Where the Heart Is, Part 37

You lie there amidst the tangled sheets, the stillness of night only broken by the distant, barely-audible sounds of other mortals enjoying their own carnal pleasures elsewhere in the fortress. Your three bedmates sleep through it all. Kelissa and Lily nestled in each other's arms, while Rysanial wraps herself around both from behind Kelissa. Asleep, the succubus holds them more protectively then she would probably wish others to see, were it a less unguarded moment.

Toying idly with Lily's hair, you consider your options for the next set of missions, until finally you settle on a plan. And while there are many different facets to that plan... one task demands your personal attention to set it in motion.

Closing your eyes once more, you return to the Plane of Dreams, searching for one soul in particular. It takes a while for her to show up; evidently Verika is enjoying a debauched night of her own with some of the fortress' inhabitants. But eventually she does fall asleep, at which point you slip into her dream. Which gives you a clue as to what she was doing before, since her dream is of a hot-and-heavy tryst between her, Khaytala, and both her sisters, adopted and biological.

You allow yourself to drink in the view for a little while, before regretfully pulling her out into a state of lucid dreaming. Verika blinks, before realizing what just happened. Turning to you, she cocks her head slightly. "What do you need, Tal?" she asks. "If you're going to the trouble of a dreamwalk, I assume this is something we can't discuss in person."

"You assume right," you say. "I've decided on our next strategy, and there's something I need you to do for me. When I give you your orders in the waking world, I'm going to tell you to do something uninteresting. Information gathering, most likely. Perhaps investigating the past of Emiko or Torild."

Understanding flickers across Verika's face. "Something boring enough that Melca wouldn't be inclined to keep a close eye on me, you mean."

"Exactly," you say. "There may be little that she can't watch if she wants to... but she's not omniscient. She can't watch everywhere at the same time. If she's watching me... if she's watching enough other places where she knows critical events are taking place... you may be able to act beneath her notice."

"What do you want me to do?" Verika asks.

"I want you to find someone," you explain. "Someone that the Church of Selal is hiding. In fact, even many of the high-ranking clergy probably don't know of this. From what I've been able to gather, it's likely a secret order, as off-the-books as they can manage. But for a place to start looking, I do know that several years ago, this faction used to operate a convent called the Blessed Refuge of Saint Theodosia in the far north of Nelin."

Verika frowns. "Used to? What happened to it?"

"It was attacked by agents of Melca," you explain grimly. "They massacred most of the nuns... but they abducted one novice. A girl by the name of Lily. And I have reason to believe that another group managed to escape. Including another novice by the name of Ceilyn."

Now Verika's eyes go wide. She immediately understands the significance of what you just told her. "The same girl that Melca's agents are looking for now. You think that...?"

"There is no doubt in my mind," you say. "We need to find this girl before Melca does. While I was in Nelin, I arranged a deal with Alicia. If you can track Ceilyn down, you can deliver her to Alicia under flag of truce. She promised not to detain you... although I'm sure she intends to try and talk you into returning."

Verika nods slowly, still working through the implications of what she's just learned. "Don't worry, Tal," she says. "I won't let Alicia turn me against you. Not with everything that's at stake."

Then her expression changes to a small, crooked smile, breaking the tension a little. "And not when you have so much to offer her as well. It'd be such a shame if she never got to experience everything she's missing out on. How much closer we've all become."

You return her smile. Then the two of you spend a while discussing everything you know about the secret order you're asking her to track down, considering any lead you can think of that Verika could follow with her unmatched skills as a spy. But eventually you've covered all you know. With a final kiss, you allow Verika to slip back into her natural dreams. You, meanwhile, open your eyes in the waking world once again.

For a while you simply lay there, staring up at the gray stone ceiling with silence all around you. But then, restless, you roll out of bed, taking care not to disturb the other three still sleeping. You exit Lily's chambers, giving a nod to the drow guards on your way. You spend a while wandering through the darkened fortress, eventually finding yourself on one of the battlements. The night breeze is cool against your skin. You lean forward, resting your arms against the parapet as you watch the faint hint of a glow on the horizon that precedes the sunrise.

You're not sure how long you spend there, mulling over everything that's happened recently. But eventually, you detect the sound of someone approaching you from behind. Her steps are light, but you sense her anyway. Though in Mockingbird's defense... you don't think she was actually trying to sneak up on you. Not this time.

Without any words, the halfling hops up to sit beside you on the parapet itself, which puts her closer to even height with you. Her small legs dangle over the edge, kicking idly. She doesn't show the slightest fear from the drop below, which is only to be expected from someone in her profession.

In that moment, you don't feel like you have any words to say. The two of you continue in silence, watching as the sun itself starts to rise into view, pushing back the night bit by bit and staining the sky with gold. Finally Mockingbird speaks. "Are you... really doing alright?"

You glance over at her. She's looking back at you intently. Then she continues. "I mean... you always do such a good job of showing people what you want them to see. Like when you were pretending to be Kavia. But... what happened with the knife..."

You turn away, back to the horizon. So you don't see Mockingbird as she continues, only hear her words. "You really thought she might listen, didn't you? The Lust Queen, I mean."

For a while you don't know how to answer. But then you exhale. "I... hoped," you admit. "Even despite what I knew about the horrors Lehatial went through. Even despite the warnings Fallhazel tried to give me. I hoped we could still talk it out."

Rather than words, you feel a touch on your hand. Glancing back over, you see that Mockingbird has placed her much smaller hand over your own, her fingers interlacing with yours in a comforting gesture. She's blushing so much that it's detectable even behind her mask. But she doesn't stop. And when she finally does speak, it's in a quiet, sympathetic voice.

"I... I know it isn't easy," she says, giving your hand a hesitant squeeze. "To lose something like that. To feel like you can't go home."

Your throat tightens, as memories of the Second Circle spring to mind unbidden. Memories of your life there. Memories of the place that made you who you are. You struggle to remain in control of your emotions. But somehow... you don't think you're fooling Mockingbird. Maybe she's familiar enough with what you're feeling to see through a hasty pretense. Or perhaps she simply trusts in her own knowledge of how it feels, no matter how perfect any front you can muster might be.

After a few seconds, you do speak. "They'll understand," you say quietly, offering as much reassurance as you can. "Eventually... they will understand. Elianna and the Lust Queen both. We just have to pull off our plan. And until we pull it off..."

You look around, taking in the fortress. Taking in all you've built here. The Lust that you've cultivated in the hearts gathered in this place, binding them closer and closer in bonds of mutual passion and pleasure. Like a little piece of the Second Circle taking form in the mortal world.

And yet... you're forced to admit that it's something even more than just that. It isn't just the influence of the Second Circle here. It's the influence of what everyone has brought from their own pasts, to come together and make this place. Lily's old convent may have been destroyed... but the kindness and bravery she learned there are what gave her the strength to push back against Melca's demands, even before you arrived. That also forms a part of what this place has become.

Nor is it limited to her. Khaytala's mother. Verika's village. All the prostitutes who cared for Ceriss, including her mother. Nevati's elementals. The old dryads who found Fallhazel. And, of course... what Elianna did for a little girl named Polly. All of the heroines have drawn from where they came from, in order to help create this place you now share.

You turn back to Mockingbird, and finish your thought. "Until we pull it off... we'll still carry a part of that home with us. No matter what."

The words are what Mockingbird needs to hear. A few stray tears come to her eyes, tears that she wipes awkwardly away despite her mask. She believes you. Believes that it really will all work out.

Now you just need to make it happen.