Surfacing Ch. 22

They would have been doing this in the sorceress's quarters where her various potions and scrolls and tools resided, but they had agreed the Consort should not be listening in. D'Shea had needed to compromise by packing a small kit of things she knew she would need.

The Lead had just returned and had not said even one word aloud yet; her Elder did not want to hear it before she checked all the physical evidence first. Elder Rausery's eyes slid over the growing number of pouches, weapons, and armor pieces resting on her basic dining table, and she inhaled slowly as she noted deep wilderness scents very similar to those on Vik and Halena.

The female shadow was currently beneath the Cloister in one of the cells, though in neither of the ones recently used to hold Shyntre and the Consort. Rausery had brought her in with no struggle though with a fair bit of trepidation on the younger's side, and no one but Qivni knew about her presence yet; her Lead was to keep it that way for a little while longer.

D'Shea muttered magic words quietly as she added certain compounds either to her hands or some cloth, testing for this and that, Rausery knew. She recognized some of them but it was rare that a Red Sister would undergo a full alchemist study upon returning from a mission and she could not name them all. She looked forward to hearing the sorceress's conclusions, however, since she had long accepted the value that some tests could add in supporting or refuting a verbal report.

Her only regret was that they did not have the resources or the trusted, skilled mages to do this on a more regular basis. D'Shea was very jealous with her knowledge and it had taken years to convince her to begin teaching one of the other Red Sisters some of these techniques. As far as Rausery knew, Varessa had only begun teaching Gaelan, the one Red Sister who would in no way threaten the status quo having this additional knowledge.

It was frustrating, as this also meant there would be little experimentation or innovation the way there tended to be in the Tower with Phaelous and his brood. In fact it was in her opinion that this could be a good delegation with some of those under-utilized mages. Maybe this was something Rausery could work on next, once the Prime was gone.

D'Shea undressed her Lead down to the skin efficiently and without any apparent sensuality between either of them - something Rausery agreed with and approved, as there came a time when actions proved loyalty and no longer required games of sexual dominance.

In fact, in Rausery's experience, this immunity to being publicly butt-fucked by an Elder in front of the other Sisters was something a Lead valued if she had any true understanding of her status within the Cloister. An Elder and her Lead even worked better together when they were not fucking each other.

As their returned Sister finally stood nude, Rausery reflected how much more obvious muscle tone Jaunda had compared to D'Shea; she was a little taller as well so the Lead made an excellent bodyguard figure next to the sorceress. She had done some basic washing out in the wilderness since she was not caked in dirt but she was still sweaty, her short hair uncombed and subject only to the occasional fingers passing through it.

In spite of the basic hygiene, however, an expression passed briefly across Jaunda's face when the sorceress asked her to bend over and put her hands on the seat of an empty chair. Even before D'Shea's fingers entered her Lead's cunt, Rausery knew what they would find but waited for her peer to mutter the magic words and watched as D'Shea's eyes widened to see that distinctive shimmer of iridescent blue on her finger.

Jaunda was right to expect a probe to her ass next, which D'Shea did with a scowl and her Lead with a bit of a grimace. Almost as an afterthought the sorceress stepped in front again as the Lead straightened up to check her mouth. A different set of fingers shimmered for a third time.

Rausery smirked and shifted to rest her chin in her palm with a finger tapping her cheek. "Pregnancy test next?"

Jaunda seemed about to say something but stopped herself and remained silent. Without a verbal response D'Shea wiped off her hands and kneeled in front of her Lead to cover her belly with both palms. Rausery waited with just a little bit of tension until D'Shea exhaled and glanced over her shoulder with a shake of her head. She stood back up seeming relieved.

"When was the last time you were penetrated at all," D'Shea asked Jaunda frankly, "much less by a male you allowed to cream inside you?"

Rausery was watching even more carefully than her peer, and she saw just a glimpse of something similar to Vik and Halena when they had first arrived. That little bit of confused shakiness. Interesting.

Jaunda forced a bit of a smile, however. "Truthfully, Elder? I can't remember. Maybe a century or two."

The Elder did not ask any other questions yet - even clearly wanting to - and instead finished up her analysis of what they could see and touch. Even though she had looked over Jaunda's Feldeu when she had first begun removing pieces of equipment, she returned to it again to cast a different spell. The black, false cock glowed with light that was mixed with separate blue and green strands and D'Shea muttered a quiet curse.

Rausery felt herself smiling almost as much as D'Shea was frowning. She did not miss the fact that, even though it was not Jaunda's personal preference, the Lead somehow getting into a situation where she took semen in all three of her holes did not have her doubting her abilities. If anything, it had reaffirmed any lingering doubt Jaunda might've had about her ability to handle her role.

Rausery's gut told her this was the problem with Halena. At least she had a very good idea what might have happened to the young shadow. Maybe even to Vik, for that matter, though he had been holding up much better.

Now the question was, who had it been? Vik had only mentioned one male with whom they had made a bargain, but they could not speak about him quite yet. With this next revelation of what had been inside Jaunda, Rausery almost thought it had to be more than one male who had ganged up on the Red Sister and her shadows.

Maybe the two things were related, and maybe they weren't. She would wait and listen.

"So, Varessa," Rausery began.

The sorceress nodded, using the basin to wash her hands after tidying up all her little bottles and vials. "No magic that should not be there on any of her equipment. A small bit of wear and tear, to be expected after three weeks, but no noteworthy damage or evidence of a fight. Dirt and outside materials in her tread and clothing is consistent with previously known samples of the area we've been studying for the last few months. She has lost a little bit of weight but has eaten fairly well and regularly, even given how much energy she must have burned."

D'Shea paused at that, her piercing gaze locked with Jaunda, who tensed the corners of her mouth in something that could have been an ironic smile.

"There are a few small scrapes on her back and her hips, her breasts and knees, palms and the tips of her toes, almost healed and almost invisible. They could only have been received directly, while naked, not dressed. Clear evidence of semen in the birth canal, the anus, and the mouth, some lingering swelling in the same implying prolonged friction."

"And the Feldeu?" Rausery asked.

The Elder narrowed her eyes a bit. "It has trace amounts of semen as well, most importantly around the head. If she has been traveling for a week, then she has taken no healing potion and the signs are consistent with a short and rough bout of rutting with a male just before traveling back. And either someone smeared a handful of spunk around the tip of the Feldeu, or she fucked another hole that had already been filled with it."

Jaunda said nothing, did not nod her head or give any indication how close her Elder might be to the truth.

"Sounds like fun," Rausery said with a chuckle.

"But out of character. I would assume it was nonconsensual."

"Can you tell what race of male, or how many?"

D'Shea paused but shook her head. "Unfortunately not after a week. Perhaps if it was fresh but it has been too long."

"So this is where the report comes in," Rausery replied. "Would you like to sit, Varessa?"

D'Shea darted an irritated glance her way. "No, thank you." She looked back to Jaunda. "Report."

"I met up with Vik and Halena again, as instructed by my Elders," the Lead began without indication that she was at all irritated being talked about as if she was a statue. "We studied the field for three marks that first cycle."

Her Elder nodded. "Would you say there was any distraction, or attraction between the three of you?"

To Rausery, that first question seemed to be irrelevant, but then Jaunda surprised her with her answer.

She nodded. "I flirted with Vik, and Halena was possessive."

D'Shea frowned. "Why choose the male?"

"He was better at what they did," Jaunda answered in complete calm.

Rausery understood; of course the Lead would have tested a few boundaries and a few nerves. That was what she was trained to do, and if Vik was the greater challenge, he would be the more attractive one. Interesting to hear about Halena being jealous, though. Rausery had not yet heard that from their handler. Perhaps it was a recent development.

"Anything of note happen during that time?"

"Yes, Elder. Vik was able to determine by a sound which one of the three tunnels was the main one that would lead us closest to the Illithid nest. Having our target destination, we planned to come back and watch the next several cycles to determine how close we could get to plant the gem. We didn't make it."

Rausery looked at D'Shea for a reaction but it was disappointingly mild.

"You set the gem in place, correct?" the Elder asked.

Jaunda nodded. "Yes, I did, Elder."

"But you did not make it back the second cycle to watch the field?"

"Correct, Elder."

"Why not?"

"We were discovered trespassing."

"By the Illithids?"

"No, Elder."

"By whom?"

"I can't tell you yet. I will, Elder, I promise."

Son of a slit. Vik called it. And didn't it sound so strange coming from the mouth of either of them? They could not say now, but they would later? They "promised"?

Rausery very nearly laughed at D'Shea's expression but she knew that would tip her hand. She drummed some fingers instead just to have some sort of reaction while Varessa tensed up like a bowstring and stalked slowly around her Lead.

"You can't tell me?" she said in low menace.

"Twenty-one more cycles. I promised."

Jaunda just managed to squeeze that in as the sorceress did not blink staring at her, her eyes tracing around the Lead's short hair and shoulders before returning to her face. Rausery thought D'Shea was looking for something, reading an aura, perhaps.

"You will do better than that, Jaunda. Let us continue. You did not return the second cycle to watch the field. Did you return at any point to watch the field again?"

"Only once more, when we went to set the gem in place."

"How much later was that?"

"Five cycles."

Jaunda still stood naked and tall, her head tilted just slightly down to be able to meet her Elder's eyes if necessary, but sometimes she looked down or off to the side as was natural. What was most important that Rausery could see was that she was in no discomfort, physical or mental, as she spoke.

"What happened between those two times that you saw the field?"

"I will tell you about it in another three weeks. I agreed."

D'Shea stared hard at Jaunda, her mouth tight and her fist clenched. She may have wanted to strike Jaunda but maintained control of herself and continued her interrogation. "If you were caught trespassing, and you were not confronted by Illithids, can you confirm if the Dragon Ward was still in place?"

"That I do not know, Elder. I can't confirm it one way or another."

"That has the feeling of splitting hairs, my Lead. The only thing we knew of in that area with significant magic was the Ward. Dare I say that the one who caught you trespassing was the one who set that Ward?"

"You can say it if you wish. I can't tell you about him for another twenty-one cycles."

D'Shea looked a little taken aback and in truth, Rausery felt taken aback. The sorceress had not taken long to make her point, but she had been testing the way first so that the two Elders could watch every moment and every tick as they nudged their witness closer to their conclusion, all the better to avoid blundering into something with severe backlash without warning.

Yet...Jaunda looked mildly regretful but not afraid. Clearly there was no pain, no migraine, no panicked look of fear as they threatened to speak her secret, or have it suggested by another. It was insubordination that could easily bring Jaunda torture and execution, if D'Shea so chose, and yet this thought did not seem to grip Jaunda's mind as it should.

So strange.

The Elder sorceress walked once again in a complete circle around her naked subordinate, studying her and thinking whatever thoughts meant the most to her. Rausery could not really begin to guess the specifics or anything farther ahead than what lay right before them, but she was certain they were all thinking the same thing.

"The Dragon is awake," Rausery said, and D'Shea gasped audibly and spun around to scowl at her. She merely cocked a brow at her. "What? Jaunda said we could say so. It is not hurting her. Looks like you were wrong about who was in the dream, D'Shea."

The sorceress huffed and turned her back to Rausery, who thought she saw a change in stance not unlike some when finally deciding to drop their cloak of concealment.

"So you agreed," D'Shea snapped. "Why would you agree to such a thing? Twenty-one cycles and you will tell me about your encounter with a Dragon?"

"I had no choice, Elder," Jaunda answered, reacting a bit to the sorceress's anger but still not truly afraid. "It was make a bargain or be his prey. I have to keep my bargain, Elder."

"The bargain cannot have been to simply wait one month to tell your story."

Jaunda did not respond.

"And the gem was set into place somehow around the same time some male glazed you like a desert."

Again, Jaunda did not respond.

Rausery could see that her peer was unnerved, looking at her Lead as if she didn't recognize her, and truly Jaunda did only stand there patiently as they studied the evidence on her body and got the bookends of her report while piecing together their own idea of what may have happened in between them. The younger Red Sister didn't care if they were close in their deductions or not, she simply wouldn't talk about the specifics.

D'Shea stepped closer to her Lead, until their noses almost touched and Jaunda could feel her Elder's breath on her cheeks. "And what of your loyalty to the Sisterhood? Has it been compromised?"

"No, Elder," the Lead responded immediately, staring into her eyes. "I still belong to you and to the Sisterhood. I look forward to telling you everything when the time is right. I will tell you everything. That is the Truth."

The sorceress's eyes narrowed slightly as she stared at her, but she gave a little nod. "When we leave here, you will stay in my quarters with the Consort. You will not leave or speak to anyone else about your mission, not even to him. Understood?"

Jaunda looked surprised with such an order, but she nodded. "Understood, Elder."

"Elder Rausery, will you leave first and clear the way? The fewer Red Sisters who see Jaunda has returned, the better. Then I will meet you outside the Cloister. We need to talk."

That was an understatement.

"Sure."

It took some time to get the Lead secured and to give Qivni a quick message that Rausery was going out but would be back soon. It took even a bit more to find D'Shea again outside, since they both took different paths to one of the four different places they might choose to talk.

When they finally did though...

*Let me guess,* Rausery signed. *Your quarters, so that not even the Prime is likely to know she is back.*

D'Shea nodded distractedly, Rausery betting that her mind was thinking a spider's egg sac full of things at once. *Auslan could use the company.*

Rausery smirked. *Better come up with what to tell the Prime quick. The Valsharess expects an update as well. As usual, I will back you, just tell me everything.*

The sorceress shook her head and kept walking, gesturing for her to follow. *We need to talk to Phaelous first. We don't have much time.*

******

Lelinahdara returned with a tray of food for D'Shea's son, but she wasn't truly surprised the moment Shyntre realized that he did not want to eat it.

"There is no liquid or powder in it except what comes naturally," she admonished, reaching for the spoon and sampling both the soup and the side dish in front of him, also taking a drink from his cup.

It was bland overall, but then most who lived here wanted it that way as to better detect when something was in it that should not belong. Proper seasoning could always come after the fact, and it was doubly useful when they had any guests in the infirmary with delicate stomachs.

The Priestess watched as Shyntre slowly overcame his reluctance and convinced himself he needed the strength. He cautiously sniffed the cloth napkin and, satisfied that it had only been laundered and nothing else, wiped down the spoon she had used and silently fed himself large bites while sitting up in bed with the tray on his lap.

All the better to protect himself, she knew. It was surprisingly easy to get Drow to eat when they were ill, even the temperamental ones; as a race they were not known for knowingly weakening themselves only to make themselves more vulnerable. They would have to be truly incapable of caring for themselves.

Which, curiously, was exactly how Shyntre was behaving in the Palace. He had been unable to care for himself for several cycles and the Valsharess had called the sorceress-Priestess to take him into her custody and make him strong again.

He had not recognized her first and had been foolish enough to say so; therefore Tarra could believe that something unusual had happened recently. Yet it did not take him long to feed himself once he realized where he was. Amusing.

The Priestess watched him eat in silence until he was nearly finished, then she asked, "Have you ever watched a birthing, Shyntre?"

He froze, his gold-flecked crimson eyes so much like his sire's sliding her way before looking forward again, and he took another bite. She wagered from how quickly he swallowed it that he had barely tasted it.

"No, Priestess," he answered.

"No? Well. I suppose you have never been in a position to have the opportunity with Phaelous and Rausery as your guardians. I only thought it possible that Wilsirathon had seen fit to make it happen at some point?"

Shyntre shook his head. "No, Priestess."

Tarra smoothed out a wrinkle in her robe. "Congratulations on fertilizing one in your first few months. How many times and how many Nobles again?"

The wizard gave her an extremely wary look. He bit the inside of his cheek instead of replying.

"Never mind, I know how many," she continued. "A pity you are required to help quicken the eggs but you have no idea how to assist with the separation, when the time comes."

The wizard's face shifted from growing resentment to confusion. Tarra showed her teeth in a beautiful smile.

"Did you know all Consorts possessed a heightened fertility, a level of life magic bequeathed by the Priestesses in honor of our goddess, and that they could control it? I imagine a Consort in service for a century or more might have had ten to fifteen offspring with only a small fraction of truly necessary encounters, compared to what you have done. There could be more coitus if it was desired, or he could simply be kept as a pretty possession to look good standing at a Noble's side. For most of the children he sired, he would have been nearby when they were born, but it did depend on an essential touch of magic whether he may have been at all useful to witness or assist with their birth."