A Drow's Dilemma Ep. 54: Bath

Author's Note:

A Drow's Dilemma began as a one-on-one roleplaying project and has been converted into a chapter-by-chapter format for weekly posting with the permission and assistance from my partner. It will contain a considerable amount of sexual themes such as femdom, lesbian, straight, 'reverse' rape, BDSM, group sex, romance, and other themes. The main goal of the story, however, is to tell an epic tale of adventures, gods and goddesses, fae, and nymphomaniacs. This episode and every episode to come will be available for free on Literotica for the foreseeable future. All characters that engage in sexual or suggestive situations are mentally and sexually mature: the human equivalent of 18 for their race.

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Episode 54: Bath

It was still raining pretty heavily outside, and only showed signs of getting worse when the party stepped out of R.I.S.A's pocket dimension. They had protection enough from the elements that it didn't bother them too much. "I would say that we travel through the night, but this rain will hamper even our darkvision." Ashyr commented. "We can still manage a couple hours of travel, I think." Then she summoned her mount. "We ready?"

With all the magical items that they had nowadays, the weather was pretty much irrelevant except for the small matter of visual range, as Ashyr observed. Caleldir summoned his horse after Ashyr did her mount. "I agree. We stop at night. I am ready."

"So am I!" Althaia said cheerily, already on the back of her Pegasus. The nymph stood out a lot from the group: for one thing, her winged horse was the only mount in the group not black or dark grey. Also, blue eyes instead of red. Apparently, the nymph gave the other three the most evil looking mounts she found because she thought it was funny. "We can fly just fine in this weather. I will go scout ahead! Mind the thick foliage!" With that, the nymph and her Pegasus disappeared into the rain.

Shaking his head, Caleldir turned his mount along the thickly brambled road.

Even with the smaller mounts, the forest proved difficult to pass through. In some parts, magic was required to go any faster than walking speed. It was nothing like the easy three day walk down an only slightly weathered road that the caravan had taken to escape from pursuers from Port Afron. There were still signs of the road, but most of it was mangled beyond usefulness. Some of the bits of road ended up high in the trees where vines had lifted it and just kept growing taller. The rain and wind made it difficult to hear anyone talking. It only got worse as the storm picked up. If they had been in a more open area, it would become every bit the 'caravan tipper' that Ashyr encountered the first day she joined the caravan, those couple of months ago. The wind, coupled with the chunks of road suspended in the trees, gave the party the interesting experience of having to avoid falling rocks as well as branches while in the middle of the forest. Ashyr quickly led them away from the road after the first rock fell and almost brained someone.

Selene's spider proved to be a good choice for the forest. It could stabilize itself much easier with its hairy eight legs. Selene was also quite pleased with how smooth riding it was. She also didn't seem at all plagued by motion sickness at these speeds. The direwolf fared the best out of all of them, leaping and bounding across obstacles and shrugging off thorny vines against its thick coat. Ashyr even seemed to be having quite a bit of fun with it, once she got used to how it moved. Bard seemed greatly amused with keeping up with (and trying to outdo, without much success) his mistress's magical mount, especially once a 'protection from elements' spell was cast on him.

It was probably Althaia's sense of humor again, but Caleldir could not help but feel as if he had got the short end of the stick when it came to his mount. The wolf and the spider seemed to be well able to clamber around everything, while the horse would have broken both of their necks by now, were either of them not magical beings who either could not break their necks, or simply needed to be thrown a whole lot harder for their necks to break. Also, thank Eternity for the fact that his clothing was runic in nature. If it had not been, well, it would have been soaked through, dirty, and in tatters by now. As it was, whenever something happened, he just repaired it. Until after one fall too many, he stopped caring. Let the world see how he really felt: damp and bedraggled.

He should have chosen the Chocobo. The ostrich-chicken may not have been all that dignified, but as he recalled from his books, the birds were quite good at leaping around obstacles. Like Ashyr's wolf. Which was also much cooler looking than his horse.

Thus it was that Caleldir was not the most cheerful of fellows as they rode (and not-rode) through the forest. He looked slightly surly, more from the the toxicity of his thoughts than the inconvenience of the forest. Normally, that would hardly have affected him at all. No, at most times he would have spent his effort marveling at the impressively, beautifully wrecked design that the road was sporting right now. It was quite aesthetic, he had to admit. He could appreciate a good ruin. Ruins were fun, after all, provided they did not hold the cursed spirits of people he had known in life. Those ruins were less fun.

Other than the weather, there seemed nothing much for the party to fight. There was no sign anywhere of animals, though that could easily be because they were all holed up in their own burrows.

"We gotta stop and wait for this storm to blow over." Ashyr finally yelled when it became too dark and stormy to see more than thirty feet in front of them. Even with the rings of protection and clothing they had, she was beginning to feel wet, cold, and miserable. It could have been entirely in her mind - not that that suspicion changed her feelings towards the weather. Without even waiting for the rest of the party to respond, she deactivated her mount and activated the portal into R.I.S.A.

"I agree wholeheartedly." Caleldir agreed wholeheartedly. It was redundant to say it twice, even if the second time was just in his head, but he really agreed wholeheartedly. His mood was in an unusual funk at the moment, and when that combined with the increasingly awful weather, his drive to get to Port Afron as soon as possible was severely lessened. He gratefully followed Ashyr into the portal.

Selene took a moment to point to the sky and loose a bright flash of purple light in the clouds to communicate to Althaia that they were turning in. Then she, too, gratefully went into the magical shelter.

R.I.S.A. had apparently stowed Tsabdrin back in his private quarters, since the drow was nowhere to be seen.

Althaia arrived a few moments later, soaking wet, her white gown clinging translucently to every line and contour of her body, making it obvious that she felt no need for such oppressions as 'underwear'. Since the nymph had perfect control over her clothing, and the way that the weather affected her, it was clear that the look was a deliberate choice. It irked Caleldir a bit, since by contrast he looked rather awful. "R.I.S.A.!" Caleldir called out to the A.I. "I think that we, or I, at least, need a nice warm bath. This gloom pierces right through the magic resistances."

"Fuck yeah." Ashyr agree emphatically. "Make it a big one. I think we'll all participate." At least she hoped all would participate. The ranger did not miss the sight of how Althaia's wet clothes clung to her perfect body. For some reason, it was slightly more erotic than just seeing the nymph naked. It probably had something to do with the presence of clothes trying to conceal her curves but doing an exceedingly poor job of it. It was like looking at a secret she was not meant to see - except she knew very well that the look was entirely intentional. She bit her lower lip, and gave Althaia a pointed leer.

Ashyr's sudden agreement that the three (four?) four of them should all take a bath together gave Caleldir some pause. Four people was two, or at least one, too many people in his opinion. At least this time there was not a Cieraela to make everything all awkward. He looked to the other three. Selene seemed rather down for the situation (that being something of an understatement, actually), and as for Althaia... he blushed when his gaze came to her, and looked away. It felt even more inappropriate to ogle her like this than when she was naked. Judging by the purple in Althaia's eyes though (which was a break from the controlled grey she used 95% of the time nowadays) the nymph was definitely keen on joining in. Well, as long as the situation did not devolve into an orgy, he was fine with it.

Selene had already prestidigitated any sign of wetness from her body. Even so, she looked at least as grumpy as the sire of her child. But when talk of a bath was uttered, she perked up just as much as her cousin had. "Count me in." Selene said, just as 'wholehearted' as Caleldir had been when he agreed that they should stop their travels for the night. Since her brother didn't seem to be there, she immediately let her clothes fall off as she walked toward the place the bathroom usually appeared.

"Too bad Tsabdrin can't join." Ashyr lamented. "He's really good at..." Her mouth paused in speaking so one corner of it could quirk upwards. "...baths." The ranger shot a wink at Althaia, the only one who would appreciate her innuendo. And appreciate it she very clearly did. Ashyr wondered whether the nymph was attracted at all to Tsabdrin - her eyes had been grey the entire time they interacted - but now Althaia's eyes were lustful purple, and her guard was down.

[I understand. Large bath for four. The Tsabdrin is not to be included.] R.I.S.A. verified. Caleldir noted that she had started referring to Tsabdrin as 'the Tsabdrin', which was odd, but probably not important.

The younger drow's nose crinkled and tongue partially stuck out of her mouth in disgust. "I would appreciate you not making lewd comments about my brother in front of me, dearest."

In a quick motion, Ashyr's arm slid around Selene's lower back to pull her cousin in to capture that tongue that so boldly stuck out of her cousin's mouth. "Sorry." She apologized, but it wasn't all that sincere. "I'm just excited to be out of the rain." That last bit sounded infinitely more factual. "Luckily for you, he needs to recover more before we should even discuss what he is and isn't allowed to... have access to." As she spoke, her clothes melted off of her body and both drow were suddenly and completely naked.

Meanwhile, Althaia almost certainly would have said something inappropriate even by drow standards in reply to Selene grousing about not wanting to hear about her brother's sexual skills, if Caleldir had not been quick enough to put a finger in front of her mouth before she could do so. So, she decided to simply suck on Caleldir's finger instead, giggling when he jerked it away. She pulled Caleldir towards her. "Ah, my cousin, the one male in the world that I know to be completely immune to my magical charms. I get the joy of relying only on the... physical ones. Never change." She gave him a quick kiss on the cheek, and let him go.

Caleldir, still looking overly bedraggled, simply sighed. Shaking his head, he turned towards the empty part of the room. It was probably pointless to look in a specific direction to talk to an A.I., but he felt that it was polite to do so. "R.I.S.A., you can open the door now." He said.

R.I.S.A. did so, the ordinary door appearing in the wall. [Once I have more power, I will decided on a specific floor plan. Althaia and I have been discussing some good ones. It will be a while before I have that sort of disposable energy, though. For now, enjoy a simple large bath.] The next bit that she said was rather quiet, as if the A.I. did not realize she was still talking. [Pity I cannot participate...] She muttered.

"What was that last bit?" Caleldir asked in confusion.

[Nothing at all relevant!] R.I.S.A. assured him.

"You know..." Ashyr began even though R.I.S.A. did not admit to saying anything relevant, "We could use the extra power..." She looked to Caleldir, and then in a slightly upwards direction as if that's where the A.I. resided in Ashyr's mind. "If R.I.S.A. were to join, we would have plenty of energy to work out an official floor plan..." Ashyr being, well, herself didn't understand why the A.I. and her 'master' couldn't be intimate with each other. After all, they were both attractive and both very much enjoyed sex no matter how much Caleldir protested.

Selene ignored her cousin's urging. By that time, she was more than used to Ashyr pushing everyone's boundaries. She was also used to circumventing them if they got to be too much. The pregnant drow had every intention to avoid the false succubus even if she was drawn into the orgy that seemed imminent. She entered the newly opened room and immediately waded into the pool that was prepared - she'd already prestidigitated any of the muck that found its way on her body. Even that much effort wasn't all that necessary; R.I.S.A. could filter the bath she'd prepared, as was demonstrated on Tsabdrin.

"I agree." Althaia assented to Ashyr's plan immediately. "She needs another boost of power. She should join us!" The nymph looked to Caleldir expectantly, knowing that the A.I. certainly would not appear in the bath unless Caleldir (or possibly Selene, considering that the A.I. tended to obey the prickly drow almost as readily as she did Caleldir himself) agreed to it.

Caleldir sighed. He had been quite content ignoring the fact that the A.I. who was, in a poetic sort of way, his child (or brainchild, at least), was now a pseudo-succubus. While not unaware that she tended to take her pleasure with Althaia and Ashyr whenever he was not around to observe it, he preferred things that way. He did not know how comfortable he felt watching her in that sort of situation. But that was all his own private hang-ups. It was not fair to penalize the rest of the group for that: and they really could use a significant amount of energy from the A.I. Not only for the just mentioned floorplan and whatnot, but more importantly so that they could access the Spider-Tank, which at the moment was in extra-dimensional storage and ultimately inaccessible. "R.I.S.A., if you wish, you can join us in the bathtub. You have been helpful beyond belief, and have more than earned some fun."

The A.I. made a sound that was something like an over-excited squeal. [You really mean it?] She said in overjoyed disbelief.

"Yes." Caleldir said. "I am very grateful to you for everything that you have done, for everything that you continue to do. I do not want to stand in the way of you realizing your full potential."

[I... I cannot thank you enough.] R.I.S.A. with obvious gladness. The A.I. promptly manifested in her perfectly detailed form, once more completely, opaquely materialized, so that no one would have thought of her as a projection. In a way, she really was not; Althaia and Ashyr had gradually discovered her various bodies were not illusions at all, but rather some form of manifestation. Notably though, she was not exaggeratedly sexual like she had been when trying to seduce Ashyr the first time. Under Althaia's aesthetic guidance, she had designed her form to be far more tastefully beautiful. Almost like Althaia herself, although not exactly the same. As Caleldir undressed, entered the bath, and sat by Selene, the A.I. slid into the pool as well, sliding over so that she was a few inches away from Caleldir, looking even more embarrassed and awkward than Cieraela ever had.

Althaia's eyes sparkled with amusement at the scene, but as her clothing went the way of everyone else's and she entered the pool as well, her attention turned more towards Ashyr, the taller nymph pulling the shorter drow onto her lap. Both Ashyr and Althaia seemed to have the same idea at the same time, for it was an equal effort to get her straddled over the paladin's legs. Ashyr then took up some soap and lathered it up so she could begin cleaning the woman in whose lap she was so comfortably situated. She began innocently enough - at her neck, rubbing down towards her collarbone, and then around to the back of her shoulders. The fact that she had to lean forward at the last part and partially press their breasts together was purely coincidental - if it had been anyone besides the ranger, of course. The drow and the nymph were truly of one mind in this matter, Althaia lathering up her own hands with soap at nearly the same moment as did Ashyr. She giggled a little when she realized that the two of them were practically moving in tandem. Once her hands were appropriately lathered, she started at Ashyr's hair, careful to clean all the odd little trinkets in there as well. No need for them to stay dirty.

As almost an afterthought, Ashyr reached out to grab at R.I.S.A's wrist and pull her towards nymph and nymphomaniac. No need to let her at Caleldir quite yet. She ran the risk of just scaring him away at the moment. That was the last thing that Ashyr wanted. It was not hard to pull R.I.S.A. towards the two of them. The A.I. may have wanted to sit nearer to Caleldir, but the artificial woman was really shy around the object of her loyalty, and was not about to make a move on him. At least not without a whole lot of prompting. So she realized that it was for the better that she be around the two sex-fiends, as opposed to the slightly more prudish couple over there.

Selene continued to ignore the exchange between Caleldir, R.I.S.A, and Ashyr - and now the ranger, paladin, and false succubus. She handed Caleldir some soap with an expectant look on her face. Then she turned her back to him and pulled her hair away from her dark flesh that was offered to him. Unlike her cousin, she looked intent on actually getting herself clean for the time being. "Get my back for me, darling?" She said - almost as if it have been a polite request. The way she said 'darling' didn't even sound as sarcastic as it usually did.

Caleldir was slightly relieved to have the A.I.'s physical body pulled away as well. He did not want to admit how nervous she made him for fear of hurting the poor Animating Intellect's feelings. He was far more comfortable sharing a tender moment with Selene. "It is my pleasure to be of service to you, my lady." He agreed. He began working on lathering up her back, combining the mundane act of washing with a little bit of his enchanting massages. The pale elf was feeling quite a bit more peaceful, but at the moment not all that aroused. Mostly, he just wanted to feel Selene's body in a comforting way.

This was a contrast to R.I.S.A. who was pulled into and met Ashyr's kiss with about as much enthusiasm as normal. As before, the A.I.'s body had a slight vibration to it, along with an electrical tingle across her skin. Meanwhile, her hands slid their way to both Ashyr and Althaia's backs.

So it was that two very different scenes began to play out in the exact same bathtub.

Selene made soft noises of pleasure at the feel of soap being massaged into her skin. Prestidigitation was fine, but sometimes the mage felt that it didn't get her as clean as she could be. There was nothing like the deep, satisfying cleanliness one felt after a good long bath with a pleasing partner. It was another one of those things that could have been entirely in her mind, but even if she was told as much, her feelings would not have changed on the matter. Caleldir seemed to think the same way: a cleaning of his mind more than his body. Even after washing Selene's back, he continued giving her a relaxing massage, kneading the tension out of her muscles. There was no need to speak out loud. Just enjoy this moment, and ignore the noises those three were making.