A Drow's Dilemma Ep. 63: Tides Turn

-I guess it's my fault for summoning him with a rusalka already on you.- Selene admitted. She must have felt comfortable in his embrace if she was willing to admit fault in something. Selene was just so relieved that everything had turned out so much better than anyone could have hoped for. Good luck was on their side, it seemed.

-But, you seemed to have got him eventually, since I came to like this.-

-Yes, I got him eventually. With the image and emotion so immediate, her answer came with a brief impression of the event: wild, demanding, but no less pleasurable. -That was because we realized that sex can regenerate him back into you. Ejaculating twice seemed to accomplish this. I guess you don't go back to normal, though? I don't know why you still appear to be him - in form, anyway.- She supposed that was a good thing, lest the other fey decide that they could push him around in Goelon's absence.

-I am not regenerated back to normal, which is not a good thing. This form is unstable outside of the monastery, and will gradually deteriorate unless fed regularly. Otherwise, it will wither away to an actual ghost, as opposed to... whatever this is.- Caleldir did not entirely know. He did know that normal ghosts could not resurrect by draining life. -And he, I, gets power from sex. Huh. I should tell Risa that she is just like me.- He glanced over at the rusalka. -We should probably negotiate that contract.- Communicating by thought was much quicker than by word, but a few long moments had passed and he did not know how restless that would make the vengeful fey. Which were now his allies, apparently.

She looked out at the rusalka. The quicksilver-haired one was just on her way back with a platter of food similar to the one the redhead had procured, but this time there was about twice the food on it, and several cups of clear liquid besides. She set it down next to the couple. Everyone present gave the two of the strange, calculating looks. They were decidedly not nymphs when it came to cuddling companionably as Selene and Caleldir were doing. No, that require too much trust and affection, something these fey were entirely lacking.

"Are you ready to negotiate the terms?" Rostimira asked with a hint of that growing impatience Caleldir was worried about.

"I am definitely ready to negotiate terms." Caleldir replied to Rostimira. "So, what did you have in mind?"

Meanwhile, Althaia and Ashyr finally managed to reach the point where they could see the surface of the rusalka pool. They encountered quite a string of good luck that managed to get them through the labyrinth nearly as fast as Althaia's rush to save Ashyr from the 'fishmen.' When she thought she could make it to the surface on her own, Ashyr broke her lips from Althaia and swam up. She crested the water with a gasp of wonderful air not sourced from the lungs of a nymph.

The scene at the pool's edge gave her pause. She sat there, treading water, breathing heavily, and staring wide-eyed at Goelon - no, that was Caleldir? In Goelon form? And Selene was coupling with him? And the rusalka were waiting on them with platters of expensive food and pillows fit for a lord? The fuck? It was exactly the opposite scene she expected to encounter.

Althaia broke the surface of the water when Ashyr did, sliding herself out onto the side of the pool. She glanced around at the scene. It was a strange one indeed. "The weird fish-things are dead." She said cheerfully. "Very dead indeed." She glanced around, and frowned. "Did Nemenja make it back fine? I hope she was not caught in that cave-in."

"No, we have not seen Nemenja." Rostimira said. It didn't seem to worry her. Nor did the information about her fishmen.

Althaia looked distressed. "Oh dear. I will have to go looking for her if she's gone too much longer."

"Welcome back, Ashyr and Althaia." Caleldir said. "I suppose you will be wondering what happened while you were gone." He glanced at Selene. "Selene, could you help me to stand?" It was a more polite request than: 'I feel awkward negotiating with a pack of fey with my cock inside you, please allow us to decouple.'

"Oh, fine." Selene said with a sigh. Regret filtered through the last of their connection before they were alone in their minds again. Well, as alone as Selene could be with the lawful neutral staff trying to act as a conscience within her mind whenever she was thinking particularly evil thoughts. Selene stood among the rest of them, unconcerned with her nakedness.

Once he was standing, Caleldir tried to activate his clothing, only to find that the rune was not working. Whether that was because of Selene's close contact disrupting it, or because the rune did not work in ghostly form, he did not know. Goelon always seemed to be clothed if he wanted to be, and that clothing seldom had much to do with what Caleldir had been wearing, so perhaps he just did not know how to dress himself in this form. How embarrassing. He decided to just pretend that he was staying naked because all the cool kids were naked. "Selene, please fill in Althaia and Ashyr as to what is going on while Rostimira and I discuss terms."

Ashyr pulled herself out of the water as gracefully as possible. She still looked clumsy compared to the denizens of the water. "What happened, dearest?" She asked her cousin with soft curiosity. Selene didn't respond until the two drow could touch each other. Then they met eyes - Selene with a haughty little grin, and Ashyr with obvious surprise. The two of them went through a quick range of emotions that lasted mere seconds. At then end, they nodded to each other and turned toward Althaia.

"The rusalka did the predictable. There are six of them, including the blonde. They decided that they liked Caleldir and wanted to keep them. Things got desperate, and I managed to summon Goelon. There was a rusalka fucking him at the time, which apparently felt good enough that he was up for negotiations instead of decimation." Selene explained quickly. She decided to spare the nymph the worst of the details.

Althaia listened to Selene's explanation of what happened with some impatience, then dived down under the water, determined to follow the passage back to the cave-in, and dig through it if need be. Her healing might be needed. The other rusalka may not have cared about their potentially fallen comrade, but Althaia did.

"Nemenja can handle herself, nymph." The dreamy white-haired rusalka told the spot where Althaia disappeared. It would take more than a little cave-in to endanger the rusalka. But the paladin seemed intent on worrying, and the rusalka really didn't care what she did. No one tried to follow her.

Caleldir turned to the leader of the rusalka while this was happening, and bowed gracefully. "If I know Goelon at all, I can guess that he was not very diplomatic with you. I extend my apologies. Now, can you explain what you wish of us, and what you offered in exchange?"

"We merely want the same deal." Rostimira told Caleldir. "We are provided everything we may want down here. Food, drink, the occasional man or two to play with - all are provided by Lord Faust. We stay here mostly, but sometimes he calls us up to use our song." She explained. "Our kin to the northeast may call on him, and people will be sent to assist us depending on our need. Usually it's when the population of the lesser races decide that we all need to die. Happens every few years." Rostimira shrugged like it was a simple fact of life.

Caleldir nodded. "So... you want supplies, and toys." He glanced at where Althaia had disappeared, wondering if she would agree to the plan that he was about to negotiate. "I am guessing that the men that you take come to bad ends, for the most part?" He sighed. "I will send them down here as an execution, then." 'Raped to death by sadistic rusalka' was not exactly a kind method of execution, but there were worse ways to go. "Or will you be wanting me to report to you as part of this bargain?" He was not quite sure about bargaining away his body for the services of these women, but... No, he would let Ashyr and Selene decide if they were okay with that.

"I understand most of the males we got to play with were rapists or murderers - or at least that is what they always begged to be forgiven for in the end." This brought a grin of fond remembrance to her face. "Goelon also advised that we continue to use your seed. You create paragons, yes? As I said, most of us would like to go home, and will leave daughters in our place."

"Absolutely not." Ashyr and Selene said at pretty much the same time. The older drow coughed and looked embarrassed. "I mean, if Caleldir does not want to, we will not make him father an entirely new generation of fey - ah, more than he already might have." After all, if everything went to the presumed plan with the other fey who'd captured and raped him, he very likely would have five fey daughters running around by this time next year.

"He has already seen to half of us." Rostimira responded with a mocking little smile.

Ashyr wiped a hand over her face. Eight. Eight daughters. She shouldn't have cared; her drow sensibilities told her that those offspring weren't really Caleldir's. They were their mother's. But she did care. She cared for his sake. She cared that parts of him she may never know could soon exist. It was a complicated mix of emotions, and something she didn't want to think too hard about. "Half will have to satisfy you for now. Surely, you don't all want to be pregnant at the same time."

"You have a point there. " The leader of the rusalka conceded.

"Yeah... I am not too keen on that facet of the bargain either." Caleldir said uneasily. He hoped that one round of intercourse had not been enough to get any of them pregnant. Fey generally were not quite as fertile as humans, and even those exemplars of fecundity usually were not impregnated from any single sexual act. Well, unless they were ovulating. He was not quite sure what the rusalka equivalent was but hopefully he did not have another three daughters. One was enough for the time being. In a bit of forgetfulness, he neglected to remember the nymphs or the mad dryad, who in theory could have conceived as well.

"Fine. As long as we are given other handsome males to play with, we accept this.

He sighed. "I cannot guarantee that those executed will be handsome by fey standards, but I am sure we can at least feed you the rapists." Now there was so karmic justice right there. "If you do find another pet monster, I suggest that you channel your sadism towards it more subtly. The naga were very poor guards, after all, because they were unwilling."

"And... well, are you certain that the rusalka I have... been with are all pregnant? It seems rather early to tell." He noted. Then, he realized that his wishful thinking was implying that he wanted to make sure the job was done correctly, and so stepped back, hands warding such implications away. "Not that... never mind." This conversation was terrible.

Rostimira simply gave Caleldir a little smug smile. She didn't seem to want to divulge whatever secret thing was in her mind. Selene squinted at the leader of the fey, but could glean nothing from the rusalka's mind no matter how hard she concentrated. Apparently, mental communication was only something Selene could do with the willing. And perhaps only with people she felt especially close to. More tests were needed.

The lack of information was disconcerting. That smug smile said too much. Then again, it could just be posturing... Caleldir sighed. He really did not know what to make of the rusalka.

Moving on... "I imagine that your northeastern sisters would be less of a target if they confined their cruelties to those who would not be missed." Caleldir mused. "But then again, racism may play a part too. Very well, when your kin call on me, I will answer. And perhaps ensure/negotiate an end to such existential threats." He nodded, imaging ideas of how he could do that. "But, in the meantime, I ask that you release those naga you have enslaved. They will not be necessary in the future. Also, if you stop people sneaking around here, I ask that you bring them to the city authorities, and by extension, Ashyr and myself (though we may not always be in town, we will always be reachable soon) without permanent damage. Roughing them up is fine. I merely would like to figure out who and why people are cavorting around where they should not, and if you kill them I have no way of finding out why they are there, or otherwise gathering information. Are these terms acceptable?"

"Your terms are acceptable." She held up one left finger and laid her corresponding right finger across it. "We do not need the naga. Like the fishmen, we grow tired of them. All they do is complain. We will find some other pet monster who will not whine about their task." Then she held two fingers up, and repeated the action of lying a finger from her other hand across the two. "As for bringing interlopers to you, we will do this thing. Especially if we are promised a little... entertainment before we come back here."

"I can assure you that you will be rewarded for cooperation. I may have Goelon's power at this exact moment, but I recognize that both carrots and sticks are necessary for a good bargain, not just the stick. Both of us needs incentive to keep the bargain, and decentive to break it. So, I will assure you, that as long as you abide by the above terms, I will make sure that you are treated well and fairly." After all, 'usually evil' did not mean necessarily 'stupidly treacherous.' Although if his Detect Law had reacted to them, he would be more confident about all this. Selene was reliable, after all, even if she was until recently a rather malevolent character.

The other rusalka shared toothy grins. It was pretty clear what they expected the reward he was talking about to be. Their eyes slid across the male's naked form. Lips were licked. The occasional throaty giggle echoed in the cave. Rostimira stood in the center, tall and proud, and no doubt thinking of very wicked things.

"It is a deal then. We now hope for Lord Faust's death; we like our deal with you so much better." Rostimira informed them.

"When Faust is defeated, I will return to let you know of the situation above." He assured the leader of the rusalka. "Further details then depend on the status of the city and where I will likely be headed to next. My friends and I are adventurers, after all, we are do not often linger in one location. I will make absolutely sure that I will be easily recalled in case of a distress call in order to fulfill our bargain, however."

With that, negotiations were concluded. While they waited for Althaia to return, the lesser rusalka offered the party food, water, and a comfortable place to relax. They did not try to repeat their song or their rape of Caleldir, though it seemed that more than one of them had such temptations. All that was required to change their minds was a stern look from Rostimira.

Caleldir was desperately hungry, feeling his ghostly form slowly decaying did that to him, but ate sparingly. He was not sure about how they would react to him eating too much. He instead resolved to recover enough energy to stabilize himself once they were out of the sewers.

Althaia moved quickly, but did not find any evidence that Nemenja had been killed or injured. Shrugging, she determined that the rusalka was likely fine, or she would have found some evidence she was not, and returned to the pool along with everyone else. Of course, that too awhile, no matter how fast she swam, so all negotiations were well over by the time she had returned. She popped out of the water again.

Caleldir almost jumped to his feet. The rusalka were making him rather nervous, after all. Once more, he tried to conjure some clothing, but failed. The rune definitely did not work when he was ghostly. Well, he could not run around Port Afron with his junk hanging out. Perhaps it was time that he resurrected an old illusion spell...

"Still dead, eh Caleldir?" Althaia joked. "I will fix that for you in a bit."

Mentally, Caleldir slapped himself. He had forgotten that they had a healer in the party.

"Are we good to continue on with our mission once more?" Althaia asked her three party members.

Rostimira stood. "Mirjana, show them the way out of the sewers and into the gardens. If you see Nemanja, tell her to not try to stop them." The leader said with a casual wave of her hand.

The redhead stepped forth, her eyes fixated on Caleldir. "If you are ready, my lord?" She asked softly. Somehow, she made 'my lord' sound mocking.

"So... your name is Mirjana?" Caleldir asked of the redheaded rusalka. If he had any blood, he would have blushed. Looking at her reminded him of being trapped between her and Rostimira. Which caused his cock to twitch with the memory. If he did not watch himself, he would be erect again.

"My name is Mirjana." The redhead confirmed with a small smirk. "Rosti must think you a good pet, to be giving you my name." It was difficult to tell whether she was teasing or not. "But I do not know why a name is important." She shrugged, as if to say she neither knew nor cared. She brushed past him after those words, and as she moved her hair lightly clung and caressed against his skin, right through the illusory clothing. It was a soft, almost soothing sensation compared to the firm hold she could inflict upon him if she really wanted to. Those rich auburn locks only touched him for as long as it took for her to walk by and take the lead.

"A name is important because it is what transforms you from an object to a person." Caleldir muttered. In Celestial. He felt he had to say something but he also felt that Mirjana probably would not care about his opinions on the matter. The brush of her tresses did not help his arousal go down. So, he simply cleared his head of all (most) such thoughts, and took Ashyr's hand. He felt vaguely more comfortable with her than he did standing too close to Mirjana. Although, it was quite convenient having her there to prevent them from being propelled back to the rest of her kin.

Snapping his fingers, he created the illusionary clothing. Not that it would do any good to hide himself from fey. Most fey easily saw through illusions, after all. "Right behind you. And you really do not need to call me lord. It would probably be the best of you did so with Goelon, though." He cocked his head.

Althaia, being what she was, felt no need for clothing. She would dress once she reached civilization, but down here among her kindred (even if they were decidedly unpleasant, evil relatives) she would return to the traditional mode of dress. Obviously. She decided to bring up the rear, but not too far from the others in case Mirjana got ideas.

The drow activated their rings to clothe themselves. They were no nudists.

With that, the journey to the gardens began.