Love's Labors, Part 30


"Let's gather everyone and discuss our next moves," you say. "There are a great many options we have to consider at this point. Many different ways we could all contribute. Now more than ever, we need to think carefully about our strategy."

Rysanial and the heroines agree. Though you can tell that Rysanial is still troubled, still putting on that mask of good cheer in an attempt not to worry you. But you can read the existential doubt still in her eyes. The uncertainty as to how much of what she's done is really due to the manipulations of the hated Incubus King.

Soon enough, you gather together the full council of the Witch Queen's advisors, sitting around a large table in one of the fortress' larger rooms. Along with Lily and yourself, all the corrupted heroines are here, as well as Rysanial, Ghazar, Iskro the ratfolk Spymaster, and the warchief.

All of them listen closely, as you detail your case for why Fallhazel should be your next target. You explain the possibility of improving Kovora's food situation, as well the benefits of strategic control over the forest between the two allied kingdoms. You're as convincing as usual, and you soon see the others nodding in agreement.

Once you're confident they're all on board, you turn to the four heroines. "Is there anything you can tell me about Fallhazel that might be helpful?" you ask. "What is she like?"

The heroines exchange glances, their gaze finally settling on Verika. "I... probably know her the best out of any of us here," the drow admits. "Though that isn't saying much. She was always very reclusive. Even toward those of us who lived in the Great Forest as well. The dryads and satyrs might be able to tell you more. I think she felt more comfortable interacting with them, since they have much less in the way of settled civilization."

Khaytala speaks up. "Back during the war, she only got involved after the old Witch Queen's magic damaged the forest so badly," she says, reminding you of the desolated Burn that the two of you crossed together. "And even after she joined, she kept her distance. Lady Alicia did try to become friends with her, though. Even went to visit her regularly, after the war was over."

"Do you think Lady Alicia succeed?" you ask. "In becoming her friend, I mean."

"I'm... not sure," Khaytala says, frowning in thought. "I... thought Fallhazel was starting to warm up to Lady Alicia. At least a little. But... it was always hard to tell with her. Though Lady Alicia was the one who convinced her to focus her restoration efforts on the parts of the Burn near the road between Vekmar and Nelin, so the caravans could get through. That's something, I guess."

"Even I had a hard time reading her," admits Ceriss. "And it didn't help that half the time we talked she would be a wolf, or a bear, or an eagle. Or something even less human-like, depending on how she happened to be feeling in the moment."

Interesting. You certainly have your work cut out for you. But even as you ponder those possibilities, you also start to explore the wider strategic scope.

"We'll also need to decide what everyone else is doing, while I'm going after her," you say. "The more we learn, the more leads we uncover, the more opportunities we'll have. We'll need to make sure that we're focusing on the right things."

"Our food situation is very tight," speaks up Lily, concern in her voice. "We have enough to cover things while you're gone... but only just barely. And if something else unexpected happens, like it did with the harpies..."

"You're right," you agree. "More surprises will doubtless crop up. And there's no way of knowing what they will be, or how much any particular emergency might cost us. We'll just have to build up a reserve as best we can, and hope we can find a balance between our needs."

You look down a series of papers spread out across the table, pointing at each in turn. "We could take advantage of what I learned from talking to Lord Kovar. If we can subvert him, we could arrange a steady, recurrent stream of food smuggled in from the enemy's own reserves. As well as gaining a noble agent in the Vekmar Court."

"On the other hand, we could hit the exposed supply depot whose location I learned from him. It wouldn't give us as much in the long term, but it might be easier to pull off. Though it would probably get Lord Kovar stripped of his post, so we couldn't do both."

"There's also a certain caravan that I can arrange to have loaded to the brim with food, and sent to a perfect location to be ambushed and subverted to our side."

"We could also fuck one of the bigger, fortified towns into submission, like we did that village. They probably have even larger reserves... though hitting something that big will likely provoke a move from their army as well."

"Finally, there's the hidden elf village. They've been warned about us now, so the subtle approach probably won't work anymore. But if our soldiers can give them a taste of the pleasure we can offer... I think we could bring them around to our side, like we did with the human village. We'd just need someone who can guide our forces through the barrier. Out of the people we have here, that would be Verika or Khaytala."

Khaytala chews her lower lip at that. And while Verika is more composed, you can tell that she's also playing out the mental image in her mind's eye. They're both nervous at the thought of leading Kovoran forces into the heart of a community they know personally.

Yet at the same time... the thought of sharing the incomparable delights they've discovered with their loved ones is so sinfully tantalizing to the corrupted heroines.

It's Khaytala who speaks up, in a small voice. "But... no one would get hurt, right? I mean... you'd make sure that no one got hurt too badly, wouldn't you?"

"With all that we've gained in terms of military strength recently, that shouldn't be a problem," you say, giving her a reassuring smile. "Especially now that all our forces have demonic regeneration. At this point? I'd say we've accumulated more than enough military strength to overwhelm the elf village, without any real risk of casualties on either side."

Khaytala shivers at the thought, which you've no doubt she can see vividly in her imagination.

You don't mention it aloud, but there's also your long-term plan to conquer the Underworld. That would not only give a large amount of food and power, but would also open up the possibility of abolishing Melca's worship. A rare chance to weaken her before the final confrontation.

You're still a long way off from being able to do that, though. Aside from growing your own military forces and weakening the defenses of the Underworld with your agents, you'd also need to find a way to get your forces there. Either by conquering your way deep enough into enemy territory to reach the physical entrance, or by improving the Shadowgate you stole to allow entire armies through.

And on that note...

"There's also certain research projects we could undertake," you say, turning to Nevati, who visibly perks up at the word research. "There's that orcish girl we found at the village. We could look deeper into her... though I suspect that whatever we find might push things even closer to the brink with the Church of Melca. Or... if we thought it was too dangerous to hold her with all these attempts on her life, we could give up on investigating her and try to get her safely away from Kovora."

"And of course, there's all the information we've collected on the succubus geas," you continue. "We'll need to study it to learn more. But in theory, it's possible that we could find some way to impede or inhibit what it does. Which could be very useful in negotiations with the succubi, if we could address some of their fears."

Now it is Rysanial who becomes very interested in what you're saying. Her mask of "being just fine" that she's putting on to reassure you cracks a bit more, at the reminder that there might be a way to block out the effects of the geas. Despite her best efforts to conceal it, you can still see the urgent yearning in her eyes.

Then you take a deep breath. "There's also one last thing you need to know," you say. "When I was in the Incubus King's memories, I stole a memory that allowed me to see the details of how this Brand was created, and all the spells that went into it. I understand how it attacks my mind now. And I was able to figure out a way to fight back. A dream-weapon we could forge. It would require immensely powerful magic of our own, however. And many rare magical components."

Lily's eyes widen. "Anything that Kovora can provide, you need only ask!" she says hurriedly, wanting to assure you of her help.

You give her a grateful smile, which she flushes at. "Most of the components can probably be found in Kovora," you agree. "But there are a few that I suspect we will need to find elsewhere. A pearl, at least a thousand years old. A feather from a phoenix. And an object that I have owned for at least a decade."

Nevati nods, and you can already see the genius mage working through the implications for herself. "Yes... Yes! The pearl for resilience under p-pressure... the phoenix feather for life and purifying r-rebirth... and a sympathetic link to your h-history. Yes, I see how they could work together... Of course, y-you'd also need..." And she continues mumbling to herself, her brilliant mind reverse-engineering the intent behind many of the same steps that you were able to discover.

While she's distracted with the fascinating problem, Verika speaks up. "If you wanted a phoenix feather, I could get it for you," the drow ranger says. "It would require a trip way up north, but tracking down the bird and snatching a feather would be quite the test of my hunting skills."

Of all the heroines you've corrupted, she is probably the only one who could pull off something like that. Ceriss speaks up as well. "It wouldn't be direct from the source, but phoenix feathers can also be found on the magical black market," she offers. "Either Nevati or I could probably get one for you, if we followed up with some of our contacts and suppliers."

"The p-pearl might be harder," says Nevati, emerging from her own calculations upon hearing Ceriss say her name. "I've only heard of t-two that fit the description. One is in the Imperial Vaults of Nelin... and the other is in the hoard of the ancient d-dragon Desiderax."

Verika frowns worriedly. "Neither of those sound appealing. I'm practiced at stealth... but in terms of overall thieving skill I'm not as good as Mockingbird. And I think even she would think twice about pulling a heist on the Imperial Vaults all on her own. I'd need magical support to even have a prayer of pulling it off... and even then there might be complications."

"We could also try to steal it from the dragon," says Khaytala. "Desiderax has been hibernating for a long time. But his destructive, pillaging rages are legendary, and I worry about what might happen if he notices that part of his treasure is missing. Or... we could just try to slay him head on. Though that would take a lot of us. Probably at least four, to have even a chance of success."

Now Rysanial speaks up. "Even that's nothing compared to stealing something from Hell itself," she says. "For a heist like that? You'd need a thief like none other. As well as a spellcaster who could plane shift us there and provide support. And..." she hesitates, swallowing, before continuing. "You'd need someone who knew the lay of the land. Someone who could guide them. You'd need me."

You can tell that she's nervous about going back, after how she's sided with you against her sisters. But you can see the commitment in her eyes. The determination to do what she can to help you kill the Incubus King who threatens everyone. No matter the risk to herself.

Still—given that the Lust Queen herself has probably seized any clues pertaining to you—you agree with Rysanial's assessment. You'll probably need Mockingbird to have even a prayer of pulling off a heist of such legendary difficulty.

You lean back in your chair, exhaling heavily at the sheer scope of the tasks before you. Fortunately you don't need to finish them all right away. But you know it's important to keep your long term goals in mind, as you plan for your future moves. You only have a limited time before things will start coming to a head. And with each rune that activates, you bring yourself closer and closer to that final test of everything you've built up over your time here.

Will you have prepared enough to survive? Will you have prepared enough for your allies to survive?

And how many will you lose along the way, if you push too hard? In addition to the dangerous food situation, there's also the question of guarding the fortress while you're gone. Nergan has already sent assassins into the fortress once, with Khaytala's presence being the only thing that prevented them from killing the girl you're sheltering. What will his next move be?

So many variables to balance. But you have no choice but to try, for all your sakes.

Still... you shouldn't try to rush the decision. "Let's sleep on this," you say. "We can settle on a decision in the morning. For now, we should try to clear our heads, and see if that doesn't help us find the best way forward."

That also leaves the question of who you will spend the night with.

Your immediate impulse is to talk more fully with Rysanial, since she is still so clearly disturbed by the recent revelations. But do you want to include anyone else in as well? Is there anyone who you think might be able to help comfort your succubus, in ways that you alone might not be able to?

Either way, considering Rysanial's current fears, this night may well end up being a less directly sexual encounter than usual. Still... such an encounter may be what is needed all the same.