Closing in

And so it was that King Arthur did say to his knights, “come my friends, that we might encircle this villain and strike him down whence he chooses to ride out to do battle.”

And the knight who had worn the smiling mask did say, “Even with all the mighty hosts arrayed behind us, I quake at the memory of the villain before us. His enchantress, the lady Rosa, is the bearer of many mighty powers, even to the point of destroying the knight Balin Du Savage with but a thought. I must consult with Sir Lucan first, but it is perhaps possible that I will be able to neutralize her power for a time, that you might strike him down.”

And Sir Lucan was greatly troubled, for his presence was what brought the villain to the British Isles and many stood to die in the coming battle, with far more dead at the invader’s hands already.

••••••••••

For the first time in years, Aurora’s eyes snapped open. The ghost piloting her actions closed them again quickly, and listened carefully. Hinata seemed able to sense her when she was floating freely, but not as easily when she was in a body. Rose suspected that she could sense magical energy somehow, but the natural magic in a human could mask the presence of a spirit. As such, Rose was more than happy to sit back and listen in Aurora’s body.

Unsurprisingly, she mostly heard the sounds of sex. Low piglike grunts from Kusai and shrieks of pleasure from his slaves, old and new. He was lazing about the castle as far as she could tell, waiting for his magic to finish converting the handful of women he’d captured while he gorged himself upon the castle’s stores.

Rose felt strangely proud to see that despite the intensity of her hatred, Iseult was still holding on. Seeing her daughter reduced to the man’s pet had thrown the queen off, but she retained a degree of focus. Partly, of course, because Rose had whispered a promise into her ear. A risk, perhaps, but sharing the woman’s mind for a time had made her fond of the older woman.

“There will be a reckoning. Hold on just a few more days, and you will be free.”

The whisper, spread confidently from woman to woman, had been enough to help steel the resolve of most of the uncaptured present. It wasn’t much, but it was something. No more had fallen in the days since. There were two more things that Rose needed to do. First, she needed to get as much information as possible about the enemy’s movements.

Hinata stood upon the battlements, any time she wasn’t attending to Kusai directly, staring off into the distance towards the approaching army unless she noted Rose’s presence and moved to intercept. Rosa seemed to spend most of her time sleeping and meditating when she wasn’t with Kusai; when she was she spent about half her time pleasuring him and half her time staring into the sky before providing eerily precise information about where Arthur’s army was.

Jaheira was managing a small cadre of soldiers and servants who had surrendered after King Anguish died. They seemed to be NPCs, cowards, enchanted, or some combination of the above, but it seemed likely they were going to stand with him. Only about a dozen people, but enough to be of minor concern.

The others, Opal, Jessica, and Kim, seemed to mostly be focused on helping the new recruits adapt to life as Kusai’s love slaves. It was almost sweet, really. They seemed to really be trying to help the women come to terms with their new status, putting a positive spin on the whole thing.

The girl Rose was currently hiding in, Aurora, was… odd. The Lily side of her recognized Aurora as Sleeping Beauty immediately, but this version was clearly still in an eternal coma. She had a fully formed personality, essentially the same as Snow’s if she had a few shreds of common sense mixed in, but no memories. Based on what Gil had said about purchased individuals Rose suspected this girl was one.

Of course, she also needed true loves kiss to wake her up and Rose didn’t get the impression that Kusai was capable of loving a random pretty coma patient, so what Kusai had essentially purchased was a living sex doll that didn’t need to eat or drink to maintain her perfect ten figure, immaculate hair, or on point makeup. Or, more relevant here, an empty body for a ghost to borrow with a few mild personality quirks she could work around.

Rose listened carefully, until she was fairly certain she was alone, and slowly, painstakingly improved Aurora’s body in a very specific way. She made the princess’s muscles denser, more developed, and more similar to Rose’s own preferred musculature. It was difficult to do without radically changing the woman’s outside appearance, but she wanted it ready for later.

What better way to start a battle than with an assassination? There were so many javelins and spears in the armory, and Rose really didn’t need to worry about blowing off her own hands if she was technically using enemy hands.

••••••••••

Days later, Gil cornered Lucan in his tent. The big man lay down, quite ready to sleep in his gambeson so that donning his armor would take minimal time the next day. The men on horseback kept pace with the men on foot, leaving them relatively well rested, but a week’s travel was hard on anyone.

“Hail, friend.” Lucan said, “What ails you?”

“There are things I need to talk to you about, before we arrive tomorrow.” Gil said.

“I have spoken to Lancelot and my King.” Lucan said, “They shall do as you have asked. Gawain as well; he overheard our discussion.”

“That’s great but it’s not what I’m here for.” Gil said. “There may be a way to avert this whole battle.”

“Oh?” Lucan said, raising an eyebrow. “I assume that if it were a clean option you’d have spoken of it with the others present.”

“Yeah… the short version is that if I kill you, Kusai will win, but he’ll also be banished from this land. You and your men will return immediately, in perfect health. We’ll give up our rewards for fending him off, but no one else needs to die.”

“And he will take my love along with him.” Lucan said, “Unacceptable.”

“Yeah, but I have a workaround.” Gil explained. “Do you have shop access?”

“Nay?” He said, “I assume you don’t mean the markets in London?”

“You’d know if you did.” Gil said. “Some of us, people like you and I, have access to a shop where we can buy and sell our possessions. Well, now I know that Kusai has a few curses upon him. He could have them lifted at the Shop if he had the right treasures. If you have those treasures in your possession, then he would likely choose to take them instead of Ragnell.”

“And in doing so, we would reward him for his actions.” Lucan said, his eyes turning flinty. “Nay, I shall do no such thing.”

“Keep it in mind if my plan doesn’t work.” Gil said. “It’s far from foolproof, and there’s no point in a bloodbath.”

Lucan sighed, and nodded.

“I suppose it best to have a fallback position.” He said, then smiled faintly, “So, I presume there will be a price for these treasures?”

“Yes.” Gil said, crossing his arms. “Hellawes. I believe she will be happier in my care than yours, and I could absolutely make use of her skills.”

“I… see. Have you spoken to her of this?” Lucan asked.

“Rose has, yes.” Gil said. “She seemed quite receptive to the idea.”

He tactfully left out the rather erotic context of Rose’s inquiry. Lucan seemed a strait laced sort. Uncommon but not unheard of among testers.

“If that is true, then you are welcome to take her along with you.” Lucan said, “In truth, she has been a thorn in my side quite often, and I’ve seen her eyes stray towards Lancelot covetously. Perhaps it would be best to remove her from temptation.”

Gil was rather likely to expose Hellawes to far more temptation, rather than remove her from it. He didn’t intend to excessively restrict the usage of her magic, either, just provide her with a bit of guidance and oversight. It seemed best to not mention that.

“Before I give you an appropriate number of credits, there’s something else I must know.” Gil said, taking a deep breath. “By the informal rules of testers, I have poached upon your territory. Do I have permission to bring Nimue along if she agrees to come with me? If not, I will release my hold upon her right now. If so; I will take a different approach.”

“If… if you choose to bring her with you that would likely be for the best.” He said nervously. “Her ultimate fate is intertwined with Merlin’s, and not for the best. If he does not desist in his pursuit of her, it will be the death of him.”

Gil blinked a few times. Yeah that tracked. Nimue didn’t seem like the sort to put up with sexual harassment from her mentor forever, though that level of escalation seemed a bit extreme.

“Well alrighty then.” Gil said. “I’ll see about taking her with me. That does mean I’ll need to do something a bit… odd before I can pay you. First, though…”

Gil focused for a moment and a rectangular panel appeared before Lucan.

Offer: 10 credits, 1 hour of time in the Bazaar

Cost: Dame Hellawes of Castle Nigramous (T4)

“The Bazaar is a meeting place for people like us.” Gil said, “Whether or not you need to pay off Lucan, eight credits should be enough to get you access to a green orb perk of some kind. I think it would be best for you to join the community you’ll be part of for a long, long time.”

Lucan looked out towards the tent flap, shaking his head.

“These men and women of Camelot are my companions.” He said, “I do not know if I can properly countenance a community who trades men and women like cattle and call them my brothers.”

“Maybe, maybe not, but unfortunately when all of this falls away we will be what you have left.” Gil admitted. “You’re still young. You’ve only lost one world, I suspect. It helps to know that there’s something that continues, trust me. If not… well, hold onto the time and the credits for your hour of greatest need.”

Lucan nodded, troubled, but he pressed the button to accept the trade. All Gil needed to do was actually acquire the credits to pay up. Gil nodded, as if the deal had gone through, and left. It felt best to bring back Balin as a woman somewhere slightly more private than in a righteous man’s private tent. He had one last choice to make before going into battle.

••••••••••

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