Backroom Bargains

The door clicked shut behind us with the finality of a vault seal. The room was small and packed: crates stacked like uneven teeth along one wall, a heavy oak table dominating the center, lantern light carving sharp shadows across the stone. No windows. No audience. Just the faint mineral bite of damp rock and the low, steady hum of hidden machinery somewhere deeper in the hideout.

Zarys leaned back against the table’s edge, arms braced, blonde braid catching the light. Her eyes tracked me first, then lingered on Karlach’s bulk filling the doorway. The Zhentarim lieutenant had traded her earlier smirk for something sharper—calculating and guarded.

“So,” she said, voice low, edged with dry impatience. “You have my full attention—and that's very dangerous.”

Karlach stood close enough that her engine pressed warmth against my side like an open forge door—uncomfortable, not unbearable. I kept my tone velvet-smooth. “Black infernal metal. Tough as hell. Warm to the touch. I know you have some laying around.”

Zarys’s fingers flexed once against the table’s grain. “What are you willing to pay?”

“I was hoping you’d donate it. We’re heading into the Underdark anyway. We’ll clear things out, reduce the pressure on your routes.” I said with a shrug.

She barked a short laugh, though it held no warmth. “Everything that dies down there leaves room for something worse,” she continued. “You making a mess could just as easily hurt business as help it.”

“It seems like your business is stretched thin as is, gnoll things considered. How about pro bono?” I countered.

Her gaze sharpened. The air between us thickened, the kind of tension that preceded drawn blades or drawn contracts. This was the moment.

[Charm]

I held Zarys’s stare and let a subtle charm spell slip into my voice and presence.
This time, her reaction was considerably stronger than the first time I had placed her under my spell. Zarys blinked slowly. Her eyes softened at the edges, the sharp calculation in them easing into something warmer, dreamier. The guarded tension in her shoulders melted loose and a deep exhale followed. She tilted her head slightly, studying me with new, intrigued interest.

Karlach shifted again at my back. I felt her heat flare hotter for a moment, then she let out a quiet huff of understanding.

“Boss…” she muttered, voice low. Then, with a knowing smirk, “I’ll be right outside. Take your time.”

She turned and slipped out the door without waiting for a reply, pulling it shut behind her with a solid click.

Zarys watched her go, then shifted her full attention back to me, her expression now flushed with clear intention.

She crossed the small space in two steps, eyes soft and dreamy under the charm. Without a word she pushed me back until I sat on the edge of the table. Her hands moved quickly to her waist, sliding her pants down her hips in one smooth motion. Her gaze never left mine—warm, almost girlish, full of quiet wonder as she sank down slowly, taking every inch with a soft, delighted sigh.

“Like this?” she whispered, rolling her hips in a smooth, loving rhythm. Her hands rested on my stomach, fingers gently kneading as she rode me with open adoration, chasing the pleasure she could give me. Each downward glide drew a breathy little moan from her throat, her usual sharp composure melting into something softer. She leaned in closer, eyes locked on mine the entire time, as if she couldn’t bear to look away.

Her pace quickened, hips circling and grinding with growing need. “It’s a deal, yeah?” she breathed, voice sweet and earnest. She lifted herself and sank back down harder, taking me deeper, her soft walls clenching around me with every stroke.

I gripped her waist, guiding her movements, and sent a single Alluring Blast through my palm straight into her core. Zarys gasped sharply, eyes widening with surprise as pink psychic pleasure bloomed inside her. Her rhythm faltered for a second, then sped up, **** and needy.

She came hard, back arching, thighs trembling as her pussy clenched tighter. The sight and feel of her pushed me over the edge. I thrust up deep and came with a low groan, flooding her with cum. She moaned softly, grinding down to take every drop, eyes still locked on mine with dazed, enamoured hunger.

[Corruption +5]

For a short moment she stayed there, breathing hard, a faint blush on her cheeks.

“You’re a godsdamned wonder,” she said, voice husky and a little unsteady.

She lifted a hand and pointed lazily toward a chest in the corner.

“Left one. Open it carefully. There’s a false bottom.”

I crossed to it, boots echoing. The lid opened with a groan. Inside, beneath layered linens and a false panel that clicked loose under my fingers, lay the metal. Black as midnight ore, dense enough to tug at my wrist when I lifted the ingot free. Hot against my palm, like it still carried Avernus’s forge-heat. I slipped it into my pack, the weight settling solid against my hip.

Zarys watched, arms crossed once more, though her posture held a new looseness. “Underdark entrance is down the road, left side behind the huge boulder. You’ll recognize it when you see it.” She paused, a small, knowing smile tugging her lips. “You’re a friend of the Zhentarim now,” she said as I reached for the handle. “That comes with certain benefits.” There was a small pause before she continued, as if deciding how much to say.“If you ever need a favor… or something else… come find me in Baldur’s Gate.”

I inclined my head, the smirk I wore feeling earned. “Pleasure doing business.”

“Pleasure indeed..” She chuckled, low and dry. “Now get out before I change my mind about charging extra.”

I turned for the door. The iron handle burned under my fingers—hot enough that it would sting were it not for my resistance. I opened the door anyway.

Karlach nearly lost her balance as it swung open, catching herself at the last second and straightening too quickly to pretend she hadn’t been leaning in. Her skin glowed faintly along her arms and throat, that infernal engine bleeding heat in visible waves that warped the air. Her breathing came rough, chest heaving enough to strain the cropped leather harness. Yellow eyes snapped to mine, wide and hungry, fangs denting her lower lip.

“Just making sure you were doing her all right,” she said. Then she grimaced. “I mean—doing all right.”

“Eavesdropping now? Bad girl.” I took a step forward. The Alluring Blast still crackled faintly at my fingertips, leftover charge from my "negotiations" with Zarys. I reached up, tapped it lightly to the tip of her nose—just enough to send a spark of teasing ecstasy racing across her nerves.

Karlach jolted, a shudder that made her generous breasts bounce against their harness. A low, needy moan tore from her throat before she could swallow it.

“Hey—” she started, then lowered her voice “That's it?”

“No fun for you until we reach the forge,” I said, voice dropping into that lazy drawl. “Can’t have you burning this whole operation down.”

Her eyes fluttered half-closed, engine roaring louder for a heartbeat. “Fiiiine,” she groaned, the word stretching into a smoky moan that echoed down the corridor. “But you better make it worth the wait, boss. I’m already halfway to molten. You're playing with fire. Literally”

I chuckled, the sound rich with promise and restraint. She straightened with visible effort, rolling one shoulder like she could shake off the denied climax. The glow lingered on her crimson skin, a beacon of everything she held back. “You’re a cruel bastard sometimes, you know that?”

“And you love it” I brushed past her, letting my arm graze her side—brief contact that made her hiss with mingled pleasure and frustration. Her heat licked at me like a promise, safe for now. “Come on. The others are waiting, and we’ve got what we need.”

Karlach fell into step beside me, her boots heavy on the stone. The faint glow clung to her as we moved back toward the main chamber, a constant sensory reminder of what waited once Dammon could finally fix that engine of hers. Zarys’ directions burned in my mind alongside the warm weight of the infernal metal at my hip. Ahead lay the Underdark, and whatever fresh perversions the road demanded.