Tooth and Claw, Part 9


The noble girl looks down, staring miserably at the ground. Her knight and protector, meanwhile, glares at you. "Then how does all this end?" the woman asks. "You keep pushing and pushing, until the forest does push back? Do you imagine that will be a better fate for you?"

"If we can pay our debts before that happens, we can make it out of this," you retort. "Even if it's a long shot, the only chance we have is to try. Folk like us don't have any better options. If you don't like that... the ones with the power to actually change that are your kind."

"Lady Edith has already risked herself far more than necessary, to help you ungrateful men!" the bodyguard snaps, fiercely protective of her charge. "You have no right to demand more of her!"

But your gaze remains as implacable as steel, and even the female knight flinches under the sheer force of your charisma. "Convenient, that you're the ones who get to demand that all of us lay down our lives... even though you aren't willing to do the same," you say scornfully. Lady Edith flinches at that, and you keep up the pressure. "But that will only take you so far. We may be dogs in your eyes. But kick a dog enough, and it will bite. Regardless of whose property it is. Or whether it has the 'right' to do it."

You take a step closer, which causes the girl to shrink back. Her knight interposes herself, but you just continue to speak. Your voice hard and ruthless, making yourself sound like the bearer of inevitable truth.

"You aren't telling yourself we'll be the last, are you?" you say. "A noble fool enough to do this once for a spot of coin won't just lead his people wisely once its done. You know this. You know him. Even if we do fall on our swords to save your precious war, he'll just keep on pushing. He'll be emboldened by his victory. He won't stop unless someone stops him."

Lady Edith shrinks in on herself. "But... what can I do?" she whispers plaintively, still looking at the ground. "He's my father. And I'm not... I don't really have the kind of power you're talking about either."

Here you ease up a bit, injecting a bit more gentleness into your voice. "I think you're stronger than you realize," you say quietly. "And you have access to your father in ways that others don't. And... you may find allies in unexpected places, if you are truly willing to do whatever it takes to avert this. Even if it requires... extreme measures."

Extreme measures such as, perhaps, working more directly with the forest. Or perhaps even working with a demon. You can't be too specific in Ragath's form... but you do your best to start that train of thought in her, impressing the necessity of actions that she might otherwise balk at. The precise direction she does end up taking it? Well, that will depend on future events. But at least the seed is planted.

With that you step back, inclining your head toward the two of them in a small bow. "But that's your decision," you say. "You can consider for yourselves how far you're willing to go. I'll leave you to your sleep." With that you melt back into the darkness surrounding their small camp, making sure to leave before the knight can think up a retort. Thus leaving those final words to settle in their thoughts.

On your way back, you once again take a circuitous route, instead of heading directly toward the forest-dwellers. Rather, you sneak back into the cover of the forest at a point out of sight of either camp, then walk a wide arc through the woods. When you do get back, it won't obvious where you've been. You also abandon your human guise once you reach the cover of the treeline, returning to your demonic form.

You're quite pleased with how tonight went. Perhaps only a modest gain as far as direct progress goes... but you did gain important knowledge of the larger situation. You have a much clearer picture of what to expect from the human side, and what the forces are at play behind the scenes. Already your mind is racing, thinking of different ways you could use this to your advantage.

In fact, you're so caught up in all this planning that it takes you a few moments to notice that the forest around you has gone deathly silent.

No longer can you hear the small noises. The sound of chirping insects. The occasional owl. Those small signs of life and movement that had been audible amidst the darkness. A chill runs down your back at the eerie quiet... like the forest itself is holding its breath.

Then a blow slams into you from behind.

Despite your supernatural senses, even you almost don't sense it coming. And even with the forewarning you do get, you're not fast enough to avoid it completely. Still, you manage to avoid a direct hit, rolling with much of the damage. You feel an enormous tail crash into your back, flinging you through the air in an end-over-end tumble, until finally you crash back down into the earth.

You roll up to one knee, your every sense alert. But there's no sign of an attacker where the blow came from. Instead, you detect the barest hint of movement through the long grass, as though a tiny creature were darting through it with astonishing stealth and blinding speed. But you're able to follow it, your eyes tracking its path as it tries to slip around you in a circle.

Leaping away, you narrowly prevent it from getting behind you yet again. Instead, the trail of shifting grass slips behind a tree, out of your line of sight. You break into a sprint, circling as well, attempting to get a glimpse of your assailant... but as you round the tree, all you see are a few falling feathers. Your attacker has taken to the air.

You look up, searching the night sky, listening as the sound of wingbeats soar higher and higher. And for the first time you actually see it for yourself. A beautiful falcon is propelling itself skyward, before banking gracefully and coming back around for a dive. It plummets straight at you, hurtling down toward its target with breathtaking speed.

Running for all you're worth, you weave between the trees in an attempt to shake off its attack. But the predator weaves between them effortlessly in its meteoric descent. Then, just a split second before impact, its form shifts...

...and what is plummeting toward you is no longer a bird, but an enormous grizzly bear.

The creature lands with terrifying force, all the power of its descent poured into the downward swing of its claw as it crashes to earth. The force of its impact tears a trench in the ground, as it tackles you and pins you beneath it.

You cry out in pain as it drives you brutally into the ground. Then feel yourself lifted by the throat. Your vision clears, only to see that the hand around your throat now belongs to a huge, hulking ape, its golden eyes peering deep into your own.

Then the beast hurls you away, into a distant tree with another bone-cracking impact.

You slump down the trunk, your ears ringing, your vision swimming as your regeneration struggles to keep up. Fighting back the pain, you roll to one side, trying to flee in that direction... only to find your path suddenly blocked by a wall of rushing scales, higher than you are tall. It winds a wide circle around your position in the blink of an eye, an enormous serpent of staggering scale.

You crane your neck. High above the encircled area you see the serpent's head looking down at you. The moon is directly behind the gargantuan beast, peeking out from behind the clouds to backlight the towering creature. The snake's form is cast in shadow... except for those same merciless golden eyes.

Then it shifts again. But only the upper part this time, taking on a partial human form. In effect, going from the form of a serpent to a form resembling that of a naga. It is, however, a naga far, far larger than any you've ever heard of.

Her golden eyes, however, are no less merciless as they gaze down at you. Even if that gaze now comes from a wild, beautiful, naked woman.

Her hair is tangled, and falls about her in a way that gives the subtle impression of moss in its haphazard arrangement. Her bearing feels regal and imperious... yet in an utterly primal way, radiating an authority that has nothing to do with any trappings or pretenses of civilization.

Slowly, she lowers her face closer as you stand there, surrounded by her coils on every side. Even as she descends, she sways in a graceful, snake-like motion. And though, on the surface, she looks more human now... the look in her eyes is still every bit as much the look of a predator.

"So, little demon..." Fallhazel muses, in a deep, throaty voice. She's now close enough that you can feel the heat of the breath from her immense form. "Is this is the limit of your abilities? I wonder how the others fell to a foe such as you. I did not think them that weak."

There is no doubt in your mind that—had she truly desired to—the ancient druid could have killed you at any time during this clash. No, she's been playing with you, like a cat plays with a mouse. Testing you, trying to gauge the limits of your strength. And yet... you think there's also something more than that. Something you can see lurking in her expression. Something she wants from you.

But what is it? What has prompted her to force a confrontation like this?

Whatever it is, you might be able to use it in how you respond. Of course, you could simply try to talk with her, using the opportunity to ask questions or make arguments. Perhaps managing to learn something new, or convince her of something useful, before she gets around to her own unknown objective with this confrontation.

Alternatively, you could resist more seriously. Give Fallhazel a better account of yourself, in this trial she's decided to put you through. While you certainly don't expect that you'd win, if you made extensive use of your tentacle summons, you might just manage to catch her with at least a bit of aphrodisiac while she's toying with you. It would be a chance to start building up that allure, that temptation.

And if you really wanted to go all-out... you could use the new Synergy that has developed between your Corruptive Boon and your Summoning powers to summon Verika herself to your location. Between the heroine and your summons, that might actually give you something of a fighting chance. Or, at the very least, better odds of catching Fallhazel with even more of your aphrodisiac. Though that strategy would also leave Juri unguarded.

Finally, you could do the exact opposite. Continue to flee, leading the ancient predator in an even more intense chase. Not that you hope—or even plan—to escape her, of course. But you could bait her into a thrilling chase, forcing her to pin you down if she wants to get what she wants from you. Which could be its own way of inflaming desire. Its own opportunity for her to experience the allure of your demonic aphrodisiac, as she holds you to the ground in her victory.

It's a difficult choice. There are certainly countless questions you have for Fallhazel, questions that may or may not prove useful. But on the other hand, you have already revealed your incubus nature openly. This time, your target knows exactly who—and what—you are. Which means she'll be more on her guard than the usual heroine. Which, in turn, means that opportunities like this to light the flame of actual lust in her could end up being vanishingly rare indeed.

In the end, you'll need to make a decision. How will you respond to Fallhazel's appearance?