Drow's Dilemma Ep. 107: Settling

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.

*****

Episode 107: Settling

Ashyr was still in bed with Caleldir when he woke, which used to be odd for her. These days, however, she spent most of her time in bed. Her son was in her arms, suckling at her right breast while she stared off into the middle-distance, apparently deep in thought. When Caleldir moved, however, she looked over to him.

"Finally awake, I see," she observed softly. "Selene already ate breakfast and is dealing with something to do with the nobles."

"It was a very long, distressing night," Caleldir replied with clear exhaustion in his tone. "Dahlia decided that it was time I made good on my offer to spend some time with her succubi. And, well, they decided that it was time to initiate a new member of their Seduction on top of the thirteen already there. It was distressing." He sat up, rubbing his forehead. "Ugh. I feel terrible, but there is no way for me to rescue their new member without Risa's help, and Risa is apathetic about the topic. Too much a succubus herself."

"The succubi risked themselves for you and for me," Ashyr responded, still with a soft tone that gave the impression of soul-deep exhaustion. "And you did promise. If Risa had stepped in and stopped them, then they might have been offended. We don't need a whole Seduction of offended succubi just because we don't like their natural recruiting process. As I'm sure you know."

Caleldir tightened his lips, feeling thoroughly reprimanded. Well, Ashyr was right. And he could not argue with her anyway. He knew that having the succubi on their side was preferable to them not being on their side. He was just feeling very bad for poor Alena. He resolved to check on her later. Or ask Dahlia about her. Or something. Fuck, he had no idea what he could do.

Fucking the Goblin eagerly entered the room then, with a cart of breakfast foods that still steamed with heat.

"Master Caleldir still needs to get up and drive the big spider thing to our new home, but first Mistress Selene says he needs to eat a lot because he slept bad last night." The goblin informed the two of them proudly, waggling his eyebrows suggestively.

Ashyr exhaled from her nose more forcefully than usual, and the corners of her eyes wrinkled in an almost-smile.

"Mistress Ashyr needs to eat as well, or baby Ashyr won't get strong," Fucking continued. This caused Ashyr to sigh. Her child was done eating anyway. She handed her son to Fucking, who received the infant without complaint, even though he was too small to 'hold' the infant. Mostly, he leaned him against his chest and leaned back on his arms. Both goblin and baby seemed rather happy in that position. "Mistress Ashyr really should name baby Ashyr. Mistress Selene said Master Caleldir might be able to help? Fucking asked if he could help, but Mistress Selene said no kind of loudly."

Caleldir narrowed his eyes, thinking. "Hmm... How about Uriel? Named after the Angel of wisdom and light. And Death."

Ashyr pulled a plate of food over to her, uncaring of her toplessness around the goblin with the unfortunate name. Fucking had seen them all naked on several occasions, and it never seemed to phase him. She took a bite of some egg-battered toast, though her eyes were glued to the goblin and her baby rather than on her food or on Caleldir.

"Uriel..." she tried the name out on her tongue. "Named after an angel like his brother." She mulled it over for a few quiet seconds. "It seems appropriate. Defiant."

"Master Uriel," Fucking the Goblin Cook repeated. He shifted until he was only leaning against one arm, and held his finger out for the half-demon infant to hold. The child latched on quickly and made a bubbly noise. "Fucking thinks that is a good name."

Caleldir smiled. "Uriel it is then. Well, as much as I would like to stay, I have a population of drow to transport."

"Safe travels. I will be here," Ashyr said with an almost warm smile.

And so, the Spider-Tank drove on. Caleldir stayed on it for a very long time, first heading straight for the old border, then maneuvering around to find a good spot that was in Deusterra without being vulnerable to the curse radiating from that land. Fortunately, even the goodly lands nearby the cursed realm were pretty much abandoned due to worry about how very dangerous it was, so there was plenty of area to choose. But he also had to make it defensible and farmable.

Eventually, he found a rather dramatic location where some ancient disaster had taken place. A mountain that had been partly demolished, leaving a gaping valley in its side. Bits of the mountain the size of small islands floated in the air, trees and roots still clinging to them, Underneath, the wilderness had regrown and overgrown around the remains of ancient machinery. Mechanical monsters much larger and more dangerous than this spider-tank, but ruined and useless, scattered across the field.

Fortunately, the ghosts that still roamed this battlefield were not dangerous (at least, not after he had a talk with them), and with a little effort, he could repair some of these machines - and instruct others in doing the same - in order to repurpose the omnipresent wreckage into a new city. There was certainly enough scrap lying around for that.

The people were grateful to be unloaded into the dramatic landscape that would serve as their home for likely a few years until things further into the territory were cleansed. In theory, there had been plenty of space for all of them within Risa's realm. In practice, however... well, they were people of the Underdark and generally didn't even get along with the people they willingly associated with, let alone the others that they were trapped with. There was little to do but wait in frustrated boredom, all the while living with the knowledge that the place they were at was not permanent and couldn't hold them indefinitely and hoping that their guides could find a place for them to stay before the time ran out. They could have trusted Caleldir and the remaining Duskhavens more, but it was simply not in their nature.

But, once they were let out onto the land that they could call their own, they leaped into action with all the energy of a tightly wound spring. The more powerful among them swept through the battle-torn space with a fury, disabling any of the still semi-active machines and cleansing whatever magical fallout that resulted in what must have been one of the most impressive lost battles of the ages. There might have been dangers and mysteries still lurking by the time the factions claimed their areas a little over a week later, but they were impatient enough that they were willing to risk it.

The Duskhavens themselves (with Selene at the head) carved out a space at the back of the crater that was extremely ornate and massive on the outside but not very large on the inside. There was just enough space for her father, brother (with his animal companions), niece, and nephews to live comfortably. With, of course, the addition of a meeting and banquet hall for those necessary social gatherings that were already being scheduled. The rest of them still lived in R.I.S.A., via a semi-permanent portal with its own room keyed to the soul signatures of everyone they trusted.

Just as it was with the city, people naturally set up around that ornately carved wall. The noble houses were again closer to the Duskhavens and the poor districts set up around the outside. Some people complained about the status quo that didn't even change when their homes were annihilated, but most found the familiarity comforting in those chaotic times. Things were, of course, a bit different. Everyone was far more spread out than before. Even the poorest among them had the space of small mansions compared to what they had in the Underdark. And, most importantly, every faction was allowed an elected representative to be their voice. It was a headache for Selene, the de facto leader of the refugees, but it did prevent a little bit of backstabbing. Probably.

The next week was a blur of activity for nearly everyone. Well, not for Risa, who seemed to spend all her time with the Succubi and 'Marigold' when she was not resting and recovering power from her major effort to hold the entire population of Duskhaven. Which she still complained about to her 'inner circle' when they saw here. Which was very odd for the A.I., who generally was not in the habit of complaining.

Althaia and the Blackdawn lady both took their leave of the settlement and went their separate ways. Abanonda Blackdawn to return to her family and secure some more supplies for the refugees, and Althaia to return first to Port Afron and secondly to rendezvous with some faerie ambassadors and Aelsuna worshippers.

Caleldir, for his part, tried to talk with Alena a few more times, but those meetings tended to end in sex as the nun gradually embraced her transformation more and more. For the most part, he spent his time teaching the most promising of the Drow and their slaves about engineering so that they could refit as much of the old machinery as possible to serve the needs of the developing the currently nameless city. At the very least he was able to start working with those who had civil engineering knowledge on the topics of camp design and supplying of power, running water, and waste disposal. They certainly had enough materials to build a city that was much more hi-tech than Duskhaven was. Though 'New Duskhaven' lacked the elegance of the old one; it quickly took on a rough, cobbled-together feel.

During this time of activity, Ashyr remained in her room within R.I.S.A.'s dimension with her newly named son, Uriel. Every day she spoke a little more, though most of what she said was very serious and very practical. No smiles or jokes or innuendoes, and especially no sex. Whenever Selene and Caleldir got a little bit frisky, she left the bed, claiming some task she had to perform for her infant. Selene let her shy away but later confided her worry about her cousin to Caleldir. It wasn't like Ashyr to not want sex at least once every day. Physically, her body should have recovered, and her drives with it. Many drow were 'back at it again,' so to speak, a day or two after childbirth. Ashyr, however, did not initiate anything and left the bed at the first scent of arousal.

There wasn't much time for Selene to worry about such things, and the same went for Caleldir. They had a semi-permanent city to run.

Riia was another drow to want to keep to her little space as much as she could within R.I.S.A.. She had become rather out of spirits since they had to leave Phanuel behind to run his city. The oracle had work to do within the city, however - especially with a few very penitent priestesses of Lolth who suddenly found themselves without a goddess. With Eilistraee's guidance, they set up a temporary place of seclusion and worship where Riia was urged to stay instead. Moping around there turned out to be no different from moping around the subdimension: so in the temple she stayed. She enjoyed visits from her sister, father, and Caleldir whenever they got the chance to see her. Her heart, however, seemed to be tugging her elsewhere.

Tsabdrin was constantly traveling between R.I.S.A. and the new Duskhaven mansion to help with the children. The task suited him well, and he seemed happier than he had been for quite some time, if a bit worried about Ashyr.

Sornamal spent his waking hours with Jhul'une and Solerin. All three worked with other mages and apprentices to create a more permanent, elegant structure that would serve as one of the main academies of the new country. The space was just too perfect to not be used for something. It was filled with old wonders to discover, study, and store. Yes, it would be quite far from everything, but that was easily solved with portals.

People and places found their own routines that could sustain the city's basic needs. Which meant that soon the politicking would begin in full force. It was past time for the first official meeting between the major players of Old Duskhaven to discuss the organization of New Duskhaven. If they even wanted to call it that. There was some contention on that topic.

The second council since that first one eleven days ago would be composed of many of the same players as the last one. The representative of Duskhaven was Selene, naturally, and she headed the grand table carved from a massive fallen tree they had found and placed in the space. House Dinoryn was still represented by Jhul'une, who was already beginning to show more competence and confidence in less than two weeks than her mother did in years. Illiam still represented House Kilarn, and the young woman seemed a bit more at ease in her role, though not to the extent that Jhul'une had taken to it. Zebey'a of House Aleet was present without her Consort this time, the grizzled old woman sporting a new set of injuries from a rather touch-and-go fight with a resurgent mechanized warrior yesterday. Ryldar of Teken'ath had not been excited about another council meeting but had still insisted on showing up. Rounding out the Great Houses, T'rissdril of Maevalzynge was as unreadable as usual.

The other factions of the old city were present as well. The Silversmith Triel, Mayor of the Commons, like many of the other newer leaders, seemed much more secure in her role. The Temple of Lolth faction though, for its part, had gone through a bit of rebranding. The old High Priestess, Anluriina, had semi-retired for the time being, and her young protegee Hadlyn Oliriy, now Priestess of Elistraee, was there in her stead.

Finally, Caleldir Hissael, of Blackdawn, Duskhaven, and Deusterra was there as host and 'moderator' (whatever that title meant). Though the meeting hall was in the temporary house Duskhaven, the various leaders had agreed that Caleldir was more suited to be named Host as this country was his: the Ghost-King's identity and origin being common knowledge now.

That bit of information had caused a bit of a stir. At least it meant that Caleldir, who was now returned to his tall, pale, dark-haired appearance, was not treated as lesser despite his very obvious 'surface elf' looks. No one present dared to be that stupid. If any had been of that mind, Goelon Duvainor had been summoned a few days ago to deal with an awakening Divine Guardian and the Ghost-King had made a pretty profound impression. Again.

Caleldir began the meeting, and the first topic: land distribution. Both now and going forward. House Dinoryn put forth the first claim, noting that the ancient battlefield was beyond perfect for a new magical academy, and the mages should have a permanent stake here.

Illiam quickly concurred, stating that the land here was not suited for farming. She had her eyes on more fertile areas to the south. Some of the warriors of House Kilarn had started work on clearing out the less-cursed plains in preparation for cultivating them later, and Illiam was rather excited about the prospect of plantations on the Overworld (with large cellars for the traditional underground crops beneath such plantations), where everything grew so much more easily.

Zebey'a of House Aleet was a bit more dubious of House Dinoryn's claim. The soldiers of Aleet had done a lot of fighting to clear out the crater and had quickly grown fond of the bizarre terrain. She herself had fallen in love with a house carved out from the corpse of a titan-sized mechanical god and did not like the idea of moving.

Ryldar pointed out that the crater was bigger than Duskhaven Cavern, and that they had lots of room for multiple houses. He himself did not require much land for Teken'ath, and simply asked that wherever the nobles set up permanently, that he could 'lease' offices from them. He said that Teken'ath's permanent headquarters would be near the middle of wherever the others settled.

Maevalzynge didn't care where everyone else settled. What they needed was a sizeable cavern system to settle in. Their spiders didn't do well in all the 'weather' that kept happening on the surface. They needed temperature stability and darkness. T'rissdril began to explain the progress that had already been but was interrupted by the upstart Silversmith. Triel, speaking on the behalf of the commoners of Old Duskhaven, wanted to claim the caverns for the commons, who were tired of the overworld that most of the nobles had so quickly embraced and wanted to go back into the comforting darkness.

Caleldir, for his part, observed that there was enough room for the commons to take the upper caverns and Maevalzynge to claim the lower ones without stepping on each other, and the battlefield crater was more than large enough for the mages of Dinoryn and the soldiers of Aleet to both stake very large claims.

"But we need the additional space for our spiders," T'rissdril insisted. "As you all know, Maevalzynge held the most lands in our own set of caverns adjacent to Duskhaven. Even then, we were constantly short on space for the larger battle spiders we bred. Let alone the space that we needed for the weaving spiders in the old Silk Ruins! We can't have commoners running around ruining our supply. And I don't think you want that either, silversmith. Our spiders have been known to eat people who do not know how to act around them."

"And that is why you should not have these caverns at all. Find new ones; I am sure there are other mountains around here that are not this one. The commons need familiarity, and we can't always worry that a giant spider is going to come around to eat us," Triel countered.

"Are you a fool, silversmith?" T'rissdril responded with an edge of irritation in her voice. She did not even know why 'the commoners' were allowed to have a representative there. The status quo did not need to be upset like this - especially not when there was so much chaos already. "We do not have the time to go searching around for another place. We already have eggs started in various caverns; they cannot be moved without being damaged. Would you have us not begin production and deprive our civilization of the silks, poisons, and spiders that we need in our day-to-day lives? You should find a different place to live. You do not need caverns to do your work."

There were some nods around the tables and soft noises of agreement. The houses quarreled with each other, yes, but most of them were dubious about the commoners getting a say about things and were quick to side with the house that clearly had the most money and resources. It helped that T'rissdril's point was compelling on its own. Even Selene seemed approving.

Caleldir, whose Good alignment and monastic upbringing made him more sympathetic with the commoners than the others (though his Lawful inclinations sometimes put him on the side of the Nobility anyway), cleared his throat. "I think that you are seriously, seriously underestimating the size of the igneous caves. The old volcano is long dead, but it left behind a lot of caverns. As I said, there is more than enough room for both groups. But even if you do not believe there to be so, one of your factions could easily move elsewhere. Your spiders are mobile, after all, Lady of Maevalzynge. And there are better, ready-made underground cities that sit empty of all but ghosts further into Deusterra, Triel. No need to go to all the effort of building a city here, when there is nothing but caves, an old, mostly destroyed fort, and a lot of monsters."