Tooth and Claw, Part 5

The priestess looks down at where you kneel, bound to the point of immobility by holy light. She's conflicted. Unsure of herself. You've subtly undermined all the righteous confidence and suspicion that she started out with... and now she feels herself cast adrift.

"Then... what do you expect from me?" she asks in a small voice. "War and bloodshed are the last things I want. The last things any of us want. But... to just trust you like this..." She squirms under your smoldering gaze.

"I don't expect you to trust me," you reply earnestly, keeping up the pressure. "But please, trust your friends. Trust Verika. Trust the elves I helped rescue from the Underworld. You've spoken to them, haven't you? Has anything I've done changed who they are? Or have I just helped them to share pleasure, in a way they didn't realize was possible? Maybe I did go about it in the wrong way. I don't know. But... I just..."

You let your shoulders slump sadly in your chains, as though utterly dejected and exhausted. "I was just... trying to do the best I could."

It's the perfect finishing touch. The priestess kneels down in front of you, reaching through the holy circle to take your hands in her own. "I understand," she breathes. "Do not fear. Havti teaches that forgiveness and mercy are among the greatest virtues. Let us pray together."

With that, she's yours. You could convince her to release you right now if you wanted, fucking her on her goddess' own altar. But you decide to take the slower, more meticulous route. You spend the rest of the night "praying" with her. Making sure to "repent" at length, in ways that plant so many sinful ideas into her repressed thoughts. Ideas of everything you could do to her.

But you don't make a move to act on any of it. And it's amusing to watch the poor woman try to hide her increasing disappointment that you aren't going to do any of those "awful" things to her. This kind of denial play can be fun in its own right.

And more to the point, it will make her all too eager to welcome any "diplomatic envoys" you might later decide to send to finish the corruption of this village.

For now, though, you content yourself with winding her up without release, and taking firm hold of her heart. By morning you're supremely confident in your position, as she dispels the holy magic to bring you before the elves again. Even more of them are clustering around you today, anxious to learn what decision will be made.

But the priestess is the first to speak. "I... was wrong," she admits to the crowd, chastened. "The demon and I spoke at length during the night. And... it is now clear to me that Lady Alicia misunderstood his intentions. I... do not believe he has done anything that would give us the right to hold him captive. Especially not when we owe him so much."

A surprised murmur runs through the crowd, seeing your harshest critic take such a dramatic turn. You watch Relis and Verika's mother, the captain of the rangers, as the priestess speaks. And you see her eyes widen slightly in fear and awe. She understands how dangerous you are, already seduced via her daughter. And now to see you pull off something like this? Even working under such restrictive conditions?

The captain opens her mouth to speak... but then she looks into your eyes, and closes her mouth again. A small shiver runs through her. Perhaps she's seeing how inescapable her own fate is, reflected in the priestess' capitulation.

"I thank you for your willingness to look past the surface," you say, managing to keep any hint of irony from your voice. "More than anything else, though, it is your own people that I hope you will no longer fear. Divisions between close friends and family are just... too sad. I couldn't bear the thought of Relis and her friends locked up indefinitely, just because of their association with me."

The elder, meanwhile, is still watching you carefully. He then glances over to Verika, then to the priestess and the captain of the rangers. "If that is your consensus?" he says. "Then I agree with it. Any justification for imprisoning our kin has passed. They will be released from house arrest. And Verika and Khaytala will retain their gift of passage through the village barrier."

You bow in gratitude, even as more excited murmurs run through the crowd. The elder, meanwhile, beckons to you. "If I may have a word in private?" he asks mildly.

The two of you walk off, away from the crowd. Glancing behind you, you see Verika take the opportunity to approach her adoptive mother. The captain tenses, not knowing what to expect... but the drow wraps her arms around the elf in a simple, gentle hug. You see Verika whispering comforting words in her mother's ear, until at length she relaxes into Verika's arms, returning the embrace.

Before long, you and the elder approach the edge of the village, where the two of you can talk alone. For a while you just stand there in silence, looking out into the forest beyond. But eventually he speaks up. "That was quite the turnaround in Filathia's opinion of you," he remarks wryly. "You must have been quite persuasive last night."

You spread out your hands out in a gesture of utter innocence. "I assure you, elder. I did not once leave the bindings of her holy circle. Nor did I lay hands on her at all. In fact... it was she who spent much of the night helping me to see the error of my own corrupted ways."

The elder chuckles at your response, a strange sadness entering in his eyes. And you get the sense that he sees right through that particular piece of bullshit, technically true though it may be. "I'm sure she did," the ancient elf says. "Filathia... believes very deeply. She has ever since she was a young child. It is an important part of her. Of who she is."

Another protracted silence falls. This time the elder turns back from the forest to look across the entire village. The souls under his care.

"In like manner, I will not ask you to be other than you are," he says, his voice taking on a sudden seriousness. "I ask only that you heed the same compassion you showed my people in the Underworld. If your goal had only to sabotage the defenses of Kovora's enemies, there would have been a thousand easier ways of doing it in that situation. And therefore... therefore I choose to believe that there truly is some common ground on which we may yet find peace."

Then he exhales, and looks at you with a self-deprecating smile. "Or perhaps... those are simply the words of a tired old fool. A tired old fool who has seen far too much bloodshed in his time. A tired old fool who does not want to perpetuate it on the one who saved the precious children under his care. A tired old fool who remembers—"

But then he cuts himself off. You regard the ancient elf thoughtfully, sensing that whatever this unspoken memory is, it's a powerful one for him.

After a few moments of silence, you probe as gently as you can. "It seems you have a... noticeably different perspective on this than most of the other mortals," you venture. "That you understand these matters far better than they do."

The elder laughs at that. "I would hope so," he says. "After all... your mistress is hardly the first in the long, long history of this world who has, in their youthful folly, risked summoning an incubus."

Your eyes widen slightly at the implication. Does this elder really have personal experience with another of your kind? You can't detect the telltale taint of a mortal with their soul signed away. If this elf did summon an incubus, he also had the caution and strength of will to avoid giving in fully to the temptation. Apparently he released the demon when his service was done. Without ever offering up his afterlife destiny to his familiar.

Though as the old, weary elf reminisces on those long-past days... you wonder if he ever regrets having such stern resolve back in his youth.

The possibilities that poses are fascinating, to say the least. But you doubt you have time to truly follow up on them at this point. Already you can see Verika and her mother approaching. The ranger captain actually looks a bit more at peace now. It seems her adoptive daughter was able to assuage at least some of her fears during their brief heart-to-heart.

Verika, however, looks troubled, and she pulls you aside to speak in an urgent undertone.

"I asked my mother about bringing Juri to Fallhazel," the drow whispers. "She couldn't say for sure where the Druid is roaming... but she says that her rangers have noticed strange movements in the forest creatures recently. Dryads... animals... all of them heading in large numbers toward the northwest. She doesn't know why... but she thinks that something big is going down. And I think she's probably right."

You immediately see where she's going with this. "And if something big is going down in the Great Forest, then it's decent odds that Fallhazel might show up."

With a little more time to talk it over with Verika's mother, compare notes, and deduce what could be going on, you might have been able to arm yourself with some extra useful information. But this much is at least enough to point you in the right direction.

And if this really is as big as it sounds, time may very well be of the essence.

You return to the elder, telling him that you'll need to depart quickly if you want your best chance of getting Juri to Fallhazel. He makes no objections or attempts to prevent you from leaving, only wishing you a safe journey.

There is one last enjoyable moment, however. By the time you gather your supplies and by the time Verika and Juri mount their horse once more, the elves under house arrest have been released. You're able to say goodbye to Relis, Belan, Ioni and the others yourself, all of whom are overjoyed to meet (and embrace) you again in the flesh, however briefly.

It also allows you to whisper a quick suggestion to Relis. That their small group be ready to thoroughly answer any questions that curious elves might come to them with, now that their erotic secret is out. And the wicked little smile she flashes you in reply tells you that she takes your meaning. Whatever method you might later use to bring the village into the fold... when the time comes, you expect this place will be ripe for the plucking.

With your goodbyes said, you set out in the rough direction suggested by Verika's mother. The two mortal ride, while you soar above. Before long Verika is picking up tracks matching the description of these large movements through the forest, and you're able to adjust your course more precisely to follow. The trip still takes a while, and you have to make camp several times.

Now that the threat of the assassins chasing after Juri is gone, you're able to have regular sex with Verika during those respites and replenish your own strength. Verika, of course, throws herself into the couplings with her usual passion and vigor, her sweating body clinging tight to yours, moaning as you rail her. In the end her dark, trembling frame nestles tenderly against your own warmth, your fingers tracing idly through her pure white hair as she recovers from the experience.

And so your journey continues. Until, from far up ahead, your inhuman senses hear the unmistakable sounds of a large number of beings gathered together. Not wanting to rush in without getting the lay of the land, you veer away, finding a safe place where you can tie the horse to a tree. Then you stealthily creep through the forest, circling around to a better vantage point, bringing you right up to the edge of the treeline.

What you see beyond the treeline explains quite a bit.

Stretching out before you is a huge swath of barren land, dotted with nothing but tree stumps. All of it surrounds a large logging camp with several simple buildings, built along the bank of a nearby river, populated by scores of muscular, hard-bitten lumberjacks.

The men aren't out chopping down more wood, however. Rather they're clustered defensively around the camp, axes in hand, looking warily out at another group facing them down. This one is far larger and far more diverse, consisting of all manner of beasts and creatures of the forest. Wolves are there in abundance, along with several bears.

There are also a large group of dryads, the beautiful leafy growth twining around their colorful bodies providing only the barest, most ephemeral facsimile of clothes to hide their nakedness. There are even a few nymphs mixed in as well, no doubt from the nearby river.

It's a tense standoff, the two sides glaring daggers at each other. But more than just the tension from the two sides... you can sense something more. A presence that hangs heavy in the air. There's nothing tangible you can put your finger on... but in that moment you know beyond any doubt that Fallhazel is watching the camp.

You can't determine her location. If her mastery over her form is as great as they say, she could be anywhere. A trout swimming in the river. A moth resting on a tree branch. A hawk circling above. But there is no mistaking the intent with which she regards these humans. Her raw authority as the guardian of this forest permeates every inch of ground... and you can feel her slow-simmering wrath trickle down the back of your spine.

In addition, there's yet one more factor in this standoff. Camped on the plain is another group, smaller than either by far. It's right next to the logging camp, but positioned so as to intervene between the two sides. Unlike the wooden buildings of the logging camp, this group resides in tents, though even the tents look more expensive than the rough buildings of the workers. By the emblem, you guess that it's some sort of local nobility, come in an attempt to mediate the dispute.

From the look of it, their attempts don't seem to be going very well.

"They're not supposed to be this far east..." Verika whispers, the two of you peering out from behind your respective trees. "There are agreements from long ago, back in the old times, not to cut lumber this deep into the Great Forest. And certainly not to clear-cut like this."

Of course, it's pretty obvious why the humans are here. The war. The great push to defeat Kovora, once and for all. An effort like that would require a huge mobilization of troops and resources... which, in turn, would rely on the fires of industry. And those fires need to be fed, with plentiful wood and charcoal.

"Well..." you mutter, half under your breath. "This is certainly a mess."

Granted, on the surface, this could serve as an opportunity to drive a wedge between Fallhazel and her allies. But you can't forget the larger picture either. You doubt Fallhazel will leave until this matter is settled one way or another. And given how volatile the situation seems, it could easily go bad in a heartbeat.

Worst of all... if you do bring Fallhazel over to Kovora's side... you just know that anything that happens here will be blamed on you. If it looks to the other heroines like Fallhazel's "first act" upon being subverted was to massacre an entire camp of humans—along with some local nobility—it will become quite a bit harder to make the kind of earnest pleas of "peace" that you've found so very effective thus far.

You pinch the bridge of your nose, letting out an annoyed sigh as you consider if there's a way to save these humans from their own suicidal temerity. Are they not able to sense the wild, untamed power that they're provoking? Evidently not like you can... or else you're pretty sure they'd be running for their lives right now.

Still, for now Fallhazel seems content to watch the stalemate, leaving the field to her dryads, keeping her own counsel until such time as she sees fit to intervene. That's one other thing you'll have to balance, as if everything else weren't enough. Find a solution to this clash... but in the process do something that will catch Fallhazel's interest, making her curious enough meet you in person.

Though your plan of bringing Juri along might help quite a bit with that, when the time comes.

Still, you'll have to consider your moves carefully. More than anything else you need information. And whichever side you approach first, it's doubtful you'll be getting the entire story. You'll need to consider who to approach, who to learn from, who to manipulate so that things go exactly as you want.

You'll also need to decide in what form to approach them. If you're feeling particularly daring, you could go as yourself, an acknowledged emissary of Kovora, sent to offer Fallhazel an alternative to joining this war. Promising that Lily will not repeat the depredations of her predecessor against the Great Forest.

But while that could easily around the curiosity required for an audience, Fallhazel has doubtless heard of your true nature now, and will be on her guard against your wiles. As a result, if you go that route, seducing her will likely become a very serious challenge. You doubt she'll just spread her legs to someone with your dangerous abilities, not even if you've taken care of a problem for her.

No, you'll need to come up with something much more impactful, if you follow that route. On the other hand, going in with a more unassuming disguise might make it harder to attract her attention... but once you do, getting close to her and working your allure will likely be quite a bit more manageable. There's also the more fundamental question of whether you want to make your first investigation among the entrenched humans or the besieging forest-dwellers.

Also, if this initial foray of yours involves a disguise where either Verika or Juri wouldn't fit, you're confident the drow can do her own stealthy scouting and spying from the shadows while she takes care of the orc girl. Ready to intervene—or possibly lend more surreptitious aid—should you ever signal that you're in trouble.