Blood Ties, Part 20


Since the Thousand Eyes will be seeking out information on the old man and your attackers—not just for the rest of this evening but through the coming night as well—you decide to devote some time to the other half of your mission.

For the moment, that means continuing your fencing lesson with Janessa until it's time for dinner. You give it your all... for all the good that does. Once you've both eaten, you spend the rest of the evening sitting on an old, threadbare sofa, talking about each other's lives, with your head lying pleasantly in her lap.

You make up a few tales based on the crash course you took from Iskro about Aspar, but for the most part you focus the conversation on Janessa. It takes a little work to get her talking, but soon she's opening up to you. Telling you stories of her girlhood years. Of the time before the war.

"...and that's where Aubin found me," she says with a wry smile, referring to the elderly butler who still lives in her manor. "Hiding up in the tree like that. And I absolutely refused to come down until he promised that he wasn't angry with me." She chuckles, shaking her head ruefully. "Goddesses. I was such a brat when I was young."

"Oh, don't be so hard on yourself," you reply. "That's just part of what being a child means. Though I admit, it is funny to think of Lady Janessa, nine-year-old rabble-rouser."

Janessa swats your head playfully in retaliation. You continue talking until nightfall, when you adjourn to your bedroom. This time—rather than trying to wear her out like before—you take it slower. Savoring the gentler, more sensual interplay as you make love to each other beneath the sheets.

"Oh!" Janessa cries out, throwing her head back as you give her another orgasm, as she practically melts in your arms. "Oh goddesses, Niko!" She's left gasping for breath, clinging tight to you as she comes down from the rush of sensation, her inhibitions already deliciously lowered by your aphrodisiac. "T-that's... you're... you're getting so good at this..."

It's true; the rate at which you've "learned" from your experiences with her has been quite accelerated. You've tried to keep it at least somewhat gradual... but you're also keenly aware of how little time you may have left before things start to get increasingly... complicated. "I had a good teacher," you say, holding Janessa close as well.

She scoffs, looking away. "You can hardly call me that," she protests, embarrassed. "A boring spinster like me?"

"Boring? I'm sure that Janessa the rabble-rouser has some good stories to tell that are anything but boring," you tease, grinning at her. "I can't imagine someone as strong and beautiful as you not catching eyes. Unless the people here in Vekmar are just... all blind as bats not to see it..."

"There were... a few," she acknowledges, her eyes losing focus a little. "Long, long ago. In a different life. And none of them were serious. None of them were..." Her voice trails off, then continues softer. "None of them were this. I don't even remember most of their faces anymore."

"Really?" you prod. "I could have sworn there was something between you and Ceriss. Some sparks, at least."

Caught off guard, Janessa lets out a short peal of surprised laughter. "Oh, there were sparks all right. But I think most of them were from something other than attraction. We served in the army together, and I had to try and instill some sense of military discipline into that damn-fool teenage head of hers. She was even more promiscuous back then than she is now, if you can believe it. Living each day like it was her last."

Then her smile falters a bit. "Though... to be fair to her... she was far from the only one living that way, back when it looked like Kovora was going to win. Before things turned around... it really did feel like the end of days."

You give Janessa's hand a squeeze. "Still. I've seen her talk to you, and I think she really respects you. At least now that she's grown up more, and understands what you were trying to do."

You pause, then shift your tone back to teasing again. "Also... I can't help but notice you only said that most of the sparks were from something other than attraction. Does that mean, by any chance... that you know of a few sparks that were?"

Janessa blushes, looking away before finally mumbling, barely audible. "...well, I'm not blind..."

That draws a chortle of laughter from you. "I know what you mean. But... I don't think it's only in one direction, either. I think that if you gave her half a chance, Ceriss would love to close some of the distance that's between you. Both emotionally... and in a very, very physical way."

You wait until you're sure that Janessa is fully picturing the seductive mental image you've just placed in her head. Then—with perfect timing—you run your hand down her back, giving her a slightly stronger jolt of your incubus allure, timed perfectly with her little daydream to reinforce the desirability of it. To your surprise, you feel her body shudder in a mini-orgasm, just from that.

Whatever lurid scene Janessa was imagining... it seems to have had an extremely strong effect on her.

Then again, that really shouldn't have been at all surprising. Like Janessa said, it is Ceriss. The woman is sex on legs to begin with, an achingly sultry body, overflowing with dangerously, demonically exotic appeal... and yet inhabited by a kind, caring and brave soul. It'd probably be more surprising if Janessa hadn't had at least some buried yearning.

She tries to suppress a whimper as she rides out this latest orgasm, before firing back at you. "And what about you?" she demands, raising an eyebrow. "You seem quite keen on this..."

You raise your hand to her cheek, caressing it. "I... suppose I'm just worried about what will happen when I eventually have to leave..." you say, sighing, then resting your forehead against Janessa's. "Even when I return to my duties back home... it would break my heart if you went back to being so lonely, like you were before."

Then, to keep the moment from getting too heavy, you give her a crooked smile. "And... yes, the thought of the two most beautiful women I've ever seen together is... exciting in its own right."

Janessa rolls her eyes, then gives you a playful elbow in the ribs. "Oh, I see how it is. So tell me, just what happened to my innocent, naive Niko?"

You chuckle. "I had a good teacher."

The two of you fuck well into the night. All the while you continue to weave your temptations, reinforcing the groundwork you've laid, subtly stoking the fires of Janessa's lust toward the tiefling sorceress. By the time she drops off into slumber, you're confident that she's receptive to the idea. If the opportunity ever comes up, you expect that you'll be able to make one last push and get Janessa to join in.

And so—with at least that piece of the puzzle now in place—you allow yourself to slumber as well.

With no need to sneak out, you're able to get plenty of sleep, even waking up at the first crack of dawn. You and Janessa clean and dress yourselves, at which point you announce that you're going to stretch your legs before breakfast. You depart on a quick, leisurely stroll around the small manor grounds, then out into the streets, until you find an appropriate alleyway. Meska is there, waiting for you in the shadows. Just as you had arranged.

"Did you learn anything last night?" you ask.

"Some things," the ratfolk spy replies, a note of uncertainty in her voice. "The two men who were attacking you were easy to find. Barely any work at all. They were simple, ordinary big ones. Men living in that very area for years. So it was only making sense that they would be standing in that crowd, after the magic-heroine's fight, just like everyone else was doing."

Your eyes narrow. It was a possibility you'd considered... but all the same, you don't like the implications. "Did they give any explanation for why they attacked me?"

Meska shakes her head. "After the fighting stopped, the city watch settled on throwing them in a cell for the night, and charging them a fine. For 'drunken brawling'. It seems that they were not even remembering why they attacked you. Just that it seemed like the thing to be doing at the time."

And if that's a coincidence, then you're a fucking cherub. "What about the old man?"

Now Meska's face darkens. "We have been searching the city for him," she said. "Searching the city for any hint of him. Talking to all our contacts... our eyes and ears in the beggar's guild... our agents watching the city gates... our snitches in the gangs... all the go-betweens we have."

The spy looks up at you, conflicted. "But the only ones who remember seeing him are the ones from that street where you also were seeing him. Nowhere else. No matter who we asked, no one was recognizing him. No one was knowing him. No one was even hearing of him."

She sighs and looks down. "No matter how hard we are looking... the only place we can confirm he was ever even existing was on that one street, in the crowd drawn by the magic-heroine's battle. I am so sorry to have failed you in this matter, master incubus."

You shake your head. "No..." you say. "No, this wasn't a failure. In fact... it may be exactly what I needed to know. Thank you, Meska. You and your clan did well."

The ratfolk's ears perk up a little at your praise. You, meanwhile, are already calculating what this might portend. And the more you consider all the different possible implications of everything Meska has told you... the more your skin starts to crawl.

You may not know all the precise details yet... but you're growing increasingly certain that this entire situation is even more dangerous than you'd realized. The killer's new plan is doubtless moving forward... and you still don't yet know for certain what the full endgame will entail.

Nevertheless, you'll still need to make your plan for the day. Your personal time is spoken for, with the unfortunate meeting with Lord Kovar that you've built your cover identity on. But there's still the Thousand Eyes to direct, as well as any requests you might make of Janessa.

Finally... if you rushed, you might have just enough time to briefly contact and make a request of Ceriss, and still make it to your meeting on time. However, if you want her to break away from her normal duties again, you'll need to give her a compelling reason to do so.

Which—depending on what you're asking her to do and how much you tell her—may be difficult without revealing to the heroine that the "innocent, naive" Niko is playing with information sources he's holding close to his chest. Which might, in turn, cause her to look at least a bit more closely at you in the future.

She, after all, is not yet so utterly enamored with you as Janessa is.