Dangerous Dealings
Authors Note: This is a fanfiction of a Dungeons and Dragons game that is run by MechaGM on sundays, streamed live on his twitchtv channel called Shadowland. It takes place during Session 19 after the party decides to ditch their meeting with Jadeis for the Winter Court. This is basically my take on how Jadeis and Xellia's partnership works since I've always questioned how he got a greater succubus into his service. I have no idea if this is remotely close to what Mechagm intended but we haven't seen enough of these two together yet so I thought it might be fun to try and write.
"Milord, I'm coming in." Xellia's form sauntered into the dark work quarters of Lord Errol Jadeis, her voice dripping with her usual false saccharine charm. The man in question didn't look up from his endeavour, carefully tracing lines with a sharp knife along the forearms of a screaming woman. The succubus relished in the sound as she swayed closer to admire the finished product, "masterful work as always Milord." She purred. Jadeis pulled his implement away from his subjects form and sighed at the demoness annoyed.
"Why do you insist on calling me that, I hold no power over you?" In truth Jadeis knew this wasn't the case by his design but his command of the succubus would only last as long as she believed she could be controlled by no one. Manipulating the she demon into doing his bidding was one of his more prominent accomplishments to be sure.
"Oh but I rather like how it sounds, milord." She emphasized the last word, almost sarcastically if her seductive voice had allowed it. Xellia traced her fingers along his hunched shoulders lovingly before leaning forward to his ear. "You're so tense milord, I could fix that," she whispered. On a weaker male her charms would have rendered them stunned but Jadeis was anything but weak. He seized her hand and moved it away without any hesitation.
"Not now Xellia, I am working. There are plenty of other minions you can prey upon if you need to feed." The succubus pouted.
"You make it sound so…animalistic; my consorts feel nothing but ecstasy in their final moments." A wicked grin formed from her carefully painted lips. She strayed towards her personal chez lounger in the room and stretched out slowly, eyeing Jadeis for any reaction. Of course he gave no sign of one. It made her desire to conquer him that much greater. "Besides your minions are far too easy, milord. I need a real man. There is nothing more satisfying than watching a strong-willed man fall apart as I break him. It's almost beautiful how they fight so hard to resist." Licking her lips in remembrance, Xellia thought of her newest target fondly. "Oh Zelas, how I long to make you mine."
"Not interested in your adorable artificer anymore?" He prompted dryly, seemingly uninterested.
"Oh the boy is delicious but he's not a man yet. Perhaps he'd make a good pet." She pondered the idea happily. "Oh my, her brother and her lover, it would indeed be perfect."
"I don't know what you see in the spider lover." Jadeis scoffed, his hatred for the Drow hinted at in his narrowed eyes.
"Oh he is rather dim I admit but he's tenacious and strong, not to mention his passion for that… girl." She paused, "It's like a fine wine milord. Stealing him away from that trash and making him swear his loyalty to me. It would destroy her. Having him slay her would just be the final nail in the coffin. Though… using my own hands is a tempting thought." Jadeis sighed and returned to his work. However he was rather glad Xellia's exploits were coming along well enough. "That reminds me milord. Our transportation is ready."
"We won't be going anymore my dear Xellia." He moved his knife with precision once more on the now barely conscious victim.
"Oh but why? I was so looking forward to seeing my charming rogue."
"It seems they've decided to go to the fey wild instead. The boy was asking the tome again about the Dracolich." He gestured over to a book on his right, displaying verses about a fey crystal he assumed the artificer had learned about and was researching on. "Earlier he had found out about the rift in the dragon's lair as well." Jadeis was rather impressed at the skill the young man used the tome. While not at Jadeis's level yet, the arcane prodigy had managed to break pass one of the seals the cultist had inscribed on the tome before he had left it for the party. For the most part the book had been useful in tracking Darek's progress as a mage but the fact he'd surged pass the constraints of Jadeis's spell to information he'd thought to have been safeguarded was interesting.
"A Dracolich… my they do get around don't they? But the fey wild, what could possibly be so important that they could ignore you so easily milord?" Xellia's hidden taunt fell harmlessly on Jadeis's ears. He knew better then to fall for her tricks. While Jadeis was sure he could take the greater succubus in a straight up fight, he understood it was a mistake to underestimate the extent of her manipulative abilities. If he wasn't careful she could seize the chance to convert him to her service and that wasn't acceptable, he had too much he still needed to accomplish.
"The artificer's companion, Dahlia I believe, was infected by the soul of Vaarsath the Everblack." He recalled Darek's questions to the tome; he'd said the host was a half-elf which made his guess work rather easy.
"Aww he has himself a little girlfriend? That's adorable." Jadeis rolled his eyes; she had completely missed the point.
"He also asked the tome about you I might add, specifically how to break a greater succubus curse." The demoness paused in her musings.
"I'd like to see him try." Xellia's faced soured for a moment, as though she'd been told someone was trying to take away her favourite toy. "Maybe I should add the boy to my consorts after all."
"I'd rather you didn't but do what you will. Anyway, they went to the fey wild assumingly to speak with the Winter Queen for aid on the girl's condition. Her court is closest to this area." There was a note of frustration in his tone. "No matter, I'll just have to deal with them personally when they return."
"Do say I can join you milord, I've been craving a confrontation with that girl." Xellia's eyes flashed with bloodlust, her demonic side showing through for a split second before returning to her standard sultry gaze.
"Patience Xellia, we won't be killing any of them yet. They could still prove useful." Another scream echoed in the office, Jadeis was now working intricate lines across the once beautiful woman's forehead.
"Hmm you're no fun milord. I don't see what those misfits could possibly be able to do for your plans. Then again you seem to have plans for everything." Her voice was not complimentary in the slightest.
"My dear Xellia, what you fail to understand is that I have no immediate plans for this group."
Xellia paused, not caring to hide her confusion. "But milord, then why do you follow their progress so?"
"Because they are useful tools; why would I ignore possible resources to help my goals?" The mage dragged a final stroke with his blade and set it down on the table, the woman now unconscious from the pain. "What if I needed a skilled mage to help me cast a ritual? Well I have a prodigal mage in their party. Maybe I'll need something stolen from a dangerous location; a master thief is at my fingertips."
"Zelas is mine."
"Yes of course Xellia, but if it proved interesting enough I'm sure you would oblige me the honour. Where was I? Oh yes; an elf that can track anything. A woman whose goals so closely match my own that her passion could be swayed to my side. Not to mention their walking phylactery for an all-powerful Dracolich, a soul that could easily fuel ten portals to the elemental planes. I don't require this party's abilities now but perhaps I will have a use for them later. I hate being wasteful."
The succubus pondered this explanation for a moment. "They won't help you, they rather despise you milord." She unleashed a small fit of giggles at her own statement.
"You disappoint me Xellia; I thought you of anyone would understand. They will help me; I only need to ask the right questions. Take the mage, I'm sure he would flat out refuse any request I made for his aid. However everyone has a weakness, a button to press. You wish to rid your lover of the taint of a Dracolich? I can help you with that. The question is no longer "Will you help me open the Rift?" but "Do you value this woman's life?" and that my dear Xellia is a powerful thing. You may manipulate for personal enjoyment but I do it as a means to an end."
"Careful milord, you make a woman think she's being taken advantage of." Her words, though teasing in nature, carried a dangerous weight.
"You my dear? Never." Xellia rose from her seat on the lounger and advanced slowly on the man.
"Because milord is much too smart for that," she leaned in very close to the tactician, her lips nearly brushing up against his, ruby eyes locked on blue. "Unless perhaps you desire to find out why my kisses are so addictive. It would be so very easy." Her sensual voice wove her threat charmingly in the air, as if to make the idea a valid alternative to Jadeis's current state.
The man stared intensely back at the fiend, unflinching. "Oh but Xellia, you would never do that. You find me far too fascinating." After a long pause, a throaty chuckle escaped from Xellia's mouth.
"You are a dangerous man Lord Errol Jadeis. It's a good thing that you are so entertaining to watch. Things have been so boring since the Drow took over and I do believe you are the one that will shake things up." Xellia ran one of her delicate hands through her 'master's' hair before backing off. "Shall I have someone prepare the ritual chamber milord?" She gestured to the unconscious woman, a masterpiece of detailed lines across her naked body.
"Yes Xellia my dear, I need to prepare her for her reunion with our adventuring friends."
"It's really too bad, she was really quite lovely. Her form was fun to take." Xellia sauntered out of the room.
Jadeis gathered his tools, tucking his tome that linked to Darek's tightly under his arm, before moving to put the instruments away.
Saranna Arthus lied still on the stone slab, unaware of what fate would meet her when she finally woke.