Tooth and Claw, Part 37

With the girl's purpose fulfilled, Rysanial gestures for the orc guard to take the scared young human back outside. "Bring her somewhere you can help her get settled in," she says. "And do be gentle with her. She's still getting used to all this."

The orc chuckles. "I'll get right on it," he says. "Just let me get some of the boys together... and we'll give her a right proper welcome to Kovora."

The girl's eyes go wide. Still, you can tell that the orc does intend to mostly obey Rysanial's order to take it easy on her. The girl may be hesitant now... but you expect that to change as she gets a taste of the pleasure-drenched new life Rysanial has arranged for her. You'd be surprised if any of her current fears even outlast the hour.

You also notice that Lily's gaze is locked on the girl, as the orc pulls her out to meet her erotic fate. The young Witch Queen is squirming almost imperceptibly in her chair as she watches, though she's doing her best to hide it. She's been surrounded by your carnal debauchery from the beginning... but now she has the added temptation of your Corruptive Boon infusing her. It's as though you're with her in every moment, whispering into her ear. Calling her attention to all the countless reminders of all the sinful things you could do to her, any time you chose.

Hiding a smile, you turn back to the council. "We should strike while the iron is hot," you say. "We have an opening with Elianna and Mockingbird, and we have information about them and their relationship that will serve us well. I think those two should be our next targets."

Glancing around the table, you see no disagreement. "Then if that's settled, we need to decide on what other tasks we can accomplish at the same time," you continue. "There's a great deal we need to get done... and the real question will be what to prioritize. Rysanial, have you learned anything from the captured assassin that could be of use?"

The succubus shakes her head. "Unfortunately, they were smart enough to keep their operations highly isolated from each other," she says. "He doesn't know much about what any cells other than his were doing. All I've been able to get out of him is that, before Nergan pulled him back to Kovora for the abduction attempt, his team had been tasked with secret investigations in the allied nations. According to him, they were all searching for someone named Ceilyn."

You can see Lily tense visibly upon hearing that. The name might not mean anything to Rysanial, but you immediately recognize it. It's the name of Lily's old friend. The one other novice her age in the convent that had been meant to hide Lily away from the world, before it was destroyed. And if Melca is going to this much effort to find her... you're willing to bet that Ceilyn was in that convent for the same reason Lily was. Distant relatives along the twisting branches of that ancient family tree. Inheritors to the same cursed bloodline.

So much of what you've been able to get away with up until now has been due to Lily's status as the only heir Melca has left. But if Melca does get her hands on another Witch Queen... one who might not possess Lily's extraordinary bravery, and her resistance to divine intimidation... then you might find yourself in an even more precarious position than you already are.

Of course, Melca hasn't found Ceilyn yet. Nor is there any sign she will locate her right away. But she did find Lily in the end, and you're not confident that your enemies will do a better job of hiding the second time around. If you wanted, you could send someone else to hunt for her, and to spirit her away into your clutches before the Church of Melca can do the same.

On the other hand, you expect Melca would also be irate with such a move. You'd need to consider the timing, whether you can placate the mad goddess enough to compensate. Or whether you can endure the expected retaliation. Your position with her is already a dicey one, as it currently stands.

And it's not as thought there's any shortage of other tasks that are also of critical importance. There's also what you learned from Havti: that your best shot at a relic of Feyal can be found in the Nuati Wastes. Home to the rebellious nomad clans, who still refuse to bend the knee to Melca, even after all this time.

You could send in one of your stealthy heroines to brave the dangers of both the desert and the deadly warriors, swiping an appropriate relic right out from under them. Even for someone like Verika it would probably be a challenge, but you have faith she could pull it off.

Alternatively, while the tribes have resisted Kovora's might for a long time... Kovora has never before had the benefits that you bring to the table. Your boon's regeneration should allow your forces to survive the harsh conditions of the desert far better than they would otherwise be able to. Also, in the past, all the army could do was kill the guerrilla fighters. But thanks to you, subversion can be pursued instead, bringing their knowledge of the wastes and their allies' tactics over onto your side with each one that falls to your forces' sexual allure.

Even with all those advantages, you expect it will still be a serious undertaking. You should probably also expect to burn through more food than usual if you pursue it, since the guerrillas will doubtless make your supply lines a priority target. And when fighting such evasive enemies on their home ground, only the most elite forces will be able to match them on equal footing.

Still, if you can pull it off, not only will you gain the relic and the powerful warriors that your forces have fucked into submission, but you also suspect that it might even improve Melca's disposition a bit. She would finally get to see that last bastion of resistance crushed, after all the countless years that it frustrated her best efforts.

Of course, you can't forget the situation with the ratfolk either. The food you sent will only be sufficient if you can deal with that Inquisitor quickly. Either Rysanial or Ceriss should be able to pull it off. The real question is which one you want to use, and which one is most needed elsewhere.

There's also a new opportunity provided by the unusually-intelligent tentacle monster that you manged to summon in battle against Melca's Thorn Beasts. You took advantage of that increased cleverness to have it bring back one of the corpses, temporarily preserved by the druid's magic. You could have Nevati spend some time analyzing and dissecting the body, learning more about the mysterious and powerful creatures. It could give your forces a very significant edge against Melca's ultimate foot soldiers.

With the Great Forest now on your side, it also raises the possibility of foraging there as an alternate source of food. Of course, you probably shouldn't presume too heavily in that respect. While Fallhazel does lust for you now, it is by no means mind control. And that's doubly so for a power as ancient and unknowable as her. You definitely don't want to fall victim to the same foolishness that Lord Edrach did.

Still, as long as you keep your foraging to sustainable levels, you ought to be able to send some of your more highly-skilled forces into the forest to hunt and gather openly now, without any fear of the forest's reprisal.

With the distraction provided by your pawns in the Underworld, there's also the opportunity to subvert one of the fortified border towns without reprisal. That would give you some extra troops, food, as well as serving as a base from which you could strike deeper into either Nelin or Vekmar, should you choose.

The defenses on the Nelin side will likely be the stronger of the two. Although... if you took the right Nelin border town, it might just put you in range of hitting the Twilight Fortress itself. Humanity's line of defense that stands unbroken at the gateway to the Underworld. If you could take that enduring bastion, your forces would be able to fight their way to the drow capitol city, without requiring Nevati to upgrade the Shadowgate.

It's a possibility to consider, at least.

And of course, there remain all the usual tasks that were present from before. You'll need to decide how strong of a guard you want to leave behind to deal with any emergencies that come up while you're gone. The extra contingent you left certainly seems to have paid off this time; while Khaytala could probably have dealt with the assassins on her own, you wouldn't have been able to capture one alive without all of them working in concert.

"How fares the situation with the army?" you ask your warchief.

"More orcs are ready to take your boon," the big orc answers. "But many are still unconvinced. Conquering the harpies was a win for morale. And the recruitment they did afterward even more so. But seeing you come back without a heroine did dampen the enthusiasm."

You nod. About what you figured. That unconvinced remnant is dangerous, and you'll need to deal with it one way or another. But how does it rate compared to all the other dangers you're balancing?

With an exhale, you lean back in your chair and consider your options. There are innumerable ways you could approach this. Innumerable ways you could divide your agents in an attempt to forestall any number of problems.

Still, in the end, you'll need to settle on one.

And, of course, there are more immediate matters. Such as who you want to take to bed tonight, as you ponder all these countless possibilities...