"Come on. I'm pretty sure you can do better than me!" I said, looking at the Hag and feeling afraid. I desperately searched for an idea, a way out. There was none. Rathica, I don't know if you can hear me, but I need your help! I screamed a prayer in my mind, and a soft chime sounded throughout the cave.

The Hag laughed as she pressed her hands down on my shoulder, her head coming closer to mine. "Don't bother, little Prime follower. Your deity can't help you here! The Mistress of Rot has sway here, and she won't brook no interference!" The stench from her mouth was worse than from her body, like fertilizer that had gone so bad not even plants would want it.

"You will grant us strong, powerful children! Yesssss you will!" she said, as one of her hands drew across my chest and abdomen.

I began bucking up and down, trying to throw her off, and she swatted me on the side of the face until I saw stars.

"None of that! If need be I'll strangle you first, but I'll get my way!"

Before I could answer, I felt her hand on my privates, starting to squeeze and fondle.

"That won't work!" I hissed, shaking my head.

"Oh, but it will!" She giggled, continuing her poor excuse for a hand job.

I'd never thought I'd get woman-handled by some tree hag. Suddenly my mind went into overdrive. Treehag?! That's it. I couldn't cast entangle, but there was another spell that needed far less complex finger and hand gestures. I'd need a distraction though, or she would stop me halfway. Feeling my business still unresponsive, I took a deep breath, steeling myself for what was to come.

"Listen, how about I cooperate and in return you let me leave here alive afterward?" I said, trying my best to keep my voice steady.

The Hag blinked and turned her attention back to my face. "An interesting proposition, but I don't think so. However…" and she bent closer to lick my face with what felt like a piece of dried leather covered in vomit. "If you cooperate, we will kill you clean!"

I pretended to think for a moment and then nodded. "Okay, but then you will need to release my hands."

The Hag cackled, throwing her head back while squeezing too hard, causing me to flinch.

"What, and have you cast spells? I think not. Do you take us for idiots?"

I shook my head, putting on my best weak fool face. "What could I possibly cast that would harm you here? You've seen I only know Entangle. If I had anything else, I would have used it before!"

The Hag ignored me and began fondling again. I shivered and tried again.

"It won't work. I've got this condition; the only way for me to perform is if I can use my hands to feel you."

This time the Hag stopped, and I saw her eyes widen. Wondering which part of what I'd said caught her attention, I quickly continued.

"I won't do anything like casting spells, just fondle your beautiful body a little," I said, forcing myself not to gag as I spoke.

The Hag glared at me for a while, and then she grinned. "One hand! And if I find you casting anything, I'll chop it off and find some way to motivate you!"

I nodded and winced as she squeezed a final time before leaving my bruised privates alone. It took all my effort not to show the vengeful anger I felt bubbling up inside me. She used her long talons to remove the bindings from one of my hands and then pushed out her chest.

"Begin!"

I almost felt like throwing up, but I knew I had to wait and bide my time for the plan I had in mind. Clenching my teeth, I pressed my hand on her breast. It felt like a combination of silky-soft wood and taut leather, totally unlike what I had feared.

A soft moan echoed through the room, and to my complete bewilderment, the Hag tossed her head back and began moaning.

What the hell? I thought, and at the same time contemplated starting right away. Something held me back, although I wasn't sure what. A good thing because the Hag stopped. Her eyes snapped open, and she scrutinized me.

"You expected me to do something like that and were about to do something stupid, weren't you?!" she snarled.

I shook my head, and the Hag frowned.

"Hurry up and get ready, my sisters are waiting, and they don't take kindly to waiting." She gave me a hard gaze, and I gritted my teeth as I saw her watching if I would do anything. Wondering when my time would come, I began caressing her breasts.

A few minutes later, I saw her eyes dilating slightly as her gaze drifted off a little. Was she playing again? I still wasn't reacting, which I hadn't expected but slightly feared. Keeping my eyes on her, I saw her gaze move from my eyes to somewhere above my head. I didn't stop, praying she would give me the five seconds I needed.

Her eyes glazed over and trying not to show anything from my body movement or what I was doing, the hand furthest from her, partially covered by my body, began moving. One, two, she was still looking ahead, three, four, the spell was almost done, a bit slower than normal from the odd position.

Five! I thought as the spell finished and my hands glowed a deep green. Like lightning, I moved my hand from her breast to her mouth, squeezing the ugly mug closed as Share Life force flashed through her. The hags hands gripped my arm, her eyes wide with panic, and I felt a massive surge of energy flow into me. My gamble had paid off. These things were more tree than anything else!

The weakness coursing through my body dissipated, and with a burst of adrenaline, I forced my arms outwards. The vines creaked but held, and I used all three hands to cast Share Lifeforce again. I didn't know how much time I had, but probably seconds rather than minutes. The Hag was scratching and clawing at my arm, and painful long bloody gashes quickly covered my hand. Then the three spells fired, and I cast two on the Hag and one on the vine praying it still held some lifeforce.

Another wave of energy, but less than before, came, and I ripped at the vines again. This time they burst almost immediately, and I shot up. Two hands around the Hags hands to prevent her from casting, and one across her mouth, I began strangling her with the fourth. Her eyes widened further and further, and she tried to bite me. I ignored all of it, now much stronger than she was. Seconds ticked by, and I felt her weaken, but not fast enough. I had no idea how long her sisters would wait. Taking another gamble, I released her arms and quickly grabbed her head. With a snap like dry kindling breaking, I spun her head around, and she stopped resisting.

I didn't stop but immediately tried to draw a Vengeful Spirit into the dead Hag. A wave of hate, anger, pain, and fear answered me from all around, and it felt as if dozens if not hundreds of entities briefly warred to enter the body.

The Hag's eyes suddenly focused, and I looked at her. A different gaze, less intelligent but with infinite gratitude, looked at me from green eyes that seemed to burn from the inside out.

I released the possessed Hag body, and it hopped off the table.

"Release the Wirg!" I whispered while ripping the remaining vines off. They seemed dried and old, not at all like something that had been alive just seconds before. I'd have to figure out what that was about later though, because I heard shuffling coming from the room beyond me.

The Vengeful Spirit had removed the cage door, but Smell just lay there, her eyes closed, barely breathing. I didn't have time to heal her, nor the energy for it, and I didn't know what they had done to her.

"What are you doing!" A loud screech came from the entrance. Spinning around, I saw another skinny, naked Hag stare at the possessed one.

The Hag’s hands flashed into a spell, but I jumped forward and grasped them with my own, crushing them before she could finish. Covering her mouth, I heard shouting from deeper inside what seemed like a massive cave system. I cast another Share Lifeforce, and as soon as the energy came, I snapped the Hag’s neck. I drew in another Vengeful Spirit, the second as quick to enter as the first.

Stepping into the tunnel that led out of the cave, I saw it was blocked halfway by a moldy door that stood slightly ajar. Shouted questions came from inside, and I quickly stepped back into the cave, looking around for a weapon. There wasn't anything but the wooden table, but that might just be enough. I toppled it over, groaning at how heavy it was, and kicked one of the legs until it snapped off. Holding the crude cudgel, I stepped beside the door.

"Stand at the cage, and act as if you're inspecting something," I hissed at the two Vengeful Spirits. They complied immediately, and I waited. Soft footsteps came from the tunnel, more than a single pair, and I gripped the cudgel tighter.

Two Hags burst into the cave, staring at the two already there.

"Attack," I hissed while jumping forward and slugging one of the two Hags on the back of her head. She stumbled forward, and I struck the other before she could dodge.

I stepped forward, ready to finish them, when I froze. The two Vengeful Spirits jumped atop the Hags, slashing and biting in a frenzy. I could see a part of the Spirits' remnant personalities from their eyes, the pain and hate so deep it had transcended the time they spent dead.

Within seconds the two Hags lay bleeding and unmoving on the ground. Stepping forward, I waved the two Vengeful Spirits away, turning the bleeding corpses into another two soldiers. Remembering the fury of their attack, I grinned as I stared into the tunnel.

"Let's see how many more of those Hags there are and where they stashed my clothing."

--

Half an hour later, I stood in a room filled with Vengeful Spirits. Within a few rooms from where I had been held, my army had grown to a dozen Spirits, and the hags hadn't stood a chance.

Using Acidic Splash and Fungal Growth the Hags had managed to destroy a few Spirits, but the Vengeful Spirits killed far more Hags. In the meantime, I had been walking behind the Spirits, drawing a new one into every slain Hag.

"We are almost done," I said, feeling slightly uncomfortable under the intense gaze of so many possessed Hags. I didn't know what it did to a Vengeful Spirit when I brought them back, but all I felt was vague gratitude below that burning desire for vengeance.

"Scour the tunnels until you find that Fat Hag, and when you do, start screaming so we know where to go."

The Vengeful Spirits rushed away through the tunnels, and I stood in the room, waiting. It didn't take long for a high pitched scream, like a cat whose tail was stepped upon, to echo from one of the muddy tunnels.

I ran inside and through the maze-like tunnel system, having to backtrack a few times until I finally reached the origin of the scream. It was a cave with a high ceiling with roots and purple pulsating growths. Below was a massive wooden altar with a statue behind it. It depicted a woman with a beautiful body but the head of a hag and long talons. Dozens of items lay on the altar, mostly dismembered hands, eyes, and other body parts. In the middle lay my rolled-up scroll or one that looked an awful lot like it. In front of the altar stood the Fat Hag, her hands constantly blurring as she cast spell after spell. Green clouds of spores sprang from her, towards the circle of Vengeful Spirits. Some had hideous lesions and growths covering them, but they just stood there while one howled at the top of her lungs.

"You can stop now," I said as I moved towards the howling one. It stopped but continued to glare at the Fat Hag.

"How did you get away! Lischen won't let you get away with this!" The Fat Hag screamed, yellow mucus flying from her lips.

I grinned nastily. "Lischen can take it up with Rathica if she wants, but you will have to deal with me. Now, where did you put my things!"

The Fat Hag began laughing hysterically, her body shaking, causing the mass of blubber to jiggle around. "You think you've won? I'll make you wish that you had stayed in my sister's embrace!"

She began moving her hands, but I'd have none of it. "Stop her!" I snapped, and the Vengeful Spirits surged forward, grabbing her arms, hands, and legs. They piled atop her until the Fat Hag was buried in thin Hags.

"Let me go!"

I ignored her and pointed at four of the spirits. "Search through these tunnels for my ax, armor, and bag, then bring them here." Then I turned to another two. "Bring the Wirg they have captured here." The Vengeful Spirits ran off, and I turned to the Fat Hag.

"I'll give you one chance at an easy death," I lied. I knew I wouldn't actually torment her before killing her; it went against everything I was, especially after Rathica gave me her class.

The Hag laughed, shaking her head. "Never!"

I shrugged and crouched down so I could stare her in the eyes better. It was worth a try, but I had another way to get answers.

"My dear madam, must we fight over this? I care so little for these meaningless squabbles- why don't we just find some common ground!"

The words meant barely anything, but I immediately saw the Hag's eyes narrow as if something was wrong.

"Perchance we can work something out? You will tell me how to cure the Wirg, and in return, I will grant you as quick a death as possible. Don't we both just want the same thing?"

I grinned at the look of unbelief and incredulity as she listened to my florid words. A few more sentences later, a ping came from my status window, and the eyes of the Fat Hag lost focus.

"The Wirg was infected by the Mistress of Rot, her special fungus. There is no cure after the infection is completed."

I blinked as the Fat Hag snapped out of it, her eyes widening. "You wasted one of your few true answers on something like this?" She hissed. Then she started laughing, the Hags atop her bobbing up and down.

"You know nothing, fool! Even if you get away from here, you will die soon enough, and I'll get to torment you in Lischen's realm for all eternity!"

Two of the possessed Hags moved back into the room, carrying my armor and ax. The ax blade was partially deformed, the wood looking more like molten wax than the insanely hard wood I remembered. Accepting it, I looked at it and knew I wouldn't be able to fix what they had done. But it would serve me for one more task.

Turning to the Fat Hag, I gripped the ax handle with four hands and slammed the blade into her neck in a single perfect swing. She didn't even get the time to realize what I was about to do, and the ax bit deep, splitting her neck like a wooden log. Green and yellow liquid squirted out, and her face went slack. I slammed twice more to decapitate her, and a loud ping came from my status.

I'd look at that later; first, I needed to get my stuff together and deal with one last thing. Putting my armor on and taking my bag, I realized the swords and bow were gone. Never mind, I'll make my own, I thought and grabbed the map, placing it in my bag. Glancing across the other items, I was about to turn away when I noticed an odd nut. Gleaming black and the size of my thumb, it looked oddly out of place amongst the body parts. I took it and put it in my bag, planning to ask Rathica about it later. There was nothing else on the altar, so I turned to the Vengeful Spirits and pointed at four of them.

"You four stay with me; the rest scour these tunnels and kill any Hag that remains. After you are done, go into the woods and find any that might still be there, and kill them too."

Without an answer, all but the four streamed out of the Hag temple. I knew they wouldn't last long too far from me, but I had no idea how far they could stray. This was a good way to find out, as I would probably find their bodies outside.

"Take me to the Wirg," I said, wondering why the Vengeful Spirits I had sent there hadn't returned.

A few minutes later, I found out why. Two unmoving Hags lay in front of the cage, and Smell was nowhere in sight. Looking around, I couldn't find any trace of her footprints amidst the dozens of glistening puddles that covered the muddy ground.

"I hope you will be well, Smell," I muttered, knowing how unlikely that was. Although I had only known the Wirg for a short time, I felt a sense of loss. I hoped Scar was okay and that perhaps I would find her.

"Take me outside," I commanded, following the two possessed Hags. As I followed them through the smelly tunnels, I looked at the map, planning the quickest path to the Angry Vine Temple.