Drow's Dilemma Ep. 101: Paladins

Dahlia, for her part, endeavored to get Caleldir's mind off of things by trying to distract him from his lab work with some more 'hands-on' experiments. She had recently been well-sated, so it wasn't even about the sex. It was more about pestering Caleldir just enough so that he'd hopefully concentrate on complaining about her (and fending her off if he was so inclined) rather than thinking about rescuing Ashyr. She didn't like the unsettled feelings that were rubbing off on her.

Then, a cheerful update came from Risa and a portal opened in the main hall. Everyone - Selene, Sidhriia, Dahlia, and Caleldir - had reconvened when it was about time for Risa to come back. And so, they were all present for when Althaia and Phanuel stepped out of the portal. Althaia looked queenlier than before, standing there with a serious but profoundly happy expression.

"Good to see you all again," the nymph paladin said seriously. "It is tragic that it should have to be an emergency like this to bring us together, but it is what it is." She gestured over Phanuel. "Incidentally, I figured out how to give Phanuel the ability to grow a beard again. Can you tell?"

"Good to see you as well, Althaia," Caleldir said seriously. "And there is one other person I should introduce you to: Dahlia, my familiar."

Althaia narrowed her eyes but kept her pleasant disposition. She extended her hand. "I hope that I will be able to say that it is a pleasure to meet you, Dahlia. I take it that you are to be our guide?"

The succubus cautiously approached Althaia. "I am the guide," she acknowledged. "Good thing I'm the familiar, eh? You can definitely trust me; just ask Caleldir!" Dahlia said with a sort of nervous forced lightness to her tone. Paladins were intimidating.

Althaia nodded. "I trust that a succubus familiar will do what a succubus familiar does," she said circumspectly. "You will do your best at very least to keep Caleldir safe and happy, which means that you will not intentionally betray the rest of us unless you think that you can minimize his unhappiness from that betrayal. All filtered through a sex-soaked succubus's mindset. So... basically, unless you think that betraying us to a powerful Seduction that is guaranteed to transform us all into succubi who are fanatically happy to in turn transform Caleldir into an incubus, you will be pretty firmly on our side." She smiled sweetly. "Do I have the right of it?"

The Paladin's assessment of Dahlia's motivations caused the succubus to pout and shift closer to her master. That was most certainly not what she had been planning to do. But it was sort of a good idea... obviously all of them would be happier if they were all transformed into something like herself. Except not, probably. And anyway, the succubus suspected that this whole party would have been a little much for her whole Seduction to take on. Dahlia didn't try to argue her innocence with this 'Althaia' person. In the end, it was not her that Dahlia had to prove herself to. She was just some paladin. Caleldir was the only one she had real interest in.

Caleldir looked a bit uncomfortable about the whole topic. "Given that we are rescuing Dahlia's Seduction, I do not think we need to worry about that. We can take them anyway. Please do not smite the succubi."

"I do not plan on doing so with a sword, at least," Althaia said mischievously.

Caleldir rolled his eyes. "Yeah... okay. Do not pay Althaia all that much mind," he reassured Dahlia. "She is mostly messing with you. She is aware, after all, that your Seduction is not large enough to take us on, and betraying us while rescuing them would be pointless."

"I am aware of that," Althaia laughed. "Anyway, the only evil aura you give off is the one from your home rather than your mind, so I look forward to working with you."

Selene, in the meantime, sighed with relief at the feel of the paladins' aura of courage. She always forgot how afraid she was until that fear drained away. She looked over to her younger sister to do a more proper introduction but paused in her train of thought. It seemed that she was staring wide-eyed at the two pale-skinned models of goodness and beauty... No, she was staring and Phanuel specifically. That was no wonder. Selene never thought she would enjoy any amount of coarse hair on anyone... but on Phanuel it made him a sight to behold. Caleldir was the perfect example of male beauty. Phanuel was that of male handsomeness. And the perfect example of male handsomeness was staring just as intently towards Riia as the young drow did towards him.

"Althaia, Phanuel. This is Sidhriia, Selene and Tsabdrin's albino sister," Caleldir introduced. "She is very young and has an as-of-yet-unknown but decidedly important connection to the events with regards to the rebellion and this mysterious fiendish patron of the Duskhaven Rebels." He noticed the clear attraction (at least, what was more likely than not attraction) between Sidhriia and Phanuel. A quick tinge of mild jealousy popped up, but he stifled it as irrational and unjust. He was Consort, not husband. He did not trust Phanuel, though, and was protective of Sidhriia, so he resolved to watch what happened there.

Phanuel remained silent but bowed low to this new daughter of Duskhaven. Even while he bowed, though, he kept his eyes fixed on Sidhriia's.

"At any rate, now that we are all introduced - Dahlia? Do you mind opening your portal? Ashyr and your sisters are waiting," Caleldir ordered.

Another time, the party would have gotten better acquainted with each other before diving right into literal Hell together. They were all conscious of the time, however. Dahlia did not pause. She gave him a firm nod and immediately waved her arms in front of her. With the motion, a shining portal opened into a rocky hellscape most commonly seen in the dimension. The hellscape that could be seen outside the boudoir's windows, in fact, complete with pools of lava, nigh unbearable heat, and sulfurous smell that assaulted the senses and made eyes water. Dahlia casually stepped through the portal she had made and motioned for the rest of them to follow.

Althaia's playful attitude vanished once they entered Hell. She went from relaxed and friendly to alert and wary, golden eyes darting around, hand constantly on the pommel of her sword. The effect was somewhat marred by the fact that every time Dahlia looked at the nymph's armor, she seemed to be wearing less than the last time. Soon she was pretty much wearing a strange and scandalous plate-mail bikini and cloak that seemed to provide just about zero protection. Of course, Althaia's armor relied on deflection magic and hardened wards rather than physical protection, so the point was moot.

Caleldir rolled his eyes and sighed when he noted the nymph's outfit. It seemed pretty clear to him that she was enjoying being away from the stern decorum of court a little too much.

Selene looked more grim (and slightly more grumpy), but it was Riia who seemed truly disturbed by the environment around her. She was used to a fair amount of evil around her but this... how could land itself have such a disturbing aura? Well. Easily, apparently, as it was literal Hell. The pale drow's brow furrowed and her eyes darted nervously around her as if she expected horror to emerge from literally everywhere. But she didn't complain and easily kept up with the rest of the party.

Phanuel remained very much as he always was: serious, alert, and perhaps a bit disdainful of his surroundings (he attempted to ignore the nymph's vanishing armor). He did make it a point to travel beside the pale drow. Obviously, he was the best one to protect her if anything popped out at them. Sidhriia appreciated the Aasimar's protectiveness; she would have been much more disturbed without the paladins' presence.

"The anomaly is close," the succubus informed them. "We should pass through here as quickly and quietly as possible. We're in a sort of quiet place in Hell; there are only a couple things around that want to shred your soul."

After everyone was in, she closed the portal, turned, and began to jog at a quick pace along the lower parts of the landscape. It was better to weave through the hills than going in a straight line and risk getting seen. The 'anomaly,' as she called it, was close indeed. A five-minute jog brought them to a space in a rocky wall where an underground vent apparently made the air shimmer with doubtlessly noxious gas - one of many such vents that were dotted around the landscape. But instead of avoiding this vent as she had done with the others they had passed, Dahlia approached it and stuck her hands right into the heat shimmer. Then, with a small burst of concentrated power, she pulled the shimmer open as if it was a physical curtain. Beyond was a crimson red tunnel that looked very much like the throat of a disturbingly large creature. With a look of disgust twisting her mouth, Dahlia stepped just inside and held the 'curtain' open for the rest to follow her inside. The ground squished slightly when she stepped on it.

The nymph-kin could not keep from a disgusted shudder. "That looks nasty." Althaia shuddered.

"Thoroughly." Caleldir took a deep breath. "Well, here we go."