Tooth and Claw, Part 27
You quickly outline the next steps in your plan to Verika... before waking yourself from the dream and doing the same thing to Fallhazel, this time in the physical world. "We need to move," you say, your voice crisp and urgent. "Lady Alicia is on her way here, even as we speak. And I'd like to play hard to get for a little while longer, before I face her directly."
"Where will you go?" inquires the druid. "Back to Kovora?"
"Eventually," you say. "But I intend to make a stop along the way. I've been working for quite some time on convincing the elves... and I suspect that with one more push, I might be able to win them over entirely."
Fallhazel raises an eyebrow at that, her expression a mixture of skepticism and curiosity. "Now this, I will have to see for myself," she says. Then she rises to her feet, languidly stretching in a way that puts her tall, naked, buxom figure on full display. "But we ought to speak to the Old Mothers again before we depart."
You nod. "And we'll also need to get Juri as well before we go."
The druid regards you for a moment, her expression inscrutable. Then she speaks. "When you do return to Kovora, I cannot accompany you. I am needed here."
It's the objection you told her to make in the dream you shared. You raise your eyebrows as though surprised, then act like you're considering the options, before nodding. "If that's truly necessary, then I suppose there's no way around it."
But Fallhazel continues. "Then consider this. Kovora is dangerous for the child. If you bring her back, she will need to be protected constantly. However... if you leave her with me, I can train her. Help her to understand the ways of the forest. Help her to feel the rhythms of the natural world."
It's clear that Fallhazel has developed an interest in her one remaining cleric. If you bring Juri back with you, her powers might already be able to offer some assistance in Kovora. Especially now that Fallhazel would able to consciously respond to her prayers with power, instead of the subconscious trickle of a response Juri was getting before.
On the other hand, the agents of Melca will no doubt keep trying to kill her in various ways, forcing you to keep up a defense. If you leave her with Fallhazel, she will no doubt be much safer away from Melca's seat of power. And while you won't get an immediate benefit, Fallhazel's training will no doubt mean that when Juri does return, her powers will be far greater.
"I'll think about it while we deal with the elves," you say. "But for now, let's hurry. I don't think we have any time to waste."
Suiting action to words, the two of you jog back over to the Heart of the Forest. As you enter the right of trees, the now-youthful Mothers of the Great Forest all look up at you from where they had been lying, many of them still intertwined from a round of more relaxed lovemaking. "Well now, child..." one of them says to Fallhazel, even as she fondles another of her sisters reclining in her lap. "This is truly a unique and powerful ally you have found for our Forest. More so than we ever could have understood, without experiencing it ourselves."
A pair of the younger-looking Mothers sit wrapped in an embrace as they slowly make out, their hands exploring each other's naked bodies. One of them glances up at you. "We have not felt this alive since... since..." But her voice breaks off into a lust-filled moan, as her partner's hand slides down between her legs to toy with her there. A moan that reverberates through the other Mothers, their bond meaning that all of them feel the pleasure that any of them feels.
It's several seconds before she can finish her sentence, but eventually she does look back up at you again. "We... have not felt this alive before, ever," the disheveled dryad admits. "What is it you truly wish in exchange for this blessing, incubus?" Despite how youthful and innocent-looking her new appearance is... it does not in any way diminish the unspeakably ancient wisdom you can see in her eyes as she looks at you, making for a fascinating contrast.
You, however, simply smile. "As I said before, this was a gift with no further requirements attached," you say. "Consider it a show of good faith. I want to show you that the new Kovora is not your enemy. I want to show you that we can help you protect the sanctity of your Forest from violations like this most recent incursion. In ways that Nelin and Vekmar cannot."
Of course, even if you have technically not demanded any requirements in exchange for your Boon... just by accepting it at all, the Mothers have already allowed you to drive a wedge between them and the nations allied against you. After everything you've been doing to the heroines, there is no way anyone is going to trust an ally who has taken in your corruption so obviously. And from the canny, knowing look that the Mothers direct up at you, it's obvious that they understand this too.
Still, in light of what you do offer, they evidently find it worth the trade. "Then we will look forward to exploring this intriguing new alliance of ours in even greater depth..." yet another of the ancient dryads says, even as she slides her fingers into the leafy hair of another of her sisters, firmly guiding her head between her legs to eat her out. "I expect that we will have—nnh!—much more to offer each other..."
You smile. "Of course..." you say. "This is only the beginning."
With that, you leave the Mothers to their continuing rediscovery the joys of sex, after centuries of drought. Glancing around, you see that Juri is peeking out from around one of the trees, watching the carnal proceedings with curiosity. You call the young orc girl over, even as Fallhazel shifts into her horse form once again. And before long, the three of you are riding for the hidden elf village at incredible speed.
Even as you ride, you can detect changes in your surroundings. Slight... but unmistakable to one with your acute senses. When you corrupted the Old Mothers and the Heart of the Forest, you corrupted the origin, the spiritual core of this ancient, interconnected ecosystem. And the effects of that decision are already beginning to manifest.
You can taste it in the air, the pollen released by the very plants themselves taking on a subtle aphrodisiac quality that expands to fill the forest. Anyone breathing the air in this place will now experience a subtle pull toward indulging in the pleasures of the flesh.
Granted, the temptation is not all that potent. Not yet, anyway. Anyone who truly wanted to resist should be able to withstand its enticements.
But of course... why would anyone truly want to resist something so enjoyable?
And this is only the beginning. You spend the ride considering all the different ways and avenues that you might be able to build on the corruption of the Great Forest. Until finally you are shaken out of your thoughts by your arrival at the misty barrier that—up until now—has shielded this elven sanctuary from any who had designs on it.
Verika is already there waiting for you, and she guides you through the barrier once again. It seems that your earlier words were indeed convincing. They did not remove Verika from the list of those allowed through. And as your group strides once more toward the center of the village, you can feel all the elves' eyes watching you. As though they already know what's about to happen.
Glancing across their faces, you can see a heady mixture of anxiety, embarrassment, and poorly-concealed anticipation in their expressions as they stand there, squirming. They really are ripe for the plucking. It seems that your corrupted elves have been doing impressive work laying the seeds of temptation among their dear friends and families, after you convinced the village to retract their house arrest.
And of course, even aside from all that, their entire village is now inescapably stewing right in the middle of an aphrodisiac-filled forest.
Really, they never had a chance.
Their priestess, Filathia, rushes out of her shrine to meet you, her face already flushed from the memory of the fucking you gave her in your shared dream, when you warned the village of the threat of the Thorn Beasts. You give her a knowing, smoldering look... and she nearly comes right on the spot. She's yours. And she knows it.
You also see Relis approaching, accompanied by her mother, the captain of the rangers. The two are followed, in turn, by quite a few of her mother's men and women. It's clear from how those other rangers look at Relis and her mother where they've been spending their corruptive efforts since Relis' release... and you doubt you have much to fear from those elite forces at this point. Not after everything their leader and their trusted comrade have been doing to them.
Upon seeing Verika, Relis immediately rushes over to her to greet her adoptive sister with an embrace... and a very un-sisterly kiss. A shocked murmur runs through the growing crowd, but no one seems inclined to object. Indeed, most of the elves are watching the display with rapt fascination.
Even as the two sisters continue their increasingly-steamy makeout session, you see Belan approach as well, accompanied by the rescued oracle Ioni, his childhood friend Esile, and his magic teacher Syvel. And based on the group following them, it's clear that they have not been idle either, all of them doing their very best to prepare their village for you to claim.
Where Relis and her mother focused on the rangers, Belan and his lovers seem to have focused on the other adolescents of similar age to them, as well as quite a few of the younger adults as well. It only makes sense; mortals of that particular age tend to be desperately horny even all on their own. Adding the supernatural allure of your Corruptive Boon would only make it all the more irresistible.
You wonder just how many virginities have been claimed over the past several days, when young, inexperienced elves were told by the respected teacher Syvel that she needed to speak to them. Only to discover once they were alone, with Syvel's mature body pressing seductively up against theirs, that the experienced teacher had a very different sort of lesson in mind for the unsuspecting youth.
Either way, it's clear that they've done an exemplary job. At this point you've won over so many of the villagers—including most of their key leaders—that you would have been able to get the necessary momentum going even if you hadn't also flooded their forest with aphrodisiac. Now all you need are the finishing touches.
All eyes are on you. The hero they feel such gratitude toward, for saving the village's children from a horrific fate. The demon they feel such worry toward, for pulling them into such delectable sin. You look across the crowd with absolute assurance, letting them see that you are all those things and far more. Letting them see the inevitability of what is about to happen.
It's at this point that the village elder emerges from his cottage. He—far more so than any of the other villagers—maintains his composure, with neither distress nor desire overwhelming him. He gives you a measured look, before speaking. "Walk with me?"
You nod. The two of you pass through the crowd, leaving Verika, Relis and Fallhazel to deal with the large group of desperately horny elves until you get back. For a minute or two you walk in silence, before the ancient elf speaks. "So. My people, it seems, have made their choice."
"They chose Pleasure over war and bloodshed," you say. "And I will make sure they do not regret it."
"I believe you," the elder says. "Or at least... I believe those are your intentions, knowing what you are."
He pauses in his walking to look out across the secluded village he has helped to shepherd for so long. "Either way, it is no longer my place to gainsay what my people have decided. I can offer my wisdom. But... I am a very, very old elf. It will not be long now before my soul slips free of this mortal body. And then this village will be left in the hands of the next generation of leaders. It is their decisions that will shape the course of our people into the future."
A next generation of leaders that you've already thoroughly won over, from the captain of their rangers to the head priestess to the village's chief mage. And the elder clearly understands this.
Then a wry smile flits across the old elf's face. "Besides... if I were to criticize them for using the power of the Second Circle to seek a better future for our people... I would be quite the hypocrite indeed."
Now your curiosity is piqued once again. "You implied something about that when we spoke before," you say. "That you had summoned an incubus once yourself."
The elder lets out a sad chuckle, his eyes losing focus as he stares off into the distant past. "That was... a long, long time ago," he says. "When I was but an impetuous youth myself. Long before any of the elves you see in the village today had even been born. The village was different in those days. And I... I wanted to change it. I needed to change it."
"So you called up one of my kind," you say.
The elder nods. "As you are no doubt aware, my people are exceptionally long-lived. But the birth of new elves is... correspondingly rare. And the repeated wars and conflicts of this world have not been kind to us. With every fresh crisis that this world faces in which we lend our aid, we are diminished even more. Now we seclude ourselves in these hidden villages. Tiny sanctuaries, that house what little remains of our heritage."
Here the elder pauses, before continuing. "So as you can imagine, the elves have always placed immense import on every new birth. So much import, in fact, that at one time... those whose choices closed themselves off to the possibility of children were subject to contempt. Shunning. And a loss of place in our society. If they weren't willing to marry an elf of the opposite gender... if they weren't willing to use their bodies to try and breed more of us, regardless of their own feelings or attractions... then according to the thinking of the time, such elves had betrayed the future of their people out of selfishness."
You can see the pieces coming together now. "And that was what you wanted to change."
"I had no power at all back then," the elder says. "I was just a foolhardy youth, who had no way to stand against the will of his people. But I was full of fire and determination. And I was desperate enough to try anything. So I sought out help. The only kind of help I could think of that might have been able to do something about it."
"It took me a long time to prepare. I sought out the infernal rituals. I learned all the precautions to take. I studied how to negotiate and what I could offer, so I could get what I wanted without losing my soul."
"And then... finally... I did it. I summoned Lekariel."
In that moment—more so than ever before—you can see the weight of the elder's years on him, as he reminisces back to his younger self, so many lifetimes ago.
"Everything I had read warned me to beware of the demon's wiles," the old elf says, his voice wistful. "But even so, when I spoke with him, I almost forgot. He was just so... effortlessly charming. I had steeled myself for a hard negotiation of our terms. But he agreed to help me almost immediately. He seemed almost as angry as I was at the situation. And... even now... I still believe there was some truth in what he said back then. Just as I believe there is some truth in your own words."
Certainly, most incubi would find it disgusting to see sex being reduced to mere passionless duty, forced even where there was no erotic attraction at all. You can believe that this incubus did mean it... even if his long-term designs probably encompassed more than just the task he had been summoned to perform. Still, you remain silent as the elder continues his confession.
"So we set about our work," he says. "Lekariel wasn't as powerful as you are. Not by a long shot. But he could still seduce even strait-laced elves, given the opportunity. And so, between the two of us, we began our campaign. Working together to change this village, in a whirlwind game of schemes and manipulation and lust."
It doesn't take a demon of your supernatural perception to hear the quiet sadness in his voice as he thinks back to that time. True, some part of him does see that youthful rashness as a mistake now. But a far greater part of him looks back on those exhilarating days with a yearning that he cannot conceal.
"And the two of you succeeded?" you ask. Though his current position is answer enough.
"Mmmm..." the elder nods. "It was a near thing, at times. On more than one occasion I thought we were done for. But working together, we somehow managed to pull it off. Opinion eventually shifted against the old way of thinking. And I had attained a position of power and influence, from which I could ensure that any elf could love whoever they desired. Regardless of whether such a pairing could be expected to produce offspring or not. Nowadays, the current generation do not even remember a time when it was not this way."
"And then..." The elder starts to speak some more. But his voice trails off into silence, and it's quite some time before he continues again. When he finally does speak, his voice is quiet and strained.
"Once we had accomplished what I had summoned him to do... Lekariel came to me with more plans," the old elf says. "More adventures we could undertake. Greater, more enticing seductions we could perform together."
"Even then, he made no demands on me. No explicit conditions for his further service. But... I knew. I knew the extent to which I had already fallen for him. I knew that if I allowed myself to take even one step further... that I would offer him my soul by the time it was done."
The elder exhales. "And so... I did the intelligent thing. I did what all the warnings in all the ancient texts told me to do. With his task complete... I released the summoning. He returned to his plane. And I made it through our contract with my soul still my own."
It's actually impressive, in its own way. There's a reason it's considered so dangerous to summon demons. Endings like like the one this elf achieved are actually quite rare. Few mortals have the willpower to resist one of your kind, and the far, far more common outcome is for the overconfident summoner to end up forfeiting their soul in one way or another.
But this elf beat the odds. He actually came out on top in his deal with a devil.
That said... looking at the ancient elf now, in all his tired, wistful melancholy, thinking back to the time he shared with his tempter... you wonder if he still thinks that victory was worth it.
Either way, it doesn't look like he's going to stand in the way of his village siding with you, and using the power of the Second Circle to avoid outright war. Which means there's no impediment to bringing this hidden elf village into the fold entirely.
That said, you do have a few options in how you proceed. Rysanial is taking up one of your summoning slots, and the more-intelligent tentacle monster you tasked with carrying the corpse of the Thorn Beast back to Kovora is taking up a second, but that still leaves a third open for a summon. You could summon another tentacle demon to help out with the coming orgy.
Or... from the elder's story, you do have the name of the incubus who visited this village once before. You could try to summon him on a temporary basis, if you wanted to give the elder one last chance at what he lost so many years ago.
In addition to that, there's also the question that Fallhazel raised about Juri. You'll need to give her an answer on that soon as well, since you'll likely be parting ways after the elves are fully seduced. Will you bring Juri back to Kovora with you? Or will you ask Fallhazel to watch over and instruct her?
