Blood Ties, Part 35
You approach Janessa from behind. The mature woman is sitting at the side of the bed, watching over the maimed captive you rescued, holding the girl's hand as she fitfully sleeps. Janessa looks unaccustomed to such an overtly nurturing role... but she seems to be doing the best she can, despite feeling ill-suited to the task.
Her veteran's instincts cause her to glance back as you approach. You respond by shapeshifting into the young form she's most familiar with, causing Janessa's eyes to widen. "Niko!" she whispers. "It isn't safe here. Nevati has figured out that you're a demon! And she's afraid you're here to harm to Ceriss."
"I know," you say. Then you gesture down at the sleeping girl. "Can we talk? Somewhere we won't disturb her?"
Janessa frowns, perhaps sensing the gravity in your tone. But she nods, carefully disentangling her hand from the girls and following you into one of the side rooms. She closes the door behind you, then turns to face you, concerned.
You exhale, letting out a deep breath. Then you release your shapeshifting, taking on your true demonic form once more. Janessa tenses a little, but reaches out to take your hand in hers. "What is it, Niko?"
"There's... something I need to tell you," you say. "I'm going to have to flee Vekmar, very soon. Nevati is onto me, like you said. And worse, she's sent word to the rest of the heroines. But... before I go... you deserve to know everything. The full truth of why I was summoned to this world in the first place. And who summoned me."
You feel Janessa's fingers tighten on you own, but otherwise she simply watches, letting you speak. "I should have told you sooner," you say. "But everything was... just so crazy, trying to track down the killer before he could strike again. And the time just... never felt right. But I can't leave without explaining things to you. What I told you last night? It was true. I was sent here to stop the war. I was summoned because my mistress didn't want that kind of bloodshed to happen ever again. But... what I didn't tell you was that my summoner is the Witch Queen of Kovora."
Janessa sucks in a quick, startled breath. You give her time to process what she's learned, letting her think back over everything you've said, interpreting it in this new light. Then, finally, she looks back up at you. "So what happens if you succeed?" she asks quietly. "If you do succeed in crippling our war effort, then we'll lose our chance to put a stop to Kovora's attacks. Do we just resign ourselves to our border villages getting sacked and pillaged?"
You shake your head. "No. Vekmar isn't the only place that will need to change for this to work. In fact, a colleague of mine named Rysanial is working right now to deal with one of the biggest impediments to the Witch Queen's plan, within her own army. If my mistress can consolidate her power and defeat the factions that oppose her, she'll finally have the leverage to put a stop to those raids."
Of course, there's still the threat of what Melca will try to force Lily to do, once the danger to Kovora that the heroines pose has been reduced. But Janessa doesn't know about that. And even being honest about the rest of it, that's a subject you can't bring up. Not here. Not given your true plans to permanently deal with that issue.
Janessa looks up at you, hope and disbelief warring in her eyes. You look back, trying to convey the force of your conviction. Your own determination to make your mistress' dream happen, to make this future a reality.
It's a terrible thing to ask of someone as loyal as Janessa. To support an agent of an enemy power. An enemy that has caused such pain to her. But... she can also see—in you—a chance for the nation she loves to escape the terrible ravages of war. Ravages that she knows all too well. In you she can see the allure of all the pleasure that you've shown her. And... how could that really be such a bad thing? To strive for those joys over those horrors?
She knows you could have left Vekmar without saying anything. She knows you could have overwhelmed her with desire, instead of telling her plainly. She can see the concern in your eyes, as you wait to see how she will respond.
And, in the end... she is desperately in love with you.
"So." The word is heavy, yet also wistful as she speaks it. "What happens now?"
"Ceriss and I need to run, before any more heroines can show up," you admit. "I would have liked nothing more than for you to come back with us, but..."
You can see Janessa entertain the idea... but even as she does, it's with a sad smile. "You're right," she admits. "I have responsibilities here. And... even if I understand what you're trying to do, forsaking my oaths and actually living in Kovora would be..." She hesitates. "...it would be hard for me. Especially after... everything."
Reaching out, you caress Janessa's cheek comfortingly. "Don't worry," you say. "You don't need to do anything that you don't want to. And I don't want you to put yourself at risk. Just... if you do learn anything that you think might help the rest of the heroines to see that there's a better way... I'll be in touch."
She places one of her hands on top of hand caressing her cheek, closing her eyes for just a moment as she holds you there, however temporary it is. "You... you don't know what these past few days have meant to me..." she whispers, her voice breaking a little as she blinks back tears. "Feeling... alive again. I... It's... Thank you, Niko. For everything you've given me."
"This isn't the end," you assure her. "It's just the beginning. We're going to show everyone just how much better things can be, when they understand what you've learned." With that you pull her into a kiss. She responds, molding her body against yours, and for a while you simply lose yourselves in the embrace.
Still, eventually it comes to an end, as your impossible hearing detects that Nevati's distant voice is getting louder, more frantic. The gnome's panic is growing, as she realizes that Ceriss has no intention of waiting here for Lady Alicia to arrive. She's realizing just how great the risk is of losing Ceriss to your demonic clutches... and all the horrors she imagines that entails for her friend.
The situation is growing more and more unstable. You need to do something that will get Ceriss out of there. Not to mention that—if Janessa is to have the best chance at serving as an agent—you'll need to do everything you can to avert the suspicion that having been so close to you might prompt.
When you finally pull away from the kiss, you tell her the next step. "Now. I need you to sound the alert about my presence. And then try as hard as you can to kill me. Make sure Nevati or one of her summons see you do it. And don't hold back. I'll be fine."
Janessa arches an eyebrow. "Are you sure about that?" she asks. "I seem to recall a certain sparring partner whose combat skills were nothing short of abysmal. Or was that a trick too?"
You chuckle. "Ah. No, I'm afraid I really was trying my best back then, embarrassing as it is to admit. Back then I was trying to fight, though. When it comes to running for my life, I'm a fair bit more competent. Not to mention it'd take a lot more than a few sword stabs to actually kill me."
Janessa shares the chuckle with you. Then she wipes the tears from her eyes... before drawing her sword.
"Alright," she says, cracking her neck. "I'll trust you on that." Then she raises her voice, along with her blade. "Nevati! Nevati! He's here! He's right here! Help!"
And with that, Janessa lunges, her saber striking with deadly speed and precision. It gives you an even better glimpse of the tough-as-nails veteran that is also so much a part of her. She really is trusting your words, not holding back in the slightest. It forces you to dodge furiously as you launch yourself back, using your wings to propel yourself around the room, and even sustaining a few nicks before making a break for the door.
Janessa lunges after you, her blade flashing as she chases you out into the hallway. The elementals round the corner at the same time, giving them a front-row seat as she tries her absolute best to skewer you. You whirl, flying as fast as you can toward the nearest window and crashing through it in a shower of glass, as you soar up into the sky.
You barely make it any distance before a blast of air slams into you, the force sending you tumbling awkwardly through the sky. The air elemental hurtles around you with terrifying speed, weaving the currents into projectiles that hammer against you despite your best attempts to guard. The individual gusts are not actually that damaging... but they crash into you without respite, hampering your efforts to flee and wearing you down as you careen drunkenly through the skies of Vekmar's noble quarter.
Even so, your wings are still able to outpace the earth and water elementals. Both of them jump out of the window in pursuit... but they can't keep up with your trajectory as it soars over building after building. Only the fire elemental is able to keep pace a bit better, her lithe form rebounding off the building walls until she lands on the rooftops, then racing across them with wildfire-like speed. Her flaming hair streaks behind her, making a long trail that traces her path as she struggles to keep up with you and the air elemental.
Glancing back, you see Nevati soar into view, her staff alight with arcane power. She chants a spell—some kind of binding snare—aimed directly at you. But Ceriss is hot on her heels, running interference. A counterspell hurled from behind disrupts what Nevati was trying to do, and the wizard whirls in midair. Even from this distance, you can see the raw despair in her face at the prospect of actually fighting against Ceriss.
In one sense... she'd already lost in an utterly devastating way, the moment the fight even began.
More and more spells fill the air as the two heroines struggle, until the very sky itself is ablaze with the intricate interplay of sorcerous energies. People in the streets below stare at the display, slack-jawed, pointing up at the contest unfolding above. They don't know what to make of it... but it's clear that none of them have ever seen its like.
Of course... it's painfully obvious as you watch the two of them clash that, despite the awe-inspiring scale of the spectacle, both women are taking extreme caution to make certain they don't actually harm the other. Magic clashes against magic as you all soar through the air, buildings hurtling past beneath you. But with your newfound intelligence you can identify all the spells they're casting. And none of the magic is intended to even so much as injure.
You, meanwhile, are getting the shit kicked out of you.
Air gust after air gust crashes into you, until one final one slams you down into one of the roofs, sending you tumbling end-over-end across the tile. You manage to catch yourself, only to see the air elemental hovering there, reading to keep going. And the fire elemental is still hopping from roof to roof, about to reach you as well.
Well. Desperate times call for desperate measures.
You raise your hand and snap your fingers, calling on your power. And, right behind where the air elemental is hovering, a portal opens up, disgorging a large, shambling bulk with tentacles writhing out from it in every direction.
These particular fiends aren't sapient. In fact, they're barely even more aware than plants, possessing only one single-minded imperative. But that just means that there's no hesitation whatsoever in accepting your call, as the tentacle demon lurches out into the physical plane, its tendrils shooting up to latch onto the air elemental's wrists and ankles from behind. She gasps in shock as she feels its aphrodisiac touch, fighting vainly against its strength, as it tries to drag her struggling form down from the sky.
"Aila!" shouts the fire elemental, putting on an extra burst of speed and hurling a fireball at the tentacle demon. It slams into the beast, prompting it to let out a roar of pain... but if there's one element that hellspawn are resistant to, it's fire, and the attack fails to break the lustful tug-of-war as its tentacles slither up the air elemental's legs.
Nevati, however, whirls at the sound, and casts a spell of her own. And while your respective summons might be fairly matched... the tentacle demon stands no chance against a heroine. A beam of green energy strikes the mindless beast head on, causing it to wither and shrivel, dying in seconds.
That doesn't concern you, however. You only ever expected it to serve as a brief distraction. And as a distraction... it works brilliantly.
In a contest as pitched as the one between two heroines, that extra, reflexive spell to protect her familiar costs Nevati dearly. Her distraction allows Ceriss to land a very powerful dispelling charm, and the defensive wards around Nevati's skin shatter in a blast of light. Ceriss swoops in toward the disoriented gnome, using her superior size to simply engage in close combat, gripping the much smaller woman from behind. Nevati tries to twist free, but Ceriss keeps her staff immobilized while holding the young gnome close.
"Ceriss...!" she begs, craning her neck to look back at her friend, even as she struggles in her arms. Searching for a sign that the woman she loves so desperately is still in there. Fighting against the fear of what Nevati thinks you've done to her, as she makes one last, desperate plea. "Ceriss, please, d-don't do this. Please!"
Ceriss looks back with pained compassion, their faces only inches apart. And for a moment, time seems to freeze for them, as Nevati loses herself in that look, in their closeness.
Then Ceriss speaks. "I'm sorry," she says. "This is... something I have to do. You'll understand soon. But I promise... I will never do anything to harm you. Or any of the other girls. Please believe me, Nevati."
Nevati opens her mouth to say something. But Ceriss brings one finger to the back of the gnome's now-unprotected neck, tracing a rune directly onto her skin. There is a soft glow of light, and then Nevati slumps into Ceriss' arms, asleep, her protest turning into nothing but a small murmur.
The two nearby elementals freeze. You can see worry in their faces over their mistress, especially since they clearly know that they have no chance against a heroine themselves either. Still, it looks like they're preparing to try something, however hopeless.
But Ceriss just levitates downward, until she can hand Nevati's slumbering form over to the air elemental. "She'll wake in about an hour," the sorceress explains. "Tell her... tell her I'm sorry."
You wince as the air elemental takes off, as you watch one of your remaining targets slip through your grasp. Still, the way things are, that was more or less inevitable. Even with all the progress you'd made on Ceriss, you doubt she's even now to the point where she'd allow you to force yourself on Nevati. And keeping the wizard prisoner long-term without that would be a very dangerous proposition indeed, especially this far from Kovora.
No, at this point, it's probably for the best that you let her go for now. If nothing else, it'll give you time to come up with a new, tailored plan for when you do decide to go after Nevati herself.
Ceriss lets out a deep breath. Then she turns to you, looking deep into your eyes, as though trying to take your measure yet again. "Alright," she says. "Let's go see what your Witch Queen has to say for herself. And if there really is a chance for an ending to all this as perfect as you promised."
"There is," you assure her. "You'll see. And so will Nevati. Believe me, after we gain her trust... she'll get her heart's desire in ways she can't even imagine right now."
With that, the two of you make good your escape. You dart out of sight before shapeshifting yet again, this time into a completely new form. Ceriss, for her part, uses her illusions to take on a new image as well. The city is fast descending into an uproar over the inexplicable events, but between your shared ability to look like anyone you desire and all Ceriss' other magical abilities, you have little issue slipping out of the city.
And so you begin the trek back to Kovora. You take your time, following a winding route, knowing that Nevati will be looking for you. A few times you notice a flying carpet in the distance running a desperate search pattern over the most likely areas, but you manage to keep a low profile as you make your way back.
You do stop in another city to buy new clothes for Ceriss. Illusions are only good for so much, in the end. You also stop at a local chapel, taking advantage of the holy ground to tell Ceriss more about your full plans against Melca, catching her up to what you've already told Khaytala and Verika. She's shocked, but she understands the need for secrecy. You also notice her looking at you with a bit more astonishment in the days immediately after.
Another purchase in that city is a horse, which increases your pace noticeably. Nevertheless, that still leaves plenty of time on the open road, time for you to idly discuss whatever random topic happens to cross your mind between the two of you.
And sex. Lots and lots of passionate sex.
With all that lust that you're gathering, you have no problem using the nights on your way back for repeated attempts at Dreamwalking, should you so desire. The question is, whose dreams do you want to visit? You might even be able to do multiple targets successfully... but in addition to a roughly-prioritized list, you should probably decide on who your main target is going to be, that will take up the lion's share of your focus and attention, ensuring that at the very least you'll be able to get through to them sometime during this trip back.
Who do you want to prioritize in terms of your Dreamwalking? The most popular pick will definitely succeed, and you might get some of the runners-up as well, depending on how many fit.
