Breaking the Rules Pt. 12

"It's a relief, actually. No work or anything like it for a few hours."

"Damn this curse," Nuru said, twisting the ring on his finger for the hundredth time. He'd left his regular clothes behind to get worked on by the armorer, and had on a junky pair of canvas shorts and an old, faded tunic.

"Think it's time to get it lifted?" Dayo said, walking with him.

"Part of me says yes, but part of me says no," Nuru said.

"I still vote no," Ace said, holding up an odd circular contraption. He still had his bow and quiver, but had dressed down in simple wader pants and suspenders.

"Certainly not immediately. That costs money I need for other things," Nuru said. "What is that thing?"

"Vision shifter. Eats mana, and lets me see in a different spectrum. Look, you all are weird blobs of energy!"

He turned it so they could see him; he was a vague glowing shape as he pointed it at himself.

"What do you need that for?" Furaha said.

"I might see something stand out and pick up treasure lost in a shipwreck or whatever, right here in the sand."

"Oh, you and Ekene are still comparing your finds," Dayo said.

"I'm not expecting much out here, but you never know," Ace said. "Ooh, hang on!"

He darted away, leaving the horse to coast to a stop as he investigated one small thing or another.

"We're going to get there at midnight if you keep doing that," Furaha groused.

"Perfect time for your reveal!" Ace teased.

"I, for one, am going to be hungry before then," Dayo declared.

"Remind me how that's going to work again?" Nuru said.

"Mesi collected some tubers wrapped in thick leaves we can roast," Dayo said. "We build a fire, cook the fish that Ace is somehow miraculously going to acquire, and feast on rice cakes and have some wine that Furaha provided."

"Easy, friend," Ace said as his horse whickered nervously. "What is it? What's out there?"

"Random Encounter?" Dayo said.

"Vweeeheheheheee!" came a small, receding voice.

Nuru turned just in time to be yanked off his feet and start dragging across the ground.

"Nuru!" Furaha called.

"Gods above, not again!" Nuru cried out.

He scrabbled at the ground, managing to slow himself just slightly.

"!Allura Hadari!" A cacophany of whistles flew past Nuru and landed in the long grass.

The line around Nuru's leg went slack, and he scrambled to get it loose as a number of high-pitched screams accompanied a number of spots where the grass shook with some small spasming creatures. Before he'd gotten the knot worked free, it pulled again, jerking him to tumble suddenly and bang his elbow on the hard ground.

"Gah! Son of a-"

"We got you, Nuru!" Ace said, darting past, shooting arrows at the cries of pain in the rustling grass, silencing them and reducing the pull on the rope.

A familiar centipede shape rose up, curling. Nuru braced himself for what he knew was coming; the far end sticking up in the air would fall, and the other end would rise with the other end of the rope, pulling him close and picking him up as it rolled away. And it did fall- until the closer end started to rise, and Dayo's heavy staff smashed down, the blow all the more powerful from the rising force that was attempting to lift the last segment in the air. The line went slack again, and Nuru yanked, hoping to pull the end away.

"Don't let them get away!" Dayo called out.

"Coming to you!" Ace replied, and they both vanished in a puff of smoke.

CLUNKLUNKLUNK-CLUNK-CLUNK-CLUNK-CLUNK...CLUNK...CLUNK

Nuru stood up to see the centipede being bisected horizontally by Dayo's scythe as the valkyrie ran towards him, parallel against the direction the centipede was travelling, with Ace bracing behind and helping to keep the blade straight. Many but not all the segments were occupied as Nuru had suspected; several pygmy trolls that had not been struck by Needle Storm had been killed as their segments were torn through, and several more had bailed out just in time as the hairlike legs gave out and the contraption slowed and started to collapse. Dayo threw runes down in their path, and then cast.

"!Kankara Inji!"

The fleeing pygmy trolls slipped and skidded right into a soft puddle of earth at the end of an ice slick, forming a pile of bodies.

Dayo gave a dramatic pause before leaping into the air and aimed an arcane blast directly into the now-hardened mass of terrified peeping. "!Fashewar Asiri!"

The ground shook, and for a moment, all was quiet. Furaha came up beside Nuru, staring wide-eyed.

"God *damn* you guys tore them apart," Nuru said.

"Thank them, not me," Furaha said faintly.

"Don't sell yourself short, Furaha," Ace said, darting back to check on the horse. "You slowed them down and gave us a chance to recover initiative with that Needle Storm."

"Not today, dickheads," Dayo said, sucking in each of the pygmy troll souls before walking back towards Nuru with a bit of a swagger, adjusting their hat.

"I don't care if you're not wearing that tight dress, you are really fucking sexy right now," Nuru said.

Dayo colored. "Aw. You're just saying that."

"Because I just really mean it," Nuru countered.

"Come on, back to the road," Furaha said, tugging at the rope around Nuru's leg playfully.

"Hey! It's hard to walk when you're doing that, knock it off," Nuru chuckled.

"Lemme see," Dayo said, materializing the scythe again and turning it over so the blade stuck up.

The valkyrie put the knot of the rope right against the edge and sawed; it came apart in moments.

"Ah, much better," Nuru said.

"This wasn't a random encounter, was it?" Ace called over from the cart.

"I'm thinking not, these are the guys that got me and traded me to the other creeps," Nuru replied.

"Wait, wait. You're telling me Chibale had trouble with those crunchy little jerks?" Dayo said, eyebrow raised in confusion. "I mean, you're right, we totally pwned them all, hard. Not a single survivor, I think."

"I mean, I don't know what was in that mausoleum that he got yanked into, but... yeah, not a good look for him," Nuru said.

"Ooh, might give him a few days to dress his ego before you talk to him again then," Furaha said. "Where's Tusa, anyway? Did he not want to come?"

"Yeah... no. I think I might have pissed him off," Nuru said.

"OK, start over from the beginning," Furaha said. "We're all missing part of this story, I think."

"You started out with Chibale, right?" Dayo said.

"Yes. So we were going ghoul tipping..."

*****

"...and then he got mad thinking I was trying to hide from him the fact that it was Gram. I mean I kinda was not volunteering it, but I obviously told him when he asked," Nuru said, watching the fire settle down as Dayo put the tubers on.

"Holy smoke portals," Ace said from the shore. "That's a hell of a day."

He had unstrung his bow and was using it as a fishing pole at the place they'd chosen to stop.

"And you didn't think it was weird that Akua wanted to walk around naked? It didn't trip your memory about nymphs from school?" Furaha said.

"I guess I missed the part where they're possessive and... alright, yeah, I just heard how dumb that sounded coming out of my own mouth. I guess I just really wanted to believe that there was a human woman like that," Nuru said, hanging his head.

"Truly a romantic," Furaha said with a lopsided grin.

"Give him a break, he got abducted and then traded like a slave," Dayo said. "I might have been desperate for a positive spin on my day, too."

"So how are we getting fish, again?" Nuru said, scrutinizing at the pathetic-looking worm on the end of Ace's hook. "At this rate we're going to starve."

"Ooh, it's about time, isn't it?" Ace said.

He whistled.

"Skee?" Ekene popped her head up.

Click click chitter click.

"Yep, let's do it," Ace said.

"Skaaa!"

It took a minute, but soon the clear water showed the mermaid chasing a school of fish around. Slowly she herded it towards the small pool by the shore near the fire.

"Get ready to be amazed," Ace said.

The fish inched closer and closer. Finally a large portion of the school was in close quarters, and a fizzing noise accompanied a wall of opacity in the water; it bubbled and hissed at the surface even as the waves plowed through. The fish shied away from it, churning in a tight cloud of many flashing scales. Ace pulled a bomb and tossed it right in the middle.

"Loud noise!" he warned, covering his ears.

Everyone else did too, and held their breath. And waited. Ace uncovered his ears, then started preparing another one.

"Dangit. Must have been a dud. I'll have to get my money ba-"

GOOSH

The water erupted in a sudden explosion. Furaha screamed, then covered her mouth.

"Sorry! I was expecting it, and then I wasn't, and then it was worse-" she babbled.

Dayo gave her a quick squeeze on the shoulder.

"It's fine, don't worry about it," Nuru said. "Caught me off guard, too."

"You did that intentionally, didn't you?" Furaha glared.

"You see me laughing? I almost jumped in to go check it," Ace said, shaking his head. "And yes, I do know better."

"Alright, you've built enough anticipation, why don't you go ahead and make your grand reveal?" Nuru said, trying to defuse the tension a little.

Furaha took a deep breath. "Ok... yeah."

She started drawing a circle in the sand, and filling it with some kind of powder.

"That's a... containment ward?" Dayo guessed.

Furaha nodded. "I bought a new spell!"

"First time using it? How cool!" Nuru said.

"Oh, just wait. You're gonna love this, I guarantee it."

It took a minute, but fish started slowly rising to the surface. The wall of fizz dissipated, and Ekene darted around collecting fish and depositing them up on the sand. Ace grabbed a bucket and brought them all together, dressing them quickly with a knife, and then laid them in a couple of skillets.

"These are nice," Ace said. "I'll have to remember to thank Mesi for letting us borrow them."

"I think working at the inn has kindled an interest in cooking with her," Dayo said. "We all know waiting tables is a dead end, I think maybe she's figured out how to move to the next level in her career."

"That's wonderful, tell her I approve," Nuru said.

"I will," Dayo said.

"Somebody help me remember to check this so I flip them and they don't burn," Ace said. "This hourglass is a little off, I think. Five minutes a side."

"I got you," Nuru said. "I've got perfect musical time."

Ace waved Dayo over and whispered something in their ear.

"Oh. Sure," Dayo said, glancing at Nuru briefly.

Nuru looked back and forth between them suspiciously, but then got distracted by Furaha pulling something familiar out.

"Wait... that looks like- a summoning circle?!" he said.

Furaha smiled at him mysteriously. "Hold onto your hats, folks."

"And your genitals- ow!" Ace exaggerated the hit as she slapped him lightly.

"I thought you didn't do that," Furaha taunted him.

"Oh, gods, not what I meant!" Ace said, grimacing. "I meant so she doesn't steal them or whatever crazy thing. Like your hat flying away, you know."

"Walked right into it though," Dayo chuckled.

Nuru was now sitting straight up at attention, watching as Furaha set the circle in the middle of the ward area. This couldn't be what he thought it was... could it?

"Where did you get that, anyway?" he said.

"I was looking into your frienemy Abimbola, that guy with the sex slave and his own succubus," Furaha said. "Poor Suberi's not ready to leave. But I did learn he's got all the accessories, for the right price."

"Well, yeah but-" Nuru said.

"Look, if I'm a paying customer, I've got more leverage. This may work out still. Anyway, it serves our purposes, too."

Satisfied with the placement, Furaha stepped back out of the ward and took a deep breath. "Nuru, can you do something for me?"

"S-sure. What's that?" he said, giddy with anticipation.

"Ask Sanaa if she's ready."

Oh, yes. It was _exactly_ what he thought it was.

(Hey. You, um, busy right now?)

/Oh, hey, Nuru. I've got a minute./

(Furaha wants to know if you're ready...)

/Ah, yes. Tell her she can begin./

"She says you can begin."

"OK, here goes something.!Jiki Ruhu Sanaa!"

All eyes turned and remained fixed on the summoning circle. A roiling mist kicked up from the circle and slowly resolved itself into the form of the succubus. Nuru's mouth dropped open.

"Hello all you lovely people. So glad you invited me!" Sanaa said, stepping to the edge of the ward.

"It's you. It's really you!" Nuru said.

"Well, kind of," Sanaa said.

"It's a temporary summons," Furaha said apologetically. "You won't get to enjoy any of the food we brought."

"Mm, shame, that fish does smell good," Sanaa replied.

"Still! I could actually, finally, reach out and touch you," Nuru said, stepping right up to the ward himself. "Is- is it safe?"

"What part of, 'I'm a demon' suggests there's anything remotely safe about it?" Sanaa said, tilting her head forward and licking her lips with a suggestive wriggle.

Nuru was smitten. He couldn't help himself. He reached a hand out, past the ward, directly towards her shoulder.

"Careful! Don't break the circle in the sand!" Furaha said.

He jerked back, swallowing hard.

"Hell's bells, you'd think he likes me or something," Sanaa cackled at Furaha. "Come on, step carefully, you can enter. I just can't leave the ward circle. If the containment breaks, it'll send me back."

Taking a deep breath, Nuru took a long step over the circle and runes at the perimeter. He held a hand up, palm out. Sanaa did the same, and slowly closed the distance. Inch by inch, their skin drew together. And then, they touched. Nuru let out a sigh of wonder.

"You feel real."

"Since nobody's trying to kill me, I'm quite real enough for everyone's purposes," Sanaa grinned, glancing down for the briefest second, towards his briefs.

Nuru didn't think he'd ever been harder in his life.

"The big death won't take when I'm like this. But the little one will," she winked.

"Please wait until I'm done cooking before you get too involved," Ace said plaintively.

"Fear not, that isn't why I came here today. Great to see you again though, Nuru. Furaha, a minute? We have some things to discuss. Privately."

Nuru's lip quivered in disappointment, but he turned and stepped back over the circle as Sanaa shooed him away. He stumbled off to the side, and collapsed, shaking. She was there. She was right there. As real and enticing as his slightly-imperfect memories from shortly before getting Eidetic Memory had led him to believe. He turned his head and drank her in as he let his heartbeat slow to a mere fever pitch. He wasn't sure if it was the flaws in his recollection of the dream before his Eidetic upgrade, or just that she had actually changed when her skin had been transferred to the other demon, but she was slightly different than he'd expected - better than ever, if that was possible. Her body was a little bulkier, muscular in a sculpted way, giving her a more powerful presence and imposing a greater sense that this was someone to be respected, perhaps even feared. Her garb was less formal than the white dress and parasol from last time: a simple skintight pair of leggings, and a thin wrap of cloth that stretched around her bust, with no visible means of support. It didn't matter what she wore, though; she took his breath away, especially as she threw her head back with laughter at some joke between Furaha and herself. Oh, those two together...

Sanaa looked over, and he could tell she knew exactly what he was thinking. She grinned wickedly, then turned back and continued talking. He studied every curve, every detail. Now that he was looking for it, he could indeed see a pair of horns curling down behind her ears and forward, just at the right place for him to grab on and-

"Hey Nuru. How much time left?" Dayo said, breaking his reverie.

"Oh... uh..." he thought for a moment, blinking. "We're halfway done. With the fish."

Ace glanced over at the hourglass, and nodded, flipping the filets over, then the hourglass.

The spell was broken. Nuru's heartbeat slowed, his sweat began to dry, and his senses began to return. He didn't realize just how deeply infatuated he'd been in that short time. He missed it already.

Furaha stepped out of the circle, business apparently concluded. "I'm ready for libations, what do you all think?"

"Yes!" Dayo said.

"Gods, yes," Ace said.

"I'll have something if you're pouring them," Nuru said, getting back up and walking over to the ward.

"How do you like my aura? Bit of a kick to it, no?" Sanaa giggled.

"Exquisite," Nuru said, feeling his voice deepen far lower than usual.

"Gods below, that look never gets old. I fucking love it more than life itself," Sanaa said.

"How long can you stay?" Nuru said.

"Until Furaha's MP runs out, which is going to be regretfully soon. She just took a mana potion, and her INT is high so she's got great regen, but even that won't last. A complex creature like me, at my level - it's taxing."

"Long enough for me to eat you up?" Nuru said.

"Hey now, that's my line," Sanaa teased.

"You don't need that aura, you know. I've wanted you ever since I saw you in that dream where we first met."

"I know."

"Nuru? Time?" Dayo called out.

"One minute left!" he replied.

"Poor boy, you just can't help yourself. Right in your sexual peak," Sanaa sighed. "I barely have to lift a finger to get you excited. It makes me wonder if I'm not exploiting you unfairly. Over the line of consent, you know, that important principle we've recently agreed on. I have no guidelines to work with. Where is that line, exactly?"

"There certainly is a line. But I've also never been more certain that I'm not worried about it with you. I'm committed to this. And by all the gods above and below, I would give you anything to have five more minutes. Even just to talk in person."

"Didn't get the summon spell from Legba though, did you?"

"No," Nuru sighed. "But this is just as good! Isn't it?"

"For now," Sanaa agreed. "Someday though, you'll need me truly in the flesh. For, um, rising things. Me, that is. Ascension," Sanaa chortled at the look on Nuru's face. "Oh hells below you are just precious!"

"Isn't he though?" Furaha said with a knowing look.

"Go on, let someone else have a turn with me," Sanaa winked at Nuru.

Reluctantly he stepped out of the circle again, and snagged a rice cake out of a basket. Furaha handed him a glass, which he downed and then poured again, savoring the complex flavor the second time.

"This stuff's really strong," Nuru said. "I like it!"

"Got a minute?" Dayo said, stepping in.

"About that much," Sanaa agreed.

"A little privacy please," Dayo said over their shoulder.

Furaha and Nuru pulled back and went to look at the food. Ace had pulled the skillets off the fire and set them aside.

"Grab a skewer and help yourself," Ace said, having sliced a few tubers into pieces about the right size and piled them onto a plate. "If you want more you can cut them up."

Ace took a few skewers himself and wandered off to the beach and fed Ekene as she lay on her back on the beach. She seemed to be staring at the succubus thoughtfully in between bites.

"How come you never look at me like that?" Furaha said, elbowing Nuru in the ribs insistently. "What's she got that I don't?"

"That *aura*," Nuru said reverently.

Furaha smirked. "Yeah, I know; I'm kidding. I got a good taste of it myself in there. Found a headspace I hardly ever dreamed was possible. Ace! I'm running out of mana. You want to chat with her before she leaves?" Furaha called. "This summons has a massive cooldown. We're not going to see her again tonight. Now's your chance."