Drow's Dilemma Ep. 146: Desperation

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.

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Episode 146: Desperation

"I'm sure that he would make a good succubus, Jasmine, but we simply can't afford to expand," Dahlia repeated with a tired sigh. She shifted in her 'throne' of pillows and blankets at the back of the orgy room. "As it is, we're struggling with the influx of candidates from Clachleom."

Jasmine turned to look out at the moaning piles of people scattered across the richly decorated room. "But he's going to start getting old soon," she complained. "We'll lose his artistic talent! The sculptures he makes, Dahlia!"

"You will have to mark his soul and store it for later if you want to keep him. -Yes, I know he'll have to go through the imp process, but if I approve of every infatuation-"

"But Dahlia, you let everyone else bring in their favorites as well as their secondaries AND tertiaries! This person is important too!" Jasmine argued stubbornly. "If he turns imp, he will be immature! He won't be able to go back to his workshop to continue his Art until long after someone destroys it! I couldn't have long conversations with him on the merits of-"

"If you had brought him in a month ago, I would have approved. I know it's not fair, but we need to be wiser about our expansion going forward. Part of that is putting a halt on conversions until our current ones acclimate," Dahlia explained in that strained tone of a woman who has had to explain this dozens of times.

"I suppose I could use an assistant," Magnolia sniffed. "He is good, though not as good as I was when I was human. Much less of an asshole, though." The sadistic succubus smiled, showing her fangs. "But I was turned into an Imp and had to slowly gather power. This man can as well."

"I am pretty sure we turned you into an imp precisely because you were such an asshole," Lilac observed. "I agree with Dahlia, though. We have enough members for now. But... we can just put him into Stasis. Risa might be willing to help."

Just then, a portal opened up just in front of Dahlia's throne, and a twelve-foot tall succubus with sickeningly purple skin stepped out. Rudely - she did not take off her garments for the boudoir - still wearing what amounted to spiky dominatrix lingerie and carrying a large staff with an orb radiating power.

"Impressive," she said in a velvety voice. "It has been five thousand years since my kind has had such a major presence on the Material Plane. The way they are turning mortals into succubi in such numbers with such ease is truly beautiful, though they seem to have lost the art of creating monster girls, which is sad. All succubi, none of our best servants? Inelegant and inefficient. Top heavy, like breasts three times their head size above a concave butt. But what can one expect after so long?"

"Who are you and what are you doing here?" Dahlia asked in cold anger. She might have been more polite and playful, but there was an aura to this succubus that made her immediately on edge.

"She asks us what we are doing here," the woman observed. "I suppose we should stop talking to ourselves and answer." The large succubus gave a curtsey. "Greetings, Queen Dahlia. You see before you Vilinixia Violetcrown: the only Succubus Empress in the history of Niutitana. Five thousand years ago, we commanded one hundred and eight Dominations of Succubi made up of Seductions and Temptations uncounted with more than thirteen million succubi citizens. Our retainers were more than a half-billion succubized monsters and constructs, with much more than three billion mortal subjects. Ah! The orgies we had I fear the world will never again see their like. But, in the end, we were brought low and sealed. Rejoice, though! We have returned! And now, we demand your compliance, and later once we are established, your loyalty. Though not for us, but for our Mistress: the greatest of all dragons, the wondrous, the beautiful, the unmatched, the perfect, the Emerald Nymph, the magnificent Varyndaevyrress."

"Your chance has already been spent, Vilinixia. My Master and I - and all the goddesses and demi goddesses that surround us - will rule our society in a way that makes us immune to being sealed," Dahlia said in a haughty tone.

But in her mind, she was starting to become very alarmed. She remembered a story of a grand succubus empress. -Caleldir! The Empress of Souls is-

---

"-And it took her completely by surprise!" Ashyr finished her story to the people around the breakfast table. It was situated in the revitalized part of the ruins above Dahlia's seduction. Its large windows allowed a gorgeous view of the courtyard, which the nymphs had turned into a garden more beautiful than any mortal could manage.

"You have definitely been improving under their tutelage," Caleldir observed, reaching past the naked pink woman on his lap to grab another bite of food.

Aster giggled and rested her head on Caleldir's shoulder. It was her turn for 'succubus duty.' These days, she had become proficient in sitting still while pulsing the muscles of her womanhood to stimulate him. She was doing this almost unconsciously while listening to Ashyr tell yet another story about her friends.

"It seems like you really miss the Valkyries," the young succubus observed. "It's too bad they had to leave so early to report up north."

"If they had stayed a bit longer, I might have been able to get the jump on them on purpose!" Ashyr agreed.

"But they were distracting you from your duties," Selene grumbled. "There were once three days straight where I didn't see you - except for a moment when they hurled you across the courtyard and past my window while I was feeding Iondae. I'm shocked that you're still pregnant."

"The baby and I were protected with multiple layers of magic, Selene," Ashyr reminded her in an amused tone. "But thank you for your concern- did you hear that?"

The table went quiet. Ashyr's ears twitched. "It sounds like... Tsabdrin?"

"I don't-" Selene began to say before her eyes widened with recognition. "What's he doing here?"

"I do not sense his nymphs..." Caleldir said with worry.

Ashyr stood and hurried to the window. There in the courtyard was a haggard-looking Tsabdrin astride one of his allosaurs. The big lizards hung their heads and breathed heavily, fatigued near the point of collapse. Ashyr went very serious. "Something's wrong."

She pushed open the window and casually jumped through it, though it was far too high to land safely. Not that it mattered; Ashyr's boots sprouted little wings and she flew straight to Tsabdrin. As soon as her feet touched the ground she began to run up to her stressed cousin.

"She took them. She took them all. Cieraela-" Tsabdrin panted. But then his blue eyes became vague and he listed to the side.

Ashyr caught him as he slid off of his mount and guided him down to sit on the road. She jolted him awake with a spell, her hands on his shoulder and her face in his. "Tsabdrin! Who? Who took them. Cieraela? Why would-"

"No, no. She was taken too. The Empress of Souls. She's returned!"

Caleldir touched down next to the cousins, followed by Aster. He had talked her into giving him a break so he did not have to meet Tsabdrin with his cock inside a woman. His face grew more serious at Tsabdrin's words. "That... that title was old long before my time. She nearly conquered the world long, long ago..." He took a deep breath. He had not thought of the ancient succubus at all since his days as an archivist, and as far as he knew the knowledge of her had almost died out with the passing of ages. "Did... did you see this 'Empress'?"

-Caleldir! The Empress of Souls is- - Dahlia's voice rang through their connection but was cut mysteriously short.

---

On the top of the Mage's Tower of the Monastery of Eternity, where the Geneforge had been a few weeks ago, Slasjowskew Slitherscar stood holding the God Deafener, Cieraela standing by with a nervous, conflicted expression on her face.

"It would have been better to use thiss at the new World Tree," the Yuan-ti fussed. "That would have sshut down the planet insstead of jusst the continent. But thiss will have to do."

"Will... will Caleldir be alright?" Cieraela asked anxiously.

"The dragonesss asssuress me that sshe wantss him for her hoard, and for the nymphss. He will not be harmed. I ssaid thiss already."

Cieraela let out a long breath. "I know. I know. Well, I suppose I can always steal in and take some of him if I want to."

"That'ss my darling apprenticce. Sshall we?"

The redheaded cyborg nodded. "Let's make you a god, master."

The serpentine man smiled, showing his sharp, venomous fangs in glee. He slammed the God Deafener onto the invisible meeting of leylines where the Geneforge had been.

And the Divine went dark.

---

Aster let out a short scream and clutched at her head.

"Aster! Aster, what's wrong?!" Selene asked as she floated up to the group.

"Dahlia!" Aster said as tears began welling in her eyes. "I can't sense her anymore!"

"The God-Deafener," Caleldir groaned. "So... that is what is going on..." He took off in a sprint. "Dahlia and the Seduction are under attack! Varyndaevyrress released the Empress of Souls and is working with her! She has at least one other ally at the monastery who just put a continent-wide Dimension Lock down! All teleportation, telepathy, and divine magic are disabled!"

Ashyr ran after him, yelling, "What do we do? Where do we go?"

"I am assuming we will discover an empty boudoir. But we will check," Selene responded as she came up beside Caleldir.

"They cannot teleport anymore than we can," Caleldir said grimly. "If the Bouquet can hold out..." He said nothing more.

"I wish we could have met in better circumstances, Tsabdrin," Aster said, staying behind to help him to his feet. She gave him a sisterly kiss on this cheek and pumped some of her massive reserves of energy into him. "I'm Aster, Caleldir's wife and familiar."

"Hello Aster," Tsbadrin greeted her morosely.

"Let me get your mounts moving again," Aster offered gently. One of them had collapsed, but a gentle kiss allowed him to lift his head. The female had fared better (as Tsabdrin had not been riding her recently) and appeared ready to carry her master.

Tsabdrin mounted up, Aster stretched her wings and sped through the air to join Caleldir who - along with Ashyr, Selene, and their bodyguards - was just disappearing into the mountain passage that led to the Bouquet Seduction. Meanwhile, Dame Faetha mobilized the rest of Duskhaven Steel to follow after them as fast as they could mobilize.

Heading down to the Boudoir - which was a mile below and two miles away from them, with a literal mountain between - without using any teleportation shortcuts was enormously difficult, taking much too much time navigating the winding passages through the mountain's interior for Caleldir's taste.

When they arrived, the Boudoir was quiet and empty. There were signs of a struggle, but not a single marble-fleshed construct remained. Every soul - living and not - had been taken.

Caleldir collapsed in the eerily quiet orgy chamber. Torn cushions and tattered blankets were thrown about. "Succubi are fast, agile, and can fly," he said in disbelief. "Even without teleportation, some should have escaped, right?"

Tsabdrin walked up behind him. "When she took the homestead, she had all sorts of summons. Powerful creatures. I doubt she used her best for us," Tsabdrin explained quietly. "And when beaten down - or trying to flee, I'm sure - she could snap them up in that staff she had."

"So you think it's possible that none of them got out?" Aster asked, looking extremely concerned. "What do we do, Master?" she asked Caleldir.

"We reconvene what is left of the House and formulate a plan to find and stop this empress," Selene decided. "If she has this many summons, we will need a small army." She cleared her throat. "Right, Ashyr?"

"Uh... right. Yes. That is the protocol," Ashyr agreed, snapping herself from her daze.

"Varyndaevyrress," Caleldir said, letting out a long breath. "This is her plan. It has to be. Which means... which means she is moving against House Blackdawn as we speak. We are probably too late, as this was clearly a coordinated assault. My guess is that she has someone at the Monastery to install the God Deafener, which will keep Naliira bound to her tower and Risa trapped in her Dimension. She has someone in Clachleom rousing the Red Tyrant to distract Rubella. She has the Empress of Souls here to take out Dahlia. And she herself, if I had to guess, is going to be in Blackdawn Cavern to capture her favorite 'drow': Abanonda, who is there with Nirza.

"As far as our Aelsunite allies: Aelsuna Herself was probably aware of this from the beginning. The Goddess of Beauty is thought to be a shallow fool, but She is in fact an extremely skilled schemer. Though what She is hoping to accomplish, I have no idea. It is possible that Varyndaevyrress has made some deal with Her."

He rubbed his forehead. "I should have seen this coming. All the threads were in place, but I did not understand the tapestry until it was hung on the wall." He took another deep breath. "Althaia will come to our side, but without her goddess's power, she will be severely weakened. The other nymphs are almost certainly hiding in fear since divine magic being shut down will terrify them. Alycyrl and the rest of the Dark Nymphs will also be rendered nearly powerless with the conduit to the Divine inaccessible. So, as far as our powerful allies, that leaves Fedwyn, Geirloss, and the others with them at the monastery. We can assume that they will have their hands full with the God Deafener."

He set his lips together tightly. "With all that said, our best bet for an army capable of dealing with Varyndaevyrress and her allies is your Valkyrie friends, Ashyr. Mirjana is also up north with her Rusalka, though they are not yet organized enough to be an army."

"But how will we get to them? Will we walk that whole way to the frozen wastes?" Aster despaired.

Ashyr brushed hair out of her face and blew out a long breath. "We'll ride the spidertank... assuming we have one that isn't stored in R.I.S.A." She shook her head as she realized something. "Damn it, our children are there! We can't get to them, can we?"

"We cannot," Caleldir said, letting out a long breath. "That is... probably for the best, actually. They will be much safer there. We do have a couple of spider-tanks we can take, though that will seriously limit the number of Duskhaven soldiers we can bring along."

"I go where you do, my lord," Caleldir's bodyguard Vicora declared. "But I fear that all of us from Lesser Duskhaven is seriously outclassed here. I do not think we can be of much use to you against a dragon, except as a distraction."

"If we are going to the Valkyries," Ashyr's bodyguard Dilrae interjected. "Then we should bring some of us along to be trained by them. It would allow us to actually contribute in struggles of this scale."

"I agree," Selene's bodyguard, Triel added. "There are twenty of us in Duskhaven Steel and those tanks can hold about six apiece. If we have two of them, we can take you three, your familiars, and seven of us from Steel."

"Four from Steel, one each from Moon and Silver, and Ishtar from Glass," Caleldir decided. "Having a skilled diplomat and a magical secretary along will be useful, and Ishtar is almost completely immortal after Fedwyn got done with her. She will never not be useful in dangerous situations. And that is all we have capacity for. I would suggest swapping one of the Steels out for Tsabdrin, but we cannot fit his allosauruses in our tanks. Normally that would not be a problem, but dimensional magic is useless right now."

Steadying himself, Caleldir stood back up and turned to the group. "Well, Ashyr. You are still Matron. Your thoughts on this?"

"This is a bit more complicated than just running off to adventure, isn't it?" Ashyr responded with a sigh. "And I'd be a bit more excited about this if I hadn't just realized that I can't see my son and have no idea when I might get him back." A slightly muted grin spread across her face. "It will be nice to go on a quest again."

"If I'm not allowed to go, I need to be doing something too!" Tsabdrin finally blurted out.

The group turned their attention to a frustrated male drow.

"I did not say you were not allowed to go," Caleldir began slowly. "Just that we cannot take your allosauruses along. If we figure out what to do with them, we can swap one of the Steels out for you. You are at least as strong as most of them."

"But we are going to train and recruit, and I don't think you want to train with the Valkyries. If they'll even have you," Ashyr added. "Unless you want to try for Einherjar?"

"Ahem, no," Tsabdrin said sheepishly.

"You have a retinue to meet. They can keep you company while you oversee troop organization for the coming battle. Train with Father. Train with Duskhaven Steel. Perhaps Naliira can do something to boost you and your animal companions," Selene told him in a neutral tone.

"When we come back, you should be powerful enough to help us take your wives back," Aster concluded in a more gentle tone.

Tsabdrin ran his hand through his long, silver hair. "Yeah, okay. Let's get started, then."

"Are you sure we cannot figure out some way to bring him?" Caleldir inquired. "It would be nice not being the only man around a bunch of overly libidinous women for once." He looked over at Tsabdrin, his expression suddenly turning ruefully apologetic. "Then again... perhaps that is also the most compelling reason you do not want to come along for this ride."

"Oh yes. I will be much safer in the castle full of libidinous women. That will be better," Tsabdrin said in a deeply sarcastic tone. He shook his head and continued in a more respectful tone. "I'm sorry. I'm not actually concerned about the women. Caleldir, I've been living with four nymphs. Drow are nothing compared to them."

"Oh. Yeah," Caleldir said sheepishly. "These drow should be better behaved than Valkyries, though. Valkyries consider 'no' to be a challenge, and the Lesser Duskhavens should be subordinated to you, so more easily controlled."

"I'll leave it up to you," Ashyr said when Tsabdrin gave her a questioning look.

"Perhaps we should speak to Naliira. She is by far the wisest of us," Aster suggested.

Caleldir nodded. "I agree."

Dame Faetha and the rest of Duskhaven Steel burst into the room. "It looks like the fight was over before you got here, let alone us," Dame Faetha observed, looking around the room. "Pursuit is impossible, then?"

"For now. The Empress of Souls - Vilinixia Violetcrown, I believe was her name - is at least an order of magnitude more powerful than poor Dahlia and her Bouquet. If she really has returned, we are in deep, deep trouble." Caleldir sighed. Let us return to Naliira, who is probably frustrated about being confined to a tree again.

"It's really that bad?" Ashyr asked.

Aster nodded. "When mother told stories about her, it was always very serious. A cautionary tale of using your power in a way that antagonizes the underclasses and people in power around you."