Out of the Shadows, Part 4

You regard Relis' exhausted form as she lies there, helpless before you, Khaytala's hand resting on her shoulder. You'll need to explain the broad strokes of your intentions if she's to be of use in your current plans. Still, the choice of what to emphasize may shift how she views you in notable ways.

"You've heard about the increasing hostilities on the southern border?" you ask. "My mission is to prevent it from boiling over into senseless bloodshed. I'm going to stop this war with Kovora before it starts, and to do that I need to teach your rival Verika what you and Khaytala have already learned. I want your help in taking her down."

Her face falls at your words, and she looks away. When she speaks again, it's in a smaller voice. "So... it's Verika you're really here for? She's the one you want? I'm... just a way to get at her?"

It's obvious that this has struck at a much deeper emotional wound with respect to her rival. Perhaps a setback in the short-term... but it's also brought the issue out into the open early, where you can address it now, rather than leaving it to possibly be discovered at some less-convenient date.

You place a hand on her cheek, bringing her face around toward you with a caress, and you feel her tremble with longing at your touch. "We all have our missions," you say. "I won't lie. To stop the war, I need to win over the heroines. But I picked you because I saw the potential in you. Do you want to prove me right? Do you want a chance to really show up Verika? And save a great many lives in the process?"

The temptation is pulling at her. You can see it in her eyes. The yearning for more of what you've made her feel. You expertly weave in the rationalization along with it, the excuse for why giving in to her desires is really a good thing for everyone, offering her a way out. She looks up at you, and you return her gaze, looking deep into her eyes as you project sincerity with all your supernatural skill.

She takes a shaky breath, then nods. "A-alright..." she whispers. "Sure. Let's... let's show her what we can do. We'll... we'll save them all. And then they'll see. Right?"

The young elf woman looks up at you, her expression vulnerable, still scared she's made a huge mistake. But she has made her choice. And you feed her the reassurance she craves. "Of course..." you say, cupping her face with both hands and bringing her up for a tender kiss on the forehead. A soft touch here will be key for ensuring her loyalty. "And I'll be sure to show you my gratitude as well."

You can feel the lust churn within her at those words, though it's intermingled with worry. "But... I know I'm no good at... at those things..." she mumbles. "I... I don't have much experience, and... and my endurance is... I mean, you saw..."

You chuckle. "I thought it was adorable," you say. "But, if you would like to last longer while fucking... well, I think that can be arranged. If you're willing to accept." You hold out your hand, the power of your Corruptive Boon glowing in your palm.

Relis blanches, and you know she's thinking of what it means to make such a deal with a demon. "W-what do I have to do in exchange?" she asks.

"Normally, we would agree on a price for the bargain..." you say. "But in this case? For you? I want to offer it as a free gift."

The elf maid hesitates for a moment longer, then nods before she can talk herself out of it. You place your palm on her forehead, and your power does its work, altering her to give her a greater sexual endurance and an even greater capacity for pleasure, as well as the inherent boost to her libido that is inherent to the Boon itself. She looks up at you in wonder and terror, feeling her very body shift at your command, astonished at how you've upended her entire existence in so short a time.

Already you can see strength returning to her, and Khaytala helps her to her feet, though she's still unsteady. "Come," you say. "Let's head back toward the village. And while we go... I'd like to strategize more with you about Verika. How did a drow come to be the protector of a hidden elf village? I assume she did something impressive to convince them she wasn't aligned with the rest of her nation."

Relis looks down, then shakes her head. "No," she says. "No, it... was entirely the other way around. We've always lived with the danger of drow slavers coming up from the Underworld when we least expect it. Their raiding parties strike everywhere, of course. But they pay particular attention to us. Both because we're more isolated, and because of the ancient bad blood between our peoples."

The three of you begin to walk through the trees, as the elf haltingly recounts the tale. "I was very young at the time," she says. "But I still remember bits and pieces myself, and I managed to figure out the rest after I was older. Our scouts detected an unusually careless drow, and followed her back to the camp she was operating from. The scouts went back for reinforcements, and we attacked the camp in an ambush."

"It was a massacre. They were completely unprepared, many of them still sleeping. Somehow, one or two still reacted quickly enough to flee back down into the Underworld, so we missed the chance to capture a shadowgate... but the rest were cut down, and we rescued the slaves they had already taken. It was an overwhelming victory."

"It was only when we were going through the bodies that we saw that one of the slavers was still barely clinging to life. And the truly surprising thing was that she was so young. Little more than a child herself."

"Wait," Khaytala interrupts, flabbergasted. "You mean... that was Verika? She was part of one of those attacks? I... I can't even picture that."

Relis nods. "Oh yes, she was. But my..." She hesitates, then continues. "But the captain of our rangers took pity on her. She carried Verika home and nursed her back to health. For almost a week, we didn't know if she would survive, and it was nearly a month before she could walk again. We had to feed her ourselves at first. She was too weak to even eat on her own."

"Verika couldn't understand why we were doing it. Not back then. You should have seen her, the way she used to be, all those years ago. So angry at what had happened. So humiliated. So scared. But the captain just kept caring for her. Reassuring her. And eventually... eventually it started to get through to her."

Then a rueful chuckle escapes Relis' lips. "Of course, the captain had no idea back then just what an incredible investment she was making. It was just simple compassion. She couldn't bring herself to kill someone so young, not while she was helpless, not even one of our enemies. And as a result... we found our greatest protector."

You raise your eyebrows a little. That is... not what you expected. It says a great deal about these elves—not just this "captain" but their entire community—that she was allowed the chance to try something like that at all. Compassion indeed. In this case, it seems to have worked out to a strength, rather than just a weakness... though given the right opportunity it could have been either.

Something to remember.

For now, though, you prod your new ally just a little bit more. "And do you think that was the right choice to make?"

"Of course!" insists Relis, emphatically... though you can tell there's pain there as well. "I am glad that we saved Verika! I don't know what you've heard about me, but I wouldn't wish harm on her. She's become so much more than what her people raised her to be, and she's earned the respect everyone gives her a thousand times over. I just... I'm just..." Her fists clench, and she closes her eyes. "I'm... just a selfish bitch. That's all."

You judge that some positive reinforcement is in order. "Don't talk about yourself that way," you say in a firm, reassuring voice. "At the very least, there's nothing selfish about what you're doing now. I guarantee you, when this is all over, Verika will be thanking you on her knees for how we're going to defeat her."

Relis gulps. "O-on her knees?"

Khaytala moves in behind the elf maid, pulling the smaller girl in an embrace. Her hands wrap around, sliding lower to play between Relis' legs. "Of course she'll do that..." Khaytala says, a teasing lilt in her voice. "After all... there's so much she'll be able to do from that position to show you her gratitude."

That causes Relis to blush furiously, and you can tell that mental images of Verika servicing her are running rampant through her thoughts. Khaytala winks at you, and you grin back in admiration. She's picking this up fast. And indeed, the corrupted heroine's encouragement is just what Relis needed to pull herself out of her glum state.

You work out the details of your story with Relis as you walk, getting closer and closer to the village. The nearer you get, though, the more you start to wander off-course, caught in an extremely subtle misdirection enchantment that you probably wouldn't have even have noticed without Khaytala and Relis to keep you on-track. The spell doesn't seem to affect either of them, however, and soon they drag you to the outskirts of the village itself.

It's... honestly more quaint than you expected. You know that the elves have a low rate of reproduction... but even so, you're not sure if there's even a full hundred inhabitants. The wooden cottages are small and cozy, though there are quite a few guard posts around the perimeter, built high into the trees themselves.

A voice challenges you from one of them as you approach. "Halt! Identify yourselves!"

Relis responds, giving a password in the elvish tongue, and names you and Khaytala as her guests. And presumably it works, since you pass by without any arrows trying to pincushion you. "Has Verika returned?" Relis asks the guard, once her identity has been confirmed.

"No, not yet," comes the reply. "She's actually a bit late, for once. But we're expecting her back any time now."

So. You still have a little time. Not nearly as much as if you'd gone straight here, so you probably won't be able to set up anything too elaborate, or learn too much. But you could probably at least manage a brief meet and greet, ingratiating yourself a bit with someone and getting a brief feel for them while you wait, in hopes of it bearing fruit.

One obvious choice is Verika herself. You could head out with Khaytala—and your newfound elf ally—and try to intercept Verika on the last leg of her patrol to get a bit of extra time with her before she arrives at the village, though by the time you actually find her it will likely be brief.

There was also the healer you saw in the woods, who is probably also the mage behind this place's protective wards. While you're not in a position to fuck her anymore, she's probably returned by now. She might be a useful quantity to approach on her own, doing what you can to get her on your side ahead of time.

Finally, there's also that "captain" of the elven rangers that Relis mentioned, who seems to have a particular connection to Verika as well. She might be an interesting person to get a feel for how she fits into this tangled web you're walking into.

You're not sure exactly how much time you have left, but you probably shouldn't count on being able to have a chat with more than one. Who do you prioritize?