After Natalia reveals herself the trio of would-be adventurers explain how they know each other. Natalia was another would be adventurer’s pixie until he died, and she was cast into the void. Serenity seems particularly sensitive about the subject and is unwilling to discuss it further dodging an explanation of how they lost their fourth member.


    “Thanks for lending me a jacket Okami,” Mateo says as he sits around a small fire with his new ‘friends’.


    “I was just tired of seeing your furry balls hanging about,” the wolfman replies.


    “I didn’t mind it,” Serenity says with a perverse smile.


    “Terror no care, everyone in village of Terror walk without dressing all the time, fresh breeze is good for reproduce, sometimes when Terror walk without cloth females offer pleasure to Terror,” the large green skinned orc says.


    “Not all of us are animals,” Okami replies.


    “Terror thinks you should speak for yourself man of wolf,” Terror replies.


    Mateo looks around the fire as Terror and Okami bicker at each other. Serenity is sitting alone seeming vulnerable. Probably some kind of trap to lure in her prey, which currently is likely him. Against his better judgement he moves from the fire to where Serenity is sitting on a small stone chair reading what looks like a book.


    “My name is Mateo Ryusane, we weren’t formally introduced when you were trying to seduce information out of me,” he says nervously.


    She folds the book closed with a sigh.


    “How do you know that’s your name?” She asks.


    “I don’t, it’s just what popped in my head when Nat asked,” he replies.


    “What else do you know about yourself,” she says lighting a pipe.


    “I get images, visions, they come in short bursts, often over taxing my conscious, they aren’t of this place though.”


    “Why don’t you take a puff and let the narrator explain things for you,” she says with a sly grin.


    “The narrator?”


    “Just take a puff sweetie.”


    Serenity hands Mateo the pipe and he inhales deeply. Smoke fills his lungs before escaping from his nostrils. After a few minutes he stares at her perplexed.


    “I don’t feel anything.”


    “Oh, you will.”


    Mateo goes to stand, and night turns to day. Day turns to night. He floats into the night sky joining the stars as a strange orchestra of music overcomes him. His pupils grow wide, and the constellations grip him trying to pull him through the universe in a strange waltz.


    Dancing about the heavens he spins through the stars stopping as a full-sized Natalia holds her hand out to him. He grips it and she pulls him into a vigorous tango amongst the stars of the night sky. They twirl about in the darkness until the music ends and they bow to the constellations in a roar of applause.


    The stars disappear, along with Natalia. Mateo flails his arms and legs as he feels himself falling endlessly into a bottomless void. He closes his eyes but only sees the same darkness that surrounds him. His figure curls into a fetal form and he whimpers alone in the darkness.


    “Help me,” a voice echoes across the endless void.


    “Who’s there?” He bellows into the darkness.


    “Please, anyone, help me,” the voice pleads.


    His form escapes from fear and despair turning instead to a beacon of hope seeking to liberate a lost soul from its eminent demise. Soaring through the darkness of the void Mateo reaches a small ball of light struggling to exist. He reaches his hand out to touch it and a small figure uncovers itself from the brilliant wings of a butterfly. Her form shutters in his presence as he seeks to aid her. Their bodies meet and she pulls him inside her intimately.


    The darkness dissipates around her and Natalia moans euphorically. Mateo holds her tightly as a wave of euphoria washes over him. He gives into her pleasure and light invades his senses.


    Mateo wakes in Serenity’s tent. He rubs his head as the strange images leave his mind and the real world fills it once more. Serenity sits before him meditating. Only her long midnight hair is draped over her bare breasts.


    Her back is filled with scars as if she was disobedient to some master she had. Without thinking Mateo leans up running his fingertips over them gently. Serenity’s meditation breaks and she turns to him swiftly, her fist sending him reeling backward.


    A look of concern spreads across her face as she scurries onto Mateo, her naked body pressing against his.


    “I’m sorry, you startled me when I was meditating,” she says rubbing blood from his lip with her thumb.Unauthorized tale usage: if you spot this story on Amazon, report the violation.


    “It’s fine, I’ll be ok,” he replies.


    Serenity licks the blood off her thumb and her pupils dilate. She leans down licking blood off his bottom lip, and he presses her away.


    “Are you ok?” Mateo asks.


    “You taste delicious,” she replies.


    Okami bursts into her tent at that exact moment pulling her back. Serenity’s eyes glow red with blood lust as her teeth turn to blood draining fangs. Mateo comes to realize that she doesn’t just seduce men for pleasure, they really are her prey.


    The wolfman pulls Mateo from Serenity’s tent to his and Natalia appears out of thin air.


    “Hey, what’s going on here!” She says in a small demanding voice.


    “Serenity lost it and tried to eat him,” Okami replies panting.


    “What!” Natalia yells.


    “Terror knows this is true, Terror quelled her hunger with blood of boar, but she will come for him again, she always comes for her prey over and over again, Terror has restrained her.”


    “Jeez, it sounds dirty when you say it like that Terror,” Natalia says crossing her arms as she floats above Mateo.


    “Terror knows you were gone before we rescue Serenity, captors of Serenity did many bad things to her, one bad thing is give her Sanguine Hunger.”


    “What can we do to help her?” Mateo asks.


    They all look at him strangely.


    “What, she is our friend isn’t she?” He asks.


    Okami looks at Terror then at Natalia and back at Mateo.


    “What do you mean help her?” He asks.


    “She’s obviously not herself when she’s hungry, do you have snickers in this world?” Mateo asks.


    “Terror does not know snickers.”


    “You could give her a little of your blood, it wouldn’t quell her bloodlust, but it might satiate her hunger until the moon passes,” Natalia suggests nervously.


    “Terror thinks we kill her, violence solves problem,” he says slamming his fist into his open palm.


    Mateo sighs turning his gaze to Terror. Terror is a massive powerhouse of muscle. He’s what popeye would be if he ate a field of spinach. The brawn of the team. Okami is strong too, but he seems to be more curious, perhaps the brains. This means Serenity must be the current leader. If not for purely moral reasons, then there are tactical reasons she can’t just be killed.


    “Terror, how long have you been working with Serenity?” Mateo asks.


    “Terror enjoys several years with Serenity and her brother, but now she is problem that violence can answer,” he replies.


    “Just like that, you would cast her aside,” Mateo says his voice filled with disdain.


    New Quest- Feed your friend Serenity’s bloodlust, optional- cull her tainted soul.


    New Side Quest- scour the realm of Gottes in a near endless search for a cure for the ‘Sanguine Curse’


    Mateo grabs at his head angrily and storms away headed back to Serenity’s tent.


    Moans of anguish and hunger loom around the cloth abode as Mateo approaches. Natalia appears in-front of him, but he pushes her aside. She hangs her head sadly rubbing her shoulder.


    “Serenity!” He yells pushing open the flap to her tent.


    Serenity lunges at him hungrily. Saliva dripping from her fangs over her soft lips as she pulls against the chains holding her back. Terror tied her up using some strange bondage power. The group seem to have a bunch of spells unknown to Mateo. Then again, this whole world is unknown to him.


    Mateo steps forward and Serenity’s fangs gnash at him like a wild beast. Her appendages struggling to break free of the rattling chains. Mateo stops just out of her reach.


    “Serenity?”


    The crazed beast of a woman lashes out at him growing angrier that she can’t reach him. He calls for her again.


    “Serenity?”


    Her eyes grow wide as she spits foam trying to reach him. The chains pull tighter as her muscles strain against them. He calls to her again.


    “Serenity?”


    Under the blood moon one under the sanguine curse has almost no control. Only the desire for blood. Though Mateo has no knowledge of this, he does know about being the monster gnashing its teeth at the end of its chain. Lashing out against a world you can’t fix or destroy. Screaming into a dark void where you can see no light.


    “Serenity, you don’t have to be alone,” Mateo says reaching out his hand.


    She draws away from it reluctantly. He presses further. Her chains clank agains the ground as she retreats from him.


    “Serenity, I know what you’re going through,” he says leaning down to press his palm against her soft ivory cheek.


    A strange feeling washes over Mateo as he presses his fingertips against her soft ivory cheek. It’s as if the blood in his veins pumps through it with a carbonated sizzle flowing from the center of his being into the tips of his fingers. A subtle, but noticeable glow emanates from them. Serenity turns, her eyes a wide and glowing red.


    “What do you know of Sanguine?” A strange voice asks.


    “Nothing, but I know about being the beast at the end of the chain,” he replies.


    “What do you offer Sanguine?” The strang voice asks.


    “Nothing, I only want Serenity,” he replies.


    “Your tricks drive me away for now, but I will return.”


    Serenity’s eyes change to normal, and she collapses into Mateo’s arms. He senses something different about her. Her essence is weak, as is her breathing. Her eyes, now a dull pink, stare into his.


    “Mateo, what happened?” She asks her now familiar voice shaking.


    A small message appears at the top of his peripheral.


    Void ability ‘calm’ used. Calm can be used to quell the rage of any sentient being. Void abilities can only be used once every twenty-one hours, or once per moon fall.


    He pulls a dagger from the side of her bag and grunts as he runs it across the palm of his hand holding it over her soft, thin lips.


    “Drink,” he says with a crooked smile.


    Blood drips onto Serenity’s lips and into her mouth and her eyes fill with a renewed vigor. She leans up confused still breathing heavily. The chains holding her begin to glow a dull blue before they evaporate completely.


    “What happened?” She asks.


    “You tried to devour me,” he replies.


    “Sanguine hunger,” she says looking out of her tent at the crimson glow of the blood moon.


    Serenity stares down at the grooves dug into her wrists by Terrors conjured chains. Her bright pink eyes rise meeting his.


    “You broke my chains, how did you convince Sanguine to release me dispelling the shackles of Terror?” She asks.


    “I asked nicely.”


    “So, you offered yourself to sanguine?”


    “No, I offered myself to you,” Mateo replies running her long dark hair behind her pointed elven ear with his finger.


    Terror and Okami both sigh.


    “I told you they were going to have sex,” Okami says.


    “Terror knows this, but Terror was hoping for bloodshed.”


    Mateo turns looking over his shoulder at Okami and a disappointed Terror.


    “Wait, what are you guys talking about, we aren’t going to have sex,” Mateo says flustered.


    Serenity gives a sly grin narrowing her eyes.


    “Unless you want to watch I suggest you both leave my tent immediately,” Serenity says grabbing Mateo forcefully.


    “No bloodshed, Terror disappointed,” he says stomping off like an overgrown child.


    Serenity glares over at Okami whom hasn’t moved. His face twisted into a curious stare as if waiting to observe some strange new ritual.


    “Why are you still here?” Serenity asks.


    “You offered a position as an audience member, maybe observing humanoid copulation will be good for my studies between same species and interspecies relationships,” Okami replies in his strange English accent.


    “What I meant was fuck off.”