A decision he can live with

The entire party was assembled in the common room of The Long Rest when Kevin returned.

Blue, pendulum firmly on the side of chaos after she’d gotten what she wanted from the DM without consequence, perched atop a stool balanced on two of its three legs with only a hint of unsteadiness. She wobbled slightly as her bright golden eyes locked onto Kevin when he returned, but the grin that spread on her lips showed no hint of concern that she might actually fall.

Beside her, Hwa barely kept her scorn contained. The harpy’s antics clearly didn’t amuse the kumiho who, nevertheless, kept to the letter of her promise by tolerating the rest of the party’s company even if she couldn’t bring herself to enjoy it.

Next to her, Penny had inserted herself as a barrier between the scowling Korean woman and the young selkie sisters. Both Joensons turned to stare at Kevin intently for a moment when he walked through the door, before returning to a conversation that had produced no more alignment in the time after they spoke with the season’s Master than it had for the few minutes they did.

From the expression on the blonde siren’s face, she’d overheard enough of the sisters’ conversation to have opinions on the topic, and only the lingering concerns she retained about her own situation had held her back from jumping in to deliver them.

Elsie looked somewhat out of place between Hazel and Stheno.

The English girl had worn the yellow bikini costume for long enough that Kevin no longer found it odd on her, but between a nymph adorned only in living nature and Stheno’s armored form, the brownie looked a little like a cosplayer who’d gotten lost and wandered into the wrong myth. The look of faint apprehension she wore did nothing to dispel the impression, though she managed to flash a quick smile at the DM when he arrived.

The former of her surrounding companions, studied Kevin with an expression that held no judgment, only curiosity—though there was just enough of a hint of knowing smirk when she caught his eye that the DM immediately felt like she knew what he’d been up to with not only Blue, but also Hwa.

Stheno’s expression betrayed nothing. The gorgon’s intensity was still a tangible presence in the room, but it was clear that she meant to stick to her earlier advice and expected her new lord to live up to the mantle of party leader with which he’d been burdened.

Kevin stepped forward to the edge of the table into a hush that opened as he arrived. He cleared his throat, let his gaze sweep slowly across the faces of his party members, and made a point of meeting the eyes of each in turn. Only when he was finished did he speak, his voice carrying as much gravitas and poise as he could manage. “I’ve made my decision.”

The sound which emerged from Kevin in the next moment wasn’t quite a yelp, but only because he managed to catch and smother it when it tried to escape his throat. Instead, it came out as a kind of hiccup as Lily’s sultry voice emerged from directly beside his ear. “Excellent. Please, Dungeon Master, tell us how the rest of your adventure is going to go.”

The hostess—emerging through the DM’s shadow as though stepping through a curtain—wore a long dress in deep purple that hugged her inhumanly perfect figure like a second skin. A slit up one side ran from ankle to above her hip, while her cleavage was exposed by a deep-cut neck held up over each shoulder by narrow straps of velvet cloth.

Her wings, tucked in tight behind her, blocked out the light of the tavern to cast the table into shadow.

A moment later, Kevin regained himself enough to continue, “I still don’t feel as though I deserve the position that’s been given to me, but I hope you all still believe that I intend to do my best to give each of you the best chance that possible to emerge from the dungeon as a version of yourself that you can recognize. If we’re lucky, maybe it will even be a version of yourself you can be happy with.”

He looked to the party as he spoke, his back deliberately turned towards Lily once more as though by ignoring her, he could expunge her influence from the proceedings. “I have no doubt that some of you would be more comfortable in a setting that was designed to mimic a more traditional modern dating format.”

He paused as his eyes lingered on Elsie, Penny, and then Tess, before turning to stare fixedly at Hwa for a second and adding flatly, ”Some of you would not.”

The kumiho narrowed her glowing eyes at him, but did not interrupt as he continued, ”Even if all of us were unified in support of one option or the other, though, I realized that the transformations that were likely to result from one of the options were the kinds of things that would strip away more of the core of your essence in order to make you into something that fit a mold that you were never meant to fill.”

Kevin’s gaze flicked to Stheno for a moment, then turned from her unblinking eyes to Hazel’s far gentler ones. “As much as I would be honored to date any of you, as much as I want to do my best to let whatever relationship we can form blossom, and grow, that’s not the kind of situation we’re in.”

He drew himself straight, and this time there was no mistaking the way he deliberately ignored Lily as she began to pace slowly around to the back of the table. “We’re captives, here. Prisoners, **** to dance for the benefit of an audience we can’t even see, and it is their whims that ultimately shape the form the shackles that hold us take.”

Lily took up position directly behind Elsie, who froze like a rabbit as she did her best not to fidget beneath the ancient hostess’ attention, mild panic evident on her face as she met Kevin’s eyes.

“The kinds of transformations Lily has given us have been harsh. They have been deceptive. They have been designed to **** all of us into situations we wouldn’t ever have chosen for ourselves. But, they have also been designed to fit within the framework she described when she first brought us here. I’ve read some of the things that have been done to cast members on other, more ‘traditional’ seasons of Harem Hotel, and as much as I dislike what’s been done to all of you, I can honestly say that several of the alternatives out there would be much, much worse.”

If Lily was offended or surprised by Kevin’s words in any way, she didn’t show it. The hostess’ lips—brilliantly crimson, particularly against the perfectly smooth white skin of her sculpted face—curled in a smile that was as smug as it was cruel as Kevin finally let himself meet her eyes across the table.

“Keep the format the way it’s been. Let us quest in Adventuria instead of turning this into a dating show. At least this way, when we’re done, everyone in the party should have some tools to let their stories continue back in the real world.”

Lily’s hands came together in a deliberate motion as she began to slowly clap.

The sound—even soft as it was—caused Elsie to jump in surprise as it emerged from behind her, and the brownie finally turned in her seat to stare up at the hostess. Lily’s position was close enough to the brownie that the much shorter English girl’s face wound up practically buried in the hostess’ cleavage as a result, though, and she spun back around and slumped low into her seat as soon as she realized where she’d almost put her nose.

“Of course, Dungeon Master. As you desire. As I’ve stated time and time again, my intention here is only to help ensure that as a party, you’re sufficiently well equipped to handle the rigors of the dungeon.” Lily’s voice was as smooth as silk, her expression as cool as the marble from which she appeared to have been carved.

“Mmm-hmm.” Kevin let out a soft sound of dissatisfaction at Lily’s response, but didn’t try to otherwise contradict her. Instead, he returned his eyes to the table and quietly added, “I know this isn’t the answer some of you wanted, but I promise that if you want to try to find some time to, well, build up a more normal relationship together—whatever form that might take—I’ll do everything I can to make that work.”

Hwa’s eyebrows arched at that, but the kumiho’s only comment was to mutter, “You will uphold your bargain, mortal.”

Where Penny nodded slowly but seemed content to wait to speak on the topic, beside her Abby practically vibrated with excitement second only to Blue’s. The harpy’s stool teetered further back, until it seemed impossible that she wouldn’t tip over, only for her preternatural balance to let her right herself with a shift of her hips that had no right looking that sensual in the circumstances.

For all that Tess looked disappointed, the white-haired selkie nodded her head slowly and did not vocalize any objections she might have had. Beside her, Hazel reached out to squeeze the athlete’s strong bicep with a warm hand without looking, even as she continued to smile gently across the table at the DM.

The contrast between Elsie and Stheno could not have been more stark. The former looked as torn as the latter was resolute, until Kevin found himself walking around the table to stand between them.

One of the DM’s hands reached down to clasp Elsie’s shoulder, squeezing lightly to reassure her, even as he looked down and met Stheno’s eyes from no more than a foot away. Something passed between the two—recognition, gratitude, and something close to understanding—before he turned and finished, simply, “Thank you. We’ll get through this. Together.”

The party’s reactions to Kevin’s decision varied but—much to his surprise—no one actually seemed upset that he’d made it.

Though Hazel had expressed a preference for a change of focus, the former’s easygoing manner meant that while she might not have agreed with him, she wasn’t going to throw a fit over it. The only one who looked like she might have words with him was Tess, and her attention was focused instead on her younger sister.

Kevin nearly followed after them when they left the common room still mid-argument, only to be stopped by a gentle hand on his forearm. When he turned to see whose hand it was, he found himself looking into the face of Penny. “Those two are going to need to work this out themselves. Anything you did right now would just be driving a wedge between them, which is the last thing sisters need.”

The siren gently began to steer the Dungeon Master towards the front exit of the building, one slightly cool hand coming to rest at the small of his back while the other gestured forward. “Come on—my quest updated, and it’s something that I’m going to need your help with.”

The pair stepped outside, neither seeming to notice how comfortably they inhabited the other’s proximity. It was only when they reached the street and began to walk towards the Master’s Castle that Kevin glanced over and realized he was hip to hip with the curvaceous blonde, her hand still resting lightly on his back.

He cleared his throat and his stride faltered for a moment, before making an obvious conscious decision to accept Penny’s touch and asking, “What can I do for you?”

The siren smiled and lifted her free hand to show her character sheet, already pulled up to the appropriate tab to display:

Quest: The Power In Stories (Weekly Quest)

Objective: Craft, then exhibit a story or performance for your Party Leader. (0/1)

Optional: You may include as many others in your story or performance as you are able to recruit.

Once Kevin finished reading, Penny explained, “It showed after you announced your decision to Lily. At first, I was going to ask some of the others to join me—Elsie, or maybe Stheno or Blue—but then I realized that it doesn’t say that you can’t participate in it yourself.”

“Do you have any plans for what kind of a performance you want to put on? Please keep in mind that I’m not trying to push you in one direction or another, but you know what kinds of things are more likely to appeal to the audience.”

The pair paused just at the gates of the castle, Penny’s hand finally leaving Kevin’s back as she stepped around to face him from a few feet away. “I have some ideas, but I’ll want to go get some things to improve it. I’ve got a ton of GP to spend—I may as well get some use out of it. I just wanted to check with you first to make sure you were willing to participate before I blew it all.”

Kevin let out a laugh that seemed to release a little of the tension he’d been carrying since Lily’s arrival that morning. “Of course. The way I see it, my responsibility is to do what I can to support you. I may not be much of an actor, but I’ll have you know I completed an eight week improv course when I wanted to get better at NPC reactions for my players.”

That got a warm chuckle from Penny in return, and the rich sound of her voice sent shivers up the DM’s spine. She reached up a hand to cup his cheek and then impulsively leaned forward to press her lips to his. The kiss lingered for only a moment before she broke contact and asked, her chest still pressed to his, “Can we talk through my idea? As much fun as a surprise sounds, I’d rather make sure you think it’ll work.”

Kevin took a moment to respond, caught up in the sudden kiss and the overwhelming awareness of Penny’s presence. When he did, though, the warm tones of his voice were reflected in his smile. “I’d like that. Want to come up to my room? I can get some lunch brought up so we have a little time to talk.”

Ten minutes later, the pair were seated in front of a low fire in the Master’s suite, mugs of warm cider steaming beside fresh bread and butter on a small table beside. Though they’d chosen separate chairs, each leaned forward to close some of the distance left between them, creating an atmosphere that was intimate enough to surprise them both.

“So—I was doing some exploration a few days ago on my way back from RoundHard and came across a shop called The Dreamweaver. It’s expensive—100 GP per hour—but it lets you craft a dream scenario to explore with as many members of the party as you like. It’s not real, exactly, so you can’t go and collect a bunch of gold to bring home or anything like that, but it gives you a way to go places and see things that you couldn’t otherwise.”

Kevin listened intently as Penny began to explain, taking in her expression and body language as much as her appearance. The siren’s face was pretty enough to not feel at odds with the lush curves of her body, but while at rest there was no way it was going to play anything but second fiddle.

When she spoke, though it came alive in a way that pulled him in until the vast expanse of cleavage her costume exposed faded away into the background. “It came to mind almost as soon as the quest appeared. I was thinking about what you said earlier, about the weekend we—” She paused, cut herself off, and seemed to hesitate as she struggled to find the right words, before eventually settling on, “—about that weekend, and what it meant, or didn’t mean, to us.”

“It doesn’t have to mean anything. No matter what Lilith and the audience might say, what happened then—what didn’t happen then—wasn’t the result of choices we made. You’re no more responsible for that than Hazel is for being mostly naked.”

Penny paused for a few moments, then asked quietly, “What if we had the chance to try it again, though?”

“What do you mean?” Kevin couldn’t keep the curiosity from his words, nor could he help but notice the hint of desperation to the longing in Penny’s voice.

“What if we did that weekend over again? But did it right, this time.” The voluptuous blonde leaned forward in her excitement, and this time the display of cleavage as her impressive chest strained against her costume’s corset was enough to pull Kevin’s eyes away. If she noticed, though, she was too intent on the conversation to let herself get sidetracked by it. “I could go to the Dreamweaver and have them recreate the time we met. The evening, at least. I can afford a few hours, and we can do it over. Do it right.”

When Kevin’s eyes once more met Penny’s, he found himself caught off-guard, mesmerized not by the siren’s voice, but by the hope she wore on her face. “I think—I think I’d like that. Not being influenced by the audience or the votes, just—I’d like to get to know the real you.” When he smiled, his expression looked more relaxed than it had been since arriving on the show. “I think I’d like that very much.”