#Dungeons and Humans

[rileyssmiles]

Dungeons and Humans

In a fantasy setting where humans are tiny and the rest of the fantastical races are giant, a human woman that has been secretly assisting a party of adventurers finds herself in trouble when she is discovered by a curious tiefling. Word Count: 1,702

AO3 Link

“Come on out, little one," Allynna placed her palm near the crevice she saw the tiny being scurry into. "I won't hurt you." Her voice was soft and quiet. She made special care to hide her fangs behind her plush lips, so as to not further frighten the poor thing.

Inside, Lana pressed her body against the dark walls of the cavern. She held her hand over her mouth as she tried to steady her breathing. Every human clan had one rule in common: don't get caught. And now, she was trapped in a collapsing hole, with her only way out leaving her at the mercy of a monster with teeth almost half her size. She held her breath and continued to listen to the outside, hoping for an opportunity to escape.

"This is a waste of our time!" Ashero shouted. The highlands elf was rather grumpy. Though this was no news to his comrades, his poor attitude was amplified by the injury on his leg.

"This place could collapse any minute!" As if to reiterate his point, the ruins shook, and small pieces of rubble rained upon the adventurers' heads.

"Quit yer shoutin' and hold still! Yer gonna bring the whole damn place down on us!" Gamdon grumbled as he continued to wrap the elf's wounds. Their healer had already finished mending the more gruesome parts of the injury, it merely needed a few bandages. A simple process that would take but a moment, had Ashero not continued to fidget, much to the dwarf's annoyance.

Ashero impatiently tapped his fingers as he tried to remain still. He glanced at the blocked exit, noting Thailna, their half-blood orc, and Irala, their dark-elf healer, still struggling to move the rubble. Irala shifted smaller chunks, while Thailna attempted to dislodge the boulders and bulkier remains. He quickly looked away before they could catch him staring. He turned his attention back to Allynna, who was still preoccupied with the human hiding in the small fissure.

"Why are you so fascinated with that thing?" Ashero's hollers drew another shake from the ruins, and a glare from Gamdon

Without turning to address her colleague, Allynna replied,

"It's been helping us! I know it has!"

Ashero lifted his leg, nearly kicking poor Gamdon, and showed off his freshly wrapped wounds.

"Yeah, a real help it's been!"

"That's your own fault for darting ahead into the room unprepared! One disarmed trap at the entrance doesn't mean there aren't more inside! Besides, I saw it dragging supplies to our camp the other night! And, the markings on the walls that led us to the treasure room? I've never seen anything like them! The details are too small and intricate to have been drawn by anyone of the greater races. Plus, all the disarmed traps? What else could disarm those tiny, delicate, near-invisible plates, but something equally as tiny and delicate!"

Allynna's eyes lit up as she spoke of the fascinating deeds the human had done for her party. Perhaps she might've thought herself crazy, had she not seen it with her own eyes. Being a tiefling had a few benefits, dark vision being one of them. Her mother had taught her that if all else fails, trust her eyes. She had never really bothered with humans before, nor did she understand the other races' judgements of them, but this one had caught her attention. She had so many questions bouncing around in her mind. Where did it come from? How did it know about all the traps and treasures? And most importantly, why would it risk getting caught to help them?

She flicked her tail once more as she pondered what to do. It was clear the human was not going to come out willingly. However, if she forced it out, she would risk either frightening it, or bringing it unintentional harm.

Her thoughts came to an abrupt halt as the ground violently shook. Large chunks of rubble fell from the crumbling ceiling, narrowly missing Allynna. The shock from the near-miss caused her to jump to her feet.  She turned to see her companions frantically dodging falling rubble as they packed their supplies and treasures.

"Good news is the exit is open! Bad news is it was the only thing holding this place together!" Thailna shouted as she ran down to help pack the heavier possessions.

"Well then, what the fuck are we waiting for! Let's get out of here!" Ashero replied with equal volume. He wasted no time packing what he could as he stumbled for the exit. The pain in his leg caused him to fall over flat on his face, dropping what little he had been carrying.

Gamdon retrieved the fallen items as Irala helped the admittedly embarrassed Ashero up. He placed his weight on her and used her as a crutch as they limped for the exit.

"Wait!" Allynna exclaimed as she once again bent down on her knees and held her palm to the crevice. "What about the human!?"

"What about it?!" Ashero's pained expression turned to annoyance. He was willing to deal with Allynna's nonsense under normal circumstances, but at this moment, their lives were in danger, and the pain in his leg had drained all his patience.

"It'll die in here!" Allynna cried with genuine worry in her voice. She couldn't let the poor thing die for their carelessness, not after it risked itself to help them.

"We'll die in here if we don't leave now!"

"Then I'll stay behind! I'll make sure everyone gets out and that we didn't leave anything!"

"What!? Are you insa-"

Irala forcefully pulled Ashero to the side, just managing to avoiding falling debris. The two fell, with Ashero landing on top of Irala.

"I-I-I apologize Master Oriven!" Irala stammered as she pushed Ashero off of her body and turned away, blushing. Ashero was about to scold her, but a shout from Gamdon reminded him of their current situation.

"By the Goddess, 'eres no time for 'is! Get up 'n' get movin'!" He helped both of them up, grabbed what he could, and rushed them through the exit.

With the rest of her friends safely escorted out, Thailna ran to Allynna's side. The younger woman was still attempting to coax the small creature out of its hole. Though clearly desperate, she still spoke in a hushed voice, ignoring the deafening noise of the collapsing cavern. Thailna placed her calloused hands on Allynna's shoulders. She knelt down next to her and calmly spoke to her friend.

"We need to go. Now."

She stared deep into Allynna's golden eyes, hoping she might give in. When she refused to move, Thailna sighed, rose to her feet, grabbed the last of their belongings, and moved for the exit.

"I know your mind is set. I'll be waiting outside. Don't take too long, I really don't want to have to drag you out kicking and screaming."

Thailna took her leave without looking back. She had known Allynna long enough to understand that when her mind was made up, nothing short of death would stop her. As she took a step out of the exit and into the light of the outside, she prayed to the goddess that Allynna would come to her senses before she had to drag her out.

Allynna was out of options and time. She flicked her tail and bit her lip as she reached into the crevice. She felt around the inside until she bumped into something soft and warm. She knew what she felt was the human. She grabbed it before it could escape. It struggled in her grasp, and she tightened her grip around it in response. She could feel the little creature still kicking and squirming in her hand.

"I'm sorry little one, please don't hate me!"

She took a deep breath and pulled it out of its hiding place. With her free hand, she opened the pouch hanging from her thigh, then carefully tucked the human away inside. She could feel the human's squirming die down as she closed the pouch. There would be time for apologies later. Right now, she needed to run. Without taking a moment to breathe, she raced for the exit as fast as her legs could carry her, never slowing down, not even when she had to dodge falling rocks as the ceiling caved in. She could see the light from the outside just ahead, but the collapsing tunnel was gaining on her. She picked up speed and dove through the exit as the last of the falling ruins sealed the opening behind her.

She landed belly down in the dirt, sliding a few feet from where she landed. Allynna let out an audible sigh of relief and turned over on her back. She made it.

Her relief quickly became panic as she had a sudden realization. The human! Had she accidentally crushed it when she dove through the exit?! Quickly, she ran her fingers over the small bulge in her pouch. When it moved in response to her touch, she once again let the wave of relief come over her.

"Nice landing, Allie." Thailna stood tall above her friend. She laughed as she watched Allynna's expression turn from surprise, to confusion, then to embarrassment. Grabbing her with one arm, she lifted her off the ground, and helped to brush the dirt off of her ragged garments. She gave her friend a hard pat on her back, before letting out a hearty laugh.

"Come on, we found a place to set up a new base camp before we head back to the city in the morning. Irala promised to cook up some of our leftover rations. Let's go catch up with the others before Gamdon eats it all again!"

Thailna continued to talk to Allynna as they walked deeper into the surrounding forest, but Allynna was only half listening. Her mind was preoccupied with other thoughts. More specifically, she was pondering just how she was going to explain her tiny passenger to her group. She placed her hand over the pouch and felt the human move again. It would have to wait, she decided. First, she needed a warm meal.

[iddybiddywitch]

Dungeons and Humans - CH. 2

Chapter 2 to my fantasy G/T story! Hope its just as good as the first! As always, let me know what you think!

Summary:

Allynna investigates her tiny human discovery, only to find it injured! She enlists the help of the cleric Irala to heal the poor thing.

AO3 Link

Previous Chapter

Word Count: 6214

“You can’t sleep either, huh?” Ashero’s voice was groggy, he seemed to swallow his words as he yawned.

The campfire flickered faintly against the dark of the night as the embers dwindled. The smell of the freshly cooked meal still lingered in the night air. The snores of the tired campers echoed across the dense forest. As was standard with all guild parties, one member was required to keep watch while the others slept. It was one of the many arbitrary rules that were considered common sense, but still written within the laws simply for the sake of being codified.

Allynna tapped her fingers with impatience. Her bright, wide open eyes lit up the night. Truthfully, she had only faked sleeping whilst she waited for her turn to take the watch. When her turn came, she practically jumped out of her bedroll as she moved to relieve Ashero. 

“Just excited to be back in proper living quarters, that’s all.” Allynna lied through her teeth. In part, she did wish to return to the comforts and luxuries of the guild’s provided lodging, but she had another thing in mind that kept her awake. One small, fragile, curious particular thing tucked away safely in her pouch. “Me, too. Can’t say I’m going to miss sleeping on the cold hard ground” Ashero groaned as he unfurled his bedroll next to the makeshift fire pit. 

“At least we have the moonlight now. No more dark, dank cave.”

“Ugh, maybe. That bright full moon is gonna make it hard to sleep.”

Ashero stretched, then crawled into his neatly laid out bedroll. He was careful to avoid placing weight on his injured leg. It was a sight to see, the proud elf carefully tucking his limb into the bedroll like a mother with a newborn.

“Regardless, I'm going to get as much sleep as possible now. I doubt the guild will let us rest, more than likely we’ll be out again as soon as we get settled.” With a final yawn, Ashero clambered the rest of the way into his bedroll, turned away from the fire pit, and closed his eyes. 

Though she made sure to be aware of her surroundings, Allynna could not help but stare at Ashero as he slept. She had to be certain he was sound asleep before she indulged her curiosity. She couldn't truly explain why she felt the need to be secretive, but she had a gut feeling that the human would be more cooperative with her in a more private setting, rather than face the gawking stares of her and all of her companions. 

Allynna’s pointed ears perked up once she heard the unmistakable sound of Ashero’s snores. She waited patiently for a few more moments, to ensure he had truly fallen asleep. When the snores continued, she had to cover her mouth to silence her giddy squeaks of excitement. Without making a sound, she sat down on a nearby tree stump, then reached her hand down onto the pouch on her thigh. She tapped lightly against the bulge protruding from the inside, and her eyes lit up as the bulge wiggled in response. It was still awake, and still conscious! Carefully, she undid the buttons holding her pouch closed, then reached inside and felt around for the small curiosity. She could feel it move around inside, making great efforts to avoid her grasp. This went on for a short while, but there is only so much room in her pouch. Eventually, the human trapped itself in the corner, allowing Allynna to take a gentle hold of it and bring it out into the moonlight for her to observe.

~~~~~

Lana’s panic increased as she was lifted out of the tiefling’s bag. At least within the dark confines of the leather pouch she was able to hide and not have to come face to face with the giant that had captured her. She closed her eyes as she was moved up towards the face of the titan. She had expected to be forcefully and quickly moved, but to her surprise the giant had been rather slow and easy with her. She brushed aside this observation, focusing more on her squirming, hoping to worm her way out of the grasp around her, but it was to no avail.

A faint, warm wind rushed over her. The tiefling spoke with a hushed whisper. Its voice was tender and gentle, like the murmur of a slight breeze before a raging storm. Lana stopped squirming for a moment, deciphering what seemed like concern in its voice. Mustering her courage, she dared to catch a glimpse at her captor. The genuine beauty of the titan surprised her. The first thing Lana noticed was the shining blueish-purple of its skin, matched by the deeper purple of its horns. Its horns curved almost into a spiral at her temple, much like a ram’s. They were large enough to be noticed from a good distance away, but just small enough that they did not seem to be in the way of its major facial features. its wavy dark hair complemented these horns nicely, allowing the lighter tones to contrast the shades of black. Lana’s eyes wandered back down to the maw of the titan, where its lips were parted into an honest smile - one that did not quite mask the two ever present protruding fangs resting on its bottom lip. Lana shivered at the sight and quickly shifted her attention back upwards, passing the nose and staring into the deep golden eyes of the giant, which in turn fixated directly onto her. The intense stare brought on mixed feelings within her. On one hand, this monster could easily crush her without so much as a thought, but on the other, the stare from this giant seemed to be filled not with malice and ill-intent, but with wonder and curiosity.

It was at this moment that Lana realized the tiefling had been studying her features as much as she had been studying it. The golden eyes of the giant devil moved up and down her body, tracing her slender figure. It ran a finger along her back, up to her neck, and finally came to rest on her head. It appeared to laugh, baring her fangs once more, before stroking her head. Lana found the motion soothing, but had a sudden realization.

Was it… petting her? Lana wriggled hard in the titan’s grasp, causing it to cease stroking her, and tighten its grip on her. She furiously shook, desperately trying to struggle her way out of the giant’s possession. Back and forth she moved, just trying to free a single limb.  The giant’s expression changed from curiosity to a frown. It repositioned itself to hold Lana at a more comfortable angle, before returning to gently stroking the top of her head. It whispered something in the giant’s tongue. Lana could only assume it was meant to be something pacifying, like how one would attempt to calm a wild animal. The giant’s voice was soft, softer than it had been when it stole her from her home in the caverns. 

Lana ceased her struggling for a moment and let her mind wander back to her temporary home. When her village was forcibly dispersed by a different party of giants, she had run as far as her legs could carry her, until she collapsed at the mouth of the caverns. Its humid entrance wasn't the most inviting, but some shelter was better than no shelter. She rested at the entrance for a moment, before making her way into the depths.

The inside was about what you would expect for an ancient cave. Dark, humid, and full of traps clearly made by colossal hands. Lana never paid them mind, as most of them were far too big to ever be set off by her tiny footsteps. Deeper inside, shattered pots, archaic writings, and the occasional gold piece or gem lay scattered about. Whatever the giants had originally intended this place for, it had been long abandoned. That was just fine with Lana. The less of the titanic races around, the better. She made quick work of the caverns, carefully carving out tunnels in the cracks and crevices, mapping out the different sections, and even disarming a few of the traps that did have a chance of snapping her up. Overall, not a bad job for just one single human. It wasn’t much, but it was her home. Undisturbed and undiscovered for months, it served as her shelter after hours of scavenging and scouring the forest. Or at least, It had, until they showed up.  Truthfully, she had never intended to help the giants. She only wanted them out of her cavern as soon as possible! She planned for the titans to do what they always did: Show up, destroy everything, take what they deemed “valuable”, and leave. What she hadn’t counted on was being spotted and subsequently kidnapped by the purple behemoth that currently held her hostage.

An abrupt pat against her head brought Lana out of her thoughts. She had been so preoccupied by her thoughts she had not realized the tiefling had loosened its grip on her. Perhaps it mistook her reminiscing as a type of surender to its whims. For a moment, Lana considered returning to her previous struggle, but a better idea came into her mind. If the tiefling believed she had given up, it might just let its guard down and loosen its grip just a little more to allow her to kick free! It was a long shot, but it was the only idea she had.

She allowed the giant to stroke her head. It cooed as best it could in its bizarre language. Lana couldn’t begin to wrap her head around how the titanic beings could understand each other. Each one had a distinctly different sound associated with their race and maw. Not that she ever stuck around long enough to actually listen to them. She was a bit preoccupied by running and hiding from their wanton destruction and murder of her home and colleagues. That's all any human could get in this world. Build a community, hide away, and pray to whatever god would listen that you die of old age or disease before the behemoths came and ruined everything.  Drifting from her thoughts again, Lana found she was able to move just a tiny bit more in the tiefling’s grasp. Finally, after what felt like hours of gawking, coddling, and cooing, the giant had loosened its grip just enough for Lana to enact her plan. She just needed to wait for just the right moment and… kick!

Okay. Maybe that one was just a fluke. Just needed one more moment and… …Her leg wouldn't move. Why wasn’t her leg moving?! She tried again to move it again. No luck. All she could sense was a numb, tingling sensation. The next time the tiefling loosened her grip a little bit more, she tried to grab at it with her hands, only to be met with excruciating, tear inducing pain. When The tiefling’s fingers parted just enough for her to see her lower body, she looked downward at her leg, and screamed.

~~~~~ No, no, no!

It had all been going so well! Allynna had been soothing the little human and it seemed to be working until it suddenly started screaming! The poor thing’s little shouts sounded like a helpless rodent in distress. While not alarming, it was certainly just loud enough to risk waking the other members of her party.

Lana bit her lip, her fangs digging into her. She had to think fast. What could have upset the poor thing so badly? Had she frightened it by accident? Did she stroke it too hard? Or maybe she was gripping it too tight! Yeah, that had to be it.

Slowly, Allynna opened her palm in order to- oh. Human legs were definitely not supposed to look like that.  The limb was clearly deformed. While the knee and majority of the leg were straight, the left foot was pointed inwards toward the other leg at a ninety degree angle. The tattered clothing it wore provided small glimpses into the state of the injury. The skin was discolored to a dark blue with splotches of purple and yellow that was at its deepest hue and swollen as it entered into the human’s footwear. The discolored marks crawled all the way up to the middle of its calf. Allynna mentally kicked herself for not checking the human for injuries earlier. When did it even become injured? It couldn't have been the cave in, she surely would have been able to hear it shout! Unless… Unless the shouts were muffled by her bag. Allynna’s thoughts went back to her less than graceful landing at the cavern’s exit. She physically cringed at the thought of her crushing the little creature’s fragile bones. Sure, she was leaner than most of her kind, the job of a rogue required her to be thin and silent after all, but that mattered little to a brittle human body with miniscule size and frail bones. She might as well have dropped a mountain’s weight of boulders on the poor thing!

Now aware the human couldn't run off even if it tried, Allyna carefully opened her hand and laid her palm flat. It attempted to sit up at first, but she quickly got it to lay back down by gently pressing on its chest with her index finger. She was careful not to apply more than a gentle prod, the last thing the poor creature needed was more broken bones from her carelessness. Though cautious, she found it rather fascinating just how easily she could hold it down. She always knew humans were small, but she didn’t grasp the scale until she was holding one in her hand. It was barely taller than her palm, if its position were reversed its head would barely reach the second knuckle of her middle finger! It couldn’t have been more than 5 inches tall at most. 

Allynna couldn't help herself but to whisper soothing words as it tried with all its might to stay upright and push her finger off of its chest. Eventually, the human ran out of steam and laid flat on her palm with its arms extended outward. She could feel it trying to catch its breath as its chest rose and fell underneath her finger.  Allyna sighed in relief. She was tempted to admire its adorable exhausted form, but there were more pressing matters to attend to first. With the human satisfactorily subdued, she pulled out a small dagger she kept on her person and searched for a place where she could cut along the worn seams of its ragged legwear and boots. Almost immediately, the human’s fighting spirit returned. Its eyes grew wide and watery, the anxiety and fear written clearly on its face. It partially hid its face behind its outstretched arms, its head turned away from the blade. The poor human barely let out tired shrieks and trills in between its painful sobs and gasps for air. The warbled sounds barely qualified as a “language”, but it conveyed its sheer terror nonetheless.

“No, nononono, it's okay! I just wanna see, okay? I have to know how bad it is!” Allyna tried to hide the panic in her voice. Another careless mistake. Of course the little cutie would freak out! What sane living being wouldn't when a stranger, let alone one several times your size, approached you with a blade longer than you are tall! Allyna sheathed her dagger, then closed her eyes and laid her cheek in her free palm.  Letting out a sigh, she had to admit: she had no idea what the hells she was doing. Even if she could get the human to be calm and cooperative, she knew next to nothing about healing and medicine! 

….But she knew someone who did.

Allynna bit her lip as she considered her decision, then shook her head to clear up any doubts. Right. She’s made up her mind. The nearest city was still half a day’s journey away, and the human, her human, was injured and needed immediate medical attention. This was the only way it was going to get the attention it needed. “Sorry, little one, but I need you to be quiet for a bit…” 

Allynna gently covered the human’s mouth with her littlest finger. She was careful not to apply any pressure, and to make sure her claw was as far away from its skin as possible. She held her finger there for a few moments, before slowly removing it again. She looked into its pitiful, puffy eyes, now red from its tears, and hoped it understood what she was asking of it. Though, even if it did not get the message, it seemed far too weak now to so much as whisper, much less shout. The human’s previous terror had given way to exhaustion. Its skin was now sickly pallor instead of its previous rosy pink. Its breathing increased in speed and depth, as evident by the rapid rise and fall of its chest. She curled her fingers around it to prevent it from falling out of her palm and to provide some semblance of comfort. With a deep breath, she tiptoed over to Irala’s bedroll, careful not to awaken the other members of her party or jerk her palm.

  Irala lay on her side, resting peacefully in her artisan-crafted bedroll. Her signature staff sat in the grass beside her, the symbol of her patron goddess decorating its tip. As a cleric, it was important for her to keep her spellcasting focus nearby, just as it was important for Allynna to keep a dagger on her person at all times. She kneeled next to the staff, gently lowering herself down, and moved to shake her sleeping companion awake, only to be startled when Irala turned over, wide awake, and grasped her arm. It took much control for Allynna not to shout, just managing to hold in a yelp as she peered into Irala’s sky blue eyes. They stared intently at her, before softening as they accompanied a smirk. 

“Good evening, Miss Redthorne. Do you require my assistance with your ‘little’ problem?” The elder moon-elf giggled at her own pun. She clambered out of her sleep sack, brushed herself off, and picked up her staff, the various charms dangling from it chimed against each other, making a pleasant ringing sound. 

“How-did…How did you know?!” Alynna stuttered out. She was certain she had been careful and quiet! She hoped she hadn’t awakened the elder adventurer with her struggles with the human. That surely wouldn’t look good on a guild evaluation, especially for a rogue who’s whole job for the party is stealth. 

“We are under the light of Sehanine’s full moon, during the twilight hours in which I am at my strongest, my dear. Truthfully, I need not sleep on nights such as this, though I do find my dreams to be quite pleasant when I get the chance.” Irala seemed proud of her last statement, holding the tone in a lax manner, implying sleep and dreams were a luxury rarely afforded to her. Allynna sighed a breath of relief, at least she hadn’t interrupted her slumber. Even so, she still felt slightly guilty for disturbing her before her time at watch, but the situation was dire and Irala was right, she needed the help of an experienced healer.

“Now then,” Irala gently took hold of Allynna’s hand that clutched the poor human to her chest, and spread her fingers. “Let's take a look at the poor thing, shall we?”

Irala’s smile turned to a look of worry upon seeing the state of the human. It barely moved as she studied everything about it, occasionally placing her fingers along its form, gently poking at its chest and arms, and overall taking in its basic vital signs before settling her attention on its deformed leg. She pulled apart the fabric on its legs with ease, like tearing away wet parchment. Without its flimsy leggings, the injury came into full view. The swelling had been much worse than either of them had thought. Its knee too, now began to turn red and bulge, likely made worse by its previous thrashing about. Even Irala, an experienced healer who had seen her fair share of injuries, cringed at its gruesome state. She shook her head, frowned, and prepared herself to cast her healing spells. 

“Hold it steady and hand me your smallest, weakest blade. I have my suspicions, but I need to get this footwear off to confirm it.” Irala’s voice lacked the mildness it normally came with. Instead, she remained serious and focused on her task, giving commands with a monotone pitch. Allynna handed her the dagger she used in her previous attempt to remove the human’s clothing. She wasted no time cutting into the worn leather of the footwear, quickly but carefully dragging the blade along its seams. It gave away before the human could even realize what was happening, barely moving as Irala carefully pulled the boot off and disposed of it. 

Underneath, the human’s foot was just as bad as its leg, if not worse. Allynna could see that it at least followed the shape of its lower leg, but its ankle appeared twisted and bulged outward. The human, too tired to fight anymore, just lay in her palm, letting the cleric work on it without so much as even a hint of the desperate fire it had earlier. It was adorable, the way it nuzzled its head into her palm to hide away. She appreciated it was at least beginning to understand that her palm was a place of comfort and safety, she just wished it came from a genuine place instead of a reaction to the unbearable pain and terror it must be in. 

An exasperated groan from Irala redirected her attention from the human to her. Irala had ceased her examination on the wounds, instead standing idly by, drumming her fingers against her thigh, deep in thought. An annoyed glare flashed across her face before she exhaled, allowing herself to relax.

“Allynna,” She stated with a hint of displeasure, “Did you attempt a healing spell before you asked for my assistance?”

“No? I can’t even use those kinds of spells.”

“Hm. I see.”

“Is… something wrong?”

“The injuries it sustained were partially healed, but done so incorrectly. The bones were not set before the healing spell was cast. If I had to guess, another party must have found it before we did, made a poor attempt at first aid, then left it to fend for itself.” Irala furrowed her brows. She made no attempt to hide her irritation. Her frustration was understandable. Leaving a hapless creature with severe trauma after a botched healing spell was not only cruel, but just downright selfish. It would be merciful to simply end its suffering, rather than letting it go all the while pretending to have done a good deed. 

At the very least Allynna was relieved it had not been her clumsiness that injured the sweet little thing. Though, she dared not think what may have occurred had she never found the human. It was already at death's door just from meekly struggling against her grasp, it wouldn't last a day out in the wild in this state! Not that it ever would have to. Once this was over with, she’d make sure it was taken care of. She’d register it with the guild as hers, train it to assist her with her rogue jobs (Humans were known to be great at hiding!), and bring it along with her on the party’s adventures! That was certainly a better existence than what it had before, living day-to-day scrounging for cave scraps whilst avoiding towering beasts all on its own. It had been abandoned before, but she would ensure it would never be alone again. She stared at the human with stars in her eyes as she daydreamed of its future with her. As if to agree, it buried its head into her palm once more.

“Though that does leave me with quite a puzzle,” Irala continued her train of thought regardless of whether Allynna was actually listening. She snapped her attention back to the elder elf, hoping she hadn’t been caught daydreaming again. 

“It's the only logical explanation for the state of its leg, but if that were the case it should be in far worse condition! It would show symptoms of weeks to days worth of deformities and sepsis by now. We were the only ones in those ruins. No one else could have slipped by us, especially if they used magic. Unless, of course, this little human is an inexperienced mage itself and attempted to heal its leg on its own” 

“You think so?!”

Irala shook her head. “Oh, my dear. I was merely joking. Humans are incapable of magic, afterall.”

“Oh…” Allynna did feel slight disappointment that the human wouldn’t be able to replicate her arcane talents. It was certainly special, but perhaps not that special. In hindsight, it was quite ridiculous to imagine the tiny being in a miniature version of a caster’s robes attempting to control the wild arcane.

“Apologies, Miss Redthorne, I did not mean to get your hopes up. My joke was an attempt to lighten the mood, as neither of us are going to enjoy this next part. We must act fast to prevent further damage. The pain has been numbed for now due to my efforts and whatever previous healing spell was used, but if not treated quickly, it will grow into a greater issue. I can fix what was poorly done, as well as guarantee a full recovery, but we must rebreak its bones first.”

“We have to do what?!”

~~~~~

Gods would they just fucking get it over with already! Lana rubbed her head into the ground again, or rather, the massive palm that acted as the ground. It was about the only thing she could move anymore. The absolute throbbing pain that now coursed through her entire body was unbearable. She previously was able to shout and squirm to drive it off, but now her throat was hoarse, her body ached, and everything from the neck down had a tingling sensation to it. As embarrassing as it was, even just burying her head into something was enough to temporarily take her mind off her dire circumstances. To top everything off, not only had her escape plan failed miserably, it seemed to provoke the first titan into drafting the assistance of another. It had been bad enough when there was only one of the massive creatures examining her body, now there was a second one that seemed hells bent on touching every part of her, regardless of her protests, or the abhorrent pain it put her in. 

Lana could see the two debating something with each other. Her blurred vision from her dry, tear stained eyes barely let her catch the detail of the two’s lips moving as they spoke in their eldritch tongues. Their tones were harsh, much sharper than when they were communicating earlier, and certainly louder than when they “spoke” with her. Most likely they were discussing the best way to dispose of her after they had their fun. A part of her wished she had just accepted the purple one’s earlier strokes without resisting, perhaps then she could have earned herself a quick death, but there would be no such mercy for her now. 

The sounds of the creatures’ conversation ended with a near-holler from the taller, darker one. The purple pillars that were the giant’s fingers slightly curled around her in response. She glanced upward to see what caused the commotion, only to be met with those golden yellow eyes staring directly down at her. It was hard to tell, but Lana could discern what appeared to be a pitiful frown sprawled across its face. That couldn't be a good sign. Shortly after, the taller one brought its palm down close to her chest, hovering just above her.. 

Oh gods. This was actually it. They were going to crush her like an insect. And there wasn’t a damn thing she could do about it. No matter how much she tried, her body would not move. She wasted all her energy in her earlier escape “attempts”, now her body lay limp as a ragdoll, leaving her no options but to watch as her demise approached. Even if she could manage to move her body, it was not likely she would get far on a broken leg. What's more, at full height the titans stood hundreds of units high. A fall from this elevation would surely kill her, or leave her even more mangled. There was truly nothing she could do but pray her death would be swift.

Lana grimaced as she braced herself for the inevitable, but it never came. There was no crushing of her body, no displacement of bones, no innards leaking onto the palms of the two monsters, no-

A sharp pain in her ankle cut off her spiraling presumptions. She felt a sudden tug on it, the bones making an unpleasant grinding noise as they moved. Oh shit. Shit shit shit shit! They weren’t going to crush her, they were going to pull her apart piece by piece! She begged, pleaded for anything save for that! Fighting back the waterworks in her eyes, she gave the most pitiful look she could muster up at the purple behemoth, all to no avail. It shrank away from her gaze, turning its head away from her, then placed a finger on her mouth, silencing any further pleas whilst dashing any hope Lana had left. She tried to scream, but no words would come out. She was a prisoner in her own body, her limbs acting as her chains, the giants’ palms her cell. She prayed for the tingling numbness that was present earlier, anything was better than feeling her body be pulled apart like fresh fruit off a vine. They were going to rip her apart, pin her up and display her as a trophy of their exploits. She could see it now, Displayed here is the common human, weak, expendable, and excellent entertainment. Make a wish for every limb you pull!

Another tight pinch on her ankle reminded her that the suffering had only begun. She braced herself for the tearing of flesh from bone, limb from body, until she felt not a tear, but a krrrrack! She didn't care if her mouth was blocked, she needed to release the pain. Her sore throat and hoarse voice be damned, she shrieked with all of her remaining strength, the shouts drowning out the ringing in her ears. She bellowed until all the air in her lungs left her, and yet still she tried, gasping for air so she may continue to vent against the embarrassment, the fear, and the intolerable pain.

Then, as soon as it came, the pain went away. Replaced by a benumbed calm. There was no more suffering, just a pleasant warmth. She was certain she was dying, if not already dead. She lay her head back, and for the first time all night, she didn't fight the tears that poured down her face.

~~~~~

Allynna could feel the wetness from the human’s tears, and the vibrations from its attempts to scream as Irala quickly snapped its bones back into their proper positions. Gods, she felt horrible watching it suffer, but if this was the only way to save it, it was worth it. Irala tightly pinched its legs to hold the bones together, before casting the healing spell. A soft, silver glow encompassed the human, the signature color of Irala’s healing magics. Allynna could hear the gut-churning cracks of the bones as they shifted and melded back into their proper places. Slowly, the swelling went down, shrinking back down to the same size as the human’s unharmed leg. The reds, purples, blues, and yellows all disappeared from its skin, allowing it to return to its normal pale-pink. The color on its face, too, returned to the rosy pink it had been before.

It did not take long for the human to realize that it had been partially healed, for just as soon as it regained the mobility in its limb, it began to squirm and kick to escape from Allynna’s hand just as it had before. This time though, she left her palm open with the other hand still covering its mouth while Irala restrained it by placing her hand over its entire body.

“Easy now, little one, we’re almost done” Irala’s tone shifted once more from her stern, monotone back to her gentle sing-song voice. The silver glow from Irala’s spell began to fade, blending in with the pale moonlight glow, until it disappeared completely, leaving the human looking completely recovered. 

“There. That should be enough for tonight. It’ll need at least one more session before it regains full mobility of that leg. I’ll be sure to recast the spell tomorrow night, once we are comfortable within our lodgings. As for now, I believe it is time we all get a little rest, yes?” Irala placed a finger on the human’s chest. Another silver glow encompassed it, but this time instead of healing the human ceased its fighting. It sat still, with a look of calm neutrality on its face until its eyes drooped, eventually closing completely. It curled around itself, and her heart fluttered when it nestled into the warmth of its fleshy “bed”. She looked at Irala with an exhausted smile on her face, truly thankful the little one was at least finally relaxed, if only for a short while. Irala smiled back at her, then rested a hand on her shoulder.

“You need rest, my dear, and so does your little pet. I assume you will be keeping it, yes? Would be a shame for us to have gone through all this work just to release it.”

Irala’s smirk was hard to resist. Though her watch had only just begun, Allynna couldn't help but feel the overbearing drowsiness begin to take her. Her eyes felt heavy, and she wobbled a bit on her feet. She did her best to fight it, but found herself only falling more into the deep sleep. She collapsed onto Irala, bracing her human against her chest as she fell.

~~~~~~

Irala smiled brightly at the two as they slept. She had only intended for her sleep spell to affect Allynna’s human, she never considered Allynna might fall victim to its whims. The poor dear must have been much more tired than she let on. Oh well. It was at least a nice night for her to take the remainder of the watch.

She looked over to her personal bedroll, where she placed the youngest Redthorne. The youthful tiefling embraced the human’s tiny form, to which the human subconsciously huddled itself into the warmth. They were adorable together! Their embrace reminded her of a child cuddling its favorite stuffed toy! She stifled a giggle as she sat down, allowing herself to focus on her meditation. The soft murmurs and snores from her traveling party proved to be too much of a distraction, however. She opened her eyes to see the moonlight gleaming down into the camp. It seemed random at first, just shimmering through the trees, but at closer inspection the moonlight appeared to shift and slide until it was concentrated solely on one point: Allynna and her human.

Irala had been around long enough to recognize a sign from her divine when she saw it. She immediately stood up and walked over to the two. They still lay comfortably with one another, Allynna protecting the little dear by draping her hand over it, and the human responding in turn by relaxing just a little bit more into the embrace. The moonlight reflected off their faces, its silver glow highlighting their peaceful expressions.

Irala tapped her chin and pursed her lips. Whatever her goddess was trying to tell her, one thing was clear. These two were important in some manner, and they needed her guidance. Once the moonlight faded and the campground returned to darkness, she paced back to her spot across from the campsite. She lay her staff beside her, then sat cross legged, allowing her mind to wander. In her meditation, she pondered her role. Though she was meant only to evaluate the newcomers to the guild, these two proved far too interesting to leave so soon. She would join their adventuring party, not as an evaluator or a chaperone, but as a fellow member, and keep an eye on them.

She grinned as her goddess shifted the moonlight’s glow once more, landing on her make-shift meditation circle. A sign of approval. Yes, these two oddballs would prove most interesting indeed! She was excited to see what fate and the gods had in store for them.

[yeepof]

I understand that tall men are our POV characters, but surely being like a foot taller than everyone around them would have some occasional consequences

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

Expertise can't help you here.

[robotclownindulgence]

[bloodraven55]

i’ve seen too many people arguing that marcille was already a full grown adult when she went to school at 35 despite literally all of the canon evidence indicating otherwise

[wasabi-gumdrop]

local ladies man’s signature move totally useless against autistic monster enthusiast. more on Kabru’s fumble era at 6

[kingofthegophers]

started off with me thinking chilchuck reminded me a lot of marshal and then it spiralled from there

EDIT: part 2 with lycion in the reblogs bc tumblr is being mean and won't letting me upload multiple pictures in the original post :')

[ruporas]

dragon meat, you, and me

[aphel1on]

compilation of dunmeshi images saved to my computer under variations of "FOUND FAMILY REAL":

[willpowers]

anyways while senshi is canonically a feminine elf mithrun is canonically a masculine one since like senshi with all his alternate race appearances making him look more cute and feminine mithruns other race appearances have him as an absolute hunk of a man like kabru is fucking teaching self care to a middle aged veteran who sometimes says racist shit like you think kabru ever sighed and was like 'lets get you to bed soldier you're talking nonsense about half foots again"

[iddybiddywitch]

Dungeons and Humans (Original)

The story in its original form, before i rewrote it (and had to delete my old tumblr because tumblr mixed my primary blog and size blog together for some reason)

Summary: A Dungeons & Dragons world where humans are tiny and all other races are giant, a tiefling adventurer finds a human woman fascinating and takes it with her

“Come on out, little one," Allynna placed her palm near the crevice she saw the tiny being scurry into. "I won't hurt you." Her voice was soft and quiet. She made special care to hide her fangs behind her plush lips, so as to not further frighten the poor thing.

Inside, Lana pressed her body against the dark walls of the cavern. She held her hand over her mouth as she tried to steady her breathing. Every human clan had one rule in common: don't get caught. And now, she was trapped in a collapsing hole, with her only way out leaving her at the mercy of a monster with teeth almost half her size. She held her breath and continued to listen to the outside, hoping for an opportunity to escape.

"This is a waste of our time!" Ashero shouted. The highlands elf was rather grumpy. Though this was no news to his comrades, his poor attitude was amplified by the injury on his leg.

"This place could collapse any minute!" As if to reiterate his point, the ruins shook, and small pieces of rubble rained upon the adventurers' heads.

"Quit yer shoutin' and hold still! Yer gonna bring the whole damn place down on us!" Gamdon grumbled as he continued to wrap the elf's wounds. Their healer had already finished mending the more gruesome parts of the injury, it merely needed a few bandages. A simple process that would take but a moment, had Ashero not continued to fidget, much to the dwarf's annoyance.

Ashero impatiently tapped his fingers as he tried to remain still. He glanced at the blocked exit, noting Thailna, their half-blood orc, and Irala, their dark-elf healer, still struggling to move the rubble. Irala shifted smaller chunks, while Thailna attempted to dislodge the boulders and bulkier remains. He quickly looked away before they could catch him staring. He turned his attention back to Allynna, who was still preoccupied with the human hiding in the small fissure.

"Why are you so fascinated with that thing?" Ashero's hollers drew another shake from the ruins, and a glare from Gamdon

Without turning to address her colleague, Allynna replied,

"It's been helping us! I know it has!"

Ashero lifted his leg, nearly kicking poor Gamdon, and showed off his freshly wrapped wounds.

"Yeah, a real help it's been!"

"That's your own fault for darting ahead into the room unprepared! One disarmed trap at the entrance doesn't mean there aren't more inside! Besides, I saw it dragging supplies to our camp the other night! And, the markings on the walls that led us to the treasure room? I've never seen anything like them! The details are too small and intricate to have been drawn by anyone of the greater races. Plus, all the disarmed traps? What else could disarm those tiny, delicate, near-invisible plates, but something equally as tiny and delicate!"

Allynna's eyes lit up as she spoke of the fascinating deeds the human had done for her party. Perhaps she might've thought herself crazy, had she not seen it with her own eyes. Being a tiefling had a few benefits, dark vision being one of them. Her mother had taught her that if all else fails, trust her eyes. She had never really bothered with humans before, nor did she understand the other races' judgements of them, but this one had caught her attention. She had so many questions bouncing around in her mind. Where did it come from? How did it know about all the traps and treasures? And most importantly, why would it risk getting caught to help them?

She flicked her tail once more as she pondered what to do. It was clear the human was not going to come out willingly. However, if she forced it out, she would risk either frightening it, or bringing it unintentional harm.

Her thoughts came to an abrupt halt as the ground violently shook. Large chunks of rubble fell from the crumbling ceiling, narrowly missing Allynna. The shock from the near-miss caused her to jump to her feet. She turned to see her companions frantically dodging falling rubble as they packed their supplies and treasures.

"Good news is the exit is open! Bad news is it was the only thing holding this place together!" Thailna shouted as she ran down to help pack the heavier possessions.

"Well then, what the fuck are we waiting for! Let's get out of here!" Ashero replied with equal volume. He wasted no time packing what he could as he stumbled for the exit. The pain in his leg caused him to fall over flat on his face, dropping what little he had been carrying.

Gamdon retrieved the fallen items as Irala helped the admittedly embarrassed Ashero up. He placed his weight on her and used her as a crutch as they limped for the exit.

"Wait!" Allynna exclaimed as she once again bent down on her knees and held her palm to the crevice. "What about the human!?"

"What about it?!" Ashero's pained expression turned to annoyance. He was willing to deal with Allynna's nonsense under normal circumstances, but at this moment, their lives were in danger, and the pain in his leg had drained all his patience.

"It'll die in here!" Allynna cried with genuine worry in her voice. She couldn't let the poor thing die for their carelessness, not after it risked itself to help them.

"We'll die in here if we don't leave now!"

"Then I'll stay behind! I'll make sure everyone gets out and that we didn't leave anything!"

"What!? Are you insa-"

Irala forcefully pulled Ashero to the side, just managing to avoid falling debris. The two fell, with Ashero landing on top of Irala.

"I-I-I apologize Master Oriven!" Irala stammered as she pushed Ashero off of her body and turned away, blushing. Ashero was about to scold her, but a shout from Gamdon reminded him of their current situation.

"By the Goddess, 'eres no time for 'is! Get up 'n' get movin'!" He helped both of them up, grabbed what he could, and rushed them through the exit.

With the rest of her friends safely escorted out, Thailna ran to Allynna's side. The younger woman was still attempting to coax the small creature out of its hole. Though clearly desperate, she still spoke in a hushed voice, ignoring the deafening noise of the collapsing cavern. Thailna placed her calloused hands on Allynna's shoulders. She knelt down next to her and calmly spoke to her friend.

"We need to go. Now."

She stared deep into Allynna's golden eyes, hoping she might give in. When she refused to move, Thailna sighed, rose to her feet, grabbed the last of their belongings, and moved for the exit.

"I know your mind is set. I'll be waiting outside. Don't take too long, I really don't want to have to drag you out kicking and screaming."

Thailna took her leave without looking back. She had known Allynna long enough to understand that when her mind was made up, nothing short of death would stop her. As she took a step out of the exit and into the light of the outside, she prayed to the goddess that Allynna would come to her senses before she had to drag her out.

Allynna was out of options and time. She flicked her tail and bit her lip as she reached into the crevice. She felt around the inside until she bumped into something soft and warm. She knew what she felt was the human. She grabbed it before it could escape. It struggled in her grasp, and she tightened her grip around it in response. She could feel the little creature still kicking and squirming in her hand.

"I'm sorry little one, please don't hate me!"

She took a deep breath and pulled it out of its hiding place. With her free hand, she opened the pouch hanging from her thigh, then carefully tucked the human away inside. She could feel the human's squirming die down as she closed the pouch. There would be time for apologies later. Right now, she needed to run. Without taking a moment to breathe, she raced for the exit as fast as her legs could carry her, never slowing down, not even when she had to dodge falling rocks as the ceiling caved in. She could see the light from the outside just ahead, but the collapsing tunnel was gaining on her. She picked up speed and dove through the exit as the last of the falling ruins sealed the opening behind her.

She landed belly down in the dirt, sliding a few feet from where she landed. Allynna let out an audible sigh of relief and turned over on her back. She made it.

Her relief quickly became panic as she had a sudden realization. The human! Had she accidentally crushed it when she dove through the exit?! Quickly, she ran her fingers over the small bulge in her pouch. When it moved in response to her touch, she once again let the wave of relief come over her.

"Nice landing, Allie." Thailna stood tall above her friend. She laughed as she watched Allynna's expression turn from surprise, to confusion, then to embarrassment. Grabbing her with one arm, she lifted her off the ground, and helped to brush the dirt off of her ragged garments. She gave her friend a hard pat on her back, before letting out a hearty laugh.

"Come on, we found a place to set up a new base camp before we head back to the city in the morning. Irala promised to cook up some of our leftover rations. Let's go catch up with the others before Gamdon eats it all again!"

Thailna continued to talk to Allynna as they walked deeper into the surrounding forest, but Allynna was only half listening. Her mind was preoccupied with other thoughts. More specifically, she was pondering just how she was going to explain her tiny passenger to her group. She placed her hand over the pouch and felt the human move again. It would have to wait, she decided. First, she needed a warm meal.

[dunmeshistash]

Something that completely flew over my head (I am not very observant), I was rereading chapter 87: Winged Lion II to re-check some things about dungeons and I just now realized the ancient humans weren't from the current races we know.

They seem to have characteristics from several of the human races together, and some of them even seem to have fur (like demi-humans?)

It's even implied that the lifespan differences and physical differences (the two asking for muscles and using magic in the background) were due to the Demon granting wishes

I did notice this part but I didn't realize this was probably part of the source of the race differences rather than the races already being different and wishing for different things.

So at some point the human races might have been even more closely related, before a powerful being influenced their evolution.

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

License to Kitty.

[discount-supervillain]