Love's Labors, Part 26


There's no further resistance from the harpies, and soon you have them all rounded up in front of you, looking up curiously as they chirp among themselves, wondering what will happen next. After what they've experienced, it doesn't take much for you to convince them into taking your Corruptive Boon, swearing themselves to Lily's service. The cock-hungry bird-women jump at the chance.

You waste no time in inducting them, and granting them their own supernatural sexual allure. Even after that's done you linger a bit, arranging for their accommodations among the rest of your troops as you all return to the capitol. The loyalist orcs, for their part, are exuberant at the growing realization of just how many eager sluts will be available to them, and you fully expect that this will eventually draw more of the undecided orcs over into your camp, as they're tempted by your new way of doing things.

Finally, after all that, you allow yourself to flop backward onto the bed in your quarters as night falls outside. It's been a successful day. But, flush with the power that you've absorbed through the immense orgy, you decide it's not over yet. You fell like trying out some of the new ways that your powers have grown.

And you start by contacting Janessa.

As an experiment, you push your Dreamwalking farther than you ever have before, burning a bit of extra Lust to employ it to its fullest extent, giving you complete control over her dreamworld. Not that you expect any resistance, of course... but it could be fun to warp the surroundings for whatever you end up deciding to do together.

When you make the connection, Janessa is dreaming of walking along a narrow ledge along a cliff in the rain, her feet threatening to slip with each step she takes. The dream-fog clouding her mind robs her thoughts of any context; she doesn't know where she's going, or why. Just that her path is uncertain, treacherous, and a single misstep could spell disaster.

Even as you enter the dream, her footing finally slips, and with a small cry she tumbles downward, hands clawing at the stone for purchase. She falls... but with a thought you warp the fabric of the dream, positioning yourself beneath her so that she falls into your arms. She gasps, looking up at you with her hair plastered to her face, and you dispel the dream-fog, bringing her into a state of lucid dreaming.

"Niko!" she breathes, clinging to you. "Is it... really you?"

You smile. "It's really me. Sorry that it took me so long to contact you again. A lot has happened. Including some things that I... didn't expect."

She relaxes into your arms, burying her head into the crook of your neck for just a moment. You shift the dream, changing it to the bedroom where you first made love to her. Then you push her down onto the bed, stripping her clothes away, the weight of your full demonic form heavy on her as you feel her lean, muscular frame.

Janessa moans beneath you, swept away in the moment as you thrust into her, each of you savoring your reunion as she yields herself to you again, chasing away the fear and vulnerability of the nightmare with your presence.

It's still a bit strange, causing her such obvious ecstasy without actually being able to feed off of it. Her pleasure is real, of course, but its physical location is so far away in the waking world. You don't seem to be able to ingest that distant Lust through the medium of dreams. Not as you are right now, anyway.

Eventually you release into her, before lowering yourself down onto the bed. Janessa molds her body to yours, clinging to you as you hold her in the afterglow. Still, she eventually collects herself, finding her reserve of self-control even here, in her most vulnerable place.

"A lot has happened on my end as well," she says, even as she nuzzles against you. "I did what you asked. Tried to put myself in a position to learn things that might help you in what you're trying to do. And... well... I suppose I succeeded. In a way I didn't expect either."

You raise an eyebrow, while making the cold rain stop with another thought. "Really?" you say, trying to imagine what it could be. "Intriguing. What happened after I left?"

With all the suspicion that you would have expected to swirl around Janessa after your time with her, you're surprised that she's found an opportunity so soon. What could it be? A new government posting? A return to the military? None of them feel quite right, especially on such short notice.

Janessa just smiles. "Niko..." she says. "You're looking at the newest aide to Lady Alicia Silverstone herself. Handpicked to give her advice in hunting you down, based on my personal experience with your evil demonic deceptions."

Your jaw drops a little, as you stare incredulously at her pronouncement. This... was not what you expected when you asked her to be your agent. "How...?" you begin, actually at a loss for words. Janessa just smiles, enjoying the chance to render you speechless.

Finally you shake your head. "No, wait. It'll be easier for you to show than tell. If you don't mind... there's a new trick I picked up recently that I'd like to test out." Focusing your mind again, you tug the dream into the depths of Janessa's memories themselves, re-enacting the scene out before you like a personal stage play, even as you lie on the bed.

To your surprise, you recognize what you see. It's the very same meeting that you happened to stumble across when you visited Nevati's dream: the meeting between Nevati, Janessa and Alicia. You're now seeing what truly happened. The part of the conversation you missed hearing, due nudging Alicia's words and diverting the course of the memory to lure Nevati into your trap.

In the unaltered version, Alicia eventually turns to Janessa, the full force of her gaze resting upon her. Once again, even through the veil of the dreamed memory, you're struck by the presence of this woman. The righteous conviction that seems to radiate off of her. The power that she wears like a second skin. It leaves no doubt that—even among the heroines you've met so far—the Paladin is in a class entirely of her own. You feel a shiver of excitement, of anticipation run down your spine.

Still, when she speaks, you can hear the compassion in her voice as well. "Now, Lady Janessa. I am told that this demon we face took advantage of your trust to infiltrate Vekmar high society... and to eventually target Ceriss." You can hear the pain in her voice as well at that last statement. The pain of worry over a friend... and carefully controlled wrath toward the one responsible for harming her.

"That is correct," the dream-Janessa admits with clipped, military precision, standing at attention with her hands clasped behind her back, even as the real Janessa watches along with you. "The investigation into my own culpability in the matter is still ongoing, and the Inquisitors have yet to render their verdict. All I can say in my defense was that, when I realized that he was a Kovoran agent, I did my best to kill him. I only regret that it was not enough."

The dream-Nevati wholeheartedly seconds Janessa's testimony, describing at length how fiercely she attacked you in the fight before your escape. Alicia, however, does not take her eyes off of Janessa, watching her intently. And once Nevati finishes, the Paladin resumes her questioning. "Did he have sex with you?"

"Yes."

"Did you agree to aid him?"

"No."

"Did he indicate that he would contact you again?"

"No."

"Do you have any idea who his next target will be?"

"No."

"If you were to learn sensitive information going forward, would you attempt to convey it to him?"

"No."

"What is your opinion of him, after spending so much time in his presence?"

Janessa's previous answers were all delivered rapidly, with a rigid, military poker face. But this one causes her to pause. "I... do not believe that he is entirely malicious..." she says at length. "He went to great effort to stop the killer, even though it had only passing relation to his original goal. Still. He is Vekmar's enemy. And so he is mine."

Alicia considers that in silence for a while. Then she asks one final question. "Do you love him?"

"Of course not," is Janessa's immediate reply.

It's almost imperceptible, even to your inhuman perception... but you're able to just barely detect a hint of deep sadness that flickers through Alicia's expression then. So impressively well-hidden that Janessa herself couldn't have recognized it for what it was, not consciously. But you recognize it.

Outwardly, though, Alicia just smiles. "Then I may be able to lend a hand with your current situation," she says, her voice warm and reassuring. "My position as the Chosen One of Holy Selal grants me no small sway with the Inquisition. And if I were to requisition your service as essential to the war effort, it would most likely supersede any investigation you face."

Janessa's eyebrows go up in shock. She'd agreed to try and find a place where she could be useful to you, but this wasn't what she was expecting. "You... want me to help you, ma'am? How?"

"By coming back with me to Nelin, where you will be able to advise me as I pursue this demon," Alicia says. "You have personal experience with his methods, correct? I believe that any suggestions you might have will be of great assistance, as I attempt to track him down."

Despite yourself, another thrill runs through you as your holy nemesis announces her intent. From now on, she will be on the hunt. The ancient, primal dance of predator and prey, as she chases you, trying to anticipate your next move and corner you. All the while knowing that you intend to bring her down into depravity as well, as you match wits and cunning against each other.

It's here that the memory fades. "So you went with her back to Nelin?" you ask the real Janessa, still lying naked in your arms.

"Not directly," Janessa admits. "We stopped at the hidden elf village on the way back."

You tense. "Did she tell you why?"

Janessa nods. "Lady Alicia said that she had already been investigating some worrying rumors about Khaytala when Archmage Wrancyne's message reached her. And that she immediately sent messenger birds of her own to all the other heroines, warning them to be on their guard against you. But Verika was the only one who never sent a response. So Lady Alicia wanted to confirm the situation there for herself while she was in the area."

That... could be bad. "What happened when you arrived?" you ask. "What did she find?"

"The elves told her that Verika had left on heroine business with Khaytala and a tiefling," says Janessa. "I assume that was you? They also told her about what happened in the Underworld. The impossible rescue that you performed. How you saved those captured elves and gnomes."

You can hear the pride in Janessa's voice as she continues. Hearing that story has clearly confirmed that her own belief in you was correct. "Lady Alicia asked permission from the elves to question everyone who was involved with that, one at a time, in private. She spent a long time talking to each of them. And she seemed... troubled... by the end of it."

"What happened after that?" you press. "Did she do anything to them?"

"She told the village elders that they had been compromised by demonic corruption, except for the gnomes and the youngest elf girl," Janessa says. "But she said not to harm them. Just that they should keep them under house arrest, until she could learn more. She also said that they should temporarily remove Verika and Khaytala from the list of elf-friends. The ones who can find their way through the barrier that hides their village."

Your lip twists into a grimace. That's unfortunate. Though not insurmountable. Relis might be able to tell you more; you'll have a better grasp of how your options have shifted once you've talked to her.

But for now, you let Janessa continue. "When we were done at the elf village, we continued on to Nelin," she says. "Lady Alicia was quiet most of the way back. Like she was lost in thought. She didn't expect what she learned there... but at the same time, I could tell that she was very worried about her friends. Worried about what you'd done to them, that they would go with you like they did."

Janessa sighs. "She told me she'll be heading out again any day now. I can tell that she's desperate to find you. Desperate to hunt you down and capture you, before anyone else she cares about is taken. But she has been asking me whether you've tried to contact me, and where I think you might be strike next. She says that she'll carefully consider any suggestions that I offer."

This is... very interesting. You have a chance to feed information to your newfound pursuer, in this brief window before she embarks on her relentless hunt. But how will you use this unexpected opportunity?

You'll have to consider your options very carefully.