26. The Dusk of night
Abigail woke up to the undeniable, unforgettable sensation of growth. Of her hips spreading wider. The sound of fabric tearing, shredding apart as her body outgrew it. Flesh spreading outward. Breasts more than eclipsing her head. Moving onto sizes larger than melons, larger than pumpkins. Thighs swelling wider around than her torso. Bottom expanding to chair killing sizes. Hips near doubling.
And then, it stopped. Almost as quick as it began, the feeling left. Her body ceasing it's growth as she sat up. Eyes dragged down by the weight of her transformation. Boring new holes through her dress as she tried to examine herself.
She wasn't the only one.
Baric. Sitting across from her, legs crossed atop a crate, was openly staring. The look on his face somewhere between utter astonishment and uncaring acceptance.
Thankfully, he didn't say a word. And neither did she. They both turned their gazes upward toward the cavern roof. Watching as the hanging teeth overhead passed by.
For a little while at least. Until Abigail turned her eyes, again, downward. This time to the cart she didn't remember getting in.
It was packed as much as it could be with valuables. Weapons and armor mostly. None in perfect condition, but all usable. The only crate in the cart that she could see that broke from this trend was to her left. It barely avoided contact with her hip, and was full of makeshift explosives.
Some of which she could feel were enchanted.
It was a lot of firepower. And she knew where it was going. What it was going to be used for. A part of her wanted to stop it from ever making it even halfway there.
The more rational part of her that knew her limits, though. It let the cargo continue on unimpeded. Opting to instead stare at Baric. Paying attention to the way he sat on his little crate. A distraction that she quickly grew bored with. Mind turning to the cart. To it's contents.
To what the weapons would be used for. What the explosives would accomplish. It was all bad. She knew. But it wasn't her problem.
She kept telling herself that till the problem disappeared. Her ride once again becoming leisurely. Nothing more than a trip back to the fort. And as she sat there, letting her mind drift, almost aimlessly, her thoughts eventually returned to her body.
Specifically to the way she jiggled. An apt word for the phenomenon unfolding before her. Sending her breasts wobbling back and forth. The two repetitively colliding and repelling one another. Each impact creating zones of rippling flesh that drew the eye.
She even saw Baric spare the spectacle a glance.
Even so, it was nothing in comparison to what was going on behind her. A drop in the bucket compared to the ocean of waves spreading across the vast surface of her rump. Rising and falling like a mountain range in motion. Going from her cheeks, the other ones, all the way up to her hips - and probably further. Though she didn't dare to check.
The embarrassment would more than likely cripple her. Instead, she pretended to ignore it. To look back up at the cavern roof. Interest herself in the sparse flora above.
And not too long after, the fortress came into view. A sight far more interesting than the purple mushrooms growing up on the ceiling. Tentacles spreading from rock to rock.
And once the cart had made it through the gates, she and Baric got up. Something astoundingly easy for the bandit, and disappointingly difficult for her. Mostly because she had to spend at least five, maybe four, minutes trying to figure out how to stand without indecent exposure. When she finally had, another problem immediately arose.
How was she going to walk anywhere without her dress exploding off of her.
As it turned out, the answer was very slowly. Careful steps. Delicate movement. Almost like she was a thing of glass in a world of bricks. So very fragile, and yet so big.
Not to mention, impossible to ignore.
It seemed like every eye was on her. Watching as she wobbled, bounced, and jiggler her way inside. Baric close behind her, impassive, even as the gat shit behind them. And it was only then, when it was just the two of them that she felt 'decent'. Safe enough to sigh. To relax. As if she was in private.
But she wasn't.
"So. What was... All of that?" Baric asked. His gaze cast upward, at the ceiling.
And Abigail blushed. Arms covering her chest. Trying to hide the valley of cleavage poking through the front of her dress.
"It's, it's weird. Ok. It's just kinda been happening ever since I got here. Like I've got a bad cold or something, that only acts up occasionally. Ya' know?"
His face remained still. "No. I don't think I do."
"Well neither do I, really." She confessed. "But, uh, I don't think there's anything I can do about it. Not right now at least."
To that, he 'hmm'ed. Eyes still cast skyward as they walked down the hall and into the next. Journey splitting them up. Sending her to the cells, and him to... Wherever it was that he went.
And once they were separate, and Abigail was truly alone, she let out a sigh. Not of relief. But of exhaustion. An avalanche of emotion that she let out for just a moment. Then sucked back in as she pushed her way into the fort dungeon proper. Where she found the couple sitting together, staring out a little window.
There was nothing to see, though. And almost immediately she had their full and undivided attention.
It was, again, remarkably embarrassing.
"Did you get bigger?" Vivian asked. Already up and circling her. Eyes passing over every bit of her inflated form.
Abigail sighed. Nodded. Then she sat down on one of the old uncomfortable chairs the couple had to share. In the process she also discovered it wasn't made with women as big as her in mind.
Chair squeaking beneath her, quaking as Nerus joined in on examining her.
"What happened?" He asked.
And again, she sighed. "I got bigger."
"... Yes, but how?"
"Nerus dear, I don't think she wants to talk about it." Vivian, thankfully, added.
And her husband relented. "Fine. But if the next dress we make you suffers a similar fate, I will be expecting some sort of explanation."
Then they set to work.
Wordlessly, they danced. Hands gliding across the barren remains of her dress. Plucking the rest of it apart. Tearing fabric. Threading it anew. Sowing it together with more material as needed. And soon enough it looked like it might actually fit her.
Still black and beautiful. Striped with red and now the size of a small tent. It felt, almost, too right putting it on. Marveling at the way it perfectly hugged her giant figure. Accentuating her newly added curved without flaunting them.
They did enough of that on their own already.
And they continued to do so as she thanked the couple. Engulfing the both of them in a hug before she left. Shuffling out of the dungeon. Leaving the cells behind as she made off to her the courtyard.
It was the one place she could be alone. That felt as if it was hers. Where she could be in private, truly relaxing for the however long she was allowed to be there.
Except, when Abigail got there - after a short walk through the halls - her sanctuary was already occupied.
Baric, armorless and armed, was practicing. Swinging, thrusting, fencing with an invisible foe. Their battle an orchestrated thing known only to the two of them. The feints and jabs between them, perfect in execution.
And then Abigail stumbled in. Her presence immediately disrupting the invisible duel.
Baric stumbled. Eyes glancing at her in annoyance for a brief moment. Then he stood, brushed himself off and pretended as if it had never happened.
Which, would have been impressive, if Abigail wasn't so embarrassed. Mortified even. And she didn't know what to say. Whether or not to apologize. So, after a silent moment between them, she decided to say nothing. To turn around and walk away before anything could be said.
But she was too slow.
"Abigail," Baric started. "Did you need something?"
And slowly, she turned around. Smiling a sheepish smile. "Uh, no. Not really. It's just that I like to come here from time to time. Nothing important."
"I see." He said, stroking his chin. "Well don't let me stop you."
And without another word he made move to leave. His ever determined stride taking him straight towards her.
For some reason, she stopped him. Placing a hand out in front of him as an idea struck her.
"Care to spar?" She asked.
He nodded. Turning back around to the courtyard and taking up a position.
Abigail followed. Settling into a familiar stance across. Arms held defensively in front of her. Maintaining their position for only half a second before she charged. Throwing caution to the wind as Ardin enhanced her steps. Form crossing the distance in less than a heart beat.
Stopping only when Baric raised his spear. Sweeping the blade in front of him.
"How did you lose your mentor?"
Abigail propelled herself into the air, falling toward him with a quick.
"Through a portal."
He dodged. Sweeping his spear again.
"Yes. But how. Where did this portal come from?"
Despite her bulk, she danced beneath it. Breasts reaching toward the ground, threatening to pull her with them.
"He made it. On accident. Fell into it. I followed."
He kicked. Foot lashing out like a spear of it's own. A serpent reaching for her throat.
"Why?"
She twisted around the blow. Hands becoming as claws in retaliation.
"Instinct. I had to make sure he was alright."
He stopped. Froze almost, and stared her in the eyes.
"Why?"
"Because. Because I love him like a father. Because he raised me. I had to. There was no other choice."
Baric planted his spear into the ground. Blade sinking an inch deep into the dirt.
"... You are braver than I." He turned. "When I was young. When my parents were... We're killed in front of me. I did nothing. I still haven't done anything.
"When the time comes for you to go, I wish to come with you. If you'll allow it."
For a moment, Abigail was silent. Unsure of what to say. Again, words came to her mind.
"Thank you."