then they came at him with towels, but Fenrir held up a hand to forestall them. "Wait." Stepping out onto the balcony and closing the doors, Fenrir shook himself vigorously, sending water in all directions. Then he stepped back inside and spread his arms, inviting their ministrations. "Now go ahead."

  While the other two went to work on Fenrir's fur with towels and brushes, one goblin turned to Elmeria and gestured for her to strip. This was one bridge too far for the dark elf, however, and she crossed her arms and shook her head adamantly.

  "Do it, Elmeria," Fenrir said. "You need a bath just as much as I did."

  "You expect me to get naked in front of you?" she asked scathingly.

  "Yes, I do. If you'd prefer I can come over there and strip you myself, but one way or another you're getting in that bath."

  Elmeria blushed and muttered something that sounded a lot like "Pervert" at this rejoinder, but she took the threat seriously, beginning to shed her clothing with reluctant movements. Once she was down to her underwear, a surprisingly frilly bck and purple set, she hesitated, an almost involuntary gnce at Fenrir betraying her thoughts. He just raised an eyebrow, and with the air of someone ripping off a band-aid, she dropped the rest of her clothing to the ground. Fenrir nodded approvingly at the view her soft brown body afforded, making Elmeria blush even harder and try to cover herself with her hands.

  The goblin who waited on her had no patience for such prudery, however, grabbing Elmeria's arm and pulling her towards the bath. Keeping an ear cocked in Elmeria's direction, Fenrir turned the rest of his attention to his own attendants. They had finished toweling him off and were now brushing his fur. They were also taking the opportunity to explore his body more thoroughly, chattering back and forth as they gave his muscles 'accidental' caresses in between brush strokes.

  When they reached his crotch, however, Fenrir intervened. "Don't get too handsy down there, dies. Now's not the time for that sort of thing."

  They gave little murmurs of disappointment but did as they were bid, instead brushing down his legs and paying special attention to his tail. When they finished, Fenrir had to admit his fur had never felt so soft. He gave himself a little shake, his fur rolling in hypnotic waves before settling again. His attendants giggled again, one saying something to the other which brought a sheen of red to both of their cheeks.

  He gave them a warm smile, saying, "Excellent work, dies, thank you. I feel much better."

  They grinned back with dimpled cheeks. "Is our pleasure," one purred. Fenrir couldn't be sure, but he thought she might have been the one who had been fondling his balls in the bath.

  A shy cough brought his attention to the st occupant of the room, the cute goblin who had been carrying the bundle of fabrics. She had made use of the time spent bathing Fenrir to spread them out on the bed, and now that she had his attention she gestured towards them. "Sir can pick clothes if want. Also have clothes for sve."

  While as ever he felt perfectly comfortable in only his fur, Fenrir decided he should at least wear something so as to avoid causing offense by refusing a gift, so he stepped over to the bed and looked over the outfits spread there.

  "Is not many," the goblin said apologetically from beside him. "Sir is big-big, hard find clothes that fit."

  "That's all right," Fenrir replied, absentmindedly lowering a hand to pat her on the head. "My fur is usually all the clothes I need."

  She blushed furiously at the contact, but Fenrir didn't notice, being preoccupied with the clothing. Eventually he chose a wide leather belt with richly engraved metal ptes on most of the outside and a leather pouch depending from it about the size of his open hand. It seemed incomplete, so he also repurposed what he figured had been meant to be a loincloth to instead be a sash worn under the belt. The bright crimson of the sash complemented the rich brown of the belt and the silver of the tiny metal ptes well. Realizing that every goblin he had seen had been wearing a loincloth, he shrugged and adjusted the cloth so the end of the sash hung down over the front of his crotch. 'Not that I really need it to protect my modesty or anything, but when in Rome.'

  The goblin had also id out a selection of jewelry, mostly gold, but with some silver pieces mixed in. Fenrir debated taking a neckce before realizing that anything rge enough not to be immediately swallowed by his neck fluff would just look gaudy.

  Turning to the goblin at his side, he struck a pose and asked, "What do you think?"

  She blushed, and one of the bath-goblins wolf-whistled, now openly eye-fucking him. "Sir is very s- handsome," the one at his side finally managed, stumbling over her words a little. Elmeria was also staring, by now out of the bath and being dried off. Grinning at the reaction, Fenrir flexed his muscles. His fur stole most of his muscle definition, but there was enough py to be easily noticeable, particurly on his belly where the fur was shorter.

  The goblin at his side was entranced. One hand reached out and had almost touched his abs before she realized what she was doing and snatched it back with a face like the setting sun. "Good! ...Is good," she squeaked, turning away to hide her face. Or maybe to avoid staring. The rest of the goblins in the room had no such compunctions, oohing and aahing at him, but once Fenrir dropped his pose the ones who still had jobs to do reluctantly got back to work. Elmeria studiously avoided looking at him as he approached where she was being dried off, but she sported a noticeable blush and her nipples stood out stiff and hard. 'Actually,' Fenrir realized, 'that seems to be the case for everyone here. Maybe the room's just cold.'

  Once Elmeria was dry, the healer bound her wrist in clean bandages, using two short sticks to form a splint. "Is not bad hurt, but bandage make not move so heal faster," she expined to Fenrir as she did so. "Wear bandage for ten chimes three times, will be heal."

  Fenrir cocked his head. "Chimes?"

  "Cave-sun make chime, always same long between chimes. Count chimes, know how long keep bandage on. Cave-sun go dark at three chimes, go bright at seven chimes. Elders say it like day and night, but Sessa never see those. Only hear stories."

  Fenrir opened his mouth, but was interrupted by a sound somewhere between a church bell and a gong reverberating through the cavern. The echoes had not yet died away when the sound pealed out again.

  "There! Is two chimes," Sessa said, packing her things back into her bag. "I go now, if not need me anymore."

  "Your expertise has been appreciated," Fenrir told her. "Thank you."

  The clothes-carrying goblin stepped forward again, having by this time brought her blush under control. "Have clothes for sve too. Come look?" she asked.

  "Certainly," Fenrir replied, following her back across the room. She had id out Elmeria's prospective attire slightly apart from Fenrir's, and now he looked those over. Maybe it was because of how handsy the goblins bathing him had been, maybe because he felt she could do with a little humbling, or perhaps even simply because he had enjoyed seeing her naked, but whatever the reason, Fenrir found himself drawn towards the skimpier options avaible. Eventually he chose an outfit composed of swaths of translucent purple fabric gathered in at strategic points by gold rings about the size of a human's wrist, but designed in such a way that they could pinch the silky smooth cloth and keep it from slipping. He was surprised the goblins had an outfit like that on hand considering the simplicity of their own garb, but he filed it away as something to ask about ter.

  In a fsh the goblins had the outfit on Elmeria, and Fenrir got a good look at what it actually looked like. A length of the transparent fabric looped around the back of her neck and fell in twin swaths over her breasts, fully covering them but hiding almost nothing, then being gathered into a ring a little below her navel. From there they split again, draping loosely over her hips as they swooped back to join again at another ring in the small of her back, which was itself held up by a thin gold chain fastened to the fabric at her neck. One of the swaths then fell loosely to a point just above the back of her knees while the other dove between her legs and back up to the ring in front, at which point it also fell freely, though only to about mid-thigh. The goblins also csped a gold band around one of her upper thighs as well as a broader gold band around each of her upper arms which held a length of fabric that served as sleeves, though the loose fabric only came halfway down her forearm. Her flowing white hair was styled into low twintails, and simple leather sandals with crisscrossing straps that fastened about the upper calves were added at Fenrir's suggestion, then they stood back to admire their work.

  Fenrir thought it suited her very well. The purple of the fabric offset the warm caramel of her skin to perfection, with the gold highlights adding a dash of finery. Elmeria was of a different opinion.

  "I can't wear this! I might as well be naked! I look like a whore!" Her voice was something between a shout and a whisper as she looked at herself aghast.

  "Incorrect. You look like a sve. Whores wear clothing that teases at what lies beneath; your outfit openly advertises it."

  Elmeria's expression hardened. "I'm not wearing this. I don't care what you do to me, this is too far."

  Fenrir sighed. "Ladies, could you give us a minute? I need to discipline my sve."

  The goblins, who had been following the exchange with increasing interest, gathered up their things with some reluctance. Before she left with the items that had not been chosen, the goblin who had brought the clothes said, a little nervously, "Mitzi come back before three chimes. Take sir to feast. Yes?"

  "That's fine. Thank you," Fenrir replied, breaking his mask of disapproval to smile at her. Tension left her shoulders and she smiled back, relief clear in her eyes.

  Fenrir waited until the door was fully closed and the patter of the goblins' bare feet had faded away before he turned around. Elmeria did her best to appear defiant, but her increasing nervousness was threatening to overtake her. When he began approaching her with the same forbidding silence, the full helplessness of her situation suddenly seemed brought home to her. Nervously she began backing away, raising her hands to try to hold him at bay. "L-look, we can work something out. You aren't actually going to make me wear this, are you? I-I mean, you said you didn't want sex, right?"

  The wall halted her retreat and Fenrir loomed over her, dominating her personal space and forcing her to look up to see his face. "I never said I didn't want sex. In fact, I wanted to ravish you from the moment I saw you. I refrained for reasons of my own, but I could be convinced to fuck you until you break from the pleasure. Do you prefer that to wearing this outfit to the feast?" His voice was a powerful rumble that she felt as much as heard, his virile masculine scent was all around her, and those hypnotic golden eyes held her own without effort, sending her heart racing.

  "B-but it's so revealing..." she almost whispered, hating the weakness in her voice. "Why can't I just wear my own clothing?"

  "For the same reason I picked out this belt. When one is offered a gift, it is only polite to accept it, and to reject it can often be considered an offense. Furthermore, remember that while we're here you are a sve. Sves do not choose what they wear or how much skin they expose. The fact that you have trouble pying along is proof that you need to wear this, lest you forget the part you are pying. A part you are pying for your own safety, I might remind you."

  She had no response to this. She should protest more fiercely, and she knew that normally she would have, but with him standing so close she had difficulty gathering her thoughts. There was a small but steadily growing traitorous part of her that kept urging her to just give in and do whatever he told her. If she continued to py the part of a sve to him, how much longer would it be before it was no longer an act? She knew very well just how easy it was to lose oneself to such a powerful personality. Goddess knew she had read about enough heroines who had fallen utterly under the sway of monsters like him. But did she even have a choice? It was him or the goblins, and he at least had been kinder to her than the goblins would be if given the opportunity.

  He must have read the acquiescence in her eyes because he rexed, backing off a little, and a hint of approval appeared in the curve of his lips. "Good girl. You do look beautiful in that, you know."

  She turned away with a huff of disdain, but there was no way to pretend to herself that the compliment hadn't made her heart leap. Or that the way he had all but pinned her up against the wall hadn't made her wetter than she had been in years. She heard a soft chuckle and she wanted to hate him for ughing at her, but there was a warmth and a softness in the sound that made her heart ache. It almost sounded... fond.

  She felt hot tears boiling up inside her and almost ran out onto the balcony, smming the doors behind her before sinking to the ground with her back to the wall next to the door. Then the tears could no longer be denied, and she gave vent to the storm of emotions raging inside her with deep, uncontrolble sobs that she desperately hoped he wouldn't be able to hear.

  TheBestofSome