Blood Ties, Part 4


At first you keep the conversation simple. You thank Lady Janessa again for her kindness. You make nervous small talk befitting of a young, fish-out-of-water noble in an entirely new environment. Still, you're able to bring the conversation around to more pressing matters before too long.

Rather than focus on your heroine target or seducing your patron directly, though, you decide to take the longer view and investigate the status of the war effort. It is in line with your cover, after all... and it could prove very useful to get a feel of the situation from someone who is likely knowledgeable about the plans being made.

"So... how much time do you think is left?" you eventually ask. "To complete my task, I mean. When do you suppose the fighting will begin?"

"Don't think anyone knows the answer to that right now," Lady Janessa responds. The topic of the war prompts her to look down longingly at her now-empty drink. But then she glances back up, and sees how you're hanging on her every word. She sighs, focusing on the matter at hand.

"Depending on how you look at it, the fighting never really stopped to begin with," she explains. "Sure, we beat back their big push in the last war. But that still didn't end the smaller raids from across the border. Villages sacked. Crops pillaged. Slaves taken. It's just that now, for the first time in centuries... we're in a position where we can actually take the fight to Kovora."

"Because of the pact of heroines..." you murmur.

Lady Janessa nods. "Champions like them are the stuff of legends. Hell, even in the tales, three or four is usually the most you'd see in a generation. But eleven of them, all at once? That's never happened before, not that anyone can remember."

"Then do you think the invasion will start soon?" you ask, wide-eyed. "If we already have so much power backing us..."

"Power?" says Lady Janessa. "Power is the least of our problems. Even with heroines like that, real war is never as simple as it is in the stories."

She leans in closer, across the table. "Think about it. Say we do win. We put the Witch Queen's head on a pike. We smash her army. Now what happens after? Do we leave, and let the greenskins eventually get back to raiding like they did last time? Or—if we really want a shitshow—do we stay and enforce an occupation? And if we do that, how do we divide up the expense and the manpower to actually hold the blighted wasteland?"

"Oh." You frown, making a show of puzzling over that. "Is that what they're arguing about? How the responsibility for the aftermath will be divided?"

"It's just one of the bigger headaches." Lady Janessa sighs. "A lot of the generals would probably prefer to just wipe the greenskins out wholesale, right down to the last infant. But they know that would cost them the support of the heroines they're counting on."

You raise your eyebrows. "They care that much about their enemies?"

"Mmmm." The noblewoman nods. "Lady Alicia has made it known on no uncertain terms that she will not permit killings directed at anyone who has not themselves taken up arms against us. And that she'd fight in their defense if necessary. According to her, that kind of slaughter is unconscionable. Even against the greenskins."

Fascinating. You hadn't expected your paladin opponent to go to such lengths to protect the ordinary Kovoran citizenry, but her compassion seems to have bought you extra breathing room. "And you?" you ask quietly. "Do you agree with her?"

Lady Janessa's hand tightens on her empty tankard, and she stares down into it. She's silent for a long time. "I think... she's probably right," she says at length, each word slowly extracted from her. "I think she's probably a much better person than I am. I think she probably sees it more clearly than I do. So I'm willing to follow her. And trust her. Like a good soldier. Even if I can't see it myself."

A shadow falls over her face as she speaks. In that moment it's as though she barely even registers your existence. Like she's somewhere else. With a part of herself that never truly left the battlefield, never truly escaped the horrors of the war.

You reach across the table, reassuringly placing your hand over hers. She starts, looking up at the tender touch. "I'm sure we can figure something out," you say earnestly. Then you decide to press the opening she's given you a little more. "You're... probably right that the aftermath would be bad no matter what. But maybe there's something we haven't considered yet. Maybe... maybe there's even a way to avoid the war altogether!"

Lady Janessa gives you a skeptical look. "Don't think there's much chance of that," she says. "Even if we don't attack, they'll come back for another try at us eventually."

"Maybe," you say as you give her hand a squeeze, making full use of your inhuman charisma to give your naive-sounding words a sincere, heart-tugging quality. "But... what if there were a way? Wouldn't that be the best? For everyone?"

The noblewoman regards you for a moment. Then her pensive expression relaxes just a bit, into a fond smile. "I suppose it would be nice if that was how the world worked, kid," she says. She chuckles. "You know... there's something about you that reminds me of her. Reminds me of Lady Alicia, I mean. How even when you say crazy things like that... I can actually almost believe it."

After such a heavy discussion, you decide to steer the conversation back toward relatively lighter topics. Such as who you'll need to talk to in the labyrinthine maze of court politics if you want to accomplish your (supposed) mission. Internally, though, you're considering from every angle what you've learned about the political balance within the heroine threat.

If they're arguing over whether the end result of their campaign will be worth the cost, then anything you can do to play down the threat Kovora poses might help buy you more time. In that sense, the scheme you've already initiated to dispose of Warchief Varthurg and bring the army more directly under your influence could serve nicely. If successful, it should drastically aid Lily to rein in the raiding parties operating in defiance of her decree.

On the other hand, that will probably still increase internal tensions to an extent, if it reduces the influx of supplies to an already-struggling Kovora. Even more dangerously, you and Lily are both still under Melca's wary gaze. As you've seen, the humiliation of her enemies getting fucked into defeat through sex is all that's even somewhat placating her on Lily's current course.

So just as increasing Kovora's apparent threat will give the heroines more impetus to expedite their attacks, if your stance becomes too conciliatory the sadistic deity might decide to take more drastic action herself. It's a tightrope-walk between the dangers on either side.

But if you can walk that tightrope, you just might be able to come out on top of all of them.

Even as you consider all this, you're also keeping track of what Lady Janessa is saying about your mission. From the sound of it, there is an important soiree tomorrow, one that everyone who is anyone will be attending. She assumes that your interest is in those who would be able to aid in your ostensible goal... but you don't think it's a stretch that "everyone who is anyone" might include the famous court sorceress as well.

Lady Janessa says she might be able to get you into the event. What she doesn't say—but what you're perceptive enough to sense in her manner regardless—is that getting you somewhere so prestigious will probably cost her a fair bit of social capital, something in short supply for her already. Still, it seems that for the sake of the war effort—and for the sake of her charming new companion—she's willing to incur that cost.

After a while, you judge it time to make your next move. It was already late into the evening when you approached Lady Janessa, and by now it's well into night. You glance out the window, and affect a startled realization. "Oh! I didn't even realize how late it was getting. I haven't even started to look for an inn yet. I... I should probably go, before it gets even darker."

You give your voice a forced casualness, as though you were trying your very best to hide your obvious worry. Lady Janessa just smiles and puts a hand on your shoulder. "Don't worry about it, kid," she says. "You shouldn't wander around an unfamiliar city at night, especially not in clothes that nice. You'd paint a target on your back for every thug and cutpurse in the city. I'll put you up in my guest room instead."

"Really?" you say, your eyes lighting up with a gratitude designed to warm the heart. "That's such a relief. Thank you so much, Lady Janessa."

The noblewoman waves her hand. "Ah, don't worry about the titles, kid," she says. "My friends just call me 'Janessa' and leave it at that. Adding the 'Lady' makes me feel even older than I actually am."

She leaves for a moment to settle her tab. Once she returns, the two of you depart, and she leads the way through the darkened streets to the noble quarter. It isn't long before you reach her home, an older mansion, not nearly as large or opulent as some of its neighbors. An elderly butler greets you, taking in your unexpected appearance with unflappable poise. He guides you to the guest room, albeit moving slowly due to his age. Then, once you are settled in and Janessa bids you goodnight, they leave you to your respite.

You lie back on the bed, staring up at the ceiling as you ponder your next move. Most likely, you'll be able to meet Ceriss herself tomorrow evening. But how should you spend the morning beforehand?

One obvious possibility is to find quick intimacy with a random prostitute. You wouldn't have time to do much that would contribute to your overall goals, but it would be the quickest and easiest way to feed and replenish your strength.

You could also spend the day with Janessa, enticing her. You've laid a strong foundation of respect with her tonight—as well as placing the idea of a peaceful resolution to the war in her thoughts. But while she's clearly fond of you, it hasn't taken on an overtly sexual dimension just yet, which you could make an effort to encourage.

Unlike the prostitute, you can't be sure if just your flirting alone will be quite enough to get Janessa from her current state all the way to mid-day sex before you even leave for the soiree. You can't push too hard... especially not with someone who has extensive combat training. Still, in the long-term, it would make things a great deal less complicated if your could bring your host firmly over to your side.

Finally, you could spend the time preparing for the event, seeing if you can dig up any information about Ceriss and her recent actions or interests that could be useful in interacting with her. It wouldn't result in any progress toward feeding, but it could give you extra options when meeting her for the first time.