E.M.M.A Ch. 03-04

"You shall halt there, sister elf!" Called out a guard standing atop the gate. He was wearing light golden armor, and carrying a matching spear covered in elaborate etchings. His armor was light and he didn't have anything protecting his head, on which a long scar travelled diagonally from his eye into his hairline. He was staring down at Edelaweth sternly. "Why have you brought these outsiders to our home?"

She seemed to hesitate for a moment before answering. Fuzz wasn't paying much attention though. He'd just realized that the forest around them seemed to be ashen and grey, almost petrified. The only sources of colour came from the fortified settlement before them, and the lights of the forest streaming between the two trees behind them.

They hadn't just broken some sort of illusion to see this fortress. The portal they had traversed had taken them to some strange parallel elven world. Fuzz was sure that were he to go back between the two trees to the green forest, circumvent them from the other side and come to this same spot, the fortress would not only be invisible, but also physically absent entirely. This was weird.

"I..." Edelaweth seemed to be struggling with herself for an instant. Her eyes widened for an instant, and then she went on to speak normally. "I am new, and was hoping to find somewhere to belong. These people offered to protect me on the way, in exchange of my taking them with me. They have unfairly been made outlaws in Wickenham."

The elven guard narrowed his eyes suspiciously at that. "So you are saying that you brought these people over because the human town made to receive them didn't want them?"

"Please..." Begged Qorin, who for once didn't seem to think this was a joke, "We promise we won't be a nuisance! Please just let us in."

"Oh I will," answered the guard, eyeing Qorin's lewd outfit with disapproval, "And I'll take you to our leader. She'll know whether you are speaking the truth."

The guard then dropped out of sight as he descended, after which the golden gate slowly started to part, allowing them entry to the elven fortress of Eilmoira.

As the group entered, they stared around and above them in awe, Fuzz still hugging the ninja-like kitten against his heart as he lumbered on. The inside of the fortified settlement appeared to have been tightly knitted into the trees, like the outer wall. Doorways and openings could be seen in many trees, appearing as they hadn't been carved, but rather as if the trees had naturally grown in those unusual shapes.

Grouped masses of twigs and leaves formed roofs and veranda, as warped wooden knots coming off branches, or large airborne roots, stuck out and curved around, creating balustrades along impossible stairways and walkways grown into the wood, sometimes completed by the twisted thicker arms of trees.

The wood itself was covered in runes, which at closer inspection appeared as if they had either grown in place, or been carved a long, long time ago and been covered over many times by bark, deepening the prints and swirls. Gold and silver filigree and ornamental ribbons shone from all around, and sparkling from seemingly unattainable branches high up above the groups' heads.

The lean pathways themselves led up in intricate spirals, high up into the trees, and into what could now be seen as a dome, formed by the dense canopy of the highest trees above the fortress. The dome was so densely packed that it would probably block rain, or sunlight, if there were any in this world of ashen twilight. As such, one could not tell where one tree ended, or another began.

Eilmoira's main source of light, the bluish lights flickering about the fort, wasn't very bright, and cast vague shadows dancing off of the trees' many bent limbs. The brightest of them all, however, appeared to come from the only tent standing in the center of the small clearing around which the camp was centered.

The tent was large enough for a number of adults to stand it, and appeared to be made of an impossibly light and fine fabric, which fluttered slightly despite the near absence of a breeze. It seemed too light to be silk, too fine to be cotton, and so impossibly thin that the light from inside shone through, despite a tight weave.

The scarred guard was waiting for the group at the entrance of the tent, his expression stiff as he carefully pulled the flap open and gestured them in. Edelaweth went in first, after which Fuzz followed, eyeing the tent carefully as he double-checked that his claws were properly retracted.

[...]

As Kimi was carried in, she twitched her whiskers slightly and eyed the rear carefully. She had a distinct feeling of entering the lion's maw. The illusion at the entrance had shaken her badly, but although she was still trembling despite herself, she could still sense the thrum of magic in the air. She could smell it.

It felt... Dangerous. This magic was obviously powerful and, as someone with very little magical potential, she was all too aware of how vulnerable she was. And so was Fuzz, although he hadn't seemed to react in any way other than amazement at this place.

This had comforted her for a while, until... A fast and heavy heartbeat started pounding at her chest. It wasn't hers, however, but that of the huge tiger carrying her against his heart as she held on to him. She knew it. They'd stepped into something wrong, something dangerous... She gently pushed herself away from him and fell nimbly to her feet, spinning around in a low squat, her knees still shaking as her eyes went wide.

Despite the outer appearance of the tent, there did not seem to be any blue flames inside. Instead, the interior flickered dimly without any obvious light source, illuminating a mass of cushions covering the center of the tent, on top of which were sprawled half a dozen slender, sensuous figures.

Five of them wore nothing but thin pairs of semi-transparent panties that glinted in the blue light as their otherwise naked wearers writhed atop the cushions. They were all female, and their scent was overpowering, one somewhere between that of perfume and the smell of sex, mixed with something ashy, possibly incense.

They were all lying atop each other, moaning and twisting as they explored each other's beautiful bodies, their eyes apparently closed in the intensity of their experience. Their skin was pale and almost scintillated in the blue flickers as the elven women thrashed in their passion, their bodies begging for all to join them.

Kimi was so enthralled by the show that she couldn't look up at the sixth person for quite a while. When she did, she noticed that it was another elf, as beautiful and gracefully slender as the others. She wore ample translucent robes, draped around her loosely, as they appeared to ripple, almost weightless, and impossibly fine, like the substance of the tent. Her robes appeared to cascade down atop the mound of cushions and writhing bodies, flowing and undulating almost of their own accord.

But the most remarkable thing about the elf was her stare, which Kimi noticed had been focused on her from the moment she had disentangled herself from Fuzz. The woman had big eyes of an impossibly deep blue, boring into Kimi's. She felt her face start to burn, and looked away, noticing that the rest of the group was still staring, immobile, at the scene before it.

"Don't be so shy, my dear kitten," Called out the elven woman, her voice melodious and soothing, "you are welcome to watch. Unless you would prefer to come and curl up at my feet..."

Kimi slowly looked back up, her face blushing deeply beneath her fur, and heard a deep, primal purring starting from deep inside her throat. Horrified at her own reaction, she clapped a paw on her mouth, but it was too late. The elf was smiling down at her, an amused look on her stunning face. She then turned to Edelaweth, behind whom Kimi had been unconsciously starting to edge.

"Welcome, young one. It is always lovely for our race to see the arrival of a new sister, even though it is unusual for her to arrive with as many..." She glanced at Fuzz and Davi, before resting her eyes on Qorin with expressionless eyes, "Outsiders. Is there a reason for bringing so much corruption with you?"

"I..." Edelaweth appeared to be struggling to speak, "I wish to be an Enchantress, like you. But I was afraid I might not make the journey on my own."

"So you wish to join my underlings then, girl?" Asked the elf, who Kimi was now reasonably sure had to be the leader of this settlement. The woman stretched her arm out and tenderly took hold of the naked breast of the elf nearest her, who gasped and arched her back as she felt another slowly climb up her legs, her soft lips parting as she blew between her upper thighs.

"Is that why you brought me such a cute kitten? To buy my favor despite the corruption you bring with you? To make me allow you into this harem and learn from my power?" The enchantress appeared to be singing these questions rather than demanding them, almost as if they were spells she were casting upon Edelaweth. This had the effect of making her become paler, increasingly wide-eyed and utterly motionless as she stared at her would be mentor in a mixture of horror and awe.

Then, suddenly, her eyes glazed over and her face went slightly askew, before going back to normal. It had been very fast and so subtle that Kimi doubted she would have noticed had she not been staring at the elf so attentively, her night eyes fighting the dimness of the tent. She didn't know if the enchantress noticed, however, as the latter appeared utterly expressionless as she waited.

After a few more seconds, Edelaweth finally nodded, her face visibly turning dark with blood even in the gloom. The enchantress smiled, and beckoned her new disciple to come a little closer. At this point, Fuzz cleared his throat slightly.

He, unlike Qorin, was obviously making a visible effort to keep his eyes focused on the enchantress sitting atop the most graceful harem any of them had ever imagined. His face was scrunched up and his eyes trembled slightly as he tried not to look down. Qorin, on the other hand, kept glancing at the naked bodies before her, as they licked and caressed each other. Her gaze would openly linger on a delicate breast, or bared thigh, something that wasn't lost on Davi, who kept nudging her, signaling to look up.

"What... What about us, miss...?" asked Fuzz hesitantly, "We're sorry, but we'd like to ask to stay amongst your people, at least for a little while. We only need to hide here for a few days, perhaps a week or two. We promise not to be any trouble."

The enchantress sighed, blinked once, and nodded. "If some hospitality is all you want, then my people will oblige for now. When you leave this tent, a guard will show you to your sleeping quarters. There you may remain, as long as you respect our customs and she," she gestured at Qorin with her small hand, "stays away from my people. We do not approve of succubi, or any other demon of that matter."

Qorin appeared as outraged as ever at being called a succubus, but Davi quickly covered her mouth to muffle her retort as he bowed gratefully at the elf. "Thank you very much, miss. You will not regret it." Quickly added Fuzz. He seemed to be in a rush to be done with this meeting and out of the tent.

"Wait!" called out the enchantress, "While you remain, the kitten stays here, with me, unless I give her leave. That is one of my conditions."

Kimi felt her stomach sinking as she heard that. She started trembling as she looked up at the strange, but obviously powerful elven enchantress who was now looking down at her with hunger in her eyes. Except... That look was starting to look less and less like hunger as she looked, but rather like an expression of adoration.

It was filling the cats' heart with warmth, until it felt like it might burst, and she started lowering herself to all fours and crawling up the mound before her, up to the enchantress. She didn't even realize along the way that she'd started purring, or that her tail was now swishing back and forth. She just knew she wanted to lie down against this wonderful creature.

[...]

Qorin's attention to the sexiness at her feet was suddenly broken as she saw the cat act so strangely out of character. She'd just climbed up the pillows, stepping over the writhing elven temptresses and curled up in a ball in their leaders' lap. Qorin was so surprised, so awestruck, that she just stared back and forth between the cat and the enchantress; ignoring Davi who nudged her every time she looked down.

"Stop it!" Hissed Davi.

"I'm not looking at the girls, I'm looking at Kimi!" Qorin whispered back furiously. The knight didn't seem convinced, but she ignored him and glanced at Fuzz, who seemed as awestruck as she was. She then noticed his expression devolve into one of disappointment, and then worry. He was evidently very concerned for his only feline companion.

Qorin then looked up at the enchantress, who gave her a hard look, before gesturing outwards, obviously giving them their leave. Qorin wasn't quite sure she wanted to leave Edelaweth and Kimi to that woman, but she and Fuzz didn't have much of a choice as Davi took hold of their wrists and pulled them out of the tent forcefully.

"What the hell's wrong with you?" demanded Fuzz in outrage as he turned to the knight the moment they'd cleared the flap at the entrance of the tent. "We can't leave Kimi like that, she's obviously been hypnotized or something."

"She'll be fine." Retorted Davi confidently, "We, on the other hand, are still wanted around Wickenham, so we cannot afford to get on the wrong side of that sorceress and get kicked out. That means..."

A soft coughing interrupted the argument as the guard who'd led them to the tent tried to attract their attention.

"I notice that Enania... I mean that the Lady of Dusk has allowed you to leave her tent alive," He said stiffly, eyeing the trio with careful disdain, "and apparently in a sane state of mind. Does that mean that she intends to let you remain?"

Fuzz turned to nod at the guard. "She said we were welcome to stay for a while, as long as she kept our two friends with her."

"Then I assume she wanted me to guide you to your sleeping quarters. You, and you alone, will be allowed safe access in and out of the fortress, as well as food. You are to have your meals separate from the rest of us, however, and you may not inform anyone else of how to reach this place. You have been warned."

And with that, the guard turned to the nearest spindly set of carved wooden stairs and started guiding the three to the upper levels of the enchanted fortress. The trip seemed treacherous, requiring them to walk along impossibly narrow walkways and paths supported by thin, frail looking branches. They never snapped, however, and Qorin had a distinct feeling they were somehow being supported by magic.

While they actually came across very few elves, usually wearing plain tunics, she also had the distinct impression of being watched as they climbed up higher into the trees. It really did seem like they didn't like or trust demons like her, and that feeling was exacerbated by the dirty looks she got from the handful of elves who didn't avoid them.

Finally, they started to reach the top levels of this magically grown settlement, and were now right beneath the tightly woven branches and leaves that formed the dome-shaped canopy. There, the guard stopped in front of what appeared to be a bowl-shaped formation of closely knitted branches and twigs, which wasn't quite high enough to reach the canopy.

There, a door-less opening led into what appeared to be a cross between a wooden house with a curved floor and the inside of a nest. Sections of flattened wood were used as tables, while others appeared to be mattresses of sorts, covered in thick layers of leaves and sweet smelling flowers. Large knots in some of the branches were shaped a little like stools, while smaller ones were shaped in dips and had gone green with moss, apparently meant to gather water.

Before the guard left them there, in their house without a ceiling, under the canopy, he turned to Qorin, his narrow brow furrowed and pulling onto the scar until it went white.

"We will tolerate your presence for now, demon, but do not force your presence on any elf here. We do not trust you, and we will not take kindly to seeing your destructive flames within our fortress."

He then bowed stiffly to the group as a whole "If any of you need me, my name is Felaern." He then left without another word. The three looked at each other in silence, unsure what to do next. As the tension grew, Qorin eventually felt like she needed to speak up.

"Perhaps they wouldn't have so many troubles with demons if everything here wasn't all made of wood..." She grumbled.

Davi's face looked stricken. "You can't say that aloud here! What if they're listening..." but his panicked whisper was drowned out by Fuzz, who was roaring with laughter. Even Qorin felt a small smile reach her lips as she watched the tiger guffaw merrily.

Sure, the elves didn't like her much here, but at least they were being kept safe and hidden. Things weren't all bad. She just wondered how their other two companions were fairing.

[...]

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So this marks the end of chapter 4. Thank you very much for reading the story so far, I hope you enjoy it! There are of course a lot more chapters to be written on E.M.M.A, although the pace at which they are written may vary a lot at times.

In case you are wondering, I think I should mention that this is all planned out, as the lore, characters and main story arcs are planned ahead of chapters, but details also change a lot as they're written, so I somehow feel like I'm writing blind despite my pages of notes about the lore. I'm just trying to give out exposition in bite size chunks that are more approachable and fitting to the story.

In case you think there isn't enough sexual content to this Literotica story, I promise more is coming. I just wanted to get the plot going so that I may be able to weave the smut in a bit, and that includes consensual themes as well.

I'd also like to thank my brand new editor, Mark, who's been helping me out a lot with ideas. In addition to that, he is the only person I know who has the patience to proof read my writing, and I really appreciate it, as I'm absolutely terrible at that.

Finally, please rate and comment this story! I'd really appreciate the feedback, both good and bad, as it encourages me to keep writing and improving.

Much love from Alice!