Breaking the Rules Pt. 16

"You too ohhhh shit here they come!" he said, spinning on his heel as half a dozen city guards drew weapons closing in the area.

Running on instinct, he picked one of the guards at random and ran directly for him.

"!Yi Mamaki!"

He cast the Entrancement without an actual plan in mind other than distraction; he'd briefly glanced at the ground and knew where the footsteps he wanted were, and as his opponent's face rushed in to meet him with a look of surprise; the man stumbled a little. The spell failed, but those few moments gave Nuru enough disorientation to work with, brushing past the man on his shield side, narrowly missing the sword the next man swung at him.

"Hey! You're wanted as a person of interest in a-"

"Sorry guys can't stay catch you later!" Nuru yelled over the man as he kept talking about charges being filed.

"You three! Bring him in!" the guard with the badge said. "You in there! You're all under arrest! Come out and don't make this harder than it has to be!"

The three guards on that street next to Nuru turned to give pursuit. Nuru heard a yelp as one of the guards behind him tried to enter the building and triggered a ward that threw him back.

"The tougher you make this, the more we're going to make it worth our while when we catch you!" one of the men following him said.

"Hey! You can't say that, it's against regulation!" one of the other said.

"Come on, we were going to, so what if we tell him? It might slow him down," another said.

"You wanna bet that's why the compound got raided? I told that stupid punk he was gonna bring down the-"

"Alright shut up you two, the boss is gonna have our heads if we shit on his procedures. This is a big case and we all know it. Hey bard, game's up. We're much better runners than you."

"That's what you think!" Nuru said, watching his cooldown indicator turning into a shrinking sliver.

He waited as long as he dared, hearing the grunts and heavy footfalls behind him growing closer.

"Ready?" one of the men said.

"Do it-" another started.

"!Kafa Mara Nauyi!" Nuru said, engaging the Weightless Foot one more time.

He turned a sharp corner just as one of the guards cast something and a web of some kind sprayed in the direction he'd been going.

"Agh, shit! I knew that was bad timing!" the man cursed behind him.

"Again! Catch him- damn! This fucker's got Weightless Foot!"

The guards behind him cast it as well and kept coming on. Nuru reached the edge of town and saw Tusa standing off in the distance; he made a bee-line directly for him.

"Tusa! Slow them down, but don't kill them!" Nuru yelled as he got close. "!Tsoratarwa!" he cast back over his shoulder, hoping Tusa could leverage the effect of Intimidate, even if it was only momentary.

The lyena charged right for them, then came to a stop just in front and to the side of Nuru and gave a howling War Cry as he ran past the feliform.

"Gyaahhhhh shitballs on a stick, I don't get paid enough for this!" one of the men screamed as the other two yelled in terror and tumbled wildly in different directions, unable to get enough traction to change direction in time and instead thrown in all directions as they bounced off of Tusa's flank.

Nuru took a long route back to his cave hideout, never going directly at it in case one of them was following and managed to escape his notice. He arrived and found that the box of massage oils was sitting in the open a short walk from the cave entrance, and he picked it up and lugged it inside under the cover of the wards. He watched for Ace's horse to show up, but Tusa arrived first.

"!Fassada Girma! How did it go?"

[They are not trackers. They did not return to the city, but they may simply be unwilling to appear without their prize.]

"Their boss is going to be mad. They're probably making up some wild story about how impossible it was to catch me; they might say an entire pack of lyenas attacked them. How do you feel about that?"

Tusa flexed his jaw and bared his teeth. [Just fine.]

Nuru laughed, and settled in to wait.

*****

"There you are!"

Nuru looked up. "Zula! So good to see you!"

"Oh no, the pleasure is all mine, I'm certain."

"Why do you say that?"

"Nuru, you never sent word that you were OK, you just up and vanished one day, leaving such rumor behind. What was I supposed to think? Clearly I didn't leave as much of an impression on you as you did on me."

"Now wait just a minute, I've been-"

"No, no. No need to explain, I've accepted my place in your life- for now. But you still owe me. And I think I'm going to collect."

"Well, if you insist. What is it you want?"

"If I can't have you as my man, I can at least have your children. Don't worry, I won't ask you to help raise them."

"Um..."

"What, do you object to even the act of copulation to me? Am I really so plain?"

"No, no! You're-"

"Maybe it's just the robe. Here, is this better?"

She untied the sash and let the robe fall open, revealing the skintight body suit she wore underneath.

"...wow."

"That's a little better, hmm? Good. Now, let me show you my bed-side manner."

She stepped closer, hips swaying seductively, and laid her arms on his chest, leaning forward to let him look down her cleavage.

"I wish you could have come with me," Nuru said, but she shushed him.

"Don't make this awkward with words neither of us believe. I just hope one day you decide you want to settle down; maybe then you'll think back on today, and think better of me. My family is rich, you could definitely do worse."

"Please, like some gold digger dude won't snatch you up by then," Nuru said. "Or a decent paladin."

"Men are scoundrels, Nuru, you know this. I'm beginning to doubt any of them could measure up to my standards. Gods above only know why I can't let you go- now shut up and kiss me."

He kissed her, and she growled hungrily against him.

"Gods, I told myself I was going to go slow, not make myself look like a complete whore. But I just can't wait."

She tore at his clothes, getting down on her knees and sucking his cock into her mouth greedily, and stiffening him up in no time.

"Oh goddess below, that's so good."

"Just wait until you see what's under all this clothing," she winked at him, then took him halfway down her throat in a single thrust.

"Gyuuuuhhh! Where did you learn that!?"

"Natural talent," she teased. "It's not learned, it's just who I am. Pity you're too big to fit all the way..."

Something ticked at the corner of his awareness, threatening to distract him.

"Wanna see what else I am?" she said, starting to tug at the body suit. "Oh shoot, I think I'm stuck."

"Need some help?"

"Yes. I need you to take this knife and cut it off of me."

"What!? But that's nice and custom tailored, it's must have cost-"

"Rich family, remember. I don't care, I need you in me as quickly as possible."

She handed him a sharp, curved knife suitable for slicing the cloth right down her body.

"And you just happen to carry exactly this implement with you?" he teased.

The thing ticked at his awareness again. Something was wrong, but he was having trouble bringing himself to care.

"Are you going to chatter at me about how lucky you are, or are you actually going to get lucky?" she said.

Nuru chuckled. "Very well, madam. Hold very still, I don't want to slip."

She stood tall and let him look every inch of her hard body over as he pulled threads away from her skin, and severed them to reveal the supple flesh beneath.

"Adventuring suits you," he murmured appreciatively.

"I bet your dick does too, considering everything I've been hearing about it," she said. "I can't wait to find out how much of it is true. My mouth can't take you completely, but I know what will."

She cupped her breasts at him, and jiggled them lasciviously, then laid down and spread her legs. "Come on, don't keep a girl waiting."

He wasted no time climbing on top of her and plunging straight in.

"I'd go down and get you started, but the lady insists," he grinned at her.

"Indeed I- oh!- I do, I do! Remember those two words, you might need them someday," she laughed.

"Fucking heaven, you're so tight. I'm not going to last."

"Don't worry baby. Just remember you can come back to me and take all the time you need," she cooed.

A few strokes more and he came, hard.

"Urrgggghh! Fuck! It's like that cunt was made for me!"

"It's yours anytime you want baby..."

The thing ticked again. Nuru reached over and pinched himself. And felt nothing.

"Wait a minute. Sanaa, is that you-?"

*****

Nuru sat up, breathing hard. He tugged at the succubus.

(Hey. What was that all about? I know that was you putting that dream in my head.)

/I thought it was better than you waking up screaming in terror. More fun for me, too./

(Screaming about what?)

/You were having nightmares. Something about that last dungeon crawl./

(Oh. The women that died. I can still see their faces, all angry or horrified or in pain... dead... bloody...)

/You aren't cut out to be a fighter, I'm afraid./

(Is that supposed to be a compliment? Because that's kinda how I'm taking it, based on your tone.)

/Remember who you're talking to. I go for a gangbang over a gang beating, every single time./

(Right, of course it's a compliment.)

Nuru took a deep breath and went out of the cave. "Come on, Ace, where are you?"

Nobody answered.

"Dangit, I don't even know where everybody went. Tusa, stay here and come find me if a horse shows up."

He figured he'd better not hang around. If the Legion was on the move, chances are the whole area was going to be swarming with people that considered themselves his enemy. He'd napped a few hours, and he needed a new plan to be away soon. If rumors were true, the Legion often found it had nothing better to do than throw a bunch of people at a problem, and because of recent faction initiatives they would be looking for someone of his description already, even if he wasn't known to be involved with this latest altercation which for the sake of safety he'd better assume he was. He left his drum, scrolls, and everything else he had in order to load up his inventory from Furaha's box, and looked for a good spot to bury a bunch of oil bottles. Finding a dip by a tree where a root had rotted away and left a hole behind, he called for Tusa.

"How good are you at digging?" he said.

[Better than you.]

"OK. I don't mind getting my hands dirty, but I'm sure you're faster at this, and we're going to have to split before sundown. Can you dig out this hole a bit deeper?"

Tusa started spraying clods of dirt out behind him.

"Woah, woah, woah. I need to be able to make this look to humans like there's no hole here after I put some stuff in it. Can you do this without making a huge mess? Like, scoop it into a mound we can push back over?"

The lyena snorted and reduced his energy such that the dirt only flew to land between his rear legs.

"OK, I think that's enough," Nuru said after a few minutes. "Let me grab another load of this and we'll get out of here."

He dumped his inventory of bottles in the hole, and went back to the cave, with Tusa following. Still no horse.

"Time to make our own luck," Nuru said, picking up everything except for a few mostly-empty small boxes and bottles that he didn't have room for.

They returned to the tree, buried everything as best they could, and Tusa churned and stamped the soil with his paws to make it look like it had always been that way.

"Alright, let's get out of here."

[If you want this place not to be examined too closely, we need to leave a better trail.]

"Er... what?"

[If they follow your tracks to the cave, they will then follow them here. Most humans can't see five feet in front of them, but a few are clever. They may find your goods. We must give them a better trail to follow.]

"OK, show me."

[I smell many humans approaching. Do not let yourself be separated.]

"Not getting distracted, got it."

Tusa took off, and Nuru activated Weightless Foot to keep up. They backtracked to a spot that Tusa liked, where he again covered their tracks a bit the way they'd just come, and then started off in another direction until they were some distance away from the previous path.

[You must let your tracks be seen now. Do not give them a need to look further.]

Nuru let Weightless Foot lapse, and trudged on as well as he could trying to keep up but not make too much noise.

"Where are we going?" Nuru said.

[Nowhere. But the path must lead away. Do not tell me our destination yet, lest you prejudice my steps.]

(Hey, I have a question. How come ghouls are all the same level?)

/I doubt if they are. Vampires level at the same rate as other mortals, they must have many of both high and low EXP./

(But they haven't been so bad lately. Wouldn't the high-level ghouls be drawn to the low-level areas for easy food?)

/Something to ask your vampiress friend, perhaps. I am not young by your standards, but I do not get much time in your realm to know these things./

He fell into his own thoughts, quietly practicing layers of rhythms on the side of his drum and his own leg.

[Now tell me our destination. Let us end the trail here.]

"!Kafa Mara Nauyi! We shall go to the Diamond Dales."

Tusa took off without another word, stepping lightly and looking for the hard ground on which to step to minimize the impression of his paws into the ground. Nuru tried as well to step lightly, using short strides to minimize the weight he put on any particular step, and followed in Tusa's footsteps as best he could. According to his World Map, they weren't heading straight for Diamond Dales, but close enough that he didn't feel the need to question Tusa about it. Weightless Foot entered cooldown, and Tusa came to a sudden stop.

"What's the matter?" Nuru said.

[We wait until you can step lightly again.]

"Is it that important?"

[If you wish to leave them behind long enough for the trail to vanish, yes. Your instinct is to move as quickly as possible, but the smart prey will take care to make the chase as wearisome and difficult as possible, to dissuade the predator from the pursuit. In nature, one does not have to be the fastest. One must simply not be the easiest available catch.]

Nuru sighed. "I guess if they figure out where we're going, they could cut us off from the other end. We wait here."

Tusa sniffed the air constantly, and Nuru kept looking over his shoulder, sure that at any moment Legionnaires would be bursting through the bushes to catch him. But cooldown expired and they took off again, gracefully flitting over the ground, mile after mile. Afternoon turned into evening, and the tiresome uphill slope turned back down as they neared the dales. They rejoined the road at a fork, where a fair bit of traffic was flowing. Tusa kept off the road itself as he was bound to draw attention, but a lone bard was just another random traveler unless you were looking for Nuru's particular description, and while he was sure that was true of the Legion particularly, if he didn't attract attention most people would probably have other things on their minds. With the drum stowed away in his pack, he felt fairly confident that he wasn't particularly memorable and so, slowing to a confident walking pace, he joined the steady flow of traffic where he could blend in. He stepped off the road for a moment, pretending to relieve himself.

"Alright, we'd better part ways here. I can call you if something dire happens, but I don't think you'll be able to keep a low profile inside the city."

[You will be unprotected. The city is dangerous.]

"Especially for you. Everywhere is dangerous for me, but I know someone there. At least in the city, there are no ghouls. Or, at least, relatively few ghouls."

The streets were mostly empty now, but there were still a few people going about their business, and a few drunkards wandering. So now he had a choice - take the city streets, where he probably wouldn't be attacked, or take the alleys he already knew, which took him pretty much straight to Tatenda's place, but had who knew what sort of unsavory characters hanging out, particularly at this time. He hadn't asked why the alleyway route at the time, he just knew it had been part of some test. But maybe it was also an area of control, where he could keep quiet who was visiting, and Nuru very much needed that right now. Still, he didn't want to go in assuming it was completely safe, either - Ace had been with him last time, and had been needed.

(Hey. Mind keeping my eyes peeled for me?)

/Find a mirror and I'll be happy to. We'll play a little game I call 'name that pose.'/

(I think I know where to find one. I need you to watch out for me on the way there, though.)

/Well, I've got a visitor, but I'll see what I can do. He won't be staying./

(The friendly kind, or...?)

/The kind who's going to underestimate the strength of my wards, just like the others./

(You'd think they'd have learned by now.)

/I can see how you might think so. But demons are distrustful of rumor; we tend to spread stories about ourselves that are inflated, to scare off challengers. If anything, I've been underinflating mine, and letting others spread the tales of my successes. Those come expecting a lower-level succubus, with wards of only the mana strength I could previously create without you, which has been known or closely estimated for some time. My strength is nearly double now, and so I've had a few come in expecting to just walk right through them. By the time they learn otherwise, it's too late./

(Don't your neighbors see what happens? Won't they sell you out at some point?)

/That is a concern. For now, my thrall, the former fieflord, is watching their movements. He should know before anyone moves against me, but he's got his own blind spots. I've been doing them a few favors to stay on their good side; now that you mention it, it might be time to go renew those bonds. I've been trying to leave my own space as little as possible in order to cover up my progress, but there are risks in staying shut in too tightly as well. Free EXP if you listen in. Did I mention you get to listen to my partners now, too?/

(I noticed you added that into our little addendum. Why wasn't that a feature from the beginning?)

/I could say I wasn't sure if you'd go for it, given how tenuous everything was at first, and you kept pushing back on everything else I wanted besides your MAG. But that might be giving myself too much credit. Truth be told, I had no idea it would come in useful for your corruption, or I'd have kept pushing for it. I figured hearing my half of an encounter was enough at first, because I'd be mostly using it to keep the upper hand in our relationship./

(Yeah, how did that work out for you?)

/You tell me. How much are you worried about Katlego breaking free of the Plant Suggestion?/

Her tone twisted the meaning of the words, asking if he was willing to say she was no longer the stronger of the two of them, and risk her retaliating by pulling the plug on his magical protection from a volatile and skilled thief he loved fucking instead of fighting with - a fight they both knew he would lose.

(I- Hm. I guess you're still doing fine.)

Nuru got a headful of Sanaa's deep-belly laugh.

/I see why the gods put up with all the rules. Toying with mortals is fun./

(Are you telling me you've been faking a good time until now? You, a succubus!?)

/Sweetie, I've been enjoying a lot of our time together. It's just more fun to share - and you're the one I have to share with right now. It's just not the same sharing a joke with thralls, you know. They have to laugh./

(It's also not the same sharing your sadistic glee with the person you're torturing.)