Blood Ties, Part 9
The long hours of the night wind past you, as you lie, staring up at the ceiling, with the naked body of your host coiled around you. Janessa eventually falls asleep, but your twisting, uneasy thoughts keep you awake for most of the night, as you try to figure out the best way forward.
In the end, there's only one option that seems viable to you. You can't keep going on like this. Your impulses at the mercy of this increasingly psychotic brand. Unable to risk letting yourself be put in a position that it takes umbrage at, for fear of losing control. You can't put it off any longer. You need to learn more about this strange symbol that has marked your life... including if there is a way to control it.
Not to mention that, after last night, Janessa probably won't be terribly interested in having sex with you again until you find some way to improve the issue, given your demonstration that sex seems to have a dangerous effect on your very sanity.
When Janessa does finally wake, she's disoriented at first, but her eyes widen slightly as she realizes where she is, and the events of the past night all come rushing back. You speak up first, aiming to guide the course of her thoughts before they can go anywhere you'd prefer they avoid.
"I... thought about what you said..." you say. Last night the madness left you off your game, but now you portray the perfect blend of uncertainty and vulnerable, innocent worry. "I thought about it a lot. And... you're right. My father told me to keep this curse secret to protect me, but... it's only getting worse, and Miss Zylnerios is probably my only chance. If it's not too much trouble... do you think we could go ask her for help? Together? I'd... feel a lot better if you were there."
Janessa places a hand on your shoulder. "Of course," she says reassuringly. "We can go see her today."
The two of you dress yourselves, then head downstairs for breakfast. Janessa's butler has it already prepared by that time. He has to realize where his mistress spent the night, but the elderly man treats the situation with complete aplomb. Janessa can't help but be awkward in the small talk over the meal, though. An awkwardness that you—carefully—match.
Once you've finished, you head out into the city, navigating the bustling streets until you reach Ceriss' place. Looking at the estate, for the very life of you the only word that you can bring to mind is "magical".
It's not ostentatious about it, but the closer you look, the more you notice the subtle touches. The mansion is just a bit more vibrant than the others, just a bit more bright and colorful. Like the place is alive, with some... ephemeral energy to it. There's a beautiful little garden just on the inside of the main gate that the two of you walk through to reach the building proper, and you can tell the obvious care that has gone into its cultivation.
Even the walls of the building are more than purely functional; looking closer, you can see subtle designs, meticulously inlaid into the stone and woodworking. And all of it is supplemented by illusions that have been woven into the very fabric of the place, shifting your perceptions of the scene just slightly so that it's never quite the same beautiful vista twice.
The place is a wonder. You'd be willing to bet that it has a practical side to it as well, with some manner of defenses woven into the spellwork of Ceriss' mansion. Unfortunately, you're unable to analyze the intricacies of the magic well enough to determine what defenses are actually in place. However, one thing is obvious to you nonetheless. This is the home of a woman who dearly loves the expression and beauty of art.
Janessa leads you through the small garden and up to the front door of the mansion proper, and knocks on it. After a few moments, the door opens to reveal a maid, who looks surprised at the visitor. "Lady Janessa?" she says, before quickly recapturing her composure. "It's a pleasure to see you, ma'am. Might I inquire the reason for such a... sudden visit?"
"It's... a private matter," Janessa says, her tone polite but unflinching. "But one of utmost importance. Might we impose upon Madame Zylnerios?"
You see the maid hesitate. She hides it decently well, but to your eyes, the uncertainty is there plain as day. For some reason, she doesn't think letting you through to her mistress is a good idea.
But before she can reply, the matter is taken out of her hands by a voice from behind her. "But of course, my dear!" you hear your true quarry say, amusement in her voice. "I imagine that if the Captain has seen fit to pay me a visit, the reason must be important indeed..."
Ceriss walks into view. Her manner of dress is far more casual and personal now than when you saw her at the soiree, but no less ravishing. She wears a simple, comfortable black gown, though still one that shows off quite a bit of skin with its plunging neckline. The amusement you just heard is what she shows outwardly... but watching her closely, you can detect deep worry and concern underneath the image she projects.
The maid turns back to her, and... oh, now this is interesting. Her self-control is nowhere near as good as Ceriss' is, and you can see poorly-hidden concern there too. But in this case, it's concern for her employer. Acting on a hunch, you look back to Ceriss, studying her even closer, calling on all your inhuman perception.
And your suspicions are confirmed. It's extremely subtle, but you're confident that she's touching her own appearance up with illusion magic. Specifically, small alterations around her face that would be perfectly placed to hide signs of weariness. That's why her maid is worried. For some reason, Ceriss Zylnerios is running herself ragged. And yet even so, she's agreed to help the two of you.
Even her garments, now that you really study them, have been altered by illusion magic. Could it be that she was trying to grab a little bit of sleep when you arrived? It would explain why she only had time to magic up the quick appearance of normalcy before going down to meet you.
Your speculations aside, the sorceress is already beckoning you into her home. You follow behind Janessa, making sure to gawp appropriately for a young, sheltered noble from a more backwater nation. Ceriss takes you into her private study, closing the door behind her, before gracing the two of you with another smile. "So what can I do for you, Captain?"
"It's not for me," Janessa says. "It's for him. He's under some kind of curse. I was... hoping you could take a look at it."
"A curse?" Ceriss raises her eyebrows a little. "How does it manifest?"
"Violent urges," you say in a small voice, staring at the floor shamefacedly. "Not all the time, but... there are occasional attacks. I haven't acted on them yet. But they... scare me."
"Is there a trigger?" asks Ceriss. "Any kind of situation that can set it off?"
Despite all her iron discipline, Janessa's face still goes red. Nevertheless, she responds, as though giving a report to a superior. "The one time I observed it, the occasion was... during sex."
Now Ceriss' eyes really go wide. She looks back and forth between you and Janessa, like her entire picture of the woman has been upended. By the time she speaks again there's a definite smile tugging at her lips, but all she says aloud is: "Well! We'll certainly have to do something about that, now won't we? Can't have some pesky little curse standing in the way of two people enjoying themselves!"
Given what you've inferred about their past history, and the nature of some of the "unprofessional" behavior that caused the friction between the two of them in their time in the army, you imagine that this is not easy for Janessa to admit. In fact, she looks as though she wishes the earth would swallow her up right here and now. Still, she doesn't back down. And Ceriss, for her part, is doing her very best not to rub it in, extending an olive branch instead.
The sorceress turns to you, looking you up and down. "This shouldn't be too difficult," she says, turning to you. She doesn't even bother with a wand or staff of any kind; all she does is snap her fingers, and her eyes light up with a spectral blue radiance. Casting even a simple spell without a focus of any kind is something few mages can do, but she pulls it off effortlessly. Just another sign of the caliber of quarry that you're dealing with.
You do feel a little nervous as she looks you up and down with those newly-piercing eyes. But even in the face of a heroine's magic, your shapeshifting seems to hold. The only reaction you see from her is when she looks at your right hand, which causes her to suck in a shocked breath. She slowly approaches, taking your hand in hers and opening it to look at the brand on your palm directly, with its three glowing runes.
"Unbelievable..." she breathes, her amused expression slipping into incredulity. "The... the power here... I don't know if I've ever seen anything of this level before..."
"Is it really that bad?" you say, putting a frightened quaver into your voice. "Are you going to be able to do anything about it?"
"I... don't know." The stunned admission is probably not one that this heroine has had to make often. She licks her lips, running her fingers over the brand. "These runes... I've studied this form of magic in some depth, due to my... origin. This is far more advanced than anything I've ever seen, but I am quite certain that this curse is demonic in its origin."
It doesn't escape you the simmering anger in Ceriss' tone as she spits out "demonic". That is... less than ideal. Aloud, though, you simply gasp, as though a demonic connection was just as unexpected to you. "Demons? Selal have mercy. I... I thought this was just an attack from one of my father's enemies!"
Ceriss shakes her head, the smile well and truly gone from her face. "No. No, this is... something far beyond that. The level of power here, even dormant like this... it's... something I would only associate with a goddess or a demon lord."
The dismay in "Niko's" expression is not, in this case, especially hard for you to fake. Intellectually, you always knew it had to be something at least approaching that scale to warrant the level of panicked response you've already seen from the succubi. But to hear it said aloud brings a whole new level of reality to the danger you're in from this affliction.
"So... can you do anything about it?" you ask, swallowing hard. "Is there anything that can be done?"
Ceriss just stares down at your brand for a few more seconds. Then she shakes herself. "I might be able to place a seal on it," she explains. "In its current state, that should be enough to shield your mind against its effects... at least for now. What worries me are these runes. I don't think I can stop their progression. And as the curse becomes more fully active, even my seal might not be enough."
The sorceress closes her eyes and rubs the bridge of her nose, and you get a far clearer sense of just how tired she is. "I... do have a friend who might be able to shed some more light on this," she says after a few moments. "I've studied a great deal myself... but in the end my magic is more on the intuitive side. She, on the other hand, is the most knowledgeable and brilliant person I've ever met. She's... researching something very important for another one of my friends right now, and I didn't want to disturb her, but... this does look urgent. I could send her a message, ask her to come and examine you herself."
She looks intently at you. "How long ago did that curse appear? And how quickly have the runes activated? I'd like to get a feel for how much time we have."
Your mind races. It's obvious that she's talking about Nevati Wrancyne, the gnome wizard. If Ceriss does bring her fellow heroine in, that could pose a whole new level of danger. A second heroine at the same time would be bad enough... but you also know from Rysanial's investigation that Nevati has a huge crush on your target, and will most likely be extra watchful of any attempt to seduce Ceriss.
On the other hand, you don't know how long the message she's planning would take, or how long it would take Nevati to respond. If you can work fast enough, you might be able to make quite a bit of headway before she even arrives, and maybe even make use of her expertise, or make some early inroads in preparation for her hunt.
Not to mention that there's this mysterious problem that has Ceriss at the end of her rope already. No telling what consequences that could have, or how Nevati's presence could affect that, since you're still completely in the dark as to what is actually going on.
You could either tell the truth (more or less) which will probably lead to the message being sent, with the correspondingly increased risk and potential reward. Or, alternatively, you could downplay the timetable. Convince Ceriss that you've had the brand for years between activations, that there's no rush, that Ceriss' own seal should be more than enough to handle things for now, that Nevati doesn't need to be called away from the research she's been asked to do.
Also, while Ceriss is studying your brand today in preparation for her own seal, there is the chance to speak with her on one of any number of subjects, while she works. The question would be which line of inquiry would be best to pursue. Though outright flirting might not be the best course of action with Janessa also in the room.
How do you describe the pace of your curse's growth?
