Blood Ties, Part 40

In the end, you decide to follow up on your work in Nevati's dream by making her your next target. With that course in mind, you turn to leave the courtyard, intending to leave the orcs to their revelry as you discuss the matter further with your allies.

How exactly will you pursue the distraught gnome? Will you approach her under a different guise, helping with her plans to infiltrate Kovora? Or perhaps a more direct approach, pursuing her as yourself in a cat-and-mouse attempt to capture her? Or maybe a combination between the two approaches, arranging for her to "capture" you on her way in, and use you as a hostage or source of information?

It could be any of those, or something else you haven't thought of yet. The possibilities are wide open... but you won't need to decide that for a while yet. Still, it's something to keep in mind as you decide on the more immediate matters.

And before you even exit the courtyard, one such immediate matter blocks your path, a familiar figure, a tall, gaunt old human, clad in long black vestments. You raise an eyebrow. "Ah, High Priest Nergan..." you say. "What can I do for you?"

"I merely wish to congratulate you a game well played," the old man says, his voice oily with insincerity. "Your little mistress had good fortune indeed, recruiting an agent with your... prodigious ability."

The High Priest makes little effort to hide how irate he truly is at the solidification of Lily's power that Varthurg's death represents. No surprise there; ideologically speaking, he doubtless sided far more with the late warchief's faction. He's far more tactful and canny than Varthurg, however, and knows how to come at the matter obliquely. Which makes him more dangerous as well.

But then Nergan walks closer to you, lowering his voice as he does. "I also bring a message," he whispers, his tone less overtly taunting now. "A message from my goddess. Melca bids me convey to you an offer. A solution for this most fascinating curse that you bear."

A chill runs down your spine, the cleric's words confirming your earlier suspicions. Melca is watching you closely. And she's observed the latest revelations about the nature of your brand. Your decision to not speak of your plans to kill her outside of holy ground has definitely been vindicated. "How generous," you say aloud. "What is her proposal?"

Nergan smiles toothily. "Considering your situation, it is certain that you will lose yourself. Your soul devoured by your... uninvited guest. But while that may be inevitable... my goddess offers you the chance to die in a way that may achieve some of your aims."

The cleric leans in closer, malice in his eyes. "She knows of a secret method that will reduce even something as powerful as you to a mindless husk. Completely under her control, even as your powers continue to manifest. You will have all the strength of a demon lord... but the Incubus King will be cut off from the body he invested with his power, as my mistress makes use of it instead. Leaving him unable to wreak his mad aims."

"And instead, Melca will be able to wreak her mad aims," you reply quietly, unimpressed. "I'm not seeing any great advantage to your proposal."

"The advantage is what my goddess offers," Nergan says. "You are doomed either way, hellspawn. But if you agree to this compact... then in exchange, Dread Melca will release her claim on your mistress' soul. This Witch Queen will pass into the larger afterlife upon her death."

Of course. The goddess' offer makes perfect sense now. True, it would mean giving up Melca's precious bloodline. Perhaps permanently, unless she can find yet another descendant other than Lily. But in exchange for putting the power of a demon lord under her command... you can see why it would be worth the trade to her.

And that's not even taking into account that Melca might just try to betray you and take everything, if you weren't very careful about how any such exchange was made.

It does surprise you, though, that she even thinks she could control the power. If something like this were possible, wouldn't the Lust Queen have tried to do so on one of the previous victims of the curse, ending the threat? If a goddess has the power to do it, then surely a demon lord would as well.

But... that actually raises a question you hadn't thought to ask before. Is the Lust Queen even truly a demon lord? She may sit on the throne... but if the previous demon lord still clings to existence in some form, still clings to his former power, even in this parasitic state... then is it possible that the mantle hasn't truly passed on?

Certainly, the Lust Queen has been far more known for her skill in negotiation than her displays of raw power. And she would have to have been an incredibly powerful demon just on her own natural merits, in order to "kill" the Incubus King in the first place. But... could that be as far as it goes? Has the Second Circle been without a true demon lord all this time? Its weakness hidden by a careful deception?

If that's the case, then a particularly powerful goddess like Melca might well be able to do things that the Lust Queen simply can't. She may indeed be able to pull this off. It would bring terrible ruin to this world, tipping the balance of power horrifically in Melca's favor. Still, what Nergan says is true. No matter what horrors she inflicted... they would at least be temporary ones. Not the eternal, unending torture that Lily faces right now.

Of course... just as there's the risk that Melca might try to betray you and take both, this also does offer a possibility for your own double-cross, serving your goal of taking her down for good. Depending on how you played the negotiations—as well as the nature of this ritual—her greed for putting the power of a demon lord under her control might be one possible way you could entice her to incarnate into the mortal world. And an ambush on the mortal plane would leave her significantly more vulnerable than if you had to face her in her Divine Realm.

Either way, you're far from ready to confront her as things stand, your preparations nowhere near complete. But it's one possibility among many for how to play the endgame. You'll have to see what other avenues you can uncover as you explore your options, and how you choose to combine your options.

"I'll take it under consideration," you say neutrally. "How should I contact your mistress if I wish to discuss it further?"

Nergan chuckles. "Simply call on her name while in that useful Dreamwalking state of yours," he says. "She is most eager to discuss terms with you face to face."

With that he turns and walks away, his black robes swirling around him. You watch him go, before continuing on your course, leaving the courtyard and heading back to the others. Your mind considering all the new angles and possibilities that this raises.

Once the young Witch Queen has finished addressing her subjects, you retire to her chambers along with Rysanial, Kelissa and the three corrupted heroines. The main topic of discussion quickly shifts to where you stand now, after Varthurg's death.

Lily is somber, but hopeful. "If Rysanial can control the new warchief like she says, then we might finally be able to clamp down on the unauthorized raids and killings across the border," she says. "Varthurg would always cover for any attacks. But without him in charge..."

"It's not just the leader," you say. "After that kind of public victory, support for your methods among the army itself is going to rise dramatically. You could see it in their faces, the ones in the courtyard. They saw the strength you can offer. They saw a better way of victory."

Your mistress nods, still blushing a little at the reminder of the carnal display. "Y-yes," she says. "Of course, without the raids, we'll have to keep a much closer eye on our food supplies, since there won't be the pillage to supplement it anymore. I've tried to improve our own agriculture... but the curse that blights our farmlands has made progress difficult. And with us at the brink of war, our trade opportunities are limited as well. Few would dare make the trek to Kovora, knowing our reputation."

Kelissa speaks up. "With all the work her majesty has done to improve our situation, I think that even without the raids, we have enough reserves to last us through another two seduction missions before things start to get tight. Though that's in the best case. Depending on what events come up here in Kovora—and how we respond to them—it might cost us more food than normal."

Which means a bigger buffer could only help. The most obvious opportunity is what you learned from Lord Kovar back in Vekmar. That opportunity you could follow up with either guile or force, depending on how you wanted to go about them, either by subverting the Lord to your side as a steady partner, or going for a big, one-time raid on his warehouse, fucking the guards into submission.

Alternatively, bringing the elf village under your sway could help the food situation as well. Or, even if you wanted to persuade Lily to technically continue the raids... if you left it to your corrupted orcs, overrunning those small villages would be an endeavor filled with much less blood, and much more fucking.

The question is, how many opportunities do you have the resources to pursue? Sending orcs you've corrupted and bound their allegiance into the field would be one thing. But with the rest of the uncorrupted army, sending them would likely result in exactly the kind of bloodbath that Lily most wants to avoid. Even the sex-based attacks she would probably want to avoid... but at least those you feel you could convince her are the best option, all things considered.

You don't have to make that decision quite yet, though. For right now, you have a bit of downtime that you feel you can afford. Not too long; Nevati will most likely be making her move soon, after all. But you feel you can spare a few days to pursue a slightly more long-term project.

The options are wide open. You could, much like on your trip back, spend the time using your Dreamwalking power, trying to slip into the dreams of a few people that you've encountered in person. Any number of avenues could be followed up on using that method.

Alternatively, you could spend the time inducting new volunteers into the ranks of your corrupted forces. With the inclusion of the female orcs, you expect that you'll bring your corrupted forces up to a full platoon of around fifty.

If you spend the next few days casting your Corruptive Boon (and fucking to replenish your Lust, since you can currently only use your Boon on one person at a time) you think you could get a second platoon ready to deploy. Corrupted to carnal desire, and bound to obey your and Lily's commands. This would allow you to either send them on two different tasks, or both on a single task that requires more forces.

As a third option, you could use your own newfound intellect to make the third (and final) improvement to the Seal on your brand. This would be of limited immediate effect, however, since the brand is already completely dormant. Until its power grows more dangerous again, boosting the seal will only increase the cost of your powers, without providing a direct benefit.

The only exception is that you suspect that the strength of your seal might help you out—to some extent—when the fifth, unique rune activates that Nevati warned you would coincide with a major attempt by the Incubus King to assert his control. Still, you are already very well-fortified against him. And how much more it would really help your resistance, or what further effect it would have... you can't say for certain.

You could also use your Summoning power to call a new entity to your side. A new agent to aid in your efforts. Playing with your power, you believe that its scope is limited to the Afterlife planes. And since you aren't currently able to disguise your identity when making the request, you doubt most angels—or succubi—will be likely to answer any request you might make.

That leaves you with the Hells. You could summon from Limbo, both the First Circle of Hell and the lowest of the Seven Heavens, home to fallen angels and risen demons, who have taken vows of absolute non-violence to treat the souls who have been so damaged by their lives that they are unready to face anything else.

A summon from there would be an exemplary healer. But they would absolutely insist, down to the core of their being, on providing it without bias. Sending such a summon along on a mission, or having it accompany you, would drastically reduce the chance of fatalities, both of friend and foe alike, and could also be used to provide direct aid to desperate situations, should the need arise.

While you doubt you'd have much success trying to convince a succubus to heed your call, that doesn't mean the Second Circle is out of the question. You could always try to recruit another incubus, hopefully finding someone willing to take a chance on you, without strong enough loyalties to the Lust Queen to try and betray you to her. Another seducer might prove invaluable, given your aims.

Of course, if Kovora's food situation is a problem, then perhaps a summon from the Third Circle might help. In service of tempting mortals to less sexual forms of indulgence for their sin of Gluttony, such demons can provide large quantities of food through their own powers. And if you ever somehow manage to convince them to take a Corruptive Boon, you might even be able to intertwine the two.

However, if it's a more high-level solution you're looking for, then the mercantile prowess of a Greed demon from the Fourth Circle might be who you want. If they can get their foot in the door and start working on trade agreements, you can try to use them to increase your own economy and strike at theirs. A more long-term task, with such demons not usually as good for direct missions of the kind you're immediately facing, but underestimating such demons would be a mistake as well.

If it's direct combat you're looking for, then summoning from the Fifth or Seventh Circles would be your best bet. The Violence demons are more general-purpose warriors, living for the thrill of the fight, while the Wrath demons are more specifically fueled by retribution for any harm done to those they side with, their abilities geared more toward that end.

The Sixth Circle might be the largest double-edged sword of them all. A Heresy Demon, with their fanatical hatred for all things divine, might be an especially powerful ally in any attempt to kill a goddess.

However, you know from personal experience that such demons do not distinguish in their hate. If and when you end up coordinating with religious heroines, or other agents of the divine. or other divinities themselves... it could get very ugly, very quickly. Even possibly lethal, if you aren't careful.

If you wanted something more subtle, then the Eighth or Ninth Circles might be other options. Both provide experience in deceit and double-dealing, with the practice baked down into the very essence of who they are. Fraud Demons are usually being more of an opportunistic bent, while Treachery Demons are more committed to specifically twisting the knife into anyone foolish enough to trust them.

Finally, you could take the opportunity to teach Lily how to transfer Rysanial's summoning bond over to you, now that you can accept it. That would free Lily up to use a summon of her own, should the need ever arise. Possibly even summoning entities that you aren't able to.

The options are numerous, but you're going to need to think carefully on the merits and drawbacks of each, and how they best fit into your long-term plans. How do you want to spend this downtime?