Shadowheart’s Shame - - Ch.9 (4/27/24) ~FINAL CHAPTER~

[Wannatripbaby]

Hi all! Wannatripbaby here. So this is my first crack at fanfiction, and I gotta say, it's a lot harder than I expected! 😅

I got the idea for this story after reading a different Shadowheart story here on this site (which I will link in a comment below). While this isn't meant to be a direct sequel, that story can function as a sort of prequel to this one.

Enjoy! 

 

*******

 

   As I opened my eyes and darkness gave way to white-hot, blinding sunlight, I found myself looking up into the eyes of a stranger. I squinted, letting his features come into focus. He was a young man with short, wavy blond hair. Slightly-pointed ears suggested he was at least half Elf. He was dressed plainly in a brown leather, fur-lined vest that did little to hide the strange tattoos that ran down his arms, around his torso and halfway up his neck. “Hey, you're awake! Finally!” he said. 
   I blinked at him. What was he… 
   The Artifact! 
   My body shot up into a sitting position, which caused my head to pound at the rush of blood. The Artifact, a dodecahedron about the size of one's fist, was lying in the sand directly to my left. I scrambled to grab it, practically pouncing on it despite my disorientation and the stiffness in my limbs. 
   “Whoa! Calm down, lady!” he said, ”I'm not gonna steal your… Say, what is that thing anyway?” 
   “It's none of your business!” I sneered at him. “Now who are you, and… wait… You were on the ship!”
   He squinted at me “Oh hey! You were in one of those pod things! Glad you made it out.” He smiled at me. 
   The nerve of this man! “Certainly no thanks to you! You ran right past me with that Githyanki savage!”
   “Uhhhhh, do I look like an expert Mind Flayer technology!? I have no idea how their stuff fucking works!” he exclaimed, “I could've just as likely exploded your brain as freed you! Plus I was a *little* preoccupied with my own survival at the time!”
   My shoulders sagged a bit “I guess you have a point…”
   He went from indignant to smiling again instantly. “Good. Glad we agreed on that.” He paused for a moment, “Say uhhhh, did they happen to put a ummm…” he pointed at his eye. 
   I shuddered at the memory. “A Mind Flayer tadpole? Yes, they did.”
   “Damn.” he said “Well, since we're both infected with weird alien squid babies, what do you say we try and find a town or something where they can hopefully cure us?”
   I bristled at his phrasing, but he did make a point. We should probably try to find… 
   An all-too-familiar bulk between my legs reminded me of an even-more-pressing issue. I was still wearing my… And there weren't any other Sisters nearby to help me change my… 
   No no no no no no! Lady of Loss preserve me! 
   “What's wrong!?” He apparently saw the look of alarm on my face and was glancing around frantically, trying to assess the area for threats. 
   “I uhhhhh…” I bit my bottom lip.” M-my pack. It had some… I need something from it…” Even if I had my pack from when I was taken, what good would it do me without one of my Sisters here to help me?” 
   “Hate to break it to ya, but I don't think the squid people kept our luggage around.” he rubbed at his wrists. “But hey, maybe it fell out of the ship somewhere nearby? We could look for it together?”
   “No!” I shouted. I couldn't let him see what I was carrying. “... I mean, thank you, but I am perfectly capable of searching for it on my own.”
   He raised an eyebrow at my sudden outburst “two eyes are better than one, you know? Errr, I mean four eyes. You know what I meant. Plus I don't think either of us should go alone. It's dangerous.”
   I shifted my eyes back and forth across the sand. He was right. We were both unarmed. I had my armor, and my magic--although he had no way of knowing that. But I had never had to defend myself alone. For that matter, I'd never traveled alone at all... For good reason. But how could I travel with a stranger? What if he learned of my... Secret?
   "Fine, I suppose it would be best for us to travel together... For a while."
   "Awesome!" he said. "By the way, my name's Tav. Yours would be...?"
   I raised a hand for him to help me off the ground "Shadowheart."
   He pulled me to my feet "Seriously? Alright, if you say so."
   I balked at his tone "and just what do you mean by that!?"
   He shrugged "It's fine, you don't have to tell me your real name if you don't want to."
   I narrowed my eyes at him, mouth agape at his sheer audacity. "Shadowheart *is* my real name!"
   He raised his hands as if in surrender. "Whatever you say. Also my real name isn't Tav, its Darkblade Murderdeath."
   I pointed a finger towards him and whispered the incantation for Sacred Flame, and a moment later a column of violet light singed the ground at his feet, causing him to jump back "Shit! Okayokayokay your real name is Shadowheart!!!"
   I grinned at him, satisfied. "Good, and don't you forget it, elsewise next time I will not miss."
   "Duely noted" he said, "I will try not to give you reason to Smite me, O' mighty smiter." 
   He turned to lead the way further down the beach, and I used the opportunity to take stock of the padded bulk beneath my trousers. It didn't appear too visible from the outside. That was good, at least. And I didn't feel wet... Yet. 
   Whatever happens, I must ensure this stranger--this Tav--never finds out that I'm wearing a diaper... Or that I am unable to change myself. 
   
 

You can find the story that gave me the idea for this one here:

https://www.deviantart.com/redsabdlcreations/art/1032086335

And here it is on DD by the person who commissioned it:

 

[Wannatripbaby]

Ch.2

   We explored the beach for about an hour searching for my pack or anything else that could be useful to us. I found a mace with fairly good heft that I could use in combat. Tav found a leather bag with a few supplies in it; a dagger, some rope, a half-full water skin, and a few rations. All of which he, surprisingly, had no hesitation robbing from a corpse.
   "What? It's not like he's gonna need it anymore." he defended. And he was right in that regard. Still, the ease he took in defiling the departed was a little unnerving.
   With every minute that passed us, my hopes of finding my pack dwindled. And with it came a sickening dread about the predicament I was in. I was stuck in this diaper until I could find a spare one to change into. And even if we did find one, I needed a Sister to help-
   The brand on my right hand sent a sharp pain through my arm, followed by a sudden warming in my crotch, forcing me to stop in my tracks. I looked down at myself, silently praying that my diaper would hold.
   "You okay back there?" Tav asked. Whether it was concern or merely curiosity in his voice, I could not be sure. 
   My cheeks reddened a touch. Dammit. Dammit all to the nine hells. "Ugghhh, this is pointless!" I shouted. "My pack is nowhere to be found, we're wasting our time out here when we should be trying to get to Baldur's Gate."
   "Why Baldur's Gate?" he asked.
   Shit. I should not have said that. Obviously I cannot tell him the real reason--that I need to get to the Temple of Shar in Baldur's Gate so that I can deliver the artifact... And get out of this damned diaper. "Umm... It's the most likely place we'll find a healer who can solve our tadpole problem."
   He took a few steps closer, eyebrows raised. "That's a pretty flimsy reason to namedrop Baldur's Gate specifically. What are you not telling me, Shadowheart?"
   I darkened my eyes, resting my hand upon my mace. "Choose your next words carefully, Tav."
   He stopped advancing towards me."You're not the friendliest girl around, are you?"
   "No I'm not. Thank you for noticing."
   He smiled "And witty! You'll make some unlucky guy out there very miserable someday."
   "Are you volunteering? I can think of several ways of making you very miserable indeed."
   He paused and looked back and forth. "Just to be clear, are we flirting right now? I was never very good at picking up signals."
   I actually laughed out loud "Flirting? With you? I'd sooner be caught kissing a toad than entertain the affections of a man so odious and insufferable as you!"
   "Hey, I'll have you know I'm plenty sufferable! And... I don't actually know what odious means."
   I sighed in exasperation. "How did I manage to get stuck with the dumbest man in all of Faerun? Do you even possess any talents apart from a penchant for irritation?"
   I expected another idiotic retort. Instead, he held out his right hand and flames crackled to life in his palm. "You're not the only one with magic tricks."
   I gave him an indignant look. "Am I supposed to be impressed?"
   He closed his fist, extinguishing the flame. "I dunno, maybe? Do you come across many Sorcerers in your social circles?" then before I could be bothered to dismiss his question, he added "Say, what flavor of magic do you bring to the table anyway? Arcane? Divine? Or where you just born with a little something extra like me?"
   I felt my blood begin to boil at the insolence of this man. "That is for me to know and for you to never find ou-"
   My words were cut off by a splitting pain in my head, sharp and intense enough to nearly make my knees buckle. My vision blurred and a deafening din filled my ears, but only briefly before warping and filtering into a voice. A very familiar voice--Mother Superior from back at the temple.
   "Blessed Nightsinger, witness our adoration. See how we serve you, only you. We have emptied our hearts of falsehoods. We have vanquished your foes. In darkness, we see your truth. Embrace us, your loyal warriors. Cloak us in your shadow. Guide us to your victory. Shar's will shall be done. As sure as night will fall."
   It was a prayer she lead us in every day. A prayer branded into our tender minds from our days of youth.
   Why was I hearing it now?
   My senses returned. I was still standing on the beach with Tav, who appeared to have suffered a similar mental ordeal by the way he was clutching his head.
   "Ohhhhhhh you're a Cleric of Shar! That explains the secrecy."
   My mouth dropped open. How did he...
   It all became clear instantly. He had used magic to scour my memories for the answer he desired. He had probed the depths of my mind without a care for my consent.
   Such violation would not go unpunished!
      

[Diapered_videogame_girls]

Thanks again for writing this! I must admit I am a little surprised my commission story inspired anyone but it is a very pleasant surprise!

[Wannatripbaby]

20 minutes ago, Diapered_videogame_girls said:

Thanks again for writing this! I must admit I am a little surprised my commission story inspired anyone but it is a very pleasant surprise!

Believe me, no one is more surprised than I am. 🤣 Normally I avoid any kind of fanfiction like the plague (no shame in it, mind you. Just usually not my thing). 

I can't even remember what possessed me to check it out, but I'm super glad I did because ever since then my inspiration to write has been at a record high. 😁

... Might partially be because I haven't had a D&D session in a few months and BG3 scratches that itch for me. 😅

Will post the next chapter later today. 😊

[Wannatripbaby]

Ch.3

   I drew my mace and advanced towards him. "How DARE to read MY memories! I should crack your skull open for that!"

   "Fuck! I'm sorry, it was an accident! I wasn't trying to-YIKE!" He ducked under my swing and staggered backwards before I could bring my mace back around.

   "An accident!?" I scoffed. "You expect me to believe that!?"

   "Yes!" he pleaded, dodging another strike. "My magic does wild shit all the time! Last week I sneezed and grew a beard of feathers!"

   I stayed my hand from swinging again. For some reason, I believed him. Probably because he was far too dim-witted to attempt such an elaborate lie.

   I pointed my finger at him as I had earlier whilst demonstrating Sacred Flame, the implied threat clear. "What did you see in my mind?"

   "Nothing! Well, that is to say I didn't *see* anything. I *heard* someone saying a prayer to Shar. And along with it came emotions of reverence, respect, and maybe a twinge of fear. So I'm guessing she was some kind of maternal figure to you?"

   Well, he wasn't wrong. "Anything else?"

   He shook his head "That's all, I swear."

   I lowered my hand. "Is your magic always so unpredictable?"

   "You have no idea." He said, and I could feel  the sorrow in his voice. If he only knew just how intimately familiar I was with the price of power--a price I would be paying for quite heavily the longer I was away from the Sharran Temple, if my already-damp diaper was any indication.

   "So," I began "You now know that I worship Shar. What will you do with this knowledge?"

   He shrugged. "I dunno? Should I do anything in particular?"

   "Most would rather not keep company with Shar worshippers. If you wish to part ways, I will understand." Strangely, I wasn't sure if I actually wanted him to leave. It would certainly be easier to find our way to Baldur's Gate together, but I had a feeling my... Secret... Would become much-harder to hide soon. And that knowledge caused a pit in my stomach to form.

   "Part ways? Why?" he asked. "Because you worship one of those 'Evil' gods? I actually have pretty unorthodox views on that matter: I don't believe in Good and Evil."

   I raised an eyebrow at him. "How does one not *believe* in Good and Evil?"

   "I mean it's all a matter of perspective." he said. "Whats good for the lion is chaos to the lamb, y'know?"

   Huh. I was actually a bit stunned by such an eloquent answer from this idiot.

   He continued "I've known priests of Lathander who would sooner spit on you than help you, and I've known murderous cutthroats who would give you their last coin if you were starving. I imagine it's the same with gods--either their goals align with yours or they don't. That doesn't necessarily make them good or bad."

   "That's an... Interesting perspective." I admitted. "I would not have expected such an enlightened viewpoint from you, no offense."

   "None taken." he said. "I don't know a whole lot about Shar. She's a Night goddess, right? Well I happen to enjoy nighttime. Great for sleeping, great for parties with a big bonfire. If that's her domain, she's alright in my book."

   I couldn't hold back a slight chuckle, shaking my head. "You may be an naive idiot, but... You seem to have retained a childlike wonder about the world. I suppose there are worse qualities than that." It wasn't as though I admired him, goodness no. But I was certainly beginning to find him... Entertaining, at the very least.

   A sudden growling sound to my right drew our attention further up the bank of the shore.

   Three wolves had found us.

[Wannatripbaby]

   Fear. Terror. Utter panic overtook me. Why did it have to be wolves!? Ever since that night in the forest as a child, when the followers of Shar saved me from being eaten, I have been *terrified* of wolves. I couldn't breathe. I couldn't move. Well, one part of me had no trouble moving: my bowels. I felt my guts emptying into the seat of my diaper, but it barely even registered in my mind. I was too focused on the rows and rows of razor-sharp teeth, the yellow-red eyes full of malice and hunger, and the vicious growl that seemed to vibrate my very bones. I wanted to fight, I wanted to run, I wanted to scream, but all I could do was tremble as and expel pile after pile of shit into my diaper. Maybe if I smelled badly enough the wolves would leave me alone? Probably too much to hope for.
   In my peripheral vision I saw Tav glance my way, though I could not dicern his face. I hated that he saw me like this, so vulnerable and afraid. As a follower of Shar I should be better at concealing my emotions. But when it came to wolves I could do no concealing, only trembling.
   The three wolves stalked closer to us, our backs to the water. Cornered. Trapped. Helpless, just like I was in that forest all those years ago. This was the end. This would be how I died--torn apart by wolves, the Artifact left for whoever happened upon my corpse. I had failed. I failed lady Shar and this was my proper fate. My life had been spared all those years ago, and now I was about to die the very same way I should have died as a child. Tears stung my eyes before streaming down my cheeks. I deserved nothing better than to be a feast for beasts.
   Just then, Tav stepped up between the wolves and myself. Was he protecting me? "Sorry doggos, dinner's CANCELED!" he said just as a column of flames shot from his hands towards the wolves, replacing the menacing growls with the pained canine cries.
   Everything in front of me felt like it was playing out in slowmotion. With Tav standing between the source of my terror and myself, the fear loosened it's hold on me enough to gasp in a gulp of air, rejuvenating my aching lungs. I hadn't even been aware that I was holding my breath. One of the wolves ran off to the left, engulfed in flames. While I couldn't see the one that had been in the center of the pack--Tav obscured my line of sight on it, I assumed it recieved the brunt of the embers and likely would would not be getting up. But the one of the right darted under the flames and pounced on Tav, knocking him on his back and landing right in front of me.
   I leapt backward away from the beast as it fell on Tav, but it wasn't coming for me, it was going for him. His arm wedged under the beast's neck was the only thing stopping its attempts to go for Tav's neck.
   I had to do something, or else the wolf would no-doubt come for me next. But the notion of drawing my mace and charging at it was unthinkable and caused my knees to buckle together. But perhaps... Perhaps I didn't need to approach it to end the creature? I pointed a trembling finger at the wolf and muttered the incantation for Sacred Flame, mentally praying to Shar that my fear would not impede my speech.
   Violet light struck the wolf, causing it to yelp and leap to the side and off of Tav. I did it! Ha! Take that you damned mutt!
   My celebration was cut short when the creature recovered from my unexpected strike and snarled at me. Eyes like amber pools of burning hatred melted my resolve in an instant. I wanted to run. I wanted to scream. I was too petrified to do either.
   But before the monster could lunge at me, Tav rolled to his feet and stretched out his hand mere inches from the wolf's face, before arcs of lightning lashed out from his fingertips. "Just... Fucking... Die!" he croaked out through labored breath. White-hot arcs of energy leapt from Tav's hand and traveled through the wolf's body until the creature's legs suddenly gave out and it collapsed.
   All was silent, Save for the thrumming of my heart in my ears. I couldn't tell if seconds were passing by, or minutes. Two wolves lie dead before us, and the third would not be returning, if it still lived. These are things I knew logically, and yet the mere sight of the wolves' still forms still incited a frightened me at an instinctual, primal level.
   "Looks like we got 'em." Tav said, standing from his position on the ground. My eyes trailed over his body, spying several claw marks that now began to trickle blood. "Thanks for the assist with that last one."
   I swallowed hard past the lump still lodged in my throat. "You're... Welcome." I managed. But really, I felt deeply ashamed of my behavior in that fight. Tav did nearly everything all on his own. He unflinchingly stood up to the trio of beasts and set them all aflame. All while I just stood here quivering like a lost child, helpless.
   But that wasn't the only source of my shame. My face went even paler when I felt the mess in the back of my diaper shift with my movements. I couldn't even reach back to Inspect the damage, not that I even wanted to know. Fuck fuck FUCK! This could NOT be happening to me!!!
   "What's wrong? Is there another one!?" He spun around, searching for threats. My chest tightened with the weight of my predicament, my emotions still frayed after the encounter with the wolves. I felt I could cry and scream and curse the day I was born. Why was all of this happening to me? What had I done to deserve such humiliation? "We need to get to Baldur's Gate." I said assertively before marching off further inland, giving Tav a wide enough birth that he would hopefully not smell my dirty diaper, and trying not to waddle despite the considerable pile of shit sagging between my legs. 
   
   
 

[Wannatripbaby]

    "Shadowheart wait up! What's your rush?" Tav called out from behind me. Oh, not much. Just the massive load of shit in my diaper that I cannot get rid of until I find my people! Desperation drove me forward like never before. I tried my best to walk normally despite every step causing the disgusting muck in my diaper to squish all over my nether regions--and I knew from experience that keeping this pace with such a Full diaper would only hasten the horrible rash I was no-doubt brewing. I HAD to get to Baldur's Gate. I HAD to! Surely it couldn't be that far. Shar would not abandon me to this fate. This... This had to be some kind of test! Yes! Shar was testing my resolve by stranding me out here in a dirty diaper. If I can just prove my dedication by pressing on, my faith will be rewarded, and I get finally get a diaper change.
   Tav jogged up beside me about five feet to my left. Honestly, I think I'd rather have him there than behind me, since I was unsure of whether or not my full diaper was creating a bulge in the back. "Are you sure you're okay? You're walking kinda funny."
   "I am not walking funny!" I snapped at him, despite the fact that he was probably right about my unfortunate diaper waddle. "I'm just... Look, it's been a long day and I'd rather not have my every movement scrutinized by someone I just met, okay!?"
   "Alright, alright! Sorry!" He said, and we both fell into silence for a bit. That was fine by me, I had nothing to say to him or anyone else who wasn't a Sharran who could change me out of this horridly gross diaper. 
   "Sooooo," Tav began, and I gave him a warning glare out of the side of my eye. "Are we gonna talk about what happened on the beach?"
   I really was not in the mood to be reminded of that horrid incident... But he *had* saved my life, and if we were to continue traveling together for any length of time, I suppose this secret wasn't practical to keep.
   "I don't like wolves." I stated, not even looking over at him.
   He didn't say anything immediately. And just when I thought he might drop the conversation, he opened his stupid mouth again. "Seriously? Of all the terrible monsters in this world, *wolves* are what you're most-afraid of?"
   I shot him an angered, icy look. "I had a traumatic experience a child which I do NOT wish to discuss, got it?"
   He held his hands up in surrender. "Understood. I just wanted to make sure I knew what to expect if we ran into, I dunno, some goblins or trolls or bandits or something. After nearly having my throat ripped out, I don't know that I'll be quite as eager to play the hero next time."
   The subtle accusation stung a bit, but I cannot say it wasn't deserved. I hadn't been very useful in that fight, and he nearly died because of my hesitance to act. "Thank you... For saving me back there. I don't know what would have happened if you hadn't been there."
   "I do: You would've been wolf chow."
   I glared at him for a moment, before cracking a slight smirk. "I'm not used to my traveling companions having the penchant for verbal sparing you have. It's... Refreshing."
   "For real? I just say whatever comes to my mind. Sometimes I get a laugh, sometimes I get smacked, sometimes I get banished from a remote religious community for making fun of the village elder's hat. But really you shoulda SEEN the thing! It was like one of those pointy pope hats, but with horns at the-"
   We turned a corner and both stopped dead in our tracks at the sight before us. The rocky terrain of the canyon we had been traversing gave way to pink fibrous membranes and dark grey chitin. It was exactly like the Mind Flayer ship's interior. Had the ship crash-landed here? Or at least part of it? And if that wasn't bad enough, as we were taking in the scene, a creature that looked like a brain with arms and legs skittered off further ahead. Had it seen us?
   "That was an Intellect Devourer." Tav said.
   "What? How do you know what they're called?"
   "I learned a few things on that ship while I was escaping, mostly by telepathy. I have a feeling they won't be very friendly towards us, even though we may carry their cousins in our heads."
   I grimaced at the thought. "We'd best be cautious, then. If we can sneak by them, maybe we won't have to get into another fight so soon."
   "You'll hear no arguments from me. So what's our plan? Also is it just me or does it smell like shit out here? It didn't smell this way back on the ship."
   I ignored that last part and whispered a new incantation--Blessing of the Trickster, it was called. Once I did, my entire body--skin, armor, clothing and all--began to change color, shifting to a darker hue akin to the midnight sky. The sun was starting to dip down over the cliffs that surrounded us, so my magical camouflage would hopefully help me to avoid detection.
   "Whoa... That's cool as fuck! Can you do me next?"
   "Unfortunately no," I told him, my voice slightly muffled. The spell not only cloaked my visage in shadow, it also dulled any noise I might make to further aid in my stealth attempts. "I can only keep this blessing up on a single person at a time. I'll lead the way, you follow behind... But not too close." Last thing I needed right now was to worry about him locating the source of the stench. Plus if there were any of those Intellect Devourers in our path, I could likely sneak up on it and hopefully end it with my mace before it even knew I was there.
   We crept forward slowly, passing from the hard tan rocky soil to the unnervingly squishy pink floor. There was a fairly straight path beyond the wreckage, but it was far too open. Even with my blessing there's no chance we'd get through without being spotted by the Devourers. However, I spotted several chitinous platforms jutting out around the edge of this hellish site. I motioned to Tav that we'd be taking the high ground and he gave me a thumbs-up.
   Sneaking to the nearest platform was a simple-enough task. Climbing up onto it was a bit tougher. I swear, it almost felt like the sheer mass of my full diaper was weighing me down, although I felt like that was a bit ridiculous. I waited for Tav to climb up before leaping to the next platform, which was separated by about a five-foot gap and was elavated about three-feet higher than the one we were standing on. I wasn't the most acrobatic sort, but I managed to make the jump despite my... Impediment. Tav also made the jump without issue.
   Unfortunately our luck was bound to run out eventually. As I crept towards the other side of the platform, a pink claw grabbed the ledge I was approaching. Shit! One of those creatures was climbing up here! I readied my mace just as it was pulling itself up onto the topside of the ledge and swung down with all my might. Perhaps if I could end the creature in one blow it wouldn't be able to alert the others.
   A sickening squelch resounded from the impact of my mace upon the creature's... Body? Head? Was there a difference? And it fell like a stone to the membranous floor ten-feet below us. I looked back at Tav, who was now ducked down like I was, holding completely still. We waited. One heartbeat, two heartbeats.
   A shrieking squeal rang out directly below us. Apparently my blow had not quite felled the monster and it was now raising the alarm. We both looked out into the open space of the crash site as several Intellect Devourers began skittering towards us.
   "Well, we tried it your way. Time for plan B." Tav said before igniting his hand and throwing a bolt of flame at one of the monsters below us.
   I dispelled Blessing of the Trickster and readied myself for battle. It seemed we would have to fight our way out after all. 
 

[Guilend]

Okay, it was very well done except one little, small, tiny, itsy bitty thing. The wolves. There's no wolves on the beach. Just wanted to point that out. 😂😂😂😂 Otherwise very well done. 

[Wannatripbaby]

2 hours ago, Guilend said:

Okay, it was very well done except one little, small, tiny, itsy bitty thing. The wolves. There's no wolves on the beach. Just wanted to point that out. 😂😂😂😂 Otherwise very well done. 

Oh I know in the game there's no wolves on the beach. And that encounter actually wasn't in my original plan. But in trying to figure out when I wanted her to mess herself, I remembered she had a fear of wolves and I knew I had to use that somewhere. 🤭

Plus it was a good opportunity to have an additional fight scene besides the one I have planned for the next chapter, which I felt was important to show off Tav and Shadowheart’s combat capabilities in a less-serious situation. Fight scenes are one thing I take very seriously, and I felt I needed to work up to the Intellect Devourers to properly show the balance of power. 

But you'll see more of that when I post the next chapter. 😉

[Guilend]

I agree, using the wolves as an opportunity for her to mess herself was brilliant. Now she has a long time before getting a change. She probably needs a good paddling for not being open and honest with Tav, and not privately either lol. She probably needs to learn to enjoy her dirty diapers lol. Probably earn those diaper changes by doing all three things in her diaper to make sure it full. Diapers are probably expensive, especially for new adventurers 😂 

[Wannatripbaby]

43 minutes ago, Guilend said:

I agree, using the wolves as an opportunity for her to mess herself was brilliant. Now she has a long time before getting a change. She probably needs a good paddling for not being open and honest with Tav, and not privately either lol. She probably needs to learn to enjoy her dirty diapers lol. Probably earn those diaper changes by doing all three things in her diaper to make sure it full. Diapers are probably expensive, especially for new adventurers 😂 

You have perhaps the dirtiest mind of any of my tens of fans. 

And I love that about you. 😉😝

[Guilend]

19 minutes ago, Wannatripbaby said:

You have perhaps the dirtiest mind of any of my tens of fans. 

And I love that about you. 😉😝

When people comment about their dirty mind irl I inform them that they have no idea and that they'd probably run if they knew even half of what I comes across my mind lol. What's even better is it doesn't even have to be something I'm into, but I'm sure someone is lol. 

I worked with some crazy people at Walmart lol, I had one woman mention it was her last day before her 9 day vacation and I begged her to kidnap me and take me with her. She said sure, if only if she could make it look real, like use that knock out stuff I can't spell and tie me up. Right as she finished her sentence she said nevermind, I went too far with that, you'd enjoy it too much and I said yes, yes I would lol. If HR knew of all the perverted stuff that was said in that tiny room with my crew we'd have all been fired and possibly arrested 😂

I had another female coworker that would say some really awful stuff to me that would probably make most people cry 😂. She told me one day the reason she liked me was because she could say whatever she wanted to me and be as mean and hurtful as she could and it wouldn't even effect me. We had a lot of back and forth stuff that was fun. Once I acted like I was crying and she said that doesn't work on her, she'd just leave me in my crib to cry and I said I'd be fine with that, just give me a 🍼 (she has no idea about my abdlstories side as far as I know, though I'm sure a few people might have been able to guess. ABDL was brought up by coworkers a few times and usually someone would start bashing it and I might've got a bit defensive about it and told them that they obviously know nothing about it and it's far more complex than they know and to stop talking crap about something they know nothing about, another coworker might've said, well we know what he's into now, but nothing else was said after that and I'm sure most of them have forgotten about it 😂.)

[Wannatripbaby]

   Flashes of fire and violet light lit up the dusk that painted this gods-forsaken crash site in ever-deepening shadow. There were at least six of the creatures scuttling towards our platform now, and I hoped we could take out at least three of them before they reached us, but it wasn't looking very likely. These Intellect Devourers were far-more durable than one would expect a quadrupedal internal organ to be. I could tell we were hurting them, but they still charged at us despite our magical volley. I think we managed to fell one of them before the one I knocked off the platform earlier had managed to skitter its way back up.
   "On our right!" I called out before charging at the creature. Perhaps I could knock it off again before it gained its footing. I swung my mace, but apparently it had learned its lesson from before and dodged my blow. It lashed out with one of its claws and I managed to barely jump out of the way, but I lost my footing and almost fell off the platform to the ground below. The creature likely would have pressed its advantage and succeeded in knocking me off if Tav hadn't struck it with a firebolt. It turned its body-head towards him and let out a screech from a mouth I could not see.
   "I'm gonna make you wish you were never born, buddy! Or... Hatched, or whatever you do!" Tav taunted before launching another ball of flame which missed the creature by a hair's breadth.
   Behind him, I saw another Intellect Devourer climb up onto the platform. "Look out!" I shouted before casting Sacred Flame on the creature. It realed in pain and Tav turned his attention towards it, using his lightning attack like he had on the wolf.
   Unfortunately with both of our attentions fixated on that one monster, the one I had smacked before took the opportunity to lunge at me, raking a claw down my side. My body lit up with pain and I swung my mace to bat the creature away with a satisfying crunch. Filled with pain and rage I pressed the advantage and swung down on the stunned creature again and again until it no longer squealed when I hit it. Another one down.
   Tav's scream of pain from behind me drew my attention back to him. A second Intellect Devourer had joined the fight and evidently took him by surprise, leaving a deep gash down his back. I tried incanting Sacred Flame again, but I was breathless after my previous onslaught and the spell fizzled. Fuck, I was already so exhausted and the fight had barely just begun. My hope faded as my strength dwindled. There was no use. These creatures were far beyond our power to defeat. It would be best to just lay down and hope for a quick death. Perhaps in death, I might finally find the bliss of loss--no more pain, no more struggles, no more humiliation and shame, just the coolness of darkness and the peace of nothingness.
  ...
  ... No. NO! Shar did not bring me this far only for me to fall now! I was put here for a purpose: to deliver the Artifact to Shar. I was not going to allow these abominations to stop me!
   I felt a cold malice fill my bones as I rushed towards the nearest foe--the one that had struck Tav. Its back was to me, so I placed both of my hands upon its body and spoke the words that would unleash my malice in one terrible spell: Inflict Wounds. In that moment, I felt as though Shar's unfathomable distain flowed through my body and into the creature, rending an agonized screech from its maw as the purplish flesh beneath my fingertips turned black with decay. In mere seconds the creature was dead.
   I glanced up at Tav, who looked down at me with some combination of awe and horror, and I briefly wondered if he was now reconsidering his stance on traveling with Sharrans, before a wide grin spread across his face. "Fuck, that was badass! Can you teach me how to do that?"
   Before I could even begin to formulate an answer, a sudden impact knocked me off my feet. An Intellect Devourer had tackled me to the ground and now perched atop my chest. It's clawed forearms dug into my shoulders, pinning me to the ground. But that barely registered in my mind as I was currently transfixed by the creature's mouth which was now visible from this angle. Rows and rows of razor-sharp teeth lined a cavernous maw beneath its body-head. The screech it let out felt like needles in my ears and I was powerless to run from it. I squirmed and writhed beneath the creature, trying to break free, but to no avail. And just when I thought it could not get any worse, a barbed, glistening tongue slithered out if its horrific maw, poised to strike like a scorpion's tail.
   I was about to scream when Tav's hand suddenly wrapped itself around the tongue and he yanked the creature off of me and tossed it into one of the other Intellect Devourers. "There will be no weird tentacle bullshit while I'm here!" he said to the thrown creature before pulling me to my feet.
   We immediately went back-to-back to avoid being caught on our blindside again. There were still three of them left, and they had effectively encircled us, hissing and screeching to distract and disorient us. I couldn't speak for Tav, but I would not be so-easily swayed. I pointed at the one directly in front of me and casted Sacred Flame, just as I heard Tav launch a Firdbolt at one behind me and to the left, which meant the one on the right was probably going to lunge. I quickly moved to intercept it with my mace and, sure enough, it was leaping directly at Tav. I batted it out of the air and back down to the platform, but the force from the impact sent a jolt of pain through my bones and I wondered if I might have dislocated something.
   "Ow!" The one I had struck with Sacred Flame scratched my leg and I stumbled away from it just as Tav turned to shock it with lightning, only to get clawed by the other one behind him. I swung my mace down at it and it leapt back out of the way. But before I could raise my weapon again, its tongue lashed out and grabbed the handle of my mace, yanking it from my hand and tossing it over the ledge. Fuck! Gods damn these wretched creatures! I blasted it once again with Sacred Flame, but that didn't seem to do much beyond pissing it off even further. And now I had nothing but my bare hands to defend myself with. I felt wetness run down my leg, and I wasn't sure if it was blood or my diaper leaking. 
   It leapt at me.
   Only to bounce off of a translucent wall that had appeared rather suddenly in front of me. I spun around to Tav and found him with his arms outstretched, fingertips glowing with pale blue light. He was projecting some kind of... Shield? And I could tell it was taking a toll on him. The veined in his arms and neck bulged and his body practically glistened with sweat and blood. He looked like he was just as spent as I was, if not more.
   All three of the Intellect Devourers bashed and clawed against the barrier, and each time they did Tav winced. My mind scrambled for a way to help--a way to use this opportunity he was giving me to save us. No such idea came. Once the barrier fell, we would both be sitting ducks.
   The tattoos on his arms and body began to glow a fiery orange, and I briefly wondered if that was as painful to him as the mark on my hand was for me. If so, I couldn't imagine feeling that pain across my entire body. He glanced down at his arms, then his gaze fell to me, a strange look in his eye that I couldn't quite place. It felt like it was somewhere between... Indignation and acceptance? Sadness and serenity?
   "Shadowheart... Good luck on your mission."
   I was about to question what he meant, before he shoved me as hard as he could, sending me careening off the platform.
   I fell backward for what felt like miles, but was of course only about ten feet or so. I was fortunate enough to land on the spongy pink ground rather than the hard chitin, but it still knocked the wind out of me and left me seeing stars.
   But before I had the time to wonder why he would do such a thing, a fiery explosion erupted from the platform above. 
 

[Wannatripbaby]

   "TAV!!!" I screamed as I scrambled back up to the platform as quickly as my tired limbs and heavy diaper would let me. I had seen mages conjure such explosions while shaping the magics of the spell to leave themselves unscathed, but unless Tav has been holding back this entire time, there was no way he was capable of such a feat. Even just evoking such raw power should have been well-beyond his abilities. But then, he had mentioned that his magic could do unexpected things, and that's precisely what worried me.
   "Fucking hells..." I muttered reaching the platform and finding that it was as bad as I had feared. The entire platform was still smoldering slightly, and I could feel heat rising from it like sand on a hot summer's day. Three charred Intellect Devourer corpses  lay strewn about, barely recognizable as what they once were.
   And in the center of it all, a blackened figure of a man lay flat on his back, embers still glowing on the surface of his body like the remnants of a campfire.
   Oh Tav...
   I kneeled down next to him and the heat was almost too much to bare. But I felt I owed him as much. He'd fought bravely for our survival, and in the end gave his life so that I might have a chance to live. All for a stranger he had only just met hours prior.
   A part of me wondered if he'd still be alive if he'd never met me.
   A slight cracking sound drew my attention to his head and... By Shar! He was turning his head to look at me! He's alive!
   "Did I...... Get 'em all.....?" He asked, voice barely above a whisper.
   I laughed as much in relief as at the stupid question. "Yes, you got them all."
   "... G-... Good...... F-fuck those guys......" he managed to croak out.
   I shook my head ruefully. "Why did you do that? We barely know each other, why would you sacrifice yourself for me?" It made no sense. He knew I was a Sharran, and I hadn't exactly been pleasant towards him. What did he get out of this? Was he hoping I'd sleep with him or something? Knowing men, that was probably the main thing on his mind.
   "You... Have... A mission..." he began, each word more of a struggle than the last. "And I... Wanted... To do... Something... Good...... For a change......" 
   It didn't make any sense to me. Something good for a change? Was he after some sort of penance for past wrongdoings? Was all of this some sort of redemption arc to him?
   His eyes began to close.
   "No, no! Stay with me, Tav! I'll find something to help you heal. I'll..." What? What could I possibly do? Forage for some healing herbs to treat full-body third degree burns? It's not as though I could cure his wounds with magic--healing was never my strong suit.
   "Tav?..."
   He didn't respond.
   I sank to the ground, not caring about the pile of mush in my diaper. It barely even registered to me at this point. I felt a cold numbness overtaking me. This man had saved my life twice now, and I was unable to help him in any way. Useless, hopeless, powerless, I was all of these and more. This was just the latest in an unending string of failures that had plagued me my whole life. The faces of my fellow brothers and sisters, as well as Mother Superior flashed before my eyes, all scowling down at me with disappointment and derision. The weight of my shame felt like an elephant had climbed upon my back, forcing me to bend lower. Why had I been chosen to carry the Artifact of all I ever do is fuck everything up? In fact, why had Shar spared me all those years ago, only to condemn me to unending failure and humiliation for the rest of my days? Perhaps I would have been better off as a feast for wolves all those years ago.
   The unbearable weight of guilt and shame pressing in on me from all sides suddenly relented and I felt a cool numbness encasing my body, as if floating in a pool of icy water. It felt very... Calming. Peaceful. Blissful, even. No thoughts, no pain, just a quiet void all to myself. I opened my eyes and saw nothing but deep purple everywhere. Was this Shar's domain?
   I figure coalesced in front of me. A shadowy silhouette of a man on his back lying perfectly still. The only distinguishable feature about the figure was a glowing gash in the center of its chest--a mark that looked just like mine. I looked down at my own hand and, sure enough, my mark was glowing as well.
   I felt a strange urge to reach out and touch the mark on the shadow's chest with my own, and yet also a sort of hesitance, as if I were about to place my hand on a hot iron. Eventually my first urge won out and I placed my hand upon the shadow's mark.
   And then my world was set aflame.
   The shadowy figure's form gave way to Tav's corpse, now burning brighter than a Fire Elemental. My instinct was, of course, to recoil, but it was as if my hand had been fused to his chest. Fire crawled up my arm like swarming insects, and the flames felt as though they were eating me alive just as voraciously. I screamed and screamed until I felt deafened my own voice, and when I tried to take a breath, there was no oxygen to be found as it was all fueling the flames that had engulfed me. I had never experienced such raw, intense, blinding agony in all my life.
   And then all at once it was over, and I was back on the platform, gasping for air. Had that all been some kind of horrible dream? I didn't even remember falling asleep.
   Motion in my peripheral vision drew my gaze back to Tav as he suddenly sat up, the burnt flesh covering his body now completely gone. "Fuck... If this is the afterlife, either hell doesn't seem that bad, or heaven kinda sucks."
   I was still too speechless to respond to his jest. How? How could this be? My eyes fell to his bare chest--his vest had been incinerated in the blast--and spied a very familiar looking mark: a jagged scar shaped exactly like the one on my hand.
   It all clicked together in my mind: Shar had healed him through me, but in return I had to experience the agony of his death. And that's to say nothing of whatever price she might exact from him.
   He followed my gaze down to his chest and ran his hand over the scar. "Huh. Must've missed a spot when you healed me. Not that I'm complaining or anything! It actually looks kinda badass."
   A chuckles bubbled up from my lips and it soon grew into a full-bellied fit of laughter. I didn't even quite know why I was laughing. Relief, perhaps? Whatever the reason, it proved to be quite infectious as Tav quickly began laughing as well. He probably didn't even care what the reason was, knowing him. And that only made me laugh even harder.
   "I'm glad you're back, Tav." I said once my laughter had died down a bit. 
   He stood up and held out his hand to help me to my feet "You're not getting rid of me that easily. I'm like the plague. Or that one annoying cousin everyone hates."
   That brought yet another fit of giggles out of me as I took his hand. "Definitely the latter-"
   A sudden tearing sound caused my blood to turn to ice instantly. I had a sudden flashback to one of the Intellect Devourers clawing me down my side, and that happened to include a good portion of my trousers. My hands scrambled to snatch the fabric concealing what little dignity I might have left, but I was a fraction of a second too slow. My torn pants fell down to my ankles, exposing my heavily discolored and sagging diaper to Tav.
   And as if that wasn't enough, the mark on my hand and Tav's chest suddenly sparked to life, causing Tav to flinch from the unexpected pain, and causing my bladder to empty itself yet again into my already-full diaper. It took all of two seconds before I felt wetness leaking down my bare legs and would no-doubt be forming a puddle at my feet by the time I was done peeing. "Fuck! No no no no! I uhhh, It's not, please don't, ohhhhh fucking hells no..." My pitiful splutterings could do nothing to repair the damage that had been done. Even if the sight of my exposed dirty diaper leaking all over me hadn't been noticed, without my pants covering the diaper the foul stench of my mess enveloped me like a stinking cloud of shame. I wanted to scream and cry and hide from the world forever and ever. Instead, all I could do was look up at Tav, his mouth agape at the sight of me, and await his reaction.
   "Ohhhhhhh THAT'S why it smells like shit out here!" 
 

[Guilend]

Omg I love the fight scene, even if there's 3 more bad guys there then in the game 😂

[Wannatripbaby]

8 hours ago, Guilend said:

Omg I love the fight scene, even if there's 3 more bad guys there then in the game 😂

Yup. Also a deliberate choice. 😅

In the game that fight is meant to be fairly easy as the game eases players into the tactical side of combat. But for the purposes of my story, I needed it to be impossible until Tav literally explodes to save Shadowheart. Could I have done that with 3 Intellect Devourers? Yes. But I also wanted to show off their combat prowess a bit. I was especially proud of the flavor I gave to Inflict Wounds. 😊

[Guilend]

14 minutes ago, Wannatripbaby said:

Yup. Also a deliberate choice. 😅

In the game that fight is meant to be fairly easy as the game eases players into the tactical side of combat. But for the purposes of my story, I needed it to be impossible until Tav literally explodes to save Shadowheart. Could I have done that with 3 Intellect Devourers? Yes. But I also wanted to show off their combat prowess a bit. I was especially proud of the flavor I gave to Inflict Wounds. 😊

I know, you did very well. I just had to give you a hard time. Tbh I wish they're was more of them lol. And the detail you put into everything, even the 

 

On 4/16/2024 at 8:41 PM, Wannatripbaby said:

These Intellect Devourers were far-more durable than one would expect a quadrupedal internal organ to be

😂 I thought the same thing the first time.

[Wannatripbaby]

1 hour ago, Guilend said:

I just had to give you a hard time

And I have no issue with that. 😉 Also I'm surprised neither you/anyone else pointed out the Skyrim and LoZ reference I put in the first chapter. 😅 I was planning on having Tav make more veiled pop culture references, but so far I haven't thought of any other good ones. 🤣

[Guilend]

4 hours ago, Wannatripbaby said:

And I have no issue with that. 😉 Also I'm surprised neither you/anyone else pointed out the Skyrim and LoZ reference I put in the first chapter. 😅 I was planning on having Tav make more veiled pop culture references, but so far I haven't thought of any other good ones. 🤣

I never could get into Skyrim, that was a game my brother is obsessed with. And I don't think I've ever played LoZ lol.

[Wannatripbaby]

   There was nothing to do but to tell him the whole truth and hope he would understand the gravity of the situation I'm in. By now night had fallen and a chill in the air nipped at my bare, piss-covered legs, so I suggested we build a fire before I tell him the whole story. With Tav's quite-useful ability to conjure fire at will, setting up a small campfire down on the ground below did not take long. While I did not relish the idea of staying in this nightmarish crash site any longer than necessary, with the monsters dead now, staying here was probably a much safer option than continuing to travel forward in the dark until we found a more-suitable campsite.

   I knelt down, bathed in orange firelight, and finally had a chance to inspect my diaper. It was... Not a pretty sight, to say the least. Even in the dim light of the evening, you could easily see that much of the diaper was heavily discolored. It sagged down several inches from where it should due to the sheer weight of my mess. And even with the smokey scent of the fire filling the air, the putrid stench of the shit in my diaper still burned my nostrils, inescapable and incredibly shameful. I just hoped Tav couldn't smell it now that he sat on the other side of the campfire. And to top it all off, a tentative touch revealed a slight tingling sensation that I knew meant a diaper rash would be forming in the very near future. Fucking fantastic. Just what I needed on top of everything else.

   "So..." I began, "You probably have questions about why I'm... Dressed like this." My eyes didn't stray from the burning logs crackling quietly between us. As much as I'd had my fill of flames after that vision, it was still preferable to looking Tav in the eye while I was in such a humiliating state.

   "I mean, I'm not one to pry... Okay actually I definitely am one to pry. But like, I wanna respect your privacy and all, but, that IS a diaper, right? 'cuz it sure looks like one."

   I nodded. "Yes, it is."

   "Uh-huh, okay, well umm, I don't mean to be too direct or anything, but-"

   "Why am I wearing a diaper? Why is it very obvious filled with my own piss and shit? Why haven't I changed yet?" I interrupted.

   He paused for a moment. "Yeah, I think that about covers it."

   I closed my eyes, trying to gather my thoughts. Where to begin? Perhaps the beginning would be best. "My earliest memory from childhood is being saved from a wolf by the followers of Shar. I have no parents that I can remember, so they took me into their fold and raised me as one of their own. As I grew up among them, I knew I wanted to serve Shar with all my heart and soul. It was my greatest aspiration."

   "Sounds like as good a goal as any. How did that land you in diapers?"

   "I'm getting to that, have some patience!" I snapped at him.

   "Sorry! Please continue."

   "As I was saying, I wanted to be serve my Goddess to the best of my ability. I knew that some followers of Shar often were chosen to be set apart from the others, hand-picked by Shar herself for some greater purpose. I prayed everyday that one day I might be chosen as well, and eventually--a few months ago, actually--my wish was granted... And I hope Shar will forgive me for saying this, but... Barely a day has gone by that I haven't regretted that decision." I almost expected my mark to burn me upon saying that, but it did not. And yet still, speaking these truths allowed felt painful to me in a different way. My chest felt tight, and my whole body burned with shame.

   I looked up at Tav, who motioned for me to continue. Apparently he had learned not to interrupt me after my last tongue-lashing I gave him. Maybe he wasn't such an idiot after all.

   "Are you familiar with Shar's other names and titles?" I asked him.

   "Uhhhhhhhhhh... Goddess of Night, maybe? Although I don't know how that would relate to you wearing a diaper, so I'm guessing that's not the one you are referring to."

   I nodded. "You would be correct. The title I was referring to was 'Lady of Loss'. You see, much of Sharran doctrine revolves around relinquishing everything to Shar--your hopes, your fears, your pain, your pleasure, your dreams and your burdens. In doing so, you become an empty vessel to be filled by Shar. I don't know if that makes any sense to you if you aren't particularly religious."

   "No no, I think I get it. Kind of like a 'Become one with everything by being one with nothing' sort of thing? I knew an Open Hand monk who was like that."

   "I suppose that's one way to look at it." I said before turning my attention back to the fire. "Anyway, those who are chosen by Shar are blessed with incredible power, but they always end up losing something important to them in the bargain. For some she takes their sight, others might lose a talent, a skill, an aspiration, their emotions, it's different for each individual."

   "Sooooo for you she took your bladder control?" Tav interjected.

   I let out a rueful chuckle. "If it were only so simple, I would thank Shar every day for having taken so little from me. But alas, that's not all that she took."

   I stole a glance up at Tav and saw he was leaning in closer, enraptured by my tale. I returned my gaze to the fire.

   "She took away my... My dignity. My self-reliance. For you see, not only can I not control when I... Go...... I also cannot... Change myself..." My cheeks burned brighter than the campfire, I swear. It was so hard talking about my secret shame with anyone outside of the fold. And even they were not easy to talk to about this.

   "You can't change your own diaper? How exactly does that work? Is it like Shar put some kind of Enchantment on you?"

   I looked up at him, slightly surprised at his intuition. "Yes, actually. Any time I would attempt to remove my diaper, it's as though my mind suddenly goes blank and I forget what I was doing, only to be snapped out of my daze by my mark searing me with pain as punishment for my disobedience." I clutched the mark on my hand. Sometimes just thinking about the pain was as bad as the pain itself.

   "That sounds... Pretty awful, not gonna lie." Tav said. "So what do you normally do about your little predicament? Did they assign you a personal assistant to wipe your ass or something?"

   I shook my head. "If only I had been so fortunate. No, it was far more humiliating than that." I took a deep breath. My eyes had lowered even further, landing on my destroyed diaper. "Our laws compel any member of our flock to accommodate those from whom Shar has taken something fundamental--helping the blind or the lame get around and such. As for me, if I needed a change, all I had to do was... Ask for one."

   "Oh. Well at least you had brothers and sisters who were willing to help you!"

   I gritted my teeth, frustration boiling over as tears I didn't even know I had been holding back spilled down my cheeks. "You don't understand! The only thing more-humiliating than having your peers wipe your ass for you, is feeling like you are forcing them to do so under duress! They were not *willing*, they were *compelled* to help me! And that made them grow to resent and hate me more and more each day. I was a social outcast. Most of my siblings did their best to avoid me, lest I ask them for 'help' with my diapers." My hands had clenched into fists at some point in my little tirade. I forced them to unclench and wiped away some of my tears. "If you think I would eventually grow used to it, think again. Every day brought new humiliations. My brothers and sisters found new and... Inventive ways of showing their displeasure towards me without breaking any actual rules. I was alone. Alone and hated by everyone. My only solace was the belief that Shar had a purpose for what she took from me, but most days, that faith brought me no comfort. Even without the pain of Shar's mark, my every waking moment is a torment unto itself." A single sob broke free from my lips and I quickly forced my mouth shut and willed my chest to cease its heaving as I wiped more tears and snot from my face. I had not intended for all of this emotion to come out. I didn't want Tav or anyone else to see me this way. It was not good form for a Sharran to bare their vulnerabilities so openly. Add that to my ever-growing list of failures to Shar.

   "I... I'm sorry, Shadowheart." Tav said, his own voice more-somber than I'm used to hearing from him. "That all sounds awful."

   I took a swig from my water skin in an attempt to flush my unruly emotions back down deep inside of me where they belong. "You are now the only person outside of my Temple who knows my secret. And you now know why I've been so desperate to get back there, beyond just my mission to return the Artifact to Shar."

   I stole a glance up at him. His eyes were downcast like mine had been, before he also looked back up at me. "So what's your plan for dealing with you... Secret, until we get you back home?"

   "I don't know." I said shortly. I felt more exhausted than I think I ever had been in my life. I didn't want to think about my predicament. I didn't want to think about how long I'd be stuck in this fucking awful diaper. I didn't want to think at all.

   Silence descended upon our paltry little campsite. I had said all I wanted to say, as well as a few things a didn't want to say. And Tav certainly couldn't suggest anything useful unless his wild magics could somehow Teleport as to Baldur's Gate.

   Despite knowing this, Tav suddenly stood up with a forcefully that I knew would be followed by something completely idiotic.

   "Well, it seems to me if we're going to be traveling together, you're gonna need someone who can help with your little diaper problem." He looked around in the darkness. "And since there don't appear to be any Shar worshippers nearby, I guess the task falls to me. What do you say, Shadowheart? Ready to get that diaper changed?"

 

 

[Wannatripbaby]

   My jaw nearly fell into the dirt at what he said. Had I hallucinated Tav asking to change my diaper? Have the fumes from my own mess gone to my head already? "I'm sorry, could you repeat that? I must've misheard you."

   "Do you want some help changing your diaper?" Tav said.

   Okay, not a hallucination after all. "I umm..." Obviously I wanted out of this overused disgusting diaper by any means necessary. But I never would have anticipated someone willingly offering to do the deed. "You... Want to change my diaper?"

   "I mean, *want* is probably a bit of a stretch. But you seem to be in a pretty nasty predicament and I'm the only one who can help you right now. Plus I kinda owe you one after you brought me back from the dead." he traced a finger over the scar on his chest.

   "Technically you saved my life first. Twice, actually, if you count the wolves." Wait, why did I point that out?

   He shrugged. "Eh, who's counting?"

   I chuckled softly, shaking my head. "Are you always this selfless? That will get you into trouble one day, you know."

   A bemused smirk came across Tav's face. "Well hey, if you'd rather I be more selfish, I can rescind my offer and you can stay in that diaper until we reach Baldur's Gate-"

   "No!"

   Fuck. He had me dead to rights. And the smile on his face only broadened at my outburst. "I mean uhhh..." it seemed the proverbial Tressym had caught my tongue. The wit he had been admiring only hours prior had all but evaporated. "I just... Was not expecting that you would offer such a thing. It's not exactly going to be a pleasant task..."

   "I literally burned to death less than an hour ago. You think I'm afraid of a poopy diaper?"

   He had a fair point. "Well, if you're sure..." I hated that I couldn't stop myself from sounding so reluctant to ask for help. I'd let a Bugbear change me right now if I had to. But I still felt so guilty for some reason. He was willingly offering his help, yes. But that didn't make it any less humiliating that I was about to let a strange man I'd just met today change my diaper.

   He circled around the campfire to stand in front of me. "So... How do we do this?"

   "You've never changed a diaper before, have you?"

   "Nope. But I learn quick!"

   Honestly I couldn't decide if his cheery enthusiasm was comforting or annoying. I sighed. "Grab a bowl from the mess kit, a water skin, and some kind of rag."

   He went to grab the supplies while I cleared a spot on the ground for me to lay on. Once cleared, I laid myself down as gently as I could, cringing slightly as the mess squished under my butt yet again.

   Tav came back over and knelt down between my legs. I couldn't help but catch him recoiling slightly from the smell as he got into position, despite his attempts to hide it. "Okay, now what?"

   I pointed to the two clasps on the front of my diaper--black circles surrounded by purple rings. Shar's symbol. "Undo those, open up the front and... Get to it, I suppose." A sudden realization caused me to sit up "Fuck, I just remembered: I don't have any spare diapers. That's why I was searching for my pack earlier." In the midst of everything else I had forgotten that not-so-insignificant detail.

   What I was not expecting was for him to wink at me and say "You let me worry about that. Now lay back down so I can get that diaper off of you."

   I was a bit perplexed, but did not resist. I eased myself back down onto the ground, staring up at his hands as they reached for the clasps securing my diaper to my hips. I was torn between wanting to watch him closely in case he tries anything uncouth--or just stupid--and wanting to hide my face from him lest he notice how deeply I'm blushing from being in such a humiliating state.

   He popped the left clasp open followed by the right. I looked down at my diaper, bracing myself for the sight of what I had done in it.

   Cool night air brushed against my nether as he opened my diaper, sending a shiver up my spine. It was... Not a pretty sight. All of the moving and fighting we did had ensured that my mess had completely coated the inside of my diaper, and a good deal of it still clung to my skin, cooling ever-further in the open air. Tav, for his part, seemed to be taking it well. Although he was covering his mouth with his fist, likely to help block the smell and hide his expression from me. Which I can't say I didn't appreciate at least a little.

   "Honestly, not that bad. I've slept in places that smelled worse than you do." He said. I couldn't be sure if he was trying to spare my feelings or just making idle chatter. In either case, I didn't have a response for him. Being this open and exposed to someone had a tendency to leave me feeling a bit less talkative.

   I suppressed another shiver as I felt the wet wipe being dragged over my skin. The feeling was at once horrible and wonderful. Horrible because of the chill in the air, wonderful because I was finally getting clean, and the relief of knowing that was ambrosia to my troubled mind. I'd spent the whole day since waking up on that beech anxious about when I would get to feel clean again. I liked feeling clean, and given my condition I rarely stayed clean for very long. Really, a hot bath would be an absolute dream come true right now. But until we're lucky enough to come across a hot spring, this will have to be sufficient.

   He scraped the rag off on the ground before dipping it in the water again, and I took the opportunity to lift my legs straight up in the air to give him access to my rear.

   "Whoa, how are you just holding your legs up like that? My legs would be exhausted after like, fifteen seconds max." he said as he got to work wiping my backside.

   "I guess that means I must be stronger than you." I spread my legs enough to look at him and see how he'd respond.

   "Oh definitely. I saw how you smacked that Intellect Devourer out of the air with your mace. That was awesome as fuck!"

   I smiled up at him. For whatever reason, this man had a peculiar way of... Putting my mind at ease. Most people either loathed me or feared me, but Tav clearly felt neither emotion. He seemed to only hold positive feelings towards me. It felt... Nice. Of course a part of me was still waiting for the other shoe to drop; for him to reveal his true colors and extract from me whatever prize he sought to gain by keeping up this facade. But then again, I'm not sure if I believed he was even clever enough to pull off such a ruse. And if he was, surely he would have shown his true face with his dying breath, would he not?

   "Aaaaaaand there we go! All clean." Tav said. "Now to deal with your diaper."

   He picked up my old filthy diaper and held it up, the messy inside facing towards me. For a brief moment I wondered if he was somehow intent on putting it back on me for some idiotic reason. But instead, he made a few gestures with his free hand and pointed at the diaper before beams of orange light lanced out from his fingertip. Everywhere the light touched, shit came falling out of the diaper and onto the ground, along with a steady stream of what I could only assume to be urine.

   "Are you... Cleaning my diaper with magic!?" On the one hand, such a thing was certainly well-within the realm of possibility. But I'd never seen someone do it first-hand.

   "You tell me." He said before tossing the diaper at me. Sure enough, it was completely clean and dry, just as it had been when it had first been put on me. "That's... Incredible." I said, still too awestruck to come up with anything more clever than that.

   "Yeah, it comes in handy. Unfortunately I've found it tends to ware out clothes and other items the more times I do it. So we should still look into finding you some more diapers before too long."

   I handed the diaper back to him and let him slide it under my butt, bringing the front of the garment up between my legs before re-fastening the clasps. "There. Did I do it right?" he asked me. I sat up and probed the padding a bit with my fingers. As much as I might still hate being stuck in diapers, being in a clean one after being dirty for so long always felt so refreshing. "It's perfect. Thank you."

   "You are most welcome, m'lady." He said in an overly-pompous voice before reaching out a hand to help me stand up, which I gladly accepted.

   "Now if I only had somethingto cover up my diaper." I said, looking down at my bare legs. "You don't happen to have a spell that can mend trousers, would you?"

   "Unfortunately I don't. But I have the next best thing!" he went over to his pack and pulled out a dark brown cloak. "I found this on a dead body. Figured it would come in handy if I needed to look extra dark and mysterious. Or if it was too cold for just my vest... Which I just realized I need to replace now, fuck!"

   He handed me the cloak and I inspected it in the firelight. It was a simple hooded traveler's cloak, the kind most commoners owned to fend off the elements. It was a bit coarse and theadbare with a few holes in it no larger than pinpricks. But it was a garment that would hide my diaper and that was all that mattered to me. I slipped it on and found that it fell just above my knees. Apparently this cloak's previous owner was a bit on the short side. Not ideal, but certainly better than nothing. "It will do."

   "Awesome! Next cloak is totally mine, though. Even if it's black. You seem like black is probably your color."

    Finally in a clean diaper and no longer exposed to any passersby, I felt like a great weight had been taken off of shoulders. I took a deep breath of clean air and sighed contentedly. "Thank you, Tav. For everything. I don't know how I can repay you for all that you've done."

   "Hey, just keep bringing me back to life when I accidentally kill myself and we'll call it even."

   "You... Still want to travel together? Even knowing my secret and knowing you'll be responsible for... Changing me?" The blush that had apparently finally decided to die down returned with a vengeance upon saying that.

   He brought a hand to his chin, pondering that for but a moment. "Yeah, I think I can handle that. Besides, knowing that you need me to wipe your ass for you makes it far less-likely that you'll want to get rid of me the next time my Wild Magic does some freaky shit."

   I looked up at the upper platform upon which he had exploded. How often did that kind of thing happen to him? What else would this Wild Magic of his do in the future? Was I willing to risk getting caught in the blast next time?

   "Very well." I said. "I guess we'll continue traveling together for the foreseeable future."

   "Great! Let's celebrate with something to eat. After all that fighting and dying and crap, I feel like I could eat an Owlbear!"

   We made a passable dinner out of the few rations we had scrounged on the beach before setting up our bedrolls for the night. We had considered trying to find a place that wasn't a crashed Mind Flayer ship to sleep in, but figured the risk of traveling in the dark and finding more monsters when we were already so exhausted was too great to chance.

   "We already killed the monsters that were here. That makes this the statistically safest place to camp for the night, doesn't it?" Tav explained. I wasn't sure how to argue with him, being as tired as I was, so I conceded to his logic. The Mistress of the Night would have to protect us if anything came our way.

   We decided sleeping on the elevated platforms would be safest, although we chose ones on the other side of the crash site away from the dead Intellect Devourers. I was slightly surprised when he chose a separate platform from the one I would be sleeping on, having expected the man to want to sleep as close to a woman as he could manage. Was he just respecting my boundaries or did he have other reasons? I supposed it didn't matter that much. After the day I've had, I could use a little personal space.

   "Goodnight, Shadowheart." he called from his platform slightly below mine.

   "Hmm? Oh, goodnight Tav." I responded. It'd been a while since I'd been wished a good night by anyone, I'd almost forgotten the custom. I stared up at the starry sky for a while, marveling in the beauty of it while I tried to process everything that had happened today. I'd been infected by a Mind Flayer tadpole, stranded on a beach with a stranger, and I came close to death multiple times. By all accounts I should be a wreck. And yet... I felt calm. Peaceful, even. Most nights I almost despaired closing my eyes, lest the morning come and bring with it new humiliations to endure. I reached down and felt my diaper--the diaper Tav had put on me. It would need changed again in the morning before we head out. And yet somehow, that thought didn't fill me with quite as much dread as it normally should have. Surely I wasn't getting used to it after so many months? No, not a chance. I hated these diapers with all my heart. Maybe I was just too tired to feel the dread. Yes, that must be it. I'm sure the feeling will return come the morning. But until then, at least I can enjoy this moment of bliss.

   Wrapped in the sanguine embrace of night, and the cloak Tav gave me, peaceful meditations soon unmoored my mind from the woes of this world.

 

 

THE END........................... FOR NOW?

 

 

 

 

[Guilend]

That's it? It was good, don't get me wrong, I definitely romanced shadowheart on my first playthrough (then cheated on her with Karlach when I met her for the first time lol). The only thing missing is the smoking hot sex scene after a tense boss fight where shadowheart gets spanked by the boss right before it's over. 😂

[Wannatripbaby]

8 hours ago, Guilend said:

That's it?

I am definitely interested in continuing to write these characters. This was just the end of this particular arc. 

At the moment I do not have an outline of for the next story, and this is where fans like you can help shape the next installment by giving me ideas. 😉

I do have the idea of adding Lae'zel into the mix next. Both because she's usually the next Companion you find in the game and because she and Shadowheart have an infamous rivalry already. 🤭 But I'm open to other suggestions. Maybe people would like to see Astarion? Or mayhaps even Gale? How would they interact with Shadowheart in relationship to her diapers? 🤭