Tooth and Claw, Part 4
You bow your head to the elder. "Thank you for your kind offer," you say. "But the priestess makes a good point. If my actions thus far are not enough to convince you of my intentions... then the shrine would be the most secure place to hold a being such as myself. I will accept any precautions she deems necessary, if it means a chance to resolve this peacefully. And I will not ask any of you to trust me until you feel I have earned that trust."
The priestess looks surprised that you're siding with her. Meanwhile, the corner of the elder's mouth quirks up in a tiny smile. "Very well," he says graciously. "Then you and your group will spend the night in her custody. We will take further council in private. And in the morning we will reach our final decision on what exactly to do."
With that, you follow the priestess toward the shrine. Verika and Juri follow as well, Juri doing so nervously, while Verika stays close to keep a watchful, protective eye on both of you. As you cross the threshold onto holy ground you wince, letting out a small grunt of pain. You act as though you were trying to hide it... but in reality, you want to make sure the priestess remembers what she's putting you through to satisfy her suspicions.
The guilty flinch alone is worth it.
She directs you to the center of the shrine, where she has you kneel. You expected her to set up the wards as her first priority... but it seems she is more tenderhearted than you expected. The elf kneels in front of you, touches your forehead and each of your shoulders in turn, then recites a prayer. "Oh beloved Havti, goddess of healing, grant in your endless mercy that this sinner might find relief from the burden of his iniquity in your sight."
A warm glow suffuses your body. And just like that, the stabbing pain caused by the holy ground recedes. You're now protected against the directly injurious effects of Havti's sacred power. Actively using your demonic powers will still be difficult... but with this blessing you could probably even touch holy water with no outright harm, so long as it was one of Havti's clerics who consecrated it.
Unfortunately, such rites rarely last long, usually no more than a day per invocation. Still, you'll take what you can get. "Thank you."
The priestess huffs. "Unnecessary suffering is an anathema to our faith," she says. "Even for fiends such as yourself."
"An admirable doctrine," you say, genuinely surprised that a goddess would show any concern for your kind. "We're taught much the same in the Second Circle. Whether it's friend or foe... sharing pleasure is always preferable to inflicting pain."
"Do not lump Havti's beneficence together with your depraved debauchery," the priestess snaps back. "She's never advocated tempting people into corruption, like you demons do."
"I'm not saying we have no differences in our viewpoints," you say, holding up your open hands in a gesture of placation. "But that's only to be expected. All rational beings will unavoidably have disagreements and misunderstandings from time to time. What counts is how we resolve them. And in the end... both of us do want the same thing."
You hold her gaze for an extra second, looking directly into the priestess' eyes for just the right amount of time. Then you glance away, look at where Juri stands, clinging fearfully to Verika's leg, before finishing quietly. "We both want a kinder world."
The priestess tries to hide it... but you can tell that one hit home. "Be silent," she says, as she begins another invocation. This time it is the ward she casts, surrounding you and binding you with powerful holy magic. You're locked tight in that kneeling position, large chains of golden light manacling your arms, legs, ankles and neck, while multiple magic circles form around you, providing additional barriers. It takes the priestess quite some time to get it all in place. But you wait patiently as she does so.
Once she finishes, you can see her visibly relax. No doubt she feels safer, now that your demonic powers are so thoroughly sealed, and you're no longer capable of physically assaulting anyone. You smother a smirk at how badly she's misjudged the true nature of the threat you pose. Despite your other powers, all you wanted from the beginning was the chance to talk to her, uninterrupted.
"Syril!" the priestess calls out. At her word, a young, timid-looking elf boy emerges from one of the side rooms. He's also dressed in robes bearing the same symbol as hers, albeit his are far simpler vestments. "Fetch some food for our guests, child. They've had a long journey. And take special care with the girl, to make sure that she has everything she needs. Whatever his motives in bringing her... she is still a soul seeking sanctuary with us."
The young boy nods hurriedly, though he does spare a quick, nervous glance over to Juri. She's probably the first orc he's ever seen with his own eyes... and you doubt this is what he expected. She, for her part, looks back at him with equal uncertainty. Until finally he turns and darts away, rushing off to secure the requested sustenance.
With that taken care of, the priestess kneels down at the front of the shrine, bowing her head as she prays to her goddess. For guidance, perhaps? You're not sure. You wait for a little while, then speak up again.
"I admit, I am only recently arrived in this world," you say. "And I have not yet had the time to study the philosophies of the local deities as much as I would l would like. Could you tell me more about these... teachings of Havti? I would like to learn if there is some common ground we could reach."
The priestess turns from her prayers. She's wary as she regards you... but you're offering the perfect bait for someone like her. If there's one thing that's reliable across the countless worlds, it's that clerics can rarely resist the chance to preach the principles of their deities. It's just a matter of asking in the right way. A way that makes her feel that she just might be able to convince you. A way that tempts her with just the subtlest hint of genuine curiosity. Of receptivity.
That's her weakness. You can see it clear as day. She treasures her faith so deeply, believes in it so strongly, that she has trouble understanding why anyone—even a demon from Hell—wouldn't see its truth and beauty, if they would only just give it a chance.
And, to be fair to her, it's not as though such a thing is entirely without precedent. Her goddess' philosophy seems quite similar to the principles of the First Circle, Limbo. And there have been quite a few demons and angels over the millennia who have "taken the Veil", forswearing their previous Circles and Heavens to tend the damaged souls that populate the misty, ephemeral realm.
You, of course, have no intention of giving up your status as an incubus. The very idea is laughable to you. But you can play the part. Let this pious, devout elf tell herself that the sinful devil just might listen to the good word she's preaching. What could be more attractive for a woman like her to believe? And the more she believes it, the more she'll emotionally invest in the discussion. And the more she invests, the more you can keep ever-so-slowly reeling her in.
"Havti is the Goddess of Healing," she says. Her words are clearly familiar and practiced, but no less fervent for that. "Not just the healing of physical wounds, but of any damage or harm, whether in body, soul or mind. Her clergy take vows of non-violence and charity, providing shelter and comfort to all who seek it with honest hearts."
She continues to speak, going into more and more detail. Most of it just reinforces the general impression you've already ascertained of the religion. But you keep her talking, gradually coaxing out parts of the faith that are more personal to her. You notice one parable from her sacred text that she seems to leave her particularly emotional—"the Beggar-Girl's Gift"—and make sure to show special interest in that one, asking several questions that she is all too eager to answer.
It takes a long time, one hour flowing into the next. Her student Syril comes back long before you've finished, bringing food that he, Juri and Verika share together while you and the priestess talk. Juri is hesitant to take his offer at first. But she's also hungry, and eventually that wins out. Soon the two children are eating together under Verika's watchful eye, sharing the delicious, filling meal despite their mutual nervousness and the language barrier.
You and the priestess talk late into the night. You're still immobilized in a kneeling position by the conjured chains of holy light. You have nothing but your words and wits to rely on, as you slowly weave your invisible web around the unsuspecting priestess. Eventually both Syril and Juri fall asleep, Verika carrying them both off to beds in an adjoining room. You, meanwhile, continue to ply the priestess with your curious inquiries.
Only once you've carefully deepened her emotional investment do you start to branch out more with your questioning. "What is Havti's relationship to the other divinities?" you ask. "How well do their principles align?"
"She strives to hold good relations with all her sisters," the priestess explains. "Except, of course, for Melca the Betrayer, Twice-Aspected, Twice-Accursed." As she speaks, the priestess starts to point out small alcoves in the side-walls of the shrine, containing other votive images. Places where—even in Havti's sanctuary—the other members of the local pantheon can be shown respect.
The first icon she indicates is a carving of a young woman in armor. "Selal, as the Goddess of Honor, is a warrior in ways that Havti cannot be," the priestess says. "But my goddess understands the necessity of such a role at the present... even if she hopes that one day such battles will no longer be necessary."
And from what you've heard, it is this goddess who is the greatest threat to Lily. The chief goddess of Nelin. The goddess that the heroine Cleric worships. The goddess that chose the Paladin as her chosen one. You can almost feel the fervent, righteous zeal emanating from that small wooden figure.
Next, the priestess points to an icon of a completely eyeless woman, her face simply blank where eyes would otherwise be. She holds a chain in one hand, and a set of scales in the other. "Oriva, the Goddess of Judgment, is stern and impartial, watching over treaties and contracts in the mortal world, and assigning souls their destination in the afterlife. Unlike Havti, she cannot show special consideration to the hurt and the downtrodden... but she is at least incorruptible by any other vice or influence as well."
Such cold and logical deities are usually a particular annoyance to deal with, even through the proxy of their followers, who can often have particular protections against deception and corruption themselves. Your inhuman charisma and way with words has allowed you to get this priestess talking openly, despite her distrust. But if she had been a cleric of this Oriva, even you would probably have had a much harder time of it.
After that, the priestess turns to a third image, of a woman shrouded in countless veils and sashes, wound sinuously about her, making it difficult to see her true form. "Kashi, the Goddess of Mystery, is the patron of guile, trickery and mysticism, of all things hidden or difficult to understand. Even her sisters know little of her true nature, and her schemes are long and complex. But Havti holds out faith that her intentions are benevolent toward her sister-goddesses."
You're not sure that you share the same degree of trust. But that could be an advantage to you as well as a disadvantage. A true wild card, one that it could throw your plans in any number of directions were you to ever involve yourself with her.
Finally, the priestess then points to a fourth icon, this one of a naked, voluptuous woman lounging in a seductive pose. "Ersia is the Goddess of Passion, whether it be passion for a lover, passion for an art, or passion for anything else that inflames a mortal soul. Havti appreciates her role in the furtherance of life and love, even if Ersia is... not as careful as she could be that such flames of passion do not burn out of control, in ways that end in suffering."
On the surface, this goddess might seem like your most natural ally out of any of them. But it may not be quite so simple. Just because you might agree in certain broad strokes doesn't mean that she will appreciate the Second Circle extending its influence directly into her world. And "passion" can easily equate to passionate defensiveness of her territory.
Nor would such an attitude be unique to her. Few are the deities who would enjoy the idea of the Afterlife gaining a direct foothold in their preciously-guarded domains. Not even if it was an Afterlife that (in theory) agreed with their principles. Which is why most (though not all) of the religions you've encountered either strongly discourage or outright forbid their faithful from the summoning of angels and demons, outside of very dire circumstances.
The deities have long memories. And they remember all too well what happened the last time their kind clashed with the Afterlife over the souls of mortals. The third—and most recent—War in Heaven, ending in the Celestial Treaty. Even millennia afterward, its distant shadow still looms over relations between the Planes.
There was a reason why you were so surprised to hear that Havti's doctrine of mercy and charity extended specifically even to demons such as yourself.
Still, you feel that you have a better understanding of the full pantheon you're dealing with now. Six sister-goddesses. Reduced to six from an original seven when Melca murdered Feyal, stealing her power to become the strongest and most dangerous of them all.
If you could gain the long-term services of a cleric you could actually trust, you might even be able to make overtures of various kinds, depending on exactly what sort of strategy you wanted to follow. Though even then it would probably be a tricky and involved process, requiring a significant investment of time and resources.
At any rate, now it's time to pull everything together. "But you said that Havti is opposed to Melca, correct?" you ask, though you already know the answer. "Which means... the grounds of this shrine are shut off from Melca's sight?"
The priestess nods. You let out a deep shudder of relief, acting as though a weight had been lifted from your shoulders. "Then I don't need to watch my words so carefully..." you say, letting yourself slump a little, bowing your horned head. You affect a look of weariness, of exhaustion, one perfectly designed to tug at the heartstrings. "Please, hear what I have to say. I... admit, you have no reason to trust me. Not so long as I'm under the shadow of someone as cruel as Melca. But... I can't abandon my mistress. You may only think of her as the Witch Queen, but... to me, she's Lily. To me, she's..."
You let your voice break off in anguish at just the right moment. And you can tell the impact it has on the priestess. "Even if she could escape somehow, that girl wouldn't abandon the people who are looking to her to protect them," you continue. "Even if she could escape, the war would still happen. What she's doing now... sending me to the heroines... it's her one chance to stop it completely."
Then you sigh. "But... she can't negotiate outright. Not yet. Not when so much of Kovora still obeys Melca. If we stop giving that bitch the entertainment she wants with each heroine that 'falls'... if we ever stop dealing with her enemies in ways Melca can see as a victory for her side, and a humiliation for your nations..." You look up at the priestess, trying to look as desperate as you can. "Well. You're the last person who needs me to tell you what her wrath would look like."
You gaze back up at the priestess, building on all the intimacy you've carefully cultivated through your long conversation. And, for the finishing touch, you give her your best "dangerous yet conflicted demon, who needs an understanding woman to fix him" look. It's an old, old classic among your kind. Perfect for the righeous-yet-repressed religious types.
"I... I just have to believe that there's some way to save her," you say. "To save everyone. They're not monsters there, not most of them, whatever you might have heard. They're just... people. People like Juri."
The desperate, plaintive appeal has its intended effect. You can tell that she's opening her heart to you, the fruit of your long hours of work. The question now is how far you will take it?
At this point you could probably convince her to let you out of these bonds and claim her outright, here and now. With both the captain of their rangers and the priestess subverted, you expect that the village would eventually fall all on its own, given enough time, with little additional involvement required on your own part after tonight. However, despoiling and corrupting the priestess right in her own sacred shrine—after she'd invoked Havti's own power to shield you—might make things a bit more frosty with Havti herself, on the off-chance that you ever need to interact with this particular goddess or her other agents again in some capacity.
On the other hand, you could also take it slower, not fucking her outright. Even then, you could still seduce her enough that she would support releasing the captive elves, letting you continue your journey, and not removing Verika and Khaytala from those allowed to find their way through the enchantment. That would mean you'd still have to devote more resources if you wanted to fully bring this hidden elf village over to Kovora's side. Still, with the easing of tensions, that could probably be done as a seduction mission again.
The choice is yours. What benefit do you want to prioritize?