Drow's Dilemma Ep. 119: Growing

Caleldir was busy. Caleldir was always busy. He had a lot of engineering to do, a daughter to take care of, research on breaking the curse on Deusterra to do, and quite a few women to entertain.

But, lunch with Hadlyn would be a nice change of pace, so long as it did not take too long. "Official business or social business, I assume?" He mused. Rather than waiting for a confirmation, he went on. "Well, It would be nice to get to know the new leader of the Ellistraeen faith around here. I have not really dealt with her since... well, since the ceremony." He sighed. That was awkward. "And we do have another council meeting coming up pretty quickly. She may want to discuss some of the politics there. And Althaia says that she expects the High Priestess of the Sunite faith to be here along with a very large army of the Sunite faithful within a month. I know that Aelsuna and Ellistraee are formally allies and discussing the formation of a pantheon, but Sunites and Ellistraeens may not get along so well." He stopped, thinking deeply. "I will be sure to return soon. Dahlia! You mind accompanying me as far as the temple?"

Dahlia, of course, didn't mind accompanying Caleldir to the temple. She likely would have insisted on doing so even if he hadn't asked. It would be annoying if he was stolen away by some random person similar to Hael'yss.

The temporary Temple of Elistraee was a fine affair. It was carved into the side of the mountain: partly underground and partly airy spires. The structure was lovely indeed for having been the work of only a few weeks. Although the statues of nude drow could be distracting, Caleldir did appreciate the artistic elegance in their creation. Ironically, the old sadistic succubus, Magnolia, had designed most of them, which Caleldir still found rather strange. She seemed too casually cruel to be capable of such refined aesthetic sensibility, but succubi, like people, were complicated. It probably helped that Iris worked on them as well.

Dahlia smiled at the decorations around the entrance. She clearly thought it was nice to see her seduction's work being displayed so proudly. It was not just the Seduction's work decorating the temple, of course, but Magnolia ended up being the best sculptor in the entire camp - even counting the many talented drow artisans. Caleldir wondered if she had been a famous sculptor before she was succubized. He made a note to ask Dahlia about it later.

When they got to the front door Dahlia stopped and gave Caleldir a quick kiss on the mouth. "This is where we part for now. I'm sure the temple women will keep you safe."

And she would know if they did not. With that, she ported away back to Duskhaven Manor. He supposed he did not blame her for not wanting to go into the temple. As a rule, most gods and goddesses frowned on succubi, as their souls would vanish after death instead of being able to go to one of those deities' respective afterlives.

There was a young drow priestess in a loose robe waiting for him at the door. "Greetings, Master Duskhaven." She said with a friendly smile. "If you would just step inside and disrobe, I will store your things and lead you to The High Priestess' office."

Caleldir grimaced. Yep. Nude in the temple. Sheesh. The drow had adapted far too fast to that particular rule of Ellistraea's. "My things are magically bound to me," he said simply. "Thank you I, but I do not need them stored."

"Very well. Simply come with me and disrobe, then." She followed her command; she entered the building and shrugged the loose garment from her shoulders. She was, predictably, completely nude underneath. She waited patiently for Caleldir to become the same without (much) leering. With a roll of his eyes, Caleldir touched his rune and dissipated his clothing. That done, she led him up a grand staircase. He tried not to ogle the young priestess's ass as they walked up the stairway. He mostly succeeded. it was impossible not to notice it, though. They reached an ornate door, where she knocked politely.

"Come in," said Hadlyn's voice from behind the door.

The young drow did as she was told and opened the door. The room beyond was light and comfortable-looking. Depictions of both tastefully nude people and the moon decorated the large space. In one corner there was a large daybed where the naked Hadlyn lounged. There was a book on a side table next to her that had the look of being recently opened. In front of her was another low table with a variety of food laid out on it.

"Lord Caleldir! It is good of you to come! You may leave us, apprentice. Shut the door behind you," Hadlyn said with a friendly, authoritative tone. "Have a seat, Lord Caleldir. Would you like something to drink or eat?"

Lounging in a bed? Ugh. This was not looking like just a lunch. He sat near her at the table next to the bed. "I am honored by your invitation, High Priestess," Caleldir said courteously. "And I would like some food and drink."

Hadlyn gave Caleldir a slow bow of her head in acknowledgment of his thanks. Then she held out an inviting hand towards the spread of food on the table. "Then help yourself to whatever you see. If there's something else you'd like, I'm sure it can be sent for." She, herself, took up another thin slice of venison wrapped around some cheese and garnished with some leafy green. "I must say: Though it took a bit to get used to, I am quite pleased with the variety of food that can be found here on the surface."

Caleldir accepted Hadlyn's offer of food gratefully. "Indeed. It is in general much easier to create, transport, and trade food up here. Growing food is difficult without sunlight underground, and transportation and trade are largely a matter of political differences between the main Underdark races and the surface ones."

After she took the time to enjoy the morsel, she took a sip of her wine and turned her attention back to her guest. For the moment, it seemed that this really was a simple conversation over a leisurely lunch. "I wanted to ask how things are going on your end of things," Hadlyn began. "I know we have council meetings to fill each other in, but at times those seem too... impersonal. As High Priestess of Elistraea, I think it's important to have one-on-one contact with each of the 'factions.'" There was only a little bit of innuendo in her expression.

He nodded. "That is very wise. As for my 'faction', well, my goals are as they always are: purify old Deusterra into something new, establish House Duskhaven, and so forth. These days I am mostly designing a new political system for the restored country and teaching engineering to the young mages," he grimaced as he continued. "Like a quarter of which are carrying my children due to the actions of the former head of House Dinoryn. So, that is awkward."

"Yes. In this case - as is the theme lately - I am glad the daughter replaces the mother here. It was a great injustice what happened to you, Lord Caleldir," Hadlyn responded with sympathy.

"The newer generation of drow does seem to be largely preferable to the old one." Caleldir nodded. "At least, as a whole. Not that certain daughters replacing mothers are exactly all that new. Anyway, I find it difficult to seriously regret the event. I managed to find nearly all of the women involved and so can make sure that my children are treated well. Only about a quarter of them are missing. Which is distressing, since I do think that someone else was targeting them. But you should be aware of that by now."

"Indeed," Hadlyn nodded. She did look concerned about it, but she had too many other things she had to worry about that prevented her from offering her help.

Looking out the window, Caleldir sighed. "Moving on to the specifics..." He started a pretty typical, broad report on what they were accomplishing with the research on and repairs of the destroyed machines all around the field, and then launched into some of the ideas he had about how to organize themselves once they were more established.

The High Priestess listened intently to all that Caleldir had to say, all the while casually eating from the food in front of her. She asked pertinent questions about the projects and how they may affect everyone, and generally seemed to appreciate the information. She did artfully lead him away from ranting too long about any one thing. After all, they didn't have all that much time. She also asked about his family, The Duskhavens, and looked satisfied when they were reported as doing well.

Then she went into her own report on things, sharing a couple of details more than she did at the summits. Mostly, she wanted Caleldir to get a feel for how life there was for the new Elistraean clergy. Some things stayed the same: the hierarchy was mostly intact, though the positions were almost all filled by new women (and a couple of men); and many of the rituals were, at their heart, very similar. They did worship the daughter rather than the mother now, so there were bound to be some familial resemblance. The things that were changed the most were the more violent rituals, which they either scaled back considerably or did away with entirely. "Oh, and now everything is moon themed rather than spider," Hadlyn concluded. "Which I must say that I approve of. The moon is much more beautiful than some arachnid.

"But I think that's about enough catching up. I can't keep you for too long." With a serene smile, she sat up on her daybed and patted the space next to her that she recently occupied. "Come, sit next to me," she said in a friendly invitation that still managed to be an order.

A suspicious look passed over Caleldir's face, but he complied anyway. He did sit a little farther from her than strictly indicated, as if avoiding touching her. The memories of when she had ridden him during the consort ceremony were forefront in his mind, try as he might avoid them. This had the predictable biological result of giving him an erection.

"I do have many duties, as do you," he said quietly.

"We both have our duties," Hadlyn agreed. "Otherwise we could sit and chat for much longer than we have. But alas, we are busy people." She didn't seem at all perturbed that he chose to sit as far away from her as possible while still being on the same furniture.

"There is something that you can do for me, however, before we get back to our lives," she said as she slid into his lap, straddling and facing him.

For a moment, Caleldir was a bit confused as to what Hadlyn wanted. Then, the confusion evaporated as she slid onto his lap. Yep. She wanted sex. He began to panic a bit. What should he do? He...

He almost decided to just fuck it and enjoy himself with the attractive, amiable priestess, but could not quite get there. Even if his resistance was gradually crumbling away, he was still not willing to just give in without a token protest. Perhaps he would never give in to a woman not directly in his inner circle without a token protest.

"My mind has been full of the ceremony you and I participated in not too long ago." Her hand slid down his chest to merely brush his erection with the lightest touch before moving her hand upward again. "You are a uniquely beautiful male, Lord Caleldir. By far the most attractive I've ever been with. I would like to feel you again, in a situation where we're both allowed a little more... freedom."

For the moment, she wasn't directly calling upon her Right as High Priestess. She preferred not to but was fully prepared to do so if he balked.

Caleldir sighed and set his hands carefully at his sides, neither embracing nor pushing Hadlyn. "I cannot very well stop you from doing so, and I do admit that you are very attractive," and his cock remembered how good she felt on him, that was definite. "But... but what about my duties to House Duskhaven?" Frankly, Ashyr would probably just be amused, Sidhriia would not care, Althaia would dislike but understand, and Selene probably already knew what Hadlyn wanted from him. But he had to hear from Hadlyn something to justify him going along with this, beyond the obvious of her being attractive, naked, and rubbing against his naked erection.

Hadlyn sighed. "As I said, I will not keep you for long; we both have our duties." She stroked his chest again, seeming to enjoy the sight of his pale skin against her dark hand. It was so... exotic. Even the human sex slaves she had been with were nothing compared to him. "What do the commoners call it? A 'quickie,' I think? It shouldn't take longer than twenty minutes."

Really, this sort of thing could be as long or as short as Hadlyn wanted it to be. Within reason, of course. Caleldir himself had a reasonably flexible schedule, thanks to Abanonda's increased skill in teaching his engineering students. Not that he would tell Hadlyn that.

Either way, she was currently sitting on him, which made his escape difficult. Impossible, even, since most of him did not want to attempt it. Hadlyn reached over to her side table where there was a sealed vial that looked similar to the one she'd used in the ceremony. It was a slightly different shade, though, and smelled like a different pleasant thing when she pulled the cork out. She put some of the liquid on her hand, then began to stroke his dick. A warm, tingling sensation spread out across his member, just as it made him slick and well-lubricated.

Caleldir was already reasonably erect, but the addition of the aphrodisiac definitely helped with his arousal. He gasped a bit, desperately desiring to have sex with her right now.

"Did the Duskhavens... fully explain your situation? And the privileges of the High Priestess when it comes to House Consorts?" she asked as she continued to spread out the liquid in long, caressing motions.

For now, he was able to substitute curiosity for lust. He rubbed a hand up and down her side, indicating that he was not really resisting her, and frowned. "They... they did not," he said in a husky tone. "What are those privileges?" Probably sexual, he was guessing. How very Drow.

His reactions to her made Hadlyn smile. She could tell that he wanted her, and was just resisting out of... principle, maybe? "I had heard of the loyalty of surface men to their women. It is an attractive quality," she observed to him and punctuated her words with a gentle kiss on the neck. "But you do not need to exercise that with me. As the High Priestess who officiated your Consortship, I have the right to take you into my bed when we both have a free period from our duties. That was, anyway, under Aralolth. Our new goddess has not specified whether or not she would like to keep the ritual. It is implied that any ritual she has not spoken of directly, we can continue with our own discretion. So we do so, but take care to 'be nice about it,' as Sidhriia would tell us."

As she explained this, Hadlyn did not cease her teasing caresses over his body. The oil she had was not exactly an aphrodisiac, but a sensation-enhancing mixture. Pleasure was made more potent, as was pain. Hadlyn only seemed interested in inflicting the former. It also made flesh feel warm and almost electric, which was oftentimes just as good as a direct aphrodisiac.

"My point is that it is not breaking any vows to couple with me, and in fact, it would be expected. The ladies at Duskhaven will not feel betrayed or slighted. It is an honor, really, to be singled out by a High Priestess. If the refugees make the connection, then they will only be even more satisfied that their leaders choose excellent breeding stock. So relax. Unwind with me before you get back to your duties." This wasn't exactly a command, but coming from a High Priestess's lips gave the words more weight than they normally would have.

He listened to her words with as much analytical detachment as he could muster, given her position. He swallowed. "I... uhh... I do not think that Ellistraee advocated such practices in the past?" He shuddered to feel her touch, then sighed. "Well, I suppose that I can at least relax, despite reservations. Not any towards you personally, mind you." With that said, he leaned forward and kissed her on the forehead, and stopped speaking.

Caleldir's words brought a small smile to Hadlyn's mouth. He was correct. Eilistraee did not specifically advocate for what Hadlyn was doing right now. But she wasn't taking a stand against it, as of yet. That was the High Priestess's excuse, anyway, and it would take a literal goddess to dissuade her. Part of her knew very well that she was making excuses so that she could have sex with Caleldir.

But they were good excuses.

Anyway, he wasn't outright resisting. He even said that he'd relax, which was the next best thing to participating. Hadlyn's smile grew into a grin. Then, finally, she shifted her body to mount him then and there. They could reposition later, but for now, she couldn't wait. As she let him slowly slide into her, her eyes lidded and she let out a soft moan. Already she was being much less reserved than she had been on that platform.

Feelings heightened by the oil, Caleldir gasped audibly as she impaled herself on him so smoothly yet so slowly. It was exquisite. He grasped her hips more tightly, then leaned back to give her more room to bounce. He would let her decide how she wanted to do him, but if this was going to happen no matter what (and it probably was, for many reasons), he was past trying not to enjoy things. He might as well enjoy things. So, he participated, following her lead.

Hadlyn was content to remain in the position they were in for a couple of pleasurable minutes. Eventually, though, she grew tired of it and guided Caleldir to lie down across the bed in the more traditional fashion. Then she was happily free to switch between letting her breasts rub against his smooth chest or sitting up to give him a good view of how she bounced and jiggled in all the right places.

Though he still was not past a little (a lot) of niggling guilt, Caleldir found himself enjoying Hadlyn right now. For an ex-priestess of Lolth, she was incredibly kind and not in the least sadistic. He could tell why Ellistraee chose her as her new High Priestess, despite Ellistraee already having a church to draw on. She really was perfect for the job.

One of those absolute necessities for a Priestess of Ellistraea that she fulfilled magnificently was the ability to look really good naked. Hadlyn looked really good naked, and even better when she bounced and jiggled like that.

A minute or so into this, there was a quick knock at the door immediately followed by Sidhriia's pale, inquisitive face. She had sensed Caleldir's presence in the building and wanted to drop by to see what was going on. The deaf girl could not, of course, hear the subtle moaning from the High Priestess. Though... she probably should have guessed what was going on by the feelings of pleasure she now realized emanated off of the two of them. Riia blushed slightly and made a sign of apology.

"Lady Oracle!" Hadlyn said and thought in a friendly greeting. She didn't seem to deem it necessary to dismount. "Come in and join us if you like. I never mind a bit of Duskhaven company."

The pale drow hesitated, then cautiously entered the room the rest of the way. The door was shut firmly behind her again. -Is this permitted?- she both signed and thought as she approached the daybed.

So engrossed was Caleldir in having sex with Hadlyn that he did not notice Sidhriia's presence until Hadlyn greeted her. He jumped - thrusting his cock deeply into Hadlyn when he did - and turned to see Selene's sister with a rather deep blush on his face.

The High Priestess gasped and bit her lip as Caleldir's surprise forced him to press himself deeper into her body. Then it brought a light, soft giggle to her lips. No drow male in this position would be so jumpy. Hadlyn found it... endearing. She had to force herself to bring her attention back to the young oracle that was now entering her office.