When I wiped the oily fluid away from my eyes enough to see, I quickly realized that I wasn't at the lake anymore. No longer in ankle deep water, instead I was lying on a rough stone floor. My armor and weapons, which I'd set aside while I used the standing stone, were nowhere to be seen - nor was winged bauble. 

 

I seemed to be at one end of an underground passage. Some light cast down through cracks in the wall and ceiling, so I couldn't be too far underground, but I had no idea where I'd appeared. Cautiously, I proceeded down the passage, alert for any signs of danger. Fortunately, I could feel The Teacher's Children moving within me, so at least I wasn't completely unarmed against any dangers this subterrene concealed. 

 

 

At length, I started to see hints of human activity within the cave. First I started noticing torch sconces on the walls, and later large braziers offered even more light. Finally, I came to what was clearly an unnatural arch in the wall, blocked by a statue of a robed woman. I approached carefully, wary for potential traps. As I drew close, it shook, twisted, and then sunk into the ground before me. As I watched it descend, I felt a sudden release of pressure from my chest and hips, and realized harness and belt were gone. Likewise, the cuffs on my wrists and the bulb in my rectum had vanished.

 

 

Now wanting to waste the opportunity, I quickly stepped under the arch. Not long after, I heard a low rumble and looked behind me to see the statue rising back into place. I could see now that I was in a large underground chamber. While some debris littered the floor, I had no doubt that this hidden place had been built by the hands of men or mer. That the braziers were still lit also set me on guard. I remembered what Mother had told me about the way the Draugr would maintain the lights within their lost catacombs. In my current condition, without armor or weapons, I was in a poor position to content with the walking dead.

 

 

I proceeded deeper into the complex, crossing a bridge over an underground stream and then reaching a much better maintained room. I wondered at the meaning of the banners hanging here, but before I could fully satisfy my curiosity, whirling violet light surrounded me with a thump. 

 

"Well well, look who stumbled in. A little mortal already prepared to serve me."

 

I snapped my head to the left to see a pallid woman with large ears and bloodshot eyes facing me. She was surrounded in a soft red aura, dressed in a tight corset and belt that wrapped between her legs but left her breasts free. Dangling pendants hung from her nipples, complementing her elaborate earings.

 

 

"Who are you?" I asked. "What is this place?"

 

"You may call me Nightly," she answered. "I am a servant of Nocturnal, and this is my little pocket of Oblivion where I relax when the Mistress has no need of me."

 

"Why did you bring me here?"

 

"My Mistress and I are having a small disagreement; she believes I'm too easily distracted by my carnal desires. So she forces me to wear these humiliating contraptions." She waved a hand towards the locked steel strap running between her legs.

 

"But I'm not content to suffer this indignity forever. I need those toys you were wearing so I can understand their properties... and I need someone to experiment on. You seemed the perfect fit."

 

"I'm not sure I like the sound of that," I said, "but you have me at a disadvantage. What do I have to do to leave this place?"

 

"I've already examined the toys you brought me. I also repaired them. Did you know they were broken? Either way, they're fascinating, simply fascinating. Did you know that their magics were woven by the ancient Falmer, the Snow Elves I think you would call them?"

 

I shook my head. "I'd read they were of Dwarven make."

 

Nightly laughed at that. "The Dwemer and Falmer both made all manner of toys to further their erotic pursuits. But no, this is the work of Snow Elves. Time had damaged them, but with just a little help they proved surprisingly resilient. And now that they are restored, I want to see them work in the way they were intended."

 

"And... how exactly do you plan to test them?"

 

"Oh, it's very simple. I'll put the toys back on you and then you'll follow me to the chamber of trials." Even as she spoke I could feel the bonds tightening around my hips and wrists, and the plug once more forcing open my anus.

 

Waving languidly, Nightly showed the way and led me down a series of corridors. I considered disobeying her, but I seemed to be totally in her power. Better, I thought, to bide my time and look for an opportunity later to escape. At Nightly's urging, I followed her over a narrow bridge to a raised platform, where another statue started to emerge from the ground. Somewhat to my surprise, I realized that Nightly's bindings had changed. Where once a corset had tightly gripped her waist, now her body was gripped by a tight harness of leather straps and brass rings.

 

 

"Now," she said, "approach the statue and bathe in its aura. The toys will react to its magical power and strengthen their influence over you. It will be as if you had been wearing them for hours - but all experienced in a span of but a few moments."

 

I had little choice but to obey. As I crossed the threshold from the bridge to the platform, Nightly faded away into a puff of mist and I was alone with the statue. Tentatively, I touched it, and almost immediately I could feel my heart beating faster and my skin flushing hot. I felt the muscles in my thighs twitch and my anus squeeze tight against the stem of the golden bulb. 

 

A moment later, I felt a sudden bloom of warmth against my wrists and I looked down to see the cuffs glowing brightly. I could only appreciate them for a moment, however, because with an increasing force that I was soon helpless to resist, my arms pulled back behind me and came together as the cuffs connected. I struggled, but fruitlessly. It was as if the cuffs were a single piece of metal now. 

 

 

I found myself panting and squirming in spite of the pain in my shoulders from my tightly bound forearms. Soon the muscle contractions in my thighs were so rapid and intense that I couldn't stay standing. I squirmed and struggled as the heat in my body grew more and more intense. Finally, with an intense last pull, I managed to separate my wrists. Even as I fell backwards onto the stone, I could feel a gout of fluid release from between my legs. I thrust my right hand between my legs and started rubbing my clitoris with deep, urgent strokes.

 

 

An intense blue light flashed before my eyes and I found myself unable to do anything but lie on my back, hugging my knees to my chest, for several minutes. At length, I rose and returned to the center of the chamber. Nightly appeared in a flash, her harness having once again changed force.

 

Heartily laughing, she observed, "you enjoyed yourself far more than I'd expected, little mortal. I assure you, I have far more of that to offer you.

 

Still a little stunned by my experience, the best I could offer was, "what do you mean?"

 

 

"I have a special task for you when you return to Mundus."

 

"A task? What do you want me to do?"

 

She laughed again, looking down at me coldly. "To continue my research, I need more toys. Fortunately, there is a mortal in Skyrim, a self-styled scholar, who might be able to help us. And by that, I mean help me."

 

"I can leave then? And remove these... toys?"

 

She pursed her lips into a narrow smile. "You can indeed leave. But you can keep the toys. Remove them yourself, if you can. You'll find a chest near the entrance to my Sanctum. All your posessions are there. Take them, and then hasten on your way to Mundus. Start your search at Winterhold - though be warned, I doubt those wizards will let you just walk in. I'll leave it up to you to deal with that problem, though."

 

 

I returned to the Sanctum without delay. As promised, I could see a sturdy wooden chest against one wall. I opened it carefully, wary of any unpleasant surprises, but found it contained my belongings, just as Nightly had promised. Even the little green bauble was there, and it sprung to the air as soon as the lid opened.

 

"Hey there, little buddy," I said, "I missed---"

 

Before I could finish the sentence, a hot darkness descended on me. A moment later, my wits returned and I found myself standing on the shore of Lake Ilinalta, not far from where I'd found the hidden standing stone. I also found my wrists bound behind me again, to my great irritation - but that was a problem I could deal with later. At least I was free of Nightly's lair.

 

 

Behind The Scenes

To-Do List: Nocturnal Statue Replacers for TS/SLaVE

 

The alternate Nocturnal statue that flashes in and out of sight when activated doesn't match up with my Nocturnal statue replacer. Next time I work on the configuration, I'll want to find a compatible alternate Nocturnal statue and patch it into the transforming statues that TS and SLaVE use. I already have an asset in mind, so this should be a pretty easy objective to knock out. However, it probably will require a configuration change, so I'm holding off for now. 

 

Unless I find a better option, I'll probably use the "tied up Nocturnal" statue from Devious Statues and keep the custom statue from TS/SLaVE for the alternate shape. So what'll happen is that when the statue is "unlocked" the devious devices will come off.