Chapter Six:

Where the Heart Is, Part 1


You fly through the clouds on an unerring course toward the capitol of Nelin, each beat of your wings propelling you forward at a dizzying rate. It's exhilarating to test how far you can push the increased stamina that you gained from the latest rune. The landscape hurtles past beneath you, but you don't feel tired at all. In fact, you feel as though you could keep up this pace nigh-indefinitely, and you end up making better time—despite less exertion—than any of your previous journeys.

As you get closer the city itself you shift into a more innocuous form, taking on the shape of a hawk. It turns out to be a worthwhile precaution; with your extraordinary eyesight, you notice on your way in that there are several humans scattered along your approach who are surreptitiously watching the skies. Disguised guards, most likely, sent out to provide an early warning if you had been careless. They don't yet know about your new ability to take the forms of animals, however.

Before long you reach the city itself. You soar over its immense stone walls, looking down to see the entire capitol spread out beneath you in all its splendor. Where Kovora's capitol was a fortress built to unite otherwise-disparate orc tribes around a banner of war... where Vekmar's capitol was the political backbone serving their cosmopolitan trade network... Nelin's capitol is a testament to raw, regal authority. A testament to the ambition to enforce its empress's sense of noble justice all across the land.

You swoop between ornate, towering spires that reach up toward the sky. Below you, countless people of all races move through the streets in thick, bustling crowds. The signs of their military mobilization are obvious as well. More than once you see troops of well-armed and armored soldiers marching through those streets, including a few groups of mounted knights. There's a sense of anticipation hanging over the city. The knowledge that momentous events are afoot, events that will determine the course of all these nations for generations to come.

And one way or another, that is certainly true. It's up to you to make sure that those momentous events go in a significantly sexier direction than the good people of Nelin are expecting.

You continue your flight over the city, making sure to keep an eye out for points of interest. Two buildings immediately grab your eye as far and away the largest. The Imperial Palace and the Grand Cathedral.

The former, you know, is home to the Empress and her younger daughter, the heir apparent now that her older sister has taken up the mantle of Paladin of Selal. From your vantage point you can see not only the palace's grandiose marble architecture, but also the horticultural marvels of its lush walled gardens, complete with all manner of beautiful sculptures and fountains, and swarming with its own army of elite knights.

Even more unsettling is the Cathedral, where one of your current targets often goes to preach and teach. You bank through the air and swing in closer... but Rysanial wasn't exaggerating how strong the holy ground is. Even at a great distance you can feel your skin crawl, just as she described. You might be able to function in there, especially with the recent boost to your resilience. But it will be painful, and you definitely won't be able to activate any demonic powers while you're anywhere near that place. Even your aphrodisiac probably won't be of any use within those consecrated halls.

Adjusting your course, you fly over the other location that Elianna Imfiel is known to frequent. The orphanage that she runs. Fortunately, its secular nature means that—despite who owns it—it doesn't have the same inherent consecration that a religious site would. That said, you'd bet anything that there are powerful wards and blessings protecting the premises as well. But if it's merely a spell or rite like that, your own powers and skill in manipulating mystical energies should give you options to mitigate such threats.

You also observe that there are guards posted at the orphanage doors, and that they are anointing anyone who wants to enter the building with what must be holy water. So gaining access won't be as simple as merely impersonating someone, since the holy water will burn you regardless, blowing your cover.

Which would be particularly dangerous in this case... since your other target is skulking on the rooftops nearby, waiting for you to show up.

Just as you suspected, Mockingbird is standing guard over the woman who was secretly her beloved mother figure growing up. She really is good at stealth; she's concealed her perch so well that you almost missed her on your first pass. But there's no hiding from your extraordinary demonic senses.

You take some time to drink in the sight of your prey. She's still small, of course, her halfling body perfect for the kind of sneaky work she's so skilled at. She isn't as plump as most halflings you've seen, her body fit and toned from the life she's led. But she still does have some meat on her, and she's far more curvy than Nevati. Curves that her dark, tight clothes show off to very good effect.

Unfortunately, the simple cloth mask she wears doesn't allow you to see much of her features. But you do see the plain brown hair hanging down in braids behind her that you recognize from the dream that Rysanial arranged to show you. There's no doubt in your mind that this is the same guilt-stricken little girl that fled the orphanage all those years ago.

It wouldn't be wise to linger too long, however. Nor do you get too close, contenting yourself with observing her small figure from on high, at a safe distance. This is enough for now, even if it doesn't allow you as much detail as a closer inspection might. You soar away, putting the highest priority on remaining inconspicuous.

Eventually you alight atop a large bell tower, one that gives you a panoramic view of the entire capitol from a place of comfortable rest. It also gives you some seclusion and privacy in which to ponder your next move, with your only distraction being a raven who briefly flies past and looks at you, before immediately veering away to keep its distance from the much more dangerous predator.

Your eyes trace across the city as you lay your plans. How will you begin your campaign this time? It's clear from everything you've seen—both in your conversation with Janessa and your own observations on the way in—that the remaining heroines are all on high alert now. Anything too overtly suspicious or reminiscent of demonic activity will likely clue them in to your presence. And you have two potential targets this time. Which one do you want to focus on first? Who would be the more useful to claim before the other?

With your remaining time as limited as it is, getting both on the same excursion would be an immense boon. But on the other hand, the worst outcome would be to split your efforts in an inefficient way and end up with neither.

Not to mention that, even for one heroine or the other, there are any number of possible approaches you could take, approaches that could result in very different routes to your goal. But whichever route you take, you'll need to start somewhere. One way or another, you'll need to make the first step.

You could try to sneak into the orphanage, giving yourself access to Elianna in perhaps her most unprotected location. The holy water might be a bit troublesome... but while they're careful to check all the people entering, they may be more likely to overlook a small animal. If you can ingratiate yourself with one of the children while they're out at play, you may be able to slip in as their pet.

Alternatively, if you wanted to start by going after Mockingbird, then one angle might be to pose as someone with information on... well, yourself. If she's really using all her resources to protect Elianna, then you can probably approach the fence that Rysanial identified in her previous investigation and drop a few tidbits that might lead the young rogue to one of your personas.

Now, if you wanted to do something similar with Elianna, you could approach her when she's in the Cathedral. You could even try to aim for when she's hearing confessions, "admitting" to her that you've been tempted by an incubus to help seduce Mockingbird. It has the added danger that you'd be operating on holy ground... but the added benefit that, from what you understand, it would be a holy obligation not to divulge anything you told her during confession without your permission.

If you wanted to take the most direct and daring approach of all, you could approach Mockingbird as a demon, using the secret she's so frantic to keep from Elianna as leverage. You doubt the blackmail would restrain her if you moved against the cleric directly... but if you instead offered her a deal where she could earn your silence by doing a heist with you, you might be able to convince her. And that would give you plenty of time to work on her... albeit in a situation where she would be looking for any opportunity to turn the tables on you as well.

Of course, there's also the priestess that Rysanial identified during her more recent investigation as particularly open for temptation. If you took some time before you made any direct moves, you could seduce her and gain an extra piece on the board to help you in your plans, one who has access to the Grand Cathedral herself. That said... there could also be drawbacks to bringing another person into your schemes as well, adding extra variables that you won't entirely be able to control.

Finally, if you wanted to try and make Mockingbird approach you instead of the other way around, you could use what you know about her shame-filled past in a slightly more subtle way. If you approached Elianna disguised as someone investigating suspicious donations to her orphanage, you might be able to get Mockingbird to try to interfere. It would put her in a similar position where you can pressure her into a deal where you could spend more time involved with her. It would, however, keep your identity secret on Mockingbird's side... at the price of potentially involving Elianna earlier, which could complicate the situation a bit.

In the end, there are a great many possible approaches you can take... but you'll have to decide on which one appeals to you more, and which one you think would produce the best results.