Out of the Shadows, Part 34

"I think we should hold this girl here, in the tower," you say, after considering all the options. "True, it might exacerbate things here to give Varthurg a target to focus on. But it's worth it to keep her out of the hands of the heroines. They're the biggest threat to us. And the more of them we can bring to our side while we still have the element of surprise, the stronger our position will be."

Lily nods in agreement. "That makes sense," she says. "We'll keep her here, then. And we'll do our best to handle whatever trouble Varthurg stirs up against us while you're gone."

Rysanial hops off the desk and saunters over to you as well, her eyes alight with fiendish glee. "Enough about that old asshole," she says. "You're really going to like what I learned about our cute little gnome wizard."

"Oh?" you say, as Verika and Khaytala also glance over at Rysanial in surprise. "You found a weakness?"

The succubus smirks. "It took some poking around that sleepy little town near her tower, but I eventually... persuaded... some of the villagers to share a few juicy tidbits. For instance, do you remember what the ratfolk spy said about her? That instead of just staying holed up in her tower like usual, she'd started to make regular trips over to Vekmar since she joined the pact of heroines? But he didn't know who she was visiting there? Or why?"

"Yes. I take it you figured out who she's seeing?"

"I've got a pretty good idea," she says smugly. "Turns out? Nearly every time before the villagers see her magic carpet flying overhead in that direction, she'll visit them first. And it's usually to buy some kind of sappy trinket or gift. Occasionally she'll even try to get them to put initials on it: 'C' and 'N'."

"Oh, now that is useful," you muse. "Our wizard seems to have fallen for someone. And giving the timing, the 'C' is most likely..."

"Ceriss," finishes Khaytala. "It has to be. Nevati does tend to follow her around like a lost puppy whenever the heroines get together. But... I never imagined they were romantically involved. I guess I assumed it was because Ceriss is the only one of us who can understand even a little bit of what Nevati is talking about, when she really gets going about magical theory. I never realized it was... more than that."

Rysanial snorts. "I'm not surprised you didn't notice anything. From what the villagers described, I seriously doubt she's worked up the courage to actually give any of those gifts. In my professional estimation, what we're dealing with is a classic case of worship from afar. And an admirer far too timid for her own good."

Kelissa speaks up. "Are you sure?" the maid asks. "Could it be that they're just keeping it private for now? Or perhaps... Ceriss simply wasn't interested?"

Verika clears her throat. "I doubt it," she says. "The thing you have to understand about Ceriss is, she... ah... isn't known for turning down lovers. Knowing her, she'd be perfectly eager to show Nevati the time of her life, if she thought she was at all interested. And if they did become an item, well... knowing how sheltered Nevati is, and how easily she gets flustered... I don't think she could hide it for any length of time. Especially considering how much Ceriss likes to tease."

Now that is intriguing news indeed. You wonder if there is any influence from the tiefling sorceress' demonic ancestry in her enthusiastic attitude toward sex. After all—for obvious reasons—fiends of the Second Circle are the most common progenitors of tiefling lines. Then again, she could just as easily have learned to see the mad folly of mortal self-denial all on her own.

Either way, the news raises intriguing possibilities. This secret, hopeless infatuation could be a chink in Nevati's armor, a point of temptation you could leverage in any number of ways. Possibly making things a little—or a lot—easier, depending on how you approached it.

Rysanial continues to relate what she's learned, though there are no more stunning revelations of that level. She reaffirms that Nevati seldom emerges from her tower, perhaps once every few weeks to purchase food and other necessities. According to what she saw, the townspeople seemed quite fond of her, as well as proud that they had such a famous person in the area.

From there, the conversation grows more unfocused, branching in any number of directions. Rysanial is clearly interested in your new acquisition, but far from being flustered, Verika responds to her innuendos with witty retorts of her own, daring the demon to make good on her hints. You see both women's eyes flash with amused mirth as they spar, neither giving an inch. Lily watches from the sidelines, her face slightly flushed... though not as bad as when you and Rysanial teased her the first time. She's growing accustomed, if slowly.

Eventually, a messenger arrives, informing your mistress that Varthurg has come—yet again—to demand the spy be turned over to him. Lily exhales, then rises to her feet and takes up her staff, descending the stairway to meet with the orcish warchief, followed by your small group.

Varthurg is in the courtyard again, much like the last time you saw him. He's still flanked by his son, though the huge, hulking brute is far more sullen and withdrawn than before. He stares at the ground, not meeting anyone's eyes... until Rysanial comes into view.

At her arrival his head snaps up. The look he gives her is a searing one, with emotions as twisted as they are intense. He stares, fists clenched and trembling, at the architect of his utter humiliation... as well as the one who gave him a fleeting glimpse of tormented, tortuous pleasure far beyond anything a mortal could ever dream of offering, a sexual experience that no one else will ever equal for the rest of his life.

You can see hate in those eyes, a deep, bitter, bottomless hate that burns unquenchably. But as much as he hates her... you can also see need in that gaze, a desperate desire that burns with every bit as destructive a blaze. You can see lust, and you can see fear, and you can see spite. You can see the desire to own her, to worship her, to break her. In the end... there's only one word that fits for the tangle of emotion festering in him.

Obsession.

Varthurg's attention, meanwhile, is focused entirely on the young Witch Queen. He glares as she comes into view... though you detect a hint of unease mingled with the fury as well. As much as he despises how Lily has ruled Kovora, he's still wary of her power.

And your mistress faces him down without flinching. She's alert, well-rested and confident, showing no weakness as she plants her staff and meets his furious gaze. "Warchief Varthurg," she says. "After due deliberation, I have reached my judgment on the matter of the spy. She will remain in my custody, subject to my own personal punishment, of the exact nature and for the exact duration that I deem fit."

A roar of outrage explodes from the assembled orcs. "This weakness is intolerable!" Varthurg snarls, baring his tusks in fury. "You would coddle a traitorous bitch who put your loyal soldiers at risk by giving information to the enemy? See how little she values our lives, over the lives of her precious human kin!"

"Silence!" Lily shouts, the word magically-amplified as she lifts her staff a few inches before slamming it down again, the impact echoing through the courtyard, and causing the bedlam to immediately cease. "I will not hear such foolishness. I am fighting for the lives of everyone in Kovora. As you can see by our latest victory." She gestures back to Verika, who steps forward and bows deeply to her new mistress. A murmur runs through the courtyard, wondering at the second corrupted heroine.

Lily accepts the show of fealty gracefully, before turning back to Varthurg. "Can you boast similar results, warchief? You did not even realize that your own slave was a spy to begin with. It was only thanks to the alertness of Captain Ghazar and the royal guard supplementing your own patrols that your negligence did not result in vital information reaching our enemies. Reflect on that, before you question my methods."

With that, she turns to depart. More murmurs follow in her wake. The show of strength did a good deal to blunt the damage. And the fact that the young queen was able to handle it by herself was—in your estimation—a particularly crucial show of force at this precise juncture.

But the leniency is still a hard pill for the orcs to swallow, and morale has probably taken a hit. Particularly among the hardliners. You are concerned to what extent Varthurg might be able to whip them up, especially with a clear target for their ire kept so close at hand.

You follow Lily back into the tower, and she slumps against the wall as soon as she's out of sight. It clearly takes a lot out of her to wear the stern face of "the Witch Queen" like she did out there. Not something that comes naturally to her... but a skill that she's had to pick up to survive in this place. And she has picked it up, admirably so.

You place a reassuring hand on her shoulder, giving it a quick squeeze, at which she looks up gratefully. She quickly gathers herself, standing straight again. "Thank you," she says. "Thank you for everything."

She turns to head back to her study, and the rest of you start to follow. But you catch Kelissa's eye behind Lily's back, wordlessly looking toward Verika and then inclining your head away. She intuits your meaning immediately. You want to speak with her mistress alone, and you're asking her to clear the way.

"Your majesty?" the maid speaks up. "With your permission, I would like to fit Verika for a new outfit more in keeping with her new role, just as I did with Khaytala. It should make an impact when we formally present her to the army. And given the situation we may want to do that with haste."

Khaytala perks up on hearing this. After all, if she had to endure an embarrassing pageantry of costuming... well, then at least she ought to be able to watch her friend go through the same thing. Lily, for her part, agrees without hesitation. "Oh, of course!" she says guilelessly. "That's a good idea, Kelissa. Thank you for suggesting it."

Kelissa and Verika head off toward the dressing room, with Khaytala and Rysanial following behind. The maid steals one last glance back at you—a long, trusting look—as she willingly and deliberately helps a demon get her mistress alone. The most tender and loving of betrayals.

That said... you still need to decide just what you are going to do. You could work to seduce Lily, of course. Either with playful words... or by subtly turning her on while hopefully avoiding notice... or through direct seduction, making it clear what your aim is.

Then again, there are other avenues you could also follow with this rare opportunity. You could ask Lily if she can help at all with the mysterious mark on your hand that has been both boon and burden to you. You're not sure how much knowledge overall she has on such matters, given her extreme inexperience... but she is a mage, and there might be some degree of insight—or aid—that she could bring.

Of course, after all that has happened, you could just take the time to relax with her, to take a load off together. There are any number of more casual things you could do with her, spinning tales, easing worries, enjoying each other's company.

Or you could speak more directly to her fears, perhaps even telling her what you learned from Melca, assuring her that it will be alright. You obviously can't tell her how you're planning to get her through this, given that Melca might be listening, but you can still try to reassure her that you understand what she's going through, and that you won't let anything happen to her.