Love's Labors, Part 24


"We should make sure to give the rest of her nest the same treatment as she's getting," you tell Ghazar. "A small army of eager, flying sluts would be quite the thing to have around."

The orc captain chuckles in agreement. The two of you appreciatively watch the harpy scout getting gangbanged, even as the young assassin continues to suck Ghazar off. Before long the orc comes, pulling the girl off his cock to absolutely coat her face with rope after rope of his seed. She accepts the facial, looking up at him with a sultry, half-lidded gaze, licking her lips to savor the taste.

You leave the two of them to it, walking back toward where Lily is keeping her distance, peeking around the doorway to the barracks with a beet-red face. The two of you head off together, while you query your mistress some more about what happened while you were out of comission. "Have you made a general announcement yet about what happened that night? I can't imagine a huge pillar of magical power like that went unnoticed."

Lily shakes her head. "I... put word out through various officials implying that it was something to aid our strategy against the heroines. I think it helped calm the people. But I didn't want to say anything specific until you woke up, since I didn't know what condition you would be in, or how it would affect what we do next."

You nod approvingly. That's more or less what you would have suggested yourself, given her lack of information. Take steps to reduce the immediate concern and imply that things are under control, while leaving her options open for what she learns later. Despite her inexperience, she's already developing reliable instincts as a queen.

"That was good thinking," you say. "But now that I'm up and around, we should make a definite proclamation before we do anything else. If you call the army together for another announcement, I think I can more than back up what you implied..."

Over the next few days, you and Lily make your preparations. It isn't so different from the public announcement you usually make upon the capture of a new heroine. But this time you take particular care to work out exactly what to say to the orcish army, bringing Khaytala, Ceriss and Nevati into the planning as well.

The most obvious thing is to let them know of Nevati's capture, to give them another success for the Witch Queen's plan. As with all the previous fallen heroines, Kelissa tries to come up with an appropriate evil costume for the young gnome. But for the first time the maid finds herself having difficulty. Even for someone of her creative tailoring skills, it's difficult to transform someone as small and adorable as Nevati into an imposing figure of darkness.

In the end, it's Nevati herself who makes the suggestion that you eventually go with. Emboldened by her experimentation with bondage play down in the crypts, she hesitantly suggests that Kelissa aim for a quite different sort of effect with her costume. And you have to admit, it is an idea that plays to her strengths.

And of course, that the fact that she was able to suggest it at all speaks to a newfound reserve of self-confidence that she's clearly gained from her experiences with you and Ceriss.

Before long, the day of the announcement arrives. The army gathers in the plain surrounding the fortress, all of them looking up at the balcony from which their ruler is set to address them. This time, however, the enormous horde is particularly restless, hungry to learn exactly what happened with the recent cataclysmic events. Hungry to learn which of the wild rumors circulating around Kovora is actually true.

Lily steps out onto the balcony and addresses the assembled throng, her voice projected out across the field by the powerful amplification charms that she'd cast at the edge of the balcony beforehand. She leads with the more familiar news, telling her forces that yet another of the dangerous heroines has fallen to Kovora.

As she speaks, Ceriss leads Nevati out onto the balcony. This time, however, the heroine in question is not presented as a domineering figure of darkness. Rather, she's wearing a leash held by Ceriss... and nothing else, following along obediently behind her lover. Once she's led to a position on the balcony where she's clearly visible, Ceriss slips around and kneels behind her, the demonic-looking heroine putting on a show of feeling the gnome up from behind. It's an arousing spectacle for the horde, as the defeated Nevati moans in her grasp.

What the orcs don't hear is the quiet whispers of reassurance that Ceriss is murmuring into Nevati's ear as she feels her up, complimenting her for how brave she's being.

"And this victory is not the only reason you have been summoned this day!" Lily continues with her speech. Just like you practiced together. "You have already seen how certain orcs among you have been granted a demonic blessing in exchange for their oaths of service, infusing them with infernal power. And you have also doubtless heard rumors of the strange light in the sky a few nights ago."

At that predetermined signal you step forward, along with Khaytala and the new warchief. Lily gestures toward him, reminding the horde of his climactic redemption. Reminding them of his (apparent) sexual triumph over Rysanial through his use of the power she just mentioned.

"Today, you will bear witness to the new blessing that was awakened that night!" she says. Carefully following your lessons, she projects nothing but confidence to her forces. "Today, you will see the true power that is granted to the faithful!"

On cue, you raise your hand high. The warchief kneels, repeating once again his earlier vow. "I swear to serve the Witch Queen with all loyalty!" he rumbles. "I swear to obey her every command, as the rightful monarch of Kovora!"

For a second time your Corruptive Boon takes effect on him. You use your newfound power to increase its bounty far beyond what you were capable of bestowing the last time you invoked it. Demonic power swirls about him, enfolding his body for several seconds, until finally it fades. Then he stands, and you nod to Khaytala.

She steps forward, draws her sword, and carves a single slash deep into the warchief's chest, sending a spray of blood everywhere. She controls her strike carefully, of course, making sure not to kill him outright. But the gory display is shocking all the same, and you hear perplexed muttering arise from the assembled orcs.

But the muttering turns to gasps of shock as they watch the warchief's wounds start to knit themselves closed. Granted, it's not as fast as your regeneration... but relative to ordinary mortal healing it's an unfathomable increase. In less than a minute the wound has closed entirely, leaving only a faint scar. And with that the muttering really starts between the orcs.

They understand the astonishing significance of what they've just seen.

Now Lily steps forward again. "This power is available to all sons and daughters of Kovora who are willing to swear their loyalty to the throne, as your warchief has just done!" she calls out. "It is one more way in which our might grows ever-more unstoppable! Now, who among you are willing to pledge themselves, and receive this boon?"

Before your clash with the parasite bound to your soul, making an offer like this would have been a laborious process, forcing you to impart the Corruptive Boon individually to each recipient, and pausing to gather more Lust when necessary. While possible, it would have been immensely time-consuming. It would have been a task you would have had to give up other activities to take on.

Now, however, you can feel that the strength of your Corruptive Boon has grown. And you know that you can do so much more with it, as your power increases. Stretching out your hand across the assembled army, you call out in a thundering voice of your own. "Orcs of Kovora! Do you swear to serve the Witch Queen with all loyalty? Do you swear to obey all her commands, as well as the commands of those she designates?"

It is a lot to ask, binding themselves to an open-ended magical covenant like that. But at the same time, they've already seen with their own eyes the power it can give them, both sexually and in combat. Many of them follow the lead of their warchief, letting out roars of affirmation that fill the air, proclaiming their loyal service to the Witch Queen. As they proclaim their allegiance, demonic power bursts out from you to wash over the orcish army, infusing them with your might and altering their natures.

As a rough calculation, you feel like you have about half of them firmly on your side, willing to outright bind themselves in obedience to the queen. The half that remain will be the hardliners and the more skeptical or hesitant, including those put off by your earlier choice to include female orcs in this. That probably reduced the current numbers a bit... though you don't regret the decision.

And this is only the beginning. As your victories mount and morale increases, you're confident that you'll be able to sway even more of them, swelling the loyalist numbers to even greater heights.

You speak again, your words ringing out across the plain with all the magnetic charisma you can bring to bear. "Those of you who have taken this blessing now stand empowered by the might of the Witch Queen and the Second Circle of Hell! You have partaken of the demonic power of Lust! And it is from Lust and Pleasure that you will now feed that power! You must learn to cultivate Pleasure in those you fuck, in order to keep that power strong!"

Unlike true demons, the orcs still won't need to feed on Lust to survive. But Lust will still power their regeneration, just as it does for you. You continue to talk, giving them much the same speech you gave to Ghazar's commandos when they first pledged their loyalty. You draw their thoughts toward carnal matters, enticing them toward the path of Pleasure over the path of pure violence. And your enticement is only reinforced by the sexual temptation that the Corruptive Boon has now infused into their very essences.

At the end of your speech, the Witch Queen steps forward again. "Now go forth!" she calls out, bringing her staff down for emphasis. "Go forth in the blessing of your queen! Go forth and slake your desires, not in cruelty or pain, but in pleasures and delight!"

It's obvious (to you) that Lily is not saying that out of any personal commitment to the kind of Lust that you revere. Not yet. No, the young virgin still doesn't understand it well enough to have that kind of conviction for herself. Rather, she's borrowing words she's heard from listening to you, in a simple attempt to rein in the brutality that her subjects have been indoctrinated with.

You know she's felt guilt all this time for the other slaves out there. The slaves that she couldn't rescue like she did her maids. She sees this as a chance to make another dent in that, for their sake. To push back against Kovoran society—even just a little—using the vow that you've extracted from them.

Not that you expect it will take all that much coercion, not with the temptation of the Second Circle now running through their veins. With a roar, the army disperses. And soon, even from so a great distance, you start to feel the sheer immensity of the groundswell of Lust, as the resulting orgy begins to spread out through various orcish encampments.

You do still end up needing to invoke the punishment function of your Corruptive Boon a few times, on some orcs who get too violent in disobedience to their queen's command. But word spreads quickly at the sight of that piteous, humiliating result, and any others who might have decided to take the chance realize that they cannot escape your awareness.

Still, it is a problem that a full half of the army remains unconvinced. Unless you win them over as well, they do still represent a threat. A potent force that could be easily swayed by Nergan and his followers, should you push things to a breaking point with the High Priest of Melca and his dark goddess.

You've done what you can for the moment, though. Leaving the army to its revels, you follow Lily and the heroines back inside for some rest of your own. Any plans you might have entertained, however, are interrupted by an unexpected arrival, as—without warning—Verika and Rysanial announce their arrival, returning from their own mission to the Underworld.

Khaytala perks up at seeing her drow friend again, while Rysanial leaps into your arms, nuzzling in close with teasing, provocative charm. But then the succubus pauses, frowning, as she notices something in your expression that troubles her. "...is something wrong?" she asks, concerned.

You shake your head, trying not to think about what you saw in the Incubus King's memories. Doubts nag at you afresh at the sight of your devoted succubus... but this is not the time or the place to go into that. Not in front of everyone. Not until you've had a little more time to think. "Don't worry about it. How did the mission go?"

"Like a charm," says Verika, grinning. "The lead I found during my first investigation was correct. Lady Mykra really was planning to use dark magic to turn the new Matriarch and the new heiress of House Ravahorn into her hollowed-out puppets. But we snuck into the secret meeting she'd tricked them into, and we stopped the ritual just in time."

Now Rysanial picks up the story, twirling theatrically out of your arms and back over toward Verika. "Once we did that, the next part was easy. Lady Mykra had already restrained her two victims in preparation to rip out their souls, and the poor young things were nearly beside themselves with fright by the time we saved them. In the state they were in? It took barely any effort at all to wrap those terrified girls around our fingers, until they were practically worshiping us."

"It was Lady Mykra herself who was the really tricky part," Verika says. "She's a canny old schemer, and stubborn too. But Rysanial wore her down over the week we spent with them... and by the end of it Lady Mykra was begging for it like the other two."

"Don't sell yourself short," says Rysanial flirtatiously, her tail curling sensuously up Verika's bare leg to caress her inner thigh. "You helped me quite a bit yourself." Then the succubus turns back to you. "She's really quite an inventive seductress, for a mortal! And having a partner in the orgy helped immensely in getting our targets to give their complete surrender to us."

Verika smiles back, enjoying the lewd ministrations of Rysanial's tail. It seems that the joint adventure has resulting in Verika and Rysanial growing quite a bit closer together. No doubt the result of spending such a protracted time in intense sexual bonding.

"At any rate, now that we've taken over Lady Mykra's plan and replaced it with our own... well, we control three out of the four most powerful drow noble houses in the Underworld," Verika says. She's talking like she can scarcely believe it herself, even though she was the one to pull it off. "I won't say it isn't tenuous... and it could have complications if someone finds out... but for the moment, we can use this to our advantage."

Indeed. The question is, how will you use the advantage you've gained? If you can fulfill Verika's dream of conquering the Underworld and corrupting the current sadistic system, the loss of worship could be a devastating blow to Melca's power, severely weakening her. Still, that's a long term goal. The immediate course of action is a different matter.

You could have your agents work to find—or create—subtle weaknesses in the Underworld defenses, in preparation for your eventual attack. You're probably not ready to do it yet, with the limited manpower you have on hand. But the more times you erode their protection from within, the sooner you might be able to make your move. And the easier it could be if you do.

Alternatively, you could have them make menacing moves with their army, rattling sabers around the entrance to the Underworld. A large enough troop buildup near their Twilight Fortress could spook the nations allied against you, perhaps enough to divert their own forces. You estimate that such a threat could allow Kovora to get away with raiding—or taking—at least one larger town without significant retaliation... if going after a larger town was something you intended to pursue.

Finally, you could have your subverted agents focus on securing their position. There's one noble house still opposing them, House Thesolan, currently locked in a struggle against their allies in the Church of Melca thanks to your manipulations. Still, given enough time they might—eventually—attempt something that would require you to respond in some way. You could try to head off such potential complications by having your agents focus on damaging the remaining house's standing even further, in an attempt to even more fully crush them as a threat.