Tooth and Claw, Part 10
You look up into Fallhazel's eyes as she looms over you in her immense, naga-like form. It's clear that she's been testing you. Evaluating the danger you pose. And she doesn't look particularly impressed with your performance so far.
That isn't necessarily a bad thing, though. It can be an advantage to be underestimated. And there's a sexual allure in the dominance of "victory" that you can work with.
But it will be all the more alluring the more you can make her fight for it.
Crouching, you launch yourself skyward with an explosive flap of your wings. You rocket straight up, out of the area encircled by Fallhazel's enormous coils. She casually unwinds, swinging her serpentine tail around with staggering speed, sending it ripping through the air to swipe at you. You torque yourself, twisting violently in mid-air to slide under her attack, the sheer force of the air displacement alone battering you and knocking you off-course. But you dodge it.
You don't have even a moment to catch your breath before she's after you again, seamlessly taking the form of a mighty gryphon. You fly for all you're worth, propelling yourself through the moonlit forest with all the speed you can possibly call on. The trees shoot past as you weave narrowly between them, your wings flapping frantically as you strain to stay even just a little bit ahead of your relentless pursuer.
Time and again her talons snap shut just inches from your skin, as you fight with everything you have to avoid her grasp. But even those lazy attempts are purposeful. Maneuvering you, backing you further into a corner.
Soon you're forced into a steep dive, landing back on the ground in a roll. You emerge from the roll into a lunge, throwing yourself forward in a dead sprint. All while listening for the sound of wings behind you, in an attempt to gauge when the next attack will come.
But no. Even as you run, Fallhazel is already in yet another form. A panther, her inky shadow racing through the trees parallel to your path. The creature moves with terrifying speed... and yet with such utter silence that it takes even you a moment to notice it.
Notice it you do, however. Just in time to throw yourself forward into another roll, as it launches itself at you in a pounce. It shoots overhead, landing with feline grace, continuing the pursuit without pause. You flee, the silent shadow effortlessly matching your every move as the two of you dance the ancient dance of predator and prey.
It's taking everything you have just to keep ahead of her from one moment to the next. You've been at a dead sprint since this began, and it isn't long before your breath starts to get ragged. There's no time to stop. No time to plan anything but the next dodge, your muscles burning from the exertion. You careen deeper into the forest, pushing yourself off trees for extra momentum as you try to anticipate her next move.
Your heart hammers with the potent cocktail of exertion and exhilaration. This is the hunt. Pure and primal. Any veneer of civilization is stripped away, as you match yourself against one of the most deadly predators to ever exist in this world.
The fervor builds with each passing moment... until finally the ancient druid decides to end the chase. The panther hurtles at you even faster than before, lunging in a ferocious pounce that hits you hard, driving the air from your lungs and carrying you expertly to the ground in a ferocious roll. It ends with Fallhazel firmly on top, now in a humanoid form as she straddles you. Her hands pin your wrists to the ground, leaving you completely unable to move.
Now, at the end, with you firmly in her grasp, she wears a form not unlike the dryads gathered nearby. Her dark green skin glistens in the moonlight, her tangly, moss-like hair falling down around her shoulders. Except that she is... far, far more than the other dryads you've seen. Taller. Stronger. More luscious than they could ever approach, her muscular, curvaceous body exuding dominance as those piercing golden eyes regard you.
Watching the rise and fall of her impressive breasts, you realize that she isn't breathing particularly hard, even after all that chasing.
But as risky as this is, it's the exact moment you were aiming for. Slowly, subtly, you begin to exude your aphrodisiac, focusing on the points of contact as she holds you beneath her. You pretend to struggle, squirming beneath her. And you feel the warmth of her body shift atop you, pressing down to keep you trapped.
You keep it subtle, not wanting her to realize what you're doing. But you will make sure that she doesn't forget this moment. The dominance she feels right now will take on a sexual quality in her thoughts, one that will stick with her, even days from now as she dies choking on her own blood, begging my forgiveness!
Gritting your teeth and clenching your right fist shut, you struggle with all your willpower to fight back the surge of murderous outrage that howls through you, in response to the heroine pinning you down. You mange to fight it back, the two-thirds-complete Seal helping to hold the Incubus King's madness at bay. Still, it does waste several seconds—and a great deal of your focus and willpower—to force the murderous urges down.
When at last your vision clears, you see that Fallhazel is still studying you. You can see that a bit of your allure is indeed taking root in her eyes, as she savors the feel of you beneath her. Thinking she's in control. You open your mouth to capitalize on it even further... but unfortunately, by the time you've fought back the madness enough to do so, she's already asking her own questions. "Why have you come to my forest?" she demands. "And... who is that child you bring with you?"
Very interesting. With your keen perception, you can tell that Juri is actually the one she is most interested in. Far more than even the demonic intruder from Kovora. Indeed, you suspect it's Juri who has prompted her to emerge from the shadows in the first place, and perform this interrogation.
"Her name is Juri," you answer carefully. "We brought her here hoping that you might know more about what she can do. Her ritual has something to do with Nature. So we thought that perhaps a druid might recognize it, since you also harness Nature's power."
"What she did was... not the power of a druid," Fallhazel insists vehemently. The weight of her hands and hips grinds you down into the dirt a bit more, as her body shifts and tenses over you. "Where did she learn it? Who taught it to her?"
"It was handed down in her family for a very, very long time," you say. "And that despite the previous Witch Queens using cruel persecution in an attempt to stamp the knowledge out. But the current Witch Queen does not share the attitude of her predecessors in this matter. She sent us here so that we might learn from each other. So that we might avoid repeating the mistakes of the past."
You attempt to slip some points in favor of Lily into your reply... but it looks like Fallhazel barely even registers the words, still entirely focused on the question of Juri. The more you study the subtleties of her expression, the more you're convinced that it's not just curiosity on her part. Something about what Juri did confused her. Something about what Juri did unnerved her.
And unless you're mistaken... it unnerved her in a way that not even Fallhazel herself fully understands.
You lock gazes, even as you continue to subtly increase your aphrodisiac. Each of you is trying to read the other as best you can, searching for the hidden secrets that each of you hold close. "We truly do not know the truth of her abilities," you repeat, as convincingly as you can. "We brought her here to search for the very same answers you now seek. And to keep her safe from the Church of Melca."
Fallhazel digests this for a few more moments. Then she rises to her feet, releasing her grip on you as she stands, leaving you to rub your wrists. "If you truly desire that this child learn the secrets behind her power, demon... then give her over to me," she demands. "I will take her to the very heart of the Great Forest. I will bring her to the Sacred Grove, to stand before the Old Mothers. Perhaps their wisdom will reveal what is hidden."
The druid takes a step back, still fixing you with her imperious gaze. "Simply call off Verika from her task as guard, and I will do this, instead of bandying useless words with you," she says. "Verika is... at least skilled enough that I could not to take her as lightly as I can you. And I... do not wish to cause her serious harm."
To hear Fallhazel say it, admitting to such personal concern for her fellow heroine almost sounds like something she is ashamed of. A display of weakness that makes her unable to act as she otherwise would.
Of course, she fully admits to taking you lightly. But that overconfidence may prove to be her downfall yet. You can detect those initial seeds of lust and excitement, even amidst her scorn. She did enjoy her victory over you. She enjoyed dominating you, in a way that is already forming a lustful chink in the armor of her willpower. You just need to carefully exploit it.
"And what would happen then, after Juri learns the truth, and you have all the answers you seek?" you ask, your mouth quirking in an impertinent smirk. "Would you come back to finish this hunt? Maybe even take it all the way to a more fitting conclusion this time?"
Fallhazel's eyes flash, and you can sense the twinge of temptation inside her at the picture you paint. But she doesn't rise to the bait. Not yet. Instead she takes another step back, and with a graceful twist of her entire being, flies away into the moonlit sky as a beautiful heron.
It's a small step. But the first step is always the most important one. Once her mind is turned toward the lustful temptations you offer, the next steps into debauchery are always easier.
Rising to your feet, you make your way back through the darkened forest, eventually returning to the gathering of the forest-dwellers and your own tent where your companions are sheltering. "I'm back," you say, alerting Juri to your presence, though Verika had already detected you long before. "Did anything happen while I was gone?"
"Nothing around here," Verika says. "But a while back I did hear something that sounded almost like a brawl break out in the loggers' camp. I couldn't investigate it any closer without leaving Juri... but I thought you should know."
"That was the right call," you tell her. Then you proceed to relate the story of your own fight. Including the fact that Fallhazel does very much want to know the secrets of Juri's power. And that she intends to take Juri and study her in greater detail, if she can.
The orc girl's eyes widen as she takes in your words. She hugs her arms to her chest, clearly frightened at the thought of such an incredibly powerful being taking such a personal interest in her. "Are you going to l-let her have me?" she asks meekly, falteringly. "I'd... understand if you did. It... doesn't sound like she's going to hurt me. At least... n-not right away. If... if you think that really is the best way to learn what you brought me here to help you learn..."
It's an interesting—and very uncertain—proposition. In her current, uncorrupted state, Fallhazel certainly has no intention of you along with Juri. So it would mean losing direct, physical contact with both Juri and the heroine until you caught back up. Even more, there's no guarantee what Fallhazel's reaction will be to whatever secrets she learns. Will the druid allow Juri to return to you unharmed, if she does uncover the truth, whatever that is?
You can guess... but there's no way to know for certain. On the other hand, if you continue to prevent Fallhazel from taking Juri, that keeps both of them in the area. It keeps them both close to the site of the more immediate action. Including the seeds you've already planted in a young noble of Nelin...
Either way, however, the choice won't need to be made just yet. For now, you simply concentrate on easing Juri's fear, giving her hair a reassuring ruffle. "Don't worry," you say. "Whatever approach we take, I know we can handle it together."
Your words do seem to mollify her. With that, you make arrangements for the rest of the night, you and Verika trading off shifts on the watch so both of you can get at least a few hours sleep. When morning comes, both of you rise to meet it, ready to face its challenges.
And its challenges waste no time in revealing themselves.
Dawn has hardly broken when you see a group of the loggers emerge from their camp. Once again you peer surreptitiously out from behind a tree, watching the proceedings without revealing yourself. You notice that the loggers seem grimmer today. Angrier. Their leader, Ragath, even has a bruise on his face, one that wasn't there the last time you saw him.
The dryads send several of their number out to meet with the humans, including the oak dryad Elysandria, who seems to be the closest thing their group has to a leader. You watch carefully, straining your ears to hear what has prompted this sudden meeting.
You're not kept waiting long. Ragath makes a signal toward his camp. And as soon as he does so, some of the loggers back there drag a pair of bound, struggling figures into view. You recognize the two captive dryads immediately as the hot-headed Rhysandaria, along with her fellow elm dryad who was always tagging along behind her.
Even at this distance, Elysandria's fury is unmistakable. "What have you done to my sisters?" she demands, surging forward to grab Ragath by the front of his dirty, tattered tunic and drag him forward until their faces are inches apart.
But the bearded man doesn't back down. Quite to the contrary, he meets the gaze of the enraged tree spirit without flinching. The steely look of a man with absolutely nothing to lose.
"We only defended ourselves," he says, his voice thick with quiet anger. "They were the ones who tried to sneak into our camp under cover of night. Tried to set our bunkhouse on fire. While most of my men were asleep inside it!"
Ragath lets that statement settle for the space of a breath, before continuing. "And now... Now they're our prisoners. But... we're willing to discuss the terms of their release."
Elysandria looks over to the distant figures of the two bound dryads, causing them to look down, shamefaced. Though you suspect that for those two, any shame they feel is more due to being caught and used as pawns against their own kind because their attempt to take matters into their own hands failed. You doubt they feel much shame for making such an attack in the first place, not against the men who invaded their home.
Well. Now this is a development. In some ways it places the loggers in a stronger position... though not without raising tensions dramatically, increasing the chance for even more escalation.
You doubt that Elysandria will be inclined to simply roll over and accept further logging so easily... at least not without further persuasion. But the hostages may prevent her from taking direct action in this stalemate. At least until she figures out a way to free them. Or until she gets desperate.
And looming over all of these maneuverings are the more powerful players who are tied to this standoff in one way or another. Fallhazel, with her inscrutable designs and her plan to abduct Juri should you give her the slightest opening. Lord Edrach, with his imminent arrival that will no doubt make things even worse.
Not to mention Lady Alicia herself. Your ploy to send her in the wrong direction may have bought you some extra time... but sooner or later she will receive the message that the forest sent, if she hasn't already. Before too long, you fully expect her to show up here as well. You're on a time limit.
But that just means that you'll have to make the most of what time you do have.
The prisoners are one angle you could take. The two elm dryads are captive. Helpless in the hands of their enemy. Worse, because of their failure, they're being used as a bargaining chip against the very home they were hoping to protect. That kind of despair could be an opening for all manner of temptation.
If you were to disguise yourself and sneak into the loggers' camp to pay them a visit, you might be able to convince them that their only hope of escape is to accept your Corruptive Boon and seduce their guards...
Of course, you could spread a similar temptation in the human guards as well, toward the enemy now defenseless in their grasp. Either way—depending on what gifts you gave to each with your Boon—you could easily control who actually ended up the submissive party, when all is said and done.
It would depend on which would suit your long-term plans best. A chastened and repentant pair of dryads? Tamed from their murderous ways by human dick, and ready to share what they've discovered with their friends if they're ever freed? Or a growing group of loggers willing to worship their forest mistresses?
Alternatively, you could simply rescue the hostages outright. This would doubtless impress the forest quite a bit... though it would put the loggers in a truly desperate position. One method—if you still wanted to spread a little corruption among the forest ranks—would be to convince the dryads to accept your Corruptive Boon so that you can use your new Synergy power to simply summon them out of there.
Or if you wanted a more direct approach, you could sneak in, untie the captured dryads from their bonds, then cause a distraction with your Shapeshifting and your tentacle monsters. A distraction hopefully large enough for them to escape.
You could also try and defuse the situation through negotiation, approaching one of the two parties and making the case for alternative ways that this could end, other than bloodshed. The precise nature of the concessions you'd suggest will likely depend on how well they respond during the discussion, and you can make a more informed choice once you see that. But you'll need to at least decide who you want to approach to try and bend their ear.
Then there's Lady Edith. Given what you've seen of her negotiating ability, you doubt she'd be able to do much to defuse the situation on her own. Not with words, at least. Though... given that you already convinced her last night that extreme measures were needed to stop the alliance with the forest from falling apart... you might be able to convince her to do something extreme indeed. Like offering herself as a matching hostage to the forest, as a sign of good faith.
If nothing else, it might make the forest feel a bit more secure in their position again, along with possibly limiting Lord Edrach's options when he does show up. Also, putting Lady Edith right in the grasp of the forest might open up all manner of potential interactions between them... either lewd or otherwise, depending on your strategy.
Or, if you wanted to get some lewdness in right out of the gate, you could just convince Elysandria to kidnap the noble group outright with force, potentially backed up by your tentacle monsters.
Finally, if you think you can afford the distraction, you could always let this situation develop without your direct intervention, and just focus your efforts on Fallhazel herself. You're not sure how much you can accomplish right now, with the limited preparation you have in place, but you could always make an attempt and see what happens, even if the result may be modest. Every little bit could count.
And of course, there's Verika as well. Do you still want her guarding Juri, hopefully forestalling Fallhazel's interest? Or would it be better to send her somewhere else, and see what Fallhazel does with Juri in response?
