The crunching of leaves and twigs beneath Rowan's feet was all that could be heard as he ventured into one of the more ancient parts of this forest. He estimated that it was a little past midday by now; still plenty of time to get back home with the Cardia Manavore, a flower he needed to finish a potion by tomorrow night.
"I don't think I've been to this part of the forest." Rowan said to himself. "Apart from being full of deadly animals and monsters, it's actually quite nice!"
He found it best to talk to himself on long trips. It made the time go by faster.
The trees overhead were thick with vines and blocked out the sunlight more and more as he delved deeper into the forest. Insects had quickly proved to be a nuisance, but nothing a simple Ward of Deterrence couldn't fix. With an enchantment like that, no animal or insect would ever want to be within 500 feet of him. With this, he killed two birds with one stone: no more annoying bugs, and a guaranteed a safe trip.
He looked at the drawing he copied from his book, Magical Fauna and their Applications, Volume 13. The flower he needed was a deep scarlet with a slight glowing appearance that preferred dark environments. Not much to go on in terms of details but specific enough for him to have it found within the day. Fortunately, in a forest like this, most flowers wouldn't grow so finding one as specific as this would be easy as it had little competition to compete with. The thing is, he was still having trouble finding it, a problem which agitated him.
"I'm certain I should have found it by now." Rowan complained. "I've passed through so much of the forest and I've not seen even a single sprouting of the cursed thing. Perhaps it still isn't dark enough in this part of the forest even with all the shade."
He stopped and composed himself.
"Right. That settles it. I'd rather not be out all night. Time to do something unnecessarily drastic."
Rowan signed his hands in sequence, trying to remember the names and order of the different hand signs to produce his spell: "rubrum, passia, helia, nyxa photios, xenosta, seekorum... Um... florus."
He flexed and bent his hands into different shapes and symbols as he cast the spell. A smile spread across his face as he felt his magic flow down his arms from his chest and fill his hands as if he had plunged them into hot water. This feeling never got old.
Magical Sign symbols drifted out from his fingers and merged themselves into each other into a spell he crafted to automatically point itself towards the parameters he gave it: red glowing flora that grows in darkness. Sometimes his spell programming impressed even himself. No mere magician could craft a spell that complex.
Instantly the spell popped into existence: a pulsing white sphere with a flowing network of nodes and lines that moved organically as if thinking. In the center of the sphere, a pointer snapped towards his left, indicating a destination that matched the parameters of the spell he created. He smiled and followed it like a compass deeper into the darkness.
Spell signing was not his forte, but not requiring a wand was certainly a plus. He wasn't keen on being dependent on a wand all his life, so he left it at home to force himself to be good at signing on this trip. A bad idea in most cases, depriving yourself of your most valuable tool, but a good motivator to learn and practice nevertheless, at least for today: if you don't use signs, you won't cast spells. If you don't cast spells, you could die.
"Druids." Rowan huffed, changing the subject as if he was having a real conversation with himself. "I haven't any idea how they managed to discover Magical Signing, yet they insist on keeping their potential to nature when they could be of use in our great cities."
He didn't despise druids truly, just felt they were a bit too focused on dirt and trees to ever see the stars, a characteristic that he never once felt to be relatable.
As he followed the direction of his spell, the trees had started to grow even thicker still. Visibility was getting harder- it was as if the forest was intentionally filling every hole in the canopy to block out all traces of light. His spell illuminated the immediate area around him so he could see just fine, but not even a talented wizard enjoys the choking darkness of an ancient forest.
"Goodness, it sure is dark. I haven't any idea why I haven't seen this cursed flower yet. I'm getting rather-"
He stopped mid sentence and fixed his eyes on a single point in the distance beyond the range of his spell's light. He visually aligned his eyes and the spell's pointer with a glowing red point as if staring down the sights if a crossbow: the spell was pointing directly at the flower.
Rowan picked up the pace, now heading towards the flower at a light run rather than a carefree walk. Within a minute, he found his prize. A plant that matched the drawing he copied from the book, a glowing scarlet flower that grew in darkness: the Cardia Manavore.
"At last." He said with a smile. He hadn't been away from his home for more than a few hours, but he still felt uneasy leaving his cauldron to boil while he was away. Still, the potion required constant heat with or without his presence. Time was of the essence.
He bent low to the flower and picked it from the ground with a light snap. From his pocket he produced a small square of cloth that he wrapped the flower inside of and stowed it away.
"Just one?" He complained. "All this way for a single flower."
He looked at his spell. It was pointing a different direction now. In the distance, he could see a single red point, a glowing light in the darkness.
"Nevermind!" He said chuckling. "I guess there will be extras after all!"
The spell only worked up to about a half mile away, so the fact that he found another one at all was great news.
He took off towards the flower at a run. Sometimes he wasn't lucky enough to find more than one of a rare ingredient, but he had lucked out. As he approached the flower, his smile quickly faded. What he saw before him wasn't the flower he was looking for. In fact, it barely resembled a plant, more like an animal.
The thing before him was a large glowing red pod connected to the ground by a single large, long stem as well as dozens of smaller offshoots of stems. Around it, he noticed several glossy tendrils resting in various places on the ground, on a rock, in a tree, and in a small stream that led further into darkness. The pod and it's tendrils were glowing red and appeared to pulsate. It looked fleshy.
This is no flower, he thought. I think it's time to go.
He stepped away from the flower, being exceedingly careful to step quietly. Unfortunately, only seconds after he had decided to leave, the pod flared a bright red. The tendrils around him started moving and snaking towards the pod, lifting themselves up and around it like arms. The pod itself stretched up as if it had just awoken...
"Oh dear..." Rowan said with a slight squeak. He was a wizard, to be sure, but still only an apprentice- and combat was not something he had ever been any good at.
He made up his mind in less than a second. He turned to run, all grace and subtlety leaving his body as he stepped away from the pod. Suddenly, several of the tendrils lashed out and bound his arms and legs.
"No!" He cried, being completely ensnared in seconds. "No no no!"
The tendrils coiled around his limbs, thoroughly securing him in its grasp. Rowan struggled against his bonds, but that only seemed to make them grow tighter.
"Leaving so soon?" The plant hissed with what sounded like a smirk- if plants could smirk. It had a feminine, evil sounding voice, like a sadistic demoness. As it spoke, it's lips moved just like a humans, except taking up half of its entire pod body. Its mouth was wide enough it could fit his entire head inside and still have room leftover.
Rowan was dumbfounded. A sentient plant? He had no idea there were such things.
"I was g-going to leave, y-yes. I appear to have made a mistake. See, I was l-looking for-"
"So you were just going to shine a bright light upon me and wake me from my rest to leave without a word? Hardly. Bad manners is not befitting of a wizard."
"How did you know?" Squeaked Rowan.
"I'm a plant, not a fool." The pod hissed. "That orb you've conjured is clearly a spell."
Rowan swallowed nervously. If she knew about spells, she might know how to resist them too. He definitely hoped that wasn't the case. "You know about magic?"
The pod hissed and pulsated. "I should know. I find it to be quiet... Delicious."
Suddenly the pod opened, revealing what appeared to be razor sharp and pearly white fangs. From inside the pod, a slick pink tongue licked across the surface of its teeth.
Rowan panicked. He instantly felt to be in much greater danger.
Faster than he could process it, the pod snapped forward and clamped it's teeth around his spell sphere, it's light dissipating as they punctured it and drained it dry of magical energy. The pod swallowed the glowing energy and absorbed it into itself, now growing brighter and whiter than before. He could see the energy flow through the entire plant, all the way through each tendril. The area around them was now illuminated only by the light of the plant, a pinkish-red with a bit more intensity then a campfire.
"Oh yes..." Moaned the pod. "I haven't had magic in ages- and such a complex spell that was. Such refined flavors, excellent programming."
Rowan was sweating profusely.
"Well I suppose I could cast a few more for you if you'd like... Once you let me free."
If the pod had a face, it would have frowned.
"I have already told you once I am no fool. Trickery will not work on me, boy."
The pod leaned in close as if smelling him.
"Although, you may have some use to me." It said as its tongue flicked out like a serpent.
Rowan was completely terrified now. He was shaking and sweating, fearing the worst.
"You see, I've been asleep for a long while. I'm quite hungry."
This is it, thought Rowan. Please be a quick death.
The pod laughed as if she understood his feelings.
"No, boy. I'm not going to eat you. I'm going to savor you for a long time."
Her tendrils tightened around him.
"A young wizard like yourself, filled to the brim with energy. Death will render the magic quite distasteful. No, I must extract it. Slowly. But first..."
More tendrils slithered through the air and slid beneath his clothes, ripping them off of his body as if they were made of paper. Rowan was shocked- this was a far cry from being eaten alive.
"Wh-what are you doing??" He asked in a surprised voice.
The pod pulsated red, its glow seemingly getting brighter.
"Im hungry, boy. Your magical energies will sustain me for months, maybe years. But to extract the most enjoyment out of my meal, I must first prepare you for it."
As the creature ripped off his last article of clothing, Rowan was left completely nude aside from his boots. Despite it being just a plant, one even without eyes, Rowan couldn't help but blush. As the pod acted, it explained the detail of its thought process.
"The vast majority of my flora kin are too simple to make use of latent energies, but I am not. You will be my meal- your inherent energy potential and potent magical reservoirs are just begging to be consumed. Luckily for you, this will do nothing but tire you out. I care not for the taste of flesh and blood- I eat only energy."
"This feeding... I will survive?" Asked Rowan hopefully.
"You will," said the pod. "In fact, I would rather hate to kill you. Just from that small taste, I can see that disposing of a wizard of your abilities would be a terrible waste."
"Are you vampiric? Maybe magical yourself?" Asked Rowan, his academic curiosity now taking reigns as fear no longer was his dominant emotion.
"You will see. For now, just relax yourself. Let my tendrils take care of you."
"What does that-" Asked Rowan. He didn't have time to finish before he was interrupted by the feeling of her many tentacles spreading out across his body. The pod didn't have to answer anyway. She was already at work, her tendrils coiling and wrapping around his body in various places. The pod seemed as if she knew exactly what she was doing- the places she picked were very calculated.
Rowan's heart was beating heavily as the tendrils coiled around his neck, thighs, chest, wrist, hips, and ankles. Not only was he even more restrained than before, with escape being a mere dream, but her tendrils were doing more than holding him hostage. They were moving, skittering across his skin and touching him in ways that bordered on sensual.
"The primal feelings and emotions of living beings are more pleasing to me than any other form of sustenance. They imbue your energies I consume with much more nutrition."
The pod licked her lips. It looked as if she was smiling.
"To prepare my meal, I must force upon you a primal pleasure so overwhelming and strong that you will beg me for release long before I have finished. Your mortal brain will be at its limit. In a way, this will be painful, but I feel you will grow to love it- and I am very rarely wrong."
Rowan was more panicked at the thought of being in pain for this ordeal, but those thoughts quickly gave way to feelings of pleasure as she massaged his body all over with her tentacles. They dug themselves into his most sensitive areas, touching him all over in such a swarming frenzy that it was hard to count the many places and ways he felt stimulated. As she worked her tendrils into him, Rowan couldn't help but to get aroused from the pleasure.
"I've survived on the occasional animal that wanders too closely- their primal instincts and fleeting energy is pleasing enough to my refined palate; but it's a snack, at most. To feed on a human, however, is a rare opportunity."
She pulsated an even brighter light, equal in intensity to his spell from before, but more red.
"You humans are a strange breed, but there is one thing I admire about you. Your desire and capacity for pleasure is among the great organic wonders I have seen. The heights that can be reached by your satisfaction alone... being able to feed on this energy is among one of the many treats and luxuries I dream of as I lay here in darkness. Only once in my life have I had the great fortune of doing so. Until now."
The pod leaned in closely, her lips and fangs just inches from his face.
"I am very much going to enjoy this."
As she spoke, her tongue lashed across his face, leaving a trail of saliva. Suddenly, she forced it into his mouth, all 9 inches of it's length invading him and slithering down his throat. Rowan yelped in surprise, now blushing intensely but helpless against her advances.
He had kissed someone before, but this was different. It was like she was having sex with his mouth. Her tongue covered nearly every inch of his mouth and wrapped around his tongue. It tasted amazing. Her tongue penetrated him quickly, digging deep into his mouth and pulling itself out several times per second. Rowan couldnt help but to moan slightly as her tongue made him feel weak and powerless against her. He was starting to enjoy this...
Without warning, her lips clamped around his mouth tightly and flooded it with a hot and sweet liquid that had nowhere to go but down his throat. He tried to resist, but somehow he couldn't so much as gag to expel the liquid from invading his body- it wouldn't let him. He was forced to swallow what felt like gallons of this sticky substance.
All the while, she kept assaulting his mouth with her kisses, her tongue expertly working around and stimulating his very own. As he swallowed the last drop, she removed her tongue from his throat and smiled at him meanly.
"I envy you, boy. I am unable to feel the pleasure that you will soon experience. To compensate, I have grown to quite enjoy making my victims as pleasurable and stimulated as I possibly can with my many, many tentacles, to an extent that perhaps borders on sadism."
"What did you do to me?" Rowan moaned weakly.
The pod laughed and explained. "One of the abilities I possess is to produce a potent liquid. Once ingested, it magnifies the pleasure potential of living beings by a large amount. I am immune, of course, but soon you will feel overwhelming pleasure simply by the touch of my tentacles against your skin, not including the speed and intensity of which they stimulate your most sensitive areas."
Even as she spoke, Rowan started to feel strange. He felt light headed and his head felt fuzzy. But his body... His body felt hot. It was on fire. Within minutes, Rowan's body transitioned from feeling somewhat normal to feeling overwhelming sensations he never even dreamt of. Against his will, his cock was now rock hard- harder than it had ever been. He felt amazing. The feeling of tentacles caressing him all over was so intense it was like his whole body had become erogenous.
The pod pulled her tentacles tight, opening his body up to her in an X shape and keeping him suspended above the ground. Not a single area of his body was hidden from view.
The pod once more licked her lips.
"Now the real fun begins."