Tooth and Claw, Part 31
"She's right," you say. "Rysanial would be the best one to handle an interrogation like this."
The others nod in agreement. Your succubus shoots you a grateful look, even as you turn to address her directly. "Let us know if you discover anything of note. Nergan has gone to great lengths to keep these pawns of his out of our hands... and I'm very interested to learn what else he's been having them do."
"Don't worry," replies the demoness. "It won't take me long."
With that settled, you continue to bring Lily up to speed, giving her an abbreviated version of the events in the Great Forest. Obviously, you don't describe any events relating to the plan to kill Melca, or Fallhazel's identity as a remnant of Feyal. In fact, you do your very best to give the impression—to any deities who might be listening in—that you have no clue about the connection.
Lily does blush a little at the description of some of the larger orgies. Though she doesn't blush as much as she used to, when you first met her. "I see..." she says. "So if the forest is on our side now... then that could give us a stronger negotiating position when it comes to the other two nations, couldn't it?"
"Very much so," you say, nodding approvingly. "Though as with many things, it's a coin with two sides. They'll probably also view this alliance as a threat. Still, ultimately, the more of them we can convince to see things our way, the more likely we'll be able to make those nations back down in the end." Or you could end up seducing them entirely as well, if they prove themselves unable to listen to reason... or simply if the opportunity presents itself.
After that, you also bring up the predicament faced by the ratfolk, explaining both the issue and the opportunity. Lily's response is immediate and emphatic. "We should most certainly help them," she says. "After all... they're only facing this crisis because some of their clans helped us, in our hour of need. We can't let them starve because of that!"
You smile as you watch her earnest urge to help. "I agree," you say. "We can devote some of our food to tide them over in the short term... but their people will still be at risk so long as that Inquisitor has them in her sights. I suggest that we send either Ceriss or Rysanial to... convince her that we are not truly her enemies."
Lily nods. "I... suppose that does make sense..." she says. You sense that, on a purely emotional level, she still feels a bit of hesitation in sending demonic forces to seduce a member of the same Church of which she was once a devout member herself. But she doesn't let it stop her from doing what you both know must be done. "She... won't be harmed in the long run. And it will relieve the burden on Meska and her people that much sooner."
"Exactly," you say, your voice conveying exactly the right tenor of encouragement and reassurance. "This way will end up the best for everyone, really."
Then you turn to Khaytala. "Could you and your guard convey her majesty's decision to Meska and Iskro?" you ask. "I'm sure they'll be eager to hear that help will be coming soon."
Khaytala's eyebrows go up, as she catches onto the unstated request that you're hoping for some time alone with the young Witch Queen. She grins, and gives you a wink that she probably thinks is subtle. "Alright girls! Let's head down to talk to the spymaster..." she says, shooing the drow out so as to give you your privacy. Lily watches her honest bodyguard go with a fond look in her eyes, clearly not fooled for a moment.
"I suppose I should see where they're keeping that assassin," Rysanial says, also taking the hint... albeit rather less obviously. She leaves, one arm still held protectively around Kelissa, and Verika follows behind them as well. Thus the impromptu council disbands, now that the most urgent matters have been dealt with.
Before long, only you and Lily are left in her chambers. She looks up at you without any fear, only innocent curiosity about what you want to tell her away from the others.
"Lily..." you begin, now taking a graver tone. "There's something else we need to discuss. Something important. This latest attack has proven the lengths that Nergan is willing to go to. Not to mention that there are still heroines out there like Mockingbird, who might try to sneak in and attack you as well. We've dealt with these threats so far, but... your servants aren't the only ones who are in danger. It would... put my mind more at ease... if you would accept a Boon from me as well."
What you're asking of her is—by all accepted wisdom of demonology—something that a summoner like her should never, ever do. If she agrees to this, it will be giving you a hold over her, one that you could abuse with trivial ease. And it's clear that she understands this.
But there is still no fear at all in her eyes. She takes a quiet step forward, bringing herself even closer to you. Close enough that you can feel each other's body heat. Close enough that you could wrap your arms around her with ease if you so chose.
"Do you remember what I told you before?" she asks, her voice barely above a whisper. "About what it was like here, before you came? I was so scared back then. Trying to rule over a nation of orcs that despised me. Trying to keep Kelissa and the others safe. Trying to keep the heroines from killing me. But nothing was working. Every day it all just kept getting worse. Every day our deaths seemed more and more certain. And there was no one I could turn to for help. I felt so alone."
She draws in a ragged breath, and you can see that her eyes are shining with tears. "So I called for help. I called for help from the only place that would still listen to an evil Witch Queen like me. And you answered."
Leaning forward, she rests her forehead on your chest. "When you visited my dream... when I was reliving my worst memory, and you held me close through it all... I should have felt afraid then too. Afraid of what you could have done to me. But... I didn't. That night... when you held me... it was the first time in so long that I felt completely safe."
She swallows, then looks up at you again with eyes full of pure adoration. "All the summoning texts warned that I should never let you get this close. But I trust you more than any of them. And... and... even if you did decide to seduce me like all the others, I... I... I wouldn't mind that at all! In fact, if... if it meant I could stay closer to you, then... I'd give you anything I had. I'd give you my body, if you wanted it. I'd even give you my soul, if—"
Her voice breaks off, a pained shadow falling over her face. She doesn't finish, but you already know what she cannot bring herself to say aloud. She would give you her soul... if it were still hers to give.
Now you do slide your arms up around her, letting her feel your hands caress her body as they slowly make their way up. You hold her with one arm while the other goes to her chest in an intimate gesture, stopping right between her small breasts as you gather your infernal power. "Accept this gift," you say softly. "And in return... promise me that you will stay safe."
Lily nods, and the Corruptive Boon takes hold. Her eyes widen, a small gasp escaping her lips as your power flows into her, flows through her. Her legs tremble, as she feels for herself a tiny fraction of the Lust that makes up your innermost being. It permeates her, imbuing her with a taste of your power and desire.
It takes a while for her to steady herself. But when she does, she looks up at you in wonderment. "It's... like there's a piece of you, right here with me," she says, bringing up one of her own smaller hands to lay atop your hand on her chest, interlacing your fingers as she bites her lower lip in an adorably shy expression. "Thank you..."
You stay like that for some time, holding her in your arms, letting the new sensations sink in, letting her truly understand and savor this latest step she's taken. The moment is only broken when you hear small, rapid footsteps racing pell-mell up the stairs outside. And then, racing at a headlong pace, Nevati bursts into the room.
Her goggles sit askew atop her disheveled red hair, and her eyes have the bloodshot look of one who has been pulling far too many all-nighters. But despite all that, she wears an exuberant expression on her face. "I think I've d-d-done it, your m-majesty!" she blurts out. "This new spell should—"
She breaks off as she notices the scene that she's intruded upon, as you glance back over your shoulder at her. Then she flinches, shamefaced. "Oh! Oh no, I'm s-sorry! I... I d-didn't realize that... that..."
You chuckle easily, turning to face her. "Don't worry, Nevati," you say. "If this is what I think it is... then I understand why you wanted to let her majesty know as soon as possible."
And really, there's no need to rush Lily's experience. In fact, you want to take enough time that she can fully appreciate each and every delectable step deeper into sin that the two of you take together.
Nevati nods rapidly. "I... I think I have what you w-wanted," she says. "I think I've f-figured out how to p-protect a succubus from the Incubus King's commands!"
Even for an astonishing genius like her, you weren't expecting such rapid results when you set her to the task. "Already?" you say, impressed. "That's amazing, Nevati..."
The gnome studies the floor in embarrassment, digging her toe into it. "I c-could never have d-done it without everything we learned from b-being able to study the geas in action, and so c-closely," she says. "And it's far from p-perfect. We still need to t-test it out."
"Then we should get Rysanial," you say. "And you can explain how it works on the way."
Nevati proceeds to do exactly that, speaking with great relish and animated hand gestures as she outlines the theory. As you've noticed before, for all that she's usually a wallflower, getting her talking about an arcane problem of this level of difficulty is one way to get her out of her shell. "...and that experiment c-confirmed that removing the geas outright would be impossible for me," she says. "So that left d-disruption of the individual commands, as they arrive. Interfering with them so they don't r-register correctly."
"You figured out how to do that?" you ask.
The gnome nods again. "I spent the last t-two weeks studying everything we r-recorded about the command before you left. How the magic is transmitted. How the command is r-recognized as coming from the right p-person. And I c-came up with a counterspell. It should be able to d-detect commands coming in... and it should alter the incoming magic just barely enough to fail."
Her face does fall then. "But it isn't perfect yet. The geas is unfathomably p-powerful. Even in the b-best case... one c-casting of my spell can only hold enough magic to interfere with t-two or three commands, before it burns out. It could g-give a brief window of freedom... but it won't protect anyone f-forever."
"Against a curse of this scale?" you say. "A spell that could nudge it off-course even just once would still have been an incredible accomplishment. Thank you, Nevati. You really came through for me on this one."
Of course, you don't intend to let the Incubus King out either way. But as a backup, even that brief window of freedom could be significant in a fight. Perhaps significant enough that the succubi would be willing to negotiate for such magic, created from a hands-on experience with the geas that they lack any way of obtaining for themselves.
Or at least, they lack any way of obtaining it before it's too late.
Before you can do any of that, however, you need to test Nevati's creation. You arrive in the same room that you performed the initial test in, with the same two magic circles still inscribed on the floor. You take your position, and Rysanial arrives shortly after to take hers. She tries her best to hide it, but you can tell that she is nervous, exposing herself to this loss of control yet again.
Nevati casts the spell over a course of several minutes, then rushes over to where the animated quills are poised to start recording again, her eyes alight with fascination as her work is put to its true test. It doesn't take you nearly as long to touch the geas' power this time. All too soon the words burst from your mouth, filled with soul-crushing power. "Jump in place!"
You and Nevati both watch Rysanial, holding your breath as you wait to see the result. The succubus flinches in pain, like she's just had a shrill noise blasted into her ear at an incredible volume. But then she straightens up, glancing around her for a few seconds... then turning back to you. "It... didn't work..." she says at last. Then her face splits into a smile, giddy at the triumph—however minor—over something that had caused her such distress. "It didn't work!"
Nevati lets out a cute yelp of joy, the gnome bouncing excitedly in place as her eyes dart over the recordings that her quills are making. You, meanwhile, simply smile a wide, catlike grin. One more nail in the old king's coffin. And one more bargaining chip that you could potentially use. Before any of that, however, you and Rysanial share a glance, silently agreeing to take Nevati back to her quarters and show her some appreciation for all her hard work.
Which will also, hopefully, end in her actually getting some sleep now that the arcane conundrum that she's been obsessing over has been solved.
And so the three of you exit the room... only to come face to face with the tall, gaunt figure of High Priest Nergan himself.
He stands there, clearly waiting for you, his cruel eyes locking with yours. You can read the barely-contained distaste in them, hidden behind a paper-thin mask of civility. Behind you, Nevati's hand slides warily toward her staff... but while Nergan may have been willing to send all manner of deniable servants after you, he still makes no overtly aggressive moves himself. Not yet.
Instead he walks up to you, matching his gaze to yours in an attempt to cow you. You, however, remain entirely unintimidated by this mortal's amusing display of bravado. His lip twists, and then he finally speaks. "I come bearing a message from our great Mistress," he says. "She requires that you visit the dreams of her servant, the Witch Queen, without delay." And then, having said his piece, he turns with a flare of his black robes and stalks away.
Well now. You'd already started to consider how you would spend your Dreamwalking... but this is a decidedly large wrinkle to take into account. Will you obey Melca's demand? And do you intend to make contact with the succubi right away?
With all the inroads you've made so far, you fully expect that Taharial would accept a willing Dreamwalking if you requested it of her. And you feel you could manage at least six of those, depending on how involved they were. Then again, if you want to try and fish for more information as well, concerning just what the succubi are planning, you could sift through her memories beforehand if you used your single, more serious Dreamwalking on her instead.
Of course, as useful as that could be, there could also be other foes that you might want to study in-depth. It all depends on what you want to prioritize. And of course, the decisions of the willing Dreamwalks are no less important, allowing you to decide which of your agents scattered throughout this world you want to check up on.
Whatever you choose, you know that the information game will be crucial to your efforts. Making it all the more important to choose wisely...
