When Shiloh and Ara rejoihe others, they found Elnor and Twil sitting rather stiffly and looking kind of awkward. In the chair that Beck had occupied earlier sat another woman with green skin, short, bck hair and arms bulging with muscle. She wore a shining, bronze chestpte which tained her rge breasts and a small loincloth that didn't do quite as well a job of taining her rge cock, which began to swell when she saw Shiloh ehe partition and sit o her.

  "These must be the other two, huh?" The oran asked. She had a roguishly handsome face, with two small tusks pointing out of her bottom lip. She smiled widely at Shiloh and he had the sensation of a cold finger running down his spine. Something about her seemed... off. heless, he offered his hand for her to shake, which she did. Her eyes never left his as he introduced himself, and he saw a malevolent hunger deep within them.

  "Sh-Shiloh Sutton. Support." Shiloh said. His stutter made her eyes spark, as if the involuntary act of nervousness awakened a predatory instin her.

  "Why hello, Shiloh." She purred at him. "I'm Ashleigh Coldwater. Tank."

  Ara coughed lightly, drawing Ashleigh's attention to her. "Ara Litton. Skirmisher." Ashleigh her before Elnor spoke again.

  "Well, Ashleigh, I think we're about finished here. We'll discuss your qualifications with Shiloh and Ara here, and we'll let you know when we've reached a decision. Do you have any other questions for us before you go?"

  A grin split Ashleigh's lips before she scooted over and threw an arm over Shiloh's shoulders. "Yeah, what could you possibly have to discuss? I've already cleared the first boss and you haven't. Do you seriously think you'll find anyone else who's willing to do this for you?"

  Shiloh stiffe the tact, but the rest of his party stiffe the implied insult Ashleigh had offered them. Eventually, Elnor was the one who responded.

  "Like I said, we'll let you know when we've reached a decision. There were other applits, and we haven't heard from all of them yet." Elnor rose from her chair, followed by Twil and Ara. Shiloh stood up as well to say farewell to the unpleasant orce he was off the chair, however, her hand slid easily from his shoulder, down his back, to cup and then grope his ass. Shiloh jumped, and she squeezed harder.

  "The fucktoy here is part of the deal, right?" Ashleigh asked as she also got to her feet. Shiloh's blood ran cold, and he had the sudden urge to bolt from the room. Ara stepped forward and removed Ashleigh's hand from Shiloh's backside.

  "Shiloh is not a fucktoy." She said. The i her voice was colder than anything besides the steely determination in her eyes.

  Ashleigh raised her hands and took a step backwards. "My apologies. I didn't realize he was exclusively for your use. Anyways, I'll be here. Third floor, room four." She threw one more wink at Shiloh before turning and sauntering out of the 'Looking froup' hall.

  Ara spun around as soon as the orc left her sight, and Shiloh took half a step back from the fire in her eyes. "We are not taking her. No fug way am I letting her anywhere near Shy."

  "We had already e to that clusion before you finished with your 'break'." Elnor responded quietly. "She's a Ludeon."

  "No shit." Ara said, still angry.

  "What's a Ludeon?" Shiloh asked in a whisper. Elnor and Ara both looked to Twil, who took that as her cue to expin.

  "Ah Lud was a very promihird-gender advisor to Emperor Heathcliffe VI a hundred and fifty years ago. She advocated for the abolishment of anti-futa ws, which she aplished quite rapidly whehcliffe VI asded to the throne. Shortly after the ws had been dismantled, she delivered a series of suggested ws which, whehcliffe VI read them, caused him to imprison her and try her for treason.

  "The ws she suggested would have effectively made all non-futas sed-css citizens. The general idea was that because futas are born stronger, faster, and, in Lud's opinion, smarter, they should be the ones in charge of society. The most extreme of these ws permitted futas to copute whenever, wherever, and with whomever they desired as well as outwing reprodu that didn't include a member of the third sex in an attempt to breed the other two out of the popution. There are those who believe she had the right idea, though they are not as outspoken as Lud was, and we call them Ludeons."

  "They're the worst of our kind." Ara spat, still furious. Shiloh winced and sat back down. Elnor noticed this and pced a hand on Ara's arm.

  "Please, Ara, try to calm down. You're frightening him."

  Immediately, Ara's whole attitude ged. She looked over at Shiloh with warmth and and more of the uifiable emotion. "I'm sorry, Shy."

  "It's okay." Shiloh murmured and offered her a small smile. "I just 't believe a total stranger would act like that and think it's okay."

  Ara's eyes hardened again for a moment, and she locked her jaw shut while Elnor responded.

  "Her st group left her because she kept getting arrested for harassing people. She's one of the more extreme Ludeons I've ever seen; she openly admitted she hasn't handled her desires for several days because she wants to break someone."

  Ara jumped to her feet again and strode bad forth, her jaw w furiously. "I should have killed her right here." The furious futa growled.

  "What do you mean by 'break someone'?" Shiloh asked, almost not wanting to know the answer.

  Ara was actually the oo answer him this time. "It's something Lud theorized on before her execution. She believed that the existence of the fugue implied that there was a deeper state which futas could force their subs into. She called this practice 'breaking' your sub, and said that it could be achieved through keeping them in a fugue state for extended periods of time, and deepening the fugue through rough, even brutal treatment of the sub. Futas who want to break a sub are despicable wastes of space."

  "Oh." Shiloh said softly.

  "Well, we're definitely not taking her." Elnor reassured him.

  Ara tio pace for several minutes, but eventually mao calm her self enough to sit down again. The mood around the table was severely wounded, and it didn't recover throughout the rest of the afternoon. When the clocktower outside let loose five bells, Elnhed.

  "It doesn't look like the fourth didate is going to be ing." As soon as these words left her mouth, a man rushed into their partitioned area, pletely out of breath.

  "I'm... so... sorry." He choked out as he tried to catch his breath. He coughed twice before straightening up and materializing a waterskin from his iory. He took a long drink before tinuing. "I was out hunting when I got the alert, and I ran back as quick as I could."

  "Thank you for ing." Elnor said, giving him a smile. "Please, sit down a a moment before we begin."

  The man nodded his thanks, and colpsed into the chair o Shiloh. He was sweaty and his clothing attered with blood in pces, but otherwise he was a handsome enough guy. When he finally had his breathing under trol, he straightened up and addressed all of them.

  "I am Erik Gormand, and I serve the role of Tank. I haven't yet cleared the first floor's boss but, as your invitation stated, her have you, so it would seem that we are of simir strengths."

  "Hello, Erik." Elnor responded politely. "I am Elnor Ludger, and I serve as an Assaulter. This is Ara Litton, our Skirmisher, Twil Reignover, who is our troller." Erik each of them in turn. "And this is Shiloh Sutton, our Support." Shiloh offered the man a handshake, a he would probably bruise from Erik's incredibly strong grip.

  "A pleasure to meet you all." Erik said. "As far as the tenure of this arra goes, I am curious as to how deep you all are attempting to delve."

  "To the bottom." Shiloh answered. Erik's mouth fell slightly open, but he recovered quickly.

  "Ah. Well, I am not quite so ambitious as you, then. I was hoping to stay around floors ten to fifteen as an end goal, so if you want tress past that, you'll o repce me, I suppose."

  "Why those specific floors?" Shiloh asked curiously.

  Before Erik could respond, Twil spoke. "Those are generally sidered to be the most lucrative floors without being overly dangerous."

  Erik poi her in agreement. "Precisely. I am not seeking glory, only the moo support my parents and grandparents."

  "That's very noble of you." Shiloh said with a smile. "The true heroes of the nd are those who defend and care for the is, not necessarily the ones who are written in the history books."

  Erik flushed bright red and murmured appreciation for Shiloh's praise.

  "Well, I think that it would be more beneficial for you to find a group whose goals are aligned with yours." Twil stated. Then, seeming to realize she had been rude, she tinued in a still ft voice. "Not to say we don't like you. I agree with Shiloh on the subject of your heroism, but it would be terproductive to build a rapport with us over the dozen floors or so only to end up needing to learn anroup's intricacies once you get to where you want to be."

  Erik nodded. "That is quite a fair point, Miss Reignover. I do think that we are unaligned in objectives, but I am still willing to party with you as a short term arra if you don't have a better offer."

  Elnor smiled and rose, prompting the rest of them to do the same. "We do have a fairly promising didate, but you would be our sed choice out of everyone we've spoken with. If the other didate does not work out, we will make sure to get in tact with you tomorrow."

  "Very well." Erik said, returning the smile. "I wish you all the best. May the gods bless your travels and your trials." With that, he bowed ahe hall.

  "So, definitely Beck, then?" Ara asked, turning back to the group when Erik was out of sight.

  "I think so, yes." Elnor responded. Shiloh and Twil both heir agreement, and Ara pumped a fist in the air.

  "Thank goodness! She was an absolute treat." Ara gushed.

  "Just try not to sleep with her immediately." Elnhed.

  "Why not? She came on to me way more than I came on to her. She's obviously down for it."

  "Fine. Just don't break her heart." Elnave her a deadpan stare.

  "I would never!" Ara gasped in what sounded like genuine affront. "I don't py with people's hearts, El. You know that."

  "Deep wounds may often be caused uionally." Twil said sagely.

  "I'll be careful." Ara swore.

  ***

  Beck was ying on her bed, trying not to fantasize about Shiloh and Ara, as well as Twil and Elnor. If she got onto their team, it would most definitely be worth redoing the first two floors just to spend time surrounded by such beauties. They were hands-down four of the most attractive people she'd seen in a long time.

  Knooock

  Beck shot up from her bed and crossed to the door, her heart beating fast. When she ope, her breath caught ihroat. They were all there. Elnor, Ara, Twil and Shiloh were standing right outside her door, and they were all smiling.

  "Well, if you would still like to join us, we would be hoo have you." Shiloh said, his hand for her to shake again. Beck squealed in joy and spped his hand away before throwing herself on him. She hugged him tightly, then hugged each of the Thirds in turn.

  "I'm really gd you guys chose to take me along." She said as she separated from Elnor.

  "We're the ohat are happy!" Ara responded. "You've already beaten the first two bosses, and you're willing to do them over with us."

  "Well, e on. The first two bosses aren't really that much of an aplishment in the grand scheme of things. We should be able to get through them in just a few weeks, if we're lucky." Beck waved off Ara's pliments.

  "Well, we're going to be doing some leveling tomorrow, if you would like to join us." Elnor said. "We were trying to level in the dungeon, but Shiloh here needs a couple more levels before he safely do that. After that, we should be able to start going for deep runs on the first floor."

  "That's fine." Beck replied instantly. "I'd love to e with you tomorrow. Where should we meet?"

  Elnor thought about it for a moment. "I think we'll probably just collect you here, if that's okay. We'll o get you added to the party, and the workers downstairs have already shut down for the day."

  "Okay, that sounds good. Seventh bell?" Beck asked.

  "Eighth." Ara insisted. "I don't get up that early."

  "Well, that's why you haven't cleared a floor yet." Beck sassed her, amusement in her eyes. "You've got to have more drive than that."

  Ara raised an eyebrow. "Alright theh bell."

  "See you then." Beck winked, and waved them goodbye before shutting her door and slumping against it. When she heard their footsteps recede, she did a little happy dance. Yes, yes, yes!

  ***

  When they got back to the tavern, they had a quick dinner before retiring to their rooms. When they reached the sed floor, Twil stepped iween Elnor and her door. "I would like to spend the night with Shiloh, if he is ameo it."

  Elnnced back at Shiloh, who smiled and hen she sighed and handed Elnor the key. "Don't keep him up all night."

  "I won't." Twil promised with a straight face. She took the key from Elnor and opehe door for Shiloh. He thanked her and walked in, then stood awkwardly in the middle of the room, not sure what to do with himself. Twil didn't leave him in suspense for long, though. She entered and locked the door behind her before walking up to Shiloh and pg her hands on his shoulders.

  Shiloh's heart rate increased and his mouth went dry. Twil's hands were nh, they weren't forceful, but they were adamant upon his shoulder. They indicated her wish, a no room fuments. He k before her and looked up, relishing the emotion she dispyed during these moments.

  Twil's usually passive face was infmed with her lust. Her lips parted slightly and her eyes burned with desire for him, making his own longing intensify. She held a hand up and a aterialized in it, and she held it in front of Shiloh for him to exami was made of a bck leather, and had a log csp of gold in the shape of a heart. There was gold thread across the back which spelled out "Mine".

  Shiloh looked from the colr into Twil's eyes and found a touch of uainty there, which wasn't something he had ever seen in the bedroom. She bit her lip for a sed before speaking.

  "I broke away from the other two for a bit while we were shopping for you yesterday and picked this up. It is not something I will require of you, and it did not e very much mo all, so you need not worry that it would be a waste to not use it. I would, of course, like you to sent to wear it, but it is not something I need from you."

  Shiloh nodded, but remained silent. Twil seemed to have more on her chest that she wao get through, despite taking a while to do so. She took a deep breath a on.

  "This is a symbolic colr. It is only for the bedroom, and it does not mean that I truly think I own you as some sort of sve or anything. It is a remio us both of the obedience I expect from you and the care you are owed from me."

  Twil paused, opened her mouth again as if she had more to say, then closed it and looked at him. Her eyes were filled with lust, hope, and a smidge of the uainty he'd seen earlier. Shiloh looked down at the colr and sidered it carefully; this obviously meant a lot to Twil, and he knew she didn't want a knee-jerk rea here.

  Twil was a dominant in the bedroom, and Shiloh had absolutely no problem being her sub. Would this colr ge how she behaved? Was he giving implicit sent for her to go harder, to demean rade him in a way she hadn't yet? Did he trust her to do so? Shiloh looked up at her and saw even more of the uainty in her eyes, and thought he noticed a bit of worry as well. Part of her words echoed in his mind, and they sealed the deal for him.

  ...and the care you are owed from me.

  He nodded slowly and spoke softly. "I would be hoo be yours and to bear this mark of your ownership, Twil Reignover."

  Her eyes lit up with joy, then the lust took over and her lips parted again, her breathing speeding up once more. He smiled broadly at her and raised his to allow her access to his throat. She slowly, carefully ed the colr around his ned csped it in the front. It was just small enough to be snug against his neck, a out a small moan of satisfa. She then produced a golden key on a neckce and locked the colr in pce before she pced the key around her neck, letting it rest just above her cleavage.

  "Well then, my little one, from now on you will address me as Mistress."