The Longest Road, Part 26

"Wait!"

Khaytala hesitates as you call out, glancing back at you. You can tell that she believes she has to do this, to prevent more innocent people from getting caught up as hostages or collateral damage in this girl's vendetta. But she still looks to you, hoping against hope that you might have a way out of this.

Fortunately, you do. It will require laying more of your cards on the table... but in this case you feel it's worth the risk. "Just tie her up for now. I... have an idea for a different way we can handle this."

Unsure of what you mean, Khaytala gives you a puzzled frown. The teenaged assassin, meanwhile, realizes that Khaytala's attention is off of her. She takes the chance to pull a third knife out of her boot—just how many of those does she have?—and lunge at Khaytala while her back is turned.

Khaytala doesn't even bother to look back at her attacker. She sidesteps, catching the girl's wrist and twisting her into an armlock while tripping her and slamming her to the ground, all without breaking eye contact with you. Then she nods, and calls over to where the other caravan guards are clustered, watching the spectacle from a distance, pointing out one of them. "Hey! Yevek! Grab me some rope so I can secure her!"

The man nods and runs off, soon returning with what Khaytala had requested. Once the assassin is bound hand and foot—and your own bonds untied—you draw Khaytala off to one side, speaking in a low voice. "I understand that you don't want to hand her over to the town guard. But there may be another way do deal with her that isn't quite so harsh. We could hand her over to my employer instead."

Khaytala freezes. "Y-you mean the one that sent you down from Urdeval?" she asks, hesitantly.

You give a deep sigh, then shake your head. "No. No, I... need to make a confession. I was afraid to let anyone know, but... I can't keep it a secret any longer. Not when it might be able to help. I was... actually sent here by the Queen of Kovora."

Khaytala sucks in a short breath. But then she bows her head. "I... already knew," she admits. "Ever since the orc attack. I can actually speak a fair bit of their language, so I understood most of what you said to them. But I pretended I didn't. I'm sorry."

With effort, you suppress the fond smile that threatens to leak out. Only Khaytala. Who else would be honest enough to feel guilt over simply playing along with someone else's deception? "You knew?" you say aloud, feigning surprise. Then you laugh. "That's amazing. I guess you've been one step ahead of me this whole time."

"I... wanted to learn more about you," Khaytala admits. "I wanted to know why one of the Witch Queen's agents was saving human lives. Why you saved my life."

"Because neither the Queen nor I want this to end in bloodshed," you say. "I know that might sound hard to believe, Khaytala, but I swear to you it's the truth. She's looking for another way, trying to follow a different path. And I'm trying to help her."

You look Khaytala right in the eyes as you make your plea, projecting honesty and fervor. "Which is why I know she'll be willing to help you, as a gesture of good faith," you continue. "She can deal with this assassin in a way that removes her as a danger, and she'll listen if I suggest leniency. The girl will still be punished... but it won't be as bad as it could have been. She won't need to die."

You watch as the idea settles in Khaytala's thoughts, hope slowly spreading across her face, displacing the pain and distress over what she'd felt compelled to do. "But... how would we get her to Kovora?" she asks, looking a little lost as she tries to think through the details.

You grin. "Just watch," you say. "I have a trick up my sleeve for situations like this. But we should take her somewhere private first. I'd prefer not to let this become public knowledge."

Khaytala is puzzled, but nods. And with that, the two of you walk over to where the murderous teen is trussed up. Savoring the turnabout, this time you untie her legs and pull her to her feet, before dragging her off into the forest.

Once you're out of sight, you toss the girl into a small clearing. "Alright. This is how it's going to go," you explain as she glares up at you. "We're going to make a deal, you and I. You're going to promise to go back to your camp, gather up your supplies... and head for Kovora. On foot. No detours, no double-backs, no attempts to come after us again. You're going to head to the border, and you're going to turn yourself in, and you're going to tell everyone who asks that you're surrendering to the Queen for her judgement."

That should keep her well out of your hair. And by requiring her to travel on foot, you should be able to complete your business here and still reach Kovora yourself well before she does, the better to prepare the Queen.

For her part, the girl's eyes widen in shock. "Th-that's crazy!" she says. "Why would I do that?"

You shrug. "Would you prefer to die right now?" you ask mildly. "If you make it out of here in one piece there's always hope to turn your fortunes around later. But if it all ends today..."

Her face furrows in thought, as she tries to figure out what your game is. Of course, it quickly occurs to her that she can simply lie to you, and go back on the agreement as soon as she's out of sight. "Sure," she says insincerely. "Sure, I'll do it. Whatever you say."

A smile spreads across your face. You reach toward her, laying your hand on her shoulder as it begins to glow with a supernatural light. "You promise?"

She swallows hard as she feels the magic permeate her, suddenly realizing that this might be more serious than she thought. But there was a reason you had her make her decision first, convincing herself of your overall reasoning while she thought the consequences were lower. The unknown magic worries her, but she sticks to the decision she asserted, still determined to survive another day. "I... I promise."

With that, the Corruptive Boon takes effect. And—for a bit of your own personal punishment for everything she's put you and Khaytala through—you crank up the base effect on her sensitivity and libido as high as it can go. You hope she enjoys her long, lonely walk, because she's going to be very, very horny for the entire duration.

Once it's in place, you untie her hands. "Now go," you say. "And don't let me see you again outside of Kovora."

The girl looks nervously between you and Khaytala, unsure of what just happened. But whatever else, she decides that her first priority is to get out of there. She turns and runs, disappearing into the forest until even the sounds of her careening through the underbrush have faded.

Only then do you turn back to Khaytala. "That should do it," you say. "It's not very flashy as magical tricks go... but it's reliable. It'll make sure she holds up her end of the bargain."

A breath of pure relief finally escapes Khaytala. "Thank you," she says, her expression full of gratitude. "Thank you so much. If you hadn't been here, I would've..."

"I saw how much it would have hurt you to kill her," you explain. As you speak, you place a hand on her shoulder, causing her whole body to body to tense at your affectionate touch. You look deep into her eyes, letting her feel the raw emotion behind your words. "Even if it meant revealing my secret... I couldn't just stand by and let someone I care about suffer like that."

Khaytala flushes, hurriedly looking away. "I..." she begins, flustered. "I'm not... That's..."

Her voice trails off, and she stares at the ground for a while before finally continuing. "I... care about you too, Talavar..." she finally says in a small voice. "When I heard you'd been taken... when I didn't know if I'd ever see you alive again... and there was nothing I could do to help you... I... I was so afraid. I didn't know I still could feel so afraid."

You can tell she's afraid even now, though for very different reasons. Terrified of the rejection that her entire life has taught her she deserves. She raises her head, unshed tears in her eyes as she looks at you, and you can see a timid vulnerability there that no amount of fearsome combat prowess could ever remove.

But despite all of that abuse and self-hate, she's still found the courage to be true to the feelings that have been building up for so long. "So... do you think..." she says, then swallows. "Do you think it's possible... after this is over, that somehow... I mean, you don't need to say yes. You really don't! But... do you think... there's even a chance that...?"

Not only is she desperately enamored with you, she's finally reached a place where she can admit it. The only question now is how you will respond. If you wanted to put her worries to rest as quickly as possible you could take charge of the situation, silencing her with a kiss and showing her with your actions that you want to be with her just as much as she wants to be with you.

On the other hand, if you wanted to take it a little slower you could spin out your seduction, building up to your move through your silver tongue. You could reply to her doubts, spelling out to her exactly how amazing she is, before you take her to the heights of passion that only an incubus can provide.

Finally, you could let her finish her entire confession before responding, perhaps with a little encouragement here or there. It might be rougher on her in the moment, thought it could also help her find a bit more confidence in such matters. Then again, there's certainly nothing wrong with retaining a little shyness in this one particular area, and an immediate response could spare her some unnecessary anxiety.

In the end, you'll need to decide exactly how you want to go about claiming this exceptional woman whose company you've spent so long enjoying.