The group reconvened about ten minutes later, refreshed and ready to continue. Derpy, after her trip to the bathroom, was already back at her seat, scratching and scrabbling at her notes a bit, smirking a little. Whenever one of the others shuffled behind her, she would turn over all of her stuff, hiding it from view. Rainbow rolled her eyes. “It’s not like we’re trying to sneak a peek, Derpy.”

“Well still, I don’t want anyone seeing what I’m doing.”

“Are you actually adding stuff?” Spike asked.

“A little bit, here and there.” She shrugged. “I try to write out some contingencies in case things don’t go the way I predicted, and I did have a few ideas for some new encounters I wanted to throw in.”

“Um, didn’t you have plenty of stuff before?” Fluttershy asked.

Luna nodded in agreement. “You don’t want this to bloat out of control, you know.”

Derpy rolled her mismatched eyes. “It’ll be fine. I promise. It’s not like I’m gonna load it down with ultra high-leveled monsters in an attempt to get you all killed. That’s not gonna happen…” she grinned. “At least not until you’re all super high leveled too.”

“Derpy, I swear to faust, if you try to send us to Wonderland…” Rainbow warned.

“What’s Wonderland?” Spike asked, tilting his head. Fluttershy nodded as well, not sure what was being talked about.

Luna groaned and leaned back, running a hand over her face. “Wonderland was an early, early adventure, back from the first edition of O&O.”

“Was it any good?” Spike inquired. He shrunk back as both Luna and Rainbow glared at him. “So… that’s a no?”

“It’s meant to kill you,” Luna said firmly. “Literally everything in that adventure is an ultra-high powered enemy that will attack you almost on sight.” She shook her head. “I played it when it first came out, and I can tell you from firsthand experience, I rolled up five new characters by the time my party reached the end of the adventure. And then…” she clapped her hands together. “Total party kill. Right at the end. The DM wouldn’t stop laughing about it the rest of the night.”

“Ouch,” Derpy winced. “I bet you stopped playing with that DM afterwards, right?”

“It was my sister,” she grumbled lightly.

Another wince, and again, Spike had to hold back snickers. That would probably explain why Luna absolutely refused to play tabletop games of any kind with Celestia anymore.

“And what about you, Rainbow?” Derpy asked. “I mean, you didn’t start playing until third edition, right?”

Rainbow shrugged. “I was curious and looked up some info on a bunch of older campaigns when I was looking for some ideas for my own at the time, and just reading that thing made me feel like cringing.” She wriggled a little bit and shook her head.

“Mental note… see about adapting that one for fifth edition,” Derpy muttered, scratching a note to herself on her paper. She ignored the glowers that got her from everyone around her. “Okay, we ready to continue?”

Sulfur sighed to herself as the group made their way deeper into the forest. Just like the village, just like when they had first entered it, it was unusually silent. No animals made a noise as they moved deeper into the trees, and a small fog had started to roll in around them. That didn’t seem natural. It was quiet… too quiet…

Or at least it would have been, if the druid and the sorceress weren’t busy talking, and talking, and talking, and talking and…

Gods, how did someone even manage to have that many words in their mouth?!

“I’m telling you, there’s no way whatever happened in the village could be magical,” Red Quinoa stated. “There should be some sort of magical residue left behind, some sort of trail that would lead back to wherever it originated from, be it from a location, the original caster, or some sort of artifact or whatnot. Magic doesn’t just spontaneously seep out into the world.”

“I beg to differ,” Nepeta countered. “All of nature carries with it its own magic of a distinct flavor. My own powers derive from being able to tap into that natural magic, allowing me to speak to plants and animals and whatnot. And it’s why we’re able to use spells to sense the life force of others, and why the undead don’t give off something like that.”

“Okay, point taken, but sensing a life force is different from sensing the magical buildup and residue from actually expelling magic, or concentrating it on a single spot or object. I might not be able to sense life, but I can sense magic, and I can tell you right now, that if someone DID cast a spell in that village, they have to be, like… a magical ninja or something!”

“...What’s a ninja?” Nepeta asked.

“Would you two be quiet!” Sulfur snapped, twisting around to face them. “I can barely hear myself think! Gods, what does it matter HOW they were enchanted? It’s obvious that they WERE enchanted. I am not interested in how it came to be, I just want to undo it.”

“You were plenty interested in the how when it was pointing towards the gnolls,” Red noted. “And like I’ve been saying, if I could actually identify the sort of magic that was used, we might not even have to fight at all.”

“Fighting is quicker,” she stated. “Besides, gnolls are a disgusting, savage race, with little to recommend them beyond their strength. If they’re learning how to use magic? All the more reason to put this particular encampment down.”

Nepeta’s hackles rose a bit and she let out a soft hiss. “I resent that disrespect for life,” she growled. “You are a paladin, is it not your duty to defend life?”

“Life worth saving, druid. I see no gain in letting a bunch of monsters free.”

“Monsters? They are capable of thought,” Nepeta said, taking a dangerous step forward.

“Um, girls?” Quinoa said, raising a claw.

“A necromancer is capable of thought as well, but would you abstain from calling THEM a monster when their entire reason for existence is perverting the sanctity of life and death?”

“Ladies?” Quinoa said again.

“If it is capable of thought, of understanding, there is a chance of talking them down, of understanding their stance and coming to some sort of compromise!”

“Compromise?” the paladin said incredulously, pulling herself up to her full height, glowering down at the smaller woman with a contemptuous snarl on her lips. “It’s already bad enough that I have to work with those who use magic in any capacity, you expect me to give any quarter or consideration to those who use that perversion of the natural forces of our world to actively harm others!”

“Oh, of course, why would I expect a Paladin of Ifrit to understand anything about the nuances of magic in this world when they equate a water production spell to a giant fireball!”

“Listen you-”

“HEY!” Quinoa shouted, raising her staff up and whapping both the druid and the paladin on their foreheads, just enough to get their attention.

“WHAT?!” they both snarled at her, turning their glares on the sorceress as they rubbed at their heads.

Quinoa motioned around her. “Where’s Copper?”

They blinked and glanced around, noting a distinct lack of diamond dog around them. Sulfur let out a loud curse and slammed the point of her massive shield into the ground. “Gods take this accursed place!” she snarled. “First I have to put up with two obnoxious magic users and now one of our party’s gone completely missing! What else could-”

“Please, don’t finish that statement,” Nepeta begged. “The last thing we need is for a devout to go and tempt fate.”

“You think I’m obnoxious?” Red asked with a sniff.

Sulfur groaned and rolled her eyes. “Forget about it. Let’s just find Copper before-”

“Before what?” the diamond dog asked, slowly walking out of the foliage.

“Copper!” Nepeta smiled. “You’re all right! We were worried about you!”

“Well, we were worried when we realized that you weren’t with us,” Quinoa said with a shrug.

“Where were you?” Sulfur demanded. “When did you break away from us? And for what purpose.”

“Hush,” he said, raising his hand gently. “You’ll alert the Gnolls.”

“The gnolls?” she asked. “Are they close?”

He nodded gently. “Aye. I found them.”

“Is that why you went off on your own?”

“Yes.”

“Then why didn’t you say anything?” Sulfur growled. “You could have gotten yourself killed!”

“Easier to confirm with one person,” he explained. “I saw signs of their movement, and it was easy to find you again. I knew what I was doing.”

“All the same… don’t… don’t split from us again!” Sulfur growled. “Seriously, I don’t like being alone with those two.” She pointed between the sphinx and the griffon, who just smiled and waved at her.

“Fair enough,” he said. “Follow. And keep quiet.” He turned and started to walk back the way he had come, deeper into the woods.

“Yes… Keep. Quiet,” Sulfur said, turning her attention back to the magic uses.

The two of them glanced at one another, shrugging gently. “As the princess commands,” Red Quinoa said with a smirk, following after them.

After a bit of walking, Copper pointed into a particularly thick part of the forest, where the trees were growing so thick that there was barely enough room for them to squeeze between. “In there,” he said. “The trees in this place are made to grow thick, as though protecting something. The underbrush is lightly spaced to make small travel paths. The scent of fur is still fresh, and the trees are marked with small claw scratches meant to indicate the start and end of their territory.”

“And you’re sure the marks are not of regular beasts?” she asked.

“Too high up to be for wild cats. Bears rub their fur off on trees to mark them. Most canids urinate to mark territory.”

“Ew,” Quinoa muttered, sticking her tongue out.

“Oh hush, nature is fascinating,” Nepeta scolded. “So then this is the start of their territory?”

“In there, yes,” Copper indicated the large wall of trees. “Deliberately moved and planted to hide whatever’s inside. There is an entryway some ways around the front.” He motioned for them to follow and again the troop set off, careful to walk along the small, single file path hidden underneath the foliage. Soon enough, they came across the entryway. It was basically two large, criss-crossing trees, forming something resembling an archway, with a break in the thick trees that surrounded it, though the break was only large enough for them to walk in one at a time.

“All right!” Nepeta said, smiling as she walked forward. “Let’s get in there and get this over with.”

“Wait!” Sulfur said, reaching towards her. “Don’t go rushing in!”

“We’re not going to surprise attack them, Sulfur,” Nepeta argued. “I want us to try to approach this from a diplomatic angle before we try anything eeEEEELSE!” she let out a loud shriek as she was suddenly yanked up into the air by her ankle, a long, inconspicuous vine snapping upwards and holding her above the ground, about an arm’s length, upside down. Her skirt fell down around her middle, revealing her bare backside and peach to the world. The sphinx let out a loud yelp and tried to push her skirt back up, though it didn’t do much for her.

Fluttershy groaned loudly and gently thumped her forehead against the table in front of her. The others couldn’t help but laugh at her. “I can’t believe I just walked right into that,” she whined.

“And this,” Derpy said with a devilish grin, “Is why you always want to have someone on your team who has at least a couple of levels in rogue.”

“Or, you know, check for traps before rushing in,” Spike mumbled, glancing at Fluttershy, who looked back apologetically from her bent position.

“S-sorry,” she mumbled, sighing.

“Hey, it’s fine,” Rainbow said. “Not like it was fatal or anything… and it gives us a really nice view.”

“Curb your imagination, Rainbow Dash,” Luna scolded. “Focus on what’s coming.” She glanced at Derpy. “If she counted on this, I think we’re going to have a fight on our hands.”

Derpy cracked her knuckles. “Oh yeah you do!”

Out of the underbrush around them, a rustling could be heard. Sulfur growled and yanked her sword from its sheath, just in time for four large, savage looking gnolls to pop out from under the leaves and brush, or drop down from a nearby tree. Two with large axes, one with a sword and a shield, and the fourth pulling back a bowstring, a large arrow notched in it.

“Looks like we have a fight on our hands,” Sulfur said.

Copper pat her shoulder and shook his head when she glanced at him. He pointed up towards the squirming sphinx above them. She’d dropped her staff and had no way of easily reaching her tools or items right now. She was helpless. And the bowman probably wouldn’t think twice of sticking an arrow between her ribs if they made a threatening move.

“Looks like we’re going to have to try for Nepeta’s plan,” Quinoa offered.

Growling again, she sighed and lowered the point of her blade to the ground, though she refused to sheath it. “We come in peace!” she called to them. “We mean no harm. We merely wish to speak with you on a matter most urgent.” Her tone was stern and commanding, and the gnolls tilted their head this way and that as they listened for a moment before glancing at one another, communicating through their body language. Sulfur physically relaxed when she saw the bowman relax his own grip and place his arrow back into its quiver.

“Come,” one of them barked, its voice rough as gravel. “We take you to queen.”

Red smiled a little bit. “See? It pays to be nice, now and then!”

“We’ll see,” Sulfur said gently, watching as one of them walked over to Nepeta and cut her down. The sphinx dropped down onto his shoulder and he pat her backside, making her yelp as he started to walk away with her. She squirmed and flapped her wings a few times, but he held her in place, giving her a few swats on her rump to get her to stay still. “Hey!” Sulfur growled, taking a few bold steps forward. “Let her down, this instant!”

“She comes like this,” The gnoll responded, giving her another squeeze. “You follow. You be good. She be fine.”

“No choice,” Copper said as he walked forward. “Do as they say for now.”

“Well, at least they didn’t take our weapons, right?” Quinoa asked as they started to walk.

One of the gnolls, the one with the sword, turned to them. “Also, you give weapons.” His lips curled into a smirk. “And clothes.”

“Seriously, Derpy?” Rainbow asked, as the other pegasus leaned back and let out a loud laugh. “Was the whole clothing part really necessary? And you only added that in because of what Red said!”

“Well, that’s what you get for saying something that your dungeon master can hear!” she said between bouts of later.

Spike flushed lightly and leaned on his hand, drumming his fingers on his character sheet. “Well, great. Now we’re naked and helpless, and they have Nepeta over a barrel-”

“A shoulder,” Luna corrected.

Spike shot his aunt a light glare and ignored her silly grin before shaking his head. “You better hope we can talk our way out of this, Rainbow.”

“No worries guys,” Rainbow said, leaning back and stretching her arms in the air. “I got this.”

Sulfur couldn’t remember the last time she had suffered such an indignity as this. Traipsing through the woods, led by a bunch of savages, defenseless, her weapons, armor, and shield in the clutches of said savages, totally nude. She kept her arms crossed over her chest the entire way, keeping a glare firmly on Quinoa’s nude form. If she was at all put off by this, she gave no indication about it. In fact, she seemed quite jaunty for someone who had just been stripped totally nude, walking forward with a bit of a spring in her step, which made her breasts bounce enticingly, and her feathered buttocks much the same. She considered looking away, but the alternative was looking directly ahead of her, where Copper walked, his muscled hide flexing with every wide stride he took.

Nope, she was already dealing with some very confusing feelings about female anatomy, she didn’t have to double down by looking at guy butt.

Nepeta had also been stripped, though the gnoll carrying her seemed to be so fond of her that he was now carrying her naked form bridal style. The sphinx was quite all right with this and lounged luxuriously in his arms, letting out a delighted purr as she kept one claw wrapped around the back of his neck. The gnoll in question had quite a goofy grin on his face as they walked.

She’d give the gnolls this, they hadn’t attempted to manhandle them at any point. They’d kept their distance while they’d stripped and handed over their things, and not a one of them had attempted to lay a finger on any of them since, save for the one who now seemed to be under Nepeta’s thrall.

They finally arrived deep in the center of the ring of trees, where they found some form of a rudimentary village. Well, Sulfur felt ‘village’ was a bit of a stretch. The dwellings were little more than large animal hides stitched together and then tied to branches and saplings, bent to form something of a roof. The foliage had been trampled down, and there were areas that had been dug out for fire pits and such, but there wasn’t a single permanent construction among the lot. The closest that they had was some sort of massive, dead tree that sat at the center of their settlement, an absolute giant. It wasn’t just dead, Sulfur realized, it looked as though it had been petrified. The area around its trunk, moving out in a six foot circle, had been dug out and replaced with well tended soil, sprouting a uniform bed of flowers, shimmering in exotic colors. Nepeta’s eyes widened. “Ars Grena,” she said aloud, catching the attention of a gathering of other gnolls nearby.

The one holding her blinked and set her down. “You know Meadowbrook?”

“Aye,” she said with a nod, immediately getting to one knee and placing her palms on the ground as she glanced at the tree. “The Goddess Meadowbrook is my deity. I lead my life in her service.”

“Hoho, little kitty has good taste,” a new voice said from behind them. All of them turned to see one of the largest gnolls they had ever laid eyes on. Sulfur could stand eye to eye with the ones who had brought them here, no problem, but this one? She stood a good head higher than her!

She wore naught but a loin cloth covering her nethers, the rest of her form totally naked, her muscles rippling with every step that she took. A gigantic, double-bladed battle axe clung to her back from some sort of leather holster. “Not often someone come here who know of Meadowbrook!” she announced, her voice more smooth than that of her fellows, but still just as firm and aggressive. Her expression soured a little as she advanced on them, pulling her axe free of its holder and resting its head on the ground in front of her. “Not often some like you come here either, though. You bring weapons. You not ponies. So… why you here?” she quirked a brow. “Why you look for us.”

Sulfur tensed. “We are here on behalf of the pony village to the north of here,” she explained. “To stop you and your incessant attacks on them, as well as break whatever spell you’ve put upon them.

Silence fell over the encampment. A ring of gnolls began to form around them, the four of them backing up against one another.

And then, they laughed. “Magic? Us! Lizard, you quite funny!” she laughed. “I am queen of this tribe. We believe in Meadowbrook, but we no druids! We no wizards! We fight with claws and steel, not magic.”

“But…” Sulfur frowned. “They were all acting so strangely…”

“You tricked,” she stated simply. “You led here by mistake.” She smirked. “You look good, and you make me laugh, so you all go free…” she snapped her great fingers and pointed to the gnolls that had led them here. “Give em back their things and get em out.”

“Hold!” Sulfur growled. “I’ll not take your word alone that we were tricked!”

“You take ponies word. Why ours different.”

She glowered at the larger woman. “You still attacked them, though.”

“We have reasons,” she stated, putting a hand on her hip. “Gnoll business. Not your business. You wanna know? You go elsewhere.”

“We’ve no time for your games!” Sulfur snarled, taking a step forward. “Ponies’ lives are on the line! I demand answers, or I will call upon the god of hellfire and raze this entire place to the ground.”

Again, silence.

Then she snarled. “A whore of Ifrit,” she growled. “Bringer of fire. Bringer of death.” Slowly, she stepped forward again, pulling her axe up. “You want to know? Then you fight me… give me reason to let you leave now.”

Sulfur tensed and gulped, slowly taking up a fighter’s stance. Nepeta frowned deeper as the circle of gnolls started to close in on them. “Wow,” she noted, “You’re REALLY bad at this whole diplomacy thing,” she grumbled.

“Well you certainly weren’t speaking up!”

“How could I?! YOU WERE SHOUTING YOUR HEAD OFF!”

As the two of them argued, Quinoa slowly sauntered forward, humming gently to herself. She stood between the rest of the party and the angered gnoll queen, who stopped her approach and watched the little mage with interest. “Hi, hello there!” she greeted, bowing with a flourish, flicking her tail up, giving Sulfur a nice glance at her tail end as she did so. “Please, excuse my friend over there, she has a chronic case of righteousness and doesn’t know up from down when she gets heated.” She ignored Sulfur’s snort and pulled herself up. “We do apologize for barging in like this, but our intentions are pure and we are on a bit of a time crunch. Now, I’m sure that we can come to some sort of agreeme-”

WHAM!

The Gnoll queen’s heavy fist slammed into the small griffon’s face and sent her tumbling, end over end, back towards the others. She laughed, as did the others. “Puny thing… You wanna know, you fight. You lose, you stay here and we have fun with all you.”

“Well done, Sulfur, getting us into this situation,” Nepeta hissed. “And here I was thinking Quinoa would get us into trouble.” She glanced at Copper. “Any ideas, big guy?”

He shook his head, eyes scanning the crowd of gnolls, looking for a way to make their escape.

“Relax,” Quinoa said, slowly standing up, brushing herself off, spitting onto the ground, and finally checking to see if she was bleeding at all. “I got this.”

Sulfur’s eyes widened. “Don’t be an idiot, griffon!” she hissed. “She laid you flat with a single punch. I don’t care what sort of spell you have planned, there’s no way that you can beat her!”

“I said relax,” she said, slowly turning towards her, her eyes serious. “I can handle this. I’ll get us out of this and get the answers we need. But I need you to trust me,” she said. “Can you do that?”

Sulfur frowned, her gaze shifting from anger to worry to terror, and finally to acceptance. She took a deep breath and nodded. “Very well,” she whispered. “I’ll trust you. Just, don’t go getting yourself killed, all right?”

“Nice to know you care,” she said with a chuckle, winking at her.

The dragon blushed. “I-I do not care, but I… need your help, is all.”

“Obviously.” She brushed a hand over her head feathers, took a deep breath, and turned back to the queen, who stood there, grinning at them. She started to walk forward again, cracking her knuckles, a determined look in her eyes.

“Back again?” she asked with a smirk, rearing back for another punch. “That’s fine. I can hit more, if little birdy wants!”

“Hit me again!” Red Quinoa said loudly.

“E-eh?” the gnoll blinked.

Derpy blinked several times. “Uh… what?”

Rainbow grinned. “Just get ready to roll the dice, Derpy.” She held up her D20. “I’m gonna put this charisma of mine to good use!”

Red Quinoa nodded. “I’ve never seen a more perfect punch before,” she praised, slowly making her way towards her, palms upturned, and a wide smile on her face. “Your prowess is amazing. I can’t imagine how long it must have taken you to learn to throw a blow like that with such finesse and power.”

The queen’s ears lowered and she dropped her axe again, not expecting to hear such words. “Oh well, uh… just a punch,” she said, rubbing the back of her head. “Just throw fist, fist hit thing, thing go down.”

“A simple art yes, but one that you have no doubt perfected.” Quinoa was right up next to her now, and reached out, carefully placing a hand on her hip. “Oh, and your entire body is built for the fight. For the hunt. Now don’t get me wrong, I’ve known many a woman in my day, but I’ve yet to see anyone, of any species as muscled and powerful, and yet as lithe and flexible looking as you.”

“Y-you trying to fool me,” she growled, taking a step back. “No one find me pretty!”

“No, no, you are not pretty,” Quinoa affirmed. “You are beautiful.”

“Beautiful?” She snorted. “Now I know you lie.”

“What?” Quinoa shrugged. “Everyone has their own standard of beauty. Some might prefer a soft, elegant, pale unicorn with an ample bosom and a thick rear, but I? Oh, I prefer a woman who could easily crush my head between her thighs, could lift me up above her head with one hand… and of course could hold me tight at night and make me feel safe and comforted. Oh, and also have a rather nice bottom too,” she winked at her lightly, a light blush coming to her face as she described her own perfect lady. The sincerity in her voice couldn’t be faked.

“W-what you trying to do by saying all this?” she growled, trying her best to look fierce and angry, but was far too flustered to do so. “I-I will not be swayed by words.”

“If not, then that is your decision, and I shall abide by it,” Quinoa said softly, getting down on her knees. “But I have no wish to be your enemy. If anything, from the moment I saw you, I was hoping we might at least be friends. And if the fates be kind, perhaps more, if we got to know one another.” She sighed. “I am not strong, at least not physically, so if that is what you look for in a mate, I suppose my courtship ends here, my lady. But if nothing else… might I at least have your name?”

Derpy let out a string of profanity as she thumped her head against the desk. Rainbow just laughed while the other three players applauded her, looking down at the die she’d rolled. “Nat Twenty, baby!” she declared, pumping her fists a few times. “I have successfully gotten myself a big, sexy, muscle girlfriend!”

“But… but my campaign!” Derpy whined, sitting up. “You were all supposed to get your butt kicked and thrown out and go out there and look for other clues! I’ve got like… like…” she grabbed a big stack of papers from the table, holding it up. “Like three more sessions worth of campaigns and dungeons and stuff to do all over the forest as you slowly learn more and more about the threat!” She tossed them down on the ground. “Now she’s just gonna tell you all about it! Urgh!”

“Hey, don’t hate the player,” Rainbow said, tapping the top of her D20 lightly. “Hate the game, right?”

Derpy’s eyes focused for a moment on her. “I hate you so much right now.”

“It’s not that bad, Derpy. Come on, maybe this will be an interesting twist, right?” Spike asked, attempting to diffuse the tension. “Let’s see where it goes.”

She sighed. “Fine… but we’re gonna have words later, Rainbow Dash, I promise you that.”

“Oooh, my feathers are shaking!”

“Oh shut up!”

“Name?” the queen asked carefully. “Name is… name is Kylah,” she stated. She slowly bent down, so she was a bit closer to eye level with the smaller griffon. Both of their faces were flush as they looked at one another. “Why you say such nice words. Sweet words…”

“It’s an honor, Kylah. My name is Red Quinoa, and I’m not one to hide my feelings,” she stated. “And I certainly don’t want to play with anyone’s emotions merely for my own gain. I do find you quite beautiful. Let us help one another.”

The queen thought for a long moment, sitting cross legged. “You will be my lover,” she declared at last.”

Quinoa blushed a bit deeper and got a goofy grin on her face. “Wow, that was easy! So um, do you think-”

Kylah held up a hand. “Wasn’t finished. You be my lover. You get knowledge you want. If you impress.”

“Im… press?” Quinoa asked, tilting her head to the side. “I thought I’d already wooed you, by that reaction.

Again, the gnoll’s face flushed and she flicked her ears back, not meeting her gaze. “Did. Like you. But tradition says you need testing if you gonna be with me.”

“Oh, well, never really been one to think too hard about tests before. Kind of bounced my way through most of my magic exams. That’s why I became a sorceress, really. Waaay less rules than trying to be a wizard, bleh. So, what sort of test are we talking here? Essay? Oral? I prefer multiple choice, myself.”

“Come here, little birdie.” She smirked, slapping her knee. “We test your endurance.”

“Oh… ohhhh... “ she flushed deeper and gulped a bit. “Well, uh… mmmph… M-maybe we shouldn’t move too fast here…” She yelped as she was yanked forward, and draped over the thick, muscled thigh.

“Prove you have what it takes to be mate to me,” she growled, a grin on her face as she brushed a finger up and down the griffon’s backside. “Hoho… so soft…”

“Are we… going to help her?” Copper asked the other two women next to him.

“She started this,” Sulfur said with a huff. “As far as I’m concerned, she can see it through to the end. Erm… but I wouldn’t mind getting dressed now,” she said, looking around for her clothes.

“Mmm, speak for yourself,” Nepeta said, arching her back and stretching out, drawing the attention of most of the other gnolls away from Quinoa and their queen. “I’m rather enjoying this bit of freedom… that’s right everyone, eyes over here,” she muttered, shaking her hips and doing a few cute poses.

Kylah chuckled and gave Quinoa’s soft backside a few gentle pats. “Ready, Reddy?”

“Reddy? Is that my new name now? Heh, that’s kinda cute actually… I guess I am.” She tensed up and hugged the big woman’s leg firmly, preparing herself.

Kylah gave her a few more soft pats before resting her palm against her cheeks and raising it up nice and high. Quinoa gulped and craned her head to glance back at her. “Try not to break me in half?”

“No promise,” she said, holding her hand in the air for a moment. Quinoa gulped and went back to holding on for dear life, squirming under the bigger woman’s grip. And then she heard the whoosh of the hand coming down… and then…

Spat!

She squeaked and gave a buck against the gnoll’s thigh as she felt a soft, tingling sting spread throughout her cheek. “Eh? What was- mmmph!” she gasped again as a similar swat landed on her opposite cheek. It stung, to be sure, that this was the sort of sting that Quinoa could handle… and frankly it was a sting she found rather nice.

Spat! Spat! Whap! Slap! Smack!

“Mmmph! Ah! Haah… nngh… oooh…” The griffon groaned, writhing and grinding herself against her newfound lover’s lap. “Y-you’re going easy on me.”

“Don’t wanna break in half,” she teased, swatting her sit spots upward, making her rear wobble quite magnificently. “Mmm, such cute bottom…”

“Nnngh… mmm, glad to hear you’re enjoying it!” Quinoa said as the swatting continued.

Swat! Smack! Spat! Spat!

Quinoa could hear the woman’s breathing beginning to pick up, her own breath coming in quick, loud gasps as the soft stings started to coalesce together in a pleasant mass, loving the sensation. “Ohhh… mmm… haah, haaah…” she panted harder and squeezed her leg. “Y-you can go… a bit harder if you want.”

“Oho? Not scared of breaking?” she asked, her voice growing low and husky.

“Nnngh… mmm…” Quinoa’s own voice was shaky as she arched her back. “Not anymore… my love…”

They both moaned in tandem as the spanking continued, Quinoa’s feet starting to kick out behind her as Kylah grew more enthusiastic in her slapping, putting more power behind each swing, the clap of each swat echoing in the open air around them.

SWAT! SMACK! SLAP! SPAT!

“Ah! Aw! Mmmph! OOOH!”

“Nnngh! Rrrgh!”

“Awwooo!”

“Haaah… haaah… Quinoa… you pass,” she panted as she spanked her rapidly reddening rear up and down, turning it a shade darker than its natural state.

“Ungh! MMM! OOH! G-glad to hear it! AH! Oh yeah!” She started to buck backwards, thrusting her hips up to meet the hand above her. “Ooooohhhmmm…”

“Mmmm…” They devolved into a moaning, panting mess as the spanking continued and Sulfur slowly had to turn away, though that did nothing to silence the sound of slapping and moaning. She was still naked, as the gnoll who held their clothes and possessions had yet to relinquish them. Probably waiting for the go-ahead from his queen. She ground her teeth together, as the sounds, combined with the fact that Nepeta was off to the side near her, still entrancing a captive audience with a strange, feline dance, shaking her naked hips from side to side to some tune that was only in her head. And standing next to her, of course, was the naked diamond dog, who, bless him, was trying his best to keep a straight face to the stupidity around them, but he was still a man, and his body was reacting as a typical man’s would. “How can you be so calm with all this happening around you?” she asked, squirming.

“I’m not,” he said, indicating his hips and the long, stiff appendage that was hanging there. “But not much we can do about it now, yeah?”

“Mmmph! I just want to get the information and get out of here,” she lamented. “W-we can’t afford to keep wasting time here.”

“That and you don’t like seeing others naked,” he noted.

“Th-that doesn’t help.”

“Is your order opposed to romance? Love?”

“No!” she said quickly. “Just… don’t like nudity,” she muttered.

WHAP! SMACK! SLAP! WHAP!

“Nnngh! D-don’t know… how much more I can take!” Quinoa shuddered, tears starting to form in her eyes. “Haaah… Ohhhh, Kylah!”

“Oooh… Quinoa,” the gnoll growled in ecstasy, letting a flurry of random slaps streak across her bottom, turning it into a giant, jiggling, throbbing mess.

SPANK! SMACK! WHAP! WHACK! SLAP! SLAP! WHAP! WHACK!

Both of them, bird and hyena, let out loud howls of pain and pleasure as they both finally went limp, Kylah leaning back on her arm while Quinoa shuddered and moaned, weakly nuzzling against her knee. “Ahhh… haaaah… you all right, you beast?”

“Am,” she answered with a weak nod, carefully helping Quinoa to sit up in her lip, having her straddle her leg. “You all right, birdie?”

“Am,” she answered, writhing against her rough fur for a moment. “Mmm… and eager for more.”

“Me too…” the two of them smiled longingly and lovingly into each other’s eyes, slowly drawing in close, their lips meeting in a gentle, loving kiss, their arms slowly encircling one another as they moaned and mewled against each other.

Sulfur finally had had enough, and twisted around, still keeping her gaze centered on the ground, as she moved forward, letting out a loud huff to get their attention. “Excuse me,” she called, “But could we PLEASE get a move on?”

The griffon rolled her eyes, but reluctantly broke the kiss, her talons coming up to scratch and massage at Kylah’s chin. “I hate to say it, but she is right. My love, those ponies are in danger, and we need to help them. Once this task is done, I would love to… get even closer to you. We could have more fun.”

She let out a deep, dissatisfied sigh, but nodded. “You are right, Reddy,” she told her, gently helping her to her feet before standing herself, and taking up her large axe, shouldering it. “Come to tent. I honor agreement. I tell you what you need to know.” She motioned for them to follow and slowly started to walk away, Quinoa taking large, quick steps, half jogging to keep up with her.

Nepeta reluctantly stopped her charming routine to follow, and Copper followed soon after. Sulfur brought up the rear, shuffling her feet lightly. “Erm… could we please-”

“No. Later. Talk first,” Kylah stated.

Sulfur let out a loud groan and looked longingly back at her clothes, being tossed in a pile by the gnolls behind them. Not wanting to delay them any longer, she reluctantly continued to trudge behind them, wrapping her tail around her hips in an effort to hide her nethers from view, and keeping her arms crossed over her top.

“Okay, let’s take another break,” Derpy announced, closing the monster manual she’d been referencing for the gnolls.

The others blinked. “Um, isn’t it a bit soon to be taking another break?” Fluttershy asked gently. “I mean, I think we all still have plenty of snacks and drinks, and I certainly don’t have to use the bathroom again.”

“Yeah, what gives?” Rainbow asked.

“Well, thanks to Rainbow and her stupid romance roll,” she shot a passing glare at the pegasus, who just shrugged and stuffed a few chips into her mouth, “I have to streamline a couple of things real quick before we can continue. So… I dunno, talk about yourselves for a few minutes, I have to try and salvage this adventure over here.”

“Salvage it?” The blue-furred pegasus said with a laugh. “There’s nothing to salvage. I’m having a great time.”

Luna glanced at her with a frown. “You derailed a campaign that she had probably spent a very long time trying to put together, have romanced an NPC that was probably only meant for a single encounter and probably didn’t even have a name before you asked for it, and waylaid the entire adventure so you could get some sexy mental images out of it.”

“Yes, exactly! Thank you, Luna!” Derpy said triumphantly, sticking her tongue out at Rainbow.

Rainbow blushed. “W-well, when you put it that way.”

Luna smirked at her and held out her hand. “I knew you were a smart player! High five!”

Grinning, Rainbow did just that, laughing.

Derpy let out a groan and tossed a huge fistful of papers over her shoulder, not commenting to either of them as she got to work on trying to salvage her campaign.

Spike just glanced at Fluttershy. “So… wanna step out for a second?”

“Um… sure, might be for the best,” she muttered, scooting out of the chair and following the dragon out of the room to leave Derpy to their work and Rainbow and Luna to swap several stories about how they had managed to foil the plots of many an unfortunate dungeon master.

Author's Notes:

This chapter ended up stretching on a bit longer than we anticipated, so we had to split it in two. Look forward to part 3 soon folks!